The Unvegan

Sausage-Free at Tony’s Deli

November 14th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

And here, Tony makes a sandwich.

Out in the strange region of the Valley known as Toluca Lake is a decent selection of restaurants for working-class folk like myself. Filling the role of Italian Deli is a place called Tony’s, which is a tiny little sandwich shop that also happens to offer a couple easy-to-serve-at-sandwich-shops-but-not-actual-sandwich items like lasagna. Most of their sandwiches come with an array of unvegan horrors like lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions, but one did not. This was the way of the unvegan. Continue Reading»

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Italian, Los Angeles, meatballs, restaurants, Sandwiches, toluca lake, tony's deli

Breaking the Fast at Greenblatt’s

October 12th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Damn you, pickle!

After a long day of repenting and fasting, I needed a good Jewish meal to remind my body and mind what eating felt like. Since we were attending a comedy show later that night at The Laugh Factory, we decided to go to an ancient little deli next door called Greenblatt’s. And when I say ancient, I meant it’s been there since 1926. That means when my grandma was living in LA in the late ’40s, it was already old and she remembers its existence. To survive for 85 years anywhere, let a lone a big city where change is the only contant is quite impressive. I was eager to find out what kept Greenblatt’s ticking and to satiate my fully empty stomach. Continue Reading»

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Corned Beef, Delis, greenblatt's, Los Angeles, meat, pastrami, restaurants, Sandwiches, west hollywood

Bewitched by ‘Wichcraft

October 7th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Is this bewitching enough for you?

In the depths of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, there is a multitude of fancy restaurants just waiting for the eating. But wanting to get on the road and needing a quick bite, we made our way to a sandwich shop called ‘wichcraft. I liked the nice little pun they used there, and also thought it might be a Tom Colicchio restaurant because of the “craft” used in the name (I later confirmed this, but I must confess I didn’t know who Tom Colicchio was until a few minutes before settling on ‘wichcraft). Continue Reading»

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'wichcraft, Las Vegas, meat, mgm grand, nevada, prosciutto, Sandwiches, Travel

Missing Meat at The Parlor

September 26th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

All looks well on the surface.

As a Michigan football fan, it is often difficult to pull myself out of bed and get to a bar for those awesome 9 am games (12 pm for those in Eastern Time). Thus, if I am going to a bar and not watching the game in the comfort of my abode, food is key. Now, I am a big fan of bar food, but it is the rare bar that has delicious breakfast. This week, the bar of choice was The Parlor on Melrose and my number one hope was that Michigan would destroy San Diego State and my number two hope was for some delicious breakfast. I can tell you now that I got at least one of those (spoiler alert: Michigan was a victor). Continue Reading»

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Bacon, Bar Food, Bars, Breakfast, Los Angeles, melrose, Sandwiches, the parlor

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

Feeling French with Monsieur Marcel

September 13th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

An extreme grilled cheese.

Situated somewhere in the middle of 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica is a place called Monsieur Marcel. It’s easy to miss if you aren’t looking, and in the countless times I have been there I had never seen it myself, at least until I was looking out specifically for it. Based on the name, you would expect Monsieur Marcel to be French, and you would be right. The menu is populated with unpronounceable dishes, but fortunately they also come with English descriptions. Continue Reading»

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french, Los Angeles, monsieur marcel, restaurants, Sandwiches, Santa Monica

Plundering Paradise Cove

September 2nd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Frequented by humans and seagulls alike.

The coastal land of Malibu is populated by celebrities attempting to avoid the real world and regular people who want to avoid the crowds of LA’s more local beaches. It’s also sparsely populated by restaurants that want nothing more than to serve a subpar meal while providing a breathtaking view. Or at least that’s how it usually goes – a great view = decent food. Hoping to avoid that trend, the Danto family brought back memories of high school and college by taking me, their son’s greatest friend of all time, to lunch. The Danto clan had chosen Paradise Cove and I was excited to find out what they had to offer. Continue Reading»

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American, Chicken, Los Angeles, Malibu, paradise cove, restaurants, Sandwiches

Apparently, I was Thinking Arby’s

July 13th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Is this what I was thinking?

Arby’s has always been kind of a fringe fast food chain. You can find it all over the country, but it isn’t exactly on every corner. Perhaps this is the reason it has taken me so long to review them. Or perhaps the reason is because I once heard their meat begins its life as a liquid. Whatever the case, a golden opportunity to chow down on some potentially formerly liquid meat presented itself at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Continue Reading»

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Airports, Arby's, Beef, Fast Food, meat, minneapolis, Minnesota, National Chains, Sandwiches, Travel

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls on Tires

June 27th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

One if by sea, two if by truck.

When Great Balls on Tires first debuted last year, I was concerned that such a name for a meatball truck was a bit of a gimmick. Yet, now that GBOT has lasted through the middle of this year, I felt it was time I tried them out. When I walked up to the truck to see what they had to offer, I found there were only a few sets of balls to choose from. Yet, more than one of these balls looked attractive to me. Unfortunately, all balls came in sets of two, so I had to limit myself to only one ball type. Continue Reading»

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Beef, food trucks, great balls on tires, kobe beef, Los Angeles, meat, meat balls, Mobile, north hollywood, Sandwiches

Living Large at Larchmont Wine & Cheese

June 21st, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Sandwichy bliss.

The little area known as Larchmont in the middle of Los Angeles is LA’s version of Main Street America. Populated mostly by mom and pop shops, it features a few chains and also its fair share of shuttered establishments. In the middle of this strip of Americana resides Larchmont Village Wine, Spirits & Cheese. Though the place certainly has its fair share of wines, spirits and cheeses, the main draw is the sandwiches. The long, yet swiftly moving line is a testament to these sandwiches. They offer only seven select sandwiches and not one of them is extravagant. Continue Reading»

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Hollywood, Italian, larchmont, larchmont village wine spirits & cheese, Los Angeles, prosci, Sandwiches

Rants and Raves

Stop Global Warming for Better Meat

November 25th, 2009

Why isn't this cow happy?

Meat eaters of the world have many enemies. They can come in the form of PETA or a hamburger that someone has decided to ruin with lettuce. One of the newest enemies, however, can’t be easily remedied by making fun of vegans or by sending food back to the kitchen. This enemy is global warming.

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.

‘Sandwiches’

Sausage-Free at Tony’s Deli

Breaking the Fast at Greenblatt’s

Bewitched by ‘Wichcraft

Missing Meat at The Parlor

Hop to, Choppe Choppe

Feeling French with Monsieur Marcel

Plundering Paradise Cove

Apparently, I was Thinking Arby’s

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls on Tires

Living Large at Larchmont Wine & Cheese

Rants and Raves

Stop Global Warming for Better Meat

Going Global at Plan Check

What is this?»

Unvegan Friends