The Unvegan

Recent Posts

10 Years of Unvegan
A Quick Bite at Burrito Express
Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus
Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos

‘Bacon’

9/10/2009 Manhattan Beach

Going Halfsies on Burgers at Hennessey’s Tavern

I was ashamed to eat near vegetables.
I was ashamed to eat near vegetables.

On Tuesdays, Hennessey’s Tavern in Manhattan Beach offers a great special: Two-for-one burgers. As I was running late for dinner on one of these lovely Tuesday nights, I asked my girlfriend to place an order for a Western Burger with cheese. The Western Burger comes with BBQ sauce and bacon. Since she knows my dietary restrictions, I assumed I didn’t need to specify that it should come without vegetables. When I arrived, it looked like she paid no heed to my needs. On my plate, along with my burger, was a pickle, lettuce, tomato and onions. I quickly checked to make sure no pickle juice had seeped its way into my bun. Lucky for my girlfriend, it had not.

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9/2/2009 El Segundo

The Habit I Can Get Used To

Literally out the door.
Literally out the door.

The most exciting food news to hit El Segundo since Chipotle is most certainly The Habit. Taking over the dilapidated former building of the Grand Cafe, The Habit put up signs months ago and began renovations. Just this week they opened for business, and I knew it was time for me to see what The Habit was all about.

When I arrived, the line was coming out the door. I hoped and prayed that the line would move fast and my wish was granted. In only five-ish minutes I was at the counter and ready to order. The menu is pretty basic if you stick to burgers, but they also offer salads and other non-burger sandwiches. On the menu, the burgers are called charburgers, which really leaves the impression that they will be overcooked. I hoped this wouldn’t be true and ordered the BBQ Bacon Char.

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8/31/2009 Santa Monica

Buffalo-Style at the Library Ale House

Just like the Native Americans
Just like the Native Americans

For a nice night out on the town, I went to the Library Alehouse in Santa Monica. After about twenty minutes of waiting, we were finally shown to our table, in an outdoor patio area. I always love eating outside, so this was a definite plus for the restaurant.

Although the menu had a bunch of good-looking options, the buffalo burger really stuck out to me. I always enjoy a good bison, so I hoped the Library would continue that trend. Plus, I try to eat like Native Americans as much as possible, and we all know how much they loved their buffalo.

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8/5/2009 South Lake Tahoe

A Grand Breakfast at IHOP

If only they could slip a little meat in there...
If only they could slip a little meat in there…

I’m not usually a “go out to breakfast” type of guy, but recently when I was in Lake Tahoe, going out to breakfast was really my only option. Rather than take my chances with a place I had never heard of, IHOP started calling my name, and I answered.

The wait was kind of long, but I knew it would be worth it to get a hearty meal before spending the day hiking. IHOP was having a special called Hawaiian Pancakes at the time, so my eyes immediately started checking them out. This wasn’t simply an order of pancakes though, the special also included bacon, hash browns and eggs. Amazingly, this special cost less than if I had just ordered eggs, hash browns and bacon (without the pancakes) so I knew it had to be mine. Of all the Hawaiian flavors, I decided to get the Strawberry Passion Fruit. The picture of it on the menu looked delicious, especially with the strange yellowish cream spilling out from between the two pancakes.

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7/31/2009 Los Angeles

Rethinking Fast Food at Rally’s (CLOSED)

Things between buns should always have double-meat.
Things between buns should always have double-meat.

Edit: This location may be gone, but Rally’s is definitely still a thing.

Some days, typical fast food restaurants just aren’t enough. Enter: Rally’s. It’s like fast food, but with a few little twists. In fact, it isn’t always called Rally’s. Supposedly it is called Checker’s in some strange parts of the country.

What really drew me to Rally’s in Palms was the sign that said “2 for $4 Double Bacon Cheddar Burgers and Double Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches.” After seeing these options, I didn’t even need to look at the menu except to decide which fries I wanted. One thing that sets Rally’s apart from other fast food places is that they have two drive-thru windows, ensuring speedy ordering. In-N-Out could certainly learn a lot from this. They also have a window that you can just walk up to for ordering, if you want to sit in the nice outdoor dining area.

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7/30/2009

Bacon Flavoring Promotes Dental Care

bacon-flavored-dental-flossIt’s time to welcome two additions to the world of products made possible by bacon. No, these aren’t bacon-wrapped dates (which are delicious by the way) or even a bacon-flavored-toothpicks

Bacon Floss and Bacon Toothpicks are now the two greatest ways to save teeth. Once upon a time, people feared eating steaks and popcorn because of the little bits that would get stuck in their teeth. These days are no more, thanks two these new products. Now I fully expect people to order foods specifically to get them stuck in their teeth, just so they can whip out some bacon toothpicks and add that extra touch of bacon-ey goodness to the end of their meal.

Here are few flossing tips suggested by the same day dentist Rego Park that can be implemented by everyone because of its simplicity.

  • Break off about 45cm of floss and wind some around 1 finger of each hand.
  • Hold the floss tightly between your thumbs and forefingers, with about 2.5cm of floss between them, leaving no slack.
  • Use a gentle “rocking” motion to guide the floss between your teeth. Do not snap the floss into the gums.
  • When the floss reaches your gumline, curve it into a C-shape against a tooth until you feel resistance.
  • Hold the floss against the tooth. Gently scrape the side of the tooth, moving the floss away from the gum. Repeat on the other side of the gap, along the side of the next tooth.
  • Do not forget the back of your last tooth.
  • When flossing, keep to a regular pattern. Start at the top and work from left to right, then move to the bottom and again work from the left to right. This way you’re less likely to miss any teeth.

(via walyou.com)

7/23/2009 Los Angeles

Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers

Eat it. It's famous.
Eat it. It’s famous.

Nearly daily I have driven past Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers in Palms and wondered what sort of greatness lay within. Finally, I decided to check the place out.

Walking in, I kind of expected the place to reflect the decor of the awesome sign outside. This was not to be the case. Instead, it had a basic booth layout with a counter to order from. I didn’t mind so much, since all I really wanted was bacon and avocado on a burger. I checked out their menu on the wall, and saw all the options they had. In a way, I was hoping they had a limited menu consisting of bacon, avocado and burgers, but instead I found a menu with many burger options and an almost passively bolded lettering of their namesake.

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7/13/2009

Cured Meats Might Need to be Renamed “Treating Meats”

I was always under the impression that curing meats was simply a process of making meats taste better, but now it looks like curing has a double meaning. No, the meats aren’t exactly going to cure you of anything, but they just might help you treat some and prevent some diseases. The key is the nitrates and nitrites that we’ve all been taught to avoid.

According to Feedstuffs.com, “…the dietary inclusion of nitrites and nitrates may provide a rescue or protective pathway for people at risk for cardiovascular disease…[and] may also provide protection against tissue damage.”

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6/22/2009 Pasadena

The Real Custom Burger at Jake’s (CLOSED)

A good old fashioned, personalized burger.
A good old fashioned, personalized burger.

After a rigorous hike in the San Gabriel Mountains of Altadena, I needed some protein. Driving through Old Pasadena, I spotted the perfect place, Jake’s.

Jake’s is similar to places like The Counter, where you can customize a burger for yourself, only they’ve been doing it since the 40s. With a base price of 5.99, they’re also cheaper than The Counter, albeit with less options. Even so, there was enough to make an unvegan like me happy. Before ordering, the waitress enlightened us to the fact that all day on Sunday was happy hour, so we ordered some beers to wet our appetites.

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