Fauchon Cookies

My brother got me a beautiful box of cookies from the well renowned Fauchon of Paris. The cover of the tin can box with colorful butterflies was designed by Christian Lacroix. So beautiful that I was leery about the cookies. They say: You can't judge a book by its cover, and it is the same with food. When something looks so good, I sometimes get disappointed with the first bite. Of course, this is not always true, thank God for that.

I opened the box and sampled the different cookies with a cup of Moroccan mint tea. I am happy to report that they were all delicious.

 All that was lacking was the ambiance of sitting in a sidewalk cafe somewhere in Paris!

Hawkins House of Burgers

My son and I were heading back home from Anaheim when my inner clock suggested dinner. I asked him to look up a place where we could eat. Not too many popped up for dine-in at this time with COVID 19. He finally came up with Hawkins which supposedly had the best burgers. This apparently is an institution that's been around in Watts for the longest time. Not a great neighborhood but since it was early, we thought it wouldn't be a problem. He called to place the order and the lady said it would take 30 minutes. We headed towards Hawkins and noticed that there was hardly any parking spots on the street. Luckily, a car left across the street and I was able to park. To make the long story short, the half-hour had turned into a good hour. We were planning to eat in the car but by then, it was 83 degrees outside and we thought it best to just drive home.

We got home and I immediately got paper plates and served the humongous burgers. Mine was just the Fat Burger (all burgers made from Angus beef) with all the trimmings except pickles. My son had the Whipper which is made with 2 Angus beef patties, topped with pastrami and spicy hot link, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onions. The burgers were very good. The whipper was very hard to eat, I could not open my mouth big enough for a bite. We ordered some chili cheese fries to share and regular fries and onion rings.

The closest to these burgers in goodness is the ones I used to get at The Standing Room. I will have to have some soon so I can really compare it. We were both happy we got them to try but I don't know if these were the best I have had. Size-wise, it is beyond compare. The meat was excellent but I still had to add my Mayochup (mayonnaise and ketchup) to enhance the taste.

Hawkins is located at 11603 Slater St. in Los Angeles.

Sandi's Pork Loin with Mango Salsa

This pork loin was moist and tender and was perfectly good on its own but Sandi had to use the Manila mangoes we bought last week so she decided to make a salsa with red onions, cilantro, and tomatoes.  It was delicious especially since the chunks of mangoes were super sweet. She served this with cabbage which she sauteed with onions and bacon. What's not good with bacon? Nothing! The only thing we were not crazy about was the pearly couscous which didn't have enough flavor. It just reminded us both of boba.

Dessert was a simple scoop of Caramel ice cream with topped with a thin Oreo Mint.

Peach Mango Pie

This is the best you can get; Peach Mango Pie from Jollibee. Jollibee is a Filipino Fast Food Chain that is now all over the United States. They are known for their Fried Chicken with gravy, but what is impressive is their dessert: Peach Mango Pie.

This is reminiscent of the McDonalds Baked Apple Pie, but it is beyond comparison. The Peach Mango Pie is fried, and this is why it is soooooo deeeelicious. Served warm, but since I dislike warm desserts, I popped mine in the refrigerator to cool. It is very crunchy, and as you bite into it, you see the beautiful peach and mango; juice oozes out while you enjoy chunks of peaches and mangoes.

I bought an extra one to consume the following day. I thought it would be soggy but I was happily mistaken. It was as crunchy as the first day. I will have to experiment to see how well they freeze and thaw.