Restaurant Review #131: Mao's Kitchen, Venice

Peace not war wonton soup

Mao's is an incredibly popular Chinese restaurant. Granted, there aren't many Chinese restaurants in the area, and most of them are bad, but even so, Mao's is very good, and it's healthy, too, with not a trace of MSG.


Late in the day, the sun can really get in your eyes

It took me a while to warm up to Mao's, because my first couple of experiences with them were less than exciting. I tried the Singapore noodles, which were bland. So was a veggie and tofu dish I tried. Everything else I have tried, however, has been very good. If you're used to gooey, sugary sauces and salty, oily soups, Mao's can be a pleasant change of pace. Though Mao's does not surprise my tastebuds with something new and exciting or very intense, their food is healthy, cheap, generously portioned, tasty, and deliverable.


Orange ginger chicken

One of my favorites is the Peace Not War soup, which is a chicken wonton soup in a chicken broth. Many of Mao's dishes have communist-themed names. The soup comes in a huge bowl, making it a great appetizer for two or meal for one. The veggies are fresh and crisp and the wontons are delectable, though the wonton skins are on the thick side.

The orange ginger chicken is neither too orangey nor too gingery and has just the right amount of sauce. In spite of all their healthy propaganda, Mao's serves up a whole plate full of just meat. I know I need my veggies, but as a child I saw veggies as a cheap filler in Chinese dishes, and I have never really been able to change my mind on this point. Another high point is that Mao's uses high quality white meat (high enough quality that I never ran across a chunk of what the heck is that? in my meat).

Mao's also has vegetarian and vegan options--in any dish, you can request vegan broth in your soup and tofu instead of meat or seafood (though I think some dishes have inherent limitations).



I also had a dollar salad, which was the best dollar I have spent in a long time. This salad is a simple bowl of romaine lettuce, shredded carrot, and cucumber in a light, sweet not-too-vineagary vinagrette.

For dessert, there's just one option: the chocolate pineapple. This dish consists of an innovatively sliced half pineapple with a pot of wine-laced chocolate fondue. The fondue was predictably good, and the pineapple fresh and ripe. My favorite part of the dish, however, was the red candied ginger meant to be part of the garnish. Yum.

Mao's doesn't serve any alcohol, but they seem to have an unofficial BYOB policy--bring your own cheap wine and corkscrew, and Mao's will supply tea cups.

The atmosphere is crowded and super-casual: flip flops and t-shirts abound. Wooden tables are tightly packed with happy locals. Some of the tables are long, family-style tables which can leave you dining with strangers at busy times. Even the smaller tables are awfully close together. I'd recommend getting your food delivered or doing takeout unless you like a loud, chaotic atmosphere with poor service.

The service leaves a lot to be desired, as none of the servers seem to care that you're there. Sometimes the food takes forever. On my last visit, I ordered the homemade ginger ale. I sent the first one back because it tasted like Sprite. When I had it remade, it tasted like dirty soda (and upon observation, it was indeed made with Sprite). Definitely skip this drink. While our server did volunteer to re-make the drinks, he didn't really seem to care if we were satisfied with them in the end. I don't like to make a scene, but I was tempted to cross the item out on the final bill and not pay for it. If you've ever had the fresh ginger ale at Gingergrass, you'll know why the stuff they serve at Mao's is such a sin.

Parking is not a joy in this area. I don't have any secret parking tips. There is no parking lot, and street parking is a nightmare. I wish you the best of luck.

If you've been to Mao's Kitchen, how was your experience? Leave a comment!


Eat early and get your choice of tables

Maos Kitchen
310-581-8305
1512 Pacific Ave
Venice, CA 90291
Sun-Thur 11:30am-10:30pm
Fri, Sat 11:30am-3am
Map
Mao's Kitchen Website (menu available)

Restaurant Review #97: The OtherRoom, Venice

A somewhat new place on hipper-by-the-minute Abbot Kinney, I was excited about the OtherRoom because there are very few wine bars in the area, and I love wine. They're also a microbrewery, and offer over 60 different kinds of beer. They don't have a liquor license though, so don't get your heart set on that martini.

I'm not excited anymore, though. The OtherRoom is exactly the kind of place I try to avoid, because it's too loud to hear the person you're talking to. If they cut the volume of the music in half, and played a type of music that could fade into the background (may I suggest deep house?), this venue could be exactly what I'm looking for. The interior is dimly but warmly lit, there are a decent number of comfy places to sit, and the wine list is very extensive. But the place is so dimly lit and the wine list so extensive and high up on the wall behind the crowded bar that it's impossible to read. I hope they have menu-style wine lists that I just didn't see.

Since I couldn't read the list, I asked for a sweet white, and was presented with a blah viogner. Hey bartender--just because I didn't make a specific request doesn't mean I can't appreciate decent wine that doesn't taste like the metal barrel it was produced in.

I went on a Wednesday night around 10:30, and it was quite busy. The floorspace was still walkable, but almost all of the seating was taken. I imagine it just gets more crowded as the week goes on. It was pretty easy to park on the street, but I suspect that isn't true on weekends.

I appreciate the idea of trying to create a hip venue for enjoying a glass of wine or some real beer, but with the overly loud music and large crowds, I'll still have to stay home or stick to a restaurant if I want to share wine and conversation with my friends. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who are happy with the hip and loud scene, so places like this will likely continue to flourish, and the rest of us will continue to stay home.

The OtherRoom
1201 Abbot Kinney
Venice, CA 90292
310.396.6230

Restaurant Review #68: Stroh's Gourmet, Venice

How did I discover Stroh's Gourmet? Well, it's funny you should ask. I was waiting at the bus stop on Abbot Kinney to catch the bus home from my first day of work in LA when a homeless schizophrenic man decided to come up and chat with me. I've dealt with my share of crazies, having lived in major cities my entire life, so I wasn't too worried. My bus would be along any minute. But it wasn't, and his escalating anger about not being able to get a haircut because he was black was starting to worry me, so I decided to take refuge at the nearest place I could.

I walked into Stroh's and went up to the first person I saw, assuming that he was an employee. When the crazy schizophrenic guy (I know, because he showed me the pills he wasn't taking, or, I should say, shook the pill bottle at me) followed me in, this guy dealt with him incredibly calmly, unlike the usual irrationally angry and confrontational way people tend to handle conflicts in LA.

Well, it turned out that the guy didn't work for Stroh's, he worked for their lettuce supplier. He was an organic farmer. So because of this crazy schizophrenic guy, not only did I discover Stroh's, I also discovered how utterly amazing organic lettuce is--Maggie's Farm has such good lettuce that I actually munch on it plain, one leaf at a time. You can find them at the Santa Monica farmer's market.

Anyway, back to Stroh's. They sell a variety of thick, thoughtful sandwiches made with real bread--roast beef, caprese (tomato, basil, and mozzarella), turkey avocado and brie, and a couple of others. I've tried most of their sandwiches, and haven't been disappointed by any. My favorite, vegetarian tendencies be damned, is the roast beef. They also have a selection of fine cheeses, amazing cookies and other simple desserts, chocolate bars, gourmet sodas, and other goodies you expect to find at a small gourmet sandwich shop.

In spite of being gourmet, Stroh's mostly does not feel pretentious. Some of the staff are native French speakers, and a bit curt, but otherwise, hey, it's casual Venice. There are a couple of tables outside on Abbot Kinney, but this is really a to-go kind of place. Sandwiches cost about $6-7 each, and cookies are $1.50 or so. Go early, or your favorite sandwich might be sold out.

Stroh's Gourmet
1239 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 450-5119

Restaurant Review #56: Abbot's Habit, Venice

I love Abbot's! I particularly like their blended mochas and bagels. They also serve baked goodies and sandwiches. Abbot's was a favorite lunch spot of a place I used to work.

The place is extremely casual and very Venice. If you want to get an immediate feel for this part of town, Abbot's is a great place to check out. It's not pretentious at all, and even during business hours is not populated by business types (but of course it's not, this is Venice), but rather by people who look like they're either coming from or going to the beach.

One of the many joys of this not being a corporate coffee shop is that your food may be a bit different each time you order it. The employees tend to do quirky things like make double or triple decker peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I like a place that doesn't roboticize its workers.

Sometimes the service is a bit slow, but not slow enough to stop me from visiting.

Cons: People sit outside with their dogs and take up the whole sidewalk. This is mainly a con because I am afraid of dogs. If you have a dog or like them, this would be a pro. Even though I don't like dogs, I like that the place is laid-back and allows them (inside I'm not sure about).

Abbot's Habit
1401 Abbot Kinney Blvd (at California)
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 399-1171

Restaurant Review #22: Canal Club, Venice

My other bar food experience this month was at Canal Club. I hadn't been since July 2004, so I was eager to try the place again, especially given the promise of half-price happy hour sushi. On a Monday night at 6:30, the place was slightly under half-full, which was fine with me since I don't really like screaming at my friends. I was disappointed to find that half-price sushi meant a selection of only three rolls. At $2.50 each, the price was certainly right, but I was expecting a full sushi bar bonanza. I'm actually not sure where I got this half-price sushi idea from, but I'm sure I didn't make it up. Promises of cheap sushi are inevitably too good to be true.

The happy hour menu is short and to-the-point: brie and grape quesadillas, fried calamari, spicy tuna roll, california roll, sunset roll, and a couple of other things. We had the spicy tuna roll (not bad, especially considering that I don't like tuna, but it didn't taste like a whole lot), the sunset roll (cooked salmon doesn't belong in my sushi, I've decided), calamari (a bit overcooked, but the mayo dipping sauce was yummy), and brie and grape quesadillas (soggy, but tasty).

For good measure, we ordered 3 pieces of the chef's choice of nigiri. We received bluefin tuna, regular tuna, and yellowtail. All were not bad, but none got me too excited. I remembered Canal Club's sushi as being better, but in July, I was still a newbie to the sushi scene, so I don't really trust that places I liked back then are as good as I remember them.

I left craving more and better sushi. I'd still go here for happy hour over a lot of other places--spicy tuna rolls generally get me a lot more excited than spicy fried stuff, even though I'm not that fond of tuna. As far as drinks went, I enjoyed my chardonnay, though I don't know enough about wine to give you a knowledgeable opinion on it. My friend's vanilla vodka and coke was apparently on the overly strong side (but hey, at least it wasn't weak).

In addition to the regular bar, Canal Club has a bar away from the bar, where your back faces the bar and your front faces one side of the restaurant. All the fun of elevated bar stools, none of the chaos. They also have some kind of upstairs room, which we did not venture into but probably should have. Who knows what kind of debaucherous fun could have been waiting for us?


Canal Club Wood Grill & Sushi Bar
2025 Pacific AvenueVenice, CA 90291
Hours:Sushi & More Happy Hour 7 days a week 5pm-7pm
Dinner: Sunday-Thursday 6pm-10pm
Friday & Saturday 6pm-11pm

Restaurant Review #12: Jin Patisserie, Venice

Tucked away behind a fence on the most well-traveled portion of Abbot Kinney, you may walk by this pastry shop ten times before you notice it.

A lovely unpretentious courtyard with a fountain and designer stools greets you as you enter the shop. The pastries are beautifully and unusually displayed in display cases built into the walls, as if the pastries were museum pieces or jewelry. The pastries are mostly small, rectangular layered cakes. They come in a wide range of flavors, and aren't overly sweet.

The shop's name accurately reflects both the French and Asian influence in the desserts. Flavor-wise, they don't have as much Asian influence as I had hoped for, nor as much intensity, but they were still quite good and so beautiful I could hardly bear to destroy them with my fork. The pastries are fairly expensive, at about $5 each for a rather small portion, but all purchases are exquisitely wrapped and would make a great unique gift for someone with mellow taste in desserts.

I really wished that the pastries were more flavorful and/or less expensive. However, if you like a dessert that's not overly sweet, you're in luck.

Jin Patisserie
1202 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291-3366
(310) 399-8801
Map
Website (gorgeous)