Continue from last Friday, after an disappointing lunch at the train, we wanted to go to City Walk and decide which to go to when we get there. One thing lead to another and we decided to just do Saddle Ranch(something about seeing people flying off the bull). I have never been to City Walk before anyway so wth, lets do it. I got there and paid my 10 bucks for parking, and proceeded to wait in front of Hard Rock( where we agreed to wait), but the ladies were not there. Being extremely patient I waited and waited, until time flowed by and I was ready to call it quits. I was actually making my way to the parking lot when I saw a vehicle that looked like one of the ladies vehicle, so what the heck, lets do one more round, walk from HR to Saddle, and if I don't see them then I would leave. Well surprise surprise, the girls were sitting on a bench outside, their coats wrapped around them like a blanket, and they were waiting for me.....
What happened to waiting at HR???? Oh well
We went in, it was 8:30, and Z was going to come but will be really late. They didn't card us or anything, and there were no lines, B had a headache(probably from that Special Lasagna earlier), and so they both had soda while I decided to have their Arizona sunset..or was it sunrise.. whatever, the girls said it was good so I tried it. For our food, they girls had the combo platter and I decided to have steak so Filet Mignon medium. For those that don't already know, their combo platter was huge and enough to feed 3 people, and it was appetizer.... So my drink came, I stirred it , then took a sip...and I wanted to spit it out. It tasted like children's strawberry flavor cough syrup! B thought I was crazy, so I let her tried it, and she wanted it spit it out! I was ready to just leave it as it, but E decided to tell the guy who came asking us how everything was, and she got me a replacement. This time there were more OJ(I think), which masked most of the yucky flavor and the taste was passable, though I was still not a fan of that cough syrup after taste. So then our food came, the two girls shared the platter which had ribs, chicken, fries, mini burgers and an assortment of other stuff. I had my steak with veggies and garlic mash potatoes. While I was not a fan of the drink, I was an open human trash can to the food and everything on my plate landed safely into my stomach. As the waitress said "I am sorry you didn't like your food", as she came and took away my empty plate :)
I can say with certainty, that the steak was comparable to Steven's, and the side dishes completely blows Steven's away. It was that good. It wasn't greasy, and since I had that pasta in the afternoon, I wasn't really hungry, still I found everything in my personal food refinery....
Z got there around 9:30ish and we stayed for another hour plus watching girls being thrown off the bull, it was never really crowded inside, so I was surprise as we were leaving, to see a long line has formed on the outside, and they were tagging people with wrist bands... very strange to me but I guess they like seeing long lines.
Overall
Environment****************B+, it was noisy, but that is expected. Very western, that too is expected, the only thing I would say is that I would like to see more private booths would have been nice. It felt too public if that makes any sense.
Parking*********************C! 10 bucks to 20 bucks, structure parking.
Food***********************A, really really good western cooking.
Drinks**********************D, at least I didn't like it, though the girls said it may just be an off day.
Price***********************D, it is pricey. Food and Drink for me was 50 bucks.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
IL Treno
Sorry, we didn't do anything the prior week, but to make up for it, this week we will be blogging 3 places. The first one we are going to talk about is IL Treno, located on 5403 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles. This place used to be a hub, a classy place for white collar people in the Vernon/Huntington Park area, to do lunch. In a way it still is, but it is also just a shadow of its former glory. It is in an area whats known as food central of southern California, in the same building as Peacock Cheese. It looked like a train cart, thus the name. I has its own private parking, and is readily accessable.
The BETZ team was at full member, BEZ got there first as T had to make a trip to the office before he can go. We choose outdoor seating....that was mistake number 1. The flies... what is going on with the flies? T finally got there and everyone placed their order. B ordered Special Lasagna, E ordered Chicken Fettuccine al fredo, T had the Linguine al Frutti Di Mare, and Z had the Salmon affumicato. Out of these four dishes, B's was just not that good, E's was all right, T's flat out sucked! and Z's was barely passable. We are talking about low quality ingredient, overcooked, and overall just not good. The shrimps were literally glued to their own shells, and the top part was already peeled, you just cant get the shrimps off the tail.... the pasta was soggy, the flies were abundant, service wasn't all there either as we had to request for refills, was it because it was Mothers day weekend and everyone was not all there or something?
Overall it was disappointing, especially since I was there before during their "glory years"
Environment ***********************D, put some insect repelling lamps out in the patio area for crying out loud...
Parking****************************B, free parking but spaces were tight
Food*******************************D-, very sad, had this been written a couple years ago it would have at least scored a B+ if not A-
Drinks******************************N/A, being a lunch place for office people
Price*******************************C, while they are now serving substandard fare, they sure charge standard pricing. Expect 15-20 dollars per person for lunch, drink, taxes, and tip.
The BETZ team was at full member, BEZ got there first as T had to make a trip to the office before he can go. We choose outdoor seating....that was mistake number 1. The flies... what is going on with the flies? T finally got there and everyone placed their order. B ordered Special Lasagna, E ordered Chicken Fettuccine al fredo, T had the Linguine al Frutti Di Mare, and Z had the Salmon affumicato. Out of these four dishes, B's was just not that good, E's was all right, T's flat out sucked! and Z's was barely passable. We are talking about low quality ingredient, overcooked, and overall just not good. The shrimps were literally glued to their own shells, and the top part was already peeled, you just cant get the shrimps off the tail.... the pasta was soggy, the flies were abundant, service wasn't all there either as we had to request for refills, was it because it was Mothers day weekend and everyone was not all there or something?
Overall it was disappointing, especially since I was there before during their "glory years"
Environment ***********************D, put some insect repelling lamps out in the patio area for crying out loud...
Parking****************************B, free parking but spaces were tight
Food*******************************D-, very sad, had this been written a couple years ago it would have at least scored a B+ if not A-
Drinks******************************N/A, being a lunch place for office people
Price*******************************C, while they are now serving substandard fare, they sure charge standard pricing. Expect 15-20 dollars per person for lunch, drink, taxes, and tip.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sushi Tenno
Last Friday we all had to work, except for B who was on vacation, that biotech! We decided to go somewhere close by after work, and well, Little Tokyo was close by. Well this isn't the Little Tokyo I know of anymore....its crowded, parking was difficult dispite having paid parking structures, there are so many yuppies here you'd think that it was a college town, except these yuppies have money. You would never know there is a recession if you hang out here...
So Sushi Tenno is located on207 S. Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012. It is not very traditional, in fact, I would dare to call them fusion Japanese food. They had these big lanterns hanging out front, but inside was fairly modern in design. We had arranged to gather at 7 pm, but it was closer to 8:20 when we assembled(I am such a sucker). Anyhow, E decide to bring a couple of extras with her, one of which is only a tad bigger than a worm, the other one was a teenager, we will ignore the worm and call the teenager extra R. We were quicky seated, no waiting at all. The waitress immediately ask and served us drinks. Z and T were not in the mood to drink so they had hot tea, E and R had soda. They did serve Japanese beer(canadian really), sake, and cocktails.
We ordered mostly various sushi's and rolls. The interesting thing about this place is their hot food selection. We had ordered suimai and tenpura udon as hot food. With all the sushi and those, it was plenty of food. I tried to target basic fare sushi as I was teaching the teenager his roots(yes hes of Japanese decent), the products they used were fresh, their wasabi was way too white washed though....the service was not too good however. First they gave us a cup that was cracked and leaked tea...ok so the waitress might have not known...it was easy to miss. Ok how do I excuse her forgeting our hot food order? Both the suimai and udon never came, I had to question her about it.... For Japanese, service like this is embarrassing, but I will forgive her, she was cute, a homely kind of cute...sorta >) The suimai came and you can see that they hand wrapped these, they are not the prepackage JFC stuff, very cool. The Udon came and I wanted one, it was literally boiling in the clay bowl...and I had to try it, I really like that soup stock they used. This was what udon should have been.
Overall
Parking***********************************C+, for a Friday night, it was difficult to find, even after paying it was difficult
Environment******************************B+, the place was simply ok, nothing too thrilling. The + was for the toilet, yes finally someone imported smart toilet seats.
Service***********************************D+, hey it wasn't good, the plus is for her being cute...sorta
Food*************************************A, as far as fusion Japanese goes. Lots of creative rolls and special cut sushi, dragon roll, tiger roll...stuff you would not find in Japan, but they do taste good.
Drinks***********************************B, interesting selection plus cocktails.
Price*************************************B-, 20+ dollar a person is to be expected, for big eaters, bring big wallet.
So Sushi Tenno is located on207 S. Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012. It is not very traditional, in fact, I would dare to call them fusion Japanese food. They had these big lanterns hanging out front, but inside was fairly modern in design. We had arranged to gather at 7 pm, but it was closer to 8:20 when we assembled(I am such a sucker). Anyhow, E decide to bring a couple of extras with her, one of which is only a tad bigger than a worm, the other one was a teenager, we will ignore the worm and call the teenager extra R. We were quicky seated, no waiting at all. The waitress immediately ask and served us drinks. Z and T were not in the mood to drink so they had hot tea, E and R had soda. They did serve Japanese beer(canadian really), sake, and cocktails.
We ordered mostly various sushi's and rolls. The interesting thing about this place is their hot food selection. We had ordered suimai and tenpura udon as hot food. With all the sushi and those, it was plenty of food. I tried to target basic fare sushi as I was teaching the teenager his roots(yes hes of Japanese decent), the products they used were fresh, their wasabi was way too white washed though....the service was not too good however. First they gave us a cup that was cracked and leaked tea...ok so the waitress might have not known...it was easy to miss. Ok how do I excuse her forgeting our hot food order? Both the suimai and udon never came, I had to question her about it.... For Japanese, service like this is embarrassing, but I will forgive her, she was cute, a homely kind of cute...sorta >) The suimai came and you can see that they hand wrapped these, they are not the prepackage JFC stuff, very cool. The Udon came and I wanted one, it was literally boiling in the clay bowl...and I had to try it, I really like that soup stock they used. This was what udon should have been.
Overall
Parking***********************************C+, for a Friday night, it was difficult to find, even after paying it was difficult
Environment******************************B+, the place was simply ok, nothing too thrilling. The + was for the toilet, yes finally someone imported smart toilet seats.
Service***********************************D+, hey it wasn't good, the plus is for her being cute...sorta
Food*************************************A, as far as fusion Japanese goes. Lots of creative rolls and special cut sushi, dragon roll, tiger roll...stuff you would not find in Japan, but they do taste good.
Drinks***********************************B, interesting selection plus cocktails.
Price*************************************B-, 20+ dollar a person is to be expected, for big eaters, bring big wallet.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Steven's Steakhouse
So last Friday we went to Steven's Steakhouse. We have all heard a lot about this place, but have never had tried it. I finally got online and saw their menu, and I thought it was fairly inexpensive as far as steak house goes, so I made the decision for everyone to go(during lunch though), to sample their fare.
Getting there during afternoon wasn't too much of a problem, though I did get stuck a bit in traffic as a Benz decided to stall on me in the middle of Atlantic Blvd. Steven's Steakhouse is located at 5332 E Stevens Place, Commerce, CA 90040. Again I should have learned my lesson, when I schedule for a location, always arrive at least 30 minutes late...everyone else does!
So we all assembled, they had a huge lot in the back and a valet parking area. If you have a nice car, I suggest the valet as the back lot is unattended. By the time we got in, we might as well have the restaurant to ourselves. We took a peek at their ball room as someone was decorating it for a wedding. It was huge, must have had 25 tables in there with plenty of room left. The front entrance had a bunch of boxer pictures and Wonder Woman...I mean Linda Carter. The main dinning area had decent lighting, not too bright or too dimmed. I was expecting more of a classy place, but it was more a place to conduct power lunches or friend/family gathering, even though they do weddings and banquets, I find the notion of romance missing in this place(See my review of Waters Restaurants, that place reeks of romance). We were quickly seated and began to order. They had a decent wine list, but it was lunch time so I didn't order any, instead we went with the common stuff like Iced Coffee, Iced Tea, coke...sprite..etc.
B ordered Carne Asada, E had Fettuccine with Shrimp, T ordered Fillet Mignon medium rare, Z had Salmon Fillet. Special Guest Star V and J had ordered the assorted platter and the speical Steak and Lobster tail. Food arrived, and right off the bat, that Fettuccine with Shrimp looked really good. Salmon was well done too, as was all the main dishes, the assorted platter was ok, thought some of the meat were too well done, definitely nothing to say wow at. Overall the main dishes were pretty good, the soup that came with it were excellent(I had clam chowder and I can say that it wasn't canned clams)....but wth is with the side dishes? My veggies and mash potato that came with the steak had way too much oil/butter in it. The effect was like a beautiful painting of a perfect red rose...with dead leaves coming off the stem...
Maybe dinner would have been better, or it was done by helpers instead of chefs, as we did get there rather late. I don't know, but it is odd to have great main but bad sides. Service wise, for being not busy, it was not too great. We had to ask for refills, were mostly ignored, they did the bill wrong(to our advantage, then corrected), for a lunch, our table spent about 150 including tips, personally I think I could have had better service.
Overall
Parking ***************************************A+, valet and regular lot, your choice.
Environment***********************************B+, something is lacking
Service ****************************************C
Food ******************************************A-/B+, I just need to overlook the side dishes
Drinks*****************************************A-/B+, a nice selection
Price******************************************B-, about 18 to 25 dollar a person, including tip.
Getting there during afternoon wasn't too much of a problem, though I did get stuck a bit in traffic as a Benz decided to stall on me in the middle of Atlantic Blvd. Steven's Steakhouse is located at 5332 E Stevens Place, Commerce, CA 90040. Again I should have learned my lesson, when I schedule for a location, always arrive at least 30 minutes late...everyone else does!
So we all assembled, they had a huge lot in the back and a valet parking area. If you have a nice car, I suggest the valet as the back lot is unattended. By the time we got in, we might as well have the restaurant to ourselves. We took a peek at their ball room as someone was decorating it for a wedding. It was huge, must have had 25 tables in there with plenty of room left. The front entrance had a bunch of boxer pictures and Wonder Woman...I mean Linda Carter. The main dinning area had decent lighting, not too bright or too dimmed. I was expecting more of a classy place, but it was more a place to conduct power lunches or friend/family gathering, even though they do weddings and banquets, I find the notion of romance missing in this place(See my review of Waters Restaurants, that place reeks of romance). We were quickly seated and began to order. They had a decent wine list, but it was lunch time so I didn't order any, instead we went with the common stuff like Iced Coffee, Iced Tea, coke...sprite..etc.
B ordered Carne Asada, E had Fettuccine with Shrimp, T ordered Fillet Mignon medium rare, Z had Salmon Fillet. Special Guest Star V and J had ordered the assorted platter and the speical Steak and Lobster tail. Food arrived, and right off the bat, that Fettuccine with Shrimp looked really good. Salmon was well done too, as was all the main dishes, the assorted platter was ok, thought some of the meat were too well done, definitely nothing to say wow at. Overall the main dishes were pretty good, the soup that came with it were excellent(I had clam chowder and I can say that it wasn't canned clams)....but wth is with the side dishes? My veggies and mash potato that came with the steak had way too much oil/butter in it. The effect was like a beautiful painting of a perfect red rose...with dead leaves coming off the stem...
Maybe dinner would have been better, or it was done by helpers instead of chefs, as we did get there rather late. I don't know, but it is odd to have great main but bad sides. Service wise, for being not busy, it was not too great. We had to ask for refills, were mostly ignored, they did the bill wrong(to our advantage, then corrected), for a lunch, our table spent about 150 including tips, personally I think I could have had better service.
Overall
Parking ***************************************A+, valet and regular lot, your choice.
Environment***********************************B+, something is lacking
Service ****************************************C
Food ******************************************A-/B+, I just need to overlook the side dishes
Drinks*****************************************A-/B+, a nice selection
Price******************************************B-, about 18 to 25 dollar a person, including tip.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Maddalena Restaurant, San Antonio Winery
So last Friday the company decided to give us another fully paid off day, and I decided to do lunch at the San Antonio Winery, and also shop for some decent wine. Z wanted to come, B and E were claiming to be too poor to eat, and well, their lost.
It wasn't too difficult to find, even though I have never met so many Sunday drivers on a Friday before... We got their about 2:30pm. They had their own secluded street, which I thought was pretty awesome. Decent size parking lot within their gated area. We went in and the first thing we saw was their retail area, and I immediately got attracted to their bottle of Château Margaux...for only...$1200.00....and I was completely transfixed and just could not move or take my eyes off it.... ok so we finally broke me away from that security area and we went into their restaurant area.
Taking a minute to recover, I recomposed myself, at first you would think this is a cafeteria, and in a way, it was.... they didn't have a menu. They had instead 2 tables, each table has about 12 dishes, one table is bread/sandwich products, the other is rice/pasta/dishes. Each dish has a name tag on it, you find what you like, then walk up to the kitchen counter and tell the clerk what you want. The clerk then takes note, and hands you a menu stand with a piece of paper labeling what you had ordered. You then scoot down to the cashier area, and pick your drinks, regular stuff, pre pour glasses of wine...water....etc. Then you pay for your meal, and a waiter carries your tray and escorts you to a table.
The restaurant itself is Italian in design, and they had a musician there playing at almost 3 in the afternoon. They also have segmented out rooms for events, be it company event, or wine tasting that they host...etc. All meals were served with salad and bread, but we didn't get to choose any dressing for our salad. The bread was ehh...whatever... I am and will never be a bread eater anyway...
We both had pinot noir, though I knew I should have had pinot grigio since I ordered Linguini shrimp scampi. Z had fresh Salmon breaded and served with rice. The waiter brought our dishes over, and I got stunned as soon as I had my first bite, it was that good! It wasn't a good thing though as I had my first bite right when the musician finished his tune, and I was so stunned that I didn't even applaud, and my table was closest to the musician... embarrassing.
The linguini was perfectly al dente(unlike macaroni grill), and the shrimps were not over cooked(unlike Water's Restaurant), the flavor was perfectly balanced, strong garlic but not overly salty, very well done and very Italian. Z's eyes lite up with she tasted the salmon, I personally dont eat cooked fish so I cant tell you how good it is, but she did finish her plate.
Overall
Parking ******************************A, come on, free gated parking in LA always gets an A
Environment *************************A-, very cool place, their is only 2 problems I found with this place, one they don't open late enough, close at 7pm...come on.... and two, selection menu is pretty small compare to other places.
Service ******************************A++!!! Friendly servers, and not just the restaurant, but over all everyone there, even the retail wine area where they had a wine waiter serving samples. As I was drooling again after the meal in front of that bottle of Château Margaux, someone came by and asked if I needed help, so I asked if they had Alter Ego de Palmer(sorry that's the highest I have tried in my short wine life), he wasn't sure and went away. I then went to the taster counter and started picking out daily wines to try, as I was doing this, that guy who asked me earlier came back, hunted me down with a supervisor and asked me to repeat the name, just to confirm that they truly didn't have it. The supervisor knew what it was and confirmed that they don't have it. But it is exactly this kind of service that I do not expect in the US, if this was Japan I would expect nothing less. That's my little story of why they made A++ on service.
Food********************************A-, bread...spread...whatever, salad was average, but the dishes...omg! Go there and try for yourself, you wont regret it.
Drinks*******************************A, its a winery after all!!!
Price ********************************B. Expect about 22-25 bucks a person with food and drink and tip
Overall*******************************I am giving this place an A, and they can definitely expect more business from me!
It wasn't too difficult to find, even though I have never met so many Sunday drivers on a Friday before... We got their about 2:30pm. They had their own secluded street, which I thought was pretty awesome. Decent size parking lot within their gated area. We went in and the first thing we saw was their retail area, and I immediately got attracted to their bottle of Château Margaux...for only...$1200.00....and I was completely transfixed and just could not move or take my eyes off it.... ok so we finally broke me away from that security area and we went into their restaurant area.
Taking a minute to recover, I recomposed myself, at first you would think this is a cafeteria, and in a way, it was.... they didn't have a menu. They had instead 2 tables, each table has about 12 dishes, one table is bread/sandwich products, the other is rice/pasta/dishes. Each dish has a name tag on it, you find what you like, then walk up to the kitchen counter and tell the clerk what you want. The clerk then takes note, and hands you a menu stand with a piece of paper labeling what you had ordered. You then scoot down to the cashier area, and pick your drinks, regular stuff, pre pour glasses of wine...water....etc. Then you pay for your meal, and a waiter carries your tray and escorts you to a table.
The restaurant itself is Italian in design, and they had a musician there playing at almost 3 in the afternoon. They also have segmented out rooms for events, be it company event, or wine tasting that they host...etc. All meals were served with salad and bread, but we didn't get to choose any dressing for our salad. The bread was ehh...whatever... I am and will never be a bread eater anyway...
We both had pinot noir, though I knew I should have had pinot grigio since I ordered Linguini shrimp scampi. Z had fresh Salmon breaded and served with rice. The waiter brought our dishes over, and I got stunned as soon as I had my first bite, it was that good! It wasn't a good thing though as I had my first bite right when the musician finished his tune, and I was so stunned that I didn't even applaud, and my table was closest to the musician... embarrassing.
The linguini was perfectly al dente(unlike macaroni grill), and the shrimps were not over cooked(unlike Water's Restaurant), the flavor was perfectly balanced, strong garlic but not overly salty, very well done and very Italian. Z's eyes lite up with she tasted the salmon, I personally dont eat cooked fish so I cant tell you how good it is, but she did finish her plate.
Overall
Parking ******************************A, come on, free gated parking in LA always gets an A
Environment *************************A-, very cool place, their is only 2 problems I found with this place, one they don't open late enough, close at 7pm...come on.... and two, selection menu is pretty small compare to other places.
Service ******************************A++!!! Friendly servers, and not just the restaurant, but over all everyone there, even the retail wine area where they had a wine waiter serving samples. As I was drooling again after the meal in front of that bottle of Château Margaux, someone came by and asked if I needed help, so I asked if they had Alter Ego de Palmer(sorry that's the highest I have tried in my short wine life), he wasn't sure and went away. I then went to the taster counter and started picking out daily wines to try, as I was doing this, that guy who asked me earlier came back, hunted me down with a supervisor and asked me to repeat the name, just to confirm that they truly didn't have it. The supervisor knew what it was and confirmed that they don't have it. But it is exactly this kind of service that I do not expect in the US, if this was Japan I would expect nothing less. That's my little story of why they made A++ on service.
Food********************************A-, bread...spread...whatever, salad was average, but the dishes...omg! Go there and try for yourself, you wont regret it.
Drinks*******************************A, its a winery after all!!!
Price ********************************B. Expect about 22-25 bucks a person with food and drink and tip
Overall*******************************I am giving this place an A, and they can definitely expect more business from me!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Sakura of Tokyo
So last Friday our company decided to finance us for a day off and pay us to go bowling!! What a great company we have:) We decided to go to the West Covina bowl, and afterward we can try this Japanese restaurant call Sakura of Tokyo. Well the day didn't start off too great though, as they had some nasty accident on the 210, closing like 4 lanes or something like that, and so it funneled everyone to the 605 and the 10, so the 10 and the 210 were completely backed up and what would take 20minutes took 1hr 30min.... So we were suppose to get there by 1pm. I made it there first at 1:45!! The others didn't get there until almost 3:00. It was the first Betz bowling.....competition...no that's not the right word...exhibition...nah that doesn't work either...disaster!! yes that's it, the first Betz bowling disaster!! We are probably the 4 most non talented bowlers in the history of humanity. We each had 2 games and at the end, our combine scores for 2 games each did not exceed 400, that means we average less than 50 a game!!
So what, at least we know how to eat...well B and E had to go so it was just TZ going to eat....We went to this place called Sakura of Tokyo, located at 533 S. Glendora Ave, West Covina, CA 91790. It had it's own private parking lot, and the interior was very Japanese, and it might have been authentic at some point in it's past history....however, as soon as I heard the staff spoke amongst themselves, I knew I was in trouble. They were speaking in chinese!!! So they showed us this menu that had pictures in it on most of their dishes, I am growing even more concern. We decided to have spicy tuna and sashimi as appetizers, and for our main, we had teppanyaki and nabeyaki udon. Those of you that remember, teppanyaki is similiar to the ones we had in Sambi, except here they serve it as a sizzling hot plate instead of cooking it right in front of you. Nabeyaki udon is simply udon served in a pot instead of a bowl(nabe means pot or kettle).
The appetizer came, I was surprised that it was fairly good, even though the portion was immensely small for the sashimi. Had they cut it any smaller, you would need a microscope. At least the Salmon and Tuna were fresh and tasty. The spicy tuna was ok, average fare as far as spicy tuna is concern, nothing compare to Noshi's spicy tuna or Sambi's ninja rolls. The teppanyaki came, it looked good, all piled up and everything....with bean sprouts! Worse, the hot plate was actually designed with the center protruding up, so that it looked like the content was much more than it really is.
The nabeyaki udon came....it was the worse, I mean worst nabeyaki udon I have ever had. Seriously, what kind of udon was it? Thousand year old crispy udon? The fish cake was cut way too thick. It was greasy.....and I can taste the generic soup stock they used to make the broth, stuff you can get at the market, instead of making their own stock.... only redeemable quality was it was hot(as in the temperature), I make this stuff as my staple diet on a almost daily basis, I can do better with my eyes closed and using only my pinky!! If I were to compare this place's product with say Hanaichimonme's soup stock, this stuff here would be pour down into the toilet and flushed away immediately....Needless to say I was completely disgusted with the place.
Honestly, they had some nice ingredients for sushi and sashimi, but they were too interested with their own pocket books to give decent portions. The hot cook fare was completely junk. It is simply the worse Japanese food(not counting Japanese fast food) I have ever had... I find this most discouraging.
Overall
Parking ****************************************B+, private lot
Environment************************************B
Service*****************************************B-, nothing speical, waitress was nice, the old lady (probably owner) was scary.
Food********************************************D-, would have been an F- if it wasn't for the sashimi
Drink*******************************************B-, at least they had sake and Japanese beer...
Overall*****************************************C--/D+ I would not recommend it to any one....unless I really dislike them.
So what, at least we know how to eat...well B and E had to go so it was just TZ going to eat....We went to this place called Sakura of Tokyo, located at 533 S. Glendora Ave, West Covina, CA 91790. It had it's own private parking lot, and the interior was very Japanese, and it might have been authentic at some point in it's past history....however, as soon as I heard the staff spoke amongst themselves, I knew I was in trouble. They were speaking in chinese!!! So they showed us this menu that had pictures in it on most of their dishes, I am growing even more concern. We decided to have spicy tuna and sashimi as appetizers, and for our main, we had teppanyaki and nabeyaki udon. Those of you that remember, teppanyaki is similiar to the ones we had in Sambi, except here they serve it as a sizzling hot plate instead of cooking it right in front of you. Nabeyaki udon is simply udon served in a pot instead of a bowl(nabe means pot or kettle).
The appetizer came, I was surprised that it was fairly good, even though the portion was immensely small for the sashimi. Had they cut it any smaller, you would need a microscope. At least the Salmon and Tuna were fresh and tasty. The spicy tuna was ok, average fare as far as spicy tuna is concern, nothing compare to Noshi's spicy tuna or Sambi's ninja rolls. The teppanyaki came, it looked good, all piled up and everything....with bean sprouts! Worse, the hot plate was actually designed with the center protruding up, so that it looked like the content was much more than it really is.
The nabeyaki udon came....it was the worse, I mean worst nabeyaki udon I have ever had. Seriously, what kind of udon was it? Thousand year old crispy udon? The fish cake was cut way too thick. It was greasy.....and I can taste the generic soup stock they used to make the broth, stuff you can get at the market, instead of making their own stock.... only redeemable quality was it was hot(as in the temperature), I make this stuff as my staple diet on a almost daily basis, I can do better with my eyes closed and using only my pinky!! If I were to compare this place's product with say Hanaichimonme's soup stock, this stuff here would be pour down into the toilet and flushed away immediately....Needless to say I was completely disgusted with the place.
Honestly, they had some nice ingredients for sushi and sashimi, but they were too interested with their own pocket books to give decent portions. The hot cook fare was completely junk. It is simply the worse Japanese food(not counting Japanese fast food) I have ever had... I find this most discouraging.
Overall
Parking ****************************************B+, private lot
Environment************************************B
Service*****************************************B-, nothing speical, waitress was nice, the old lady (probably owner) was scary.
Food********************************************D-, would have been an F- if it wasn't for the sashimi
Drink*******************************************B-, at least they had sake and Japanese beer...
Overall*****************************************C--/D+ I would not recommend it to any one....unless I really dislike them.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Macaroni Grill
Last Friday was a very special day for me. It was special because for the first time since our group's inception, we were all available, and we had no extras, no special guest stars, no star trek red shirts, no add on luggage, no carry on's, it was just the four of us. We decided on Italian, well sort of, more like Americanized Italian, which was cool. We picked Macaroni Grill in Cerritos, located at 12875 Towne Center Drive Cerritos, CA 90703-8585. It was right off the 91 Freeway, in a shopping plaza, fairly convenient to get to. I arrived at 8:45 pm and everyone was already there and had already started ordering.
The place was fairly large, the decor from the outside looked like a barn though. Inside it was contemporary, with an open kitchen. The setting was definitely family oriented, it is a step up from say Denny's but not nearly the level of Maggiano's. I liked the way they casually leave bottles of wine around, I was tempted to garb one and help myself.... They also serve Italian wine, which was rare for a restaurant of this level. The waiters are their number one asset imo, friendly, professional, and some have the makings of being great singers.
They served us bread and we ordered a few ceasar salads, which for 2 bucks it wasn't bad at all. The bread wasn't very good though, it is passable if you dip it against your dish and use it as a plate cleaner. For drinks, I ordered La Crema Pinot Noir, which was surprisingly decent. The girls had ordered their drinks ahead of time from the bar, and I found out that Z actually had the same after I ordered... oh well.
So we ordered our dishes. B and E both decided to create their own pasta, but they both decided to have Parm Chicken as the main protein. T and Z were both drinking Pinot Noir, so it was natural that they too ordered chicken dishes, so it ended up everyone was a chicken...I mean had chicken. T ordered Penne with Oven Roasted Chicken, and Z ordered Pinot Grigio Chicken. They had on their menu a very tempting picture of Berry Tiramisu, we gave in and ordered just one to share. They promptly took our order and our meal got to our table within 15 minutes. That actually got my hopes up a little as I thought it meant they dont precook their pasta. Well, to be honest, I don't know if they do or not, but it sure taste like they do. I had my Penne, and I tried B's linguine, and it was not al dente... the sauce and flavor were ok... actually, it was good, but the pasta was lacking. Simply there were no bite to it. The breaded parmesan the girls ordered were slightly too brown, which meant they need to change the fryer's oil. It tasted good though so the girls didn't mind. The Tiramisu was very nice, and actually looked like the one from the picture, we should have ordered 2.
All through out the evening we kept hearing waiters singing birthday songs in Italian(I think its Italian), and E and Z were yearning for it, it was just so obvious. It was also very obvious that even though they had several singers, they both had their eye on this one(the one with hair) Anyhow, it got to the point where our resident compulsive liar E decided to just go for it, and told our waitress that it was Z's birthday(so that she can say she did it for Z......Right! and I'm Tinkerbell). The gamble paid out, not only did they not card anyone, they gave us a small chocolate cake, and they got the singing waiter they wanted. To see them drool...priceless.
Overall
Location/Parking*************************** B(it would have been an A-, with parking so plentiful, but when I left I found someone left a couple bags of used fast food under my car)
Atmosphere/Environment******************* A, thank the waiters
Food ************************************** B, the pasta needs work
Drink**************************************A- nice wine selection
Price************************************** B+, for Italian it was inexpensive, about 14 dollars a person
Overall************************************B+
The place was fairly large, the decor from the outside looked like a barn though. Inside it was contemporary, with an open kitchen. The setting was definitely family oriented, it is a step up from say Denny's but not nearly the level of Maggiano's. I liked the way they casually leave bottles of wine around, I was tempted to garb one and help myself.... They also serve Italian wine, which was rare for a restaurant of this level. The waiters are their number one asset imo, friendly, professional, and some have the makings of being great singers.
They served us bread and we ordered a few ceasar salads, which for 2 bucks it wasn't bad at all. The bread wasn't very good though, it is passable if you dip it against your dish and use it as a plate cleaner. For drinks, I ordered La Crema Pinot Noir, which was surprisingly decent. The girls had ordered their drinks ahead of time from the bar, and I found out that Z actually had the same after I ordered... oh well.
So we ordered our dishes. B and E both decided to create their own pasta, but they both decided to have Parm Chicken as the main protein. T and Z were both drinking Pinot Noir, so it was natural that they too ordered chicken dishes, so it ended up everyone was a chicken...I mean had chicken. T ordered Penne with Oven Roasted Chicken, and Z ordered Pinot Grigio Chicken. They had on their menu a very tempting picture of Berry Tiramisu, we gave in and ordered just one to share. They promptly took our order and our meal got to our table within 15 minutes. That actually got my hopes up a little as I thought it meant they dont precook their pasta. Well, to be honest, I don't know if they do or not, but it sure taste like they do. I had my Penne, and I tried B's linguine, and it was not al dente... the sauce and flavor were ok... actually, it was good, but the pasta was lacking. Simply there were no bite to it. The breaded parmesan the girls ordered were slightly too brown, which meant they need to change the fryer's oil. It tasted good though so the girls didn't mind. The Tiramisu was very nice, and actually looked like the one from the picture, we should have ordered 2.
All through out the evening we kept hearing waiters singing birthday songs in Italian(I think its Italian), and E and Z were yearning for it, it was just so obvious. It was also very obvious that even though they had several singers, they both had their eye on this one(the one with hair) Anyhow, it got to the point where our resident compulsive liar E decided to just go for it, and told our waitress that it was Z's birthday(so that she can say she did it for Z......Right! and I'm Tinkerbell). The gamble paid out, not only did they not card anyone, they gave us a small chocolate cake, and they got the singing waiter they wanted. To see them drool...priceless.
Overall
Location/Parking*************************** B(it would have been an A-, with parking so plentiful, but when I left I found someone left a couple bags of used fast food under my car)
Atmosphere/Environment******************* A, thank the waiters
Food ************************************** B, the pasta needs work
Drink**************************************A- nice wine selection
Price************************************** B+, for Italian it was inexpensive, about 14 dollars a person
Overall************************************B+
Monday, March 16, 2009
Anarkali Indian Restaurant
Last Friday TZ and special guest star V were available, so we decided to try something that they had never experienced. We decided on authentic Indian food, and selected Anarkali Indian Restaurant, located at 7013 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. We had a reservation for 4 for 9:00 pm. V brought her hubby Mr. J with her, along with her baby B, so we ended up with 5. It wasn't a problem as times are bad and it wasn't crowded at all. I got there first and had an India Special (beer) while waiting on them. By 9:20 everyone arrived. The setting of the restaurant was unique, if not ingenious. They made each table looked like an enclosed tent, the center of the restaurant was a long table with two crystal chandeliers, making it feel like a table for nobels. The background was filled with subtle Indian music, soft enough where you can hear it but wont need you to raise your voice to talk. They only serve beer and regular drinks, no wine or liquor, but then again, it would be a challenge to find wine that suits Indian cusine.
We placed our orders, mind you nobody by myself had ever experienced Indian cusine, so I suggested something basic. Tandoori chicken, curry, naan, garlic naan, Z I had recommended the chicken tikka, but she decided to try Chicken Curry Vindaloo dinner(curry with lemon juice, she being new at this ordered it mild). V and family decided to share and ordered Calimari to start, and share an order of Mixed Tandoori Grill dinner, which comes with Chicken Tandoori, Chicken Tikka, Lamb Tikka, and Sheekh Kabab. I ordered the combination platter with chicken curry(hot), it comes with Chicken Tandoori, naan, rice and dessert, and an extra side of garlic naan.
So while we waited for our food, we began joking around on baby B's expense, telling her that we are here to eat monkey brains and beetles(old Indiana Jones sceen) and spooked her silly. Then the calamari came, it was triple battered and in strips, so it looked like cheetos and we told her that its good cheetos, not the stuff coming out of the bag...which caused her to not try it:) Then the conversation switched to the not using the left hand to eat as it was for wiping >-)
Soon our food arrived and filled the table. V and family had the mixed grill, which they thought was too bland, Z had her chicken curry vindaloo, but she didn't like the herb tasting chicken. I on the other hand loved my dish, I had my curry hot, and hot it was, and unlike other Indian places, there were no film of red oil over the curry. The tandoori chicken was just right for me, the naan was kinda weak though, I am used to better flavor naan.
I guess I over did it with the left hand jokes, as toward the end, V kept saying she smell gas....hehehe it probably was from herself, after all, we know that shes been known to lose control before.
Overall
Location/Parking***********************B-, I had mine valet, and he just moved it 5 inches and left it in the street, and just put a cone behind my car... and charged me 5 bucks!
Environment***************************A. I really like the decor/setup. It felt like you are in your own tent.
Drinks*********************************C+. Serving Indian beer was cool, but the menu on drinks were a bit weak.
Food**********************************C+. If it was me, I would give it a B+/A-, but the general consensus was that the food wasn't tasty, but then again I am the only one who had experienced Indian food and knew what to expect, and I did order my curry hot!
Price**********************************B it wasn't expensive to start, and there was a coupon online for 25 dollars off, but then they slap 18% tip on top of it, so it was really about 7 bucks of savings.
Overall......I liked it, but my guests didn't. This one is hard to call, I would have given it a B+ overall, but taking my guests input into the equation, this is a B-/C+ establishment.
For those who would like to see if they agree with me or my guests, please feel free to try them.
You can also see their menu at http://www.anarkali-la.com/
We placed our orders, mind you nobody by myself had ever experienced Indian cusine, so I suggested something basic. Tandoori chicken, curry, naan, garlic naan, Z I had recommended the chicken tikka, but she decided to try Chicken Curry Vindaloo dinner(curry with lemon juice, she being new at this ordered it mild). V and family decided to share and ordered Calimari to start, and share an order of Mixed Tandoori Grill dinner, which comes with Chicken Tandoori, Chicken Tikka, Lamb Tikka, and Sheekh Kabab. I ordered the combination platter with chicken curry(hot), it comes with Chicken Tandoori, naan, rice and dessert, and an extra side of garlic naan.
So while we waited for our food, we began joking around on baby B's expense, telling her that we are here to eat monkey brains and beetles(old Indiana Jones sceen) and spooked her silly. Then the calamari came, it was triple battered and in strips, so it looked like cheetos and we told her that its good cheetos, not the stuff coming out of the bag...which caused her to not try it:) Then the conversation switched to the not using the left hand to eat as it was for wiping >-)
Soon our food arrived and filled the table. V and family had the mixed grill, which they thought was too bland, Z had her chicken curry vindaloo, but she didn't like the herb tasting chicken. I on the other hand loved my dish, I had my curry hot, and hot it was, and unlike other Indian places, there were no film of red oil over the curry. The tandoori chicken was just right for me, the naan was kinda weak though, I am used to better flavor naan.
I guess I over did it with the left hand jokes, as toward the end, V kept saying she smell gas....hehehe it probably was from herself, after all, we know that shes been known to lose control before.
Overall
Location/Parking***********************B-, I had mine valet, and he just moved it 5 inches and left it in the street, and just put a cone behind my car... and charged me 5 bucks!
Environment***************************A. I really like the decor/setup. It felt like you are in your own tent.
Drinks*********************************C+. Serving Indian beer was cool, but the menu on drinks were a bit weak.
Food**********************************C+. If it was me, I would give it a B+/A-, but the general consensus was that the food wasn't tasty, but then again I am the only one who had experienced Indian food and knew what to expect, and I did order my curry hot!
Price**********************************B it wasn't expensive to start, and there was a coupon online for 25 dollars off, but then they slap 18% tip on top of it, so it was really about 7 bucks of savings.
Overall......I liked it, but my guests didn't. This one is hard to call, I would have given it a B+ overall, but taking my guests input into the equation, this is a B-/C+ establishment.
For those who would like to see if they agree with me or my guests, please feel free to try them.
You can also see their menu at http://www.anarkali-la.com/
Monday, March 9, 2009
Hanaichimonme
Last week everyone including myself were preoccupied and could not meet up, I myself had 3 doctors appointment on Sat, so I could not eat the night before, after 12 x-rays, a pint of blood, an EKG performed by a not so attractive nurse, I was famish. Being alone, and still abiding by my policy of "If it isn't tasty don't put it in my mouth", my choice of places to go was limited.
It would be awkward for me to walk into a decent restaurant asking for table for 1, and I don't want cafeteria style, and my honor prevents me from doing fast food.....It actually took a few brain cells before I remember: Real ramen.
Those of you that knows me, should now be wondering why would I forget such a thing. Well the truth is, once I learned the proper way of making real ramen, I have not gone out for it(since I can make it better than most places), but there is one place in LA I know I cannot best... and that is Hanaichimonme. That's a mouth full for most people I bet...pronounce Ha-na-ichi-mon-mee. It is located at 333 S Alameda St, #303, Los Angeles, CA. There used to be a Mitsuwa market there, but they shut it down. One of the cool things this little ramen shop has, is it caters to not just groups, but singles as well. There is a bar area made just for those table for 1 people. Since I was one of those people, I fit right in! The other unique thing about this little ramen shop is..they serve beer, they also serve other non alcohol drinks, including my favorite Iced Coffee!
Ok so that's not unique enough for you? Fine try this: All their dishes are displayed in its actual form using what I believe to be colored wax, or plastic, and with the exception of gyoza, the actual dish when it comes look identical to the display. When was the last time your hamburger looked like the one on the picture?
So being hungry, in pain and lost a lot of blood(the evil nurse claimed she couldn't find my vein, so she inserted a needle in my arm, then pulled it out partially as no blood came up, and wiggled it for another position and pushed the damn needle back in...5 times) I ordered sagano, which comes with pickled vegetables, pork ramen, Japanese fried rice, and gyoza. I also ordered Iced coffee, which came with syrup and evaporated milk, you get to add as much or as little as you want.
The ramen came within 5 minutes of the order, very fast. Now most people I know just don't know how to eat ramen right, yes most know that you are suppose to slurp and make noises, but most don't understand the reason....and they come up with its impolite and blah blah.... ok so the reason, the real reason, is ramen in broth(I call it soup, but then I don't want to give the impression of chunky thick stews that most people associate the word soup with)should be at least 88+ Celsius... yes that makes it hot! I personally prefer over 92, considering water boils at 100, it is near boiling. With such a hot temperature soup, when you finish a bowl of ramen, you should be sweating, which unclogs your pores and make you feel like you just came out of the steam room. When you eat it, since it is just sooo hot, you have to slurp(so you suck in air and cool off the content in your mouth) It is one of those food that fills your stomach and gives you a work out while eating, imo a great diet food. So what makes a successful ramen? It is the broth/soup base. There are 3 major types of broth when it comes to Japanese ramen, pork bone(tonkotsu), Miso, and soy sauce(shoyu). Hana is great with soy sauce(shoyu), a soup that I have yet to be able to duplicate. The ramen was just right, its got the right chew to it. The gyoza was crispy at the bottom and soft on top, the fried rice was ok, nothing great but nothing bad about it either. This little ramen shop imo is the king of ramens in this side of the continent, you would seriously have to go to Japan to find better.
Location/Parking*********************A(structure parking, 1 hr free, additional 1hr for spending $15)
Environment*************************B-, most of the plaza is dead, they are trying to revive it though.
Drink********************************A, their Iced coffee is highly recommended! Once you drink it, you wont have to use toothpicks to keep your eyelids open :)
Food********************************A- (A+ for ramen, other dishes are kinda ehh, though their shaved ice is to die for)
Prices*******************************B+ about 10 bucks a person for a full meal with drink
Overall******************************A-, seriously, try the ramen!
It would be awkward for me to walk into a decent restaurant asking for table for 1, and I don't want cafeteria style, and my honor prevents me from doing fast food.....It actually took a few brain cells before I remember: Real ramen.
Those of you that knows me, should now be wondering why would I forget such a thing. Well the truth is, once I learned the proper way of making real ramen, I have not gone out for it(since I can make it better than most places), but there is one place in LA I know I cannot best... and that is Hanaichimonme. That's a mouth full for most people I bet...pronounce Ha-na-ichi-mon-mee. It is located at 333 S Alameda St, #303, Los Angeles, CA. There used to be a Mitsuwa market there, but they shut it down. One of the cool things this little ramen shop has, is it caters to not just groups, but singles as well. There is a bar area made just for those table for 1 people. Since I was one of those people, I fit right in! The other unique thing about this little ramen shop is..they serve beer, they also serve other non alcohol drinks, including my favorite Iced Coffee!
Ok so that's not unique enough for you? Fine try this: All their dishes are displayed in its actual form using what I believe to be colored wax, or plastic, and with the exception of gyoza, the actual dish when it comes look identical to the display. When was the last time your hamburger looked like the one on the picture?
So being hungry, in pain and lost a lot of blood(the evil nurse claimed she couldn't find my vein, so she inserted a needle in my arm, then pulled it out partially as no blood came up, and wiggled it for another position and pushed the damn needle back in...5 times) I ordered sagano, which comes with pickled vegetables, pork ramen, Japanese fried rice, and gyoza. I also ordered Iced coffee, which came with syrup and evaporated milk, you get to add as much or as little as you want.
The ramen came within 5 minutes of the order, very fast. Now most people I know just don't know how to eat ramen right, yes most know that you are suppose to slurp and make noises, but most don't understand the reason....and they come up with its impolite and blah blah.... ok so the reason, the real reason, is ramen in broth(I call it soup, but then I don't want to give the impression of chunky thick stews that most people associate the word soup with)should be at least 88+ Celsius... yes that makes it hot! I personally prefer over 92, considering water boils at 100, it is near boiling. With such a hot temperature soup, when you finish a bowl of ramen, you should be sweating, which unclogs your pores and make you feel like you just came out of the steam room. When you eat it, since it is just sooo hot, you have to slurp(so you suck in air and cool off the content in your mouth) It is one of those food that fills your stomach and gives you a work out while eating, imo a great diet food. So what makes a successful ramen? It is the broth/soup base. There are 3 major types of broth when it comes to Japanese ramen, pork bone(tonkotsu), Miso, and soy sauce(shoyu). Hana is great with soy sauce(shoyu), a soup that I have yet to be able to duplicate. The ramen was just right, its got the right chew to it. The gyoza was crispy at the bottom and soft on top, the fried rice was ok, nothing great but nothing bad about it either. This little ramen shop imo is the king of ramens in this side of the continent, you would seriously have to go to Japan to find better.
Location/Parking*********************A(structure parking, 1 hr free, additional 1hr for spending $15)
Environment*************************B-, most of the plaza is dead, they are trying to revive it though.
Drink********************************A, their Iced coffee is highly recommended! Once you drink it, you wont have to use toothpicks to keep your eyelids open :)
Food********************************A- (A+ for ramen, other dishes are kinda ehh, though their shaved ice is to die for)
Prices*******************************B+ about 10 bucks a person for a full meal with drink
Overall******************************A-, seriously, try the ramen!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Maggiano's Little Italy
For the previous 3 weeks we have had Asian food, so it was definitely time for a change. Last week we have decided to go to Maggiano's Little Italy, located at 189 The Grove Drive Z80, Los Angeles, CA, 90036. It is an upscale casual dining establishment, and since it was also close to B's birthday, we took the occasion to celebrate her downhill free fall :) We had with us the full BETZ team, plus special guest star Mrs.V and Mr J, and of course, the extra E. The 7 of us arrived separately, parking was plentiful for LA, as described previously on the Cheese Cake Factory post, it is in the same plaza/mall.
Around 9:15 we were all there gathered around the bar area. It took about 15-20 minutes for us to be seated. I had studied their wine list ahead of time and ordered a glass of Malbec, B had a sourapple martini, Z ordered pinot noir, Mr J had beer, the rest had soda. It was not inexpensive, but I can say that they had selected the best available for daily wines, and upcharged it about 3x retail, still they had a good list and hey they need to pay the rent, so it was fair.
We had ordered appetizers to start, like before, we decided to each order something and just share. We had ordered Mozzarella Mariana, Bruschetta, Barb's Spinach & Artichoke al Forno(who's Barb?), an order of fried calamari, and a Caesar salad to start.
Did we over do it on the appetizers, yea I would say so, but they were worth their cost, especially the Mozzarella and the spinach & Artichoke. I am not a fan of Bruschetta personally, but then again I don't like bread in general. None the less, it was vaporized shortly, and the calamari was huge in portion, as a note, any of these "appetizers" would be enough to fill a normal person, so watch yourselves or you may ended up not being able to enjoy the main course.
For the main courses, even though we were all suppose to order different dishes... 3 of us picked the herb roast chicken... we ended up ordering 2 orders of the whole herb roast chicken, an order of Chicken Parmesan, and order of chicken pesto linguine, (looks like everyone was a chicken lover that day), and a side of mash potato. The herb chicken was amazing, the smell of pine mixed with red potatoes and garlic along with the light sauce, cooked to perfection, it was stunning, and even though we could not finish it, and had to take most of it home, even after reheating it in the oven(following the instructions on their to-go tray), it was still stunning. If I had to make a complaint, and this is truly nit picking, then it would be it was a little too oily.
The pesto linguine was extremely popular on our table, it was huge, just like everything else that were served, the pesto sauce was smooth and flavorful, add that with chicken, pine nuts, and a taste of lemon, it went well with the pasta. However, you would have to eat that one quickly as the pasta will soak up too much of the flavor and lose the Al Dante in the process.
The Chicken Parmesan were 3 breast breaded, fried, and topped with provolone and Mariana sauce. I was already filled when I tried it, and since we all had the mozzarella earlier, and the dish is basically the same except it was with chicken, it kind of got bypassed by everyone. I shared a piece with B and personally, I liked it. The bread was not overly heavy, but not too light either. It didn't taste like it was pre-made, I suspect they breaded it themselves, probably using frozen breast though. It had a fine bite to it, it wasn't as stunning as the roast chicken, but it was a well made dish.
The mash potato added and enhance the experience. We ordered desserts, and tried their 6 assorted sampler. It was decent, but no where as good as the main or apps.
As far as Italian food is concern, personally, I think it is a match to La Fontana in Glendale(that's my favorite Italian restaurant btw, and in some cases, such as the roast chicken, I think it even surpasses them). The table we had was set for 8, but it was just too small even with just 7, we kept dropping forks and knives due to the compact space. It was like fitting 7 in a compact car, I personally would have prefer a nice long table, but this was not the case. For what we had ordered, just in terms of their plate size alone, would not have fit the table.
Overall
Location/parking********************Since it is in the same place as the Cheesecake Factory:For LA, its an A, B if you compare it to say...orange county?
Environment***********************A-, if it only closed later, it was a drag to start at 9:30ish and see them start packing up by 11, almost felt like we were being rushed to leave.
Drinks*****************************A-, they had the standard fare for liquor, but they did a good job selecting a wine list, with a decent line up of Italian wine, plus a few more from Chile and Argentina, it wasn't just California wine, I wish more restaurant does that.
Food*******************************we didn't really sample the variety, but for the chicken dishes we had, it's definitely an A. I liked it, and I want to go again to try some of their veal dishes, and maybe seafood as well.
Price*******************************It was basically about 25 bucks a person with what we had ordered, tip included. I would rate it as a B.
Overall, this is a very decent upscale casual restaurant, and so far with only the chicken dishes, it showed to be worthy of being an A- in our book. This one is definitely to be continue....
Around 9:15 we were all there gathered around the bar area. It took about 15-20 minutes for us to be seated. I had studied their wine list ahead of time and ordered a glass of Malbec, B had a sourapple martini, Z ordered pinot noir, Mr J had beer, the rest had soda. It was not inexpensive, but I can say that they had selected the best available for daily wines, and upcharged it about 3x retail, still they had a good list and hey they need to pay the rent, so it was fair.
We had ordered appetizers to start, like before, we decided to each order something and just share. We had ordered Mozzarella Mariana, Bruschetta, Barb's Spinach & Artichoke al Forno(who's Barb?), an order of fried calamari, and a Caesar salad to start.
Did we over do it on the appetizers, yea I would say so, but they were worth their cost, especially the Mozzarella and the spinach & Artichoke. I am not a fan of Bruschetta personally, but then again I don't like bread in general. None the less, it was vaporized shortly, and the calamari was huge in portion, as a note, any of these "appetizers" would be enough to fill a normal person, so watch yourselves or you may ended up not being able to enjoy the main course.
For the main courses, even though we were all suppose to order different dishes... 3 of us picked the herb roast chicken... we ended up ordering 2 orders of the whole herb roast chicken, an order of Chicken Parmesan, and order of chicken pesto linguine, (looks like everyone was a chicken lover that day), and a side of mash potato. The herb chicken was amazing, the smell of pine mixed with red potatoes and garlic along with the light sauce, cooked to perfection, it was stunning, and even though we could not finish it, and had to take most of it home, even after reheating it in the oven(following the instructions on their to-go tray), it was still stunning. If I had to make a complaint, and this is truly nit picking, then it would be it was a little too oily.
The pesto linguine was extremely popular on our table, it was huge, just like everything else that were served, the pesto sauce was smooth and flavorful, add that with chicken, pine nuts, and a taste of lemon, it went well with the pasta. However, you would have to eat that one quickly as the pasta will soak up too much of the flavor and lose the Al Dante in the process.
The Chicken Parmesan were 3 breast breaded, fried, and topped with provolone and Mariana sauce. I was already filled when I tried it, and since we all had the mozzarella earlier, and the dish is basically the same except it was with chicken, it kind of got bypassed by everyone. I shared a piece with B and personally, I liked it. The bread was not overly heavy, but not too light either. It didn't taste like it was pre-made, I suspect they breaded it themselves, probably using frozen breast though. It had a fine bite to it, it wasn't as stunning as the roast chicken, but it was a well made dish.
The mash potato added and enhance the experience. We ordered desserts, and tried their 6 assorted sampler. It was decent, but no where as good as the main or apps.
As far as Italian food is concern, personally, I think it is a match to La Fontana in Glendale(that's my favorite Italian restaurant btw, and in some cases, such as the roast chicken, I think it even surpasses them). The table we had was set for 8, but it was just too small even with just 7, we kept dropping forks and knives due to the compact space. It was like fitting 7 in a compact car, I personally would have prefer a nice long table, but this was not the case. For what we had ordered, just in terms of their plate size alone, would not have fit the table.
Overall
Location/parking********************Since it is in the same place as the Cheesecake Factory:For LA, its an A, B if you compare it to say...orange county?
Environment***********************A-, if it only closed later, it was a drag to start at 9:30ish and see them start packing up by 11, almost felt like we were being rushed to leave.
Drinks*****************************A-, they had the standard fare for liquor, but they did a good job selecting a wine list, with a decent line up of Italian wine, plus a few more from Chile and Argentina, it wasn't just California wine, I wish more restaurant does that.
Food*******************************we didn't really sample the variety, but for the chicken dishes we had, it's definitely an A. I liked it, and I want to go again to try some of their veal dishes, and maybe seafood as well.
Price*******************************It was basically about 25 bucks a person with what we had ordered, tip included. I would rate it as a B.
Overall, this is a very decent upscale casual restaurant, and so far with only the chicken dishes, it showed to be worthy of being an A- in our book. This one is definitely to be continue....
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thai House
Last Friday was nice compare to the previous 2 weeks, it didn't rain. We also had full member plus a bunch of extras. Our target was the Thai House, located on 2080 S. Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754. It is located in a mid size plaza, parking was plentiful, and there are plenty of other shops around it. This little restaurant was unique in many ways, anyone who's ever been to a Thai place would almost certainly noticed that they like to make the atmosphere to be ....Thai, ...Buddhist statues, Thai emperor picture, somewhat dim, and to be honest, somewhat dirty feel. Not here! They did this place to be contemporary, lighting was bright but not blinding, chairs and tables were of modern design. It gave the feeling of youth, energetic, modern, lively.
So we got our table of 7. We had with us, BETZ, the extra E, teenage boy wonder Mr. R, and special guest star Mr. V who happens to be B's hubby. We waited about 10 minutes to be seated, considering they were pretty packed that was fast. We decided to order a bunch of dishes and share. They had a decent size menu, and we were somewhat at a lost as to what to order, they all seem so good. We ordered our drinks first, and here is a slight disappointment, no alcohol. Oh well, guess its the heaven's way of telling me not to drink. So pretending to be underage, we ordered 4 Dr Pepper in decanter, 1 Pepsi in decanter, 1 ice tea, and 2 Thai Coffee with Boba. That's right, they don't serve soda in cups, they serve in decanter. Very nice touch. Both E's wanted appetizers, so we had, Fried Tofu with sweet and sour sauce topped with peanuts, Avocado Rolls, and chicken satay. The tofu not everybody liked, but then some people just doesn't like tofu to begin with, so wouldn't try. The Avocado rolls were quickly consumed, as were the chicken satay. The tofu had maybe 5 pieces left when we finished.
The main course:
2 orders of Pad See Ew chicken
2 orders of Spicy spaghetti with beef
1 order of regular chicken fried rice
1 order of spicy chicken fried rice
1 order of Orange chicken
1 order of Thai Basil with beef
1 order of Asparagus with shrimp
and to top it off just in case, a tub of steam rice.
yes, you read that correctly, that's a lot of food!
So lets analyze each dish
Pad See Ew with chicken, slightly sweet and not oily at all. Excellent aroma, well done.
Spicy spaghetti was decent in spicy, but slightly too oily. A little less oil would make this an A dish.
Chicken fried rice, unlike Chinese style fried rice, which the rice tends to be hard, or Japanese fried rice where the rice tends to be too soft(the difference being long grain vs Cal rose rice), their fried rice were...for lack of a better word, fluffy. It was really good, and not oily.
Spicy Chicken fried rice, same as above, though it wasn't only moderately spicy.
Orange Chicken I am never a fan off, somehow battered fried chicken coated with tangerine sauce never appealed to me, but everyone else liked it and the presentation was well done.
Thai Basil with Beef, very nice dish, very spicy but not quite fire breathing level. For those who like spicy food, garlic, or mint, or all of the above, this dish is a must.
Asparagus with shrimp, usually with asparagus, each spear would make 3 parts, tip, stem, stem, well we had 3 tips, and about 18 stems... the tasty was decent, however with so many flavorful dishes to numb our taste buds, this dish became lost to us, as any subtle flavors went undetected. It was good, but it failed to "mariage" with the other dishes. Definitely not the restaurant's fault, we did order it after all.
Overall
Location/Parking ****************************A-
Environment/atmosphere*********************A
Drinks**************************************B+, sorry whichever deity is in charge, I've been worshiping Bacchus lately, so I must have alcohol.... though grudgingly, I have to admit, that Thai coffee was really good.
Food****************************************A-
Price****************************************A+. 7 people, 9 dishes, 3 appetizers, plus drinks... $101 dollars...need I say more?
Overall *************************************This restaurant gets an A
So we got our table of 7. We had with us, BETZ, the extra E, teenage boy wonder Mr. R, and special guest star Mr. V who happens to be B's hubby. We waited about 10 minutes to be seated, considering they were pretty packed that was fast. We decided to order a bunch of dishes and share. They had a decent size menu, and we were somewhat at a lost as to what to order, they all seem so good. We ordered our drinks first, and here is a slight disappointment, no alcohol. Oh well, guess its the heaven's way of telling me not to drink. So pretending to be underage, we ordered 4 Dr Pepper in decanter, 1 Pepsi in decanter, 1 ice tea, and 2 Thai Coffee with Boba. That's right, they don't serve soda in cups, they serve in decanter. Very nice touch. Both E's wanted appetizers, so we had, Fried Tofu with sweet and sour sauce topped with peanuts, Avocado Rolls, and chicken satay. The tofu not everybody liked, but then some people just doesn't like tofu to begin with, so wouldn't try. The Avocado rolls were quickly consumed, as were the chicken satay. The tofu had maybe 5 pieces left when we finished.
The main course:
2 orders of Pad See Ew chicken
2 orders of Spicy spaghetti with beef
1 order of regular chicken fried rice
1 order of spicy chicken fried rice
1 order of Orange chicken
1 order of Thai Basil with beef
1 order of Asparagus with shrimp
and to top it off just in case, a tub of steam rice.
yes, you read that correctly, that's a lot of food!
So lets analyze each dish
Pad See Ew with chicken, slightly sweet and not oily at all. Excellent aroma, well done.
Spicy spaghetti was decent in spicy, but slightly too oily. A little less oil would make this an A dish.
Chicken fried rice, unlike Chinese style fried rice, which the rice tends to be hard, or Japanese fried rice where the rice tends to be too soft(the difference being long grain vs Cal rose rice), their fried rice were...for lack of a better word, fluffy. It was really good, and not oily.
Spicy Chicken fried rice, same as above, though it wasn't only moderately spicy.
Orange Chicken I am never a fan off, somehow battered fried chicken coated with tangerine sauce never appealed to me, but everyone else liked it and the presentation was well done.
Thai Basil with Beef, very nice dish, very spicy but not quite fire breathing level. For those who like spicy food, garlic, or mint, or all of the above, this dish is a must.
Asparagus with shrimp, usually with asparagus, each spear would make 3 parts, tip, stem, stem, well we had 3 tips, and about 18 stems... the tasty was decent, however with so many flavorful dishes to numb our taste buds, this dish became lost to us, as any subtle flavors went undetected. It was good, but it failed to "mariage" with the other dishes. Definitely not the restaurant's fault, we did order it after all.
Overall
Location/Parking ****************************A-
Environment/atmosphere*********************A
Drinks**************************************B+, sorry whichever deity is in charge, I've been worshiping Bacchus lately, so I must have alcohol.... though grudgingly, I have to admit, that Thai coffee was really good.
Food****************************************A-
Price****************************************A+. 7 people, 9 dishes, 3 appetizers, plus drinks... $101 dollars...need I say more?
Overall *************************************This restaurant gets an A
Monday, February 16, 2009
New Capital Seafood
Last Friday, Feb 13, 2009, was also a rainy day. We decided to stay close instead of venturing out for something new. We decided to have authentic Chinese food, so we went to New Capital Seafood at 140 W Valley Blvd, #D44 (4th floor), San Gabriel, CA. This is as close to the real thing as you are going to get when eating Chinese. It isn't dumb down for Anglo taste buds, the service, however, is also as close to the real thing as you will get...which isn't necessary a good thing.
We arrived at 8:50 and had a table for 4(well 5, but one is a baby on high chair). They immediately served us hot tea, for those of you that must have tea sweeten, don't bother. We are talking authentic Chinese after all. I had brought a bottle of Camelot Pinot Noir with me(nice daily wine), and had to pay to get it open. So for 4 of us, T,Z, special guest star Ms. V and Mr. J, we were given 2 menus... wth, authentic service I see. Now I had been here before, and so had Ms. V and Mr. J. We proceeded to selecting, Ms. V wanted kung pao chicken, for Mr. V we had oysters in black bean sauce, to complete the selection, I decided we would have a spicy clam dish that had spicy black bean sauce, Kobe beef in oyster sauce, and live scallops in shell. We waited for 5 minutes before the waiter noticed we were ready, after ordering, they gave us a 3# lobster battered and fried with pepper and salt for free(you get a free lobster when you order over 30 dollars, good for dinner and late night meal). It wasn't packed, the rain definitely didn't help business, and they had about 4 waiters and a few bus boys, I was expecting better service, but what can I say, it is authentic Chinese food with what must be authentic Chinese service. I think anyone who's been to that region(Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, China) would know what I mean by that.
So to put it bluntly, service sucks. With lobsters and clams, they only came and change our plates once. Then again, I being used to it, didn't go there for service, I went for food, so how was it?
This is where they excel. Almost all the dishes were done to perfection. The Kobe, the oyster, the clams, even the kung pao chicken. Mr. J and I were busy putting food in our mouths while Z was taking her time being lady like.... and Ms. V was too busy catering to her rug rat of a daughter to truly enjoy the meal. Well she did ate most of the kung pao chicken which was her choice. We ended up each selecting our favorite dish. For Z it was the clam, she never had it with the shells before, and you should see her eyes light up as she tried it for the first time. Ms V, kung pao chicken. Mr. J and I were the garbage disposal service and we just ate and ate, though Mr J did like the oysters most. For me, I would have to say the scallop in shell, since everything to me tasted excellent, I had to choose it as it is by far the best in presentation as well as taste.
I had ordered a special dessert, which came in a whole coconut, for Z and Ms. V to share. They liked it, Ms. V already know what it was, but it was a complete surprise to Z. It is coconut with swiftlet's nest, of course I had to gross her out by telling her in laments terms...hehehe, if you want to know what it is, go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird%27s_nest_soup.
So Overall time:
Location/Parking*************************A, large lot, both surface and underground, with security guard.
Enviornment*****************************D-, bad service ruins environment
Drinks***********************************C, standard wine list, standard drinks(beer, soda), low to mid end tea selection.
Food************************************A, salute to the kitchen staff!
Price************************************A-/B+, about 25 per person, knowing what we ordered, in other places it could easily top 50. The free lobster was a nice touch!
Overall**********************************B/B-
We arrived at 8:50 and had a table for 4(well 5, but one is a baby on high chair). They immediately served us hot tea, for those of you that must have tea sweeten, don't bother. We are talking authentic Chinese after all. I had brought a bottle of Camelot Pinot Noir with me(nice daily wine), and had to pay to get it open. So for 4 of us, T,Z, special guest star Ms. V and Mr. J, we were given 2 menus... wth, authentic service I see. Now I had been here before, and so had Ms. V and Mr. J. We proceeded to selecting, Ms. V wanted kung pao chicken, for Mr. V we had oysters in black bean sauce, to complete the selection, I decided we would have a spicy clam dish that had spicy black bean sauce, Kobe beef in oyster sauce, and live scallops in shell. We waited for 5 minutes before the waiter noticed we were ready, after ordering, they gave us a 3# lobster battered and fried with pepper and salt for free(you get a free lobster when you order over 30 dollars, good for dinner and late night meal). It wasn't packed, the rain definitely didn't help business, and they had about 4 waiters and a few bus boys, I was expecting better service, but what can I say, it is authentic Chinese food with what must be authentic Chinese service. I think anyone who's been to that region(Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, China) would know what I mean by that.
So to put it bluntly, service sucks. With lobsters and clams, they only came and change our plates once. Then again, I being used to it, didn't go there for service, I went for food, so how was it?
This is where they excel. Almost all the dishes were done to perfection. The Kobe, the oyster, the clams, even the kung pao chicken. Mr. J and I were busy putting food in our mouths while Z was taking her time being lady like.... and Ms. V was too busy catering to her rug rat of a daughter to truly enjoy the meal. Well she did ate most of the kung pao chicken which was her choice. We ended up each selecting our favorite dish. For Z it was the clam, she never had it with the shells before, and you should see her eyes light up as she tried it for the first time. Ms V, kung pao chicken. Mr. J and I were the garbage disposal service and we just ate and ate, though Mr J did like the oysters most. For me, I would have to say the scallop in shell, since everything to me tasted excellent, I had to choose it as it is by far the best in presentation as well as taste.
I had ordered a special dessert, which came in a whole coconut, for Z and Ms. V to share. They liked it, Ms. V already know what it was, but it was a complete surprise to Z. It is coconut with swiftlet's nest, of course I had to gross her out by telling her in laments terms...hehehe, if you want to know what it is, go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird%27s_nest_soup.
So Overall time:
Location/Parking*************************A, large lot, both surface and underground, with security guard.
Enviornment*****************************D-, bad service ruins environment
Drinks***********************************C, standard wine list, standard drinks(beer, soda), low to mid end tea selection.
Food************************************A, salute to the kitchen staff!
Price************************************A-/B+, about 25 per person, knowing what we ordered, in other places it could easily top 50. The free lobster was a nice touch!
Overall**********************************B/B-
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sambi of Tokyo
Finally catching up, yay!
Last Friday, Feb 6, 2009, was just such an ugly day! It was pouring, the power around my block went out for 18 hours due to a tree crashing into the power poles, my car was held prisoner by my own garage, we were going to go to another restaurant, but was too far, didn't know the way, raining way to hard to look for, so in haste, we picked a restaurant that our special guest star Ms V frequents, Sambi, located on 8649 Firestone Blvd, Downey, CA 90241.
That's pronounced san-bi for those who are interested, and means praises in Japanese. You'd be surprise, but I've heard it being called Zombie before. Anyway this is a very nice restaurant and serves sushi and teppanyaki. We went for teppanyaki. Oh, for those who don't know what teppanyaki is, I think American calls it Hibachi, though I have no idea why. Its cool though cause Japanese speaks Engrish, so by rights, we should be able to speak Yapanese! It basically is a guy making your food in front of you, on a gas heated grill, doing fancy knife work and make a show out of it.
We arrived, decent size lot, free parking. The building is elevated and you have to climb a small flight of stairs to access. Once inside, you can see that this place represents a lot of history. Photos of various and some quite recognizable people have set foot in this place before. The lobby is plastered with photos. Very impressive. The inside setting is nice, with a large water fountain in the middle that resembles a small lake, very ingenious concept. They had a live lounge singer in there performing, but it wasn't loud and the music blends in with the atmosphere, very nice touch. It wasn't crowded due to the rain(or so I believe), for our party, it was only TZ, special guest star Ms V, and her hubby Mr J. We sat around the grill and were served promptly with our drinks. Large bottles of the Canadian made Sapporos, Ms V and I both had a pina colada, and Z had wine as usual. We also ordered appetizers, Ms V and Mr J had edamame, which is basically boiled baby soy beans with the pod and lightly salted. I wanted to try some of their sushi even though we were doing teppanyaki, so I ordered a serving of ninja roll, which is basically spicy tuna with rice paper. At once I can tell that the spicy tuna was fresh. The coloration is still that of maguro, it was quite satisfying.
For our main, Ms V and Mr J ordered and shared a seafood combination, I being the fat one ordered a seafood combo also, all for myself! And Z ordered a Sambi Speical Deluxe, which is Filet mignon and Shrimp. We all get to raid the salad bar, not that there were a lot of selection there, and Japanese style fried rice. So as we are drinking our liquor and munching our appetizer/salads, waiting for the chef to come and show us his awe inspiring skills, I guess Ms V's pina colada was super spiked, as she said she had to go to the ladies room, she invited me to go with her, in front of her hubby!!! I almost died right there, that was just so so wrong! Seriously Mr J, there is absolutely nothing going on, I swear! Luckily Mr J also works with us and knows our relation, so we just laugh it off....phew! How come my pina colada wasn't spiked up like that?
So our chef came, name Francis. As anyone who has had teppanyaki before, the food is only secondary, it is the atmosphere that people drown themselves on, and the chef dictates the atmosphere. I was kinda worry at first, but after he opened his mouth, omg this guy is a riot! He was so much fun that those hard working promptly serving waiters looked stiff compare to him. Then he started bragging about how he can drink and no one can beat him....so what do we do? We had our resident drinker go into a sake bomb match with him. Z stepped up to the plate, now mind you Z is a classy drinker, and doesn't usually do beer, definitely never did beer+ sake. In fact she doesn't even know what a bomb is, but boy did she show him. Francis slams the table and in goes the sake, I scooped the glass up and put it in front of her, here drink this, fast! Guess who finish first? Not the bragger that's for sure, go Z!
Food over all was fresh and done properly, though Francis did over cook the filet mignon. I had a lot of food, cleaned my plate and everything, and I didnt even share! My new year resolution must have been loose my waist, by gaining 2-4 inches:)
Overall
Location/Parking ******************************B+, if they had a security guard it would be an A for sure.
Environment **********************************A+ , thanks Francis, I was not a happy camper when I came in, I left quite happy!
Drinks ****************************************A-, just for that pina colada Ms V had already said it is better than a B
Food ******************************************B the only requirement for teppanyaki was fresh, but people don't do teppanyaki for exqusit or delicate tastes.
Price******************************************B-/C+, it was pretty pricy, expect at least 40 bucks per person, but still well worth it.
Overall***************************************A-/B+
Last Friday, Feb 6, 2009, was just such an ugly day! It was pouring, the power around my block went out for 18 hours due to a tree crashing into the power poles, my car was held prisoner by my own garage, we were going to go to another restaurant, but was too far, didn't know the way, raining way to hard to look for, so in haste, we picked a restaurant that our special guest star Ms V frequents, Sambi, located on 8649 Firestone Blvd, Downey, CA 90241.
That's pronounced san-bi for those who are interested, and means praises in Japanese. You'd be surprise, but I've heard it being called Zombie before. Anyway this is a very nice restaurant and serves sushi and teppanyaki. We went for teppanyaki. Oh, for those who don't know what teppanyaki is, I think American calls it Hibachi, though I have no idea why. Its cool though cause Japanese speaks Engrish, so by rights, we should be able to speak Yapanese! It basically is a guy making your food in front of you, on a gas heated grill, doing fancy knife work and make a show out of it.
We arrived, decent size lot, free parking. The building is elevated and you have to climb a small flight of stairs to access. Once inside, you can see that this place represents a lot of history. Photos of various and some quite recognizable people have set foot in this place before. The lobby is plastered with photos. Very impressive. The inside setting is nice, with a large water fountain in the middle that resembles a small lake, very ingenious concept. They had a live lounge singer in there performing, but it wasn't loud and the music blends in with the atmosphere, very nice touch. It wasn't crowded due to the rain(or so I believe), for our party, it was only TZ, special guest star Ms V, and her hubby Mr J. We sat around the grill and were served promptly with our drinks. Large bottles of the Canadian made Sapporos, Ms V and I both had a pina colada, and Z had wine as usual. We also ordered appetizers, Ms V and Mr J had edamame, which is basically boiled baby soy beans with the pod and lightly salted. I wanted to try some of their sushi even though we were doing teppanyaki, so I ordered a serving of ninja roll, which is basically spicy tuna with rice paper. At once I can tell that the spicy tuna was fresh. The coloration is still that of maguro, it was quite satisfying.
For our main, Ms V and Mr J ordered and shared a seafood combination, I being the fat one ordered a seafood combo also, all for myself! And Z ordered a Sambi Speical Deluxe, which is Filet mignon and Shrimp. We all get to raid the salad bar, not that there were a lot of selection there, and Japanese style fried rice. So as we are drinking our liquor and munching our appetizer/salads, waiting for the chef to come and show us his awe inspiring skills, I guess Ms V's pina colada was super spiked, as she said she had to go to the ladies room, she invited me to go with her, in front of her hubby!!! I almost died right there, that was just so so wrong! Seriously Mr J, there is absolutely nothing going on, I swear! Luckily Mr J also works with us and knows our relation, so we just laugh it off....phew! How come my pina colada wasn't spiked up like that?
So our chef came, name Francis. As anyone who has had teppanyaki before, the food is only secondary, it is the atmosphere that people drown themselves on, and the chef dictates the atmosphere. I was kinda worry at first, but after he opened his mouth, omg this guy is a riot! He was so much fun that those hard working promptly serving waiters looked stiff compare to him. Then he started bragging about how he can drink and no one can beat him....so what do we do? We had our resident drinker go into a sake bomb match with him. Z stepped up to the plate, now mind you Z is a classy drinker, and doesn't usually do beer, definitely never did beer+ sake. In fact she doesn't even know what a bomb is, but boy did she show him. Francis slams the table and in goes the sake, I scooped the glass up and put it in front of her, here drink this, fast! Guess who finish first? Not the bragger that's for sure, go Z!
Food over all was fresh and done properly, though Francis did over cook the filet mignon. I had a lot of food, cleaned my plate and everything, and I didnt even share! My new year resolution must have been loose my waist, by gaining 2-4 inches:)
Overall
Location/Parking ******************************B+, if they had a security guard it would be an A for sure.
Environment **********************************A+ , thanks Francis, I was not a happy camper when I came in, I left quite happy!
Drinks ****************************************A-, just for that pina colada Ms V had already said it is better than a B
Food ******************************************B the only requirement for teppanyaki was fresh, but people don't do teppanyaki for exqusit or delicate tastes.
Price******************************************B-/C+, it was pretty pricy, expect at least 40 bucks per person, but still well worth it.
Overall***************************************A-/B+
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Cheesecake Factory at the Grove
January 30th post
Ok sorry for the delay, I have been overloaded with mundane everyday life stuff. Anyhow this will get me caught up with January. This time we went to The Cheesecake Factory at The Grove, located on 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles . I have never been to The Grove, so it was a completely new experience. As far as location goes, this place is nice, reminded me of Fashion Island on Newport. The parking structure was huge, I felt like I was in an obstacle course driving up to the 5th floor though. We had the full BETZ team, along a few guest eatters. B brought her hubby, Mr V. E brought her teenage boy, Mr. R, I brought a special guest star Ms. V(no relation to Mr V), and she brought her daughter mini B:) Our advance scouts arrived at 8:30, to reserve for a table for 6(we didnt anticipate so many), and was told that the wait would be around 45 minute to 1 hr. I arrived by 9:15, and at 9:30, we were told it would be at least another 30 minutes...ouch! Luckily, there were plenty of shops around, and even a bookstore to pass the time. Slightly after 10 we were finally seated, however, they wouldnt let us put 8 people in their booth of 6, so B and her hubby had to sit by the bar and have their romantic dinner for 2.
As far as the environment goes, the lighting was perfect, dim but not so you can't see your food. It was not too noisy even though it was packed. We sat down and proceeded to order our drinks. Ms V had a pina colada, Z had her pinot noir by Chalone Vineyard, E and Mr R had soda... and mini B had a pina colada virgin, and I had a Long Island Ice tea. I have no idea what B and her hubby had, since they didnt mention it and sat apart from us. Everyone liked their drink, but Z said her pinot noir was a bit bitter, they probably opened a new bottle and didn't air it.
So on with the food. B had ordered Pasta Carbonara, but didn't tell me what Mr V had. E had Louisiana Pasta, but didn't tell me what Mr R had, so for this post, we will just pretend that Mr V and Mr R were Star Trek red shirts:) Z had Chicken Madeira, Ms V said she had Fettucini with Chicken and SD Tomatoes, and she shared it with mini B. I being the fat guy, had to order appetizer, so I ordered Buffalo Blast, and for my main course, I had Pasta De Vinci...mmmm
The reviews were mixed.
For B, who had Pasta Carbonara, her exact words were: It would have been better if it didn't taste too much like bacon. The bacon overpowered the sauce and chicken.
For E, who had Louisiana Pasta: I loved my dish, the bit of spice was just right. Overall delicious!
For T, who had Buffalo Blast and Pasta De Vinci: I think the appetizer was gross, the breast meat was soggy at best, almost like rot, but the dip was nice and I was hungry(when am I not hungry??) However, the Pasta De Vinci earned its name. The mushroom was done just right, and the chicken flavorful. Pasta wasn't lacking either, al dente!
For Z, who had Chicken Madeira: The mixture of ingredients (asparagus, melted cheese, mushroom and Madeira sauce) took a couple of bites to get used to. It was fine. The mash potatoes had the right kick and was delicious.
For Ms V, who had Fettucini with Chicken and SD Tomatoes: Tasty, creamy, perfect. Lots of food it was excellent. I finished my drink and that is rare so that means it was excellent as well.
So as you can see, the reviews this round were rather mixed. So overall
Location/Parking******************************For LA, its an A, B if you compare it to say...orange county? Fee base parking, but at least I didnt have to pay anyone to violate my car!
Environment*********************************would have been an A if we didnt have to wait so long, 1.5 hr is excessive by any stretch of the imagination, and they dont take reservations either. It definitely ruins the mood of things. Lucky for them, there are plenty of shops around, so B!
Drinks**************************************B-, cocktails were fine, wine selection was average.
Food***************************************this one is hard, but as an average, it would get a B-, maybe C+. Pick your dishes carefully!
Price***************************************it's not inexpensive, average I would say. B
Overall*************************************B/B- restaurant!
Ok sorry for the delay, I have been overloaded with mundane everyday life stuff. Anyhow this will get me caught up with January. This time we went to The Cheesecake Factory at The Grove, located on 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles . I have never been to The Grove, so it was a completely new experience. As far as location goes, this place is nice, reminded me of Fashion Island on Newport. The parking structure was huge, I felt like I was in an obstacle course driving up to the 5th floor though. We had the full BETZ team, along a few guest eatters. B brought her hubby, Mr V. E brought her teenage boy, Mr. R, I brought a special guest star Ms. V(no relation to Mr V), and she brought her daughter mini B:) Our advance scouts arrived at 8:30, to reserve for a table for 6(we didnt anticipate so many), and was told that the wait would be around 45 minute to 1 hr. I arrived by 9:15, and at 9:30, we were told it would be at least another 30 minutes...ouch! Luckily, there were plenty of shops around, and even a bookstore to pass the time. Slightly after 10 we were finally seated, however, they wouldnt let us put 8 people in their booth of 6, so B and her hubby had to sit by the bar and have their romantic dinner for 2.
As far as the environment goes, the lighting was perfect, dim but not so you can't see your food. It was not too noisy even though it was packed. We sat down and proceeded to order our drinks. Ms V had a pina colada, Z had her pinot noir by Chalone Vineyard, E and Mr R had soda... and mini B had a pina colada virgin, and I had a Long Island Ice tea. I have no idea what B and her hubby had, since they didnt mention it and sat apart from us. Everyone liked their drink, but Z said her pinot noir was a bit bitter, they probably opened a new bottle and didn't air it.
So on with the food. B had ordered Pasta Carbonara, but didn't tell me what Mr V had. E had Louisiana Pasta, but didn't tell me what Mr R had, so for this post, we will just pretend that Mr V and Mr R were Star Trek red shirts:) Z had Chicken Madeira, Ms V said she had Fettucini with Chicken and SD Tomatoes, and she shared it with mini B. I being the fat guy, had to order appetizer, so I ordered Buffalo Blast, and for my main course, I had Pasta De Vinci...mmmm
The reviews were mixed.
For B, who had Pasta Carbonara, her exact words were: It would have been better if it didn't taste too much like bacon. The bacon overpowered the sauce and chicken.
For E, who had Louisiana Pasta: I loved my dish, the bit of spice was just right. Overall delicious!
For T, who had Buffalo Blast and Pasta De Vinci: I think the appetizer was gross, the breast meat was soggy at best, almost like rot, but the dip was nice and I was hungry(when am I not hungry??) However, the Pasta De Vinci earned its name. The mushroom was done just right, and the chicken flavorful. Pasta wasn't lacking either, al dente!
For Z, who had Chicken Madeira: The mixture of ingredients (asparagus, melted cheese, mushroom and Madeira sauce) took a couple of bites to get used to. It was fine. The mash potatoes had the right kick and was delicious.
For Ms V, who had Fettucini with Chicken and SD Tomatoes: Tasty, creamy, perfect. Lots of food it was excellent. I finished my drink and that is rare so that means it was excellent as well.
So as you can see, the reviews this round were rather mixed. So overall
Location/Parking******************************For LA, its an A, B if you compare it to say...orange county? Fee base parking, but at least I didnt have to pay anyone to violate my car!
Environment*********************************would have been an A if we didnt have to wait so long, 1.5 hr is excessive by any stretch of the imagination, and they dont take reservations either. It definitely ruins the mood of things. Lucky for them, there are plenty of shops around, so B!
Drinks**************************************B-, cocktails were fine, wine selection was average.
Food***************************************this one is hard, but as an average, it would get a B-, maybe C+. Pick your dishes carefully!
Price***************************************it's not inexpensive, average I would say. B
Overall*************************************B/B- restaurant!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Waters Restaurant
Still catching up with the reviews from last month.
Journal from Jan 26, 2009
So we went to Irvine this past week and tried out Waters Restaurant, located on 4615 Barranca Pky. Everyone was unavailable except for T and Z again, oh well. Irvine and OC in general has always been my playground, but it was the first time I set foot in this little restaurant by the lake. The environment this time is exactly my cup of tea, parking was plentiful, private lot, oh and free?? The restaurant itself is lake side, with both indoor and outdoor seating. There are schools of ducks...or geese swimming along the lake. I can see that outdoor seating during summer may be a problem(it would smell bad), but its still winter/spring, and they did have outdoor heaters.
So anyway we choose outdoor seating. This is ideal for couples....oh well for us, guess we can pretend to be a couple lol! We had ordered a bottle of Camelot Pinot Noir, it was extremely good even though it is a daily wine and very inexpensive retail.. I did wonder how they got us a bottle of 2006 since everything out in the retail market is still 2005... oh well, another one of those life's little mysteries. So for starters, we had Lobster Taquitos, comes with 2 dips, avocado relish and pico de gallo. It was amazing to say the least, I would definitely say it was better then the main course we had....lol. Z ordered the Mushroom Dijon Chicken, and T ordered the Steak and Gulf Shrimp. So while waiting for our food and munching on the lobster taquitos, we were full of expectations. The environment was excellent, the wine good, the appetizer good, the main course should be awesome right? Well it wasn't, its not bad, it may even be consider border line good(B-/C+), but because we were given so much signs to have high expectation, it just didn't live up to it.
T asked for the steak to be medium, it was medium/well done... no blood. T likes to see blood when eating steak. The shrimp was definitely overcooked, either that or they have been precooked and just reheated. Like any good seafood, if you overcook or reheat them, the texture gets hard. T was definitely disappointed at the main course.
Z had the Mushroom Dijon Chicken... she had 1/4..maybe 1/3 of it, and took the rest home. I think that said enough for itself.
The saving grace I would say was the waiter, who provided excellent service.
To the kitchen staff, try harder please. By all rights you have a restaurant that should have been packed on a Sat, but it wasn't, and now we believe we know why.
Overall conclusion
Environment/Parking*************************A+
Drinks**************************************(A-/B+)
Service*************************************A
Food(Appetizer)*****************************A
Food(Main)******************************** C
Prices*************************************B+(moderate to inexpensive)
Overall************************************B+
PS sit inside next time if you are going not as couples....
Journal from Jan 26, 2009
So we went to Irvine this past week and tried out Waters Restaurant, located on 4615 Barranca Pky. Everyone was unavailable except for T and Z again, oh well. Irvine and OC in general has always been my playground, but it was the first time I set foot in this little restaurant by the lake. The environment this time is exactly my cup of tea, parking was plentiful, private lot, oh and free?? The restaurant itself is lake side, with both indoor and outdoor seating. There are schools of ducks...or geese swimming along the lake. I can see that outdoor seating during summer may be a problem(it would smell bad), but its still winter/spring, and they did have outdoor heaters.
So anyway we choose outdoor seating. This is ideal for couples....oh well for us, guess we can pretend to be a couple lol! We had ordered a bottle of Camelot Pinot Noir, it was extremely good even though it is a daily wine and very inexpensive retail.. I did wonder how they got us a bottle of 2006 since everything out in the retail market is still 2005... oh well, another one of those life's little mysteries. So for starters, we had Lobster Taquitos, comes with 2 dips, avocado relish and pico de gallo. It was amazing to say the least, I would definitely say it was better then the main course we had....lol. Z ordered the Mushroom Dijon Chicken, and T ordered the Steak and Gulf Shrimp. So while waiting for our food and munching on the lobster taquitos, we were full of expectations. The environment was excellent, the wine good, the appetizer good, the main course should be awesome right? Well it wasn't, its not bad, it may even be consider border line good(B-/C+), but because we were given so much signs to have high expectation, it just didn't live up to it.
T asked for the steak to be medium, it was medium/well done... no blood. T likes to see blood when eating steak. The shrimp was definitely overcooked, either that or they have been precooked and just reheated. Like any good seafood, if you overcook or reheat them, the texture gets hard. T was definitely disappointed at the main course.
Z had the Mushroom Dijon Chicken... she had 1/4..maybe 1/3 of it, and took the rest home. I think that said enough for itself.
The saving grace I would say was the waiter, who provided excellent service.
To the kitchen staff, try harder please. By all rights you have a restaurant that should have been packed on a Sat, but it wasn't, and now we believe we know why.
Overall conclusion
Environment/Parking*************************A+
Drinks**************************************(A-/B+)
Service*************************************A
Food(Appetizer)*****************************A
Food(Main)******************************** C
Prices*************************************B+(moderate to inexpensive)
Overall************************************B+
PS sit inside next time if you are going not as couples....
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Betz Blog
Moving the blog over from yahoo to here today, they never got it right with the search and stuff and am tire of waiting..... anyhow, about us. Betz is a group of 4 people who has had extensive experience with the foodservice industry. Each week one of our member determines a restaurant to go to and we sample out their dishes. The target area is anywhere from Los Angeles to Orange County. There are no requirement for any of the places we visit, they could be expensive, moderate, or inexpensive. We critque them base on location/parking, atmosphere/environment, drinks, dishes, and prices.
***A BIG DISCLAIMER, we are not professional food critics, and we are not invited/hire by the various restaurants to put in a good word for them. We pay full price for our food and drinks, we grade base on how we like things, and that in itself is abstract at best. Yes we may have certain knowledge to the materials used, but our taste buds are of the commoner breed, sorry no blue blood's here. You may or may not agree with us, and are encourage to try out the place just as we have. We provide our opinion, and that is it. We are also not responsible for any surge or loss in income due to our comments***
So today we are going to convert over a couple of posts from the previous blog.
Entry for January 10, 2009
So our first week we selected a Sushi restaurant in LA...oooo sushi. This is a restaurant that I have not been to for over 14 years, and omg its still around. Its call Noshi Sushi, and is located on 4430 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004. 2 of our members were busy that day and so only TZ were available to try it out. The location is not in the best part of LA, but they do have their own lot and security guard to monitor the lot. So now you walk into the place, and you will notice a waiting area with a board where you write in your name, how many in your party, and if you wish to wait for the bar or do you want a table. I noticed immediately that the place looks different from before, and can only assume that they had some reconstruction done. So being only 2 of us, we went for the bar, the tables looked as if it will take longer to wait for anyway. So we sat down and ordered drinks, I got a bottle of canadian made Asahi(I missed the made in Japan imports) , and Z ordered green tea and warm sake. Then we went for it! Sushi omg sushi! It's still as big as before, and I do mean BIG! Giant silices of maguro, hamachi, spicy tuna was unique if not the best in this side of the continent. Z was never a true sushi eater(you know the type, yea I eat sushi, get me some california rolls....what the ginger doesnt go into the soy sauce??? yea that type!) But I forced her to devoure some raw fish!! hahahha and she liked it. So its all good right? No not all... You see there are some problems as well. For example, they dont have mirugai...oh comeon I love mirugai, what do you mean you dont have it! Its on the menu for crying out loud. And then there was the dish of ika, it just taste..powdery.
So final analysis
Location ******************* Passing C+/B-
Drinks ******************* Standard Passing C, nothing special
Sushi *******************Standard fare and the spicy tuna gets an B+, portion gets an A+, but doesnt have everything and well, I didnt like the ika.
Price/Value*******************A+ for sure. It is super inexpensive when it comes to sushi, the two of us ordering so many different sushi's didnt top 70 bucks, there were a guy who went solo next to us and his didnt top 25! I think it gives those 30dollar all you can eat sushi place a run for their money, and lets not forget, the size, each slice of fish they put on, can probably make 2 slices of sushi in any other place!
Overall the place gets a B+ in our books
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Entry for January 20, 2009
So last Friday we went to try out a local Hispanic restaurant in Hollywood. Its call Velvet Margarita, located on 1612 CAHUENGA. We went separately, that was immediately a mistake, as there are just no parking around, so we ended up paying 10 bucks per vehicle to get valet parking. Eek, I really hate having others drive my car, its like a violation of sorts...
So we paid someone to violate our vehicles, and we went into the place. Since we went separately, we didn't all arrived at the same time. Z was already there, B & E were still stuck in Friday night traffic, I got in, and the first impression was dark and noisy, which isn't my usual environment, dark is ok, noisy is not my cup of tea. Any how, they had this bouncer like manager who decided he needed to card me, and that made my day! You guys out there don't even realize how much I want to be carded, once you get past a certain age, you'll start thinking like I do...heheheh:)
So I found Z at the bar already, bottle of water in one hand and a mango margarita on the other. I was starving at the time and decided that I better not order anything until I get some grub down, strange things may happen if I drink before eating. Well it ended up to be an non issue later, as you will all see. So we stood there for about 20 minute before B&E got there, and they brought an Extra E with them! So we got our table and started to ordered. For drinks I got a pina colada, B wasn't feeling well and only ordered a soda, E doesn't drink...or so she claimed, so she too ordered a soda. The Extra E ordered a strawberry margarita. So of all the drinks we had, only 3 contained alcohol. MM, PC, and SM! We also ordered our food, Z had the ahi tuna with a house salad, B had an extra large bowl of soup only, E had chicken enchilada with Ceasar Salad, the Extra E had chicken mole with a house salad, and I had Chicken taco with soup. I really dont know what it was call as the waiter said it in spanish, but I knew it had turkey meatball and veggies in it.
So we waited on our food, and they served us these red tortilla chips with 3 dips. 2 were salsa and 1 was bean. Being hungry already, it tasted great, even bean dip which I normally would not touch. The drinks came, my pina colada came with a coconut, it tasted great, but being hungry, and I actually finished it before the food came, I never even got a buzz, nor did I taste the after taste of Rum, I think they made it a virgin for some reason... While Z liked the MM, the Extra E did not like the SM at all, she found it lacking in all respects, citing that it doesnt compare to places shes frequent. She literally left the drink whole, oh well guess she really disliked it.
The food finally came after about 20 minutes. The soup was good but not hot enough for my taste, and I dont mean spice, I mean water temp! Everyone who had salad liked it, and Ceasar was reputed to be excellent. B couldnt taste much being ill, but liked the soup non the less. So far, at least for me, this was a no thrills place, then I tried the main course, 2 chicken taco and comes with rice and beans, the rice and bean were...whatever, I mean, how good can you really make rice and beans? But the chicken taco was an eye opener for me. It was by far the best taco I ever had, the chicken was juicy and tasty, they werent overcooked or dry at all, which is quite common everywhere else I went before. Everyone agreed that the food was great, and reasonable for the price. Overall, it was an unique place, you can tell that they put alot of thought into the decor of the place, the drinks were lacking in our opinion, the location was not the safest, and parking was lacking, at least for a friday night it was. What it had going for them imo is the food, it is really first rate.
Conclusion
Location*******************************D, sorry it just doesnt feel safe as soon as you are outside
Environment***************************A-/B+ for any who like dark and noisy places, for me personally I give it a C cause I dont like noisy places.
Drinks*********************************F, what happened to the alcohol? I am by no means a heavy weight drinker, in fact, I get a buzz drinking beer....and I didnt get buzz...
Food**********************************A-, while there were limited selection on the menu, they have became masters of all items on the menu. Hats off to the kitchen staff.
Price/Value****************************B-/C+, 10bucks a drink, and you will need serveral to feel any effect, 10 dollar parking, 16 dollar per dish. The dishes were actually quite reasonable, but the drinks and parking tiped it over to not so reasonable.
This is definitely a place to come to enjoy the food. If you are out to drink or want a place to hang out and chat, sorry find somewhere else, but if you want some great hispanic dishes, the by all means come here. Dont forget to bring some cash for valet though!
***A BIG DISCLAIMER, we are not professional food critics, and we are not invited/hire by the various restaurants to put in a good word for them. We pay full price for our food and drinks, we grade base on how we like things, and that in itself is abstract at best. Yes we may have certain knowledge to the materials used, but our taste buds are of the commoner breed, sorry no blue blood's here. You may or may not agree with us, and are encourage to try out the place just as we have. We provide our opinion, and that is it. We are also not responsible for any surge or loss in income due to our comments***
So today we are going to convert over a couple of posts from the previous blog.
Entry for January 10, 2009
So our first week we selected a Sushi restaurant in LA...oooo sushi. This is a restaurant that I have not been to for over 14 years, and omg its still around. Its call Noshi Sushi, and is located on 4430 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004. 2 of our members were busy that day and so only TZ were available to try it out. The location is not in the best part of LA, but they do have their own lot and security guard to monitor the lot. So now you walk into the place, and you will notice a waiting area with a board where you write in your name, how many in your party, and if you wish to wait for the bar or do you want a table. I noticed immediately that the place looks different from before, and can only assume that they had some reconstruction done. So being only 2 of us, we went for the bar, the tables looked as if it will take longer to wait for anyway. So we sat down and ordered drinks, I got a bottle of canadian made Asahi(I missed the made in Japan imports) , and Z ordered green tea and warm sake. Then we went for it! Sushi omg sushi! It's still as big as before, and I do mean BIG! Giant silices of maguro, hamachi, spicy tuna was unique if not the best in this side of the continent. Z was never a true sushi eater(you know the type, yea I eat sushi, get me some california rolls....what the ginger doesnt go into the soy sauce??? yea that type!) But I forced her to devoure some raw fish!! hahahha and she liked it. So its all good right? No not all... You see there are some problems as well. For example, they dont have mirugai...oh comeon I love mirugai, what do you mean you dont have it! Its on the menu for crying out loud. And then there was the dish of ika, it just taste..powdery.
So final analysis
Location ******************* Passing C+/B-
Drinks ******************* Standard Passing C, nothing special
Sushi *******************Standard fare and the spicy tuna gets an B+, portion gets an A+, but doesnt have everything and well, I didnt like the ika.
Price/Value*******************A+ for sure. It is super inexpensive when it comes to sushi, the two of us ordering so many different sushi's didnt top 70 bucks, there were a guy who went solo next to us and his didnt top 25! I think it gives those 30dollar all you can eat sushi place a run for their money, and lets not forget, the size, each slice of fish they put on, can probably make 2 slices of sushi in any other place!
Overall the place gets a B+ in our books
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Entry for January 20, 2009
So last Friday we went to try out a local Hispanic restaurant in Hollywood. Its call Velvet Margarita, located on 1612 CAHUENGA. We went separately, that was immediately a mistake, as there are just no parking around, so we ended up paying 10 bucks per vehicle to get valet parking. Eek, I really hate having others drive my car, its like a violation of sorts...
So we paid someone to violate our vehicles, and we went into the place. Since we went separately, we didn't all arrived at the same time. Z was already there, B & E were still stuck in Friday night traffic, I got in, and the first impression was dark and noisy, which isn't my usual environment, dark is ok, noisy is not my cup of tea. Any how, they had this bouncer like manager who decided he needed to card me, and that made my day! You guys out there don't even realize how much I want to be carded, once you get past a certain age, you'll start thinking like I do...heheheh:)
So I found Z at the bar already, bottle of water in one hand and a mango margarita on the other. I was starving at the time and decided that I better not order anything until I get some grub down, strange things may happen if I drink before eating. Well it ended up to be an non issue later, as you will all see. So we stood there for about 20 minute before B&E got there, and they brought an Extra E with them! So we got our table and started to ordered. For drinks I got a pina colada, B wasn't feeling well and only ordered a soda, E doesn't drink...or so she claimed, so she too ordered a soda. The Extra E ordered a strawberry margarita. So of all the drinks we had, only 3 contained alcohol. MM, PC, and SM! We also ordered our food, Z had the ahi tuna with a house salad, B had an extra large bowl of soup only, E had chicken enchilada with Ceasar Salad, the Extra E had chicken mole with a house salad, and I had Chicken taco with soup. I really dont know what it was call as the waiter said it in spanish, but I knew it had turkey meatball and veggies in it.
So we waited on our food, and they served us these red tortilla chips with 3 dips. 2 were salsa and 1 was bean. Being hungry already, it tasted great, even bean dip which I normally would not touch. The drinks came, my pina colada came with a coconut, it tasted great, but being hungry, and I actually finished it before the food came, I never even got a buzz, nor did I taste the after taste of Rum, I think they made it a virgin for some reason... While Z liked the MM, the Extra E did not like the SM at all, she found it lacking in all respects, citing that it doesnt compare to places shes frequent. She literally left the drink whole, oh well guess she really disliked it.
The food finally came after about 20 minutes. The soup was good but not hot enough for my taste, and I dont mean spice, I mean water temp! Everyone who had salad liked it, and Ceasar was reputed to be excellent. B couldnt taste much being ill, but liked the soup non the less. So far, at least for me, this was a no thrills place, then I tried the main course, 2 chicken taco and comes with rice and beans, the rice and bean were...whatever, I mean, how good can you really make rice and beans? But the chicken taco was an eye opener for me. It was by far the best taco I ever had, the chicken was juicy and tasty, they werent overcooked or dry at all, which is quite common everywhere else I went before. Everyone agreed that the food was great, and reasonable for the price. Overall, it was an unique place, you can tell that they put alot of thought into the decor of the place, the drinks were lacking in our opinion, the location was not the safest, and parking was lacking, at least for a friday night it was. What it had going for them imo is the food, it is really first rate.
Conclusion
Location*******************************D, sorry it just doesnt feel safe as soon as you are outside
Environment***************************A-/B+ for any who like dark and noisy places, for me personally I give it a C cause I dont like noisy places.
Drinks*********************************F, what happened to the alcohol? I am by no means a heavy weight drinker, in fact, I get a buzz drinking beer....and I didnt get buzz...
Food**********************************A-, while there were limited selection on the menu, they have became masters of all items on the menu. Hats off to the kitchen staff.
Price/Value****************************B-/C+, 10bucks a drink, and you will need serveral to feel any effect, 10 dollar parking, 16 dollar per dish. The dishes were actually quite reasonable, but the drinks and parking tiped it over to not so reasonable.
This is definitely a place to come to enjoy the food. If you are out to drink or want a place to hang out and chat, sorry find somewhere else, but if you want some great hispanic dishes, the by all means come here. Dont forget to bring some cash for valet though!
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