Sunset Juction what's your function... good eats?

Since moving to Los Angeles a few years ago I haven't really experienced the city. So, now I'm trying to make an effort to explore a little bit every week. Last night I went to the Silverlake area with some friends where I feasted upon vegetarian thai & gelato. Yep, most of my exploration involve food. Sometimes I wish I could have a show like Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

It started with me wanting to explore some of our fine Gelato establishments. I came upon Pazzo Gelato in my search. I noticed they had vegan sorbetto on the menu so I enlisted the company of 2 friends who enjoy the vegan lifestyle. It was suggested that we first hit up Bulan Thai Vegetarian. I was game.

Bulan Thai Vegetarian
4114 Santa Monica Blvd
Silver Lake, CA 90029

It's a small place, not flashy in anyway but smells wonderful before you even step inside. We were seated on the spot but it was also a Monday night so I'm not sure what the weekends are like. Us three enjoy our wine and we noticed there was no wine list but they had an uncorking fee, so we promptly told them we would return in a moment. Yes... we went up the street to the liquor store and got some plum wine. I had never had a plum wine and it was great! It was like a really good juice.

Back at the restaurant we shared 3 dishes.
1.) Spring Rolls: deep fried rolls filled with assorted vegetables and glass noodles. It was served with a sweet and sour sauce. I found them to be a tad bland but it did come with sauce and they were fried perfectly. Not too greasy. They were served in an appealing manner and piping hot! The aroma of the steam coming off of them was inviting and made me want to gobble them up. Which I did.


2.) Pad Thai: I know it's a pretty regular thing to get in a thai restaurant but I've had some bad pad thai in my day. Why not try it with veggie chicken. It's pan fried rice noodles, sprouts, crushed peanuts and we opted to leave out the egg. Sometimes the crushed peanuts & peanut sauce can be the downfall of the dish for me. This time it was not the case. The peanuts were crushed in very small pieces. Plus. The peanut sauce was not overpowering. Plus. The noodles were rather sticky... ok a lot sticky. So sticky in fact that you looked like you were having a mini seizure trying to shake them apart. Not a plus. It wasn't enough to ruin the dish for me. I'm not sure if my foodie comrades would agree with me. I enjoyed it... even the veggie chicken!


3.) Pad See-Ew: Pan fried rice noodles with broccoli, sprouts and a special dark soy sauce. YUM! This was my favorite of the night. We again opted for no egg for our vegan mate. The noodles on this dish were also stuck together but it didn't stop me from eating all the remnants of this meal.


Onward! To the sweets!
MMMM.... gelato! Can you tell my excitement for a creamy treat.(Come on with the jokes.)
Pazzo Gelato
3827 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Walking in it's a small place and I'm sure it gets very crowded. They are open until 11pm and I'm sure there is foot traffic until close. They use all fresh fruit and herbs that help local growers and they don't add any high fructose corn syrup. For those of you who think it's just ice cream here's what gelato is in a nut shell.

Gelato is Italy’s version of ice cream but gelato has a lot less fat than ice cream. It has a much higher density. Ice cream is made by mixing cream, milk and sugar and then adding air. Adding air doubles the quantity but no air is added to gelato. The result is a richer, creamier taste. It really makes all the difference! Gelato is served slightly warmer than ice cream because it is less solidly frozen. Giving it a melt in your mouth goodness.

Pazzo has a somewhat extensive array of product. If you look at the ever changing menu online they have an overwhelming list of flavors. Out of the 3 of us I was not the only one to try the most flavors before deciding on one. Usually, I go through them all and last night I was not alone. After sampling the green tea, cookies n cream, espresso, bellini, and the chevre fig I decided on a scoop of espresso & cookies n cream.




Can't wait to go back and try more!
Let me know if you have any places I can venture to in LA!

(photos taken from: yelp.com)