We humans have a luxury of constantly trying to make ourselves happy. I say luxury, because we are pretty much the only species to do so. All those other suckers are busy trying to survive and reproduce. Fortunately, red meat is one of those things that makes us happy.
As the Umami Empire continued to grow, to me it seemed only inevitable that it would eventually take on pizza. Enter 800 Degrees in Westwood, a Neapolitan style pizza place where customized pizza is king. They offer specialty pizzas, but the key to the place in my mind was to order a basic pizza (between 5.15 and 6.45) and load on the toppings for $1 each. This was the route I took.
There’s something about a gimmick that alienates people. You go to Hooters and while they have good wings, a small part of you feels dirty because it was a gimmick that brought you in in the first place. Many times I drove by Tinhorn Flats in Burbank and wrote it off because it looked like an Old Western saloon, which to me screams out gimmick. Little did I know that Tinhorn had been around since 1939, which makes it one of the oldest things in LA. If it was simply a gimmick, it never would have lasted these 70+ years. So when my coworker encouraged me to check it out, I roped in the troops at work to head east on Magnolia – straight for the Old West.
Not too long ago (at least it feels that way), a new ramen place popped up in Culver City calling itself Ramen Yamadaya. It was around this time that I had been totally spoiled by the ramen of Tsujita, and while Yamadaya looked good, I wasn’t exactly in a rush to get there. This was a mistake, though, because when I finally got there, I had a feeling that this was going to be my go-to ramen joint.
For some reason, Celine Dion gets a bad rap. Maybe it’s because she’s Canadian. Maybe it’s because her music gets stuck in your head. Maybe it’s because she sank the Titanic. Whatever the reason, she is definitely in good graces in my world.
As an unvegan, I usually shy away from falafel. It’s not veggie-based, but it’s also not meat and I would typically rather fill my stomach with schwarma when I have the opportunity. Yet, in heading out to Falafel Arax, I had heard they had the best falafel in the land of Los Angeles and I knew I would end up getting some. The place resides in a little corner strip mall in a strange part of town east of Hollywood that I usually wouldn’t find myself in, but the temptation of having amazing Lebanese falafel was enough to get me there. Oh, and before I go any further, I should mention they are cash only. With that said, let’s get on to the food.
Up in North Hollywood, the prospect of a new restaurant is always exciting. And when the theme of that new restaurant is pie, the excitement is off the charts. So in honor of Pi Day (March 14th) I ventured out to Republic of Pie with a couple of coworkers to see what they were all about. Republic of Pie has a total coffee shop feel to it, with a few couches here and there, an exposed ceiling industrial look and an iPad in place of an old-fashioned register. The number of people sitting around on their MacBooks drinking tea really helps drive the point home. This is a good thing, because no one wants to feel like they are in North Hollywood and this feels much more like Seattle or Portland.
The Eagles once wrote “If you call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye,” so it is with great trepidation that I roll out my review here. The meaning I have always taken from that line is that if you tell people about a great place, that place will cease to be great because more people will go there and ruin the experience. On the other hand, I feel the need to tell the world about J “N” J Burger and Bar-B-Q and hope that this review will not kill paradise, but simply give it more customers.
My quest for challengers to the Chili John’s and Coney Dog empire of LA chili led me to Chili Addiction in West Hollywood. Their menu of insane chili concoctions really pulled me in the first time I saw their menu online and I really thought I had found myself a contender. I convinced my buddy to give it a try with me, both for company and so we could get multiple things to test out.
Santa Monica doesn’t exactly have a reputation for good food. And what reputation it does have usually tends to lean on the upscale. But reputation alone does not simply make a city, and Santa Monica actually has a surprising number of little gems hidden in its nooks and crannies. One of these, I had heard, was Tacos Por Favor.
Yet, aside from actually hearing of Tacos Por Favor, I hadn’t really been told what was good on their menu, so when I arrived and found a vast menu full of nearly every Mexican dish I had ever heard of, I was in trouble.