The MaiTai Tom Dining Guide:
In Search Of Excellence In Restaurants
MAITAI’S FOOD FOR THOUGHT
If there’s anything that Tracy and I like, it’s a good meal. We will share our restaurant experiences as we discover new restaurants and revisit some of our old favorites. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, we’ll give you some ideas to chew on.
December 19, 2019
Mai Tai Tom’s 2019 Restaurant Of The Year! Hippo – Highland Park, CA Cuisine: Cal-Med Visited: February, March & October 2019 The votes have been tabulated, and Mai Tai Tom’s 2019 Restaurant of the Year is now ready to be unveiled. In the closest vote in history, Highland Park’s Hippo […]
October 8, 2019
Neighborhood Gem Bacchus’ Kitchen – Pasadena, CA Last Visited: August 2019 Although we walk the corgis past this restaurant nearly every weekend and always stop to check the menu, in late 2018 it had been several months … maybe even a year … since we had dined at Bacchus’ Kitchen. […]
September 30, 2019
Middle East Feast! Bavel – Los Angeles, CA Visited: September 2019 One great feature of living in Los Angeles these days is the influx of restaurants offering innovative cuisine from all parts of the world. Tracy and I had heard great reports from friends about Bavel, which features food highlighting […]
September 28, 2019
Dining Old School in Montréal L’Express – Montréal, Canada French – Visited (twice): September 2019 While planning the Montréal portion of our trip, there was one restaurant I desperately wanted to try. I am not usually one to follow food critics, but in my research I did find it interesting […]
September 19, 2019
Dinner By The Port Caffe Un po Di Più – Montréal, Canada Italian – Visited: September 2019 We enjoyed a number of terrific meals on our trip to Canada, and one that really stood out took place at Caffe Un po Di Più. Located in the Vieux-Port de Montréal (Old-Port […]
September 9, 2019
Hooray For Hollywood! Musso & Frank Grill – Hollywood, CA Last Visited: August & September 2019 There aren’t many restaurants around these days that I can say I visited as a kid, but the famed Musso & Frank Grill in Hollywood, which turns 100 this year (I sense a theme […]
August 13, 2019
Let’s Thai One On! President Thai – Pasadena, CA Last Visited: August 2019 (Thai) I don’t have a clue why I don’t eat Thai food more often. Although I love it, it seems we always find other types of restaurants to try. In the last year, however, we “discovered” President […]
July 31, 2019
Celebrating Our Silver Anniversary French Style Entre Nous – Pasadena, CA Visited: December 2018 & July 2019 (French) Realizing that Tracy has had to put up with me for 25 years of marriage, I thought it would be nice to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary at a restaurant that has […]
July 13, 2019
Hobbit Forming The Hobbit – Orange, CA Visited: May 2019 (Fine Dining) It was time for a splurge, and in Southern California there’s no place like The Hobbit in Orange to plunk down some extra bucks for a unique (and delicious) dining experience. We’d eaten here about 20 years ago […]
June 24, 2019
Iconic & Nostalgic Burger! Bob’s Big Boy – Burbank (Toluca Lake), CA When I was growing up, the favorite words I heard from my dad on a Sunday afternoon were, “Let’s go to Bob’s Big Boy.” From the scrumptious double-decker burgers to the carhops to my Big Boy comics, there […]
May 21, 2019
A Little Bite Of Rome in the City By The Bay Roma Antica – San Francisco, CA Visited: May 2019 • Italian I’m always on the prowl for a great cacio e pepe, and recently I found one of the best I’ve ever tasted at a small restaurant located in […]
April 12, 2019
Breakfast & Lunch With Frankie & Remi Spoke Bicycle Cafe – Los Angeles (Frogtown), CA Breakfast/Lunch Last Visit: April 2019 Being a native Angeleno I thought I knew just about every nook and cranny of the city, but while walking the dogs, a neighbor told us about having a great […]
March 21, 2019
Spicy Or Mild, Mint Leaf Delivers Mint Leaf – Pasadena/Altadena, CA Visited: Numerous Times • Last Visited March 2019 (UPDATED) Restaurant Type: Indian * (Latest Update Below Story) To paraphrase the late Mr. Rogers…”It’s another great day in the neighborhood.” That’s because we now have another great restaurant within walking […]
February 19, 2019
California Fresh! The Arbour – Pasadena, CA California Cuisine Visited: 12/8/18, 2/2/19, 2/12/19 South Lake Avenue in Pasadena has become a sort of restaurant mecca in recent years with newer restaurants such as Nick’s South Lake Avenue, Magnolia House, Paul Martin’s American Grill, Del Frisco’s and Mendocino Farms joining old […]
December 10, 2018
Latin Loving Dama – Los Angeles, CA Cuisine: Latin/Caribbean Last Visit: November 2018 (twice) It took us almost 11 months to find one, but we have our winner for Mai Tai Tom’s 2018 Restaurant of the Year. From its impressive space in the Fashion District of Los Angeles to its […]
October 1, 2018
Mai Tai Tom’s 2018 International Restaurant Of The Year Bovio – La Morra, Italy Italian – Visited: October 2018 (Sadly Closed Permanently in 2023) Long before we departed on our Italy 2018 trip, and knowing we would be in the Piemonte region of Italy at the beginning of White Truffle Season, […]