Restaurant Review #161: Pho 999, Van Nuys

Pho 999 is your prototypical strip mall Vietnamese restaurant. The decor can only be described as garish, but the prices are low and the service is fast. The restaurant's specialty seems to be a meal of seven courses of beef, but I can't eat that much meat.

The pho tai was about average, maybe slightly above--the broth was flavorful, tasted more of cardamon than usual, and needed a bit of lime to balance it out. The vermicelli noodles weren't stuck together in a clump--clumpy noodles are a real pet peeve of mine. My bowl was only $4.95, and as usual, you can have your pho with any combination of brisket, tendon, tripe, and rare beef.


Charbroiled beef

The charbroiled beef looked more like pork when it came out due to its pale color, and it was kind of disgusting, even for $5.95. It was very thin and had a processed texture, making me feel like I was at McDonald's. I enjoyed the lightly pickled daikon strips that came on the side.

Pho 99 also serves about 20 kinds of boba shakes, with flavors ranging from banana to soursop to avocado. The shakes themselves were very good, but light on the boba, which had a hard time making it up the straw for some reason. My guess is that they're trying get the business of all the patrons who would otherwise head a few doors down for boba after their meal--hey, it worked on me.

The service is indifferent bordering on rude. Why do all Vietnamese restaurants want to take your order almost the moment you sit down? True, there aren't a lot of variations across restaurants, but I want some time to see what unique dishes might be available and think about what I'm in the mood to eat. I don't want to be rushed by being asked every 60 seconds if I'm ready to order yet.

When you're finished eating, head to the register and give them your table number to pay. Don't expect to ever see the staff again once your food has been served, and don't expect any sort of "thanks for coming in." With the mediocre food, garish decor and nonexistent service, I won't be going back.

Pho 999
6411 Sepulveda Blvd.
Van Nuys, CA 91411
818-782-1999

Restaurant Review #154: Mi Casita Salvadorena, Van Nuys

Empanadas

Salvadoran food is not very familiar to me--I've only had it one other time, at La Curva in east LA. At La Curva, I got an introduction to the types of seafood dishes that are commonly eaten on the coast, but I had yet to try the most well-known of Salvadoran dishes--the pupusa.

Our meal started with thick, crispy tortilla chips and a rather bland salsa, but I didn't despair over the salsa. I had a good feeling about the place, and I tend to agree with Meyers-Briggs' opinion that I'm rather intuitive.

Mi Casita Salvadorena is very low budget. The all-brown decor hasn't been updated since the seventies, but at least the savings get passed along to the customer: a meal for two here will only run you about $20 including tax and tip. It's a good thing, too, since they only take cash. The sunlight that streams in through the windows and a wall of trophies help brighten the otherwise drab interior.

Unlike so many Los Angeles restaurants, Mi Casita Salvadorena's ample tables are comfortably spaced--just one of the Valley's many unsung benefits. You seat yourself, but it's probably a good idea to alert a server to your presence when you arrive. Service is a little slow, but in that made-to-order food kind of way.

The beef empanadas were unlike the Argentinian empanadas I've eaten (and definitely unlike the Oaxacan variety) in the consistency of the dough. These were very deep fried and extra crispy on the outside. The beef filling was tender, moist, and richly flavored. While many places engage in the ridiculous practice of charging extra for avocado, Mi Casita Salvadorena included a generous chunk along with with the other veggies that came on the side of this dish.



Sweet white corn tamales with sour cream

I usually don't care for tamales, but these sweet corn tamales are the best I've ever had. The tang of the accompanying sour cream was a perfect match that prevented the dish from being excessively sweet. The dishes don't match at this restaurant, but it's kind of charming.


Pupusas

Having never eaten or even seen a pupusa before, much like Pam of Daily Gluttony, I went into this experience with no expectations. I tried the cheese pupusa with flor de izote and the beef pupusa. Pupusas are sort of like a cross between a tortilla and pita bread. They contain a filling and are mysteriously sealed up so that you can't tell how the filling got into the dough. They're also a great deal at just a little over a dollar each and offer a better quantity to price ratio than even some tacos. I love saving money.

Flor de izote is the national flower of El Salvador and grows on yucca plants. It's supposed to have a slightly bitter taste and maintain a slight crunch even after being cooked, but I didn't really notice it in the pupusa at all. I found both pupusas to be too salty, and after having spent a considerable amount of time in Spain I must say that my salt tolerance is very high. Overall I really like the pupusa concept--their warm, soft consistency makes for great comfort food. I think they may be meant for dipping in salsa or topping with curtido, but I'm not sure--they easily stand on their own.


Curtido

Curtido looks like coleslaw, but I greatly prefer it to American slaw due to its lack of mayonnaise. Turns out it's spicy pickled cabbage. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with it, though--was it a condiment? A salad?


You're not here for the decor

A plethora of televisions and a few happy hour specials make Mi Casita Salvadorena a promising place to watch a game. I felt a little out of place as the only white customer, but no one at the restaurant made an issue of it. The restaurant is almost too quiet at times, but those times are a welcome respite from the much-too-loud jukebox (I wasn't even sitting near a speaker).



Finding an undiscovered gem in Los Angeles seems like an impossible mission, and one at which I have failed on several occasions. This time, though, I think I'm on to something. Though the restaurant was nearly empty, the tamales and empanadas were excellent and the prices were low. A slow, but steady stream of customers trickled in and out while we ate. They even have a parking lot. I would definitely go here again, though I'd prefer to take my food with me and eat it in my non-brown living room.


Mi Casita Salvadorena
14860 Vanowen Street
Van Nuys, CA 91405
818.988.6171
Map

Restaurant Review #153: Donuts and Delites, Van Nuys

Donuts and Delites sells the best donuts I have ever eaten. While their ordinary donuts are nothing to get excited about, the ridged donuts you see here taste like they're made from a completely different batter. Either the batter or the shape of this donut is responsible for a treat that is more moist, more gooey, and somehow simultaneously both denser and lighter than an ordinary donut. Take your pick of chocolate, strawberry, maple, or white icing. I like the white icing best because it's not as sickeningly sweet as strawberry and because, well, chocolate and maple aren't my thing. Cost for a dozen donuts and two 16 ounce bottles of milk? A reasonable $8.

Maybe I just haven't been paying attention all these years, but I've never seen a donut like this before. I'm in love.



Donuts and Delites
14350 Victory Blvd. #1
Van Nuys, CA 91401
818.782.4449

Restaurant Review #150: El Taco Llama, Van Nuys

Al pastor (foreground) and asada (background)

I haven't eaten a taco in eight years. I'm not kidding. On the plus side, the last taco I ate was actually in Mexico. I was skeptical of that taco--I didn't eat much meat back then, so the idea of eating meat that was roasting out in the open didn't seem very appetizing or very sanitary. And the taco was so covered in onions and cilantro that I don't even remember the meat--I just remember the lingering tang of raw onions on my breath.

Real Mexican tacos are not what I grew up eating--I grew up eating the Old El Paso crunchy shells filled with fried ground meat mixed with so-called taco seasoning and topped with some shredded Kraft cheese and Old El Paso salsa. Every non-Mexican kid in America thinks this is what a taco is, but it just isn't so.


Carnitas and pollo

I keep The Great Taco Hunt's list of taco joints in my glove box. Based on his 4-taco rating (out of 5), I picked El Taco Llama when I was in the Valley one afternoon. By the way, "llama" means "flame," for those of you who aren't Spanish speakers.

Since I had no idea what I would like, I ordered four different kinds of meat--beef (carne asada), pulled pork (carnitas), barbecued pork (al pastor) and chicken (pollo). The staff doesn't really speak English, but you'll get by. They seemed really confused when I was ordering, like no white girl had ever set foot in their restaurant before. Hey, maybe it's true.

All of the tacos were good, but the carnitas was my favorite. I generally don't like pork, but this pork was moist and a pleasure to eat. El Taco Llama's tacos are $1.25 each and only come with onions and cilantro--if you want tomatoes, lettuce, or anything else, you'll have to pay 50 cents per topping. Spicy, deep red salsa is self-serve. The chicken meat was also pleasantly moist and mixed with cooked green peppers. They don't have a huge selection of drinks, but you can get a decent horchata or tamarindo. $2 will get you a huge drink, and refills are only $1.

There are a few tables inside. It's really a hole in the wall and not the kind of place you'll want to linger, but it's great for a quick bite.

I have no basis of comparison for these tacos (yet), so I can't tell you how they stack up against other places. I can tell you that I enjoyed them, but there was nothing so special about them that I'd have to go back.

When you're driving down Van Nuys looking for the restaurant, keep in mind that its sign is a little hard to spot: it's red and yellow, and so is seemingly every other sign on the block. There's free but scarce parking in the cramped parking lot.

El Taco Llama

7344 Van Nuys Blvd
Van Nuys, CA

818.901.1898

Map

Restaurant Review #35: Zankou Chicken, West LA and Van Nuys

Chicken Tarna Wrap

After a girl in my public speaking group gave a mini-speech on Zankou chicken--well, I was skeptical. Roasted chicken? Ehh. Not my thing. Roasted chicken has an odd texture, kind of like someone already chewed the chicken and then put it back together for me to eat. But somehow I convinced myself that I needed to taste what she'd spent several uninterrupted minutes raving about.

I went to the Van Nuys location last Saturday night. Wow, a parking lot! Just one of many reasons why I love the Valley. I was glad I hadn't taken my visiting family there as soon as I walked in--I was expecting casual, but didn't realize that it was absolutely a fast food restaurant. No decor, ugly tables, big backlit menu photos behind the cash registers. Fortunately, I was getting my food to go.

I ordered the chicken tarna wrap, and then tried to order a container of garlic sauce and a container of pickles (I could eat pickled turnips all day long until my tongue started bleeding from the acidity). Fortuantely, the cashier told me that both came with my sandwich. Sweet!


Pickles

I can't say much about the presentation--this is fast food, after all. Fortunately, that also means it's cheap. My sandwich was $3. Don't let the price, decor, or presentation fool you though--this food is very tasty! The pickles were more pickly than any I had ever munched before. I wonder what gives them that hot pink glow? The chicken was moist and tasty, and didn't have that pre-chewed texture I'd been dreading. There also weren't any stray fat globs that you sometimes find in fast-food meat (and, well, all meat--that's a large part of why I first stopped eating it). When I was finished, I really wanted another sandwich. I also wished I'd ordered some falafel. Next time, baby, next time. Like dinner tonight, perhaps?

Zankou Chicken
5658 Sepulveda Blvd., #103
Van Nuys, CA 91411
(818) 781.0615
(Corner of Sepulveda and Burbank)
http://www.zankouchicken.com


Zankou's shiny new West LA location, also on Sepulveda just south of Santa Monica Blvd.