The Poke Shack

The Poke Shack was started in Venice Beach, CA by two brothers in 2014. One of the brothers was interested in real estate and architecture, thus starting a new location in Los Angeles, CA.

Poke bowls come in two sizes: "Lil Daddy" (small) or "Big Daddy" (large). They are build your own bowls in a similar fashion as Subway. Protein: Ahi Tuna or Salmon. Base: brown rice, white rice, seaweed salad (extra charge) or organic kale (extra charge). Various toppings and your choice of sauce. However, the protein is raw yet fresh.

L.A. Cupcakes + Art: Vegan Cupcake Competition 2011

Urban Food Crawl's hosted its first annual vegan cupcake competition on Sunday, November 6, 2011 at Hold Up Art gallery in Los Angeles, CA and it was a success. I wasn't (and still am not) a vegan, but it was quite an experience for me.

Bake You Happy was also the winner of the L.A Auto Show on Food Network's Cupcake Wars. I vaguely recognize them, but I do remember watching the episode!

Best Overall Cupcake Winners (TIE):
Amanda’s Bakery & Cafe: Maple Crumble
Bake You Happy: Tahitian Vanilla Salted Caramel

Best Overall Cupcake Runner-Up
Clara’s Cakes: Neapolitan

Best Classic Flavor Winner
Jamaica’s Cakes: Red Velvet


Best Classic Flavor Runner-Up
Crushcakes & Cafe: Pumpkin Spice

Most Unique Flavor Winner
Courtesan Cupcakes: Raspberry Rose

Most Unique Flavor Runner-Up
Raw Bites: Lavender & Double Cacao with Strawberry Puree

The proceeds from the art sales with go to the Best Overall Cupcake Winners’ charity of choice! Amanda’s Bakery & Cafe will be donating to L.I.F.E. Animal Rescue. Bake You Happy will be donating to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Amanda's Bakery & Cafe



Babycakes NYC - They have several locations including Los Angeles!



Bake You Happy - Winner on Cupcake Wars



Clara's Cakes



Courtesan Cupcakes



Crushcakes Bakery & Cafe



Jamaica's Cakes



No Udder Desserts



Raw Bites Happy Food

Sweet Alexis

Cupcake + Art: Vegan Cupcake Competition 2011

Do you have a sweet tooth? Do you love cupcakes? Why not have your cupcake and eat it too?! On Sunday, November 6, 2011, Urban Food Crawl is hosting Cupcakes + Art: Vegan Cupcake Competition! Ten bakers will present delicious vegan mini cupcakes. You eat. You vote. What's not to love? If you're a vegan, you'll love this event. If you're not a vegan, try the cupcakes out with an open mind!

The event will be held at Hold Up Art in Los Angeles, and we'll have cupcake-themed art to accompany the cupcakes. Proceeds of the art sales will go to the charity of the winning baker's choice!

Visit the Cupcakes + Art page on Urban Food Crawl's website for the full list of the awesome bakers who will be competing!

Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at http://www.urbanfoodcrawl.com. The ticket includes entrance to the event, and all of the mini cupcakes. There are a limited number of tickets available -- buy yours today!

Harlem Place Cafe

After visiting the Downtown Los Angeles Artwalk, my friends and I went to Harlem Place Cafe as one of my friends already knew about this place and thought that we should try it out. The artwalk in Downtown L.A. is usually held every second Thursday of the month and there are also other food places to try out including several food trucks during Artwalk night.

This place is in a "hidden" location at the end of a short alley next to the Museum Of Neon Art. I like the fact that there are art work (graffiti art, paintings, and photography) on the wall. It's also a "hip" place for the young crowds. While they play "cool" music, the music was very loud, making it hard to have a conversation with your friends and/or when ordering your food. How do you enjoy your meal and conversations with your friends if you have to yell over the music just to be heard?

Since this was my first time here, I had only tried the pulled pork sliders. My friends ordered the same, so there wasn't much to try out or get opinions on other foods or get photos of other food. The pulled pork sliders were pretty good though and it was reasonably priced for the portion with a soda. Each plate came with two sliders and cole slaw. The customer service was generally good, but we thought it was strange that they didn't give out numbers so that they could remember who ordered what. We had to remind our server once or twice about our orders, but he somehow forgot about one of my friend's order and he returned with three sliders for forgetting my friend's order which was awesome. Each plate of sliders usually came with two, but my friend got one extra on the house for the inconvenience.

Urth Caffe - Downtown Los Angeles

I don't visit coffee places very often, but when I do, I enjoy the quaint little ones. Starbucks is so overrated! Over the weekend, I visited Urth Cafe, located in Downtown Los Angeles, CA and met up with a few members from the Pleasure Palate meetup group. When the event host mentioned Hello Kitty latte and other characters that were drawn on the foam of the lattes, I was pretty much sold and I was so excited see that part! It has an indoor sitting area as well as a large outdoor patio area. It gets pretty busy here on the weekends, so both indoor and outdoor areas get full. Boba teas and hot teas do get served here, so if you're not a coffee drinker, it's ok. They will also make characters by requests on the foam on your tea lattes as well! This is certainly a great place to hang out with your friends. The only thing that I don't like about this place is that while the music that they play is nice, it's also a bit too loud. There is already enough talking amongst the customers and at the counter all of which are loud enough already, so when you're sitting inside and talking with your friends, it's hard to hear them if you're not shouting over the music.

 I ordered a Cafe Mocha

Xoia - Vietnamese Cuisine

Xoia is a Vietnamese Restaurant in Echo Park, CA. While the food is not authentic Vietnamese and the restaurant is small, the restaurant has a modern decor. Vietnamese curry food is spicy. Depending on the person's taste, it may be mild to moderate spicy and Vietnamese curry food is a great source of food to consume on a cold, dreary and rainy day.

Papaya Salad

Spring Rolls

Pho Tai - Beef Broth with Rare Steak

Chicken Curry Noodle Soup

Kokekokko

Kokekokko is a traditional Japanese-style Yakitori restaurant located in Little Tokyo of Downtown Los Angeles, although the venue is small and can get busy during lunch and dinner prime rush hour. Yakitori is a Japanese style grilled chicken seared on skewers. This is not a sushi restaurant as one may think of Japanese restaurants and may be ideal for those who have adventurous tastes or those who enjoy delicacies such as gizzards, chicken heart, and chicken liver.

These are spices for the meat

These are side dishes served before the main meal. I forgot what the item on the left was, but the item on the right is a small salad.

One of the Japanese beer; Popular amongst the customers

Chicken Breast

Chicken Skin

Chicken Dumplings

Chicken Meatballs

Chicken Wings

Stuffed Mushrooms with Chicken Egg Yolk

Zucchini Wrapped in Chicken Skin

Eggplant Wrapped in Chicken Skin

Chicken Soup