Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pancakes a la Griddle Cafe

Who needs turkey when you have Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pancakes? The Griddle Cafe on Sunset in West Hollywood, famous for their over the top portions and breakfast decadence; you know the resto where people line up for breakfasts every weekend...  The Griddle Cafe is one of the serious Los Angeles breakfast places.  Below is their recipe.  Happy Thanksgiving.




Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pancakes

You'll Need:

2 cups of your favorite dry pancake mix

3 Tbsp dark-brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp pumpkin-pie spice

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree (for an easier option ~ use 1 cup of Libby Pumpkin Pie filling, which is already seasoned.  Omit the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla if choosing this option)

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 Tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for the griddle.

Directions:

1 In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. In another large bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, vanilla extract, and oil. Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

2 Heat a lightly oiled griddle or large frying pan on medium high. Pour the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook the pancakes until bubbles form in the batter and the edges begin to brown. Then flip them and cook until the other sides are lightly browned.

3 Top with store bought or homemade whipped cream and powdered sugar...ENJOY

**Makes 20 pancakes

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The Griddle Cafe

7916 W Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA  90046 
(323) 874-0377

LA Lunch at Fred Segal's Cafe

I took J+D to the cafe at Fred Segal on Melrose. I'd wanted to take these Massachusetts transplants to a very LA place. At first I considered Joan's on Third. I frequently see a lot of celebs there, which out-of-towners seem to like. A few days ago I saw Grey's Anatomy's McSteamy (Eric Dane) there. Yeah, he looks pretty much the same in person as on the show. The only problem with Joan's is that seating can be hard to come by. Reservations were a requirement for lunch with J+D.

The restaurant is technically named Mauro's, although everyone calls it Fred Segal's cafe. Fred Segal is a well known fashionista institution and tourist destination, very LA. It's also close to my casa, uber convenient.

They used to have an arugula salad with skirt steak on the menu. Baby arugula topped with shaved Parmesan cheese covers part of the plate. The other part is a skirt steak. It's a nice balance of greens and protein and tasty combo. Even though it's not on the menu, it's still available for the asking, which I did. You can too, just ask.

Where would you take E. Coast friends that recently moved here to lunch?

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Mauro's
8112 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 653-2874

Filler Up at the Yogurt Stop

The Peanut Butter Princess tastes like, well, er.. real peanut butter, the thick kind, not Skippy. And then there's Milk My Harvey, a rich chocolate. Great low/ non-fat flavors that are constantly changing, tons of toppings and best of all, you get to pump and serve it yourself. In the end you pay by the weight, so clean freaks will love that a server isn't wiping his nose and touching your food.


Open 2 weeks now, this place is already packed with people of all ages and lots of doggies on the sidewalk. Free wi-fi is a bonus, making it a good place to hang out. Pumping hours: 11:30 am -Midnight Sun-Thurs; 11:30 am-2 am Fri/Sat.

Yogurt Stop
8803 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 652-6830



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Lobster and Chocolate at Il Piccolino

Great lunch purely by accident at this Italian patio cafe that left me yearning for a Euro vacation. The Lobster Cobb had so many big chunks of fresh lobster, a more than pleasant surprise. I shared that with my sister along with a Prosciutto and Mozzarella Panini grilled on a flat, delicate bun. Dessert was their house special, Chocolate Mousse served country style on a small plate with raspberries, blueberries, black berries and whipped cream. Service was tops. Before we knew it we'd been there for 2 hours. A perfect Tuesday afternoon.

By the way, we were going to have lunch at Petrossian across the street. There's a sign in the window that says they are closed for renovations until February.

Il Piccolino
350 N Robertson Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90048
(310) 659-2220





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Burgers

Los Angeles has some of the greatest burgers! In the quest to find a great gourmet burger I checked out a few resto hot spots. Here are my results:

Whole in the Wall Burger Joint- WITWBJ's beef burger wins the best burger award in my book. A well-seasoned, 8 oz. meaty burger served on a pretzel roll (you gotta try the pretzel roll) is the way to go. The house-made zucchini pickles are tasty, and I don't even like pickles . The casual, whole in the wall decor is in sharp contrast to the first rate gourmet burgers. Located in an obscure location behind Winchell's Donuts, it is worth a visit.


8 OZ.- Walking to the resto on Melrose I saw Chef Govind in his vintage convertible zooming off somewhere, a true LA moment. The space has a great vibe, casual atmosphere and good music. The beef burgers are decent, yet not better than other burgers I've had. I didn't like the Estancia Grass Fed Burger, but I don't think I like grass fed beef in general. The Sarsaparilla Float and Chocolate Malt were wonderful.



Father's Office, Culver City- This is a neighborhood gem considering the location. I liked the burger served on a roll, liked not loved. A burger and a beer are a great combo and FO has a large beer selection. Wassup with the no ketchup rule? Really, there is no ketchup in the whole restaurant, a mistake. When I ordered bacon with my burger there was bacon in it, just not traditional pieces... odd.


The Hall at Palihouse- The lamb burger with spicy aioli and rosemary fries really surprised me, in a tasty way. I'd never tried a lamb burger before and am glad I did. Love the urban vibe and other food there, especially the Orange Chocolate Frozen Souffle- yum!



The Village Idiot- You can't go wrong with their big, juicy burger and fries. TVI has a great, casual vibe, perfect for a Sunday afternoon, or just about any day. I remember the music being a little on the loud side.

Whole in the Wall Burger Joint

11058 Santa Monica Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90025

Get Directions

(310) 312-7013



8 OZ.
7661 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 782-0008



Father's Office
3229 Helms Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 736-2224



The Hall at Palihouse
8465 Holloway Dr
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 656-4020



The Village Idiot
7383 Melrose Ave
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 655-3331

Galanga Thai Fusion

Love, love, love this little neighborhood find in West Hollywood. From the street there is a window showing people working away in the kitchen. Inside the cozy restaurant are locals and smiling, friendly staff. Ever since I discovered it I've been back 3 times, funny how I do that. The thing is, almost every time I order the same dishes. Once I find a dish I love, I find it hard to deviate.

I always start with Rotee: fresh Thai tortillas lightly grilled with butter, served with green curry sauce. Just like chips, it is hard to stop eating them.



The first time I went there I had the Satae Chicken served with peanut sauce. Yummy peanut sauce but the chicken was a bit dry.

The Chili Lime Fish, steamed fish with chili, garlic, and lime juice is served over a bed of fresh spinach. The fish is light, sweet and so tasty. The sauce drips onto the spinach making the vegetable taste so sweet, even my husband (who is not a huge fan of vegetables) will eat a few bites. The sweet coconut rice served with the fish perfectly rounds off the meal.

The price is right too. We share the meal for under $25.

Galanga Thai Fusion
7740 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046
323. 851. 4355

A Quick Trip to Boule

I stopped by Boule the other day, David Myers' patisserie, just across the street from his fab restaurant Sona. They have some great new items for fall. They were already sold out of the Pumpkin Bread. A Caramelized Hazelnut Brioche looked tasty. They have new macaroon flavors: a pear and rosemary combo cleverly named Partridge and a Vanilla Bean Cheesecake.

The guy behind the counter said that 5 new chocolates will be debuting this month. The Miso Vegan Chocolate one he described sounded, well, er.. different. I had an iced coffee and bought a baguette to go. The iced coffee was better than the baguette, a bit too chewy. I'll have to try something else next time.

Boule
420 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310. 289. 9977