The Unvegan

Chipotle x 8 at Ocho Mexican Grill

January 19th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The S stands for stubby.

Chipotle is kind of the gold standard of Mexican fast food (I mean, unless we’re talking Taco Bell). You can find it pretty much anywhere, the prices are pretty good and there is no doubt that it’s fast. But it is not alone…all over there are copycats and similar joints that may or may not have existed before the rise of Chipotle. Ocho Mexican Grill in downtown LA is one of those copycats…sort of. A combination of my buddy Joel and a 50% Scoutmob discount convinced me to visit this downtown twist on Mexican fast food fare and I entered with high expectations. Continue Reading»

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Burritos, Chipotle, Downtown LA, Fast Food, Los Angeles, Mexican, Ocho Mexican Grill, restaurants, steak

Expiring at Patrick’s Roadhouse

January 9th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Quick, before the lettuce attacks!

Through an act of charity (seriously), my lady friend and I found ourselves in possession of a gift certificate to Patrick’s Roadhouse in Santa Monica. The only catch was that this thing expired at the end of December. Being the go-getters we are, we finally made our way there on December 21st to get some brunch. When we arrived, we quickly learned that the whole menu wasn’t being served due to it being the manager’s last day. I’m not sure why that prompted a special menu, but it still looked great and we didn’t ask any questions. Continue Reading»

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Bacon, Brunch, Burritos, Los Angeles, Patrick's Roadhouse, Santa Monica

Impregnated by El Nopal

November 3rd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Impregnate me!

For a few months now, I have driven by El Nopal in Palms nearly every single day. And on just about every one of those days, I say to myself, “I want to eat there.” But it is not simply because I love Mexican food, it is because of what is written just below the name of the restaurant on their sign: Home of the Pregnant Burrito. I’m a pretty literal guy and assumed there was some sort of burrito fetus residing in the larger burrito. This proved to not be the case, but it does give me an idea for an awesome burrito if I ever open up my own Mexican place (read: never). Anyway, onto the burrito. Continue Reading»

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Burritos, el nopal, Los Angeles, Mexican, Palms, restaurants, the pregnant burrito

A New Beginning at Taco Plus

August 25th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

This is more of a burrito plus.

Moving to a new place is never easy. Driving habits and living habits have to change, but more importantly, eating habits have to change. This can be easy for some, but when you have a meat blog it can be tough to say goodbye to the Taco Bell that once resided across the street. But it is also an opportunity to try new things, so as I woke up on my first real weekend in my new place, I realized it was time for a stroll around the area in search of food. Quickly, I found Taco Plus. Continue Reading»

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Burritos, Carne Asada, Los Angeles, meat, Mexican, Palms, restaurants, steak, taco plus

Make Way for Cafe Rio

June 28th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The pearly gates of Utah.

I have a coworker who has a problem. The problem is she is a vegetarian. Gross, right? But not by choice. You see she is lacking the enzyme that breaks down meat in her body, so the simple act of eating meat makes her violently ill. It’s really the only acceptable form of vegetarianism, yet there is one place she will always eat meat, stomach be damned. That place is Cafe Rio. It’s a seemingly generic Mexican place that I have driven past many times in Manhattan Beach and brushed off. But little did I realize that Cafe Rio is huge in Utah. Like real huge. And it’s about to get even huger. There are currently 40-something locations, but they are planning an expansion on the scale of 100 restaurants. So when one opens across the street from you, remember you read about Cafe Rio on The Unvegan first. With my coworker in mind, we finally stopped at Cafe Rio to what all the meat fuss was about. Continue Reading»

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Burritos, Cafe Rio, Chains, Chipotle, Fast Food, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Mexican, utah, West Coast Chains

Komodo Heads Indoors

May 9th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Some prep kitchen.

A long long time ago, I managed to get myself into the Komodo Truck launch party. It was a good time for all, and apparently the truck has been pretty successful. So successful, in fact, that they recently opened a storefront at Pico-Robertson. I wasn’t there for the debut of this one, which may be a good thing. While the debut of the truck was plagued with long lines, when I walked into the restaurant I found myself the only patron. The friendly cashier made sure to tell me that although things seemed pretty grim, the restaurant doubled as a prep kitchen for the truck. So although I was the only one giving money to the restaurant that night, the place was indirectly earning them some money wherever the truck may be. Continue Reading»

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Asian, Burritos, komodo, Mexican, restaurants

Quesoing at Qdoba

April 22nd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The Q stands for queso.

On the fringes of the Mexican fast food world lies a restaurant chain called Qdoba, which I’m pretty sure is pronounced queue-doh-ba. Qdoba functions in an assembly-line vein similar to Chipotle and the food itself tastes pretty similar except for one special thing: queso. For those who understand the language Spanish, queso simply means cheese and it would be no surprise to you that cheese is on the menu of a Mexican restaurant. But, for those of you who are well-versed in the language of Qdoba, queso means so much more. Continue Reading»

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Burritos, Chains, Hawthorne, Los Angeles, Mexican, qdoba, restaurants

Tacos…Tumbras a Tomas

March 7th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

What a special name.

After my first time at Grand Central Market in Downtown LA, I knew I had to go back. Fortune smiled on me over the weekend and brought me back to that special place that makes you feel like you just entered a market in Mexico. Honestly, I’ve never been to a market in Mexico, but in my mind, this is what it’s like. Although I enjoyed my food from Ana Maria’s, this time I once again went for a stall that looked crowded. I found Tacos…Tumbras a Tomas. Continue Reading»

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Burritos, Downtown LA, grand central market, grand central square, Los Angeles, meat, Mexican, tacos...tumbras a tomas

A Different Kind of Sharky’s

December 20th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Looks like a tasty burrito.

When I found out we were heading out to Sharky’s in Burbank for lunch, I was first a little confused. You see, for me, “Sharkeez” is the name of a college-style bar down in the South Bay, and they aren’t known for their food so much as they are for their happy hours. Little did I realize the difference in spelling, but as soon as we arrived, I knew we weren’t in for some drinking. Instead, I found myself at a counter with a bunch of different Mexican food to order. Sharky’s calls itself a Woodfired Mexican Grill, which is kind of strange to me because I really only think of pizza as being woodfired. But hey, if it can work for pizza, I’m sure it can work for Mexican. In addition to the wood fires, they also attempt to distance themselves from other Mexican food chains by claiming completely natural meats, non-GMO veggies and everything else you can think of that is associated with good old-fashioned food. Continue Reading»

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Burbank, Burritos, Chains, Los Angeles, Mexican, restaurants, sharky's woodfired mexican grill

A Little Stand Called Cactus Taqueria

October 28th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A taco stand with cheese.

Out in Hollywood, there is a little taco stand on a corner called Cactus Taqueria. Having heard a lot about this place, I felt that I needed to stop there to have a Mexican dinner before the Belle and Sebastian concert. I showed up and found the little stand in the corner of a parking lot on Vine. There were a few people waiting for their orders and another few groups eating out in the outdoor, yet covered seating area. It looked like a great place to find a good taco. Continue Reading»

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Burritos, Cactus Taqueria, Hollywood, Los Angeles, meat, Mexican, restaurants, tacos

Rants and Raves

Time for Epic Meal Time

February 3rd, 2011

Just watch them make a salad. I dare you.

If you’ve been on or anywhere near the internet recently, you may have heard of a new level of awesome called Epic Meal Time. Although I take my unvegan eating dangerously serious, the makers of Epic Meal Time have turned eating meat into an orgy of spectacular caloric intake. I could go on talking about what they do, but I’d rather just let the videos speak for themselves. Below you can find a few of my favorites.

Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

The taste of skiing?

Colorado is definitely a beer state, and not just because Coors comes from the Rocky Mountain State. No, it is also home to New Belgium (of Fat Tire fame) and seemingly countless other micro and craft breweries. While in Breckenridge for a ski weekend, I decided I had to at least try one of these, and because it turned out to be the only one available at dinner, my choice happened to come from the creatively named Breckenridge Brewery. The brewery, by the way, is actually no longer in Breckenridge, having expanded and moved to Denver in 1992.

‘Burritos’

Chipotle x 8 at Ocho Mexican Grill

Expiring at Patrick’s Roadhouse

Impregnated by El Nopal

A New Beginning at Taco Plus

Make Way for Cafe Rio

Komodo Heads Indoors

Quesoing at Qdoba

Tacos…Tumbras a Tomas

A Different Kind of Sharky’s

A Little Stand Called Cactus Taqueria

Rants and Raves

Time for Epic Meal Time

Beer Me Some Breckenridge Agave Wheat

What is this?»

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