The Unvegan

Growing My Wing Palette at Wingstop

November 16th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A little bone, a little no bone.

Not too many places in the world are endorsed by a star as big as Troy Aikman, well at least not too many buffalo wings places. Wingstop, however, has Aikman, which is why the last time I was hungry for wings, I decided to listen to the Hall of Famer and check it out.

The closest Wingstop to me is in Lawndale, so I took the drive to the little strip mall and was tempted to just hop into Chuck E. Cheese and abandon the wings. Luckily, my friend put me back on the right path.

The interior was done up in a sort aviation-esque theme, which I think alluded to the fact that wings are both on chickens and airplanes. I saw that they had a pretty cool-looking combo, which included 10 wings (with or without bones), fries and a drink for under 10 bucks. Continue Reading»

2 Comments

Atomic, Buffalo Wild Wings, Buffalo Wings, California, Chains, lawndale, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, troy aikman, wing stop, wingstop

Happy Hour Appetizers at Urban Bar & Grill

November 3rd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Who wouldn't want stabbed pineapple?

On a short trip down to San Diego to visit a friend, I only ended up having time for one meal, so I wanted to make it good. I was told the Gas Lamp area was a great part of town to find some grub, so we took a stroll through that part of downtown to see what we could find.

After checking out a couple menus prominently displayed outside of restaurants, we chose Urban Bar & Grill, mostly because they had a pretty great happy hour going on. Aside from some pretty swanky drink specials, all appetizers were half-priced. We took our seats at the lovely outdoor patio and opened our menus. Even though the main courses looked good, I knew I had to stick to the awesomely priced appetizers. Continue Reading»

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Appetizers, Buffalo Wings, California, Chicken, gas lamp, happy hour, meat, restaurants, san diego, Thai, Travel, urban bar & grill

Buffalo Wild Wings Reaches LA

October 29th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Apparently Burbank is worth a visit.

Well, sort of. It’s in Burbank, which sure as hell beats the next closest one in Chino Hills. Either way, it’s good to know that it’s now easier to drive to Buffalo Wild Wings than to fly back home to Detroit for my Bdubs.

I wasn’t able to make it to the grand opening, where the first 100 people in line got free wings for a year. That would have been nice, but I also have a job I had to be at on that Monday morning. Instead, I settled for a visit the next week. This Buffalo Wild Wings is part of a sort of outdoor mall/downtown area in Burbank, with tons of people walking around and tons of shops for them to spend their hard-earned money. The money I had would be going for some wings. And beer. Continue Reading»

2 Comments

Amber Bock, BDubs, Buffalo Sauce, Buffalo Wild Wings, Burbank, California, Chains, Chicken, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, Shock Top, wings

Some Much-Needed Mexican at El Torito

October 26th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

There be onions hidden in there.

After a long drive back from Phoenix, I was willing to eat about anything. Luckily in Ontario, we came across El Torito, a Mexican sit-down restaurant that is all over California. I actually saw El Torito in Istanbul, which has kept me from going for a long time because I question their authenticity. Nonetheless, I had put off El Torito for long enough and I was so damn hungry. Continue Reading»

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California, Chains, el torito, enchiladas, inland empire, Mexican, ontario, restaurants, Travel

Sampling My Way to Rotisserie Works

September 25th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

I love it when sides are bigger than the main course.

For a pre-movie dinner, I found myself at the Century City food court once again and looking for something new. Some of the competitors in the food court have found the best way to bring in new customers: sampling.

I will sample almost anything put in front of me, as long as it has no vegetable qualities. You wouldn’t buy a car without giving it a test drive, so why buy a meal without knowing how it will taste? Well obviously, this isn’t always possible, but when it is I think it’s great to take advantage.

The Rotisserie Works offered me a sample of their Hawaiian BBQ chicken and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had a nice sweet BBQ taste with the hint of some pineapple-like fruit. After a few other tastes, I decided the Hawaiian chicken would be filling my belly that evening. The order of chicken came with two sides, and I looked at the menu with mild distaste. All but two of the sides had words like “squash,” and “spinach,” so I ordered their mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.
Continue Reading»

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BBQ, California, Century City, Chicken, food, hawaiian, Los Angeles, mall, meat, restaurants, Reviews, rotisserie

Wrapping at The Tavern on Main

September 23rd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

I had never been to The Tavern on Main for food before, as I had always thought of the place as more of a bar than a restaurant, yet I wasn’t going to turn it down when I found out some people were going.

We sat in a back room, which almost looked like a real restaurant, despite the fact that you still had to go through the bar area to get there.

I deliberated with the menu for quite a long time, since a lot of the burgers and sandwiches looked really good. Ultimately, thought, I decided I needed to add some spice to my meal, so I ordered the Buffalo Chiicken Wrap, which came with bleu cheese, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing. The lettuce and tomato would not make a good unvegan meal, so I ordered without. The wrap also came with a side order, so I asked for the mac and cheese. Continue Reading»

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Bar Food, Buffalo, California, Chicken, El Segundo, food, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, Reviews, Sandwiches, the tavern on main, wraps

On the Water at Brophy Bros.

September 22nd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Very bro-like

Walking into Brophy Bros. in Santa Barbara, based on the name, I expected some sort of frat house with waiters walking around with sweaters tied around their shoulders and referring to everyone as “Bro,” “Brah,” and “Brosef.” Instead, I found a seafood restaurant. Not sure which I would have preferred, as I seem to be finding myself at seafood places quite often lately, and I am not enjoying the pattern. Nonetheless, I rapidly found the most unhealthy dish on the menu, Fish ‘n’ Chips. Continue Reading»

One Comment

British, Brophy Bros., Brophy Brothers, California, fish, fish 'n' chips, food, restaurants, Reviews, Santa Barbara, Seafood

Getting Cheesy at Mad Dogs

September 18th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Nothing green here.

After a long day of drinking in Santa Barbara, I stumbled upon a little hole in the wall joint called Mad Dogs. Hot dogs were their specialty, which was perfect for me to soak up the remains of the day.

They had a variety of hot dog choices to please anyone, and I decided to do a little custom thing. I ordered a bacon and cheese dog with a side of cheese fries. Apparently I am not afraid of destroying my arteries in one sitting. Continue Reading»

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Bacon, California, Cheese, food, fries, hot dog, Hot Dogs, mad dogs, meat, restaurants, Reviews, Santa Barbara

Not Quite Sushi at Kaya Sushi

September 17th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

If it weren't for those tomatoes...

When you walk into Kaya Sushi, there is a massive glass waterfall blocking your way. Do not be deterred, though, because you can easily circumvent this waterfall by walking to the left or right. If you make it past, you’ll find yourself in the posh new sushi restaurant in El Segundo.

The place had an apparent brush with Korean as well as Japanese, since the lettering in their logo was distinctly Korean and there were even a few Korean items on the menu. Their sushi roll list was quite extensive, but I managed to find the least sushi-ish dish on the menu for myself. Continue Reading»

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California, Cheese, El Segundo, fish, Japanese, kaya sushi, Korean, Los Angeles, restaurants, Reviews, Seafood, Sushi

Something Fishy at Captain Kidd’s

September 16th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A fishy taco

Captain Kidd’s in Redondo Beach is kind of a combination of a fish market and a restaurant. I typically wouldn’t find myself in a place like this, but unforeseen circumstances led me there.

I am typically not the biggest fan of fish, and some of my fans may have noticed the lack of seafood in almost all of my posts. The big reason for this is the smell of fish. I have heard that if fish smells and tastes “fishy,” it means it’s bad. I don’t like taking that sort of risk with my food and usually prefer to eat more meaty and less smelly animals. Continue Reading»

One Comment

California, Captain Kidd's, fish, food, Los Angeles, market, redondo beach, Seafood, tacos

Rants and Raves

“Does Everybody Hate PETA?”

May 14th, 2009

That was the interesting question was raised by the LA Times recently. It was asked in response to PETA’s attempts to seemingly put an end to dog shows. As a proponent of simply eating animals, I don’t have too much of a say in the matter and my actual opinions of other PETA actions have been been documented in the past. Click here for the article and let me know if you agree with the comments.

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.

‘California’

Growing My Wing Palette at Wingstop

Happy Hour Appetizers at Urban Bar & Grill

Buffalo Wild Wings Reaches LA

Some Much-Needed Mexican at El Torito

Sampling My Way to Rotisserie Works

Wrapping at The Tavern on Main

On the Water at Brophy Bros.

Getting Cheesy at Mad Dogs

Not Quite Sushi at Kaya Sushi

Something Fishy at Captain Kidd’s

Rants and Raves

“Does Everybody Hate PETA?”

Going Global at Plan Check

What is this?»

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