Do you love your birthday? Duh you do…who doesn’t? My weird coworker that’s who.

I recently won a $200 gift card to the restaurant of my choice, since I was going home for my birthday it seemed like a good idea to spend it there. I decided to take my family out to Juniper and Ivy. As a fan of Top Chef it seemed like a obvious choice. I thought it was going to be easy to spend $200 bucks for a four person dinner. We were elated to find out after our meal we had about 40 dollars left, resulting in a dessert splurge.

I would absolutely come back here, I don’t think the prices were super steep for the quality and tastiness levels. The atmosphere at night is super dark and sexy which was completely different than what I expected (the website made me picture a light and airy setting).

Drinks – Not happy I started the night with Under the Rose. I was disappointed by the taste of this drink and had to pawn it off on my mom.

Not pictured are the Cheddar and Chive Biscuits they bring to every table before ordering. They came out piping hot and told us, “Yes, you will enjoy this meal”. Wish it was possible to order more.

Raw – Baja Yellowtail, amazing. My dad and I shared this little platter and I wish there was more. It was so fresh and had none of that been-sitting-there-too-long fishy taste. I was surprised by how much I could enjoy a small bite.

Small Plates – The Heirloom Tomato was shared between my mom and sister but I was able to sneak in a couple of bites. I was fascinated by the Feta Ice Cream but that’s the biggest thing that stood out to me. It seemed more of a gimmick and not worth $13 for a slice of tomatoes, just order the Baja Yellowtail twice.

Small Plates – Baby Beats, not pictured. I am not a beets fan so I didn’t try this one. The review from my sister was that the main beets were delicious but she wasn’t a fan of all the fennel.

Small Plates – Coachella Corn, I was put off at first for the trendy name and the fact that I can’t bite into hard food due to some fake front teeth.  After cutting off the kernels with a knife I was so glad we ordered this. The flavor was great without being too salty or overpowering the actual taste of the corn.

Snacks – Sugar Snap Peas, bring me a bowl of this just for me please. Our waitress recommended this, I am so happy she did. My sister and I were practically fighting over the last bite, we both wanted as much as we could get from the bowl.

Toast – Kune Pork Belly, this was a maybe for me. I wasn’t a big fan of how they prepared the tomatillo but loved the pork belly itself. I would say it was good enough for me to try a different toast next time but I wouldn’t be jumping to order this again.

Plates – Garden and Grains, this went so fast. What was that purple sauce cause yas yas yaaaaaaaaaaaaas.

Plates – Kurobuta Pork, maybe a bit too fatty but overall an amazing dish. The pork was tender, sweet, finger licking deliciousness. Also as an onion lover I was enamored with the grilled onions, my dad graciously let me have all of them.

Dessert – The Yodel, for something that is so hyped up and known for being the “must order” this was a huge letdown. I had one bite and did not want anymore. The inside was chalky and I was not impressed by the freeze dried strawberries, why would you do that?

Dessert – Mole Ice Cream, please excuse the shoddy picture. The churro puff thing was kinda strange and did not have a lot of flavor. The mole ice cream however was amazeballz, can I get a pint of this and take it home?

Dessert – PB & J Blondie, my new absolute favorite dessert. Why aren’t more people talking about this gem. I truly enjoyed every bite of this and wanted the whole thing to myself.

Ximena.