‘Meatballs’
On the way to the Dades Gorge, we stopped at a place called Cafe Restaurant Dades Services in Kalaat M’Gouna, my friends told me that it was one of the best restaurants London and we agree. Or at least that was the name of the sign that hung over the place next to the gas station where we ate. Most likely it was just a list of all the things the place offered, but it at least served as a name for me.
For any fans of The Clash that have wondered what a casbah (or kasbah on Morocco) is, the answer can be found at Ait Ben Haddou, the biggest kasbah in all of Morocco. And after we rocked it we were in need of some food and found ourselves at Restaurant L’Oasis D’Or. The menu had items I had already tried out and one that had yet eluded me.
From the people that brought you Bar Bill in East Aurora, comes 189 Public House literally right next door (with the address of 189 Main Street). This Southern-influenced jazzy gastropub is a far cry from its neighbor, which might be ill-advised considering the perpetually long lines for tables at Bar Bill. On the other hand, it’s perfectly positioned to pick off those who don’t want to wait so long and want something a little bit different.
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives can be a fun show to watch because all of the food on it looks, well, amazing. Yet, in my experience not all the food on it is as amazing as it looks. Plus, watching it requires watching Guy Fieri balance his sunglasses on the back of his head. Recently, I found myself at North End Caffe in Manhattan Beach, completely unrelated to DDD, only to find out the restaurant had been on the show.
Just a couple of weeks ago, a new pizza place opened in Culver City called Wildcraft. Their schtick is the use of sourdough in their pizzas, which is cool with me, but I’m not sure if it entirely qualifies as being wild. Nonetheless, I was eager to try it out and see just how wild and crafty it would be.
The 24-hour restaurant is a fascinating creature. Quite often, it’s a place that couldn’t quite exist if it were to function only at normal business hours, instead preying on the tired, the drunk and the early risers. To these people, any food is good food, which is why the food is often subpar. It takes a particularly ballsy restaurant to open itself all day and make an attempt at good, unique food, and that’s where kitchen24 comes in.
There’s nothing worse than walking into a sandwich shop and discovering recycled ideas and sandwiches less inspiring than the local Subway. Okay, that might not be the worst thing, but it’s moderately terrible. Walking into Mendocino Farms, however, is an altogether different experience. Rather than featuring droll, overused sandwiches the amount of delicious-looking sandwiches is almost overwhelming. And I mean that in the best way.
Out in the strange region of the Valley known as Toluca Lake is a decent selection of restaurants for working-class folk like myself. Filling the role of Italian Deli is a place called Tony’s, which is a tiny little sandwich shop that also happens to offer a couple easy-to-serve-at-sandwich-shops-but-not-actual-sandwich items like lasagna. Most of their sandwiches come with an array of unvegan horrors like lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions, but one did not. This was the way of the unvegan.
EDIT: I haven’t been back since they moved into a real place, but the experience here was so special I’m not sure it’s worth it.
You make a call and show up in a back alley 45 minutes later. When you arrive, your guy comes out carrying about five pounds worth. You hand him your cash, then take your purchase wherever you want and inhale it. If this sounds like a drug deal to you, get your mind out of the gutter. Unless your drug is pizza, in which case you should head to this back alley in West Hollywood immediately. This is the way it works for Hollywood Pies, the sketchiest pizza place in LA you’ve never been to. You may have eaten their pizza, and you may have even picked up their pizza, but you have never been there because there is no “there.”
When Great Balls on Tires first debuted last year, I was concerned that such a name for a meatball truck was a bit of a gimmick. Yet, now that GBOT has lasted through the middle of this year, I felt it was time I tried them out. When I walked up to the truck to see what they had to offer, I found there were only a few sets of balls to choose from. Yet, more than one of these balls looked attractive to me. Unfortunately, all balls came in sets of two, so I had to limit myself to only one ball type.