Eat. Travel. Eat!

Lao Xi Er Noodle House (老西兒面馆) is a recent entrant to the San Gabriel Valley noodle scene, specializing in Shanxi style noodles. Located in the southern part of Arcadia, Lao Xi Er adds a different perspective to a mélange of varied dining options located less than one block away from one another, not limited to Italian ( Alex Di Peppe's ), Vietnamese ( Pho-licious ), Japanese ( Mako Sushi ), Mexician ( Cabreras ), Taiwanese ( Cafe Fusion ), and Chinese ( Fishing Boat Chinese Cuisine ). After hearing about Lao Xi Er from Clarissa Wei's post on  Eater , we visited and since then, Lao Xi Er has become one of our go-to places for noodles. Within its small, humble surroundings (there are around 10 tables in the restaurant), the husband-wife duo and their team serves up a small selection of noodles, soups, dumplings, and a handful of appetizers and entrees that are quite well-executed.

State Bird Provisions is an "adventurous, inventive, delicious, thoughtful contemporary American restaurant"  that has received major praise , and happens to be one of the hottest spots for dinner in San Francisco. So when I found out we could secure a late night reservation here on a recent trip, I put it on our to-do list.