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.
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, […]
September 28, 2018
Hail Cesari! Ristorante Da Cesari – Bologna, Italy Italian – Visited: September 2018 Before we had left for our big trip to Italy, I had booked a reservation online for Ristorante Da Cesari, a restaurant I really wanted to visit. I made a great choice. On our first night in […]
September 18, 2018
Neighborhood Milan Gem! Osteria La Piola – Milan, Italy Visited: September 2018 Our b&b host Walter at the B&B Bronzino House (a wonderful place to stay in Milan … courtyard below) had emailed me that a nearby restaurant would be a perfect place for us (Tracy, me and our traveling […]
August 10, 2018
Hail To The Chef! Anaheim White House Restaurant – Anaheim, CA It had been a quest for Tracy and me to finally dine at the White House again. No, not that one in Washington DC, but the newly reopened one in Anaheim. The Anaheim White House is not only known […]
July 9, 2018
Still Our Favorite Pasta in L.A. Maccheroni Republic – Los Angeles, CA Visited twice in May of 2018 It’s comforting to know that some things don’t change in life, like my favorite pasta restaurant in Los Angeles continuing to provide the freshest pasta four and a half years after our […]
May 24, 2018
South Philly Perfection Ristorante Pesto – Philadelphia, PA Italian – Visited: April 2018 Before leaving for Philadelphia many people offered me dozens of restaurant recommendations, but after diligently doing my homework (something I should have done in college) there was only one place I knew we MUST visit … Ristorante […]
December 27, 2017
Travels With Mai Tai Tom 2017 Restaurant of the Year Manuela – Los Angeles, CA Visited: Brunch and Dinner • February 2017 & Dinner: December 2017 Restaurant Type: Eclectic Contemporary Southern As the year was winding to a close, we had yet to select Mai Tai Tom’s Restaurant of the […]
October 5, 2017
Nick’s Strikes Again! South of Nick’s Mexican Kitchen + Bar – San Clemente, CA Visited: August 2017 Since Tracy and I had already visited and enjoyed Nick’s in Long Beach and Nick’s in Laguna Beach, we decided to head to South of Nick’s San Clemente. We met our friends, Kim […]
September 8, 2017
Very Good…But Not Quite The BestiaBestia – Los Angeles, CA After waiting nearly a year to secure reservations at Bestia located in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, Tracy, Susan and I arrived for dinner on a Monday evening at 5:45 p.m. Yes, you read that correctly, it took […]