Reviews

4/21/2009 Reviews Santa Monica

Customizing at the Counter

The customizable meal has always been one of my favorites. From pizza to stir-fry, I’ve always felt that it is one of the best ways to eat. It’s basically how you would make something if you had all the ingredients yourself. The unfortunate side-effect is that if you don’t like the food, it’s your own fault. The Counter has taken the customizable concept to burgers.

Their amazing array of ingredients and choices gives and unvegan like me a world of opportunities. Of course, they have lettuce, pickles and tomatoes, but there are enough non-vegetables to really make it an unvegan burger. I ordered the 1/3 pound beef burger with, bacon, herb goat cheese, pineapples and dried cranberries. For my sauce, I got the sweet BBQ on the side (learning my lesson from last time that it is easier to dip a burger than to try to find a place for sauce on it).

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4/20/2009 Reviews Malibu

Eating by the Ocean at Duke’s

In the beautiful land of Malibu, just a few feet from the ocean, sits Duke’s. They have one of the best locations around LA and retain a modestly priced lunch and dinner menu. They even have an outdoor seating area with its own bonus menu, which is where I always prefer to sit.

On my last trip, I took advantage of their lunch menu, which had some good-looking offerings, but the one that stood out the most to me was the Caramel Roasted Turkey Stack. The list of ingredients were an unvegan dream; roast turkey on a ciabatta roll, with applewood smoked bacon, havarti cheese, avocado and mango chutney aioli. A sandwich with no tomatoes or lettuce is rarer than the tamaraw, so I knew it had to be mine.

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4/17/2009 Reviews Manhattan Beach

A Panormous Meal from Pizza Hut

Pardon the pun above, but it had to be done. Anyway, when I saw the Pizza Hut commercial for the Panormous on TV the other night, my friend and I just looked at each other and realized we had to have it. It also helped that it was being advertised for only $10! The next day, we set off in search of this mega-pizza.

Our search took us down to Manhattan beach, where we ordered our Panormous with pepperoni. Strangely, or conveniently, it turned out that the Panormous is really two pizzas, both the same size. This was fine by us, as it made it quite easy to make sure we both had the same amount of food. The only trouble is that I think Pizza Hut did this so they wouldn’t have to use as much cheese and sauce on those middle, crustless pieces that are usually borne from a rectangular pizza. Luckily, the Pizza Hut crust is so loaded with oil, it goes down just as smooth as the rest of the pie.

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4/15/2009 Reviews Manhattan Beach

A Relaxing Lunch at the Ocean View Cafe

Not really a pizza... — Not really a pizza…

Tucked away in cozy little Manhattan Beach is a place called the Ocean View Cafe.

The location is great for a lazy afternoon lunch, and the breezes coming up from the ocean are a pleasure. But enough about the location, let’s get to the food.

A lot of the sandwiches offered great core ingredients, like smoked turkey and chicken pesto, but they were all tainted by one or another peripheral vegetable. The one sandwich that caught my eye and didn’t let go was the Herb Pizza Sandwich. It came with chicken breast, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, tomatoes and fresh herbs. Two different kind of tomatoes?! This was madness, but I couldn’t pass up the other tasty-sounding ingredients.

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4/14/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Keepin’ it Kosher at Jeff’s Gourmet Sausage Factory

When I first heard the name of Jeff’s Kosher Gourmet Sausage Factory, I was quite thrown off. It’s not often you hear the words Kosher and sausage in the same sentence. Usually the closest you get is Best’s Kosher Hot Dogs. Needless to say, it was with great excitement that I approached this Kosher sausage fairyland.

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4/13/2009 Reviews Culver City

Sticking it to the Veggies at Tender Greens

Heading into Tender Greens, I was expecting the worst. I couldn’t believe that a restaurant had the audacity to put the word “greens” in it’s name. I almost felt myself burning as I crossed the threshold.

Inside, I saw the menu, which included an array of salads, but luckily there was a “Hot Stuff ” menu, with meats. I decided to get the Angus Flank Steak. Each dish came with mashed potatoes, a salad and garlic bread. When I placed my order, I asked if I could get double the potatoes and no salad. The woman seemed baffled and I must admit I felt a little bad for asking for a greenless meal at Tender Greens.

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4/9/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

One Coin, Two Sides, Part II: Umami Burger (RELOCATED)

Following my Father’s Office experience, I set out for one of LA’s newest burger hotspots, Umami Burger.

I was a late addition to my group of friends, and the wait staff was extremely accommodating in letting me pull up an extra chair in such a small restaurant and order last. I took a quick gander at the menu and saw that all the burgers involved some sort of vegetative substance. I asked the waiter if I could just get a burger with American Cheese and their “spread” and she told me it was no problem (Basically the SoCal Burger without veggies). I was amazed, after having my no-substitutions experience at Father’s Office. Now, before you judge me for getting American Cheese, I have to tell you that Umami Burger makes their own American Cheese and it’s not supposed to be anything like the Kraft kind you get at the local Ralph’s. (read about it here)

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4/9/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

One Coin, Two Sides, Part I: Father’s Office

For a huge selection of beer, Father’s Office is the place to go. They also happen to have a reputation for one of the best burgers around town. With this in mind, I set off for the Father’s Office in Culver City to get myself a taste of their legendary burger.

On the menu, I saw they had a few pretty good unvegan options, but they had a reputation for burgers and that’s what I had to get. It came with carmelized onions, some sort of bacon substance, arugula, gruyere and maytag blue cheese. This already wasn’t looking good. Then I saw on the menu that the burger couldn’t be special ordered. You either get it the way they make it, or you don’t get it at all. We aren’t exactly talking a steak dinner here, so I felt it was pretty pretentious for a burger. Nevertheless, I felt the need to try the burger.

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4/8/2009 Reviews San Francisco

Almost Getting What I Want at The Grind Cafe

On my last day in San Francisco, I headed to The Grind Cafe before hitting the road.

The menu looked pretty good. Despite a lot of the dishes having vegetables, the combinations with the vegetables removed looked like they would have been pretty enjoyable. One dish in particular looked extra good to me, though, the Corned Beef Hash. I have always found that dish to have quite the name and a nice little mix of ingredients. I went to the counter to order, only to be told that they were all out of it. Disappointed, I checked the menu again and ordered the Breakfast Burrito, which came with eggs, bacon, cheddar, avocado, salsa and sour cream. It was too early and I had too many hours on the road to be eating sour cream, so I ordered it without. It also came with hash browns on the side.

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4/7/2009 Reviews San Francisco

Paying Too Much at La Barca (CLOSED)

I should’ve known better, but it really wasn’t up to me. Living in SoCal has probably spoiled me in terms of Mexican food, but I was in San Francisco with some people from Arizona, and I assumed they knew Mexican better than me. They suggested La Barca, so we went.

We had some margaritas and chips to start off the night, which were actually pretty good, but then I opened up the menu and was shocked to see the prices. $10.50 for a burrito? In San Francisco?! Whack!

In the end, however, I ended up choosing that burrito, for it seemed to be one of the most unvegan options. Of the meat choices, I picked Chili Colorado Beef, which sounded impressive, although it is apparently neither from Chile nor Colorado…

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