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Getting My Goat at Ambala Dhaba

September 15th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
Like naan with a kick.

Like naan with a kick.

Finding ourselves in Westwood without any idea where to eat, my roommates and I walked into Ambala Dhaba.  None of us had looked the place up online, nor had it been recommended, but we were feeling risky.

A look at the menu revealed a whole lot of vegetarian dishes, but also some meaty Indian dishes I had never heard of and was excited to try.  Tucked under the glass on the table was their beer special, Bell beer from Uganda for only $3 a glass.  I wasn’t sure why Ugandan beer had found itself at an Indian restaurant, but it would definitely be something new for me. Continue Reading»

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A Wine Cellar Dinner at Bottle Inn

September 14th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
Little green lumps of happiness

Little green lumps of happiness

For a restaurant called the Bottle Inn, you would expect them to have a great selection of wines.  What you wouldn’t expect, however, is for their wine cellar to become a dining room.  Nonetheless, if you have a big enough group, that is where they seat you.  It’s almost like a tease to should you all the amazing wines you could be drinking, yet it’s still pretty damn cool.  Although the wine was quite distracting, I was able to take my mind off of it long enough to read the menu.

Everything on the menu looked amazing and it took me a long time to decide, but in the end it had to be the Gnocchi al Pesto.  While waiting, we drank some fine Napa wine and stared at the stack of Opus wine that was probably worth more than my life. Continue Reading»

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Going Halfsies on Burgers at Hennessey’s Tavern

September 10th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
I was ashamed to eat near vegetables.

I was ashamed to eat near vegetables.

On Tuesdays, Hennessey’s Tavern in Manhattan Beach offers a great special:  Two-for-one burgers.  As I was running late for dinner on one of these lovely Tuesday nights, I asked my girlfriend to place an order for a Western Burger with cheese.  The Western Burger comes with BBQ sauce and bacon.  Since she knows my dietary restrictions, I assumed I didn’t need to specify that it should come without vegetables.  When I arrived, it looked like she paid no heed to my needs.  On my plate, along with my burger, was a pickle, lettuce, tomato and onions.  I quickly checked to make sure no pickle juice had seeped its way into my bun.  Lucky for my girlfriend, it had not. Continue Reading»

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A Couple Rolls at Sushi Mashiko

September 7th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
Why would anyone want cucumbers?

Why would anyone want cucumbers?

Despite my not being the biggest fan of sushi, I found myself at Sushi Mashiko in Culver City one night to once again eat some raw fish.  Sushi Mashiko was in a very nondescript location in a strip mall without any real sign.  I only found it when I looked inside each store front and saw a small sign with the word “Sushi” on it.  The place was supposed to be really great, so instead of ordering some sort of chicken or noodle dish, I decided I may as well test out their sushi.

After a long look at the menu sushi menu, I decided on two decent-looking rolls:  softshell crab and tuna avocado.  Since I would be the only one partaking in my personal sushi, I ordered mine uncut so I could turn the sushi into finger food. Continue Reading»

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Not Quite Sichuan at Szechwan

September 3rd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
Just gotta avoid the green onions.

Just gotta avoid the green onions in the Kung Pao.

For a little Chinese lunch, I headed to Szechwan in Manhattan Beach.  It had come highly recommended, so I went expecting something pretty good.  When we arrived, the restaurant was only about half-full, but we were still told to wait for a table.  This seemed strange, especially when were standing around for five minutes looking like fools.  Nonetheless we eventually took our seats and got the chance to check out the menu.  The first thing I noticed that seemed off was that the food wasn’t quite Sichuan style (Sichuan being the way Szechwan is actually supposed to be spelled).  Sichuan style is usually really spicy food and different from what we usually think of as “Chinese” food.  Instead, the menu looked like any other Chinese restaurant. Continue Reading»

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The Habit I Can Get Used To

September 2nd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
Literally out the door.

Literally out the door.

The most exciting food news to hit El Segundo since Chipotle is most certainly The Habit.  Taking over the dilapidated former building of the Grand Cafe, The Habit put up signs months ago and began renovations.  Just this week they opened for business, and I knew it was time for me to see what The Habit was all about.

When I arrived, the line was coming out the door.  I hoped and prayed that the line would move fast and my wish was granted.  In only five-ish minutes I was at the counter and ready to order.  The menu is pretty basic if you stick to burgers, but they also offer salads and other non-burger sandwiches.  On the menu, the burgers are called charburgers, which really leaves the impression that they will be overcooked.  I hoped this wouldn’t be true and ordered the BBQ Bacon Char.  Continue Reading»

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More Than I Could Handle at Joey’s Smokin’ BBQ

September 1st, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
A whole lotta chicken

A whole lotta chicken

For lunch one day I headed out to Joey’s Smokin’ BBQ in Manhattan Beach.  I had heard that Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers was somehow tied to the restaurant, which actually made me a little worried, but I still wanted some BBQ.  The place was pretty small and other than the Lakers championship pennant, there was really nothing else denoting that this was in any way related to Luke Walton.  Besides, half the restaurants in LA have Lakers pennants (I later found out that Walton essentially wrote a big fat check to get the place started, but it pretty much runs without him).  With this in mind, my fears of a generic BBQ restaurant were slightly assuaged. Continue Reading»

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Pizza the Hollywood Way at Village Pizzeria

August 14th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
It's like half of my pizza is dead.

It's like half of my pizza is dead.

Village Pizzeria in Hollywood is LA’s version of New York pizza.  Located on Larchmont Street, it isn’t really a Hollywood-style place at all, which is pretty comforting to someone like me who doesn’t work in the entertainment industry.  To test the place out, I went with a friend of mine.

Since we were unable to compromise on a pizza that we both liked, we decided to go halfsies.  I got my half in the pepperoni style, while she agreed to the pepperonis, but also ordered a disturbing fungus called mushrooms.  Unnecessarily worried, I also ordered some garlic rolls in the expectation that the pizza wouldn’t be enough food for me. Continue Reading»

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Food for the Soul at Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles

August 13th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
A morning delight.

A morning delight.

I’d been waiting for a very long time to finally make my trip to Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles.  It took the right combination of alcohol and lack of sleep from the night before to finally propel me to the location in Mid City.

My buddy and I walked in around noon and there was a short wait before we took our seats.  The menu was loaded with so many varieties of chicken and waffles, without a vegetable to be found, that I really couldn’t figure out what to order.  I decided to wait until the waitress arrived to make sure I ordered the right thing.  Unfortunately, service wasn’t exactly the strong suit of Roscoe’s.  I didn’t mind though, I wasn’t there for service, just for chicken and waffles.  Finally the waitress came and told us to get combo #1, which was 1/4 fried chicken and two waffles.  We happily complied. Continue Reading»

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A Lunch Deal at Z Pizza

August 11th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
Love the paper.

Love the paper.

A coworker of mine was raving about the amazing-ness of Z Pizza in El Segundo, so I went to check it out with another coworker of mine.

The first thing I wondered was how they came up with the name “Z Pizza.”  When I heard it the first time, I imagined a group of German immigrants sitting around a dingy New York pizza joint.  One of the immigrants is clearly in charge, albeit with a strong accent, and asks the rest of the table, “Vhat vould you like on zi pizza?”  Thus, a restaurant name is born. Continue Reading»

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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.

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No veggies here!

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Unvegan Friends