Restaurant Review: Panini Cafe

A visit to Panini Cafe for fresh paninis, pastries, and casual café vibes—here’s what we ordered and what stood out.

Review of Panini Cafe

MGG and I love to try new restaurants.  One weekend we happened to go to a relatively new place called Panini Cafe  over in Woodland Hills that serves Italian and Mediterranean food. 

WoooWee!  Did we hit the jackpot.  Their food is outstanding!  Let me say upfront that Panini Cafe isn’t asking me or paying me to say this.  They don’t even know about it!  These are purely our own impressions of their wonderful dishes! 

The menu is filled with wonderful items.  They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Breakfast specialties include scrambles and omelets, French toast, and oatmeal.  We haven’t had their breakfast yet but hear that it is delish! 

We've eaten here several times now and are addicted to some items.  Both times we have a late lunch or early diner after a long day of running around.  Each time we’ve chosen an appetizer that will knock your socks off.   We’ve had their fresh Tatziki with fresh pita bread…killer.  This time we chose their Humus Trio which consists of 3 varieties of humus (black bean, traditional, and edamame) and includes fresh pita and chopped tomatoes and greens.  The Edamame humus is my favorite.  Nice and light but with a zip of garlic.  As I was eating this I said…”I need to buy more of this and take it home!”  Just fabulous!   Just look at this appetizer plate.  It’s rather large and should be shared by several people, or you can try and eat it all yourself like I almost did.  

Now, on to the main course.  We've tried several of their dishes such as Mousaka and the Linguine with Grilled Vegetables and Feta.  Both were delicious!  But my hands down, flip your skirt up, favorite dish has to be the Charbroiled Chicken Skish kabob.  O..M..G!  Even the menu says “A MUST” next to the item…that says it all!

Just look at this baby.  A HUGE plate with wonderful, succulent, marinated chicken, and vegetables.  And that’s not all…it comes with your choice of grain and salad.  We chose the Basmati Rice and a Romaine Avocado Salad dressed with a light lemon vinaigrette.  HEAVEN!

This is my new obsession.  I can’t stop thinking about it.  So much so I think I will order some to take home for dinner tonight.

So if you get the change to try the Panini Cafe, please do.  The food is outstanding.  The atmosphere is nice.  It’s a family friendly place with excellent food.  Next time I’m not going to eat so much food so I can try one of their desserts…they look decadent for sure.

 

La Costa Resort and Spa

With all that is going on in life you need to make some time for even a quick getaway.

That's just what we did, heading down to beautiful Carlsbad, CA to the La Costa Resort and Spa.  Noted as California's destination for Mind, Body + Sport.  A huge 400 acre resort with a golf course, tennis courts, multiple pools (as in 6), lush gardens, which all surround the Spanish Colonial styled resort.  Something to behold for sure!

We were so ready for some time away to refresh the mind.  Walking the grounds we found quite spots with hammocks to curl up in, small courtyards where you could sit and relax, and even an outdoor shopping area to buy to your hearts content.  

Being brilliant and in a rush to leave and relax....(I know, huh?) I didn't charge my camera, nor did I bring the charger.  And do you think my cell phone battery was charged by the time we got there?  Of course not...not my wonderful smartphone!  So needless to say the pics are far and few between.  But I got enough for memories, and to give you a flavor of the place.

The views were just beautiful. 

After exploring the resort we decided to unwind and have a nice lunch.  The restaurant, Bistro 65, overlooked the golf course.  A very serene experience.  

See the chef in the top window? 

The food while priced on the expensive side was wonderful.  The chef uses local, sustainable ingredients and seasons from the restaurants’ own herb garden wall.  A typical bistro menu included sandwiches, soups, salads, appetizers, and several nice entrees including some local fish to choose from.   We got a couple of sandwiches and some salad and fruit.  Nice, light, and refreshing!  Sorry, didn't get to snap a shot of the food.

After we walked around exploring the different sections.  Here is a wonderful fountain we found on the way to play tennis.  There were outdoor fire pits and fireplaces everywhere so you could sit in the evening and relax.

 
The rooms were very elegantly furnished.  There are quite of few buildings that have different housing.  Ours overlooked the lush gardens.  Oh, and don't forget about the enormous bathroom with the tub to die for!  Don't get me started on that tub!  It's gigantic, and there's heaven in that tub!

 Sorry, I had just bounced on the bed before I took this picture...do you do that?

On the way to dinner and some little nightlife that evening I spotted several bunny rabbits out in the garden.  Adorable!

We had a wonderful time there.  So much to do.  They have a Chopra Center where you can soothe your mind as well.  Several programs for kids, and all types of activities such as smore's nights around the fire pits and movies on the weekend under the stars.  

We were sad to go home.  We got to relax, but never enough right?   On the way home we went looking for a place for breakfast.  Found something online that had good rating and set off to find it.  Let me tell you, this was something out of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  A small side of a country type road diner....loaded with people!  

What a pleasant surprise Bobby's Hideaway Cafe was.  We had picked a winner!  Full of people, the diner was tidy, and had an array of breakfast items to choose from.  We both picked a egg/potato/toast plate.  Great tasting food, I must say.  I chose a biscuit with mine that was so light and fluffy, I could have eaten just biscuits!  

We will definitely be back to La Costa Resort and Spa and to Bobby's Hideaway Cafe for more....relaxation and good food.  What more could you ask for?

Birthday Bash!

Did everyone have a wonderful Easter?

This year, Easter fell on my Birthday!  What to do?  MGG didn't want me cooking all day on my special day..sooo we went out and celebrated instead!

To my surprise he took me to the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood.  The El Capitan is a "themed" theatre which debuted on May 3, 1926, as "Hollywood's First Home of Spoken Drama." It's an amazing old building filled with the ornate art deco styling in which Disney has restored it to it's former grandeur.

The next surprise was that we were going to see "African Cats".  Disney's new documentary about two sets of cat families and their trials through life in Africa.  A MUST SEE!

We even saw some live wild animals on stage.
How cute are they?

So for the encore we had a wonderful dinner at Trastevere across the street in the Hollywood & Highland Center.

Delish...that's all I have to say. 
See for yourself.

MGG got Linguine Pescatora and I got Bistecchina alla Fiamma.

Fabulous!

Another great year...another wonderful birthday!

Who's this??

Next week we'll celebrate Easter!  I won't tell if you won't!