The Unvegan

‘Manhattan Beach’

A Panormous Meal from Pizza Hut

April 17th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

It's PANdemic!

Pardon the pun above, but it had to be done. Anyway, when I saw the Pizza Hut commercial for the Panormous on TV the other night, my friend and I just looked at each other and realized we had to have it. It also helped that it was being advertised for only $10! The next day, we set off in search of this mega-pizza.

Our search took us down to Manhattan beach, where we ordered our Panormous with pepperoni. Strangely, or conveniently, it turned out that the Panormous is really two pizzas, both the same size. This was fine by us, as it made it quite easy to make sure we both had the same amount of food. The only trouble is that I think Pizza Hut did this so they wouldn’t have to use as much cheese and sauce on those middle, crustless pieces that are usually born from a rectangular pizza. Luckily, the Pizza Hut crust is so loaded with oil, it goes down just as smooth as the rest of the pie. Continue Reading»

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American, Fast Food, Franchises, Italian, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, meat, Pizza, restaurants

A Relaxing Lunch at the Ocean View Cafe

April 15th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Not really a pizza...

Tucked away in cozy little Manhattan Beach is a place called the Ocean View Cafe.

The location is great for a lazy afternoon lunch, and the breezes coming up from the ocean are a pleasure. But enough about the location, let’s get to the food.

A lot of the sandwiches offered great core ingredients, like smoked turkey and chicken pesto, but they were all tainted by one or another peripheral vegetable. The one sandwich that caught my eye and didn’t let go was the Herb Pizza Sandwich. It came with chicken breast, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, tomatoes and fresh herbs. Two different kind of tomatoes?! This was madness, but I couldn’t pass up the other tasty-sounding ingredients. Continue Reading»

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American, Cafes, food, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, meat, restaurants, Sandwiches

Baja Sharkeez

December 9th, 2008 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

It looks and smells like Taco Tuesday.*

Today the taco of choice was Sharkeez in Manhattan Beach. Sharkeez is better-known as a late-night college-style bar, but on Tuesdays they serve up a variety of tacos, from Mahi to carnitas to lobster. Being my first time, I ordered a “Maui” style mesquite chicken and a tri-tip steak. The cashier told me they would come with Pico de Gallo** on the side, and inside would just be the meat, cheese and sauce. This sounded great to me, so I sat down to wait for my food. Sharkeez has a good all-you-can eat chips and salsa bar, which is nice to munch on when you’re wating for more food, so I grabbed a trayful.

As I waited for my tacos, I noticed that some of my friends were getting their tacos and they all had a frightening green substance in them. Lettuce! Continue Reading»

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Bar Food, Bars, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, meat, Mexican, restaurants

Rants and Raves

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

December 8th, 2009

Not too far off...

We’ve all heard about pitcher plants and Venus fly traps; carnivorous plants that trap insects and sometimes bigger animals to get their nutrients. Most vegetarians probably don’t concern themselves with these plants since they would never consider eating them. But what if they were to find out that some of their beloved vegetables were responsible for the deaths of animals?

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.