Restaurant Review #202: Sushi Roku, Santa Monica

I've been to Sushi Roku, a small chain with locations in Santa Monica, Pasadena, West Hollywood, and Las Vegas, more times than I can count. I suppose I always choose it in an attempt to fulfill a sushi craving when I'm in downtown Santa Monica and don't feel like fighting rush hour traffic to Brentwood or West LA or the Santa Monica Airport, where there are considerably better options (but it can take a terrible hour to make the four-mile drive).

I've always found it perplexing that a place as close to the ocean as Santa Monica doesn't have better fish. There are those who will argue that I should go to Sushi King (too much wasabi, no atmosphere, I say), and I used to be a big proponent of Noma until they gave me some dried-out hamachi, but for the most part, all the sushi options in the area seem more focused on being trendy than on serving top-notch fish. I'm surprised that there are still restaurants serving sushi rolls that contain mayonnaise, but I guess there are still people who enjoy that.

Sushi Roku is, in fact, another one of these not-so-good sushi options, and on top of that, it's overpriced. I like the decor, the low lighting, and perhaps the familiarity, even though the fish is sloppily cut and I never leave feeling satisfied. Once, three years ago, I had the tasting menu and was quite impressed, but that was in my considerably more naive days and pre-Foodie Universe. My tastes have changed considerably since then. How could they not have, now that I've eaten pad kee mao at Krua Thai, mole coloradito at Monte Alban, fresh tofu with sea salt at Musha, and sweet corn ravioli at Melisse?

Even though Santa Monica is a beach town, you'll probably feel under-dressed here unless you're wearing business attire or trendy LA clothes. Sushi Roku's service is often a bit snobby, which seems to be a requirement to work at a wannabe trendy restaurant. Some of their tables are awkwardly positioned in the middle of the room, and you're likely to get stuck at one of these as punishment for not having a reservation, even if it's a Monday and none of the better tables are occupied at any point during your meal. Also awkward is the bathroom situation--Sushi Roku is located in a large office building, and their bathroom is not actually in the restaurant--it's in the office building, and it has a bathroom attendant. Not only do I have having to pay money to have someone hand me a paper towel, I find the whole bathroom attendant thing to be incredibly backward.

Sushi Roku's specials are generally more interesting and more flavorful than simply ordering from the sushi menu, but I didn't order any on my last visit. Instead, I tried the crunchy tuna avocado roll, the albacore scallion roll, the spicy scallop roll, and a few pieces of nigiri. My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach--even with a friend's help, I couldn't eat it all.



Our food took an unbelievably long time to arrive, particularly considering that the restaurant was only half-full and almost everything we ordered did not require any cooking. The crunchy tuna avocado roll arrived first, but it seemed like it had been sitting out for a while before it made it to our table. It was soggy, not crunchy, especially because someone had the brilliant idea to put something that was supposed to be crispy in a pool of orange mayonnaise. The sauce was good and the roll was flavorful overall, but it might as well have contained chicken since the delicate flavors of the avocado and the tuna were totally overwhelmed by the fried flavor and the sauce. A million years later, the rest of our food arrived. The albacore scallion roll tasted bitter--something had to have been wrong with it, though I wasn't sure what. I'm not sure why I didn't send it back--maybe I just figured that Sushi Roku couldn't do any better.

The toro jalapeno roll was also disappointing. Toro, the fatty belly of the tuna, is supposed to be the king of sushi, but here it just tasted watery, and I should have known better than to expect heat from the jalapeno--without its ribs and seeds, jalapeno doesn't rank very high on the Scoville scale.

The spicy scallop roll was probably my favorite, even though it was one of those blasphemous mayo-fish rolls and it was dotted with a Sriracha-like sauce--two things that can't help but overwhelm the delicate flavor of scallop. Instead, I focused on enjoying the flawlessly smooth texture of raw scallop.

After my latest experience, I think the spell has finally been broken. Whatever used to draw me to Sushi Roku despite my better judgment will draw me there no more. If I'm going to spend $40 or more on dinner, I might as well brave the traffic and go to my old standby Kiriko, where I can get more food that tastes better for the same price.



Sushi Roku
1401 Ocean Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.458.4771
Sushi Roku Website and Menu

Restaurant Review #175, Tacos Worth Begging For: Tacos Por Favor, Santa Monica

Al pastor and asada tacos

You plunge your hand into the paper bag and fumble amidst the tortilla chips for your foil packet prize. The metal scorches your fingertips, and you know it will be worse on the inside, where steam and grease will add to the pain. But this is no time for self-restraint.

You huddle in your car, which you've parked on a dark freeway bridge because there is no parking lot at the taco mecca. You don't have time to eat in, but to consume these tacos through the haze of driving would be blasphemy. Eating in your parked car is a viable compromise. Beemers and beater trucks whoosh past and you ponder the strangeness of this busy yet desolate spot. Headlights whiz by underneath you as you try to tame your empty belly at a slow enough pace that you actually taste what you consume. If you don't pace yourself, you'll all too soon be left with nothing but a fiery tongue tip and greasy prints on the steering wheel.

No, you must slow down and experience the marinade, the char, the chew, and that orgy of meat, tortilla, and sauce. Surely this is the most perfect sustenance ever conceived. Enjoy this moment, because in five minutes it will be a memory.



Asada taco


Tacos Por Favor
1408 Olympic Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA
310-392-5768
310-392-8978
They deliver! $7.00 minimum order, $1.50 delivery charge
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8AM-8PM, Sun. 9AM-5PM

Restaurant Review #173: Punch Grill, Santa Monica - CLOSED

Filet mignon in pinot noir sauce

This review is a little different from my others in that I was invited to try Punch Grill by their PR firm and they paid for my meal. Despite this, you can still count on Foodie Universe to stand by our policy of providing unbiased reviews.

Punch Grill opened in June 2006 with the mission of offering "the finest American cuisine on the Westside." They bill themselves as "trendy meets casual," which for a non-scenester like myself brings on a lot of skepticism. When is trendy ever truly casual in LA? Surprisingly, the restaurant pulls off this promise quite well. While the decor is upscale, neither the staff, the patrons, nor the food are pretentious. Both the restaurant and its food feel very comfortable and aren't overly hip in any way.

Executive Chef Peter Sang's food mostly caters to an audience who takes comfort in the familiarity of foods like steak and mashed potatoes, but it also presents diners with accessible twists on common foods--take the braised short rib ravioli, for example.


Braised short rib ravioli in a fume horseradish cream sauce

The braised short rib ravioli was unlike any other ravioli I've eaten. First of all, I actually knew what kind of meat was on the inside--real, quality meat, not some manufactured meat mush. The horseradish sauce was not a cream sauce like I was expecting, but that would have been too heavy. Instead, the sauce was light and pleasantly tangy while still allowing the meat to shine.


Tuna avocado tartare with a soy ginger dressing and crispy wontons

I know that I missed the beginning of the tuna tartare fad (at least, it seems like a fad), but if Melisse's Josiah Citrin it still serving it, it can't be too passe. I really don't care if my food is fashionable or not though; I just want it to taste good. The tuna was surprisingly good for a restaurant that doesn't specialize in raw fish, and any less-than-perfect bits were unnoticeable with the crunch of the wontons. Again, Chef Sang allowed the ingredients to speak for themselves, but added a delicate drizzle of soy ginger dressing to enhance their flavor.


Lake Superior white fish in a lemon caper sauce with orzo and fresh veggies

The fish didn't actually come in a sauce as the menu suggested and as I would have preferred, but it was perfectly flavored with lemon, salt, and pepper. These condiments are a classic way to season a fish for a good reason, even if they aren't the most innovative. Rather than the fish being a vehicle to sop up sauce, the seasoning allowed the fish to speak for itself. Overall, this dish is a good example of a basic item done well--not every dish needs to be adventurous to be good, and many people prefer to eat what's familiar.

The accompanying carrot puree was a welcome variation on the more traditional side of steamed baby carrots. While carrots are a heavy, dense root, the puree's texture was as light as whipped cream.

I'm really not a steak person, to be honest, but how could I not order the filet mignon when it was free? We ordered it rare, which would have scared me had I not recently eaten nearly raw beef carpaccio. Though I grew up eating burnt steak, I've finally learned that perfect cuts of meat like this one were meant to be eaten while still pulsatingly pink. Any Texan would be proud of Punch Grill's filet mignon (though it might take an ex-pat like myself to prefer a subtle pinot noir sauce over a douse of A-1).



Our waiter was kind enough to let us know about the souffle as we were finishing up our entrees so that it would be ready when we were ready for dessert. Would we be interested? Um, yes! The souffle was very hot, very light, and just a little bit sweet--I wouldn't have changed a thing about it. For those who like their desserts sweeter, a small pot of chocolate accompanies the dish.

There were a couple of foreign words on the dessert menu that I didn't understand and hadn't seen before, which was surprising since the rest of the menu was so easy to read. I was impressed by the length and variety of the list, though.


Lemon cello gelato

If Punch Grill sold their lemon cello gelato by the pint, I would buy it! Limoncello is a very powerful Italian liqueur (if you've ever been to Italy, you know that in tourist areas, bottles of the creamy yellow liquid are as prevalent as postcards). I was curious to test the chef on this dish. Would it taste overwhelmingly like alcohol? Would the gelato really be gelato? Yes, it really was gelato--denser, creamier, and less icy than ice cream. The limoncello flavor whispered to my tongue -- it didn't smack me in the forehead like it's drinkable counterpart.



The key lime tart and a weak cappucino were the only things I tasted all night that I didn't like. It's possible that part of the problem with the tart came from eating it alongside the lemon cello gelato. I expected these two desserts to have compatible flavors since they were both citrus-flavored, but compared to the fresh, homemade flavor of the gelato, the key lime tart seemed heavy handed. I could taste the shortening in the crust (or maybe it was the unnecessary icing on top), and the filling was a few squeezes short of limey.


The dining room

One thing I must say is that I can't speak to what kind of service the average diner will get at Punch Grill on an average night -- I've only observed them on their best behavior. While I was there, both the owner and the manager stopped by not only our table but by other tables as well to introduce themselves. The hostess and our waiter clearly knew that we were special guests, but our waiter was just as friendly to nearby diners as he was to us. When another guest didn't like her soup, her server apologized and quickly whisked the dish back to the kitchen, no questions asked. Clearly, the staff's best behavior is friendly, down-to-earth, and helpful: in short, excellent. Hopefully, this level of service is standard at Punch Grill.

A complete meal including appetizer, entree, glass of wine, and dessert will run you about $50 before tax and tip. Even the most expensive item on the menu, the filet mignon, is reasonably priced at $28. If you're on a budget, you can still enjoy a nice meal here: the entree and water option will run you as little as $11 if you order a sandwich or pasta. You can make reservations online through their website, or go directly to Open Table. They also have a patio, and private rooms are available for events such as business meetings and parties.

Even on a street as busy as Wilshire, Punch Grill is easy to spot. It's directly on the street in a large white building -- you'll notice the old-school maroon awning with the restaurant's name. Valet parking is $3.75, but we easily found free street parking at night since most of the surrounding businesses were closed.

Overall, I'd recommend Punch Grill to diners who enjoy classic American food that tastes the way they're expecting it to taste. It's also perfect for business meetings and groups with diverse tastes: even a gaggle of picky eaters (like my family) will all be able to find something they like here. There are several trendier and more innovative dishes that will satisfy the more adventurous, but most of the dishes are timeless.

Punch Grill
3001 Wilshire Blvd. (cross street - Stanford)
Santa Monica, CA 90403
310.828.8812
Open Daily
Lunch 11am - 4pm
Dinner 4pm - close
Punch Grill Website

Punch Grill also hosts a lounge with plenty of large television screens where you can enjoy signature cocktails and appetizers, happy hours Monday through Friday from 4-7, and watch your favorite sporting event.

Restaurant Review #65: Santino's, Santa Monica

Cheese and Olive Plate

Though I didn't really love Spanish food while I was in Spain, I'm pretty nostalgic, so I decided to try Santino's, a tapas restaurant on Lincoln near Navy. No one on Chowhound had anything to say about it in 24 hours, which is unusual. I'm of the opinion that there are no undiscovered gems in this city of 19 million, but at least there weren't any bad reviews. So I went.

My first surprise was that Santino's is a place your order at the counter kinda place. The inside was bright and sunny at 6pm, and not a soul was in sight save the counter boy, who was not terribly friendly. The interior is wooden and worn with lots of red and green paint. Coolers along one wall hold sodas and other beverages; another small cooler holds bottles of beer. I didn't see anything Spanish, but then, Spanish beer is nothing to rave about. I wonder if any of the Spanish places in LA serve sidra? (Bonus points if you can shoot it out of the wall!) A flat panel TV plays music videos in Spanish. My second surprise was that my camera battery died right after I took the above picture.

My third surprised was that there were very few Spanish items, or even Spanish-influeced items, on the menu. Half of the menu lists panini and salads. Apparently, tapas are not just a Spanish thing--they're also Argentinian, and the cuisine of Argentina has a lot of influence from Spain and Italy. This explains the menu, and my confusion. Santino's is apparently an Argentinian restaurant, not a Spanish restaurant!

After I ordered, I saw it: the dreaded refrigerated display case. Was that where my tortilla espanola was coming from? I didn't actually see anything I ordered sitting in this case, but...

My eggplant was damn cold. Granted, it was supposed to be a cold dish, but I just hate when restaurants serve me something that's refrigerator cold. The eggplant, heavily marinated in a garlicky, red peppery, olive oily sauce, was cut into about one-inch squares and had a pickly zing to it. It was pretty good, but too strong to eat a full plate of, even though it was a very small (but somewhat heaping) plate. Of course, tapas are meant to be shared.

Next to hit my palette was the tortilla espanola, shamelessly listed on the menu as a Spanish tortilla. I like to think that even the American who knows no Spanish at all can figure out what "tortilla espanola" means. A tortilla espanola is essentially a thick omelette consisting primarily of eggs and potatoes. It's round like a tortilla, but the similarities end there. This tortilla was about 2 inches thick, with huge chunks of potato--more potato than egg--and a few slices of sauteed onion. The potatoes tasted distinctively old, like the dish had been cooked at least a week ago, hidden in the corner of a thrift shop for a while, and then microwaved. Also, I'm not sure how they cooked this, since it's pretty damn hard to flip an omelette that thick and potato-heavy.

The dish I had the most hope for was the olive and cheese plate, since I love both. The menu promised Spanish olives and imported cheeses, including manchego. I've eaten a lot of manchego (I think it's the only cheese anyone eats in Spain, besides roquefort) and I can assure you that none of the cheese at Santino's was manchego. And the Spanish olives had those damn red things in the middle! Call them pimentos if you want, but those don't count as food. No Spanish olive I ever ate in Spain had a red filling. Santino's olives were the mushy mass -packaged jar variety, and the cheese was no better.

The total for these three dishes was only $11.50, and I have leftovers. Two plates will probably fill most people.

The best dish--and this says it all, I suppose-was my friend's ham and cheese sandwich, a very thin, lightly grilled sandwich made on very thin Bimbo bread (don't you think Bimbo is a better term than Wonder for smushable white bread?). It came cut into triangles and was especially good with the olive oil and herb dipping sauce it came with. She also ordered an empanada, but I'm not feeling very carnivorous right now, so I didn't try it (the ham wasn't noticeable in the sandwich, I think because it was so thin--I normally dislike ham).

While we were there, two cops came in to get some grub to go, and one other civilian pair sat down at a table for a quick bite. That was it. There was no service to speak of--once the food was on our tables, that was it. One female employee stopped by to ask if we needed anything, and we asked for to-go boxes, but thirty minutes later we had to go ask again at the counter. The to-go boxes are styrofoam, which I realize is standard, but that doesn't mean I like it! I've gotta start remembering to bring my tupperware for leftovers. As my friend said, "I can't believe styrofoam is legal!" Let's ban styrofoam and legalize...something else.

Overall, I'd say that Santino's is more of a snack place than a meal place. I don't really recommend it, but I wasn't too upset about the experience since it was cheap as hell and pretty quiet.


Santino's

(310) 392-5920 3021 Lincoln Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90405