The Unvegan

‘Beverly Hills’

A Grand Grilled Cheese at Grand Lux

April 5th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Mmm, grilled meat sandwich.

Sometimes you are so hungry you’ll eat anywhere. Well not just anywhere, but the place closest to you that seems to have good food. Such was the case when I found myself eating at the Grand Lux Cafe in Beverly Hills. This is not meant to knock the place, but simply to say that this place has never been on my to-eat list and I probably never would have sought it out. To tell you the truth, the name simply sounded like an overpriced fancy restaurant and not what it truly is – a Cheesecake Factory with a different name. Continue Reading»

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Beverly Hills, Chains, Grand Lux Cafe, grilled cheese, Los Angeles, restaurants, Sandwiches, short ribs, the cheesecake factory

In the Woods with Simon LA

October 11th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

It's the truffliest.

To celebrate yet another Dine LA Restaurant Week, we found ourselves at Simon LA in the Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills. I’m not usually one for restaurant ambience unless that ambience is dingy and dirty, but I really appreciated the way that Simon LA was decorated. In our little booth, we were seated near the middle of the restaurant, yet felt like we were in our own little world because the booth was half-surrounded by some really cool woodsy decor. Not like backwoodsy, but modern and classy. I looked at both the Dine LA menu and the regular menu, then quickly came to conclusion: Dine LA was dead to me. Continue Reading»

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Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, mac and cheese, meat, meatloaf, restaurants, simon la, sofitel hotel

Going Meatless at BLD

July 25th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Where's the meat?

Ok, I have a confession to make. Longtime readers know it already, but newcomers may be a little surprised. That confession is that…well I don’t eat meat for every meal. Yes, it’s true. Sometimes, a breakfast of pancakes or a dinner of mac and cheese satiates my appetite just as much as a steak. But most importantly, these meals are devoid of vegetables. After all, unvegan principles are more anti-veggie than pro-meat. One such meatless meal occurred at BLD. Continue Reading»

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Beverly Hills, BLD, Breakfast, Los Angeles, pancakes, restaurants

Scaring Vampires at The Stinking Rose

July 15th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

This is the story of when I ran away and joined the garlic circus.

With the ever-growing popularity of vampires in silly stories like Twilight and edgy television like True Blood, it seems that something important to our very human survival has fallen by the wayside. That is garlic, the fabric of our lives…errr…the thing that vampires hate. For some reason. One place you’ll never see a vampire hanging out at is The Stinking Rose, a restaurant in Beverly Hills. The reason is that apparently “stinking rose” is another term for garlic. I disagree with calling it stinking because I like the smell of garlic, as long as it hasn’t yet been eaten, but perhaps pungent rose was already taken. Continue Reading»

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Beef, Beverly Hills, Chili, garlic, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, the stinking rose

Detroit-ish Deli at Nate ‘n Al

March 23rd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Pastrami and eggs is a real breakfast.

For a nice little Sunday brunch with the grandparents in Beverly Hills, we headed to an LA icon. This icon is Nate ‘n Al and it’s been hanging out in Beverly Hills since before the hillbillies. Started in 1945 by two good old fashioned Detroiters named Al Mendelson and Nate Reimers, Nate ‘n Al brings the comfort of Detroit delis to Southern California. Supposedly. But I would be the judge of that. Continue Reading»

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Beverly Hills, Brunch, Delis, Los Angeles, meat, nate 'n al, pastrami, restaurants

A Little Cajun at The Cheesecake Factory

March 14th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

13 pieces. 13!

Everyone knows The Cheesecake Factory for their namesake. And those people are also probably aware that The Cheesecake Factory is a full-on restaurant with a restaurant about as massive its portions. Sadly, when I went to Cheesecake in Beverly Hills, my stomach wasn’t treating me as well as it usually does. So naturally, as an unvegan, I turned to fried chicken. Yeah, that’s right. Continue Reading»

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Beverly Hills, fried chicken, Los Angeles, meat, National Chains, restaurants, the cheesecake factory

The Over-Peppering of The Capital Grille

February 1st, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Just look at all that pepper.

Found in or around malls all around the country, The Capital Grille is a reliable, upscale steakhouse and I’ve never met anyone who isn’t a fan. So the combination of the girlfriend’s parents visiting and an awesome coupon led us to grab some dinner at the aforementioned grille. Despite having a reservation, we still ended up waiting a good 15 minutes for our table, then finally took our seats. Continue Reading»

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Beverly Center, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, mac n cheese, meat, restaurants, steakhouse, Steaks, the capital grille

Meating Out at Fogo de Chao

October 21st, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

This is a calling card to unvegans the world over.

Ever since beginning my meat blog, Fogo de Chao in Beverly Hills has been in my sights. I’ve eaten Brazilian food before, but I have been told over and over again that Fogo is the king of meatiness. But it’s expensive. Like a fixed price of $56.50 expensive. But when Restaurant Week comes to town, that ridicu-price drops down to a more reasonable $44 bucks, including dessert. So for my first Fogo experience, I made sure to go during Restaurant Week and was amazed with what that price bought me. Continue Reading»

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Bacon, Beverly Hills, Brazilian, Chicken, Churrascaria, dinela, fogo de chao, lamb, Los Angeles, meat, pork, restaurant week, restaurants, steak

Ignoring Fortune at P.F. Chang’s

July 19th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Minus gluten. Plus vegetables.

To many people, P.F. Chang’s is just phony, mainstream, American Chinese food. And for all those things, I agree. But in truth, my last trip to P.F. Chang’s was about ten years ago and since the girlfriend and I were given some lovely little gift cards to the place, it was time to pay the Changster a visit. We walked in on a Friday night and found the place surprisingly empty. I know it’s a recession and all, but I would think that any decent restaurant in Beverly Hills should have a decent number of people on a Friday night. I guess not; we were seated immediately. Continue Reading»

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Beverly Hills, Chains, Chinese, Los Angeles, meat, p.f. chang's, restaurants

Down on Mulberry Street

June 4th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

It has been pepperonied.

I’ve passed by Mulberry Street Pizzeria in Beverly Hills a few times and been curious about what sort of pizza may lay within. Finally, I got down the courage to ask my girlfriend, a seasoned veteran of the LA food scene, if it was a pizza worth getting. She assured me it was and within a few days she had ordered some Mulberry Street pizza for us to partake in. Continue Reading»

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Beverly Hills, Delivery, Italian, Los Angeles, meat, pepperoni, Pizza, restaurants

Rants and Raves

Cheers to Beer for Beef!

January 6th, 2010

Top me off!

Everyone knows about wine pairings. It is a mostly pretentious way for restaurants to sell their expensive wines in conjunction with their dishes. Even for those who avoid those pairings, any good eater or drinker knows to match red wine with red meats and white wine with white meats and fish. But enough about wine, where has beer ended up in this alcoholic conversation? Fusion Brewing in Australia has tried to answer this question with a beer made specifically for drinking with red meat.

Going Global at Plan Check

Fries of the world.

A couple of weeks ago, The Backyard Bite invited me to The Burger Culture Clash, sponsored by Stussy (which apparently still exists) and Plan Check. Plan Check, by the way, is a sort of new (since February) restaurant in West LA with Chef Ernesto Uchimura of Umami Burger fame. As my love of burgers, especially those of the umami variety, I jumped at the opportunity.

Although I arrived alone, I was not the only lone eater. Just next to where I was seated, I met e*star LA and we decided to share a meal called loneliness, because it’s better than eating alone. We made quick friends over our respective blogs and Midwestern roots, then got to work at dissecting the special menu, which Plan Check will be featuring for the next month if anything tickles your fancy.

‘Beverly Hills’

A Grand Grilled Cheese at Grand Lux

In the Woods with Simon LA

Going Meatless at BLD

Scaring Vampires at The Stinking Rose

Detroit-ish Deli at Nate ‘n Al

A Little Cajun at The Cheesecake Factory

The Over-Peppering of The Capital Grille

Meating Out at Fogo de Chao

Ignoring Fortune at P.F. Chang’s

Down on Mulberry Street

Rants and Raves

Cheers to Beer for Beef!

Going Global at Plan Check

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