The Unvegan

Not a Usual Bar at Souplantation

May 4th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

An array of cold pasta.

As a man who loves all-you-can-eat, I was very excited at the prospect of heading to Souplantation (also known as Sweet Tomatoes in some places). I knew that they had an 80-foot salad bar, which sounded terrible, but I had also been told they had some REAL food. When I walked in, I hadn’t totally comprehended what an 80-foot salad bar would look like, and it bothered me deeply. Tucked in the recesses of this foul bar, I found some pastas that seemed pretty decent. I decided to start with these and took them back to my table for some tasting. Continue Reading»

2 Comments

Buffets, Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey, restaurants, souplantation, sweet tomatoes

Reliable Italian at C & O Cucina

December 28th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The REAL reason to go to C & O

Not to be confused with C & O Trattoria, C & O Cucina is just down the street in Marina Del Rey. Although the location is completely different, the menu seems to be the same as the other C & O. One thing it is missing, though, is the fun outdoor atmosphere. Nonetheless, I had a restaurant.com gift certificate so I had to try it out. Continue Reading»

3 Comments

C & O Cucina, Chicken, food, Italian, Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey, meat, pasta, ravioli, restaurants, trattoria

Getting Hot-N-Ready at Little Caesars

November 2nd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

And look how efficient it is.

Once Little Caesars abandoned their “Pizza Pizza” slogan, they seemed to fall off the face of the earth. A few years later, though, they were reborn with the $5 Hot-N-Ready large pizza. The idea behind this is that pizza has become too complicated. Choosing a topping can be a pain in the ass, then finding the right coupon to go along with your purchase can be even more difficult. With the Hot-N-Ready pizza, you can walk right into as Little Caesars at any time, throw down five bucks and walk out with either a large cheese or large pepperoni. It’s a genius idea, because who really wants a different topping on their pizza? But it only works if the product still tastes good. I recently paid a visit back to Little Caesars to see if their Hot-N-Ready was just like I remembered. Continue Reading»

One Comment

Carry-Out, Chains, hot and ready, hot-n-ready, little caesars, Mar Vista, Marina Del Rey, meat, pepperoni, Pizza, restaurants

Going Without the Pizza at Antica Pizzeria

June 9th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

My calzone seems to have a tree part on it.

Tucked away in an unassuming strip mall in Marina del Rey is Antica Pizzeria. Based on it’s location, you wouldn’t expect too much out of it, but it happens to have quite the reputation. It apparently uses some good old fashioned dough straight from Naples.

I scoured the menu for a while, having trouble finding a good pizza without vegetables. In the end, despite their reputation, I ordered the calzone instead of the pizza. I figured this was okay because it still has all the dough of a pizza, just better ingredients. The calzone here came with ricotta, mozzarella, salami and basil.

When it came, it was just massive. Continue Reading»

No Comments

California, Calzone, Italian, Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey, meat, Pizza, restaurants, top 25 pizza

Braving the Recession at Rubio’s

March 18th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Maybe the recession ain't so bad...

In a world crumbling under the pressure of mounting recession and potential depression, deals can be found aplenty. Well, that is assuming you still have enough money to eat. When I went to Rubio’s in Marina Del Rey, they were offering up a little recession combo that I decided to take advantage of. This was two street tacos, chips, beans and a 20 oz. drink for only $5.

The choice of taco innards was up to me, so I got one with steak and one with chicken. They came with guacamole and an unfortunate mix of onions and cilantro. I would have liked the cilantro, but it was all or nothing and I couldn’t risk having onions on my tacos. Continue Reading»

No Comments

Fast Food, Franchises, Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey, meat, Mexican, restaurants, west coasts chains

C & O Trattoria

January 28th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

So much better with added meat.

Italian food is often a difficult food to spend a lot of money on. It is hard to justify dropping $15 on a meal when I can easily boil pasta, microwave some Classico sauce and sprinkle some parmesan on top. C & O Trattoria, however, is a place that exceeds anything I could provide in my own kitchen.

The ambience itself makes you feel like you really walked into a restaurant in Italy, with outdoor seating, a fountain and strings of lights. Even the walls are painted to make it feel like you are sitting out on the street rather than inside a restaurant. I took my seat and started looking at the menu when the waiter began bringing out my unlimited garlic knots. The waiter could hardly bring them out fast enough for me to eat them. Continue Reading»

2 Comments

food, Italian, Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey, meat, pasta, restaurants, rigatoni

Rants and Raves

Would You Like CO2 With That Steak?

February 12th, 2010

Boo CO2

Have you ever wondered what the carbon footprint of your food is? No? Me neither, but apparently some people do. Fortunately, the University of New South Wales in Australia has found that red meat is quite the carbon-efficient food, bringing one more bit of great news from the world of meat-eating.

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.