Celebrate Your Inner Child at Stacked: Food Well Built! @FoodWellBuilt

Celebrate Your Inner Child at Stacked! Food Well Built.

By Erin

Trying to think of an innovative place that has something to please everyone that you can take the family or some friends to? Then you will want to take a trip out to Stacked the next time you dine out! When I got an invite to come in for a visit, I couldn’t pass it up. Stacked: Food Well Built is a full-service, casual restaurant with a unique way of ordering that enables you to get exactly what you want, as you customize your meals in a comfortable, relaxed way on a tablet at your table. Whether you want to let your inner child out and customize all sorts of delicious and creative concoctions, or you like to go the more traditional route and order items that already have a set list of ingredients, Stacked is a place you will want to try if you have not already!

The tablet-based ordering system allows you to use a drag and drop feature that gives you the ability to visually build your meal right on the screen. I am a very visual person myself, so it helps me to see exactly what I am attempting to order.  Other benefits of having this system is the ability to control when you order and when you pay. This lets you easily customize your meal as you select your favorite ingredients to create your own personal masterpiece. However, if you do prefer a traditional approach, where a server takes your order for you, the staff is always happy to do so!

STACKED-ORDER

What the tablets on the tables look like that you order from. It is a very user-friendly way to order.  Stacked has lots of TVs everywhere, making it a great place to stop in for Happy Hour and to watch one of your favorite teams play.

As a true kid at heart, I just had to order my “dessert” first, by ordering a Mint Chocolate Chip Milkshake! 😉

Stacked-Milk-Shake

The Mint Chocolate Chip Milkshake is a rich, refreshing blend of Chocolate Chips and mint topped with a generous dollop of Whipped Cream. I also added on strawberries to my shake. It had been a very warm day, and I had been outside at the barn for the past 4 hours. This was the perfect option. A light, creamy, mint flavor with chocolate and strawberries mixed in, with whipped cream on top!

Next, since it was so warm out, we decided to order The Cow In The Garden Salad.

Cow-In-The-Garden-Stacked

I loved this salad! Think of an amazing explosion of flavors that blend together perfectly. What’s in the Cow in the Garden Salad? Flat Iron Steak with a Spring Lettuce Mix, Point Reyes Bleu Cheese, Sundried Tomatoes, Cucumber, Red Onion, Toasted Pepitas, Bleu Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette dressings topped with crispy Onion Strings.

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Darren’s Restaurant Partners Up with The Macallan for Special Dinner on March 16th! #DarrensMB

 

Darren’s Restaurant Partners Up with Macallan for Special Dinner on March 16th!

By Erin

On Monday, March 16th, Darren’s Restaurant is hosting a special 5 course dinner featuring the Macallan Brand of Scotch. If you’ve been around here for awhile, you know this isn’t my first time at Darren’s. This past summer, I was introduced to this gem of a place located in beautiful Manhattan Beach, just steps away from the beach. The food at Darren’s is beyond amazing, and they also are very Gluten Free friendly! Be sure to check that out as well in: Gluten Free Fine Dining at Darren’s in Manhattan Beach! I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek of this very special event happening on March 16th, so come take a look at what’s in store! If you are not able to attend this event, as I believe it has already sold out, I still highly recommend checking this place out and also giving The Macallan a try!

Darrens_Macallan_Dinner

This exclusive dinner event, slated for next Tuesday, March 16th at 7pm, will feature a personalized and guided tasting which will introduce guests to The Macallan brand of single malt Scotch and starts off with a nice welcoming cocktail, like the one below.

Darrens_Cocktail

First, we were welcomed with the “Welcome Cocktail,” which was the Manhattan Boulevardier, made with Cutty Sark “Prohibition,” Campari, blood orange juice and Noilly Prat. I loved this drink. The blood orange gave it just enough of a fruity taste for my liking. I love anything blood orange, so there is no surprise really that I loved this drink.

Darrens_Spring_Rolls_Macallan

Our first course, that went along with the “Welcome Cocktail,” (as well as a head start on The Macallan 10 Year Old Fine Oak, pictured here) was a Pulled Duck Fried Spring Roll, stuffed with Bartlette Pear Agave Grain Mustard Sauce. The Spring Roll was popping with flavor and it paired very well with the cocktail as well as with the 10 year old fine oak. I’ve never thought much of Scotch before, but I actually liked this one. It was pretty smooth and wasn’t too strong. This was my 2nd favorite scotch we tried over the course of the evening.

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Stuff Yourself With Nancy’s Pizza and $50 Giveaway @NancysPizza

Stuff Yourself With Nancy’s Pizza

By Erin

*Disclosure: I received a gift card to make a trip to Nancy’s to try out some of this deliciousness. All thoughts and opinions remain my own. Gift card for giveaway to be fulfilled by sponsor.*

Pizza lovers everywhere are going to want to devour some of this greatness at the newest pizza joint that has landed itself in Southern California. Originating in Chicago, Illinois in 1971, Nancy’s Pizza is now serving up some piping hot and delicious pizza here in Alhambra, California. Nancy’s is a fast-casual type restaurant where you order your food at the register, then find a seat and they will bring your order to you. You can also order for take out, and enjoy your meal at home.

Nancys Pizza Boxes

Famous for their stuffed pizzas, that were inspired in Italy and perfected in America, Rocco and Nancy invented the stuffed pizza in 1971. Today, Nancy’s will have you wanting to stuff yourself full with some of this ooey, gooey, deliciousness. If you want something on the healthier side, they do have some great tasting salads as well.

 Stuffed Pizzas

Nancy's Pizza

Being that the stuffed pizza is their trademark pizza, I just had to try this. Weighing in at 5 pounds for a 12 inch pizza and 2 1/2 inches high, it truly is a sight to see (and smell and taste)!  Stuffed full of fresh ingredients. I tried mine with Pepperoni and Sausage.

NANCYS STUFFED PIZZA

*I must note that the service here was amazing. When one of the girls was coming to our table to bring us our pasta, she was apologizing profusely that she had dropped our pizza and was going to make us a new one, but she was making us a medium sized one instead of the small one we had ordered. As we still had our salad and pasta to enjoy, we were in no rush to get our pizza right away anyways, so it was no big deal to us at all. However she kept apologizing and the upgrade to a medium sized pizza was a nice gesture. Not that we even needed it or expected that, it would just mean more leftovers to take home and enjoy later we figured. The staff did not know that I was a blogger here to review their restaurant, and I did not announce that fact at any time when we were there as I prefer whenever possible to get a true feel and experience of what a place is like as a regular diner coming in.*

Salads

Nancy’s has quite a few different kinds of salads to choose from if you are looking for a healthier option, or just something to go with and compliment your pizza. They come in either a small size or large size. The large size is served in a bread bowl.

Nancy's Garbage Salad Pictured above is the ‘Garbage Salad,’ which consists of lettuce, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mozzarella cheese, black and green olives, mushrooms, green peppers, red onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Pretty much it’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but I liked it. This is the small size. My friend and I split this, so it’s plenty for two if you are going to be getting a pizza to go along with your meal.

Pasta

Nancy’s has a pretty decent selection of pastas to choose from if that’s more your thing. I love pasta, so we had to try one of the dishes.

Nancys Pasta

The Tuscan Rigatoni turned out to really hit the spot. Rigatoni pasta tossed in a pink cream sauce with fresh garlic, sautéed Italian sausage, fresh mushrooms and parsley. I’m really picky about my pasta, but I approve of this one. 🙂 The pasta dishes come in “For One” and “For Two” sizes. This is the “For One” size, and was more than enough for my friend and I (considering we also had the salad and the pizza).

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