Where to Eat in L.A.

Wolfgang Puck Express

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Sun, 13 May 2007 02:32:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 17:55:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Thu, 11 May 2006 02:13:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 18:35:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 23:21:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 04:14:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 19:15:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 05:03:00 +0000

Poom Thai Cuisine
Santa Monica Thai Takeout Series: Part 3

Poom! Poom! Poom! How fun is that!

Poom claims right on its flyer that it is "the best restaurant" and we're tempted to agree, even if it did take almost an hour for them to deliver our food. We ordered a spicy fried rice with pork, a yellow curry with chicken, and one of their specialties, Three Flavor Red Snapper. The curry was deliciously creamy, almost like Indian curry, and spicier than most yellow curries without being too hot. I also enjoyed the snapper, which was deep-fried and served with a sweet and sour sauce that enhanced the flavor of the fish rather than overpowering it. The fried rice was, well, fried rice. I'm not the one in the house who likes fried rice.

The one weird thing about Poom is that their vegetables are ridiculously large, at least two-bite-sized. There was a chunk of potato in the yellow curry that was the size of a new potato (and still had the skin on it, which we actually thought added a little something). Support Poom and they might earn enough money for a food processor and an extra delivery bike. It'll be worth it.

Your new leader is Poom Thai Cuisine with a 5.7 out of 6! Poom! Poom!

Poom Thai Cuisine, 2204 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 452-2150.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 23:57:00 +0000

Tim Meadows has brunch at Babalu and so should you

He's the guy in the grey sweater with the white collar barely visible to the right of the third window beam. He was seated at the table next to us, but I'm not the paparazzo type, so you will just have to believe me when I tell you that's the side of his head.

In any case, Tim Meadows and I agree that Babalu is a great place to have brunch. Read the full review at la.foodblogging.com.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 00:46:00 +0000

All India Cafe

You can't go wrong ordering something with lamb in it, since All India Cafe does lamb really, really well. The vindaloo is fantastic, the boti kababs are wonderfully tender and perfectly spiced, and the lamb frankies (lamb masala in a tortilla, kind of like a burrito!) are stellar. The frankies make a good lunch special along with some salad and raita for $6.95. I haven't tried the lamb naan, but I bet it is awesome.

The chicken dishes are also tasty. My favorite is the Nirvana chicken, which comes in a moderately spicy coconut masala curry; the chicken curry and chicken tikka are also nice. Vegetable dishes I've enjoyed include the palak paneer (spinach and cheese) and the aloo mattar (potatoes and peas), although the latter really needs rice--the sauce is too thin to be eaten with naan alone.

All India claims their "sumptuous dishes" are "lean, healthful, and low in fat," and indeed, their sauces are tasty without being heavy, and their samosas are crispy without being greasy. And they deliver--you can even fax them an order from the "Menu to Go" on their website!

All India Cafe, 12113 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. (310) 442-5250.
Also at 39 S Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA. (626) 440-0309.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 06:25:00 +0000

Oxnard crime wave swells as police skip town for Pink's spicy Polish

Life's Little Victories #247: Driving by Pink's at noontime and discovering a short line!

Life's Little Victories #248: Getting in line just before an entire battalion of Oxnard police rode up on their motorcycles ready to chow down on Ozzdogs.

Oxnard. That's like, what, sixty miles? Apparently real Pink's devotees stop at nothing.

Read the full review at la.foodblogging.com.

Pink's Hot Dogs, 709 N. La Brea Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Sun, 11 Dec 2005 04:33:00 +0000

Thai Beer Cuisine
Santa Monica Thai Takeout Series: Part 2

Thai Beer hands out your standard doorknob-hanger flyer with very tiny print and claims to be "the best Thai-Chinese restaurant in town." An alarming number of items are indicated by a small graphic to be "NEW!". This makes sense for things like the Cream Cheese Puff (a wonton stuffed with cheese, onion, carrot and crab) but not so much for Thai standards like Tom Yum Kai soup and green curry.

The receptionist at Thai Beer expected that I would order the $8.95 dinner special, which is served with an egg roll, wonton soup, salad, shrimp fried rice, and any curry, noodle, vegetable or a la carte dish. This seems like a pretty good deal, but I really wanted to try the roasted honey duck with plum sauce (#76B). Unfortunately, they did not have it, so I settled for a standard yellow curry chicken (#29), a spicy mint noodle with beef (#34) and a kung pao shrimp (#61). Strangely, the menu does not indicate that you can order a Singha at Thai Beer.

The food arrived within 30 minutes. The portions were of average size, but the yellow curry did have an extraordinarily high density of meat and vegetables in it. This mild but hearty dish was a perfect foil for the spicy mint noodles, which had a definite kick but did not overpower the mint with spicy chilis. The kung pao shrimp was the loser of this group. It was lean on the shrimp and also on the sauce, which formed a layer so thin on the bottom of the Styrofoam container that it was impossible to spoon it onto the rice.

Overall, Thai Beer earns a 5.6 out of 6, giving it the lead in the Santa Monica Thai Takeout Classic. Their website is really quite good and features pictures of many of their dishes. The below-average kung-pao shrimp just means they're not a very good Chinese restaurant, and this isn't a Chinese takeout contest. A cool, refreshing Thai beer delivered to our door with our Thai Beer takeout, though, would have made our day.

Thai Beer, 13364 Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, 90066. (310) 305-0067.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 05:00:00 +0000

T's Thai
Santa Monica Thai Takeout Series: Part 1

Hardly a day goes by when I arrive home and don't find a Thai takeout flyer stuck in the door jamb. I can never remember which places I've liked and which ones have been lackluster, so I'm going to start going about this in a systematic way.

The first contestant was T's Thai, which gets points right off the bat for distributing a low-budget orange flyer rather than something whose printing costs would increase prices. T also earns some points for putting their best English speaker on the phone to take the order and a speedy delivery. Portion sizes were generous -- two dishes can easily feed three people, assuming that none of those people are training for a sumo tournament.

We've had some reasonable success here in the past with the chicken with mint leaves (#60) and the barbeque short ribs with special sauce (#73), so it seemed like a good place to start. This time, we ordered the spicy Thai noodles (#32), an order of crab fried rice (#41) and a mussaman beef curry (#49).

The noodles were supposed to be large, flat pan-fried noodles in a spicy sauce. Unfortunately, T was out of large, flat noodles so they offered to make the dish with the thinner pad thai-type noodles. The thinner noodles were so clumped together that they were hard to serve, and were also not at all spicy.

The crab fried rice was also mild and quite tasty. I was a little creeped out to find one rather large intact crab claw in the middle of the dish, though. The mussaman curry was the big winner here. This is a special-occasion curry in Thailand and T's version is a lovely version, with a nice blend of rich peanut, chili and tamarind flavors.

Overall, T's gets a 5.4 out of 6--we've left some room at the top for the other contestants to shine through. The lack of spice in the "spicy noodles" was their biggest flaw.

Who will be the top Thai takeout in Santa Monica? Tune in for the next installment!

T's Thai, 1215 4th Street, Santa Monica. (310) 395-4106.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 05:19:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 02:33:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 05:55:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 21:41:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 22:35:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 22:33:00 +0000

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.

noreply@blogger.com (the Smart Bohemian) — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 22:30:00 +0000

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.