The Unvegan

Victory Dinner at San Francisco Saloon

May 21st, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Go Bruins?

After my team posted a huge victory in our rec basketball league, we decided to grab some burgers to celebrate. This led me to San Francisco Saloon, which is not located in San Francisco at all, but rather in West LA and has been serving LA since 1934. The place is more sport bar than saloon and actually has a good sports bar vibe. The burgers are named for LA and San Francisco sports teams like the Giants and the Trojan, with a few non-sports names like Hickory to join them. Continue Reading»

No Comments

Bacon, Bar Food, Bars, Burgers, hamburgers, Los Angeles, restaurants, San Francisco Saloon, West LA

Going Global at Plan Check

May 2nd, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

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»

No Comments

Burgers, Events, hamburgers, Los Angeles, Plan Check, umami burger, West LA

Artsy Noodles at Tsujita LA

December 8th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Artisan or artesian?

Have you ever looked upon a meal and thought it was just too pretty to eat? It happens to the best of us, and to be perfectly frank, a pretty-looking meal is often disguising a lack of flavor or creativity. So when my buddy and I decided to head to Tsujita LA in West LA for lunch, I was a little concerned that their claim of “Artisan Noodles” would make for a pretty meal, but little else. But when we showed up and found an obscenely long line of people waiting to get a taste of the noodles, I thought again. Continue Reading»

No Comments

Japanese, Los Angeles, ramen, restaurants, soup, tsujita la, West LA

Breaking the Hamburger Habit

August 8th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Stop scaring me, pickles.

Over in West LA, there is a burger place called Hamburger Habit. As I habitually consume burgers, the place sounded just perfect for me. The exterior of the joint loudly displays an award given to it by KABC as the best burger in Southern California. The interior is also full of awards, but unfortunately the most recent date back to the Clinton Administration. Still, I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Did Hambuger Habit start churning out terrible burgers or did they just get left in the dust by newer LA burgers? Continue Reading»

No Comments

Burgers, diners, hamburger habit, hamburgers, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, West LA

Gator Sausage at Steingarten

March 21st, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Someone dropped a burn in my beer.

You know what’s great? Sausage. You know what goes great with sausage? Beer. So what does Steingarten, a recently opened restaurant/bar in West LA, have to offer? That’s right, sausage and beer. But not just any sausage and beer, sure they have your generic bratwurst, buckwurst, Polish and Italian sausages, but similar to Wurstkuche, they like to get exotic. With rabbit, venison, alligator and elk, these are truly some sausages to be reckoned with and not for those with a weak stomach. Continue Reading»

2 Comments

Alligator, Beer, german, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, sausages, steingarten, West LA

One Juicy Burger from Hole in the Wall Burger Joint

December 8th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Burger and pretzel is love.

For a while now I have been trying to make my way to Hole in the Wall Burger Joint. Hidden behind Winchell’s Donuts in West LA, it is certainly not an easy place to find, which I suppose is how it got its name, but also likely contributed to my taking so long to get there. Hole in the Wall is essentially the same style as The Counter, where you make your own burger. Upon entering the restaurants, there is a small table with slips of your options, along with a stand showing their specialty burger of the day. There are also a ton of signs telling you that the place doesn’t take credit card. They have an ATM if you need one, but it’s best to pick up money beforehand to avoid paying those extra charges. Continue Reading»

No Comments

Beef, Burgers, hamburgers, hole in the wall burger joint, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, West LA

Back in America with The Six

November 24th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

This burger is the sixnit.

After a long trip abroad, full of dumplings, rice and steamed buns (which were all delicious), all I wanted to eat upon my return was a burger. But not just some fast food burger, I could get that anywhere. No, I wanted the kind of gourmet burger you can’t really find outside of LA. Fortunately, my prayers were answered as we went to dinner at The Six Restaurant in West LA. Named after The Society of Six, some crazy California painters, The Six has a pretty simple gastropub style interior with some pretty good beers on tap. Fighting jet lag, I opted out of the beer and set my eyes on the burger. Continue Reading»

No Comments

Burgers, gastropubs, hamburgers, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, the six restaurant, West LA

Spicing My Broth at Asahi Ramen

July 5th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Mix one part curry noodles...

For a little post-tennis victory Japanese treat, I headed to Asahi Ramen in West LA with my vanquished tennis foe to get some…ummm ramen. Now don’t be fooled by the name of the restaurant, as it apparently has nothing to do with delicious Asahi beer. Confused myself, I took the liberty of looking up Asahi on the old interwebs and found that Asahi is the name of about ten different towns and cities in Japan, so for the name to carry over into both beer and ramen isn’t that surprising. Anyway, enough with geography and economics, let’s get to the food. Continue Reading»

No Comments

Asahi Ramen, Beef, Curry, Japanese, Los Angeles, meat, ramen, restaurants, spicy, West LA

Wasting Imports at Brooklyn Pizza

June 14th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Looks so normal.

In an attempt to try out some new pizza while at the girlfriend’s place, we looked into a little place in West LA called Brooklyn Pizza. Knowing that we were not actually in Brooklyn, I thought this might have been some sort of a misnomer. But misnomer it was not. Instead, it seemed as though they were trying to create the sort of pizza that you could get in Brooklyn and seemed very excited to tell us over the phone that their tomatoes and cheese came from New York. This seemed nice, but are the cheese and tomatoes really the things people love about New York pizza? I thought it was the dough, but perhaps I am wrong. Nonetheless, I checked out the menu and found their Double Pepperoni looked appealing. Continue Reading»

One Comment

Brooklyn Pizza, Delivery, Italian, Los Angeles, meat, pepperoni, Pizza, restaurants, West LA

An Hour of Happiness at Q’s

June 8th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

What sort of bed have these wings been laid upon?

Finding a happy hour around town on a Sunday afternoon isn’t the easiest thing to do. You would think bars would be itching to get customers to come in for a post-Mass drink, but we had a to call a good four or five bars to find ourselves a nice happy hour with a combination of food and drinks. The bar we finally landed on was Q’s Billiard Club in West LA. Their happy hour involved $10 pitchers (of any beer) and half-off appetizers. It all sounded perfect for a fun little hockey-watching Sunday. Continue Reading»

No Comments

Bar Food, Bars, Buffalo Wings, Chicken Wings, Los Angeles, meat, q's, Santa Monica, West LA

Rants and Raves

PETA Loves Tragedy

May 13th, 2010

Copyright the original owner.

Oil. Let’s be honest…if you don’t work for an oil company, you probably don’t like it. You deal with fluctuating oil prices and the constant threat that it will run out and the whole planet will be screwed. Plus, every once in a while you get an oil spill, and that is no good for anyone, unless you are in PETA.

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.

‘West LA’

Victory Dinner at San Francisco Saloon

Going Global at Plan Check

Artsy Noodles at Tsujita LA

Breaking the Hamburger Habit

Gator Sausage at Steingarten

One Juicy Burger from Hole in the Wall Burger Joint

Back in America with The Six

Spicing My Broth at Asahi Ramen

Wasting Imports at Brooklyn Pizza

An Hour of Happiness at Q’s

Rants and Raves

PETA Loves Tragedy

Going Global at Plan Check

What is this?»

Unvegan Friends