California Grubbin'

 I'm reviving the pumpkin spice special because we need some holiday cheer with all the craziness going on.  Everyone knows that come autumn, allll the pumpkin spice goodies roll in. They sweep the grocery store shelves, they line the offers in your spam folder, and if you're a foodie like me, a lot of them make their way into your mouth. Here's a list of everything pumpkin I could get my hands on. First and foremost... Battle of the Pumpkin Spice Lattes! Starbucks: 5/5; 2.5/5 (not pictured); 5/5 The basic bitch of fall specialty products, the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. This started it all. And I have to say... it's actually really good. They're in the lead for good reason. There isn't an overpowering sweetness and it's got just a hint of spice, but you can still taste the signature Starbucks flavor. Now available in a bottle. My local 'bucks had a special pumpkin chai latte on the menu with coconut. I guess this was a bad choice. It tastes mostly li...

food: 4/5 experience: 1/5 overall: 2/5 If you want an authentic French cafe experience in Los Angeles, look no further than this little out-of-the-way bistro on Vermont, way in East LA. Not that East LA. The gentrified part. Their happy hour menu is extensive, and it's all top notch. Dining with friends we were able to conquer just about the entire menu. And it's super reasonable to boot. Here goes... French fries: 3/5 A classic. They are "French" after all so why not? They put some parsley on them to amp them up a bit. These are just okay to be honest. They taste like fries. Skinny cut which is not my favorite. Though I do like the extra crispy ones and the burnt ones. Escargots: 5/5 It was a risk, trying snails. But it paid off! These are delightful. Soaked in butter, garlic, and parsley I believe, these basically taste like clams. Or mussels. Or something. I don't know, but they're chewy and they're good. Don't knock it til you try it. Spinach chees...

food: 5/5 experience: 5/5 overall: 5/5 You may have read my review of Julian's crepes and other cafe offerings. Well, I'm here to tell you about their pastries, and more importantly, their cute little pocket-size French desserts. First, the breakfast pastries. They got croissants, scones, muffins, danishes, and cinnamon rolls. Almond croissant: 4.5/5 Their croissants are nice and crisp but not too moist or fluffy. Still, good. Almond croissants are my favorite so I went with that one. They definitely put a fair share of almond filling inside. It's not as nutty as it is sugary. The top as you can see is sprinkled with more almonds and powdered sugar. Scone: 4/5 They only have one flavor of scone and it was raisin on this particular day (womp). I think it's actually buttermilk raisin because the actual scone has a hint of sour flavor to it (not in a bad way). This scone is one of the lightest, airiest scones I've had, which is a good thing. It doesn...