The Unvegan

Baja Fresh and Convenient

April 7th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Fresh and Baja-like.

Living in Southern California, I haven’t really had any need for places like Baja Fresh. There are just too many good local Mexican places. Yes, I know I have an unhealthy infatuation with Taco Bell, but that is fast food, something that Baja Fresh does its best to avoid being. Nonetheless the Culver City location is right down the street from me so I couldn’t avoid it forever.

I walked in and had a hard time deciding what to order. They had a good amount of choices, but most of them had a fair number vegetables. I did find one burrito, though, that was free of veggie invaders. It was called the Nacho Burrito, and despite the oxymoronic nature of the name, I ordered it. Continue Reading»

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Burritos, Chains, Chicken, Culver City, Los Angeles, Mexican, restaurants

My Free Jack in the Box Sandwich

February 24th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

All this for free!

Some say the best things in life are free. But that can’t really be true, because food is one of the best things in life and it is rarely ever free. And when you really think about it, is anything really ever free? I mean, maybe it doesn’t cost you money, but it could cost you time, or effort, which are sometimes costlier than actual money. But I digress, this is not a philosophy blog (or IS IT?!), this is a food blog of the highest standards, which is why when Jack in the Box said they were giving away their new sandwiches for free yesterday I took a ride to try them out. Continue Reading»

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Bacon, Chains, Fast Food, free, jack in the box, Los Angeles, meat, north hollywood, restaurants, Sandwiches

Being Giant at Jersey Mike’s Subs

February 23rd, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

This is giant. This is good.

As an attempt to mix up the sandwich scene from the usual Quizno’s and Subway, I took a ride out to Jersey Mike’s Subs in Hawthorne. The inside of the place was pretty similar to the typical sub place, so I was a little disappointed. I hoped that the sandwiches would at least be different. I had heard they had great Philly Cheese Steaks despite being from Jersey, so I was planning on getting one of those. It wasn’t easy, though, because they had some really good-looking sandwiches. Continue Reading»

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Chains, Cheese Steaks, Hawthorne, jersey mike's subs, Los Angeles, meat, Sandwiches, subs

Being Seasonal at Mimi’s Cafe

February 4th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Brie-tacular.

Recently I paid a visit to the desert, aka Rancho Mirage, to visit my grandparents. For dinner one night we headed to Mimi’s Cafe, which is apparently a chain that I had never heard of and was very appropriate for a meal with the grandparents. This was all new to me, though, so I was excited to see an entirely new menu of good food. It was obviously prepared with the health-conscious in mind, since it had its own little healthy section. Some of this section was even unvegan, but I was not in the mood for health. Instead, I found my way to their seasonal menu and their Brie Chicken. Continue Reading»

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American, California, Chains, Chicken, Coachella Valley, mimi's cafe, Rancho Mirage, restaurants, Travel

Loading up on Dough at CPK

January 28th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Bread!

A long time ago, I tried out the BBQ Chicken Pizza from California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). By this time, the restaurant was in Michigan everyone had been raving about it. I tasted it was really disappointed. Using BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce disturbed me, and the onions hidden in the cheese made it even worse. Later on, I tried many different pizzas from CPK and was pleased. Yet, since moving to California, I have had very little, if any contact with CPK. Recently, though, I had the chance for a revisit to their Beverly Hills location and decided to once again try out their BBQ Chicken Pizza. But this time, I was prepared. Continue Reading»

5 Comments

Bacon, BBQ, Beverly Hills, California Pizza Kitchen, Chains, Chicken, CPK, Italian, Los Angeles, Pizza, restaurants

The Anti In-N-Out at Chick-fil-A

December 23rd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Now available in malls?

Other than having hyphenated names, In-N-Out and Chick-fil-A have some other eerie parallels. For a long time, Chick-fil-A kept itself to the south, but has since expanded. In-N-Out, on the other hand, has kept itself to the west and has hardly expanded outside of California. Both still carry an air of mystery, as they are not readily available like McDonald’s or Burger King. They are also pretty religious, with Chick-fil-A closing on Sundays and In-N-Out printing bible quotes on their packaging. And finally, their menus are both incredibly simple. Yet, their simple menus are what makes them such opposites. In-N-Out only has burgers, while Chick-fil-A only has chicken.

I didn’t even realize Chick-fil-A existed in LA until a friend told me about one in the South Bay Galleria Mall in Redondo Beach. One day for lunch, we headed over there so I could see what Chick-fil-A was all about. Continue Reading»

3 Comments

Chains, Chick-Fil-A, Chicken, Fast Food, in-n-out, Los Angeles, malls, meat, redondo beach, Sandwiches, south bay galleria

The Unvegan Goes to White Castle

December 14th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Much easier to find than previously thought.

In an area saturated with delicious sliders like Greene’s Hamburgers, I never felt any need to visit White Castle in Michigan. Yet, somehow, on my last visit to my homeland I was convinced to take a drive out to Grand River and 8 Mile Road (yeah the same one that Eminem is from) in Farmington Hills to pay a visit to White Castle. The adventure getting there wasn’t worthy of creating an entire film, but still felt like a hike. Continue Reading»

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8 Mile, Burgers, Chains, farmington hills, greene's hamburgers, hamburgers, Late-Night, meat, michigan, sliders, white castle

A Fast Bowl of Beef at Yoshinoya

December 4th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Onion-free as it should be.

For a quick little dinner I made the executive decision that my girlfriend and I should go to Yoshinoya, a Japanese fast food place. There is one painfully close to where she lives and I thought it was pretty sad that she had never been before. Plus, I had only been to one in China and that was years ago.

We walked into the Yoshinoya and it was pretty empty. This wasn’t a good sign, but we proceeded to the counter to figure out our order. I decided to keep it simple and order a beef bowl. This came with onions, but I asked for it without. Thinking this wouldn’t be enough food, I also ordered the chicken wings. My girlfriend ordered her own bowl of unspeakable vegetables and our bill came out to under $10. Continue Reading»

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Beef Bowl, Chains, Fast Food, Japanese, Los Angeles, restaurants, wings, yoshinoya

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

Sweet and Fiery with Panda Express

November 13th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A little rice with my meat?

For the longest time I have avoided stepping into the Panda Express across the parking lot from my local grocer. It’s not so much that I disagree with the existence of Panda Express or think I’m too high and mighty to lower myself to the level of Chinese fast food. No, the real reason is that I just feel like there are some better Chinese restaurants around that serve food just as fast. Nonetheless, every time I would walk by, the strong scent of glazed Asian-ness would be quite enticing. Finally, I gave in to that noxious perfume and took a plunge into Panda Express. Continue Reading»

2 Comments

Asian, Chains, Chicken, Chinese, Culver City, Fast Food, Los Angeles, meat, panda express, restaurants

Rants and Raves

The Meat Myth

April 21st, 2010

Yummy myth.

We live in a world full of myth. Some of these myths are awesome, like Greek myths. But some myths just plain suck. Like myths about meat. They are rampant and they turn know-nothing vegans into high and mighty zealots. Well, it’s time to kiss those myths goodbye, because I have uncovered a handy little article that should quiet them down.

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.

‘Chains’

Baja Fresh and Convenient

My Free Jack in the Box Sandwich

Being Giant at Jersey Mike’s Subs

Being Seasonal at Mimi’s Cafe

Loading up on Dough at CPK

The Anti In-N-Out at Chick-fil-A

The Unvegan Goes to White Castle

A Fast Bowl of Beef at Yoshinoya

Growing My Wing Palette at Wingstop

Sweet and Fiery with Panda Express

Rants and Raves

The Meat Myth

Going Global at Plan Check

What is this?»

Unvegan Friends