We now have three weeks down on the Slow-Carb diet. Due to our ever changing schedule, we have switched Cheat Day to Saturday. Hence the now Somber Sunday.
I sit here early on Sunday morning wishing it was once again Cheat Day but alas, all I have is memories . . . and pictures . . . from yesterday. That will have to tide us over til next week.
We once again decided to head over to Hollywood but instead of taking the bus, we decided to start walking and see where we ended up. Yes I know. . .so UN-L.A. But we figured with all we were planning to eat and drink, a 3 mile walk beforehand might come in handy.
We headed out in the general direction but didn’t really know where we would actually end up. We wanted AYCD but I don’t like mimosas and was therefore hoping for AYCD bellinis. That part was proving to be a bit difficult.
After wandering aimlessly from restaurant to restaurant not finding what we wanted, we were getting tired, frustrated and more importantly, parched. Now all we wanted was a bar. We figured we would get a drink and re-group. How that became difficult I’ll never know.
But nonetheless, difficult it did become. Fortunately, we were right by one of our favorite theaters, the Arclight, which happens to have an excellent bar and cafe.
Hendrick’s Martini and ArcLight Sour
So in to the Arclight we went and grabbed two seats at the bar. What was staring at me when I sat down but a beautiful bottle of Hendrick’s Gin, my favorite. That made things easy . . a Hendrick’s Martini, stirred not shaken, for me. Mike perused the drink menu a bit longer and finally settled on the Arclight Sour (similar to a Pisco Sour but with Bourbon instead of Pisco, egg whites and all!)
Enjoying the air conditioning, the ability to sit down after our long walk, and most importantly “cheating” with our tasty cocktails, we both started to relax and get a little chatty. We joined in a lively discussion between the bartender and the only other patron at the bar, Caras. Topics ranged from movies (we were in a movie theater after all), drinks, and of course, food. We told them we were on the hunt for an AYCD brunch in the ‘hood and they started showering us with suggestions.
Talking about what we want to eat, always seems to lead us to talking about Shami’s Gourmet. And that was when things got interesting.
We said that since we read, write, photograph, look at and talk about food all day . . .the pounds started creeping up so we had to start a diet. But we stressed the best part which is that it allows a cheat day.
“Have you ever heard of the 4 Hour Body Diet by Tim Ferriss?” Caras asked us. Our reply: “Holy Crap!! That is exactly what we are doing!! Today is our cheat day!” “Mine too!” he replied.
What a small world.
While I knew another martini would knock me on my ass, we were having such a great time (and getting a little tipsy in the process) we decided to order another round. I stuck with just a glass of prosecco (as I was hoping to continue my drinking with bellini’s with brunch) and Mike ordered a Goodfella.
It was great to talk to someone else who actually has experience on this diet. He is a big fan and said it worked really well for him. We started tossing around a few of our recipes and told him to of course check out the blog as we talk about it often. Looks like we found a new follower!!
While the diet itself is not working out quite as well for me, Mike is feeling much more successful (but then again he LOVES eggs which are a big part of this). Caras told me to stick with it but to make some tweaks if necessary. For example, he hit a plateau and realized he was eating too many almonds as a snack. He cut back and BAM . . . no more plateau.
For me, the biggest obstacles are eggs (I hardly eat them since I don’t really like them) and maybe I am drinking too much wine each night. Looks like I might have to cut back to just one and up my egg intake. Hopefully that will be the kick start I need.
But enough about Somber Sunday. . .let’s get back to Cheat Day Saturday.
Double Size Bellini and Mimosa
We got a few perfectly suited recommendations for our brunch and chose the closest one that would be able to accommodate the drinking issue for us both. We went just across the street to The Waffle on Sunset. The Waffle is known as the home of the Double Size Mimosas for just $6 (and Bellini’s for $9) ALL DAY LONG!! JACKPOT!!
The menu was varied but it is indeed a breakfast place after all. Waffles galore, eggs, hash browns (a generous portion of hash browns served 6 ways with either corned beef, 4 cheese, mushroom, jalapeno, smoked salmon or smothered with peppers, mushrooms, onions and gravy), french toast, pancakes, yada yada.. .
Corn Fritters and Syrup
We started off with an order of corn fritters with syrup to share as we enjoyed our cocktails.
Mike decided on the
Three-egg Cowboy Chili Scramble (scrambled with cheddar cheese and topped with cowboy chili) while I of course went with lunch, as usual. Chicken and Bacon Mac & Cheese. with of course, a side of crispy fries.
Chicken & Bacon Mac ‘n Cheese
Cowboy Scramble
Waffle Fries
This was just a whole lot of WOW. The fritters were OUTSTANDING. Not too greasy or doughy and just a dab of syrup was the perfect compliment to them. Highly recommended.
I did need to send back the fries as they were not well done, but our waitress was the bomb and took good care of us. When they came back out they were perfect. Sadly the image above was the before and I was so happy to see them I forgot to take a revised pic.
We both pretty much licked our plates clean. As for Mike’s eggs. . .I now realize if you smother them in chili, they are really quite tasty. A must try for me for this week. And the mac ‘n cheese . . . there is nothing left to say but YUMMY! I was in dairy overload but I didn’t care. . . it was soo tasty.
Tres Leches Waffles with Strawberries
But we weren’t done yet. How could we go to The Waffle and not get a waffle?? So for dessert we got the Tres Leches Waffle (three wee yellow cake waffles soaked in three milks and topped with fresh strawberries.)
Not a chance in hell we were walking home so we UBER’d it, all the while chatting non stop with our very patient driver, Ernesto.
We actually thought we were going to eat dinner later in the evening, but that never did happen. Although we finally got the ice cream we had been craving since this diet started. We got a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby (Vanilla malt ice cream with peanutty fudge-covered pretzels with fudge & peanut buttery swirls) to split. I had to bow out early as it was just too much dairy for me in one day, but only after I had a few spoonfuls of heaven.
All and all we would have to say this was a very, very successful cheat day. Great cocktails, tasty eats and a new friend. As usual, looking forward to next weekend!
UPDATE TO SOMBER SUNDAY
Since we weren’t eating our way through town today, we took advantage of our sobriety and planned on running errands most of the afternoon. But eventually the day got away from us and it was after 2 when we realized that we were starving.
Once again we were having a hard time finding something to fit the diet. This was actually the first time we were eating out on a non-cheat day and didn’t really know where to go. We were just about to give up when we saw a sign that said “Eat at Link” which peaked our interest.
Upon closer investigation we saw that they had sausage links on a soft roll or over arugula, sausage melts on grilled sourdough, flat breads, tacos, salads and 3 tasty sides (fries, crispy brussels sprouts and broccolini with toasted garlic, chili & lemongrass). Looks like we hit the slow-carb sausage jackpot!
We opted for the “Build you Own” where you chose a homemade link, with your choice of soft roll or a bed of arugula, chose two toppings (braised red cabbage, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, homemade relish) and 1 sauce (with 9 to chose from).
I went with spicy pork with habanero & coriander, with caramelized onions, homemade relish and sraracha aoili and Mike chose the duck with Chinese 5 Spice, braised red cabbage, homemade relish and curry aioli. And we both obviously got it over a bed of arugula.
Sharyn’s Spicy Pork Sausage w/ Habanero & Coriander
Mike’s Duck Sausage with Chinese 5 Spice
In addition, I got a side of crispy brussels sprouts tossed in their secret mustard blend. They smelled amazing and tasted just as good.
Crispy Brussels Sprouts
DELISH is all we can say. But to be honest, we wish we were there yesterday. Definitely think they would have been even better on a roll AND they also had unlimited mimosas and sangria. Sadly, as today was no longer our cheat day, we had to politely decline.
Next time we just might have to change our cheat day to during the week and hit their M-F 4-7 Happy Hour for their California Only Beer, Wine & Spirits.
Their links are all made in house and on the premises. They don’t use any nitrates or preservatives and all their meat is antibiotic-free, hormone-free and animal feed-free. They truly know how your sausage is made. And the staff was super nice!!
Apparently their motto is: We’re good at like, 3 things: Fancy Sausage, California Booze and Good Times. We concur!!
Thankfully Somber Sunday turned into a Super Sausage Sunday instead.
