The Secret of Seafood Port

Fish: before.	Fish: after.

Even the hardworking folks who usually eat soggy cafeteria sandwiches at their desks will jump at the chance to join an expedition to Seafood Port, which can brighten the dullest of days. Heretofore, no one but the venerable Sifu and his apprentice, Grasshopper, knew the ancient secret of ordering the perfect meal at Seafood Port, but on this trip I was determined to learn it from them...

Read the full review at la.foodblogging.

Seafood Port, 21180 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503. (310) 370-8478.

Akbar

Akbar was my favorite Indian restaurant in Pasadena and is now my favorite Indian restaurant in Santa Monica. It could also possibly be my favorite Indian restaurant in Hermosa Beach, except that my co-workers seem to have conflated it with some other Indian restaurant which had occupied the same space and had gone out of business because it was so awful, and so we're not allowed to go there for lunch despite my begging and pleading.

Anyway, Jonah over at LA Foodblogging has written a nice review of some of the non-spicy stuff.

As for us, we like to start with samosas, which are served with an array of fantastic mint, tamarind and coconut chutneys. Then we move on to a spicy lamb vindaloo (a 4 on Akbar's 1-5 hotness scale; we can't quite manage the Pepper Lamb, which is the only 5), tempered with the Akbari Kofta, which consists of potato balls in a wonderful creamy cashew and saffron sauce. This dish used to have little flakes of edible silver on it, ostensibly to aid digestion. They've given up on that tradition, but it's still my favorite thing on the menu. We usually skip the basmati rice in favor of an Assorted Bread Platter which includes the most wonderful cheese naan.

When more than the two of us are involved, we like to order the Gucchi Dhania (mushrooms in a cilantro tomato sauce), the Chicken Tikka Saag (chicken in spinach sauce), the Coco Lamb (lamb with whole spices in a coconut sauce), and the Chicken Chutneywala (chicken in spicy mint chutney). Plus, of course, another bread platter. You can never have too much cheese naan.

Although I have never been to one, Akbar advertises about one gourmet wine-tasting dinner a month, where you can feast on a special menu for about $100 a person. Get on their e-mail list and they will send you information about these occasions. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to get on the list from their website.

Akbar, five locations in Pasadena, Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Hermosa Beach, and Los Angeles -- see link above for menu and maps.

The company cafeteria

Often I bring my lunch to work, but since I have this new restaurant blog I decided to go out with co-workers today. Unfortunately, today everyone was busy and we had to take a quick lunch at the company cafeteria.

The offerings were the usual lame "make-your-own-Mexican", some kind of glop on rice that purported to be chicken cordon bleu, and a barbecue chicken sandwich. I opted for my usual order of a veggie burger, but they were out! Unable to think quickly enough to get something good, I opted for the chicken sandwich.

The "cook" spent more time heating the bun than on any part of the rest of the sandwich, which consisted of a sad-looking chicken breast drawn from a warmer tray and an overly-large squirt of barbecue sauce from a vat. The onions, tomato and pickle that come with every grill "special" did not go too well with the messy sandwich.

Lunch was only saved by a decent cup of Starbucks coffee and the fact that the cafeteria now offers coffee club cards (buy 10, get one free). This seems like a smarter giveaway than the lunch club cards they used to have where you bought ten overpriced lunches and got one free. The cafeteria sucks so much that I don't know anybody who even got all the way to ten lunches.

Company cafeteria, just be glad you don't ever have to eat there.

Johnny Rockets

If we were going to get a decent seat for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, we needed to eat quick, and the Johnny Rockets on the Santa Monica Promenade did not disappoint, as we got there in plenty of time to spend an hour in line with teenagers in Gryffindor scarves. I hate how the employees get away with being grouchy as hell because it's supposed to be a "period diner", though.

I had a Rocket Single with cheese and some onion rings. The burger was rather nondescript, but I have to say the onion rings were extremely good. Usually you take a bite of an onion ring and end up slurping out the whole stringy onion on the first bite, leaving you with a sad, empty toroid of fried batter. Not here. The onions were perfectly cooked so that they still had some crunch left and every bite was full of both battery and oniony goodness.

The ranch sauce for the onion rings was nice, but I thought it was kind of bizarre that our server took it upon herself to pour us three little dishes full of ketchup, despite the facts that we could have easily done it ourselves and two of us were not interested in any ketchup. That kind of wasteful attitude must be why prices are so high.

One of my dining companions had an Oreo shake, which he described as "at least as good as Jack in the Box, maybe better." So there you have it, a ringing endorsement for Johnny Rockets. Go for the onion rings.

Johnny Rockets, 1322 Third Street, Santa Monica (and other locations). (310) 394-6362.

Suriya Thai

I can't believe that I still have friends I haven't taken to Suriya Thai, the best Thai restaurant in Pasadena. Drop whatever you are doing and go there.

Order the following:

• 2+ people: Yellow Curry with chicken
  
• 2+ people: Suriya Noodles with beef
  
• 3+ people: Chili Pepper Fried Rice with pork
  
• 4+ people: Spicy Eggplant
  
• 5+ people: It doesn't matter. It's seriously all good.
  

Then you will be amazed at how fast they bring you this delectable food. They might be dumping it out of dog food-style cans for all I know, but it does not matter, because it is so fast and so incredibly good.

Even though the service is speedy, the ambiance does not suffer and it is a lovely place for either dinner with twelve of your closest friends or an intimate date. An interesting quirk is that they switch up their decor every couple of months, including tablecloths and even plates, so that you will never be bored, even if you order the same three wonderful things on the menu every time.

Suriya Thai Restaurant, 123 W. California Blvd., Pasadena. (626) 584-0066

Sushi Sho

So far, I have not had much luck finding an optimal sushi place in my new hometown. Pasadena had Kabuki, with tasty half-price sushi and a decent sukiyaki. Also worthy of mention was Gin Sushi, which was reasonably priced and didn't have the overcrowded ambiance of Kabuki.

However, now I live on the Westside, where all sushi is overpriced for what you get and almost none of it is within walking distance. However, Sushi Sho was a pleasant surprise. It appears to be mainly a takeout place and features two refrigerator cases with pre-boxed sushi, although you can order a la carte to go. We ate at one of the two tables in the restaurant; the service was quick and the sushi was tasty. One slightly annoying quirk: the menu priced all the sushi per piece instead of per two-piece order like every other sushi place in existence. Also, it's unclear whether drinks other than those in the refrigerator case are available.

Despite its no-frills nature, Sushi Sho was not really any cheaper than any of its local competitors we frequent. However, it is within walking distance and the takeout option might occasionally be attractive.

Sushi Sho, 1303 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. (310) 393-0035.

Swingers

Last Wednesday, I attempted to meet people by attending the Santa Monica Scrabble Meetup advertised on meetup.com, to be held at Swingers. No other Scrabbleheads materialized, however, so I settled down to the crossword puzzle in the Santa Monica Mirror and a barbeque chicken quesadilla.

This was the most disgusting quesadilla I had ever tasted. Light on the cheese, heavy on the grease. However, the service at Swingers was extremely pleasant, and they are quick to refill sodas, so there might be a next time; if so, I am having the grilled cheese. There were some guys working on a screenplay at the next table, but too quietly for me to get the scoop.

Swingers, 802 Broadway (at Lincoln), Santa Monica. (310) 393-9793.