SLOOPY'S BEACH CAFE

3416 Highland Ave.
Manhattan Beach

I've been trying to make it to Sloopy's ever since my friend Danny told me that Luke Walton (click to watch, under NBA Life: Luke Walton) of the Lakers named this place his best place for shakes. With a name that I had a hard time remembering, months passed by with no visit in sight. Finally, on a bright sunny weekend afternoon a group of us headed West on Rosecrans and made our way to Sloopy's Beach Cafe.

Sloopy's is located on busyass Highland Ave. where you have to deal with the usual shitty beach parking. With no parking in site, we had to park in the structure and walk down to Sloopy's. Just because of the location I expected it to have waiters, but to my surprise you just place your order and pay then they would call out your name when it's ready. It feels like your eating in someones patio or backyard. There was no roof, just an open ceiling with sun beams slapping you on the back of the neck.

I got up to the counter and ordered a peanut butter shake (of course I had to order a shake) and a mushroom & cheddar burger. The shake came in a smaller cup than what I had expected for $4 but when i tasted it, oooh boooy was it worth it. Peanut buttery goodness all up in my mouth. It had the perfect consistency where it took minimal effort to suck it through the straw. The burger was really good too. Their burger patties are made with Angus beef, so I guess this isn't you typical burger, it's definitely on another level. Add to it some crunchy fries and I had myself a great meal. The wraps and sandwiches that my friends had looked ordinary, so stick with the burgers.

I've been counting down the days to go back to Sloopy's for another shake. Remember how I was bitching about how small the shake came, well I couldn't even finish it! haha ~ Bootsi

AIMEE'S BISTRO

800 PCH
Redondo Beach
www.aimeesbistro.com

My aunt has never eaten at a French restaurant before so I decided to take her to Aimee's Bistro in Redondo. This is one of my favorite places to eat. It is a place that I can always count on for amazing food and good service. I've been here four or five times and each time was great. I took my picky ass dad here before too and he loved it. I took my brother and his wife here too and they fell in love with the place. This place ranks high on my "Da Shit" list.

We ordered Moules A La Thailandaise, black mussels in a spicy lemongrass, coconut milk and cilantro broth. This was hands down one of the best dishes that I have ever had. There were over a dozen mussels that were drenched in this amazing creamy broth. I could of easily made this an entree dish if I just would of brought some rice in a Ziploc bag with me from my rice cooker at home. I'm really gonna be considering it the next time, that's how good the mussels and broth were.

We shared (of course we managed to some how do it Chinese family style) an order of Risotto De St. Jacques Et Scampi, scallops and jumbo shrimp risotto with creamy saffron sauce. The risotto came with three large shrimp and three large scallops. The rice was perfectly cooked and the creamy saffron sauce was yes indeed cream and flavorful. I have ordered this dish couple of times before and every time, after the first bite, I always close my eyes and just smile.

We also shared the Boullabaisse, a famous French mix of shrimp, mussels, clams, scallops and salmon in a tomato-based saffron & herb-scented broth. This was the first time I ever tried boullabaisse. I never felt it was right to pay 20 plus dollars for soup but I was wrong, this dish was totally worth it. The tomato broth was excellent. I didn't know if I wanted to use a spoon for the broth or use the bread to sop up the broth, so my ass did both. It came with a mound full of seafood (shrimps, mussels, clams, scallops and salmon & halibut chunks.). It was a seafood party in that bitchin bowl.

For dessert we chose the creme brulee. It's a delicate vanilla flavored custard with a burnt sugar crust on top. It is a wonderful contrast of textures.

Plain and simple, this meal was amazing. Unfortunately we ate too damn much. I was slouching in the booth halfway through the meal with my spare tire firmly chilling over and suffocating my belt. My brain was telling me to stop but my taste buds and gut told me to go on, so I did. I can't wait to do this shit all over again! - BOOTSI

EL HAURACHE AZTECA #1

5225 York Blvd.
Highland Park

One of my friend sent me an email about a place that she saw in the dining section of the LA Weekly. It was called SOLE FOOD, written by Johnathan Gold, and he talked about this tiny restaurant in Highland Park that serves foot sized fried masa topped with all the fixings. So after a week or so we made a trip to Highland Park for some hauraches!


I ordered a haurache with carna asada and the works (onions, cilantro, crema,beans and grated cheese). The masa was freshly fried and crisp when we picked it up. It was so big that I had to cut it in half and eat it like a fat slice of pizza. The carna asada that I ordered on it was a tad dry, but balanced out with the crema and the fresh veggies. It was very satisfying.

My fatass also ordered the Wednesday special, chicken mole verde. I'm not a big mole fan, but this was really good. My plate came with a thigh and a drumstick smothered in green mole and really good whole beans and rice that was just as good. The chicken fell right off the bone and the mole was amazing. I wanted to lick up the plate when I was done, but remembered that I was not alone. ~ BOOTSI