Tocaya Organica - El Segundo

Locally sourced and all organic, Tocaya fits right in at The Point with the likes of find-your-zen Prana and yogi-haven Lululemon. 

It's easy to skip over for the richer sandwiches of Mendocino Farms and overlook it for the brimming pasta plates of North Italia, but they do have an affordable taco combo with a margarita and a menu that accommodates every imaginable dietary restriction/choice. 

I think the Margaritas are new, and they're the best addition yet. The passion fruit is awesome, and guava is just as great. They don't make them weak, but they won't floor you either so you can still drive home after a single glass. 

A "B" is an Asian F, but my tacos begin with B and they get a solid A. The Barrio, as recommended, is mildly feisty with slightly spicy beef chorizo and a kick of jalapeno jack. The Baja is worth getting the carne asada for a little extra, and the combo of chipotle crema and queso fresco is just right.

You also get a side, and I ate two of the Elote. It sets a small mouth-fire, but that’s what your margarita is for. Wash it down while you make good choices, though with the menu at Tocaya, I suspect all choices are good.

Yardbird UPDATE - Las Vegas, NV

The most dreaded meal in Las Vegas is brunch. Whether you're nursing a hangover or acclimating to your first day, it's a battle between the drunks and the need-to-get-drunks, and it's so not fun without a reservation.

What I love about Yardbird is that they easily accommodate us all. It's a longer wait for a table, but the bar is where it's at. Service is good, the people are great, and they have the best food for drinking and all its consequences.

I am just getting started, and the Watermelon Sling is my warm-up. Whiskey in the morning is eye-opening, booze-spiked sweet watermelon juice with a lemon slice that makes it pop. Aperol adds some orange, and orange you glad for that sprig rosemary to spice it up?

The sweet tooth wins, and the Maple-Glazed Bacon Doughnuts are a dinner and a dessert. They're fried so fluffy, and the maple is so rich. Sugar goes good with a bacon savor, and the caramel dip is divine.

You don't leave Yardhouse without Lewellyn's Fine Fried Chicken. Get it with any sides you want, but you need that 1/2 bird, and they're so accommodating they let us get just the bottom half...the better half.

The Southern Slaw breaks up the fat and the deep-fried, not that you really want to. I like it a lot more this time around. I'm not sure why, but I'm pretty darn happy with the crispy chicken skin on top as well.

That Chili Watermelon sure is something. Sugar-water fruit with a spicy closing; I love that sharper finish. 

I've only been twice, but Yardbird Vegas is starting to feel like home. I'm comfortable here, whether it's at a table or the bar, and the comfort food puts me in a better place. I never thought I could endorse all-natural 27-hour brined chicken without an eyeroll, but it really does taste that much better. The quality makes a difference, and their prices are fair for the extra effort. I don't know what got into me, but on Yardbird, I really am pretty hooked.

Great Full Gardens - Reno

There are hippies and hipsters everywhere you go, but they've been flocking to Reno in droves. But I had no idea how far this not-so-hostile takeover had gone until ultra-conservative grandpa parked his Lexus in front of a hippie-dippy cafe.

We went inside, some of us more willingly than others, and suddenly I understand. Great Full Garden is not at all hippie-dippy, just happy. Bright canvases of all sizes display affordable works by local artists for purchase. Each table is adorably adorned with artisan saltshakers, each one cuter than the next. The staff is friendly, and it's impossible not to smile. 

The I find out that all of their soups are vegan, and nothing wipes the smile off my face faster than that! So when we order both soups to try, I expect something raw-tasting, stuff of the basic b----es, usually something sparse and lacking substance. 

The Coconut Corn Chowder lacks nothing. Coconut milk cleverly fills in the gaps for cream, and the sweet potatoes add substantial density for a comforting, curry-like concoction. 

The Totally Tomato Soup is all tomato. Well-seasoned, totally fresh tomato. It's thick, almost a very smooth slurry, a touch earthy in a way that can only be pleasing. 

The tomato soup tastes best with the Angus Beef Melt dipped inside. The beef is juicy and sliced thin. Each bite ends in long reels of melty cheddar with a hint of horseradish. 

The Mid Town Quesadilla Is a mountain of impressively tender chicken and juicy sautéed mushrooms. A simple mozzarella holds it all together in manageable proportion. I hate all whole wheat, but this tortilla comes together nicely and doesn't fall apart despite being paper thin. The quesadilla itself makes two meals, but there's still a side of light Mexican rice and refried white beans. The beans are lighter than the heartier, fattier pinto, and you can eat the whole pile without feeling grossly full. 

I'm not a naturalist, and I'm sure as hell not a hippie or a hipster. I shop organic when I can, eat healthy when I want, and eat everything I desire. Hardly a recipe for frequenting places like Great Full Garden, but they do make a delightful lunch, and for that I'm fully grateful. 

Owen's Valley Growers Co-op - Independence, CA

We went all the way through Independence just for the Still Life Cafe, and it's closed. We went two storefronts because hungry people can't walk 0.2 miles to look for the taco place, and this organic co-op is the closest thing to my car.

Owens wasn't my first choice nor my second...nor my choice so I went in begrudgingly, and the mostly-empty store did very little to allay my fears. The pizzas did look promising, and Veggie Pizza turned out to be a perfect lunch. The crust is chewy and thin, the sauce is tangy, and the sun-dried tomatoes are its enabler. There could be more cheese, but the amount that they have is cohesive; it binds together crisp green pepper, juicy mushrooms, sharp onions and olives, and startling artichoke hearts. 

Owens is young, and it still stands on shaky Bambi legs; less than a fourth of the space is filled, and there's just not enough produce to fill the space. The items they do stock look tempting to the weary traveler, and the pizza is made to order by some of the sweetest, friendliest ladies you'll meet. There's still not much going on at Owens, but they will feed your travel-stained body and soul. 

Yardbird - Las Vegas

We just got married!...now what?

We cut so much drama from our lives in a single night, and we're just not exhausted enough. My family flew in from China for the wedding, and they only have a couple days in town. The one thing they want is to see Vegas in all its shining glory, and a day in a rental van with a night at the Luxor doesn't sound so bad to me...

Four hours through the dessert is unpleasant at best, all sizzling, sulking sand with the occasional stubborn shrub. But with Yardbird on the other end, it's WORTH IT.

Intro to southern cooking starts with some Shrimp n' Grits. They do well with the tender jumbo shrimp, and gravelly grits get savored-up with Virginia ham. The PBR chicken jus juts in without intrusion, a pleasurable finish that's not too memorable. I've had grits with true grit, and these are just good enough. 

My cousins live in London, and you'd think people living that close to France wouldn't want for Fries, but they do. They don't want just one order, they want two. Good call, cousins; Yardbird has a way with the taters, and the ranch dressing makes them that much better.

The fries are good, but the Coleslaw is a shame. Dry shreds of cabbage sit in an inadequate puddle with not enough sauce to go around. But the crispy chicken skin on top is even better than cracklin's. They melt with a velvet crunch.

Everything is a mere prequel compared to the main event: the Chicken n' Watermelon n' Waffles that are so much better than any chicken n' watermelon n' waffles you've ever had or will ever have. The chicken is so tender. The whitest, cleanest meat you've ever seen, and even the dark meat shimmers in a beautiful beige. The sauce is awesome, but you don't need the sauce. The batter alone will blow your mind so many times over. The waffle is a crisp cloud with a wispy sweetness and a mild twist of cheesed. And the watermelon. Oh my God, southern by the grace of God. It's cold and ripe, all sugar and water until the chile cuts through. It doesn't burn; it just dances and skims across a sugary tongue. My head is so far into the this plate, I don't even pause for pictures.

I initially scoffed at the idea of all-organic fried chicken. An oxymoron at best, otherwise a contradiction of all that soul food stands for. Except it's not. Soul food is supposed to feed the soul. It reaches a hungry depth, it scratches a deep-down itch, and nothing hits the spot so completely. Yardbird does that and more, but you have to eat it to believe it. Put your money where your mouth is, but be sure to skip straight to the chicken.

Parwa - Comunidad de Huchuy Qosqo, Calca, Peru

If I were to have lunch in the Garden of Eden, I think it would look a lot like a glass shelter with a panoramic view of an Andean valley. Surrounded by wonders as far as the eye can see, it's hard not to believe you’re in paradise. Even the food itself is a true taste of paradise. All ingredients hail from the local valley, born from the sweat on the brow of an honest, hardworking people.

It’s only appropriate that an Eden-esque meal would start with fresh-baked Bread. The medialuna-like twists are soft and still warm, and the pinwheels are laced with something green that tastes like chaya. 

Over 2500 varieties of potatoes grow in the Andes, and I have yet to find a single one I don't like. Same with whatever guacamole-green variety grows into this cold Causa. This mashed potato cake is filling and dense, a combination of avocado-guac, and the sliver of trout on top makes me want more.

I've had tons of Tamales, but this one was just divine. The finely-ground cornmeal has a softer, sweeter finish, smoother and less gritty than any all the others. A few chopped cubes of pico de gallo add a cool, crunchy contrast.

The Salad is a sampling of almost everything that grows. The local lettuce is a little buttery like butter lettuce and a little bit waxy like kale. The carrots and cauliflower are as sweet as forbidden fruit, and a simple dressing brings it all together.

The Pumpkin Soup is thick and a little bit fibrous, standing strong like its deep Andean roots. All the tranquil comfort of the lustrous green valleys sitting in a single bowl.

A deep fried Rocoto Pepper lightens the heavy ground meat-and-veggie stuffing, basically a pot pie in a pepper. This tiny, firm, yet-another-Andean-potato-whose-name-I-can’t-remember is one of the better varieties we’ve tried.

I've never had Quinoa I liked, and IMHO it’s America’s most overrated food. The gritty grains don’t hold flavor, and the texture made me feel like I faceplanted on a beach. Clearly, I’d never had quinoa in paradise because these smooth, fine grains are infused with a tender, savory chicken that soaks through every little grain. This stuff was good enough to make the Asian in me swear off rice.

The Purple Corn Pudding is pulpy like an apple pie without the apple and dark like a red-wine grape. So much gooey goopy-goop seasoned with cinnamon and spiced with cloves. The little nobbin of crumbly Cornbread adds a savory afterthought.

They really don't make things like they used to, but Parwa maintains Peruvian tradition in its purest form. Every bite is exquisitely crafted to capture the essence of the Andes. We didn’t get to see much more of the Sacred Valley, but it’s easy to see what makes it sacred.