Wolfgang Puck Express

I finally ate at Wolfgang Puck Express, twice in the last couple of weeks. It was actually pretty good.

The first time I had a roast beef and cheddar sandwich, served on a foccaccia roll. It was very tasty, although they went a little heavy on the horseradish, so there were a few bites that had me gasping for water. The sandwich comes with chips, but they don't tell you that, so I also ordered a side of herbed French fries, which were great, but which made for way too much food along with the chips.

The second time we ordered a pepperoni and mushroom pizza. It was a little greasier than I expected, but still in the top ranks of L.A. pizza, with a nice buttery crust.

Due to a combination of klutziness and an improperly designed pizza stand, we managed to upset half our pizza onto the floor. The staff was cool about it and they brought us a new 9" pizza to replace the half of the 16" pizza that we spilled. That was pretty nice of them.

I don't know why I resisted eating here for so long--I'd definitely go back. It's reasonably priced and the outdoor patio is a nice break from the busy-ness of the Promenade. You can get wine by the glass, too.

Wolfgang Puck Express, 1315 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica, CA 90401. 310-576-4770. Other locations in and around L.A.

Wildflour Pizza

If Wildflour is LA's #1 pizza, the state of pizza in LA is sad indeed.

I ordered a slice of chicken basil pizza. The chicken was not integrated into the pizza at all. It was like they just took a slice of cheese pizza and dumped a large handful of separately-cooked shredded chicken on top. Furthermore, one of the pieces of chicken had a large bone in it!

I tried a bite of my husband's pepperoni to see if it was any better than what I had. I suppose it was, given that there were no bones in evidence, but I was still not impressed.

Wildflour, 2807 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405. 310-392-2200.

Cheng Du

"You Never Imagined That Healthy Chinese Food Could Be This Tasty! We use only the FINEST AND FRESHEST INGREDIENTS to prepare all our delicious low fat and healthy dishes."

Thus claims the glitzy Cheng Du takeout menu. It's certainly extensive, featuring 200 items from a sweet and sour pork lunch special (#1) to brown rice (#200). I've been incredibly sick, so I went with a Chung King Soup containing shrimp, chicken and vegetables, plus some Moo Shu Pork for when I felt like eating real food again.

The schtick at Cheng Du is that they list the nutritional information for their dishes--when they feel like it. For example, the Moo Shu Beef has 190 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat (when shared among two people), the Moo Shu Chicken has 200 calories and 1.5 grams of saturated fat, and the Moo Shu Shrimp has 140 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat under the same conditions, but no information is given for the Moo Shu Pork. Can it really have so many more calories than the beef that Cheng Du is afraid to tell us?

The soup, for what it's worth, has 130 calories and one gram of saturated fat. I did not particularly care for it--the broth had a thick texture and tasted like egg drop soup, even though there weren't any visible egg drops in it. The shrimp, chicken and vegetables were bland, which on one hand is great for when you are sick, but on the other does not make me want to order it again.

The moo shu pork was better. The portion was generous and would have easily filled two pancakes each for two people, and the stuff itself was tasty even when reheated the day after. The pancakes arrived smooshed in a little carton, though, instead of folded flat in foil, which made it hard to get them out without breaking them.

I'd order from Cheng Du again, but I think the nutritional information is the main attraction. If you have dietary restrictions and want to know exactly what you are getting, this is the place for you. If you just want some really good Chinese food, though, there might be better places out there.

Cheng Du, 11538 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064. (310) 477-4917

Starved for restaurant reviews?

For the last month, I have been so swamped with work that I barely have time to eat the sandwiches that my co-worker rescues from the trash when the vending machine gets refilled (which still have a whole day left before their nominal expiration date!), much less bring you exciting reviews of leisurely lunches at restaurants.

However, this was all worth it, because yesterday I got promoted. So I hope that more eating and blogging are soon to come, both here and at LA Foodblogging.

Amigo's

I went to Amigo's for the first time in many months and realized how much I have missed it.

The food here is really only passable, although the chimichangas and quesadillas are pretty reliable. The main attractions are friendly service, plentiful free chips, extremely strong margaritas and nerdy conversation -- Amigos was named one of Popular Science's top geek bars. Many of my happiest Caltech memories involve Amigo's in one way or another, although that could just be the tequila talking.

Amigo's Restaurant, 1076 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA. 626-577-1307

Asahi Ramen

Inspired by Jonah's review over at la.foodblogging, we thought we'd try Asahi Ramen. Our synopsis:

• Pickles: three per person. Tasty--and spicy, so wait for your drinks before you dig in.
  
  
• Gyoza: top-notch. Definitely get some.
  
  
• Curry Ramen: If you've ever wished you could have your Hurry Curry in liquid form, this is the bowl for you. I enjoyed it, but decided I prefer the traditional pork broth with my ramen.
  
  
• Sara Udon: This is a bed of crispy noodles upon which lies a heaping mound of pork and vegetables. The whole thing is covered in some kind of bland, mucilaginous sauce. If there are ever Japanese Garbage Pail Kids I bet Sara Udon will be among them.
  

I'd try Asahi again, but next noodle craving, I think I will go back to Ramenya.

Chan Dara
Santa Monica Thai Takeout Series: Part 4

I am amused to see that our apartment falls exactly within the delivery area delineated on Chan Dara's website. One block west and this post wouldn't even exist. Although I picked up the phone to place my order, I notice that you can order online, which is pretty cool, although delivery may take up to 60 minutes, which is ridiculous.

Chan Dara's flyer urges you to "discover the fantasy" and calls itself "the not-so-ordinary Thai restaurant". That had better be some fantasy, I thought, as I looked at the prices. $8.25 for a vegetable stir-fry lunch special with rice and an egg roll? Meat is an extra dollar, shrimp an extra $2 and scallops an extra $3. Yep, not your ordinary Thai restaurant.

The dinner specials range from $8.95 for a vegetable curry to $20.95 for a whole crispy striped bass with garlic-chili sauce. We chose the $16.95 Catfish Cha-Cha, which is fried and served with a red curry cream sauce and coconut rice, and a spicy noodle with chicken for $10.95.

The portion of noodles was enormous -- enough for two people to eat for two meals. The meat was ground chicken instead of the sliced chicken that normally comes with Thai food. The noodles had a nice sweet and spicy flavor, and I'd definitely order them again. The three catfish fillets arrived with about one cup of coconut rice, which I don't think was nearly enough for the small container of curry sauce. The sauce was fantastic, but the fish itself was slightly cold and the batter a bit soggy instead of crisp.

I would try eating at Chan Dara again, but the next time I'd sit down at the self-described "L.A.'s hip Thai restaurant", since the prices are a bit too high to justify eating it in our pajamas while watching Veronica Mars. I do slightly resent paying for extra for "hip", but I'm intrigued enough by the place that I'll keep the flyer around and give Chan Dara a 5.6 out of 6.

Chan Dara, 11940 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles, CA 90064.
(310)479-4461.