Recently in Lunch Category

HERE ARE TWO EVENTS THIS WEEKEND, NO FOODIE WOULD WANT TO MISS:

L.A. STREET FOOD FEST

Of course, I would have to be out of town when one of the largest foodie events in L.A.is set to take place. Good for them because I would actually wait overnight to be the first to hit up each truck and I would be all over seconds and thirds at each truck like Winnie the Pooh to honey.

But if you'll be in town and looking to splurge on that summer diet and workout routine, make some rounds at the second L.A Street Food Fest taking place this Saturday, July 24, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena (1001 Rose Bowl Drive, off North Arroyo Blvd.)

More than 60 mobile food truck vendors from eateries, restaurants, celeb chefs and classic carts will park it outside the bowl while vendor booths sit under tents inside.
What will be offered? The question is really, what won't be offered.

Everything from breakfast at Monsieur Egg to dessert from Cool Haus and Sweet Lucie's. There will also be open bars and beer gardens for tequila and mezcal tastings, and specialty juices and cocktails.

Presale tickets are limited and only available online. No at-door sales. Tickets are $45 per person and is all inclusive, as much as you can handle. The last food fest included long lines for some foodie favorites so be sure to get there early if you want to make a couple rounds at your favorite truck or vendor..

For more information and tickets, visit www.lastreetfoodfest.com.

Read about how some vendors are preparing in Staff Writer Brian Charles' story.

YOGA FOR FOODIES

David Romanelli (aka Yeah Dave) is bringing his Yoga for Foodies to Los Angeles. Yoga for Foodies is a national tour  where at each stop, David collaborates with local chefs to create an unforgettable foodie experience.

On July 25, Dave will be pairing up with Akasha Richmond, chef founder of the critically acclaimed Culver City-based Akasha Restaurant, Bar, Bakery.

During the event, the morning will begin with David's flowing yoga class whose message and music will emphasize a more sustainable pace.

Following yoga while participants are relaxed and in the moment, Akasha will lead a guided tasting inspired by her years of cooking for and studying with Yogi Bhajan, and how his teachings influenced her style of cooking. Akasha began her professional career at Yogi Bhajan's Golden Temple Conscious Cookery, a now defunct but once popular vegetarian restaurant in Los Angeles.

Menu highlights include: giner-mint lemonade and organic mango lassi; local farm egg and goat cheese frittata with spinach and caramelized onions; cumin and coriander spiced lamb sausage; grilled tandoori vegetable salad with coleman farms greens, white corn, zucchini, red peppers, and chutney dressing; punjabi focaccia with holy basil pesto, heirloom tomatoes, grilled eggplant, fresh paneer; fresh baked blackberry coffee cake, peach scones, and housemade preserves.

Yoga for Foodies will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets are $54. Reservations are required.
Akasha Restaurant, Bar, Bakery is at 9543 Culver Blvd., Culver City. For more information, call (310) 845-1700.

Just like many, I've been trying to save money and eat healthier at the same time. But it is somewhat difficult to put together a tasty, healthy and quick lunch for work every day. There are only so many frozen food meals I can handle in a month, so I thought I would turn to something tasty and still simple - soup.

After watching those funny Progresso soup commercials, I decided to do my own taste test and compare the new Weight Watchers-endorsed Progresso soups with the Campbell's Healthy Request line of soups.

I thought I would make it fair and choose a similar soup flavor so I went with Progresso's Italian-Style Vegetables and Campbell's Select Harvest Italian-Style Wedding.

Campbell's site says their "Healthy Request soups are 98% fat free, contain up to 50% less sodium than our regular soups and are made with high quality ingredients. And we've added lower sodium natural sea salt -- so they taste great! All Healthy Request® soups are certified by the American Heart Association."

Campbell's Italian-Style Wedding soup can said it had meatballs and spinach in chicken broth, with real parmesan cheese and no MSG added. One serving of about 9.3 ounces had 130 calories, 5 grams of fat with 0 grams of trans fat. It had 480 mg of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber and 7 grams of protein. The ingredients were pretty basic and seemed all natural.

With all those natural ingredients, this soup tasted about as empty as its calories. The broth had no flavor and there wasn't enough spinach and sausage meatballs to offset the plain taste of the little macaroni balls that looked like corn kernels. If I were at home, I would have added a little salt and pepper and probably some hot sauce, but I was at work, so I settled for what was quickly available - hot Cheetos.

The softened hot Cheetos helped me finish at least half the serving of soup before I just gave up on it altogether.

Progresso Light's Italian-Style Vegetable soup said it had only about 60 calories per 8 ounce serving with no grams of fat listed, 700 mg of sodium, 12 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein. It also had about 14 percent of the recommended daily value of potassium, 20 percent of vitamin A, 4 percent each of calcium and iron and 8 percent of vitamin C. Most of the ingredients made sense to me also.

One serving equals 0 points in the Weight Watchers point system and one package, about 2 servings, equals 1 point.

Though this soup didn't have any meat, there was plenty of chunky penne pasta and vegetables like carrots, celery, green beans and tomatoes. The broth was pretty flavorful, it was hard to believe it had fewer calories than the Campbell's soup. I didn't even feel the need to add any hot sauce - or hot Cheetos - to this soup.

Maybe it was the vegetables adding some real flavor to the broth, but to me Progresso was the winner - by far.

I was one of probably many that took advantage of Jack in the Box's promotional offer this last Tuesday - get one of their new grilled sandwiches for free with the purchase of a large drink.

The sandwiches come in two choices - there's the Grilled Turkey Bacon Cheddar with roasted turkey, cheddar cheese and bacon, and the Grilled Deli Trio, with salami, sliced ham, roasted turkey, provolone cheese and pickles. Both served on toasted artisan bread 

I decided to give the turkey bacon cheddar sandwich a try first.

When I first unwrapped my sandwich, sliced in half, I reached for one piece and as the melted cheddar cheese stretched from one slice to the other, so did my smile. I love melted, stringy cheese!

I'm not a huge fan of turkey but I love bacon. The cheese, turkey and bacon blended so well, there wasn't one flavor that overpowered the other.

The bread was nicely toasted, a little greasy but it was more like butter grease than oil grease, which is fine with me. It reminded me of grilled cheese butter. I can't confirm but I believe the artisan bread is sourdough, or that's what it closely tasted to, to me.

For $4.19 plus tax, it's a little pricey for Jack in the Box, but I believe the taste and size was worth it. The $2.29 I paid for the drink and free sandwich was a good price, even though I couldn't finish the monstrously sized "large" drink.

I'll have to give the Deli Trio a try soon...

DID YOU GET YOUR FREE SANDWICH? TELL US WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT JACK'S NEW SANDWICHES OR WHERE YOUR FAVORITES ARE.

To promote their new grilled sandwiches, Jack in the Box will be giving them away next week.

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, only, buy a large drink and get one free grilled sandwich of your choice. No coupon necessary. At participating locations only.

You can either go with the turkey, bacon and cheddar which includes roasted turkey, bacon and cheddar cheese with a sun-dried tomato sauce on grilled artisan bread; or the deli trio with genoa salami, sliced ham, roasted turkey, provolone cheese and pickle filets with creamy Italian dressing on grilled artisan bread.

After a couple of restaurant groups were didn't have much staying power at the site of the former Sam Woo BBQ on San Bernardino Road and Azusa over the years, I hope the new inhabitants, Sora Sushi & Roll, will have better luck.

After a few colleagues made a few return trips there for lunch, I thought I would give the new Japanese cuisine a try myself to see what they had to offer.

Though there are many Asian restaurants in the neighborhood, there haven't been too many that have such a variety of sushi and rolls offered, and taste good too.

Although the teriyaki plates and combination platters were very tempting, I felt it only fair to give the sushi rolls a try.

With everything from a simple California or tuna roll to the specialty, fresh, tempura and baked rolls, I grew hungrier as I read the description of each roll. I finally settled on the Alaska roll (spicy scallop inside, topped with salmon and avocado and rice) and a spicy tuna roll.

Sushi and roll orders come with a cup of miso soup and salad. The soup was perfectly temperatured for me to enjoy right away, I would have liked more tofu pieces but the broth was seasoned well for a tasty, warm start to my meal.

The small salad was a simple mix of greens with radiccio and carrot. The dressing, not knowing exactly what it was, was very tasty with a slight tangy and light flavor.

The Alaska roll ($8.95) was beautifully displayed and it tasted as good as it looked. The spicy scallop had a nice tender kick, not too strong, and the salmon and avocado was a nice fresh and cool balance to the roll.

The spicy tuna ($4.95) cut roll had a little more heat but was still not overwhelming the rest of the flavors in the roll.

The rice in the rolls were cooked just right so they stayed sticky to keep the rolls in place. A good indicator of the sushi chef's talent.

I was pleasantly full with the size of the rolls but the dessert was so tempting, I ordered some strawberry mochi ice cream to go ($2.50 for two pieces) - perfect ending to my Sora experience.

Although it can get pricey, I will definitely have to return to Sora to try the rest of the menu, starting with the Jalapeno Bomb and Soft Shell Crab in their Little Bites menu.

Sora also offers salads, sashimi combos, noodles, bowls, tempura plates, and party platters.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and from 4 to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Sora is located at 519 N. Azusa Ave., Covina, 626-332-1201.

Subway has brought back its "Any" event - get any regular footlong sandwich for only $5. From the Italian BMT to the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki - only $5.

The promotion is for a limited time only, so get out there and get your $5 lunch.

After hearing about Mr. Baguette for over a year, I finally got to taste one of the sandwich shop's creations.

I thought there was only a Mr. Baguette in Rosemead and I hardly ever go through the city let alone stop somewhere there to eat.

But by chance, I happened to be driving north on Atlantic Blvd. in Monterey Park one Saturday afternoon, spotted this location on the right side and knew I had to take a detour from my original destination.

When I first perused the displayed menu, I was surprised by the variety of cuisines offered at what I thought was a mainly French-inspired sandwich shop. There are Vietnamese inspired sandwiches and new to the shop are the beef and chicken fajitas sandwich.

The new addition looks to combine Mexican cuisine with the signature French baguette bread. The sandwiches come with beef or chicken finely chopped fajitas, in-house salsa sauce, and Monterey Jack cheese.

They even offer Jarritos, a line of fruit-flavored sodas that are a favorite in Mexico.

Though sandwiches do take over the menu, you can start off with pate chaud or pork or chicken meat pies, a ham and cheese roll, or a bowl of clam chowder or chicken curry.

Sandwich selections vary from classic French baguette sandwiches to Vietnamese-French combinations.

There is the classic brioche in a variety of meat or veggie options in a smaller-size French roll bread. There is a variety of croissant sandwiches or just get them plain.

Contemporary sandwiches come with mayonnaise spread, lettuce, tomatoes and American cheese with your choice of meats like grilled beef, roast beef or tuna.

The condiments can be substituted with the house special salad of carrots, daikon and chili peppers.

The Classic sandwiches are served with the house salad and come in varieties such as pork meat loaf, pate pork meat loaf, chicken, meatball, veggie or a combination of meats.

I craved a Vietnamese style sandwich that comes with carrots and chili peppers so I went simply with a grilled pork classic. 

My sister and adventure companion decided to try the Saigon probably more for the name. The Saigon comes with a combination of hot Vietnamese-style bacon and pork meat loaf.

She forewent adding the house salad topping which comes on the side in a small bag when ordered to go. Even though the pork in her sandwich looked different than we're used to seeing, she said it was a tasty combination of meats and devoured it in less than 10 minutes.

I had to add the house salad to my sandwich, especially the chili peppers to give it a nice kick. I have been to some Vietnamese restaurants that serve these types of sandwiches, known there as banh mi, and most of the time the peppers are spicy.

Mr. Baguette was no exception but it was a great balance to the nicely sliced carrots and daikon, which is a type of radish. The grilled pork was nicely seasoned and grilled to a nice tenderness.

The final touch that made the sandwich deliciously scrumptious was the baguette. A nice warm toasty on the outside and soft on the inside.

What I love even more about Mr. Baguette are the prices. You can get a simple sandwich for under $3. Our sandwiches were less than $4 for a good size.

Having such a variety of beverages as sandwiches, my sister and I had to try something from that menu as well.

I went with the boba thai iced tea for $2.50 and my sister gave the mango smoothie a try for $3.85 and 35 cents extra for boba.   

The thai tea had a nice taste and the boba balls were larger than I've had in other boba drinks but I didn't find anything much special in their tastes. They just added some texture.

My sister felt the same way about the boba but enjoyed her fresh-tasting smoothie just the same.

Mr. Baguette is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and has three locations in the San Gabriel Valley located at:

• 400 S. Atlantic Blvd., #288 in Monterey Park, (626) 282-9966
• 8702 E. Valley Blvd. in Rosemead, (626) 288-9166
• 9661 E. Garvey Ave., #101 in South El Monte, (626) 575-8632

By Eric Terrazas

I am a big fan of pizza, which has long been a favorite dish of mine.

Always on the lookout for a tasty pie, I decided to check out a place called Anna's Pizza, located in West Covina.

I ordered the mini 8-inch two-topping pizza for $4.99. The two toppings I selected were pepperoni and pineapple.

My first impression of Anna's was pretty positive. While it was not the best pizza I ever had, I still came away a satisfied customer.

For $4.99, the two-topping pizza is not a bad deal. I ate all of my pineapple and pepperoni pizza, which tasted pretty good.

I decided to give Anna's another try the next day. This time, I selected the $6.99 lunch special, which consisted of a mini 8-inch two-topping pizza, a small salad and a medium soft drink.

The toppings I selected were sausage and mushroom. 

I thought the sausage and mushroom pizza tasted better than the pepperoni and pineapple.

The salad, which comes with several choices of dressing, wasn't bad. I wish it included a couple more tomatoes.

Anna's salad dressing list includes ranch, blue cheese, Italian, thousand island, vinegar and oil, and Caesar. I ordered the thousand island.

I had no problem finishing my sausage and mushroom pie.  

For $6.99, I thought Anna's lunch special was a nice meal and deal. Other pizza sizes are also offered.

The choice of toppings also include meatballs, salami, ham, Canadian bacon, tomatoes, garlic, onions, green peppers, olives, jalapenos, anchovies and chicken.

If you happen to have a light budget, the $3.99 mini 8-inch cheese pizza sounds like a good choice.

Anna's menu also features dishes such as spaghetti ($6.99), lasagna ($7.75) and ravioli ($7.25). All dishes are served with garlic bread.

Different varieties of sandwiches and salads are also available. A regular (8-10 inches) sized sandwich costs $5.25 while a foot-long is priced at $6.25.

Salad selections include chicken ($6.50), antipasto ($6.25), and garden ($4.75).

So if you are in the mood for Italian fare and happen to be in the West Covina area, Anna's just might sound like a good place to eat.

Anna's Pizza is located at 1010 West Covina Parkway in West Covina. For information, call (626) 337-7297.

You knew I would try to snag a free flatbread from Jamba Juice. How could I resist free food?

Check out this article from business editor Kevin Smith explaining this special promotion.

At first, I thought of going an hour before this special promotion started, but actually got too busy in the office.

Once I had a break, it was just after 2 p.m. but thought I would still see if I had a chance to try these new low-calorie flatbreads.

I arrived at the Jamba Juice in West Covina by the mall at about 2:20 p.m. There was no long lines in sight like I remember seeing for the free chicken giveaway El Pollo Loco and Kentucky Fried Chicken had, but that was fine with me.

There wasn't even one person in front of me when I entered the Jamba Juice in West Covina on Tuesday.

I was reminded once again of the free promotion and I said yes please! Apparently they were giving away one of the four varieties (Tomo Artichoko, Smokehouse Chicken, MediterranYum and Four Cheesy) at different times throughout the promotion. I got the Smokehouse Chicken variety.

I ordered a healthy smoothie as well - Pomegranate Pick-me-up - and happily took my little warm box of flatbread. Regular price for a flatbread is $3.75.

No matter where I read or searched for online, I could not figure out what type of food exactly Jamba Juice meant by 'flatbread', but it pretty much resembles a mini-size, thin-crust pizza with flatbread as the dough.

The smokehouse had roasted corn, peppers, black beans and chicken on top of a little melted cheese and what tasted like a slightly tangy barbecue sauce. The flavors of each ingredient went well together considering it was only 330 calories.

The flatbread was warm and toasty but a bit hard on the side while it was soft on the bottom.

The flatbread was more of a snack with it's mini-pizza size, or if you wanted to make it a full meal, you could pick up a couple or add one of the salads also offered now at some Jamba Juice locations.

Next time I'll try one of the salads, wraps or sandwiches while picking up some fresh juicy smoothie at Jamba Juice.

DID YOU SNAG A FREE FLATBREAD? KNOW OF ANY OTHER FREE FOOD OFFERINGS YOU CAN SHARE WITH US? LET US KNOW BELOW - SHARING IS CARING.

As if I need another reason to love Jamba Juice and their tasty fruit creations. I have yet to try their most recent food offerings but this will sure help.

Here's the latest from the smoothie company:

"As a part of its Fall 'Feel Good Campaign', Jamba Juice announced today that it will be filling customers up for free."

Starting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17, the first 150 customers can get a chance to try Jamba Juice's new California Flatbreads for FREE, at participating Jamba Juice locations.

The recently launched lunch offerings "make the perfect guilt-free afternoon snack, made with high quality, better-for-you ingredients and all under 330 calories."

"A perfect combination of delicious ingredients on top of a crispy crust, and an excellent source of protein, the new Flatbreads are available in 4 yummy flavors including: Tomo Artichoko Flatbread, Smokehouse Chicken Flatbread, MediterranYum Flatbread and Four Cheesy Flatbread."

I don't know the history of Filipino food but after my first visit to D.J. Bibingkahan in West Covina, it wasn't too far from Mexican food.

It made me wonder, who inspired who?

This little bake shop is a spacious restaurant and bakery in what is locally known as Little Manila, or the Seafood City shopping center off of Amar Road and Azusa Avenue.

On a recent lunch hour, playing on televisions throughout the dining area was a Filipino version of "Ugly Betty," an American television show that is a version of the Mexican soap opera show "Betty La Fea."

The cheesy over-acting and camera work immediately reminded me of Mexican "telenovelas" or soap operas.

Ordering food here required a quick lesson. First of all, I didn't understand the menu, and not because of language barriers, but there also isn't much clarity as to how to order food.

Luckily, I was well accompanied by two fellow foodies who were familiar with the way of the D.J. Bibingkahan.

It actually reminded me of how one may typically order food at a fast-food style Chinese restaurant. The food is spread across a long counter behind glass and you can just point to what you want.

Easy for me since I didn't know what items were what, let alone know how to pronounce it properly in Tagalog. 

Much of the food in front of me looked very good but so as not to be sorely disappointed with my lunch I went with a couple suggestions made by my companions instead of following my hungry eyes.

Everyone mostly orders combos which come with steamed white rice and an optional cup of soup, but you can order items a la carte.

With everything from a side spinach with coconut milk dish, beef boiled in blood stew to fish dishes, there was plenty to choose from.

I decided to go with the beef barbecue on a stick and a beef stew called beef kaldereta. I didn't get to try the soup this time which had pork in it.

I did try the chicken adobo off of a lunch companion's plate though. The chicken is cooked for hours in a soy sauce and vinegar mixture, making the chicken tender and juicy and the mixture a little more sweet than salty.

The beef barbecue was perfectly cooked, not too tough, and had the nice barbecue taste and not just the marks of a grill.             

The beef stew tasted so close to a Mexican dish my mom cooks. The spices in the stew and the juicy, chunky cut of the beef are almost exactly the same as the Mexican version, though the color is a little different.

I didn't taste them at first but the stew also has potatoes and carrots, much like the Mexican dish. My mom's dish also has peas and squash though.

My mom serves the dish with rice as well. It's a great way to absorb the stew and flavor the rice.

This D.J. restaurant is actually one of six chains with another in Las Vegas.

D.J. Bibingkahan in West Covina is at 1515 Amar Road, (626) 581-4682.

(NOTE: After this article ran in print and on the Highlander website, there were many commenters helping me out with a little history lesson on Filipino and Mexican food. And others commented on Spanish soap opera history. Feel free to join in on that discussion by clicking on the link above or start a new one here - Comment away! Thanks.)

By Stacey Wang

I've had bagels on the brains every Friday for the last two weeks due to the downtime "bagels or donuts?" discussion in the office.

As if Casual Friday didn't already make my day, I finally decided to satisfy my craving for those complex carbs.

In San Dimas lies Cafe Bagelry, a family-owned shop that has an extensive menu to satisfy bagel eaters of all kinds.

From cream cheese bagels to bagel sandwiches, the cafe has menu items ranging from $0.85 to $5.69, before tax.

I ordered a Californian - a cafe-proclaimed favorite tuna sandwich with Swiss cheese, avocado, tomatoes and sprouts on a toasted wheat bagel.

The generous portions of the sandwich alone were enough to fill me up, but the cafe offers a meal deal every Friday. Customers can order any bagel menu item, chips and a fountain drink for $6.

On any other day, my meal would have cost $7.79. It's not a huge savings, but I don't mind taking what I can get - especially if it's as gratifying as it was.

I also ordered a cafe specialty known as a Peaches 'N Cream bagel for $3.02 purely because it glimmered from its glass encasing with visual appeal.

The pastry was a bagel bread with a light spread of cream cheese. It was topped with peach slices fanned out like a pinwheel and sprinkled with cinnamon, which added a light fruity sweetness to it.

I didn't attempt to finish all of my food in one sitting - I would have cursed bagels until the new year had I tried.

The shop also offers alternatives to bagel items - including muffins, omelettes, wraps, croissants and more - while supplies last.

Some other items include an Early Bird Egg Wrap with egg, herb cream cheese and cheddar cheese at $3.13 and cookies at $0.75, which the menu proclaims is "the best" the cafe has ever tasted.

But don't expect to eat there at night. The place is open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Cafe Bagelry is at 969 W. Arrow Hwy., San Dimas. Call the shop at (909) 394-9592 for more information.

If you haven't read any of my other posts, then I must say it again - I LOVE BUFFALO! The sauce that is.

So when I heard Subway had a new Buffalo Chicken sandwich and were offering a footlong for only $5, I couldn't resist trying it.

The chicken, including everything except the sauce, was pretty much just like any other chicken sandwich at Subway - chopped "grilled" chicken strips and any veggie fixin's you want.

The sauce was what I was most curious about anyway. And though the buffalo sauce was not dissapointing, it wasn't anything spectacular. Actually, I really think it was just Frank's Hot Sauce brand.

What definitely didn't add anything else but soggy bread to the sandwich was the light ranch dressing they drizzle on top of the buffalo sauce, I'm assuming so you get a whole "buffalo wings and sauce" experience.

The sauce didn't have that bold zesty ranch flavor and I'm guessing because it was light, it was thin and watery so it dripped throughout and out of the sandwich.

I don't think I would try this sandwich again. I'll do better adding jalapenos to one of their regular grilled chicken sandwiches to get more flavor or just head to Hooters.