"Cookin' with Coolio", Caprese Salad

This Morning I had the chance to laugh out loud for at least five minutes on my way to work listening to my favorite morning show: Kevin and Bean. Two things happened: I discovered my new favorite cooking show and I added "Smoking a spliff with Coolio" to my bucket list. There is no need to describe how great that video is but here's a few spoilers: The spices come out of dime bags, Coolio gets very excited about his Caprese salad that will "get her panties off" and you will be thinking of Gangsta's paradise next time you cook! SHAKA ZULU MOTHER$#%R!

My new favorite Chocolate

Opening the mailbox isn't what it used to be.A decade ago we were still eager to open it in the hope of finding a letter from a lover or a Christmas bonus from the grandparents. It was always an exciting experience, filled with colorful stamps, scented paper and creative writing. It often came as a surprise and was a thoughtful gesture. Now, I have to dig through the massive amounts of coupons and advertising to get a hold of the bills that are overdue because....I never open my mail. We get e-cards, texts and emails for Christmas where dozens of other friends can be attached in the same message at the same time. Last week though, I received a package from my awesome friend in Switzerland who mailed me back the sunglasses I had left at her place. Since it was Christmas time, she even sent me some chocolate covered marshmallows two tablets of some of the most amazing chocolate I had ever had. The chocolate was filled with chocolate mousse inside and it had pieces of Hazelnut. It was like a fancy schoko-bon!...I did however sit on my favorite pair of sunglasses and broke them...but the chocolate made me forget all about it.

"Enterprise Fish Company" Happy Hour - Santa Monica

Every time I leave this place, I get confused. Not because of the Pinot Noir that was served in big glasses, but because of how much the bills ends up being at the end of this so called "Happy Hour". However I do tend to come out very happy and It's always a feast of small appetizers that are original and include fresh seafood such as the steamed mussels and oysters. We did order six oysters and they fresh and easy to pull out of the shelf. It came with a garlic marinara dip and a butter sauce.

We also shared their famous traditional Ahi Poki. It's a salad made of cubes of raw tuna, onions, lettuce and roasted bell peppers. It's always a crowd pleaser and a great item to share. We stayed at the happy hour from 4pm to about 10pm (actually the happy hour on saturday goes from 4pm to 7pm and then starts again at 9pm to 11pm. The bartender refilled our glasses at a good pace and the waitresses were all adorable. The food came quickly and it was perfectly cooked.

A lady sitting next to me at the counter spilled her glass of red wine all over my crotch and my brand new favorite wool jacket, so I can't say it was the perfect experience but I was sharing these drinks with one of my best friends who was visiting from France, and catching up and sharing stories while drinking a full-bodied wine and eating Kobe beef sliders made me forget my pants looked like I played paintball again.

"Tahoe Galbi", Koreatown - Los Angeles

Yesterday I went to Santa Clarita with some friends to play paintball. Because I had played the game before and I knew what it felt like to get shot, I started the day with a clever mix of medicinal herb and a giant beer at the "Halfway House Café" located a mile away from Paintball USA.

I had a french dip with my beer and it was far from extraordinary but I was expecting no less from this restaurant lost in the middle of nowhere. Once my body was numb enough to take the abuse it was going to go through during our friendly games, we went out to the paintball field to shoot as many people as we possibly could. It was a great day of fun where we were served BBQ briskets and chicken for lunch. It was a little cold but it was tasty and helped us stay alert for the last games of the day. . When we left the field, I could barely walk because I fell on my knee and I got shot where I should have been wearing a cup. So we decided to go for some comfort food and more meat at "Tahoe Galbi" because there's nothing like throwing some raw meat on a grill after pretending to kill people all day.

This Korean BBQ is one of the best ones I've been to in Los Angeles. It is $16.99 for all you can eat, and they specialize in beef short ribs. The decor is elegant and each table is equipped with its own fan. We sat down and started feasting. We had a sample of everything from the beef to the pork belly and the briskets, we tried most of the meat on the menu. My least favorite was the marinated pork, which I thought was a little too sweet, but the service was perfect and I had never been at a Korean BBQ where the waiters were so attentive before. They have a parking lot with a Valet Service. It was a delicious meal and a memorable experience and I will definitely return to that restaurant next time I feel like binging on meat.

"Take a Bao", Studio City

life is all about new experiences, fun discoveries and fine dining. And even though I realize that this first sentence looks like a bad headline for a dating profile, I am always eager to try a new restaurant. So when a friend asked me if I wanted to try the new Vietnamese place that opened on Ventura, "Take a Bao", I immediately accepted.

We walked into the restaurant and were greeted by a friendly staff. We looked at the menu, dazed and confused, and had a hard time deciding what to get for our first experience there so we decided to share a few plates....and grab a beer of course.

After the cashier gave us a quick rundown of her favorite items, we chose the "lemongrass caramel chicken wings", the pork and leek potstickers and their chicken basil stir-fry (grilled chicken, udon noodles, chinese long beans, bok choy sum, thai basil, bean sprouts, finger chilies, garlic chives, scallions, sesame seeds, xiao xing glaz). She gave us a magnet with a number on it to stick to our table and we went out to the patio.

We waited for our order while sipping on the delicious seasonal draft beer that they offered that day and the first dish came relatively fast. The best item was by far the chicken wings. They were some of the best chicken wings I ever had, perfectly crispy, with a tasty marinade that doesn't overpower the taste of the chicken or make your lips burn so much that you end up crying like a five year old kid. However, these wings did not come with big breasted blond waitresses. The staff was professional and they even plated the main entrée in two separate bowls.

We sat outside on one of the windiest days of the year, so it was a bit chilly and the noodles ended up getting cold very fast so it probably wasn't as good as it was intended to be but It was lacing flavor and they definitely didn't put enough finger chilies in there. I was also not a big fan of the potstickers but go there for a beer and some chicken wings and you won't regret it.....except maybe when you find a piece of meat stuck in your teeth half an hour later.

http://www.takeabao.com/