Adult Spring Break Part II- Los Angeles

After enjoying the weekend in San Francisco, Brady and I picked up our rental car and headed down the Pacific Coast Hwy 1. It was an absolutely breath-taking drive, a little scary at times and definitely not the quickest route to Los Angeles, but it was well worth it. Along the way we checked out Monterrey, Pebble Beach, and then stopped in Carmel to check out the town and to walk along the beach. Carmel was darling, very quaint and full of charm. About 8 (Brady says 9) hours and one stop at In-and-Out Burger later and we arrived in LA.

We stayed at the Beverly Hills Hilton which is such a cool hotel. It's recently been renovated but still maintains it's old-Hollywood feel. While in LA, we checked out the Santa Monica area which was full of cute shops and restaurants, went to a live taping of Jimmy Kimmel where we sat front row and talked with Jimmy Kimmel, drove down Rodeo Drive, and tried our best to spot a celebrity (no luck).

Before we left LA, Brady and I ate at Ink, Michael Voltaggio's (a former Top Chef winner) amazing new restaurant. Our meal was hands down one of the best I've had. I loved the creativity and thought that went into each of the dishes and it was fun to see Voltaggio working in the kitchen. Ink is a small plate restaurant so it's great for people who like to try new things. We had 6 small plates and a dessert which was the perfect amount for two people. We went with the following dishes:

carrots, coconut ice, cardamom soil, carrot juice curry
crab, charred avocado, whipped fish sauce, mushroom chicharron - One of my favorites
beef tartare, hearts of palm, sea bean chimichurri, horseradish, rye - My least favorite but I tried it :) 
brussels sprouts, pig ears, lardo, apple - Another favorite, can't go wrong with brussels sprouts & pig!
halibut, asparagus green tea, egg yolk gnocchi - This was the perfect spring dish.
lamb shoulder, lamb’s quarters, tongue, vadouvan, yogurt
apple, caramel, burnt wood ice cream - LOVE IT!!! 

Brady and I also tracked down the Kogi BBQ Food Truck via Twitter and enjoyed some awesome Korean bbq tacos. I am not positive where we heard about Kogi BBQ, perhaps Bourdain??? Not sure, but whoever it was I owe them a big thank you. These tacos were so good that I dug right in and then realized that I should take a picture, oops!

Kogi BBQ Truck