Reviews

4/6/2009 Reviews San Francisco

A Bizarre Mix at Liverpool Lil’s

In desperate need of brunch and a beer in San Francisco, I headed to Liverpool Lil’s, a nice little pub with that serves more than just your average pub food. A lot of their offerings looked pretty good, but the one that stood out most to me was one of their daily specials, Chicken and Waffles. I have always been intrigued by the concept of chicken and waffles. I feel like for most foods, you can’t really credit one specific person. In my mind, most were developed through the ages by a group of people, a village or a town. But chicken and waffles, on the other hand, had to be one lone genius who decided this bizarre mix would produce a beloved dish.

Regardless of how the dish was born, I was just happy with the knowledge of their existence and looked forward to trying it for myself.

American Bar Food Bars Brunch California Chicken and Waffle Liverpool Lil's San Francisco Travel

4/3/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Kogi BBQ Revisited at the Alibi Room

A while back, many of you may recall, I visited the Kogi BBQ taco truck at The Brig. I guess this was before they got big, because I ordered in two minutes and only waited another two to get the food. Soon after, I began hearing stories about how people would be waiting in line for 45 minutes to get in on that Kogi and there was even an article written about them in the New York Times! In response, they added a second truck, and finally expanded into the kitchen at the Alibi Room.

Eager for another piece of that Kogi, I went to the Alibi Room to see the new offerings. Everything was slightly more expensive, as I suspected it would be. In addition, Kogi expanded their menu to include such unvegan no-nos as kimchee quesadillas and the vegan sesame leaf taco platter. I was mildly intrigued by some of the new unvegan offerings like the sliders, but in the end settled on the burrito.

Alibi Room Bar Food Bars Culver City Kogi BBQ Korean Los Angeles Meat Mexican

4/2/2009 Reviews San Francisco

Eating My Way at Jenny’s Burgers

When I walked into Jenny’s Burgers in the Inner Sunset area of San Francisco, I couldn’t believe how cheap the menu was. Everything was under $10 and it all looked pretty good. After a quick look, I chose the bacon cheeseburger.

I watched as the guy behind the counter took the patty out, laid it upon the flame grill and started spinning it around the flames. It was almost hypnotic. Although it took a long time to cook the burger in this way, it was done just right.

Rather than dealing with the pesky condiments and toppings themselves, Jenny’s has them all next to the counter in a sort of buffet style. This worked out great for me, as I could avoid the vegetables and choose the only condiment necessary for this sort of burger: barbecue sauce.

Burgers California Food Hamburgers Jenny's Burgers Meat Restaurants San Francisco Travel

3/30/2009 Reviews El Segundo

Following Padma Lakshmi to Carl’s Jr.

Not nearly as sexy as it could be... — Not nearly as sexy as it could be…

When I first learned of Padma Lakshmi doing a commercial for Hardee’s, I knew I would have to eat whatever she did. Luckily, her burger of choice was the Western Bacon Thickburger.

Now here is where things get a little confusing. In California, there is no Hardee’s. Instead, there is Carl’s Jr., which is almost exactly the same as Hardee’s. A quick look at their websites reveals only a change in the name. The logo and layouts remain the exact same. There is, however, another twist. At Carl’s Jr., there is no such thing as a Thickburger, rather, it is called the Six-Dollar Burger.

American Burgers Carl's Jr. El Segundo Fast Food Franchises Hamburgers Hardee's Heroes and Villains Los Angeles Meat National Chains Restaurants

3/27/2009 Reviews San Francisco

Creping Out at the Squat & Gobble

So that's what a crepe looks like on the inside — So that’s what a crepe looks like on the inside

On a weekend in San Francisco, I found myself at the Marina and a restaurant called Squat & Gobble. Since the food I like to eat often squats and gobbles, I figured this would be a good place for me.

The menu was chalked onto the wall, and I felt awkward staring at it for such a long time before choosing. The main reason I took so long was because despite the name, many of the food items included food that neither squats nor gobbles (vegetables). The majority of the foods were crepe based, which I always like, but if a crepe is ordered wrong, it is extremely difficult to remedy the situation through picking out invasive veggies. After much debating, I chose the Chicken Pesto crepe. The ingredients listed were mozzarella, onions, chicken breast, pesto and sun-dried tomatoes. I got mine without the onions or sun-dried tomatoes, waited at my table with my number and hoped that none of the uninvited ingredients had made their way into my food.

American California Food Meat Restaurants San Francisco Sandwiches Squat & Gobble Travel

3/25/2009 Reviews

Breakfasting at McDonald’s

The mysterious breakfast of McDonald's — The mysterious breakfast of McDonald’s

As I developed through my adolescence, McDonald’s made a descent to the bottom of my fast food choices. I can offer no clear reasoning for this except that their food just rubs my tastebuds the wrong way. In fact, I am sometimes proud to say that the only time I eat McDonald’s is outside the country. This statement, however, has a minor disclaimer. And that disclaimer is the McDonald’s breakfast.

McDonald’s breakfast has always been something of a mystery. Few people, if any, know when they stop serving it. Sometimes I wonder if even the employees of McDonald’s have a set time that they know when to cut breakfast off. The breakfast is so rare that when you do see one, you almost feel forced to partake in it, whether you’re hungry or not.

Breakfast California Fast Food Franchises McDonald's Meat National Chains Restaurants

3/23/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

A Giant Slice of S’barro

A healthy slice of meats... — A healthy slice of meats…

Few places offer slices as gigantic as S’barro. Their Super Slice is filling like no other (non-stuffed) pizza. Last time I went, I scanned the slices of pre-cooked pizza. Aside from pepperoni and sausage, most of the slices had some sorts of veggies. I ordered a slice of the pepperoni and sausage together. From the few slices of that combo they had, I decided to be a jerk and point out the larger piece in the hopes that the friendly lady behind the counter would take it aside for me. She did, and my heart leapt for joy.

She took the slice from the counter and slid it into the oven as I happily awaited my slice of meaty goodness. It came out of the oven sizzling and full of the scent of meat.

Fast Food Franchises Italian Meat Pizza Restaurants S'barro

3/20/2009 Reviews Manhattan Beach

Free Eats at Jack in the Box

Hard to go wrong with free fries... — Hard to go wrong with free fries…

While not one of my preferred restaurants (if you can call it that), Jack in the Box recently had a promotion for free medium curly fries, so I took a ride down Sepulveda to take advantage.

Knowing the fries wouldn’t be enough, I got myself a few extra items from the menu. The first choice was two tacos for 99 cents. zenescorts.ch. The value in this is unbelievable, even though I had to get them without lettuce. The meat is certainly not of the highest quality and they use melted American cheese, but still, 99 cents.

On top of that, I got the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger. Another great value. Trying to mix up the meats, I added a chicken sandwich to the load, completing my multi-ethnic, multi-meat meal. The chicken sandwich usually comes with lettuce, so I had to make a special arrangement to get it without.

Burgers Fast Food Franchises Jack in the Box Late-Night Meat Restaurants West Coast Chains

3/18/2009 Reviews Marina del Rey

Braving the Recession at Rubio’s

Maybe the recession ain't so bad... — Maybe the recession ain’t so bad…

In a world crumbling under the pressure of mounting recession and potential depression, deals can be found aplenty. Well, that is assuming you still have enough money to eat. When I went to Rubio’s in Marina Del Rey, they were offering up a little recession combo that I decided to take advantage of. This was two street tacos, chips, beans and a 20 oz. drink for only $5.

The choice of taco innards was up to me, so I got one with steak and one with chicken. They came with guacamole and an unfortunate mix of onions and cilantro. I would have liked the cilantro, but it was all or nothing and I couldn’t risk having onions on my tacos.

Fast Food Franchises Los Angeles Marina Del Rey Meat Mexican Restaurants Rubio's West Coast Chains

3/17/2009 Reviews Santa Monica

Eating Ostrich at Broadway Deli (CLOSED)

It looks good until you see the pickle... — It looks good until you see the pickle…

Conveniently placed in the Third Street Promenade, I decided to give Broadway Deli a try. For a deli, they didn’t have too huge of a variety of interesting sandwiches, and most of the menu items would have required me to remove vegetables. One item, however, caught my eye. This was the Fresh Ground Ostrich Burger. Always intrigued by new and strange meats, I thought this would be a good idea. I made sure to order without the lettuce, tomato and red onions, and to throw on some cheddar cheese for good measure. When the burger arrived, I noticed that Broadway Deli had committed the highest of unvegan treason. A pickle on my plate!

American Broadway Deli Burgers Delis Food Los Angeles Meat Ostrich Restaurants Sandwiches Santa Monica Strange Eats

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