Tag Archives: Sneak Peek

VIDEO: CREAM Opens In Downtown Los Angeles

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Backstory: Went to Berkeley back in 2013 for a few hours to visit a friend. Heard of CREAM, the Berkeley-based ice cream sandwich place that always has a huge line. Pressed for time, we bypassed the line, hoping to try it someday.

Flash forward to present: CREAM has opened in Downtown Los Angeles, right near USC on Figueroa. The line for free ice cream sandwiches wrapped around the block, but I had to bring you guys the “scoop” (pun totally intended), right?

Here’s what we got, and a word from Hector, the owner of CREAM (which stands for Cookies Rule Everything Around Me, by the way):

Check out the one-minute rundown on CREAM, the newest ice cream sandwich on the block.

Check out the one-minute rundown on CREAM, the newest ice cream sandwich on the block.

The final verdict for me is that it’s worth a try, but they will never come close to what Diddy Riese has done for UCLA and Westwood (which CREAM is said to be trying to do with the USC area).

I have attended both schools and yes UCLA is my alma mater so there is a slight bias by default, but nothing beats Diddy Riese in its history, charm, authenticity, and just the OG experience in general.

Their cookies also go better with the ice cream, in my opinion, but I will say that when the CREAM cookies get soaked in melting ice cream, they have a delicious texture and flavor that makes me very very happy.

They also have ice cream made in-house & vegan options… but what I really love are the toppings you can add to your ice cream cookie sandwich. Everything from Oreo pieces to sprinkles and gummi bears.

However, I wish they had a few more unique flavors, and that their salted caramel had more saltiness to it. I wasn’t mindblown for all the hype, but it was a very solid and satisfying ice cream sandwich. Plus, the service was great.

Go check CREAM out for yourselves in you’re in the downtown area, and share your verdict!

VIDEO New Opening: 4th Street Market, SoCal’s Most Epic Food Hall

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Watch the video for a taste of the good eats you can find at this hip new food hall!

Check out the 1-minute video for a taste of the good eats you can find at downtown Santa Ana’s new food hall!

There’s a hip new food hall in town, and it’s the best one I’ve seen yet! Located in downtown Santa Ana, this new hub of cutting-edge eateries and small food businesses just opened and is ready to please palates.

My wonderful foodie friend Kelli and I ventured over to the new space over the weekend, and we were impressed at how it exceeded our expectations for design, variety, and innovation in their food offerings.

Tanayas Table 4th Street Market Food Hall

I started off with a Radical Botanicals rawktail, which is a raw (non-alcoholic) cocktail made with citrus and coconut milk. It was so delicious, and really settled my stomach to prepare my body for all the awesome food we were about to consume.

Tanayas Table 4th Street Market Radical Botanicals Pressed Juice Raw

Although there are 15 highly select food and drink vendors (there’s even a bar called Recess, by the Playground folks!), we finally settled on the Thai “khao soi” noodles from Jason Quinn’s Noodle Tramp, and the tater tot pork poutine from Stockyard Sandwich Company.

The noodles had a perfect bite and chew to them, and the sauce was rich in flavor and complexity. The tater tot poutine had juicy pork, plus a fried egg on it… so in other words, it was also amazing! The video above has more on these dishes.

Tanayas Table 4th Street Market Khao Soi Noodle Tramp Poutine Stockyard

After enjoying our food in the outdoor patio decorated with bold, colorful graffiti art and planters, we went back inside for some dessert.

Chunk-N-Chip really stood out to us, and what caught my eye the most was their champagne cookies and their French toast with bacon ice cream! I had to get it in sandwich form, I tell you. Who doesn’t want a little libation AND breakfast in their dessert, right? Ha.

The storefront is the ice cream sandwich maker’s first brick-and-mortar, as it started as a food truck. Claudia, the lovely owner, told us they are expanding their flavors and cone options. For now, they have brownie and red velvet waffle cones, but they will soon be rolling out at gluten-free, vegan cone.

I also went behind the scenes to create this video for the making of their brownie batter cones. Trust me, you need to try it for yourself!

Tanayas Table 4th Street Market Chunk N Chip Ice Cream

There is so much more to try at the newly opened 4th Street Market, and I can’t wait to be back soon for the rest.

Check out the video above for the food in action, as well as some shots of the awesome decor. LOVED the quotes from famous foodies on the ceiling!

To find out more on the 4th Street Market, and for hours and directions, go here. Until next time, cheers!

VIDEO: Behind The Scenes Of Baker CakeMaker & LA Cookie Con

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la-cookie-sweets-show-main-logo

L.A. Cookie Con and Sweets Show is coming this Sunday! This means unlimited tastings of a variety of gourmet sweets, lots of demos and other fun activities going on, plus a guest appearance from Ron Ben-Israel of “Sweet Genius” on Food Network. For anyone with a sweet tooth, this is the must-attend event of the year, and I’m not even sugar coating!

I am so excited to be an official blogger, and it was a pleasure to be invited to the planning meeting last week for a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to successfully pull off such a huge event. There are over 3,000 sweet lovers coming to attend this weekend, and the planning meeting meticulously ensured that everything will go as smoothly as possible, with vendors preparing to offer plenty of delicious samples for all.

L.A. Cookie Con Official Blogger Badge Tanaya's Table

It was great to meet so many of the vendors who were passionate about their creations… I’ve put together a video below to give you a peek into what our day was like.

Also, here’s the most exciting part: Nancy Tei of L.A. Cookie Con was sweet enough (pun intended… ha ha) to set up a code for my followers, so anyone who enters ‘TANAYASTABLE’ will get $3 off their GA or VIP tickets. UPDATE: The event is now sold out, but I will do a giveaway of some items from select vendors of L.A. Cookie Con in the coming week!

Here’s a peek into the planning meeting at AMLI Lex on Orange in Glendale:

Click above for a peek into the L.A. Cookie Con planning meeting with all the wonderful vendors!

Click above for a peek into the L.A. Cookie Con planning meeting with many of the wonderful vendors!

One of my favorite new sweets purveyors, Baker CakeMaker (who also will be at the show) gave us an inside tour of the bakery. The video, choc-full of ensaymadas, Oreo-stuffed cookies and more, is below.

Baker Cakemaker opened not too long ago, but the unique bakery is already setting itself apart from existing bakeries around the Hollywood area. What makes it so unique is that it doesn’t focus on your typical French pastries like many of the bakeries in Los Angeles do. Instead, owner and chef Aris Rodriguez has decided to fuse Filipino and other Asian influences along with European and American baking techniques and flavors.

The results are below. See you at L.A. Cookie Con!

Going behind the bakery with Chef Aris, owner of Baker CakeMaker

Going behind the bakery with Chef Aris, owner of Baker CakeMaker – check out those ensaymadas!

L.A. Cookie Con ~ A baking, pastry and sweets extravaganza ~ Sunday, January 25th 10 a.m. -5 p.m. ~ Pasadena Convention Center

For more information on the sweetest event in SoCal, visit the L.A. Cookie Con official website or follow them on Twitter.

Stay tuned for coverage after the event as well. Hope everyone is having a good start to 2015!

VIDEO Sneak Peek: Unique LA Returns For The Holidays

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Note: If you’ve noticed my absence, it has been due to a family emergency I’ve been dealing with on an ongoing basis… but I’m back for now, or at least trying to be as much as possible.

Thanks for your understanding and patience, and I’m looking forward to sharing more good eats, events, behind the scenes videos and recipes with you all! Much love.

Featured items in my Huffington Post article on the first ever Unique LA.

Featured items from my Huffington Post article on the first-ever Unique LA back in 2012

When I covered the first ever Unique L.A. a couple years ago, I found everything from red velvet ding-dongs, bacon-banana macarons and raspberry-habañero jam, to DIY headbands, gingerbread donuts and all-natural smoked tuna cat food flakes… plus lots of locally crafted items resembling moustaches, octopi… and octopi with moustaches.

You can see what other peculiar, adorable and intriguing items were featured at the inaugural Unique L.A. in my coverage piece, published on the Huffington Post.

Although we can only time travel back to past Unique L.A. experiences by reading about them, the good news is there’s another weekend of fun coming to downtown L.A. starting tomorrow. And even better than just reading about it, this time I will share a video with highlights as well!

A couple weeks ago, I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek — or should I say, a “snack peek” — at some of the artisanal food crafters who will be selling at this weekend’s Unique L.A. thanks to my Tastemade crew.

Here’s a look at some of the treats you can expect to find… including pumpkin spice donuts from Donut Snob, Meyer lemon pie from Sugar Pie Honey Buns, chipotle dulce de leche macarons from Soft Peaks, and so much more:

Tanayas Table Unique LA Donut Snob etc Sneak Peek Tastemade Video Image

Check out this 1-minute video for a sneak preview of what unique treats you can find at this weekend’s Unique LA! (Blooper alert!)

Good times, bloopers and all! Also, here’s a bonus feature I did on Bon Puf’s all-natural, organic cotton candy in interesting flavor combinations like mango chili, salted caramel and lychee green tea. Plus, I get to try my hand at making some cotton candy as well! Join the mini adventure here:

The sweet folks at Bon Puf show me how to make my own Mango Chili cotton candy!

The sweet folks at Bon Puf show me how to make my own Mango Chili cotton candy! Check out the video right here ^

To find out more and to grab your tickets to food, entertainment and DIY workshops, check out the Unique L.A website. See you there!

Behind The Counter: See’s Candies Opens At Newport Beach Fashion Island

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See the video below for a *sweet* look behind the counter at the newest See's location!

See the video below for a *sweet* look behind the counter at the newest See’s location!

Here are a few of my favorite things: Chocolate, I Love Lucy, and behind-the-scenes, hands-on experiences (if you couldn’t tell from my previous posts!).

So, when I got the chance to attend a pre-opening See’s Candies party with fellow blogger friends at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, I jumped at the chance.

I was especially excited to learn that we’d get to go behind the counter and assemble our own boxes of See’s chocolates. The first thing I thought of was the “Job Switching” episode of I Love Lucy when Lucy and Ethel work at a chocolate factory and hilarious shenanigans ensue with the speedy chocolate conveyor belt.

Turns out, that episode was filmed at the historic See’s Candies factory on La Cienega in Los Angeles!

TT Sees Candies Bordeaux

What seems to give See’s chocolates their distinct taste is their chocolate-making process, which remains consistent since the first store opening back in 1921. See’s is one of the remaining few, if not the only one, to still age its chocolate. No wonder they sell over 26 million pounds of chocolate each year!

We learned how to pack the chocolates into our boxes just like the See’s workers are expertly trained to do, and got to take home quite a few goodies as a result! So many, in fact, that it will last me a good week… unless I decide to get chocolate wasted.

TT Sees Candies Pecan

As for flavors, I got the Apple Pie & Pecan Pie seasonal holiday truffles, as well as Butterscotch (for my mom), Maple Walnut, Dark Butterchew, Dark Bordeaux (my all-time See’s favorite!!), Pecan Bud (like a turtle), plus the Peanut Butter Crunch and Strawberry flavors to make a custom creation.

Check out the behind-the-counter video below to find out what it is!

Check out this 1-minute video to go behind the counter with me at the newest See's Candies location!

Check out this 1-minute video and come behind the counter with me at the newest See’s Candies location!

What’s great about going into a See’s Candies store anytime is that you will always be treated to a free sample when you visit. With over 100 sweet varieties at each location, you can visit every day and still never get bored!

Of the multitude of chocolatey choices, See’s has kept the Bon Bon, Maple Walnut Cream, Chocolate Walnut Fudge and Victoria Toffee recipes exactly the same throughout the decades. Sometimes you just can’t change a classic.

Their top five best sellers are the Milk Bordeaux (I personally adore the dark version), the Scotchmallow, the California Brittle, the Pecan Buds and the Almond Buds. Which are your favorites?

...or do you like ALL of them? (photo via Huffington Post)

…or do you like ALL of them? (via Huffington Post)

While we’re going back in time, if you’d like Huell Howser to show you around the See’s factory from back in the day, check out this See’s Candy – California’s Gold episode.

Back to the present: the Fashion Island store just held its grand opening the very next day after I filmed the video above, and is located near Macy’s in Fashion Island at 401 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660.

I already can’t wait to get back to try some more flavors… and to get another Dark Bordeaux chocolate truffle while I’m at it! See you there ;).

TEMP TT Sees Candies