In Your Dreams: Jin Patisserie

If I met a kid who says his dream is to be a professional hockey player but does not even know how to skate, I will probably die laughing. Kids can dream, sure I’m all for that, but there’s something definitely wrong if that kid is 30-something.

Well, I’m THE kid, and my dream is to one day open my own boulangerie (those of you who are culinary challenged, it’s a bakery). My fascination with bread began in 2004 when I strolled into a baking contest while walking in the streets of Paris. It was a complete coincident that I walked in to witness the professional bakers in action. It must have been the heavenly aroma of freshly baked bread that lead me there and I’ve been in love with bread-making ever since.
But the problem (just a minor one) is that I can’t bake bread. My only two attempts ended in utter failure and yeasts, well, they scare me. So yes, I’m the kid with no magic skates but that doesn’t mean that I can’t submerge in my imagination, just for fun.

Jin Patisserie in Venice is the place that allows me to imagine what my shop would be like. Although it’s a patisserie and not really a boulangerie, it’s close enough. The place is a part botanical garden, part someone’s backyard, and part irresistible pastry shop. The little waterfall in the middle of the garden provides a very zen-like atmosphere, allowing patrons to bathe in the nature’s beauty. Despite the trendy location, this place is so unpretentious that you can often find celebrity owner/chef Kristy Choo doubling as a server between magazine interviews. Make sure to enjoy the selection of lovely tea from Le Palais Des Thes with your sweets or savory, or both.

Once you experience the wonder of Jin Patisserie, you may dream about opening your shop too.

High Tea with fiinger sandwiches, savories, homemade scones, pound cake, praline and Chef’s selection of mini sweet pastries

Smoked Salmon Salad (this lovely place offers much more than just sweets)

Jin Patisserie: 1202 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
★★★★★

Paradise Revisited: Tommy Bahama Tropical Cafe

I went on my first and last blind date a few years ago, as a naive twenty-something. My friend thought it was a good idea to set me up with one of her single, guy friends. He was a nice guy and a fairly good-looking, courteous fella but the only thing we had in common was that we were single. He rambled on and on about himself the entire time and, although I prefer listening than talking most of the time, it got to a point I wanted him to just shut the hell up.

The worst part of it all was that he took me to Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Café in Newport Beach. The restaurant was superb as always – with wonderfully tropical and coconut-y décor, delicious Caribbean-inspired dishes and consistently amazing service. In fact, this place is one of my favorite places to dine. The worst part was that the place happened to be gazillion miles away from home and thus not giving me the chance for a getaway. It was the most excruciating evening of my dating life and I promised myself then that I would never go on a friggin blind date ever again. I know I sound so mean by saying this but if you were there with me that night, you will totally sympathize. Just for the record, he was not a bad guy at all. We just had no chemistry at all.

Last Saturday was the first time I visited Tommy Bahama’s since the incidence, and luckily I was with a darn good company this time. My best friend’s pals were visiting the area from San Francisco so she and her other friends, who lives in San Diego, decided to meet up in the middle for a mini reunion, and I was her plus-one for the afternoon.  I have met them all before and I absolutely adore them.

With great wine, food and friends, I was able to wash away the bitterness of the yesteryears and begin a new memory with Tommy!

Tortola Tortilla Soup, a savory blend of ground corn tortillas and vegetables with grilled chicken seasoned with island spices and garnished with lime sour cream.

Saba Steak Salad, marinated and char-grilled tenderloin medallions served over a bed of fresh mixed greens tossed with tamarind vinaigrette. Garnished with grilled potatoes, vine-ripened roma tomatoes, shiitake chips and garlic aioli.

Tommy’s Great Big Crispy Fish Sandwich, crispy beer battered local island fish topped with honey-roasted onions. Served with french fries and island tartar sauce.

Wha’Jamaican Chocolate Cake, a flourless chocolate espresso cake served with white chocolate crème anglaise and garnished with chocolate shavings.

Pina Colada Cake, a moist vanilla layer cake with Myers Dark Rum and chopped pineapple, covered with white chocolate mousse and toasted coconut.

Tommy Bahama Tropical Cafe: 854 Avocado Avenue, Newport Beach, CA 92660

★★★★★

Delicious Walk Down the Memory Lane: Musha

I remember finding an old photo album that belonged to my parents one day. Between the dusted and now-faded pages stood a young couple, happily in love. My mother — so vibrant and beautiful — looked just like the Japanese version of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. It’s quite surreal to think that your parents were once a teenager too.  … And she is still very beautiful today.

Every time I see things reminiscent of the Kurosawa-esque post World War II Japan, I somehow think of my parents as young adults (although they are of much later generation). And I image Musha would resemble a place they may have frequented back in the days in Tokyo.

The décor of Musha, a warm dining room-like izakaya in Torrance, has a distinct feel of an old Tokyo, with a little sprinkle of Japan’s own interpretation of the Western world — with cherrywood tables and chairs, dim lights, and a menu written in traditional Japanese calligraphy but with hip, modern, playful fonts. In the corner, on the other side of the counter, chefs whip up Japan’s take on popular non-Japanese dishes in an open kitchen. The place is full of energy — an optimistic, positive, old-school spirit  – possibly that of  Japan in the 40s trying to rebuild the country and mend the broken spirits.

The food is reminiscent of the old era as well, offering the Japanese incarnation on worldly menu, as well as some truly authentic Japanese dishes. Personally, I love Japanese “Western” food, if I may call it that. Some of my favorites are croquet, spaghetti with meat sauce and gratin. I also find wafu meat loaf (“hamberg,” as it’s called) delicious. This type of food is the perfect reflection of Japan’s approach to things – take something that’s already in existence and improve it, and make it its own in the process (we didn’t invent cars, we just made them better!). Musha perfects this genre of food while successfully preserving the spirit of authentic Japanese culinary wonders.

My friend (whom I bestowed the title of “honorary Japanese” because of her impressive knowledge and interest in the Japanese culinary culture) and I ordered several of the restaurant’s popular dishes.

The refreshing Harusame Salad was a perfect way to commence the epicurean adventure. The salad combined two of my favorite things — harusame and tangy vinegar — and whet the appetite for more.

Here are some of the delicious food we devoured in:

“Ebi Mayo Mayo,” fried battered shrimps (plump and absolutely satisfying) smothered in mayonnaise-base sauce.

Buta Kakuni

Baguette Gratin (what diet?)

The most impressive dish of all was Cheese Risotto (pictured on top and right), served in a well of Parmigiano-Reggiano block. The chef mixed the risotto with the cheese at the table, scraping the generous layers of the cheese as he assembled. I have never seen anything like this in my life and my eyes almost teared up with joy and anticipation. The flavor and texture were as heavenly as it looks. The interesting part is that the risotto tasted nothing like the ones I’ve had before, different from the ones served in Italian restaurants. I can’t pinpoint what it was that made it unique, but the Arborio rice, panchetta and cheese tasted like the creamy gratin my mother used to make for us as a child.

Even with same ingredients, Musha has the magical touch to create something that would take me on a journey down the memory lane. 

Musha: 1725 Carson Street, Suite B, Torrance, CA 92780

★★★★★

Just the Way I Like It: Okonomiyaki

My year-end resolution is to incorporate more vegetable into my diet and reduce as much sugar and fat as possible to better my overall health. I’m certainly not the one to jump on the fad diet bandwagon and jeopardize my sanity so I need to look for ways to manage my health while still enjoying all the food I love (which, admittedly, is everything).

Okonomiyaki I cooked for dinner tonight held the key to sensible eating. Often dubbed as Japanese pancake, okonomiyaki is a playground of all things wonderful – a colorful array of fresh vegetable including cabbage, onion, scallion, carrot and grated yam, and perhaps add some meat, squid or octopus, bind together with flour, water and eggs. The original version also includes fried batter crumbs for texture, dashi (fish stock) and a few slices of bacon or pork for added flavor, but I omitted those items – along with any kind of meat – for obvious reason. The pancake is usually topped with katsuobushi (bonita flakes), aonori (seaweed) and a special okonomiyaki sauce (I personally like tonkatsu sauce better) and ginger. Despite my attempt to reduce fat, I could not resist the drizzle of Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise!

“Okonomiyaki,” translates loosely to “however you like it,” suggesting that your imagination is the only thing holding you back from creating a one-of-a-kind, satisfying piece of delight.

Just by looking at the picture, can you tell that this okonomiyaki has one carrot, one large onion and almost two cups of cabbage? Talk about nutritionally dense and satisfying meal – just the way I like it.

Cheesy TV Calls for Cheesy Meal: Mushroom Risotto

There are things in this gastronomic world that are meant to coexist to create a lovely harmony.  Goat cheese and honey, for instance, compliment other’s strengths – with the sweet drops of syrup gently balancing out the subtle tanginess of the cheese and its grainy texture. And the golden brown honey drizzled playfully over the ivory bar of goat cheese is like having Jackson Pollock’s artwork on a plate (or a kid’s doodle, you be the judge).

Another match I adore is spinach and bacon, where the sizzling, crispy bacon wilts the leaves on contact, creating the soft – but not mushy – texture good enough to eat at a kitchen counter, never making it to the dining room.

Others, however, are quite contradicting in theory, like chocolate and chili (wtf!) but it somehow works like magic.  For me, green tea ice cream ranks as one of the most bizarre creations. No reasonable Japanese would have ever imagined putting sweet confection in green tea, as the drink is something to be enjoyed straight, sans sugar and milk unlike its British cousins. But tradition takes the back seat to the out-of-the-box imagination, especially when the result is a specutacular success.  The combination of the slighty grassy bitterness of the tea leaves and the silky, luscious mixture of vanilla, cream and sugar, is a true culinary masterpiece (yatta!).

But above all that, my all-time favorite duo is combining cheesy with cheesy – and I’m not talking about piling four kinds of cheese on a dough to create a perfect slice of pizza.

The cheese I’m referring to here is Women’s Murder Club, author James Patterson’s popular, best-selling series. Yep, books. I admit that I am addicted, although the series is one of those real corny thrillers where you know the murderer before the murder is committed. The characters are also quite predictable.  I picked up the book as a way to kill time during my frequent business travel and I would have never picked up this genre of books otherwise, but there’s something very soothing about mindless, effortless read (this is somewhat reminiscent of the time I secretly watched the endless reruns of embarrasingly plotless, severely nutrient deficient Saved By the Bell although I didn’t dare tell anyone about my sickening behavior … oh god, please forgive me).  So, when I learned that this book was turning into a television series on ABC, I had to make sure that I make this momentous Friday night a very special one for the series premier.

To celebrate the cheesiness of it all, I’ve decided on cooking mushroom risotto with lots of freshly graded Parmesan cheese — my first attempt on creating this Italian staple.

Mushroom Risotto

(Note: This is a quick and less sophisticated version of the real deal, which usually calls for more bourgeois ingredients such as truffles. We’re talking cheesy paperback thriller and not the work of Fitzgerald here, so this will do.  Also, I’m notorious for not following a recipe so this is completely my own creation.  Therefore, there’s no guarantee of success if you follow this poorly written instruction).

Ingredients: Pancetta or bacon (1/4 cup), Portobello mushroom (2 cups), garlic (1 clove), onion (1/2 of large or one medium), green peas (defrosted, 1 cup), arborio rice (2 cups), chicken broth (6 cups, unsalted, heated), dry white wine (1/2 cup), Parmesan cheese (bring that sucker on!), Italian parsley for garnish, salt, pepper and olive oil.

1. Begin by sautéing diced pancetta with a teaspoon of olive oil, then add minced garlic, onion and sliced Portobello mushroom in a large saucepan. Add salt and pepper to taste. I know I’m supposed to also add dried mushroom for more robust flavor but I couldn’t find it at Trader Joe’s (shucks).

2. Once the mixture is cooked all the way through (about 5-7 minutes), put aside half of the mixture. With the remaining mixture in a pan, stir in and cook Arborio rice until each grain changes color to slightly clear. Add the dry white wine and cook until the alcohol evaporates but still retaining the flavor.

3. Begin adding the heated chicken broth to the rice mixture, one cup at a time and stir, stir, stir, stir … darn, my arm hurts!

4. Once the rice is almost cooked, add the mixture you put aside earlier back in the pan, and stir again. Add a handful of green peas for color and lovely sweetness.

5. Add grated Parmesan cheese and top it with chopped Italian parsley. Add loads and loads of cheese, as this is the tribute to something cheeeeeeeeesy.

6. Pour the remaining white wine in the glass and make yourself comfortable in front of your television. But if you’re like me, you might have to grab another bottle because all the wine was consumed during cooking.

7. Put your feet up and enjoy a relaxing Friday night with delicious wine, cozy plate of risotto and indulge in the guilty pleasure of cheesy television.  However, when Monday rolls around and your friends ask you what you did on the weekend, politely smile and walk away.  Afterall, you still have to maintain your image and what’s left of your reputation.

Match Made in Culinary Heaven: Ca Del Sole

Aside from the excruciating heat wave from May to September and a constant mocking of having the 818 area code, living in the San Fernando Valley, is, like omg, totally awesome. Come on, people, stop with the judgmental finger pointing and take a look around. Where else in the world can you find 15 Starbucks within a mile radius, witness historical landmarks torn down daily to be replaced by those new, shiny Westfield shopping malls, and enjoy little Lauren-wannabes talk in mysterious codes (yep, gagging someone with a spoon is a perfectly acceptable English phrase in this part of town)?

Well, whatever your opinion of the place may be, nobody can deny the fact that the Valley is, fur shuuuure, blessed with the abundance of dining options. For instance, Ventura Boulevard, the 20-mile blood vessel of the Valley that extends from Woodland Hills to Universal City, is the ultimate restaurant row, and any foodie’s dream. If you remain patient and carefully comb through the evil Jerry’s Deli and the homogenized Cheescake Factories of the world, you will surely find an original, one-of-a-kind gem you can call your own, even in this suburbia.

Ca del Sole is the needle I picked up in the Valley’s culinary haystack, thanks to my epicurean friend, in the cute, quite, upscale neighborhood of Toluca Lake. Inspired by the Northern Italian cuisine, the place exudes the beauty and the charm of a Venetian trattoria.

A bunch of us from work headed over to the restaurant for lunch to celebrate the end of a week-long training. We grabbed the table outside to accommodate the big party so I didn’t really get to see the elegant interior, but the patio area was so charming that I know I didn’t miss too much. It’s difficult to believe that this hidden place is only a mere blocks from the busy Universal Studios.

The lunch with my newfound friends and colleagues was truly enjoyable, and the wonderful variety of food we ordered was as colorful as the conversation.

The lunch special included a choice of antipasti or insalata, a choice of secondi (pork chop or pumpkin ravioli), and ice cream with fresh berries for dessert. I ordered the special with carpaccio and ravioli and everything was absolutely delicious. I was especially impressed with the pumpkin ravioli with crispy sage. The creamy sauce whispered to me that the autumn is just right around the corner and the aromatic pumpkin puree reminded me why this is my favorite season in a year.

Carpaccio, thin slices of raw organic beef filet served with shaved Parmesan, capers and extra virgin olive oil

Mezzelune, half-moon shaped pasta stuffed with pumpkin; sautéed with a light sauce ofbutter, sage, and parmesan cheese

Pork Chop

Insalata Caprino, goat cheese from “Redwood Hill Farm” with Belgian endive, baby arugula,
oven-dried grapes, caramelized walnuts and 12 year old balsamic vinegar

Tonno, a seared Ahi tuna filet served on Swiss chards with roasted onion, oven-dried tomatoes, black olives, capers and herbs

Salmone, an Atlantic salmon filet baked in a paper pouch with herbs, asparagus and acorn squash

Ice cream with fresh berries

Don’t you think finding an amazing restaurant is very much like finding the person of your dreams? While you can’t help but wonder where the hell this person (or a restaurant) has been all your life, you simply cannot imagine living the rest of your life without him/her (or, it).

I think Ca Del Sole and I are going to be very happy together.

Ca del Sole: 4100 Cahuenga Blvd., Toluca Lake, CA 91602
★★★★★

Leave It Up to the Chef: Wakasan

Wakasan, a quiet and cozy izakaya hidden in the street of Westwood, helps put an end to the popular misconception that Japanese food is only about sushi and tempura. Sure, sushi and tempura are an important part of the Japanese cuisine, but there’s much more to the Japanese culinary tradition than just raw fish and fried whatever.  Just come by Wakasan and you’ll discover the wonders of Japanese homestyle cooking yourself.

I would have to say that izakayas rank as one of my all-time favorite places to dine because you get to sample variety of dishes with absolutely no guilt. Each dish is served in a tiny portion so there’s no fear of over indulgence, and those tapas-like dishes are generally cooked steamed or sautéed with little or no oil. This explains why Japanese women are so darn thin. But of course, I too am Japanese but I’m also American bred, so I’m the super-sized version of those Japanese women.

We ordered the “omakase” dinner so we were able to relax and talk without stressing over what to order. With “omakase,” which literally translates to, “I’ll leave it up to you (the chef),” the dishes just keep coming and coming. Because the menu changes daily, it’s a mystery as to what you would get, but everything served here is nothing but perfection.  And the friendly and skilled servers deliver those treasures to your table at a perfect timing – never too fast, never too slow.

I don’t want to ramble on about how the food tasted and all the technical stuff because no words will do justice, but I hope these pictures would illustrate how magical this place and the food truly is.

The night’s offerings were (I think there were more dishes but I was too busy eating):

Crab Sunomono and Kongnamul

Grilled Salmon and Assortment of Sashimi

Spinach tossed with ground sesame

Fried Shrimps

Somen with a hint of plum

A special birthday gift for mom, courtesy of Wakasan himself

Chawanmushi, the perfect way to conclude the fabulous dinner

Wakasan: 1929 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025
★★★★★

Picture Perfect: Bollywood Cafe

I think I owe an apology, ① for completely misunderstanding the Indian cuisine and talking smack about it and, ② for depriving myself of this delicacy for all these years.

I had shy-ed away from Indian cuisines for as long as I can remember because I was never a real fan of curry. Sure, I like the slow-cooked flavor of the Japanese wafu curries and the coconut-y Thai kinds, but I thought the Indian curries were just a little too overpowering for my palette.  Although my feelings toward the potent spices remain the same, the recent trip to Bollywood Café in Studio City made me realize that Indian cuisine is much more than just curry. Much, much more.

Because I had no idea about Indian food, I let my friends order for the group. There were six of us so we ordered an appetizer, several kinds of Naan (OMG, the cheese Naan was too good for words), and six dishes, and ate family style.
First, what blew my mind was the Sweet Lassi, a refreshing drink made out of yogurt (but tasted more like kefir) with a hint of sweetness. Let me tell you, yogurt is one of my favorite things in the world and it was the best drink I’ve ever had. My friends ordered the mango-flavored Lassi and although it was also delicious, I think I like the original one better.

We ordered an Assorted Appetizer (above), which included Chicken and Lamb Tikka, Seekh Kabab, Samosa and Onion Pakora. I didn’t know what the heck they were but they were all absolutely divine.

For main course, we ordered Lamb Coconut Curry, Shrimp Coconut Curry, Chicken Tikka Masala (all pictured on top) and Chicken Tandoori (above). Chicken Tikka Masala was, hands down, the best dish on the table. The creamy tomato sauce was rich, flavorful and comforting, and although I was getting full with all the food, I could not stop dipping the cheese Naan in the heavenly sauce.

I had never imagined a cuisine that I disliked for so many years can climb up to be one of my favorites so quickly but Bollywood Café certainly proved it is possible. If you’re ever in the Studio City area, I recommend you visit this place – even if you think you don’t like Indian cuisine. This place will definitely blow you away and change your mind.

Bollywood Café: 11101 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604
★★★★★

To Die For? Takeshi Ramen

Although I grew up in a Japanese culinary culture where ramen is a staple in almost every household, it never became something that I ate regularly. Don’t get me wrong, I like ramen very much, especially the Hakata-style. Nothing rivals the richness of the milky flavor of tonkotsu broth with thick noodle.  I could never pinpoint the exact reason why I refused to welcome it into my regular culinary repertoire (I would eat it, say, once every five to six months) but the only thing that comes to mind is my mother telling me that I would die from eating ramen growing up because of its high sodium content in the broth.  As a result, I’ve always associated ramen with slow, painful death. Threats and guilt always works in the Japanese family.  Very healthy, I know.

However, once in a blue moon, against my mother’s warning, my body yearns for the salty bowl of ramen, especially when it gets colder outside as it has been lately. So when my epicurean friend suggested going to a nearby ramen restaurant that he frequents for lunch, I jumped at the opportunity to indulge in the ultimate Japanese comfort good.

Takeshi Ramen is a little ramen shop located on Brand Avenue, in the heart of Downtown Glendale. The regular clienteles consist of business people from the surrounding office buildings and the place gets a little busy during the peak lunch hour. This explains why it took us a while to get seated, not to mention the fact that there was only one poor guy serving the place that easily sat 50 people (I’d say about 15 tables).

But the wait gave us the chance to look through the menu that consisted of everything you can think of in Japanese lunch menu, from standard ramens (shoyu (soy sause), miso, shio (salt) and tonkotsu (pork bone)), curry rice, ginger beef and hiyashi chuka (cold ramen) and assortments of desserts.

We ordered a plate of fried oysters and gyoza for appetizers to share and we each ordered tonkotsu ramen as our main dish. Oysters and gyozas were just okay and I’ve had better, but I was just happy that I was having something other than my regular salad bar lunch from the office cafeteria or a packed lunch I bring from home to save a little bit of money.

Well, I’m not a ramen expert (I even think Umakacchan, the instant ramen, is friggin darn good) but it was not bad. The noodle was cooked with a little bit of firmness left, the broth milky, rich and satisfying, and the chashu pork was tender and flavorful. I added a swirl of rice vinegar and chili oil to mild out the flavor and it kicked up the flavor to the next level.

Although ramen is still not something to die for, so to speak, I would definitely incorporate Takeshi Ramen into my regular lunch rotations.

I think mom will be happy with that.

Takeshi Ramen: 126 North Brand, Glendale, CA 91203

★★★☆☆

A Timeless Treasure: Porto’s Bakery and Cafe

Maybe I have OCD. Not severe like Melvin Udall but I do strange things sometimes that are quite unexplainable, which makes me believe that I may have a baby OCD (if there is such a thing). For example, I set all my clocks forward 45 minutes. The logic behind it is that by forwarding them 45 minutes, I will never over-sleep or be late to places. Even if the alarm doesn’t work and I wake up at, say, 8:00 a.m. (which is late), I actually haven’t overslept because it’s still 7:15 a.m. And 45 minutes is not random. My snooze button goes off every nine minutes. Therefore, I can snooze five times and still wake up on time. This logic, however, doesn’t work because I still manage to somehow arrive late to work more often than I’d like to admit.  But the fact that I still refuse to change this behavior confirms that I have some serious issues.

But, maybe my issue is not OCD but just that I’m not a morning person. In fact, I have trouble getting up every morning. I also don’t eat breakfast because I don’t like to put anything in my mouth before 10:00 a.m. Furthermore, I’m extremely cranky before my first cup of tea. Simply put, I’m pretty much a non-functional zombie in the a.m.  Until I walked into Porto’s.

I stopped by Porto’s Bakery and Café in Burbank (the lesser known branch of the two, in Glendale, although very popular in its own rite) on the way to work this morning to pick up a birthday cake for my special friend/colleague. I was half-asleep and cranky as hell as I parked my car and walked toward the entrance on Magnolia and Hollywood Way. But something magical happened when I sat foot in this popular Cuban eatery. The welcoming scent of the freshly baked baguettes, butter croissants, and the nutty aroma of freshly brewed coffee awakened all my senses and this zombie was suddenly alive. And the sight of Guava and Cheese Strudels, Apricot-Cheese Danishes, Carrot Apple Muffins, and a colorful array of whole cakes fresh out of the oven, even wet my appetite that I absolutely had to pick up a pastry for myself for breakfast.

I selected the whole Chocolate Raspberry Mouse cake, which the birthday gal and I, along with other friends and colleagues, enjoyed at lunch. The combination of silky chocolate and tangy raspberry mouse melted in my mouth like magic. It was so light and smooth that, although most of us were full from decadent lunch, we managed to eat the entire cake and even licked the plates clean.

Aside from sweets, Porto’s also offers wide selections of savory dishes, from fresh salads to Cuban sandwiches. My favorite (and everyone else’s too) is, hands down, the famous Potato Balls. Once you take a bite out of the warm, croquette made out of mashed potatoes and seasoned ground beef, your culinary world will never be the same. Media Noche Sandwich, a Cuban ham, pork and Swiss cheese sandwich served on a toasted sweet roll, is the close second.

Everything served at Porto’s is timeless, and it’s never too early or late to dive into the heavenly treasures … even for a nocturnal like myself.

Porto’s Bakery and Cafe: 3614 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505

★★★★★