Palms – Page 3 – The Unvegan

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

7/23/2009 Reviews 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.

Avocado Bacon Burgers Diners Food Hamburgers Howard's Famous Bacon and Avocado Burger Los Angeles Meat Palms Restaurants

6/11/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Getting it All Wrong at Thai Boom

Living in close proximity, I’ve ordered from Thai Boom tons of times. I’ve always found it to be a safe bet for Thai food. The best thing about their menu is that they serve their lunch specials all day. This covers a wide variety of food, but aldo includes rice and a fried wonton.

Feeling adventurous, I ordered the Pla Prik Pao, which is sauteed roasted curry with basil. For my meat I chose tofu. Just kidding, I got chicken. I picked up my food from the carry-out and brought it home for eating. When I opened it up, I was a little taken aback. If this was chicken with curry, it was the strangest chicken and curry I had ever seen. On top of that, there were peppers, which most certainly were not included with my dish. It almost distracted me from the fact that there was a tiny little salad in the corner. Almost.

Asian Fish Los Angeles Meat Palms Restaurants Reviews Seafood Thai Thai Boom

5/22/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Experiencing Cuba at Versailles

Two half-chickens in one week... — Two half-chickens in one week…

Having annihilated half of a chicken a few days earlier at Medieval Times, my insatiable desire for meat drew me towards another half-chicken. This time it was at Versailles, a Cuban restaurant in Palms. (I really have no idea how a Cuban place is named after a French Palace…)

The menu at Versailles is an unvegan dream. Sure, there is a “Vegetarian Plates” section, but it seems to be placed as an afterthought, just to appease the poor vegetarian crowd. Otherwise, Versailles is essentially all meat, all the time. Because of this, it took me a really long time to decide what I wanted. In the end, I went with what seemed the safest and had the most catchy name, Versailles Famous Garlic Chicken. This is an entire half-chicken, with fried plantains and my choice of rice and beans or moro (a combination of rice and beans that makes me wonder why the distinction exists).

Cuban Los Angeles Palms Restaurants Versailles

2/2/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Gaby’s Mediterranean

A friend of mine recommended Gaby’s Mediterranean in Palms, so I thought I would check it out. They have a great outdoor seating area, so I was sure to grab one of those tables to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather we’ve been having in LA.

When I arrived and took a look at the menu, I was a little taken aback. Despite having many countries along its coast, I have always associate Mediterranean food with being predominantly Greek. Of course, Mediterranean could cover anything from Spanish to Egyptian, and in this case, I found the food to be quite Lebanese. I was surprised because I typically consider Lebanese food to be Middle-Eastern, but I was also happy because I’ve always liked Lebanese food. Did I say Lebanese enough in the last few sentences?

Food Gaby's Mediterranean Greek Lebanese Los Angeles Meat Mediterranean Middle-Eastern Palms Restaurants

1/21/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Cafe Brasil

My steak has been buried under onions... — My steak has been buried under onions…

Cafe Brasil is one of those restaurants that has always been elusive to me. I have driven or walked past it in Palms countless times, but never gotten up the courage to step inside.

Never more.

I finally took the plunge and stepped into the Cafe. At first I was confused by the place. There are three different seating areas. One is inside, one is semi-outside, and one is for real outside. I found a table in the semi-outside, but then realized I had to order at a counter. Ordering at a counter always puts a lot of pressure on the consumer, especially if they don’t know what they are going to order. Under this deep pressure, I went with every unvegan’s default choice, steak.

Brazilian Cafe Brasil Food Los Angeles Meat Palms Restaurants South American Steak

11/20/2008 Reviews Los Angeles

Gloria’s Cafe

Tonight I ate dinner at Gloria’s Cafe in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles. Gloria’s specializes in Mexican and Salvadoran food and was recommended by a friend of mine. When I walked in, I saw someone had a bowl of soup with entire crab legs hanging out of it. I knew this was my kind of place. I was told that this was the Sopa de 7 Mares. Aside from that, they have quite an impressive menu with your typical Mexican fare of tacos quesadillas and such, enhanced with Salvadoran Pupusas. Speaking of which, have you ever noticed that a Latin American restaurant can never be just simply Peruvian or Salvadoran, etc…? There always has to be Mexican involved in some way. It’s similar with Asian restaurants. You can never seem to find a Cambodian or Vietnamese restaurant unless it also has Thai, Chinese or Japanese food.

Food Los Angeles Meat Mexican Palms Restaurants Salvadoran

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