Fries – Page 4 – The Unvegan

8/21/2012 Reviews Burbank

(Not So) Great Steak and Potato Company (CLOSED)

If you, as a restaurant, are going to call yourself great, as the Great Steak and Potato Company does, you had better be truly great. If not, you are opening yourself up for a slew of invited criticism. As an optimist, I figured the place was worth a try, if for no other reason than I had pretty much exhausted the options at Burbank’s Empire Center.

I wasn’t expecting a fancy steak dinner joint, so when I walked in and found it to be a predominantly cheesesteak and fries joint, I was pretty happy. I cannot claim to be a cheesesteak expert, since I’ve never had one in Philly, but I feel as thought I’ve tried enough to say what a good one should taste like. I ordered their Original Philly Cheesesteak, which was offered at a discounted price, without the onions (it was only cheese, onions and steak), then ordered their Coney Island Fries, which were topped with chili and cheese.

Burbank Chains Fries Great Steak and Potato Company Los Angeles Philly Cheese Steak Restaurants Sandwiches

6/4/2012 Reviews Los Angeles

Pigging Out at The Oinkster

While there is a lot of buzz in the food world today about The Oinkster‘s Burger Week (in which they do their own take on classic burgers from around the country), I just made it to The Oinkster myself for the first time last week to see about their real menu. It was my first time in Eagle Rock and was nothing short of an eye-opening experience. The Oinkster itself resides in a building that was once a typical LA-style fast food burger joint and still retains much of that charm. It calls itself a purveyor of “slow fast food” and I had been wanting to check it out for just about as long as I’ve been aware of its existence.

Burgers Eagle Rock Fast Food Fries Hamburgers Los Angeles Pastrami Restaurants The Oinkster

1/6/2012 Reviews Los Angeles

Beer Belly for My Fearless Belly

Two of the things I love most in this world are beer and my belly. No, I don’t have a beer belly…much, but when a gastropub in Koreatown called Beer Belly opened up, I figured I had to try it out. I was meeting a group of people, and arrived to find the place packed. And this was not a big place. Like about 8 tables and a few bar stools big, and all of them were loaded. Plus, it was first come, first served, so we got to hang around the tables like vultures surrounding a wounded gazelle. It was the tail end of happy hour, though, so I ordered a beer and hoped a table would clear out soon. Fast forward thirty minutes and we’re still waiting when a woman working the place asks if we’re waiting for a table. Uh, no, lady, we’re just standing here awkwardly for the hell of it. She then proceeded to ask us if we wanted to be on the list. This “list” was new to us, and apparently also new to her, as she told us she had just started it. Well, at least we wouldn’t have to stand awkwardly any longer.

Bar Food Beer Beer Belly Duck Fries Gastropubs Grilled Cheese Koreatown Los Angeles Mac and Cheese Meat Sandwiches

12/22/2010 Reviews Los Angeles

Ungodly Food at Damon and Pythias (CLOSED)

Greek mythology tells the tale of Damon and Pythias. It is a tale of friendship that has withstood the ages and while I won’t get into the details, calling a restaurant Damon and Pythias is kind of like saying, “you’re gonna be best friends with this place.” It is quite a claim and one that I was ready to test. Located in the heart of Westwood, Damon and Pythias serves mostly sandwiches and salads, but with some more normal entrees and even some hot dogs. The food is priced a little bit high for college students in the area, but for a working man like myself, the prices looked amazing.

American Damon and Pythias Fries Los Angeles Restaurants Sandwiches Steak Westwood

6/25/2010 Reviews Toronto

A Nightcap at Smoke’s Poutinerie

A few more beers into the night and not yet having satisfied my craving for poutine in Toronto, my drunken munchies search became a quest for poutine. The quest ended when we discovered Smoke’s Poutinerie in the Queens West area. This place was a chain, but still had the look of a greasy hole-in-the-wall style poutine joint. Their menu had a few different variations of that delicious treat, even one including bacon, but we decided that the traditional was the way to go. We got a large for 8 loonies and waited about 30 seconds for them to toss the fries, curds and gravy into a box for eating.

Canada Chains Fries Ontario Poutine Queens West Restaurants Smoke's Poutinerie Toronto Travel

3/30/2010 Reviews New York

Almost Canadian at Pommes Frites

After a few drinks, our tour guide (aka the girlfriend’s bro) took us to a little hole in the wall called Pommes Frites. Here, they specialized in cones of Belgian fries served with some crazy sauces like Pomegranate Teriyaki Mayo, Irish Curry and more. These seemed all good and well, but I saw something on the menu that tickled my fancy even more: Poutine.

For the uninitiated and un-Canadian, poutine (pronounced pooh-teen) is a gloriously unvegan treat consisting of fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. This combination creates something spectacular, yet rarely found south of the Great White North. It had been a long time since I was in Canada and I was with a couple poutine virgins, so we ordered a large one to split for six bucks.

Canadian Fries Greenwich Village Late-Night Manhattan New York New York City Pommes Frites Poutine Restaurants Travel

11/20/2009 Events

Frysmith Rolling Out Today

Try them out tonight!

The newest food truck to roll out onto the streets of Los Angeles will be Frysmith and their official launch is none other than tonight at 6:30 at the Brig was November 20th. I haven’t had a chance to test out their offerings yet, but what I’ve seen on their website looks pretty impressive. I did catch up with owners Erik and Brook to get a few questions in.

Check out the interview below.

Food Trucks Fries Frysmith Poutine The Brig

9/18/2009 Reviews Santa Barbara

Getting Cheesy at Mad Dogs (CLOSED)

After a long day of drinking in Santa Barbara, I stumbled upon a little hole in the wall joint called Mad Dogs. Hot dogs were their specialty, which was perfect for me to soak up the remains of the day.

They had a variety of hot dog choices to please anyone, and I decided to do a little custom thing. I ordered a bacon and cheese dog with a side of cheese fries. Apparently I am not afraid of destroying my arteries in one sitting.

Bacon California Cheese Fries Hot Dogs Mad Dogs Meat Restaurants Santa Barbara Travel

9/2/2009 Reviews El Segundo

The Habit I Can Get Used To

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.

Bacon Burgers Charburger Chocolate El Segundo Food Fries Hamburgers Los Angeles Malts Meat Restaurants The Habit

7/31/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Rethinking Fast Food at Rally’s (CLOSED)

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.

Bacon Buffalo Chicken Burgers Chains Checker's Fast Food Fries Hamburgers Los Angeles Meat National Chains Palms Rally's Restaurants

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

‘Fries’