The Unvegan

Stumbling Upon Giovanni’s Trattoria

September 22nd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Getting personal with meatballs.

On a quest for Indian food, we found ourselves staring at a vegetarian restaurant on Venice that shall remain nameless. Realizing we had made a huge mistake, we went to the next-closest Indian place, just down the street, but for some reason it was closed on a Tuesday night at 7:30. Poor business tactics, but it would prove to be a blessing in disguise. For although the Indian place was closed, we realized we were standing in a strange little corner strip mall in Culver City with restaurants serving Japanese, Mexican, Italian and Thai food, in addition to Indian. Presented with such choices, we opted to check out the Italian place, called Giovanni’s Trattoria and crossed our fingers in the hopes that it would be any good. Continue Reading»

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Culver City, Delivery, giovanni's trattoria, Italian, Los Angeles, restaurants

Hop to, Choppe Choppe

September 14th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Apples make the world go round.

Despite the insane amount of times I have eaten in downtown Culver City, a few restaurants have still managed to elude me. And I do mean a few. Choppe Choppe is one of these restaurants. Now I can proudly say that I have, in fact, eaten their food, but I can still say that the restaurant has eluded me. Oh, the twists and turns of life when your girlfriend picks up food for you. Now, I may not know the full extent of the menu, so I can’t comment on options, but she sure does know me and picked me out something to fit perfectly into my unvegan diet. Continue Reading»

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Bacon, Chicken, Choppe Choppe, Culver City, Los Angeles, restaurants, Sandwiches

Getting All Fresh in the Box

September 8th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Don't you be getting fresh in my box!

In the search for something light to eat after an afternoon of consuming delicious snacks at work, I found a Japanese place called Fresh in the Box in Culver City. Now let’s be realistic, who doesn’t want to get fresh…in a box? And if I told you I was going to some Asian place called Fresh in the Box, you’d probably think I was in for more than just a bite to eat. Yet, there I found myself at a pretty legit Japanese restaurant. Continue Reading»

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Chicken, Culver City, Curry, fresh in the box, Japanese, Los Angeles, restaurants

Strange Meats: Frog Legs

July 28th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

So twisted.

For my birthday, my lovely girlfriend got me something called a beer class at L’Epicerie Market in Culver City. This was exciting as it turned out to be a multi-course set meal with a glass of beer per dish. Yet, as exciting and delicious as the beer and meals were, there was a particular course worth its own blog. It was one of the strangest meats I had ever eaten: frog legs. Continue Reading»

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Culver City, frog legs, l'epicerie market, Los Angeles

Not Turning Japanese at Akasha

July 22nd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Mac and yum

Perched on a corner in downtown Culver City, I have somehow managed to avoid Akasha. “Why?” you ask. Well the answer isn’t so simple. I have no excuse. With a Japanese-sounding name and the knowledge that Akasha wasn’t a sushi place, I should have flocked to Akasha much sooner, but it took a tour of Culver City with my mom to finally come face to face with the place. What I found was truly intriguing. Akasha wasn’t Japanese at all. Continue Reading»

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Akasha, Culver City, Los Angeles, macaroni and cheese, restaurants

Filled Up on Ford’s Filling Station

June 13th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Did someone say bacon?

Evoking images of an old fashioned gas station for Ford cars, Ford’s Filling Station in downtown Culver City actually has no actual relation to Henry Ford. It also has no relation to Gerald Ford, the former US President from the great state of Michigan. It does, however, have a relation to another Ford, Harrison. You see, Ford’s is owned by Benjamin Ford, Harrison’s son, and he also happens to be the executive chef. Last time I went to Ford’s, which was before the unvegan blog came into existence, Benjamin himself actually came out to our table to tell us the specials. It was like the foodie version of meeting Harrison Ford. Continue Reading»

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Bacon, Beef, Burgers, Culver City, gastropubs, hamburgers, Los Angeles, restaurants

A Burger to Drink with at City Tavern

April 20th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Warning: I did not take this picture sober.

Well, someone finally beat me to the punch. Ever since I moved to the west side of LA, I’ve thought that downtown Culver City has needed a real bar. Kay ‘n Dave’s and Rush Street are good places, but they are first and foremost restaurants. Finally, the guys behind Rush Street have pumped out City Tavern (in the location that formerly housed the Meltdown grilled cheese joint) and I don’t think I could have done it better myself. I arrived a solid 45 minutes before my friends, which gave me a chance to put our name on the list for a table and to sample the beers they were purveying. Continue Reading»

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Bar Food, Bars, Beer, Burgers, City Tavern, Culver City, hamburgers, Los Angeles, meat

A Simpler Meal at Tacomiendo

March 29th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Take it easy there.

On a funky little corner in Culver City, there resides a hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint called Tacomiendo. I originally read about them a long time ago because they served good food at cheap prices. Finally, after residing on my to-eat list for so long, I got around to taking a ride out to try them out. Not terribly hungry for this dinner hour, I skipped over the big ticket items like burritos and tortas. Instead, I went with their namesake, a taco. Continue Reading»

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Beef, Chicken, Culver City, Los Angeles, meat, Mexican, restaurants, tacomiendo, tacos

Lunchtime at Lunch

January 5th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Look at those little toast-bubbles.

The nice thing about having random days off for New Year’s Day because the actual New Year’s falls on a Saturday is that I get to test out some lunch places that aren’t around my office. This is what led me to the creatively named Lunch (which surprisingly also serves dinner) in Culver City. Cue your Abbott and Costello references. Lunch is pretty much what you would expect from your average lunch joint, with soups, salads and sandwiches. But they do toss in some nice twists with sandwich creativity and even offer a make-your-own-sandwich option called Ideal Sandwich. Continue Reading»

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Bacon, Culver City, Los Angeles, lunch, mac and cheese, restaurants, Sandwiches

Rainy Day Chili at Tub’s

December 29th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Is this the Texas way?

Having never spent a significant amount of time in Texas, Texas-style chili remains a mystery to me. However, if I were to imagine chili in Texas, it would pretty much look like Tub’s Fine Chili & Fancy Fixins, which I decided to head to on one of LA’s recent days of rain. For starters, the interior has a whole country-western sort of theme to it, with the workers wearing cowboy hats and cowboy-esque stools that resemble saddles. It’s a bit gimmicky for Southern California, but it kind of feels right for the place. Then there’s the chili, which is a far cry from the Midwestern-style chili I know and love from Chili John’s in Burbank and pretty much the entire state of Michigan. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because as they say, “variety is the spice of life.” Continue Reading»

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Bacon, Chili, Culver City, Los Angeles, meat, tub's chili

Rants and Raves

Eat Tofu, Kill Earth

February 19th, 2010

Now that is a band.

Once upon a time there was a group of people called vegans. Among other things, these people claimed that their diet was better for the environment than eating meat. Had they been right, the world would be a much different place, but luckily for us, they were wrong. In fact, they eventually learned that their diet was actually worse for the environment than eating meat.

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.

‘Culver City’

Stumbling Upon Giovanni’s Trattoria

Hop to, Choppe Choppe

Getting All Fresh in the Box

Strange Meats: Frog Legs

Not Turning Japanese at Akasha

Filled Up on Ford’s Filling Station

A Burger to Drink with at City Tavern

A Simpler Meal at Tacomiendo

Lunchtime at Lunch

Rainy Day Chili at Tub’s

Rants and Raves

Eat Tofu, Kill Earth

Going Global at Plan Check

What is this?»

Unvegan Friends