The Market Grill

I guess this is an update to my big hot dog post.  The Market Grill has a lot more than hot dogs, including sandwiches and hamburgers, but it was the hot dogs that interested us because of the unusual buns.  Instead of serving their dogs on the traditional rolls, The Market Grill uses homemade New England style hot dog buns.  The difference?  The New England style buns are split on the top and the sides don't have any crust.  So it's sort of like rolling the dog in a thick slice of toasted bread.

Pretty much everything at the Market Grill seems to be homemade.  The owner mans the grill and his wife makes all the rolls, which ended up being a problem on the day we went because they'd sold out of all but one roll!  The dangers of making sure you only serve fresh food.  I have to say the Grill's dogs were very good, the inside of the buns grilled with butter.  The only complaint I had was with the dog itself, which was a bit flabby in taste.  The nice thing is that the dog is around $4 and comes with a huge side of absolutely fabulous french fries.  (Warning about the homemade lemonade — it's flavored with mint and artificial sugar.)

Overall, I thought the Market Grill was a great place and I want to go back soon!

The Market Grill
525 S Shamrock Ave
Monrovia CA  91016
626 303-4314
www.themarketgrillmonrovia.com

Tea

Is LA a Chinese tea mecca? I'm beginning to think so. It certainly benefits from the large, discerning Chinese population. To my delight, more and more sophisticated tea shops are starting to open and here are some of my favorites.

Bird Pick Tea: In the center of Old Pasadena, this is a wonderful place to shop, browse, and drink tea. They have a nice selection of very good quality Chinese teas and very elegant teaware. But more interestingly, along the side window, there are huge glass containers of things like dried lotus flowers, roses, longan, etc. — simply steep in hot water for a healthy, delicious tisane.

The tea is served at a bar where there's a limited menu, from pots of hot tea to iced tea lattes. What I really liked was that you can order a selection of snacks, which includes delicious dried plums. With a large pot of tea, a selection of three is only $2 more.

Bird Pick is actually a chi chi tea outlet of Wing Hop Fung, aimed for the Caucasians. Even the fixtures in the bathroom are ultra chic. One big plus of Bird Pick is that they let you buy as little as an ounce, which is great if you want to try a new tea (or if you haven't been paid in awhile).

Chado Tea Room: In Pasadena and the Fairfax District of LA, Chado is a tea room where you can buy tea. They have an extensive selection of excellent teas at fair prices, but the staff isn't really the friendliest.

Haven't tried the tea room, although the Fairfax room is always tempting.


Ten Ren Tea & Tea Station: I haven't quite figured out Ten Ren. It seems to be the retail tea part of Tea Station, a tea parlor and restaurant. Fantastic teas, but a limited selection. I usually go to the San Gabriel store for a refill of Jasmine tea. Ten Ren has about 9 different kinds, ranging from ~$12.60/lb to ~$100/lb. My favorite is the one for ~$37. Unfortunately, like so many places, the smallest amount you can buy is 4 ounces. Ten Ren also has something called King's tea, a proprietary blend of oolong and ginseng. Can't say I'm that big of a fan of that one.

Tea Station itself is always fun, buzzing with a good crowd of young and old. Great tea shakes and strange concoctions. Who knew tea could be so fun!

Aloha Boba Tea House: Located in a big retail complex in Monrovia, it's one of my favorite places to relax. Order an iced milk tea, sit outside, marvel at the great view of the mountains. You can also buy loose tea, tea sets, sandwiches and ice cream. Great staff.