Happy Birthday, Hon!

Yesterday was Cippi's birthday and he took a day off from work. We got up early in the morning, which doesn't happen very often especially on the weekends, and left the house around 10 am.

First stop, The Griddle Cafe on Sunset and Fairfax. It was featured on the Food Network and it's famous for its breakfast menu, so we decided to try it. We got there a little before 11 am and spent about 15 mins to find parking; this is one of the reasons why I hate to go to downtown LA. We had to wait for 30 mins for a table, the place was packed! There are like 40 people waiting outside the cafe, and surprisingly, we didn't see anyone smoking! We had to go way around the corner to smoke.

We couldn't be happier when we finally got a table. I ordered Boysenberry Rain pancakes and Cippi got the Hunger Pangs, it's ham with 2 eggs and the Griddle Potatoes. The pancakes were huge! Three stacks of pancakes, 9 inches in diameter, filled with boysenberry, sprinkled with powdered sugar and boysenberry icing. I think the pancakes are not that good, probably because it's boysenberry. I love the Griddle Potatoes though, it's so good. We can't even go through 1/3 of the pancakes, so we took it to go. I'm planning to go back there again, and this time I'm going to order eggs and the potatoes instead.

After the hefty breakfast, our next stop was the Camarillo Premium Outlets. I promised Cippi that I would take him shopping as his birthday present. You know, we've been together for 6 years now, and it's getting harder for me to get him a present. We used to exchange gifts on our anniversary, Valentine's Day, and Christmas. Now we don't really care about Christmas and Valentine's Day. Of course, I always have things that I want, so it's easier for him to find me a present, hehehehehe. So anyway, I decided to let him pick whatever he wants for his birthday, and we had so much fun shopping yesterday even though it was raining =)

Our last stop was the place that I've been dying to go, a garlic restaurant called The Stinking Rose. I heart garlic! I put garlic in most of my cooking. We ordered their famous appetizer, Bagna Calda, foccacia bread with garlic dipping sauce.

For the main course, I got the Garlic Encrusted Baby Back Ribs and Cippi got the Garlic Roasted Prime Rib. They were great! I love the food and the atmosphere. The ladies' room is unusual, there's a lounge in there and look what they have in there.

That little sign says, "Garlic Fertility God. If this chair is comfortable, you're pregnant." I found that hilarious, I didn't try to sit on it though, hehehehe.

It was a fun day yesterday. We love food and we like to experience something new and exciting. I probably watch too much Food Network, but one day after I retire, I would like to travel and try different kind of food every day, that would be nice =)

The Griddle Cafe. 7916 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90046. 323-874-0377

The Stinking Rose. 55 N. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90211. 310-652-7673