‘Chains’

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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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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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Halo Burger: The In-N-Out of Flint

June 8th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A sign of good times.

With two of my parents hailing from the once mighty city of Flint, Michigan, I spent much of my upbringing in Flint and hearing about the mighty Halo Burger.  My step-dad even celebrated his 60th at Halo Burger (although I was out of the country at the time).  Yet, until my return home to Michigan last weekend, I had never once set foot into one of these fabled local fast food joints.  But enter I finally did and was impressed by what I found. Continue Reading»

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Surfing and Turfing at Roy’s

May 27th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

"Get your damn asparagus off of me," said the steak.

A steak is not an everyday meal.  And even rarer than a steak is a little something called surf and turf.  It is only eaten on the rarest and most special of occasions.  Or when you have a gift card to Roy’s.  Roy’s is a Hawaiian Fusion restaurant that I once discovered in the desert of Scottsdale, but that was long before unvegan came to be.  This time, I went to the Roy’s in downtown LA with my lovely girlfriend to pay a visit to my friends, Surf and Turf. Continue Reading»

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Der Decent at Wienerschnitzel

May 24th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Just look at those colors.

Wienerschnitzel and the concept of a hot dog chain restaurant has always intrigued me.  Since I was a little kid, I have loved me some hot dogs, and finally I got the opportunity to check out Wienerschnitzel when the bright yellow and red a-frame restaurant in Valley Village called my name loud enough.  I had some strange expectations for this place, because it’s really hard to mess up a hot dog, but they can be messed up and it doesn’t matter what ingredients you toss on top if the dogs can’t hold their own. Continue Reading»

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A First Time for Olive Garden

May 4th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Mmm airy breadsticks.

Yes, you read that right: A First Time for Olive Garden.  Somehow this Italian chain restaurant, which finds itself in every big or small city in the country, has evaded me for my whole life.  But on Friday that all changed.  I found myself at Olive Garden for the first time and I was eager to find out what all the fuss was about.  It all started with bread sticks. Continue Reading»

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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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A Quickie Dinner at Daily Grill

February 28th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

More like Multi-Daily Grill

On our way out of town via the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, we were in need of a convenient place for a bite to eat.  Across the street from the airport, we found the Daily Grill, an mid-level restaurant chain for American food that can found throughout California and a little beyond.  As we needed to catch a flight, there was little time to dilly dally and I quickly scanned the menu and found their Penne Pasta with Chicken. Continue Reading»

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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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Pass Me Some Taro Pie

November 8th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

This is how McDonald's does taro.

To some, the thought of eating McDonald’s in a foreign country seems just plain wrong.  After all, when you’re in a different country, you should be experiencing their culture in all aspects, especially food.  And what’s more American than McDonald’s?  Yet, it’s hard to deny how much of this American fast food has become a part of other cultures.  In Japan and China, a big bucket of KFC is now a Christmas tradition and all over the world you can find Burger King, Subway, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut.  And these companies have not simply forced American food down people’s throats.  Instead, they have adapted, and few have adapted as well as McDonald’s.

Step into a McDonald’s outside the US and you will see foods you never knew existed.  In Canada, you can find Poutine, in Israel there are Kosher McDonalds’ that don’t offer cheese on their burgers.  In Japan, the Teriyaki McBurger is like a regular burger, but with a teriyaki twist.  These international options almost make McDonald’s a destination, rather than a place to avoid on vacation. 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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Mmm marbly.

What is this?»

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