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

‘Hawthorne’

Quesoing at Qdoba (CLOSED)

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The Q stands for queso.

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.

Being Giant at Jersey Mike’s Subs

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This is giant. This is good.

As an attempt to mix up the sandwich scene from the usual Quizno’s and Subway, I took a ride out to Jersey Mike’s Subs in Hawthorne. The inside of the place was pretty similar to the typical sub place, so I was a little disappointed. I hoped that the sandwiches would at least be different. I had heard they had great Philly Cheese Steaks despite being from Jersey, so I was planning on getting one of those. It wasn’t easy, though, because they had some really good-looking sandwiches.

A Less Than Stellar A & W Experience (CLOSED)

Just not what it used to be
Just not what it used to be

Edit: This location is gone, but A & W still lives elsewhere.

I always have fond memories of trips to A & W from when I grew up. I always loved their root beer floats and their curly fries. So when I stumbled upon an A & W in Hawthorne, I knew I had to return to relive my glory days.

Unfortunately, as with so many other childhood favorites, my hopes were too high for A & W. This particular A & W was merged with Long John Silver’s, which made me sad to hearken back to the days when an A & W could have a restaurant all to itself, and not just any restaurant. These were the drive-thru sorts where you parked next to a menu and were waited on in your car. It seems those days are all but gone, and despite the generic and washed out design of this A & W/Long John Silver’s amalgamation, I hoped that the food would make up for it.

Costco

A couple of the post-shopping delights Costco has to offer.
A couple of the post-shopping delights Costco has to offer.

While most people associate Costco with huge quantities of products, I like to think of it as a great place to grab a quick bite to eat.

Beyond the free samples, Costco actually has somewhat of a restaurant, offering a few cheap meals, from chicken bakes to pizza.

By far, the best deal to be had is the hot dog combo, which is a 1/4 pound Kosher beef dog, with a drink for $1.50, but sometimes that isn’t enough. On my most recent trip to the Costco in Manhattan Beach, I also helped myself to a huge slice of pepperoni pizza. These deals are not just available to Costco members, but to anyone from the unvegan world.