Uhhh...what?
Occupying the courtyard that formerly contained NoHo Royal Garden is a place called Rain Forest Cafe. While I’m not sure how they were able to get away with using that name, I do know that the rain forest referred to is that of Brazil, so it should definitely not be confused with the more mainstream Rainforest Cafe. Claiming to be a Brazilian Churrascaria, I was certainly interested in what would be offered. Continue Reading»
Can a hole in the wall be standalone?
On the corner of Magnolia and Laurel Canyon in North Hollywood, there is a Taco Bell. Across from that Taco Bell sits Yum Yum Donuts. And just next to that Yum Yum Donuts is a burger joint called Big Time. Although it has the looks of a hole in the wall, Big Time occupies its own piece of real estate and has looked inviting to me ever since I began working in North Hollywood. Some of the best food in the world comes from places like this, so I was excited to find out if Big Time was one such place. Continue Reading»
Started out strong.
In the realm of places in North Hollywood that are in walking distance, there is one place I have avoided for a while. It’s called Eclectic Cafe and the reason is not because I’ve heard bad things, but I’ve heard expensive things and “expensive lunch” is not often a term that finds itself in my vocabulary. Nonetheless, I recently had reason to eat lunch there and was curious what I would find. Continue Reading»
No veggies to be found.
The Federal Bar in North Hollywood just opened last month and it wasn’t a moment too soon. North Hollywood has desperately needed some bar variety, because you can only go to Big Wangs and Pitfire Pizza so often. Plus, The Federal Bar is not simply a bar, it is a gastropub featuring a tasty-looking menu just waiting for an unvegan visit. The visit came on St. Patrick’s Day, when my coworkers and I were in dire need of a beer and didn’t want to wait in line anywhere. We were amazed to find The Federal Bar had a surplus of seats available and sat down to see what it was all about. Continue Reading»
Love the maize and blue colors.
One day outside of my work, a new truck appeared. It was called Bera’s Custom Cheese Steaks and since the best cheese steak I’ve ever eaten came from a food truck, I thought Bera’s was definitely worth a try. They have a surprisingly robust menu for a cheese steak truck, ranging from Thai Chicken Steak to Stromboli Steak. But as good as some of these looked, I was thinking more about the “Custom” in their truck name. Continue Reading»
This is not ramen.
On our way to get some ramen for lunch in North Hollywood, we passed by a place called Twin Castle. The sign looked like it had been there since 1940 and the logo was similar enough to White Castle’s that we thought they might serve up some real sliders like back east. Since the sign said “Hamburgers” we knew at the very least the place had burgers. Our minds quickly jumped from ramen to burgers and we turned around and parked. Continue Reading»
At least there's a lot of pep.
One night a friend decided to meet me for dinner in North Hollywood. Typically I get myself out of that place as fast as I can after work, but on this night I was actually a bit excited to try out a place called Little Toni’s. Little Toni’s is a pizza place that isn’t open for lunch, so I figured this would be one of my rare opportunities to try them out. We walked inside and found the place wasn’t just some pizza joint, but an all-out Italian place that was probably pretty good for families. Nonetheless, we were ready to try their pizza. Continue Reading»
No veggies here.
Those who question the culture of LA have never been to a place like Hy Mart. Although it sits in a strange strip mall in the middle of North Hollywood, the place has just the right culture for the city. Their specialty is sandwiches, but although some are more refined deli-style sandwiches, they also serve Middle-Eastern food. The decorum is pretty basic, with wooden chairs and simple tables, but the colorful walls, images of the Middle East and random pictures of signs in Thailand give the place a comfortable feeling like you’re in someone’s home. And in fact, you kind of are in someone’s home. Run by a husband, wife and son, there really is a certain comfort in the place. So even though the service isn’t fast, it’s not because you’re being forgotten, but for the same reason service isn’t fast when you go visit your family friend for dinner. Continue Reading»
A perfect corner for burgers.
Although I am well aware of the crazy mix of people residing in North Hollywood, I was still amazed when I discovered the clientele at Jack’s Classic Hamburgers. A moderate walk from my office, I knew this would be a perfect place for me before I even saw the menu. This was because 1) they were mostly men and 2) they all seemed to be blue collar men. No yuppies in white shirts and skinny ties here. Instead of that, there were construction workers, cable men, an Iron Mountain driver and finally a dude who might have been related to Dog the Bounty Hunter. I was a little ashamed having come from my well-ventilated desk job, but I was ready to devour a burger just as manly as any of these guys. Continue Reading»
Heresy!
For lunch one day, I happened to notice the Patty Wagon truck was parked outside my office. This seemed like a fun lunch, so I checked out their menu and found a few burgers that looked good. I was a little sad to see that they only had mini-hamburgers, but really happy to see that they weren’t falsely calling them sliders. Each mini burger was in the realm of 3 bucks, which seemed a little pricey, but they did look interesting. A few of the burgers looked really good except for a vegetable here and there. When I went to order, I was told they couldn’t change any of their burgers, which was disappointing, but I was able to find two without any reference to a veggie. Continue Reading»
They don't look like people to me...
Horton Hears a Who!, by Dr. Seuss is a beloved children’s book that was recently developed into a major film. Anti-abortion people commandeered this book as a sort of anti-abortion manifesto and used the movie to stage protests. After all, how could you misinterpret the line, “a person’s a person, no matter how small”? Well, none of the characters in the book are technically “people,” so the logic kind of gets skewed. Instead, I would like to offer up an interpretation of this book as an anti-vegan manifesto and re-interpret the main line as “an animal’s an animal, no matter how small.”
Confused? Continue Reading»
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.
Continue Reading»
