More often than not, my husband and I are in town on Labor Day, enjoying our local sites and unwinding after a busy summer. This past weekend was focused around our favorite past time second only to traveling. 

The foodie adventure began early on Friday afternoon for a late lunch at an Indian restaurant in Marina del Rey. New India’s Oven had an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet for $10.95. I sampled the white basmati rice, the yellow rice with veggies, tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala and chickpeas. Despite my late arrival, the rice was still quite fluffy and light, the tandoori chicken and chicken tikka masala were relatively moist and juicy. The chickpeas were mealy and flavorful. The lunch also came with two piping hot crispy naan which was the perfect vehicle to soak up the delicious tikka masala sauce off the plate. 

For one of our weekend dinners, we ventured off to Rush Street in downtown Culver City. We ordered their special summer BBQ baby back ribs special, Mary’s pan seared chicken which sat on a bed of risotto and a side of Mac n cheese.

The ribs were fairly moist and juicy with a rich tangy sauce on the outside of the meat, the side of truffle fries were delicious and flavorful as always and the mac n cheese was gooey and rich.

Mary’s pan seared chicken was quite moist on the inside, with a crispy outer layer complemented by a large serving of savory risotto. 

Manhattan Beach was our chosen location for weekend brunch with the girls and MB Post was the host of our delicious feast.

We started off with the very decadent bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits. With each bite, you could taste the teeny bits of crispy bacon separating from the flaky crispy exterior of the biscuit.

Next to arrive was the market fruit platter which looked like a gilded work of art, almost too pretty to eat. The slices of peaches had a light drizzling of a simple syrup which enhanced the natural sweetness of the fruit.

The crispy red bliss potatoes were absolutely divine and added a bit of heartiness to the meal.

The beautiful plate of egg and mushroom crostini was a light and savory addition as was the crispy rosemary flavored bacon.

To finish off the meal, MB Post treated us to a gorgeous delicious sticky bun dessert.  

For a mid afternoon treat, we headed off to Fiesta Hermosa.

Although the vendors are typically the same year after year, it’s always fun to go and have a drink at the local bar, listen to some tunes, catch up with some friends and have a nice dinner by the beach. 

We started off our afternoon at one of our favorites, Abigaile. They have their own brewery so it’s always nice to sample some of their recommendations.

After about an hour, we headed to Rok Sushi kitchen for some dinner. I ordered the baked salmon over garlic fried rice with vegetables. The salmon was perfectly moist and the rice was slightly crispy with a healthy helping of garlic and soy sauce. The vegetables were cooked perfectly with a light soy marinade. 

To end the Labor Day feasting staycation, I came back to Culver City and visited Dot Saigon. It was my first time trying their food so I opted for one of their recommendations, the lemongrass beef bun which is a cold noodle salad with slices of tender marinaded beef and crispy onions on top with a fish sauce dipping sauce on the side. I added a crispy veggie roll for a $1. Considering how quickly I was served my lunch and how large the portion was, Dot Saigon was a great value of time and money.

Our holiday staycation in Los Angeles took us on a foodie journey to various parts of Asia as well as to certain areas of the South and Midwest without having the usual expense of travel. Trying new restaurants and cuisines is the easiest and cheapest way to experience what the world has to offer. We consider ourselves fortunate to live in such an ethnically diverse city which affords us the luxury to try out new cuisines in the comfort of our “backyard.”