The Unvegan

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Merging Cultures at Chino Bandido
Back to Asia with Taiwan Food Express
A Big Ass Burger at Roaring Fork
Damn Near Perfection at Tokyo Fried Chicken

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Finally, Some Indian Food at Gate of India

This vindaloo is making me thirsty.
This vindaloo is making me thirsty.

Ok, yes I know I sort of reviewed some Indian food last week from Tara’s, but that was really Himalayan. So when I went to Gate of India in Hollywood, it was essentially my first time getting some full-on Indian food since moving to LA.

A buddy of mine took me to the place because it was the best Indian he had yet found in LA. Although he is Jewish, I took his work for it. Gate of India isn’t exactly what you would imagine for a place in Hollywood. It’s in a nondescript little row of shops on a street corner. The interior conveys a sense of a banquet hall more than an ethnic restaurant, but fortunately the prices weren’t so painful, with just about everything on the menu coming in under 10 bucks.

According to my research, somewhere between 20-40% of the population of India are vegetarian. This would be enough to frighten away many meat eaters from Indian restaurants, but not me. That means the majority is still of the meat-eating persuasion. The menu at Gate of India reflected this, because while a majority of the food was meat-laden, there was still a pretty extensive vegetarian section.

Simply Good Burgers at Big Daddy’s Burgers

It's just too pretty.
It’s just so simply right.

Sometimes it’s best to keep things simple. As Henry David Thoreau once said, “Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.” Quite often, restaurants fail to recognize this necessity by throwing in vegetable garnishings or trying to turn a burger into a gourmet meal. Big Daddy’s Burgers in Lake Tahoe, however, wouldn’t dream of crossing this line. They only make burgers, hot dogs and fries. It’s a menu so simple that it makes In-N-Out Burger’s menu look like a novel.

Exercise Food at McP’s Irish Pub & Grill

A veggie-free sensation.
A veggie-free sensation.

After a long day of hiking, there’s nothing better for an unvegan than beer and greasy food. Luckily, just a few steps from my hotel in Lake Tahoe, there was a nifty little joint called McP’s Irish Pub & Grill.

We took our seats in the upstairs and outdoors dining area, just outside the doors of a small performance. As we looked at our menus, there was a small child dancing like a crazy person to the sound of the music from within. This was infinitely more entertaining than the menu, but food had to be ordered. There was plenty of good-looking food on the menu, and eventually I decided to get the BBQ Beef Sandwich.

A Grand Breakfast at IHOP

If only they could slip a little meat in there...
If only they could slip a little meat in there…

I’m not usually a “go out to breakfast” type of guy, but recently when I was in Lake Tahoe, going out to breakfast was really my only option. Rather than take my chances with a place I had never heard of, IHOP started calling my name, and I answered.

The wait was kind of long, but I knew it would be worth it to get a hearty meal before spending the day hiking. IHOP was having a special called Hawaiian Pancakes at the time, so my eyes immediately started checking them out. This wasn’t simply an order of pancakes though, the special also included bacon, hash browns and eggs. Amazingly, this special cost less than if I had just ordered eggs, hash browns and bacon (without the pancakes) so I knew it had to be mine. Of all the Hawaiian flavors, I decided to get the Strawberry Passion Fruit. The picture of it on the menu looked delicious, especially with the strange yellowish cream spilling out from between the two pancakes.

The Strangely Named Grand Casino Bakery

Empanadalicious.
Empanadalicious.

By suggestion, I went off to the Grand Casino Bakery in Culver City in search of some good Argentinian food after I came back from Georgia. I’m not entirely sure how they wound up with a name like that, which really doesn’t convey images of South American food, but somehow it works in this crazy town of LA.

The Himalayan Experience at Tara’s

It's naan-tastic
It’s naan-tastic

Tara’s in Palms is another little restaurant I’ve driven or walked by many times and wondered what great things wait inside. Finally, I was craving some Indian food, so I took a step inside. Now, to be clear, Tara’s isn’t a straight-up Indian restaurant. Rather, it is Himalayan, aka Indian with a twist of Nepalese and Tibetan. I think this gives the place a bit more character than just plain Indian cuisine.

To start the meal right, I asked the waitress what beer I should order. She recommended a bottle of Old Monk beer, so I took her advice. This was a great Indian lager beer that was especially good, because it came in one of those tall bottles that you can only seem to find at ethnic restaurants.

Rethinking Fast Food at Rally’s (CLOSED)

Things between buns should always have double-meat.
Things between buns should always have double-meat.

Edit: This location may be gone, but Rally’s is definitely still a thing.

Some days, typical fast food restaurants just aren’t enough. Enter: Rally’s. It’s like fast food, but with a few little twists. In fact, it isn’t always called Rally’s. Supposedly it is called Checker’s in some strange parts of the country.

What really drew me to Rally’s in Palms was the sign that said “2 for $4 Double Bacon Cheddar Burgers and Double Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches.” After seeing these options, I didn’t even need to look at the menu except to decide which fries I wanted. One thing that sets Rally’s apart from other fast food places is that they have two drive-thru windows, ensuring speedy ordering. In-N-Out could certainly learn a lot from this. They also have a window that you can just walk up to for ordering, if you want to sit in the nice outdoor dining area.

A Multi-Meaty Sandwich from Factor’s Deli

These colors don't run.
These colors don’t run.

Over at the Pico-Robertson area is Factor’s Deli, a Jewish-style deli with delivery! Sometimes I wonder why more restaurants don’t deliver, but luckily I don’t need to wonder about that for Factor’s.

For some reason, I wasn’t in the mood for pastrami, so it took some time to figure out what I wanted to order. Eventually, I found the multi-meaty sandwich to conquer my hunger. This was the combination sandwich entitled No. 1, featuring turkey, corned beef and swiss cheese to ensure that it is un-Kosher. It also had Russian dressing and was served on triple-layer rye bread. As a bonus, it also came with a choice of two sides, so I chose the unhealthiest of all, fries and homemade chips.

Classy Mexican at Border Grill

Sickly looking green stuff on my quesadilla!
Sickly looking green stuff on my quesadilla!

It’s pretty rare, but sometimes it’s good to break free of Mexican fast-food and slow, yet still greasy Mexican food. To make this jump, I went to the Border Grill in Santa Monica and attempted to class-up my Mexican repertoire.

They actually had a surprisingly welcome selection of unvegan options and I was torn between a few of the dishes. The steep prices may have ended up playing a role in my final selection, which was still pretty pricey at $15. This was one of their specials, the Chicken Adobo Quesadilla. Adobo is a great seasoning, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong. It came with manchego, panela and cotija cheeses inside, and mizuna salad, salsa fresca, guacamole and sour cream on the outside. I ordered mine without the mizuna salad and although I’m not entirely sure what “mizuna” means, I know it involved vegetables I didn’t want to eat.

A Less Than Stellar A & W Experience (CLOSED)

Just not what it used to be
Just not what it used to be

Edit: This location is gone, but A & W still lives elsewhere.

I always have fond memories of trips to A & W from when I grew up. I always loved their root beer floats and their curly fries. So when I stumbled upon an A & W in Hawthorne, I knew I had to return to relive my glory days.

Unfortunately, as with so many other childhood favorites, my hopes were too high for A & W. This particular A & W was merged with Long John Silver’s, which made me sad to hearken back to the days when an A & W could have a restaurant all to itself, and not just any restaurant. These were the drive-thru sorts where you parked next to a menu and were waited on in your car. It seems those days are all but gone, and despite the generic and washed out design of this A & W/Long John Silver’s amalgamation, I hoped that the food would make up for it.

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