Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill: Feel Good About Eating @SharkysSocial

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Erin

Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill: Feel Good About Eating

By Erin

Have you been to Sharky’s yet? Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill recently opened its 22nd restaurant in Northridge. At Sharky’s they are all about using innovative and creative recipes and using local, natural and organic ingredients. Their passion for the variety of flavors of Mexico and using organic and natural foods is evident in every bite. I was invited to attend a media lunch sponsored by Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill in Northridge. I made the trek up the 405 to come here from Long Beach, that’s how good it is.

Sharky’s is a fresh & modern, fast casual restaurant that serves Mexican cuisine that wants to make you “feel good about eating” again. The visual appearance is also appealing and welcoming. With a sky-high, sloping roofline and outdoor patio with comfortable seating and a communal firepit that is perfect for people watching or to spend time with family and friends.

The second you step into Sharky’s, you will notice the open and welcoming space. With 20-foot ceilings, cozy booths, a dining bar with prime TV viewing, or a community table, you have many seating options depending on your needs on any particular visit. The Northridge location is at the corner of Nordhoff & Reseda Blvd and is within walking distance from Cal State Northridge. I can totally see this place being packed by students either waiting for classes to start, taking a lunch or dinner break, or after classes to relax and hang-out. I know I would be making this my go-to spot if I were a student at CSUN or worked super close by!

A couple other things you will notice; the fresh salsa bar and the beautiful bar which serves craft beers, Sangria & kombucha. I loved the Sangria, look at all of the fruit inside!

Who would of thought that kombucha would be served at a bar at a Mexican restaurant? The Kombucha has been a successful addition according to David Goldstein, who is Sharky’s COO. I chose to stick with my fruity sangria though. 😛

Stacked Celebrates Summer with Basil Inspired August Signature Items

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Erin

Stacked: Basil Inspired August Signature Items

By Erin

Have you been to Stacked lately? Earlier this year I introduced you to many of the delicious creations at Stacked: Food Well Built. Since then, I’ve gone back quite a few times and just had to go when they invited me to come back to check out their basil inspired signature items for August last week. You WON’T want to miss them, so be sure to check them out for yourself this week or this coming up weekend!

First on the Basil Inspired August Signature list (there are five Basil inspired items) we have the Strawberry Basil Shake! A hint of fresh basil makes this Strawberry Shake even more refreshing on these very hot and HUMID days. It totally gave off a spice flavor like that of a pumpkin spice latte, but with a strawberry twist. I would love to have this shake again. Nice, light, and refreshing, it doesn’t leave you filling stuffed.

NOT on the Basil menu, but a must have when heading to Stacked is the Candied Bacon. Thick-cut, cherrywood-smoked bacon, basted with a heavenly maple syrup and brown sugar mix that is slowly baked until carmalized to perfection. It is the ultimate combo of sweet and savory. Bacon lovers, just beware, you may have to put in two orders of this stuff as it is very addicting and hard to just have one (or two) pieces of it! 😉

Next on the Basil Inspired menu that we ordered was the Strawberry, Basil, and Feta Salad. Perfect for those wanting a lighter and healthy choice, this fresh salad features strawberries, fresh basil, toasted almonds, and feta all on top of a Spring Lettuce mix and tossed with a Cranberry Balsamic Dressing. This is a delicious way to start your meal and perfect for sharing.

The third item on our Basil Inspired adventure brings us to the Caprese Turkey Burger! Oh. My.Yum! I think this may just be my new favorite burger at Stacked to have! It consists of all of my favorite toppings to have on a burger. Talk about being STACKED with flavor! This baby comes complete with a freshly ground turkey patty with Parmesan Breadcrumbs, Carmalized Onions, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Roma Tomatoes, Avocado, Fresh Basil and Creamy Burrata all served on a Brioche Bun with Roasted Pepper Aioli. I will be going back for sure sometime this week for this one!

For the Mac ‘n’ Cheese lovers out there, you will LOVE the Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Mac ‘n’ Cheese! This delightful treat combines Tomatoes and fresh Basil with Macaroni Noodles and a Three Cheese Blend topped with Mozzarella Cheese and Parmesan breadcrumbs, creating a fanciful feast for your taste buds. 🙂

The last stop on our Basil adventure (before dessert anyways, but that does not have basil in it!) is with the Tomato, Grilled Corn and Basil Pizza with Burrata! This specialty is Stacked with fresh pizza dough, and topped with Mozzarella Cheese, Grilled Sweet Corn, Fresh Basil, Grape Tomatoes, Red Pepper Flakes and a rich creamy Burrata. I loved this. I’ve never had all of these toppings on a pizza before, and it seemed much healthier than the typical pepperoni, sausage, and bacon toppings I might otherwise usually get. I liked the change and would get this pizza again.

That may have been the end of the Basil Inspired August Signature Items, but of course we couldn’t just end with that! We had to get a STACKED dessert to share to end things right! We went for the Peanut Butter Heaven. It was gone in a flash, it was that good.

I LOVE Basil, so I had to try everything. I’d have to say the shake and the turkey burger were my favorites, but I really loved the Mac ‘n’ Cheese too! What Stacked Basil Inspired August Signature Item is your favorite?

Send Off Summer at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria This August!

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Erin

Send Off Summer at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria This August!

By Erin

*I was invited in to Grimaldi’s for purposes of this post. All thoughts and opinions remain my own*

The summer is sadly coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean the fun or flavor has to end. Throughout the month of August, Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in El Segundo invites you to come on in to try their new Spicy Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pizza, Caramel Apple Cheesecake, and its Chocolate Cheesecake. If delicious pizza and mouth-watering cheesecake weren’t reason enough to make a visit, Grimaldi’s continues to celebrate the summer with Tuesday Tastings, which offers guests half-off all glasses, carafes, and bottles of wine. With more than 50 wines to choose from, sample the extensive wine selection at restaurants nationwide through September 30.

Grimaldi’s El Segundo is located at 2121 Rosecrans Ave., in El Segundo, CA, it boasts some gorgeous indoor and beautiful patio dining (just look at all the beautiful palm trees and enjoy the glorious California weather), as well as a private room for parties of up to 40 people. Traditional red and white checkered table cloths dress the tables, New York’s history is celebrated with some black and white photography throughout the restaurant and Sinatra can be seen in the background creating an energized setting for an exceptional dining experience.

I absolutely loved the decor of the wine bottles being used for light, hanging from the ceilings and on the tables. The kitchen is glass-encased so you can see everything that goes on in there, showcases the 25 ton coal brick ovens that crisp every pizza to perfection at nearly 1200 degrees.

Once we were seated we took a look at the menu and placed our drink orders. It was lunch time, so I didn’t want to get anything too crazy or strong, so I went for a nice refreshing White Sangria. It was perfect.

If you’re looking for something more on the lighter side, the Grimaldi’s House Salad is a good choice. Since we were sharing and also getting pizza, we opted for the smaller sized salad. We also added on Fresh Mozzarella and Genoa Salami to it. It was plenty for two of us to share. It comes with Romaine Lettuce, Red Onion, Cherry Tomatoes, Oven Roasted Sweet Red Peppers, Mushrooms, Sicilian Green Olives, & a Vinaigrette Dressing .

Then it was time for pizza!! First we had the special Spicy Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pizza. This seasonal pie comes with quite the kick– it’s topped with spicy chicken sausage, sautéed broccoli rabe and ricotta cheese. Its bold and zesty flavor is perfectly balanced by the creamy ricotta cheese. If you love a little spice, then you’re sure to love this fiery new addition. The size shown here is a personal sized pizza, so if you are not completely starving and plan on having a salad and dessert along with your pizza then this should be plenty enough for you to share with another person.

I am a total Pesto lover, so I just had to order a pesto pizza. If you know me, then you also know I’m a total bacon lover. My creation here has pesto, cheese, bacon, and green peppers and it was amazing! I really need to go back and have another one of these.

Oh my it makes me hungry just looking at these again. I had to take a close up just so you could see how yummy their toppings are. Just look at that bacon. And Pesto. And everything else…

Oh and this, I love how they have these pizza towers so you can easily have more than one or 3 pizzas at your table at a time and still have plenty of room to eat it all.

Then it was time for dessert. Not just any dessert either, but my favorite! Cheesecake!! Since we wanted to try both of their special fall cheesecakes; Caramel Apple Cheesecake and Chocolate Cheesecake, and we were already getting pretty full we opted to get the Dessert Trio for $10. With the Dessert Trio you get to select a sampling of any three of Grimaldi’s delicious dessert options, including the house-made cheesecakes, Cannolis, and Tiramisu. We chose to get the two special cheesecakes and the tiramisu. The Caramel Apple Cheesecake is a rich caramel and green apple cheesecake, topped with caramel and whipped cream. The Chocolate Cheesecake is served with chocolate syrup and topped with whipped cream and chocolate chips. My favorite of the three was the Caramel Apple Cheesecake! I almost wished I had a full size piece of it, but it’s probably a good thing I didn’t.

What are your favorite pizza toppings? Would you spice up your pizza with the Spicy Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Pizza? Oh and that cheesecake… which one would you try first? 🙂 Be sure to check Grimaldi’s out the next time you are in the Los Angeles area or any of their other locations if you cannot make it down to El Segundo.

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Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill: Feel Good About Eating @SharkysSocial