The Unvegan

1/2/2012 Reviews Cave Creek

An Explosion of Flavor at C4 (CLOSED)

Remember playing Cowboys and Indians as a kid? Thankfully, there is a place in the world where that fantasyland still exists. It’s called Arizona, and while not everyone runs around with a gun loaded with 223 ammo, there are places you could picture saddling up a horse just as easily as stopping by in a hybrid. One such place is the Cave Creek Coffee Company, affectionately known as C4 by locals. The facade is reminiscent of Tombstone, but the interior is pure class (not that Tombstone was lacking in class…).

Arizona C4 Cave Creek Cave Creek Coffee Company Lahvosh Meat Phoenix Pizza Restaurants Travel

12/30/2011 General Thoughts United States

Unvegan Top 20 for 2011

‘Tis the season for “Best of the Year” lists, so I thought I would join the party and put in my top 20 new restaurants from 2011. By the way, this means the restaurants were new to me, not new to LA. Please note that I am only including meals in the Los Angeles area. As much as I loved the food on my travels, you can check any of those places out pretty quickly by clicking here. So, without further caveat, here’s the best that 2011 had to offer for the unvegan:

20. Cobras and Matadors

This tapas place in Mid-City is everything tapas should be. From bacon-wrapped dates to a variety of cheeses, there is really something for anyone looking for a delicious meal. Just beware, while tapas can be kept to a moderate price, when you throw a big group in with small plates, there are bound to be some people who don’t get their money’s worth. But keep the group small and Cobras and Matadors will send you home full and happy.

19. Steingarten

Dishing out delicious sausages, including a few of the exotic variety, Steingarten also offers up a pretty stellar beer selection. If you’ve ever wanted to eat alligator in sausage form, Steingarten won’t disappoint, but they also serve a wider range of foods, including some pretty delicious burgers. Their sausage execution, though, could use a bit of improvement, which pushed another sausage joint further up on the list.

Best of Los Angeles

12/23/2011 Reviews Culver City

Heading South with Mayura

When Jonathan Gold’s latest rendition of the 99 best restaurants in LA came out, I was amazed to find an Indian place basically in my backyard. No, I don’t have an actual backyard because I live in LA, but you get my drift. Fortunately, my body had been craving Indian and I easily convinced my girlfriend that we had to order some carryout from there. While the menu appeared to have typical Indian fare, Mayura actually specialized in South Indian food. With that in mind, I was excited to get down with something new.

Culver City Curry Delivery Indian Los Angeles Mayura Restaurants South Indian

12/21/2011 Reviews Evanston

Giordano’s, for Real This Time

A long, long time ago, I was a fledgling meat blogger just getting his bearings. In a desperate attempt to eat Giordano’s and get it on the blog, I bought a half-baked pie in Chicago, packed it in ice and brought it back to LA to finish the baking myself. The result was delicious, and while I reviewed it, I always felt that it was unfair to judge a restaurant in which much of the cooking was up to me. Since those days, very little has changed, but my desire for Giordano’s has only grown stronger. So on my last visit to Chicago, I made sure to hit Giordano’s for real, or to at least have some of my family pick it up for me in Evanston.

Chicago Chicago-Style Pizza Evanston Giordano's Illinois Italian Pizza Travel

12/20/2011 Reviews Chicago

A Night in Province (CLOSED)

And now you may be wondering why an unvegan such as myself would choose to leave sunny Los Angeles for a December weekend foray into the Windy City. With very good reason, in fact, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of my sister’s birth. Yes, it makes me feel old to have a sister so old. But I was delighted at the opportunity to spend a special event with her and a good portion of my family. For the celebration, we headed to a restaurant called Province in downtown Chicago.

Chicago Chicken Downtown Chicago Illinois Province Restaurants South American Travel

12/19/2011 Reviews Chicago

Yolk-y with a Chance of Hair

In the Windy City for a cold and lovely weekend, some friends, family and other converged upon a brunch place called Yolk in River North. On such a cold day, I was surprised to find such a long line of people waiting to get a piece of Yolk’s action. Despite claiming to have a 20-minutes wait, it was a good 35 minutes until we were seated. It was not a good sign of things to come, but a quick glance at the menu made me immediately forgot the wait it took to get there.

Bacon Brunch Chicago Illinois Restaurants River North Travel Waffles Yolk

12/15/2011 Reviews Los Angeles

Eating with Ray at San Gennaro (CLOSED)

I could read all the food blogs in the world and go to all the restaurants they claim to be great, but nothing really ever beats a personal recommendation. Usually it comes from someone you know and they know your taste better any anonymous or famous food critics. So when my buddy and his lady friend suggested we hit up an Italian place called San Gennaro in Brentwood, I was ready for business.

When we arrived, one look at the menu told me this was not going to be an easy choice. Instantly my eyes met with gnocchi, Italian fried chicken and Ray’s Special pizza. Instead of making the tough decision myself, I asked the waiter to decide for me and he picked the pizza.

Brentwood Italian Los Angeles Pizza Restaurants San Gennaro Sausages

12/13/2011 Heroes and Villains

Herman Cain: Unvegan Hero

The gotcha media folks have been especially hard on Herman Cain. And why? Just to get a good story and learn more about the man who once wanted to be president? For shame. Rest assured, Herman, while you won’t be the President of the United States, I am here with your fallback plan.

Herman Cain Pizza POTUS

12/12/2011 Reviews Los Angeles

Feeding on Curry at Fat Spoon (CLOSED)

Apparently some place called The Lazy Ox downtown is a big deal or something. I wouldn’t know because I haven’t been, but supposedly the guy behind it,Â Michael Cardenas, is also a big deal. Such a big deal, in fact, that he took it upon himself to open another restaurant, called Fat Spoon. The new place is down in Little Tokyo and is conceptually a Japanese curry house. As a man with a fair amount of Japanese curry experience, I definitely wanted to check the place out, and it didn’t hurt that I had one of those Blackboard Eats 30% off printouts either.

Beef Curry Downtown LA Fat Spoon Japanese Little Tokyo Los Angeles Restaurants

12/8/2011 Reviews Los Angeles

Artsy Noodles at Tsujita LA

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.

Japanese Los Angeles Ramen Restaurants Soup Tsujita LA West LA

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