Safer at Home: Quarantine Date Nights
We’re approaching week 4 of quarantine life. How’s everyone doing? Me - I’ve been enjoying our quiet time at home. Cooking, trying new recipes. Watching more movies. Jogging outside. Picking up Pilates and restarting my yoga practice. Meditating. Catching up with old friends via FaceTime or Zoom chats. And I am extremely grateful that through this global pandemic, I have my job, a roof over my head, and my health.
So with all of that said, hell yes - it’s boring af. I’m bored in the house, I’m in the house bored! Yes, I’ve even downloaded TikTok. I miss the gym, errands, grocery shopping without fear. But most of all, I miss the excitement of date nights: dressing up, menu browsing, the aesthetics, the first sip of a beautifully crafted cocktail and the first bite of a delicious meal. To keep us (me) happy and still feeling like ourselves during this highly stressful time, Chris and I decided we will continue our date nights at home. AND it’s our way of supporting local businesses on an ongoing basis. It’s a win-win. Still not motivated to dress up to go to the living room, but I think it’s gonna get to that point soon.
We made a “quarantine date night bucket list” of restaurants that offer delivery/take out. The list includes restaurants we’ve been wanting to try for a while and other all-time-faves. I’ll be updating this post throughout the quarantine as we try them.
If you have additional recommendations, please please please let me know by dropping a comment.
Before takeout was the only choice, Sugarfish takeout was my #1 choice after a long day - when I don’t feel like cooking, I don’t feel like getting ready and going out, but I want a delicious “treat yo’self” meal. If you have never had Sugarfish, now is the perfect time to try it!!! I promise the quality of the takeout meal is just as good as when you’re dining in. And the They offer a variety omakase, which they call “trust me’s”. They have a small (Trust Me Lite), medium (Trust Me-most popular), and large (Nozawa Trust Me), and extra large (Don’t Think. Just Eat. Trust Me). This one pictured below is the Nozawa. Order via Postmates.
Chris and I actually had a reservation to try Jon & Vinny’s for the first time the week after Mayor Eric Garcetti ordered restaurants to halt dine-in service. Thankfully, Jon & Vinny’s is offering takeout via DoorDash. They offer a variety of antipasti, pizza, pasta, polenta, and meat. We plan to order Jon & Vinny’s lots so we are pacing ourselves. For our first order, we got the “LA WOMAN” pizza: local burrata, basil, olive oil, sea salt on top of red sauce - because I love burrata and because I am LA woman. It me!!! It was absolutely delicious and we are excited to try more of their pizzas including the “Sarah & Shiri’s Super Shroom” and the simple “Margherita” - but next is the “Spicy Fusilli” made with vodka sauce, basil, and parmesan. DROOL.
Dreaming of the day I get to experience a 13 course meal at n/naka. Not only is it super difficult to score a ressie - it will also cost a pretty penny. $275/pp not including their supplemental $125 sake pairing fee. The price is expected at a restaurant awarded 2 Michelin stars. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out n/naka is offering takeout bento boxes and kaiseki for a small fraction of the usual price. We opted for the bento boxes for $38 each. The bentos include grilled miso cod with sunchoke puree, tamagoyaki, shoyu koji-roasted sweet potato, wagyu A5 nikogori, panko-fried shrimp, sashimi salad, kabocha potato salad, cucumber seaweed sumonomo, and of course a side of rice. It also comes with a 3-piece nigiri and a small cut roll on the side PLUS a couple of desserts - matcha white chocolate cake and umeshu jelly. While everything was wonderful, I especially enjoyed the nigiri and black cod. Melts in your mouth. This bento was a flawless introduction to n/naka made me that much more excited to experience a full meal.
Named one of LA’s best new restaurants in 2019 plus on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants in LA list - this French gem in the Arts District has been bookmarked since they opened. They’re now offering family dinner pick up orders for $32.50/pp which include your choice of beef bourguignon or butternut squash lasagna, potatoes gratin, roasted brussels sprouts, salad, and chocolate s’mores! Can’t wait to try it. Reserve your dinner via Tock!
My absolute favorite restaurant in LA. Forever. Because we can’t spend Easter 2020 with our loved ones, we decided to celebrate with dinner from Bestia. They’re offering a take out family-style dinner meals for $49/pp. It includes quite a lot - house-made salumi, marinated olives, grilled bread, Belgian endive salad, spinach & ricotta ravioli, duck leg confit, and strawberry crostata. I literally can’t wait. Order via Tock.
EDIT: April 19, 2020 - our Easter dinner was fabulous. The pick up service was seamless with no contact. They added a note with instructions on how to reheat each dish. Everything was amazing, but I especially loved the butternut squash soup and the duck confit. The menu rotates weekly so be sure to check out Tock or Bestia’s instagram for updates!
I literally can’t wait until I can enjoy a 16-course meal inside this weird, vibey, one-of-a-kind restaurant. Have you heard of it? Please google it. Reading about it all over again makes me crave the experience that much more. The head chef Jordan Kahn calls it a “living organism”. Time Magazine named it one of the world’s greatest places. And the late Jonathan Gold named it the #1 best restaurant in 2017- the year it opened! Chef is not offering their normal menu for takeout - rather, southeast Asian influenced food from Chef Kahn’s former restaurant Red Medicine. $59/pp. Order via Tock.
Chef Margarita Manzke’s (of Republique) offers Filipino food classics in the most Filipino way possible - through a sari sari storefront. Sari saris are the Philippines’ equivalent of corner liquor stores in LA or bodegas in NYC. They are typically owned by neighborhood friend who convert a portion of their house to a walk-up displaying items on screen or metal-barred windows. Sari Sari Store gives me all the vibes and fits perfectly in the Grand Central Market. We have yet to try this spot and yes, you guessed it. It’s been on the list forever. They are now offering the “Pinoy Quarantine Menu Package” for $19/pp, which includes a choice of entree, crispy veggie lumpia, garlic-veggie fried rice, atsara, Pinoy BBQ pork ribs, and coconut (buko) pie! Order via Postmates, Caviar, or GrubHub.
My favorite restaurant’s sister restaurant - the beautiful, green Bavel showcasing amazing Middle Eastern flavors. I’ve had the pleasure of dining there once and haven’t been back since. They are offering pickup family style orders for $49/pp which include marinated olives, hummus & lentil masabacha, butter lettuce salad, Moroccan carrot salad, wagyu short rib tagine with couscous, and a chocolate cake for dessert. Order via Tock.
A Sawtelle sushi heaven is the Michelin star Shunji that offers seasonal high quality sushi. “In the barely seasonal city of LA, Chef Shunji is dedicated to making his customers feel the change of the seasons through his food…” Another one on my hit list that I cannot wait to try! They are offering a sushi box for $48/pp - 10pc omakase with 1 cut roll. +$22 for a deluxe sushi bento which includes the 10 pc omakase and an appetizer box. Order via Tock.
The Beverly Hills classic. You’re not LA unless you’ve dined at Spago, lol, The flagship restaurant of the Wolfgang Puck Dining Group is offering a Spago curbside pick up meal for $59 which includes a shared tasting of appetizers (today’s soup, hearts of romaine, pizza, and pasta risotto), entree (halibut, salmon, jidori chicken, or steak) and a berry tart for dessert. Order via Tock.
A pizza spot that is originally from Naples, Italy now in West Hollywood. Chris and I were lucky enough to enjoy their outside patio when they first opened, which has views of the pizza dough tossing action. We kept it simple and ordered the Margherita pizza to share. A+ from the sauce to dough ;) - large, (plenty to share between two people), the perfect taste and amount of mozz, sauce, everything. Soft, chewy crust is the headliner. We will definitely be ordering pizza from here soon. Also - don’t sleep on their tiramisu. YUM. Order via Postmates, DoorDash, GrubHub, or UberEats. OR order from their website for pick up and get an extra 10% off!