Glutton Tuesdays :: Scoops

Summer. Great time to enjoy ice cream. Scoops is by far one of my favorite ice cream places to visit. AND, it's friendboy approved (he's lactose intolerant... don't tell him I told you). Why? Because they actually make some ice cream flavors with soy! So, we can both enjoy the treat! Before, it would just be me that was the ice cream gorger and he'd be the lonely bystander watching me chow down all by myself.

Scoops is located just off of Melrose on the 101 freeway on Heliotrope. It's totally a hipster area just outside of Silverlake, bordering Hollywood. If you remember my post on Cat Eye Vintage Spectacles, they're right next door to Scoops.

Kind of cute. Hanging from the ceiling is a "Scoops" mobile with their little spoons!

They have a decent number of flavors to choose from. Normal flavors such as cookies and cream to red velvet oreo to brown bread. I personally have not tried brown bread but it is their number one flavor and many people's favorites. I always gravitate to chocolate. Old habits die hard.

You get two scoops of ice cream in your cup. So that means you can get two flavors!

Pictured above is the friendboy's soy-based chocolate & maple oreo ice cream flavors.

I opted to go for coffee peanut butter and red velvet oreo! For once I did not do chocolate (that's because I leeched off the friendboy -- muahaha :P ).

You can even suggest flavors to them... however, some people have some odd taste in ice cream... I won't point any one particular "flavor" out...

What's your favorite ice cream flavor?

LA Color Rush

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day weekend. We celebrate the way we know best.. with food. But I'll talk about food later.

I've been a native SoCal girl all my life. I've never lived anywhere else. I'm spoiled by the weather (I get cold when its 70 degrees), the food (as you can see from my gluttony posts), and especially the scenery! Perhaps you're from here and you're thinking, "Pssh! What scenery?" Or... you're not from here and you're thinking, "You mean all that 'graffiti' behind you in those photos?"

I think when I was younger, I never paid much attention to the "writings on the walls" (The literal writings. Not the Destiny's Child's album. Just clarifying). I used to never really understand why people HAD to put all their art on the sides of freeways or on random buildings. But over the years, I've come to appreciate it. I like finding it when I do and my favorites will always be the drawings/paintings off of the 101frwy/Spring Street exit (which they've actually photographed, hung as a banner, and painted over the originals... sad).

I'm also not saying that I like ALL the walls of LA to be painted on. I still enjoy green trees and flowers and a "clean" and a polished look. I just think that some areas have so much more character with people's artwork, proudly displayed for all to see, share, and love. It's a nice rush of color in one moment then back to peace in the next.

Until next time my friends... Oh and... Happy Monday!

:: Outfit Details ::

Chambray Button-Up :: Banana Republic

Skinny Jeans  :: Gap

Blush Pink Shift Top :: H&M, similar here, cute one here

Leather Flats :: Target

Brynn Tote :: Rebecca Minkoff

Asian Fit Tortoise Sunnies (old & discontinued) :: Fendi, similar here

Tuesday Tastings :: Bottega Louie

Since we're in downtown Los Angeles a lot more visiting the den.m|bar shop a lot, we decided to have a nice meal at Bottega Louie. For those of you who haven't gone yet, let's just say it's a very "L.A." spot to go to. Don't get me wrong, I love the food there and the drinks and the desserts. But there is quite a wait if you don't go early enough. And it's the type of place where people go to "see or be seen".

I didn't bother with photos of people... or myself for that matter. I was very focused and concentrated on the food. Like my blog tag line says, "An optical fashionista with an appetite." And that's just what I am. A hungry optical nerd.

Bottega Louie has my favorite Black and Blue mojitos yet. I've ordered them at other places and they still hold a special place in my heart at Bottega. It's a mojito with fresh blackberries and blueberries muddled in the drink. I like eating the berries afterward.

Mache, frisée, bay leaf brined roasted chicken,
avocado, celery, scallions, julienned snap peas,
Meyer lemon & extra virgin olive oil

They have some really good salads. I ordered the Mache salad. It was very refreshing. Especially with the fresh Meyer lemon. I sprinkled that lemon juice all over my salad.

Toasted house made ciabatta, vine ripened
tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, lardons, bocconcini,
basil & creamy red wine vinaigrette

Friendboy ordered the Panzanella salad. His was REALLY good. It does not say it on the menu but his actually came with fresh mozarella in his salad. That was really good with the freshness of the greens.

Mozzarella, Grana parmesan, tomato sauce,
oregano & fennel sausage

I don't know about you but the friendboy and I enjoy having "gourmet pizza" from time to time. Some of our favorites include Pizzeria Mozza in Melrose and also Serious Pie in Seattle. Bottega Louie is also among one of those favorite gourmet pizza spots. The best part of it all is the gourmet toppings they use. And from what we've learned from Serious Pie in Seattle, the most important key to making a great pizza is laying a great foundation of pizza dough! Bottega also does just that.

Pan sautéed trenne pasta with braised
prime rib eye, Tuscan black kale & shaved
Grana parmesan

I ordered one of my favorite dishes. The Trenne pasta. It is probably one of the most unique pasta dishes I've had. And I'll tell you why. That pasta you see there... isn't your typical al dente style pasta. It's al dente AND some. They actually pan sautee the pasta so that one of the edges of it's triangular cylindrical shape is crispy! I love the texture that it gives when eating it. And the kale is cooked really well too. Sometimes kale can be a little bitter when cooked. But it was NOT in my pasta. As for the braised prime rib eye... well... I've always been a meat and potatoes gal. I had to have some meat in my dish. And yes, it was quite tasty.

Chocolate Souffle

Yes. We ordered dessert. We figured... we're here, we don't always come out to this restaurant, we'll just treat ourselves to Chocolate Souffle. Don't worry, we didn't eat everything. We had leftovers! We may be pigs but we're not as bad as you think!!

Anyway, it was delicious. It takes about 20-25 minutes to prepare and bake so we were very happy we ordered early enough. The server came over and brought this mouthwatering dish over. He punctured a hole in the center and poured in a vanilla bean creme sauce. It was amazing!

From top to bottom: Chocolate Salted Caramel, Vanilla, Dark Chocolate, Coffee, & Strawberry. Photo via Instagram @aneyeforfashion

Oh yeah... they also have a bakery at Bottega Louie. And they are known for their macarons also. While they are tasty, they are a bit on the sweet side. I prefer 'lette Macarons over Bottega Louie, just my personal preference. But it's worth a try. Bottega's macarons come in a pretty and fancy box with tissue paper. But, they are also kind of pricey.

So that ends my gluttony post for today. Stay tuned for more... we're always eating.