Luna Park...still going strong but with a patio to boot

672 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323)934-2110
Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30AM-5:30PM
Brunch Weekends 11:30-3PM
Dinner Mon-Thur 5:30PM-10:30PM
Fri-Sat 5:30PM-11:30PM
Sunday 5:30PM-10PM

I'm sure many of you have either heard or gone to Luna Park by now, so why not do things a little differently. Why not just tell it to you like a friend while you're hanging out with me at my place.

"What you've never been there? Oh it's great. Great food and AMAZING desserts!


When you walk in it's pretty dark and the tables are pretty close but the bar area lights up the way to the kitchen that you can see immediately see on your left. You're best to make a reservation for dinner but lunch is pretty walk-in friendly. Street parking and valet are both available so be rich or be cheap haha.

Last time Celeste and I went we scored a booth that has the privacy curtains. As many times as we've gone here we've never been able to as they've always been taken already. I liked it...especially for taking pictures since the place, though it is a big room, is rather on the darker side. The restaurant's menu is super international with a mix of all cuisines making appearances on their menu. Last time I snagged the teriyaki glazed yellowtail which came with caramelized Japanese mushrooms and wasabi mashed potatoes. All was ridiculously good and I dug how big the flavor was in the mushrooms. The tuna itself was good sized slab of fish with shards of sweetness and was done all the way through with dabs of char.

Celeste got the Nicoise Salad...again. She loves the thing, and no matter how many times we go there, she struggles to convince herself to get something else. Between the freshness of the vegetables, the seared tuna and the way the flavors lightly play off each other, she swears by it as one of her favorite salads in the city.

The desserts there are some of the best in the city and you'll probably come across their do it yourself s'mores with their house made graham crackers. What the heck is graham anyways? It's pretty cool though...it comes out with little fondues of charred mini-marshmallows and chocolate with a little cart of the crackers. Last time we ordered up their Pink Lady apple tarte tatin that came with a side of caramel gelato. It was like an elegant apple pie and the caramel gelato was a welcome difference than just typical vanilla ice cream. It makes sense that it works together since a lot of apple pies have caramel on or in them. Pretty rocking tarte all around.

A couple of things that they now have since I last went there is an outside patio which is perfect now that summer nights are cooling down again. Also they've added a starving artist prix fixe menu on Monday nights that's $18 and is an incredible deal for what you get. Luna Park is one of those places that has lots of hustle and bustle but doesn't lose a grip on how to maintain. Every time we've gone we always feel like yeah...that was worth it entirely."

Free Drink Refills: Yes
Entree Price Range: $13 to $20 roughly

Milk ... Dessert - Part 1(I'll be back for the full menu)

7290 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323)939-6455
Sun-Thu 6AM-10PM
Fri-Sat 6AM-11PM

"So," I said, "what's all the hype about this new place Milk?" as I continued to see blog after blog saying how incredibly good this new place was. So on our hot and lazy Sunday afternoon, Celeste and I decided it would be the perfect time to visit this creamery of creameries.

We got there and fussed over what to get for a while (on the picture of the menu shown below, the desserts and drinks take up two of the three panels), then got in the line which was pleasantly fast and proceeded to order entirely too much. If there are any actors reading this post that need to put on weight for a part, this is definitely one way to do it!

We started with their Bonbons (the variety changes daily) and had two mint and two coffee. Both were great little morsels of goodness. The one thing I'd caution you on though is that they've packed some concentration of flavor into these things. So if you wanted to try these, but the flavors of the day aren't your thing, save it for another time so you can truly enjoy them. That said, the ones were got were super creamy and I must admit I wanted to grab some more!

Now Celeste, the die hard that she is, got the Cookies & Cream ice cream bar, which she loved. And besides being happy that it was not too rich, this was also the first point at which we could tell how fresh and creamy their ice cream was.

Then of course, this was an awesome surprise... and yes ladies and gentlemen, there were Oreos in the center!

Before she could finish that, they brought out my towering nostalgia, a Rootbeer Float. It was like I was a kid again, except better. Two big scoops of their vanilla ice cream (which they make themselves) sat in a gourmet rootbeer, by the name of Hank's, which I'd never heard of before. Ahhh so lovely.

As scrumptious as all this was, on our way out we looked at the baked goods a little too long...

.... and walked out with 6 of these cookies in a bakery bag. Three were good old chocolate chip. Three were their Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookies(consider them the cookie version of a lava cake). The center of the ooey gooey was for the people who crave chocolate with a passion, not for the faint of teeth!

We finished off our Milk filled after noon and evening when we poured ourselves some milk and sat down for a movie with our milk and cookies, and I'd highly recommend you do the same! Summer time is now upon us and I predict with the heat rising this home of traditonal creamed desserts done right will be full to the brim.

Free Drink Refills: Nope but what'd you expect free dessert ;)
Entree Price: For dessert .75 to about $6 (I'll be back with a part 2 to have some of their amazing normal food I've heard such great things about).

**************The Tag addendum*************
I'm supposed to post 7 random facts about myself thanks to Catherine over at The Urban Epicurean. The sad fact of the matter is that I don't have anyone to tag as well. She put it best. Lots of people don't mind receiving but giving out is another story. That said I'll let you knowmy 7 things and you can smile knowing that much more about me.

1) I've been wearing the same pair of sneakers for the past 5 years or so. They're a pair of Kenneth Cole Reaction sneaks I scored at an outlet that refuse to die. If I could I would find the same pair again but they don't make them anymore.

2) I could've died when I was younger when I was on a jungle gym by myself and was hanging upside down and fell flat on my head. I still don't know how long I was out for but when I came too their still wasn't anyone around.

3) I'm about to be out of debt for the first time since I was 17. Credit cards can ruin a life.

4) I can make a coin appear in your closed hand. Honest.

5) I've been to every state in the US except Hawaii.

6) I've seen lightning strike down less than 30 feet from me. Scared the living crap out of me. I was 7.

7) I have a very deep love for horror flicks. What can I say...it appeals to my being scared of people watching me when I'm alone.