The Unvegan

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A Touch of Canada at The Kroft
The Best of 2015
Duluth Grill’s Rolled Flank Steak
A Torta at Tortugas

Rabid for Mad Dogz (CLOSED)

It's splitsville for you.
It’s splitsville for you.

Once upon a time, a sketchy-ass hot dog and sandwich hole in the wall sat upon an uncomfortable and small lot on Venice in Culver City. I meant to make it there, because sketchy-ass usually means delicious, but I didn’t make it before it was replaced by Mad Dogz, a shiny hot dog and burger hole in the wall that seems to invite in customers rather than scare them away. Although it took me a little bit to make it there, I made sure to check it out before it went the way of its predecessor.

The Hangover at Snug Harbor

Oh my hangover.
Oh my hangover.

Allow me to start out by dispelling any possible rumor that I was hungover for my brunch at Snug Harbor. Not only do I have a bizarre immunity to such things, but I wouldn’t want such a thing to bias a review. I should also dispel any rumor that Snug Harbor is anywhere near water or a harbor, as it is not, even though it’s in Santa Monica. I will admit that it is snug and I will further admit that what I ordered was called The Hangover.

Choices, Choices, Choices at Freebirds (CLOSED)

So many colors to choose from.
So many colors to choose from.

EDIT: This location is gone, but you can find Freebirds elsewhere, man.

Beginning in Santa Barbara back in the day, Freebirds World Burrito has recently been expanding all over the place. With a hippe/biker vibe (no, I have no idea how that came to be), Freebirds has taken Henry Ford’s assembly line to burritos, but offers more colors than just black. In fact, the options are kind of mind blowing. Multiple tortilla, meat, rice and bean choices, as well as a plethora of salsas and other add-ins.

The Bacon Threshold at Slater’s 50/50

Did someone say bacon?
Did someone say bacon?

Slater’s 50/50 first jumped on my radar when they released the ‘Merica Burger back in July. This burger was composed of an entire bacon patty, loaded up with even more bacon. But Slater’s, only existed in Orange County and San Diego, thus only serving these burgers down there. The opportunity for a ‘Merica passed me by, but just a couple weeks ago Slater’s opened their first outpost in LA County. Sure, it’s probably just as far away from me as Orange County, seeing as it’s in Pasadena, but I didn’t want to miss out on the place and met up with some fellow burger lovers for lunch.

All-Out Asian at Noodle World

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That’s some white ramen.

Before attending an event in Westwood, my woman and I decided to see what the college town had to offer in terms of dinner. Sure, I had eaten in Westwood many times before, but typically with specific places in mind. This time, it was about walking around and picking dinner based on our gut, which led us to Noodle World. I had expected something like Noodles & Company, which makes dishes from all sorts of noodles, but Noodle World has a lot more options, while keeping its noodles Asian. No mac and cheese here.

Sapori Del Rey

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Pannagnocchi.

With our original lunch plans spoiled by a champagne brunch, we found ourselves at the Marina Del Rey Fisherman’s Village without a plan. Off in the distance, we heard some classic soul music and wandered in that direction to find Sapori, an Italian restaurant. It had a nice view of the marina, with that soul music played by a live band in the courtyard next door and we decided to give it a try.

Just in Thyme Cafe

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What is that crap back there?

To get pick up some pies for a bit of a celebration, we popped into Thyme Cafe in Santa Monica. The place was more packed than any pie place had any right to be, and we added to their packed-ness by sticking around to grab their sandwiches for lunch. The menu boasted about ten different options and some of them were much more unique than I had expected.

Burgerless at Umamicatessen (REBRANDED)

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Where the burgers at?

EDIT: Umamicatessen has become Umami Broadway and is more or less now just a glorified Umami Burger from what I hear.

The word “Umamicatessen” is quite a mouthful. And I’m pretty sure that’s what the people behind Umami Burger were thinking when they put together a deli in downtown LA. They were thinking, “We want to fill mouths with delicious deli food, while preserving the Umami name.” To me, that’s quite the name to maintain, because Umami is still my favorite burger in LA. Plus, while LA doesn’t have the big name delis of New York, there is still some stiff competition from the likes of Langer’s.

Couponing to Campagnola Trattoria (CLOSED)

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The four food groups.

Sometimes it’s hard to decide where to eat. Sure, I have a list of places, but they aren’t always in convenient locations. That’s when I turn to things like Groupon, because if I’m going out to eat somewhere I’m unfamiliar with, I’ll be damned if I pay full price. On this particular eve, I found a discount for an Italian place in West LA called Campagnola Trattoria.

Surfas USA

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I like the way you shine, bun.

To many, Surfas is just a super-cool kitchen supply store for people looking to stock their homes or for real chefs looking to stock a restaurant. But they don’t let those supplies go to waste and have a nice little cafe connected to the joint where they can show off what they do. There are sandwiches, salads, burgers and few other things, but they had me at burger. Kobe Burger, that is.