EDIT: This Sammy’s is closed, but you can still get their decent pizza around LA and Vegas.

In dire need of portable food while in Studio City, I wandered into Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza. Apparently Sammy’s has locations throughout Southern California and Nevada, but this was the first I had ever seen or heard of such a place. I took a quick look at the menu and while there were a couple of mildly interesting pizzas, most were pretty basic. Faced with such choices, I went with old faithful: pepperoni.

Here, though, the pepperoni was called “All-Natural Pepperoni” and cost a whopping $11.50. I know that seems crazy, but the only things cheaper were regular cheese and margherita.

About 10 minutes after ordering, my pizza was ready. At around 9′, its size did not make up for its price. The pepperonis looked good and tasted pretty good too. And overall the pizza tasted pretty good, but it really didn’t stand out as special in any way. I hate to harp on the price tag, but I’ve simply had better pizzas for lower prices. There isn’t really much more to say beyond that.

When my buddy recommended heading to a place called Mantee in Studio City, I was really excited to eat a sea cow and hoped the manatees were farm-raised (because we all know they are endangered in the wild). But he quickly corrected me, saying that the restaurant was lacking that all-important second “a” and was actually Mediterranean. And one look at the menu showed this was not your typical Mediterranean. There were no schwarma wraps to be seen here and instead items like that were replaced by unique Lebanese, Turkish and Armenian delights.

We decided to go big and started off with a nice round of appetizers. A couple had vegetables and I did not partake in such things, but the others were nothing short of delicious. The first was the Hummos Cocktail, which came topped with filet mignon and pine nuts. This was a great way to start things up and was quite tasty. It wasn’t too oily like some hummos can get, but was not at all dry and had great flavor. Plus, it never hurts to have meat on top. Next was the labne, which is a thick yogurt dip flavored with a little mint and olive oil. It is awesome with pita and while not as popular as hummos in general, it is definitely awesome.

The third appetizer I got into was simply called Mantee’s “Traditional.” Here’s where things got pretty interesting. This dish fell under the category of Hot Appetizers and consisted of oven-baked boat-shaped “ravioli” (really more like dumplings), filled with ground beef and topped with a garlic yogurt sauce and some sumac. I’ve got to say that this is a must-eat at Mantee. The dumplings were decadent and the garlic yogurt sauce struck a perfect balance of garlic and tart. This appetizer really had it all. I really could have made a meal out of this and the other appetizers and I would have left Mantee a happy man. Yet, I did not stop there, and I still left Mantee a happy man, just a more stuffed one.

I followed up the trio of appetizers with their Yogurt Kebab. I hadn’t seen a yogurt kebab anywhere since visiting Turkey nearly three years ago, so I was really happy to see it again. Until seeing it on the menu, I didn’t even realized I missed the thing, but I knew it had to be mine. And it was a wise choice. This kebab consisted of seasoned beef that had been removed from the stick and doused in that same delicious yogurt sauce as Mantee’s “Traditional.” In this case, though, the yogurt sauce not only held its own, but served to temper the strong seasoning of the meat. It was bliss on a plate and I was one happy unvegan.

So would I recommend Mantee? Oh hell yes. Just be sure you’re ready to spend a bit of money. It’s not overpriced and not really expensive for LA, but things can add up and you don’t want to miss out on their delicious offerings. I’m looking forward to returning one day for lunch and bringing any adventurous eater who wants something more than your typical Mediterranean fare.

Gourmet burgers and their associated gastropubs have been predominantly the domain of LA’s greater west side. Father’s Office, Umami Burger, Comme Ca and The Foundry all have roots on the west-ish side. So when I heard Laurel Tavern in Studio City was not only a gastropub, but had a burger worth writing home about, I was surprised. Gourmet burger? In the wretched valley? I had to try it out. And try I did. More than once. You see, Laurel Tavern is not the easiest place to get into. Not because of some dress code or something stupid like that, but because they simply have an extremely small space. On weekends, it’s nearly impossible to get in unless you show up mid-afternoon. But when I heard some friends were going on Labor Day, I felt my odds were pretty good and I ventured out to Ventura Boulevard.

I quickly and successfully made it in, and although I would usually enjoy a beer with my burger, I skipped out on this vice and replaced it with water. After all, this was the valley and with its 100 degree temperatures I didn’t want to risk that severe dehydration would ruin my burger enjoyment. The menu had some tasty-looking options, not to mention their three burgers, but I knew one of these burgers would have to be mine: the Bacon Blue Cheese Burger. This creatively named burger ran me 10 bucks and did have two ingredients not listed in its name – caramelized onions and apple slices. I ordered mine without those invasive onions, asked to have it cooked medium rare, then topped the order with fries for three more bucks.

I took my number and a seat, then waited about 15 minutes for a burger that I hoped would be worth returning to the valley for. The burger did not disappoint. As I took my first bite into the perfectly cooked medium rare burger, juices began to drip down into the basket and my taste buds yelped in happiness. It had been a long time since I bit into a burger that surpassed my expectations like this one. The bacon, in a surprise twist, was somewhat sweet and this provided a great counterbalance to the blue cheese flavor. Rather than being overwhelmed with saltiness, these two ingredients were a burgerly yin and yang. The apple slices were tasty, but unnecessary as they didn’t real add much to the overall burger experience. As I said, the burger was juicy, and although the bun had a little sogginess by the time I was finishing off, it put up a pretty great fight. Finally, as mentioned earlier, the burger was cooked to a perfect medium rare and the ground beef itself was pretty awesome, with a thick grind and a simple and effective flavor.

After finishing, my only regret was that I had no more burger left to eat. Fortunately, I did have plenty of fries left. The fries were also surprisingly tasty. They didn’t hold back on this portion and had fried and salted them well. There was never a point where I felt like I needed more or less salt, and although there were a few soggy fries in the pile, the majority were great.

So maybe the valley can make a delicious gourmet burger. The prices weren’t crazy and the burger was well-worth it. The only lingering question is whether the typical wait to get in is worth it. If you live in the valley and can get a seat quickly enough, Laurel Tavern should be your go-to gastropub, but for someone who lives on the other side of the mountains it is still worth a visit during non-peak hours. During those peak hours, though, I’d rather make myself at home with a west side burger.

Sometimes nothing beats a good bowl of ramen. No, I don’t mean the Cup O Noodle that powered me through late nights in college. I mean real ramen in a real bowl, with some thick broth and some real meat. For lunch, I headed to Ramen Jinya in Studio City with some coworkers to see if their ramen could bring back my memories of drunkenly wandering the streets of Osaka for some noodles in a bowl. There are four signature pork ramen flavors, and although they were strangely out of the Hakata premium rich broth, I was already going with their Original Yokohama ramen, so luckily this didn’t affect me.

The Yokohama ramen was made with pork chashu, spinach, bamboo, green onion and flied onion. Yes, that’s right, the onion was flied and not fried. Already I was reminded of Japan and decided to order as though I was actually in Japan. This meant I didn’t order without the spinach or onion and would just eat around it. Also, I kind of figured this ramen was made in batches and such ingredients couldn’t be avoided. On top of those regular ingredients, I ordered spicy miso and garlic for my ramen.

Not long after, my ramen was on the table in front of me and looked beautiful. I pushed the spinach aside, mixed in the spicy miso, squeezed some garlic out of the press and went to work. I quickly found that the spicy miso wasn’t too spicy and had to add more spice, but it only went up from there. The broth was thick and full of salty porky flavor. The pork itself was from the belly and tasted like boiled bacon, but in a good way. But by far the best part of the ramen was the noodles themselves. These were sturdy noodles and cooked just perfectly so that they were almost the Japanese version of al dente. They were truly delicious and even more so with that great broth.

At a price of $8.55 before any add-ons, Ramen Jinya might scare off some people used to Cup O Noodle, but it is definitely worth the price of admission. Plus, who doesn’t love flied onions?

EDIT: While the truck is off the street, there is a Grill ‘Em All does have a brick and mortar spot in Alhambra these days.

It seems like just yesterday that I was totally caught up in the craze of Gourmet Food Trucks. Within a few months of the launch of Kogi, it seemed like there was a new truck to try every week, serving everything you could imagine. I did my best to try all that I could, but although I predicted the fad would die out quickly, my desire to try every one of them died out even quicker. Some trucks failed, but new trucks kept coming out. And sadly, in the time that I was burned out on trucks, some pretty cool ones began to emerge. These were no longer trucks with one little idea out to make a quick buck to capitalize on the success of Kogi. No, instead, these were carefully crafted culinary machines. One of these was the Grill ‘Em All burger truck.

Although I had been following Grill ‘Em All on Twitter for a while and wanted to try them, I found it difficult because they never seemed to come near my stomping grounds on the West Side. But after watching them for six episodes on Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, I knew I had it in me to at least chase these guys down. The opportunity finally came when I found out they weren’t too far from my office during lunch time. I grabbed a co-worker and chased down that truck.

When I arrived, the line only had about ten people, so we grabbed our spot and took a look at the menu written on the truck. Although I gave their specials and other burgers a good look, there was really only one burger I was interested in: The Behemoth. This aptly named monstrosity consisted of two grilled cheeses in place of traditional buns, cheddar cheese (you know, for the burger itself), bacon, pickles, BBQ sauce and beer-soaked onions for 10 bucks. While certainly not the first guys to replace buns with grilled cheeses, this looked to me like one of the best executions. I ordered mine without the pickles and onions because even soaking in beer can’t make those things edible. On top of that I ordered some of their double-dipped fries with garlic aioli dipping sauce. The total came to 13 bucks and I was an excited man.

After waiting for about five minutes, one of the truckers/cooks came out of the truck and erased the Behemoth from the menu. Fortunately I had gotten there in time, but it did teach me a quick lesson to get there early if I ever wanted the Behemoth again. Another five minuted passed and my Behemoth was ready. I topped it with a to-go tray, paper bagged it and brought it back to the office to see how it could be.

The first thing I noticed upon opening was that it was huge, yet still looked edible. The bacon looked crisp, the cheese looked gooey and overall it was a pretty picture. After the first bite, something didn’t taste quite right. You see, in one bite I was really only to handle one of the grilled cheeses and found that one side had been a bit burned. This did not bode well, but it also did not stop me. A couple bites later and all my fears were assuaged. Although I am certain the entire half of that grilled cheese was burnt, the rest of the burger completely covered it up. I had completely forgotten about the burn (well, until writing this article) by the time I reached the middle of the burger.

What I liked best about the Behemoth (or at least my version of it) was that it didn’t try to do too much. Sure, it had the pure shock value of all the cheese and bread, but inside was just a damn good bacon and BBQ cheeseburger. In fact, even if I liked vegetables, I feel like the onions and pickles would have added just a bit too much to the burger and thrown it out of balance. The bacon was perfectly crispy and the barbecue sauce added a sweet tang that really tied the burger together. Without that BBQ sauce, I fear the burger would have become too savory and too dry. With it, though, all was well in the Behemoth.

It took me a while, but I finally tackled the whole burger. It was definitely the best execution of grilled cheese buns I’d ever tasted and overall a pretty great burger. The fries were also pretty delicious. Although they had cooled off significantly during the consumption of the burger, I could definitely appreciate them for what they must have been upon removal from the deep fryer. The garlic aioli only made them better and the garlic was so fresh it almost felt like I had squeezed it from the clove myself.

Grill ‘Em All was certainly a truck worth chasing down. For a sheer shock to your tastebuds and cholesterol level, the Behemoth is a burger worth eating. It’s no wonder they won The Great Food Truck Race because I will certainly be seeing them again.

One day, while driving down Ventura in Studio City, my coworkers and I spotted a burger place that looked great. Not only that, but they also spotted a comic book store above and geeked out. Now I am not ashamed to say that I once collected comics, but those were eventually replaced by beer and burgers, so I was much more interested in the burgers in this case. The place was called Fat Jack’s and we vowed to return one day.

When that day came, I was pretty excited. We drove over and waltzed in. The place was surprisingly empty and was set up with a counter for ordering, some booths and small tables. The man behind the counter had a thick accent that I thought could be Ukranian…or Bosnian…or whatever…it was great. I looked at the menu on the wall and figured the Fat Jack Special would be a good place to start. The excited Bosnikranian told me it came with pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, jack cheese, a special thousand island kind of sauce and two patties. Of course, I ordered without the veggies, then I made it a combo with some fries and a drink for about 8 bucks and was ready to roll.

The burger came out after about 10 minutes and was wrapped in the quintessential Los Angeles style. It looked great and I dug right in. The patty was tasty and well-seasoned, while the sauce and cheese worked pretty well with the meat. The bun was just your average sesame seed-laden bun, but I wouldn’t want anything fancier for a place like this. The only downside of the burger was that it was a little bit dry. Not too dry to ruin it or anything, but dry enough that I wouldn’t have minded the burger leaving the griddle just a little bit sooner.

The fries were delicious and seasoned perfectly. They had a nice crunch on the outside and gave way to some potatoey goodness on the inside. So overall, I’d say it was a pretty good meal. No, the burger won’t win any contests, but it got the job done and would give most fast food burgers a run for their money.

I couldn’t really figure out whether Mexicali Cocina Cantina in Studio City was named after the city of Mexicali or because it is a blend of Mexican and Californian food. Whichever it was, I was pretty impressed with the creative creations on their menu. It seemed that nearly everything on their menu had undergone some sort of upgrade from 87 octane to at least 89. Rather than just beef burritos, they had Kobe Beef Burritos. Rather than just fish tacos, they had Ahi Tuna Tacos. Everywhere I looked on the menu, there was something that seemed inspiring, at least in name.

I finally settled upon their Braised Beef Burrito. What can I say, I just love food alliterations. This was made with braised beef, mixed cheeses, goat cheese, cilantro and red onion. Wait. Goat cheese on a burrito? It sounded kind of insane, but I went with it and asked for the burrito without red onions. The burrito was 9.25 and I was pretty impressed that they managed to keep everything around 10 bucks for all this premium Mexican fare. But even 9.25 can be expensive if the meal is no good, so I waited for my burrito before I made final judgment on the price.

The burrito looked quite good upon delivery and I sliced it open to ensure that no red onions has caused calamity within. I saw that none were present and proceeded with consumption. At first, I loved the thing, the concept of braised beef in a burrito was a godsend. Why hadn’t anyone thought of this before? And goat cheese? More like orgasm cheese. Nothing bad has ever come from goat cheese. But then, I kept eating. And eating. And eating. And my mouth got dry. And I got painfully thirsty. And then I realized I was eating some of the saltiest food I’ve ever had this side of a TV dinner. Everything tasted like it had been doused in a saline solution. It tasted great at first because it brought out the flavor, but the continuing eating just destroyed the flavor and I had to drag myself to the end of the burrito.

The only part of the burrito I was looking forward to by the end was the goat cheese. It was the only low-sodium buffer in a sea of salt. While this braised beef burrito sounded good in name, the execution turned into a salty mess. I’m sure some of the other burritos don’t make you feel like the Dead Sea afterward, but the braised beef burrito failed me.