California: Brentwood Country Mart

One of the gems of Santa Monica is the Brentwood Country Mart.  Its a collection of shops, most are specialty and local in nature, with an upscale farmer’s market vibe.  We first visited the Farm Shop, a restaurant slash artisan

California: Venice Whaler

Staying in Santa Monica and being so close to Venice, you know we had to make a visit to the famous muscle beach! After hanging out at the beach for a couple of hours and taking a walk on the

California: The Hungry Cat

One of the benefits of knowing locals where you travel is that first hand recommendations on places to eat.  The Hungry Cat was one of them, a restaurant recommended by my friend’s cousin J.  There are a few different locations

California: Taco Loco

Of course, going to California means tacos!  Driving up the Pacific Coast Highway in search of dinner, we found a total dive.  Seriously, it was attached to a parking garage and because the space is so small its divided into

California: Pizzeria Luigi

Next stop on my Southern California trip was a pizza joint that I saw a couple of years ago on an episode of Triple D (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives).  Sad I know, that it took me so long to finally

California: In & Out Burger

Looking outside my window and watching the snow come down, I really wish I was back on vacation in California.  This was my first trip to the west coast of the US and having landed at 9pm, my colleague (I