The Unvegan

5/10/2011 Reviews Los Angeles

Real Ramen at Ramen Jinya

Sometimes nothing beats a good bowl of ramen. No, I don’t mean the Cup O Noodle that powered me through late nights in college. I mean real ramen in a real bowl, with some thick broth and some real meat. For lunch, I headed to Ramen Jinya in Studio City with some coworkers to see if their ramen could bring back my memories of drunkenly wandering the streets of Osaka for some noodles in a bowl. There are four signature pork ramen flavors, and although they were strangely out of the Hakata premium rich broth, I was already going with their Original Yokohama ramen, so luckily this didn’t affect me.

Japanese Los Angeles Ramen Ramen Jinya Restaurants Studio City

5/9/2011 Reviews Los Angeles

Komodo Heads Indoors

A long long time ago, I managed to get myself into the Komodo Truck launch party. It was a good time for all, and apparently the truck has been pretty successful. So successful, in fact, that they recently opened a storefront at Pico-Robertson. I wasn’t there for the debut of this one, which may be a good thing. While the debut of the truck was plagued with long lines, when I walked into the restaurant I found myself the only patron. The friendly cashier made sure to tell me that although things seemed pretty grim, the restaurant doubled as a prep kitchen for the truck. So although I was the only one giving money to the restaurant that night, the place was indirectly earning them some money wherever the truck may be.

Asian Burritos Komodo Los Angeles Mexican Pico-Robertson Restaurants

5/4/2011 Reviews Cypress

A First Time for Olive Garden

Yes, you read that right: A First Time for Olive Garden. Somehow this Italian chain restaurant, which finds itself in every big or small city in the country, has evaded me for my whole life. But on Friday that all changed. I found myself at Olive Garden for the first time and I was eager to find out what all the fuss was about. It all started with bread sticks.

Chains Cypress Italian National Chains Olive Garden Orange County Pasta Restaurants Travel

5/3/2011 Reviews Los Angeles

A Swanky Burger at 25 Degrees

Normally, when you hear about a restaurant in a hotel, it is overpriced and pretentious, meant more for business people with an expense account than for the common man. So when I heard that the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel had a delicious restaurant called 25 Degrees, I was a bit skeptical. But then I heard more and more about the place until my buddy over at Burger Conquest told me it was his favorite burger in LA. That was quite a claim for a city filled with the likes of Umami, The Apple Pan and Hole in the Wall, so I took it seriously.

25 Degrees Beef Burgers Hamburgers Hollywood Hotel Roosevelt Los Angeles

4/28/2011 Heroes and Villains

Ron Swanson: Unvegan Hero

How can you not be heroic with that mustache?!

Many of you out there have wondered whether a fictional character can be an Unvegan Hero and I am finally ready to answer that question with a resounding, “Yes!” But it isn’t easy – unless you’re Ron Swanson.

Burgers Featured Hamburgers Meat Parks and Recreation Ron Swanson Turkey

4/26/2011 Reviews Los Angeles

Steak and Fries at Cayenne (CLOSED)

On Friday night, I was lucky enough to be invited to an all-expenses-paid dinner courtesy of the Chulews. We headed to a place in a strange part of town that isn’t quite West Hollywood and isn’t quite Beverly Hills called Cayenne Cafe. Not to be confused with the pepper or vehicle, Cayenne was a sort of upscale Middle Eastern restaurant with a side of steakhouse. Being Passover, I was a little bit limited by the menu, because I couldn’t get anything with pita. Fortunately, there was that whole steakhouse thing going on and I could take advantage of that.

Cayenne Cafe Los Angeles Meat Mediterranean Middle-Eastern Restaurants Steak

4/25/2011 Rants and Raves

Vegans are Killing Bolivia

As if Bolivia wasn’t troubled enough as one of South America’s only two landlocked countries, now it has a whole new problem with the onset of veganism. If you know a vegan or vegetarian, the odds are that you have heard of a strange little plant called quinoa.

Bolivia Quinoa South America Vegans

4/22/2011 Reviews Hawthorne

Quesoing at Qdoba (CLOSED)

EDIT: This location is closed, but that’s just Manhattan Beach for you. You can find more Qdobas wherever, man.

On the fringes of the Mexican fast food world lies a restaurant chain called Qdoba, which I’m pretty sure is pronounced queue-doh-ba. Qdoba functions in an assembly-line vein similar to Chipotle and the food itself tastes pretty similar except for one special thing: queso. For those who understand the language Spanish, queso simply means cheese and it would be no surprise to you that cheese is on the menu of a Mexican restaurant. But, for those of you who are well-versed in the language of Qdoba, queso means so much more.

Burritos Chains Hawthorne Los Angeles Mexican Qdoba Restaurants

4/20/2011 Reviews Culver City

A Burger to Drink with at City Tavern

Warning: I did not take this picture sober.

Well, someone finally beat me to the punch. Ever since I moved to the west side of LA, I’ve thought that downtown Culver City has needed a real bar. Kay ‘n Dave’s and Rush Street are good places, but they are first and foremost restaurants. Finally, the guys behind Rush Street have pumped out City Tavern (in the location that formerly housed the Meltdown grilled cheese joint) and I don’t think I could have done it better myself. I arrived a solid 45 minutes before my friends, which gave me a chance to put our name on the list for a table and to sample the beers they were purveying.

Bar Food Bars Beer Burgers City Tavern Culver City Hamburgers Los Angeles Meat

4/19/2011 Reviews Los Angeles

A Sad Rain Forest Cafe (CLOSED)

Occupying the courtyard that formerly contained NoHo Royal Garden is a place called Rain Forest Cafe. While I’m not sure how they were able to get away with using that name, I do know that the rain forest referred to is that of Brazil, so it should definitely not be confused with the more mainstream Rainforest Cafe. Claiming to be a Brazilian Churrascaria, I was certainly interested in what would be offered.

Brazilian Churrascaria Los Angeles Middle-Eastern North Hollywood Rainforest Cafe Restaurants

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