A PEEK INTO CITYNITZ'S SENTIMENTS

HI Guys I know I've been MIA for a while and A LOT has happened!  However, just wanted to let you know I have started a revamped site to document all my past and future adventures with my better half (Frank).  Please be patient with us as we work on getting the content up.  I hope it will serve as a resource for others in all their travel, eating and future adventures. Let us know what you guys think! Site:  frankjackielife.wordpress.com IG: @cityniche Hope you are all staying safe and well! Thanks! Jackie 

As more and more friends start to get engaged and get off the market, I can't help but be a cheerleader for single friends who are still on their quest to find their ONE.  I can feel the pressure that they feel of getting hitched and being on track just by talking to them. It wasn't long ago when I too was that single girl who was on the verge of giving up trying to find a man and had literally planned to freeze my eggs (not kidding).  After years of horrible dating experiences, dating apps and not quite right relationships, I was ready to come to terms with being single forever.  It didn't help that girlfriends around me were getting engaged, having babies and progressing how I only wished I could be as well.  To all my single ladies out there, I feel your pain.  The only advice I can offer is to not give up.  I know it can be hard when you're given shitty experiences only to be followed by nightmare experiences only for you to question what the hell w...

My decision to move to Los Angeles from the Bay Area over 10 years ago has been one of the best decisions I've made in my life.  I'm grateful that I've been able to try so many different restaurants in the area.  I definitely have my list of spots I haven't been able to hit up yet, but for now, here are some of my favorite spots that really sets the bar and standard as to what I compare any other restaurant I go to with similar food.  Some of these spots continue to be my favorite spots since when I first moved to Los Angeles over 10 years ago!    Definitely hit up these spots on your next visit to Los Angeles.  I promise you won't be disappointed!  :) I'm sure this list will be ever changing as I discover new amazing places.  If you have any recommendations, please let me know!  Sharing is caring ^_~ 1. Bestia  Address: 2121 E 7th Pl, Downtown Los Angeles  I've loved this spot since the first t...

Those who have known me long enough would think I wouldn't be caught dead ordering a salad at a restaurant and would most likely be ordering the most meatiest manliest dish on the menu.  That was me before back in the day. Now that I'm older I do try to have more balanced meals where there are more fruits and vegetables incorporated in each meal. Like all new year resolutions, I would always have to be healthier as one of them and 2019 was no exception.  However, end of 2018 and beginning of 2019 took a tremendous toll on my health.  My eczema was worst then ever, I wasn't sleeping properly, I had tremendous anxiety and I would have little to no energy to get up at all. I was desperate for help.  That's when I stumbled on the Medical Medium and his teachings of celery juice.  For some odd reason this craze for organic celery was selling out at my local grocery stores in Los Angeles.  I was curious and wanted to see what all the hype was about. So I ...

One of the hardest lessons I had to learn and still to this day have to struggle with is that not every relationship that comes in your life is meant to stay with you in your future.  Knowing when to let go and even recognize when a relationship is hurting or preventing you from growing is often not very clear. If the only thing you could offer a friend was friendship would they still be there for you? If a guy knew he wouldn't be getting lucky with you tonight, would he still hold a conversation with you?  After always supporting their endeavors, would they be there for you when you worked on yours? After having their back and going against loved ones, would they have your back during difficult times?   After always making time and a priority for them, would they do the same for you?  I learned the hard way that the answer to all these questions for a lot of people I came across was, No.  That shook me to the core and really hurt me.  As...

Happy Friday everyone!  I just started reading The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor and it has me reminiscing : How ultimately do you define if you're happy?  It seems like from the day you are brought into this world there is this task reward system in place.  Get an A and you'll be happy, get a promotion and you'll be happy, get married and you'll be happy and the list goes on.  I know I thought this way and it's been how I've lived my whole life, but realize as these accomplishments are hit, instead we set new things to obtain in order to stay "happy" .   So when will we truly be happy?  As discussed in the Happiness Advantage many believe that we need to work hard, be more successful to be happy.  However, studies have shown that is actually backwards.  Instead happiness fuels success, not the other way around. Someone once told me I don't seem happy and they would be correct.  If there's one thing I can't do is pretend t...

To all those people that visited my site and was waiting for more content, but was met with nothing.  I'm so sorry for disappearing on you for so long. If you're looking for food content please follow me on instagram @citynitz and @city_niche. I had to take care of some things and if I could rewind the clock I don't think I would have started a blog years ago.  You see back then I was this insecure girl trying to find my way living alone in Los Angeles.  So many things have changed since then and I wouldn't recognize the girl I used to be staring back at me. I cherish the good, bad, ugly and all of it though because it's made me the woman I am today. You know that scene in Little Mermaid where she gives up her voice to become human?  In some ways I view my younger years as a time where my voice was trapped in that shell around Ursula's neck.  Only just now that shell has been yanked by Scuttle and the shell has shattered releasing my voice back to me.  ...

Wow, it's been 8 years since my last post and looking back on this blog I had half assed it and really didn't do it justice.  In my defense, back then I didn't have a vision as to what I wanted this to be, but most importantly my WHY was not strong enough to keep me motivated to put time and effort into this source.  Let's be honest, I always struggled with blogs and those that knew me back then know how much I struggled with all the coding (GOD, I hated all the coding).  While people I knew were drafting up long extravagant write ups of their restaurants describing every detail of each ingredient, I struggled to describe a piece of chicken differently for the 50th time. I held back always concerned that I was doing or saying something wrong from all the other food bloggers.  It was what people I knew were doing, so I blindly followed. Fast forward to present day and I realize now that timid, quiet girl who was always concerned about what other people thought jus...

Don’t even think about dumping and wasting the turkey carcass or bones! Here’s a fail proof recipe that will leave you kicking yourself all the other years you didn’t do this. You need: Turkey carcass/bones One cup regular rice OR ½ cup regular rice and ½ cup sweet rice 10 cups of water Slow cooker White pepper Salt Place turkey remains, rice (sweet rice will make your poridge thicker), and water into slow cooker. The easy thing about this recipe is there really is no such thing as overcooking. Honestly, I think the longer you cook it the better your poridge will taste. I usually slow cook on high for a few hours and if you do this before going to bed, put slow cooker on low overnight. Before serving add salt and white pepper to taste. I’m guessing a lot of you already know or do this already, but thought I’d share. :) HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Hello foodie fanatics! I know I've been MIA for quite some time and some of you have been requesting for posts. Trust me, I feel SO bad.... so unfortunately this won't be a food post, but a shout out to ya all to help me out. My best lil bro is at Sloan B-school and is in a competition for one of his projects. The task: To get as many hits as possible on their website that promotes soon to be released Iron Man 2 and Reeses candy. Bad news, they're currently not in the lead. The good news, it's not too late to get more hits. So pleassse pretty pleassse w/ a cherry on top help me out and visit their site because being his older sis, I couldn't be any more proud of him! Site: http://www.reeses.com/IronMan2/PeanutButter Feel like doing a little extra and blowing my mind? It would be awesome if you tweeted this site and help spread the word. If you go as far to put a little tid bit on your ever so popular blog, well I couldn't not give you something in return. ...

If I had to pick one restaurant during my latest trip to San Francisco and attempt to salvage my credibility as a foodie, San Tung would have to be the one. Known for their famous dry, fried chicken wings, this is an absolute “must have” if not, the only dish to order. Granted, I've only been to this place one other time, which was during my high school years, I was somewhat hesitant about their quality and ownership status. However, unlike many notorious places in the San Gabriel Valley, you can expect for most restaurants in the Bay Area to be thriving and under the same ownership. So, on a cloudy and cool afternoon, we trekked over to this restaurant that appeared to be no different than other restaurants that surrounded it. Although at 3pm this place was packed, we were lucky enough to snag the last open table in the back. What we ordered: Dry Fried Chicken Wings: There are two variations to choose from (wet and dry) and I hesitated for a moment as to which one it was I had...

Ok, so let's be honest, I've definitely had my fair share of misses when choosing new restaurants to try in LA. Unfortunately, I like to drag some of my closest buddies with me to "try" these new potential hidden gems. The result? Complete and utter distrust in my taste of food. I just call it bad luck? So to redeem myself I'm doing an all out food crawl for the weekend of Labor Day in my hood : NorCal. Yes, ladies and gents I will be back home during that weekend and on a quest to prove that my credibility should most definitely be upped! Fellow foodie Kungfoodpanda who has probably endured most of these mishap trips will be along for the ride. These places are spots that are a must go whenever I'm back in town, so not necessarily the most well known. Just favorite places I sometimes use to gage against LA restaurants. For example, a place that puts Savoy's chicken to shame, Brazilian food served in a hut, and the best egg tarts I've had (not the col...

I was recently introduced to LA Mill in Silverlake and I literally felt like I've been living under a rock for the past two years in Los Angeles. I hate Starbucks, well....maybe "hate" is too strong of a word, but I most definitely dislike them. Any given time you go to Starbucks you're met with crowds, a long wait and finally leaving with an over sweetened drink that is bound to result in a root canal in the near future (hence why I rarely even bother with their coffee). Forget even trying to get any work done here because with kids screaming, eyesight buzzing due to lack of lighting, and of course the need to nearly come off as a creepy stalker to get a table that is less than the the size of a large pizza. Yeah, no thank you! Upon entering LA Mill, I knew I would love this place. With its modern chic decor from the light turquoise chairs paired with white counter tops and the gold chandelier at the center of the room, all I could think of was "Wow" and ...

Although my high school prom was one of the most memorable nights of my life, the first Blogger Prom 2009 held at the legendary Andaz Hotel on the Sunset strip in West Hollywood without a doubt far exceeded my expectations. The venue was to die for, with views of all of Los Angeles, this place was absolutely breathtaking with it's view during the early and late part of the evening. This hotel had just completed a $35 million remodel and they did good. Along with it's poshness this hotel housed many stars. Namely, members of Led Zeppelin rented entire floors and had driven motorcycles through the hallways (the movie Almost Famous also recreated these scenes here), Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones dropped a TV off the balcony and Jim Morrison permanently lived here for years as well. What would an event be without food? There was plenty to go around at the several stations and I amazingly left completely and utterly stuffed. Items Served at Hot Food Station w/ chef ...

On a recent trip down to OC, I couldn't help but stop by the Kyusyu & Okinawa Fair that was taking place at the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Costa Mesa. From what I hear the Torrence location had much more food, including the special "Tonkotsu Ramen," which the Costa Mesa location did not. Either way, there were still many food stands inside the marketplace. I wanted to come to Mitsuwa for primarily one reason and that was for the "Pie Fresh Custard Pudding on Choux". A custard cream puff sandwiching a nice sized piece of pudding. So good, I wish I had bought more boxes. First stand that we see when we walk in! Workers hard at work Two puffs for $5, what a deal! Such a beautiful sight Nom, Nom, Nom...... Other stands that sold other items such as an assortment of sushi and fish cakes What would I do without you Mitsuwa, love this place. Mitsuwa Marketplace 665 Paularino Ave. Costa Mesa, CA 92626