Restaurant Review #221: Greek House Cafe, Simi Valley

Chicken kebab plate

Simi Valley's Greek House Cafe, located in a small strip mall on the busy corner of Sycamore and Cochran, has a nice sign out front, but that's pretty much the restaurant's only decor. This little hole in the wall is kind of dingy--not the kind of place where you want to linger and eat your food--but you shouldn't pass it up. It's affordable, many dishes will tickle your tastebuds, and you can avoid the dreary atmosphere by ordering takeout.


Greek salad

The Greek salad is one of the menu's few disappointments. The iceberg lettuce and flavorless tomatoes kill it, and the dressing is unnoticeable. Sadly, it seems like the only restaurants where you can get good lettuce and tomatoes are those that make it a point to get their produce from farmers markets (and those restaurants are in the minority, even here in SoCal where there's no excuse for subpar produce).


Avgolemono

Skip the salad and order the avgolemono ($1.75 cup, $3.25 bowl) instead. This traditional Greek chicken soup with orzo, egg, and lemon may sound unusual and even off-putting, but it's even easier to eat and even more comforting than what most Americans think of as traditional chicken noodle soup. It's thick, creamy, and the "noodles" are like plump grains of rice, so there's no slurping and no mess. I guess the egg is just used as a thickener, because there is no flavor or consistency of egg in the soup. The lemon isn't overwhelming, but adds an interesting and surprisingly addictive tang to every bite.


Moussaka plate

Moussaka, a uniquely spiced eggplant/ground beef/bechamel casserole, is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods when it's done right. I think the moussaka at the Great Greek in Studio City is more moist and flavorful. Greek House Cafe's version is perhaps not as creamy or as luxuriously spiced, and I don't think I'd order it again. (Moussaka plate: $10.50 lunch, $11.50 dinner)


The pita bread, however, is perfectly soft and fresh. It's imported, and has a consistency unlike that dried-out "pita" they sell at the grocery store. For extra flavor and texture, it's brushed with either olive oil or butter (I can't tell) then grilled. I dare say it's not very good for you, but it's so delicious you won't care.

I haven't tried everything on the menu (yet), but I think the best dishes at Greek House Cafe are the appetizers--hummus, tzatziki, melitzanosalata, tabouli, feta, and kalamata olives. The feta and hummus are some of the most flavorful I've ever had. You can try all six of these appetizers at once by ordering the cold appetizer plate for 2 ($11.95). The gyros ($7.95 lunch, $8.95 dinner) are also outstanding, if impossible to actually pick up and eat as a sandwich because they are so huge.


Baklava

The only dessert at Greek House Cafe is homemade baklava ($2.25). The portion size is enormous--a single serving is enough for two to four people. This is not my favorite baklava--it could be crispier and have more depth of flavor--but it will do.

The prices are very reasonable--two people could have a feast for $30--but be warned that it's cash-only establishment. If you show up with only plastic in your wallet, though, there is an ATM in the convenience store next door.

Greek House Cafe would be good anywhere, but it's especially welcome out in the suburbs, where there are more chains and fewer independent and/or ethnic eateries.

Greek House Cafe
2375 Sycamore Dr Ste 5
Simi Valley, CA 93065
(805) 955-9899
http://www.greekhousecafe.com/

Restaurant Review #155: Champagne French Bakery Cafe, West LA

Chicken pesto sandwich

I've never had much interest in trying Champagne--I've always had an attachment to Panera, so on the rare occasion that I'm in the mood for a sandwich, that's where I go. But when you're in a hurry and Champagne is the best and fastest option available, that's where you end up. It had to be better than Baja Fresh or airport food, I figured.

I tried the garlic chicken panini and the hot chicken pesto sandwich. I really enjoyed the panini--it was served very hot, it was the right size for my mouth, and it wasn't too messy. All of the ingredients made sense together, the bread-to-filling ratio was perfect, and there was nothing sketchy about the chicken.

The chicken pesto sandwich was dry though. Our fries were cold, and they didn't get my order right (I asked for salad on the side, not fries). Since I was the last customer of the night, arriving just 10 minutes before closing, I wasn't surprised--the place was completely empty, and they'd probably already cleaned up the salad prep station and cooked the last of the fries.


Garlic chicken panini and fries

Champagne is, in many ways, a direct competitor with Panera--both are chains that share the fast-casual concept and have similar menu items. One area in which Champagne may have an advantage over Panera is that they serve hot breakfast plates like crepes and French toast, while Panera's breakfast choices consist almost entirely of bagels. At lunchtime, you can get French fries--another food Panera does not offer. However, Champagne does not offer an equivalent of Panera's popular "You Pick Two" combo. While they do offer several combos that are a good deal, they don't offer as much flexibility--you can only get a cold sandwich with their deal, while at Panera, any sandwich, any soup, and any salad are up for grabs. On the other hand, Champagne also offers the option of getting all three-soup, salad, and half sandwich--which you can't do at Panera. So rather than trying to pit the two against each other, I think it's best to say that while Panera and Champagne are similar in their fast-casual sandwich concept, the two have enough differences to keep things interesting.


Champagne French Bakery Cafe
2202 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
310.268.9444
Champagne Website
Champagne Menu
Map

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 #146: Swan Thai, North Hollywood

Larb-ground meat tossed in lime vinaigrette mixed with ground toasted rice


Driving down Sherman Way, you're unlikely to be enticed to stop at Swan Thai, located across the street from the 99 cent store in a creamy orange strip mall where the mostly empty parking lot is strewn with trash. Swan Thai may do most of its business through delivery and takeout, because the food is very good, but at prime lunch time on a weekend only two tables were occupied.

The atmosphere feels a little grungy--it's partly that the parking lot gives off an icky vibe before you've even entered the restaurant. If you're feeling skeptical, check out the menu taped to the window--the huge variety of dishes and the great prices will convince you. Inside, you'll find red vinyl booths, embroidered gauzy cream curtains, and dark green tablecloths topped with plexiglass. Fake wooden window panes with mirrors instead of glass decorate one wall. A strong but not particularly cold air conditioner rustles the curtains and the leaves on a small tree near the door as well as providing the only sound in the restaurant besides the clanking of dishes in the kitchen and the chatter of other diners. Replacing the stained ceiling tiles and flourescent lighting would do a lot for the atmosphere, but this is a low-budget place that's strictly about food.

It's been ages since I've had larb, a salad made of ground meat and a spicy lime juice dressing. Swan Thai has quite a few larb options: fish, duck, beef, pork, or chicken (duck and fish are more expensive). Even though I don't like pork, I like pork larb. If you don't like to eat raw onions, you'll have to do a bit of picking to get through this dish. I suspect that the unappetizing name (larb sounds a lot like lard) may be a turnoff for some, but if you can get past it, you're in for a treat.


Traditional fish cakes blended with red Thai curry paste and green beans

Most fish cakes taste about the same to me (with the exception of Krua Thai's, which are loaded with green chiles). These were predictably good. The only thing that was notable about them was that they were cut into smaller pieces than usual.


Pad kee mao - stir fried noodles with onions, bell pepper and mint leaves in spicy sauce

Swan Thai's rendition of pad kee mao has plenty of thick, chewy noodles and flavorful beef. A few more peppers and mint leaves might be good, but for those who don't like their noodles contaminated with veggies, this dish is a great bet. I asked for medium spiciness, but what I got wasn't spicy at all (they did put some chiles and Sriracha on the side that I could mix in). I liked that it wasn't too greasy, unlike Krua Thai's version, but I liked the spiciness and the texture of the beef at Krua better.

Almost everything on the menu is either $6 or $7, with the most expensive item coming in at a mere $12. Everything you see here cost me just $21, and I have several days' worth of leftovers. To save even more money, take this tip from a fellow foodie on Chowhound: ask for the $2 menu.

The service was friendly, the food was fast, and even though I got my food to go, it was still presented nicely when I opened the takeout containers. Wow!

I suspect that there may be a link between Swan Thai and Sri Siam because their food seems quite similar and they have both modified their business cards to cover up the "closed Wednesdays." Does anyone know?

What are your favorite dishes at Swan Thai? Leave a comment! I'll definitely be back and I'd love recommendations.




Swan Thai Restaurant
12728 Sherman Way (just east of Coldwater Canyon)
North Hollywood, CA 91605
818.764.1892
Swan Thai Hours 10:30am-10pm daily
Free delivery within 4 miles, $10 minimum

Restaurant Review #262: Headlines Diner, Westwood

Headlines has that true diner feel—the décor looks like it’s genuinely from the ‘50s, the place is noisy, bustling, and not sparkling clean, and the food is tastier than a fast-food joint. In fact, all that’s missing is a sassy, past-her-prime waitress named Flo to take your order. The food isn’t amazing, but it’s definitely good, and you’ll have a lot of options—Headlines has a rather extensive menu for a diner, so you don’t just have to settle for a hamburger. They also have breakfast options that they serve all day. The price is pretty reasonable, and you’ll get your food rather quickly. If there’s a big drawback, it’s that Headlines doesn’t make milkshakes, and it looks and feels like the kind of place that should. The burgers would go down much better with a chocolate shake than they do with a kiwi strawberry Snapple.

Headlines Diner
10922 Kinross
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310.208.2424

Restaurant Review #259: Sandbag's Gourmet Sandwiches, Westwood

Sandbag's is a little nook of a restaurant with few tables and a television in the corner. The overhead menu has a list of “gourmet” sandwiches, as well as an option to create your own sandwich. Unfortunately, what you wind up with is something you could make yourself from the grocery store. The sliced bread, the processed meat, the cheese—it all seems like a homemade sandwich, rather basic and uninteresting. Some people might prefer this type of sandwich, with its homemade quality. However, nobody’s going to prefer the price, which seems outrageous when you see what you actually get for your money. At least they throw in a cookie with your sandwich. If you want more bang for your buck, not to mention a far superior sandwich, try Elysee a couple of blocks over.

Sandbag's Gourmet Sandwiches
1134 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310.208.1133

Restaurant Review #258: First Szechuan Wok, Westwood

This Chinese restaurant is smaller than it looks from the outside, which only adds to the near-unbearable din inside. Most Westwood locations are too loud, but this place is particularly noisy. There’s nothing special about the atmosphere—cheesy décor, close tables, and poor lighting—and the service, while quick, isn’t particularly friendly. The food is passable Chinese; by no means is it fantastic, but if you’ve got a lunch hankering for orange chicken, it will satisfy your craving. Also, for the price, the portions are rather generous and you’re given free tea when you’re seated. The deal’s not bad, but the restaurant itself leaves a lot to be desired. You may be better off getting takeout.

First Szechuan Wok
10855 Lindbrook Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310.208.7785

Restaurant Review #257: California Chicken Cafe, Westwood

There are a number of reasons why you might want to avoid California Chicken Café: It’s difficult to find parking. It’s quite crowded, even at off-peak hours. The tables are ridiculously close together. It’s not much of a value for what you’re getting—the portions are fairly generous, but the food is just average. Still, it must be crowded for a reason and I can’t imagine that it’s due to the location. Near as I can tell, the best selling point of California Chicken Café is that, unless you’re quite hungry, there’s a chance that you can make two meals out of your lunch—a great bonus for the area’s many college students. The service is rather quick considering how busy the restaurant is. Still, that busy atmosphere makes for a rather hectic, unsettling, uncomfortable meal. It’s not an ideal place to go have an intimate conversation with a friend. You might be better off getting your food to-go—especially if you’re illegally parked.

California Chicken Cafe
2005 Westwood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Telephone: (310) 446-1933
Hours:
Monday - Friday: 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Saturday: Noon to 10:00 p.m.
Sunday: Closed

Restaurant Review #260: Napa Valley Grille, Westwood

Napa Valley Grille is a wonderful dining experience—probably too extravagant for your average lunch but ideal for a business lunch or a special occasion luncheon. The wait staff is courteous and professional, and the restaurant is large and spacious, allowing for plenty of comfort and privacy. This makes for a relaxing and enjoyable lunch, and that’s before even getting to the food. The menu isn’t huge, but it is varied and the quality of the food is exceptional. Especially noteworthy is the dessert menu—if you have the ability, order multiple items and share with your dining companions. Although the restaurant seemed to have plenty of open tables, you’ll want to make reservations just to be sure. You can even request the enclosed patio if you prefer outside dining. Valet service is pretty much essential if you plan to drive there, although you could get lucky and find street parking.

Napa Valley Grille
1100 Glendon, Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310.824.3322
Napa Valley Grille Website

Restaurant Review #128: Hide Sushi, Sawtelle, West LA

Halibut and albacore

Hide Sushi (pronounced hee-DAY, or something like that) has built a reputation on being remarkably inexpensive given the high quality of its fish. But just how cheap, and how good, could it really be? In my experience, cheap sushi is almost always chewy sushi. Yuck.

In spite of the reputation, I wasn’t expecting much. I’d poked my head in on several other occasions--just long enough to see that the wait for a table was too long and that the interior didn’t look particularly nice. I knew the fish was supposed to be good, but I like to eat at places that have at least some semblance of atmosphere, and I know plenty of places where I can have both. Also, they close at 9:00 and won't seat you after 8:00, and they only accept cash, so it's not always the easiest place to eat.


Cherry blossom photos cover up overhead lights

On a weekday at 1:45, the wait was finally manageable--just one other group in front of us. When I finally got all the way inside, I found that the restaurant is actually quite nice looking. It's not dateworthy, but nor is it the junky hole-in-the-wall I had anticipated. Even the ceiling is decorated! The nondescript, somewhat scuffed, off-white tile floor must have been what gave me the initial bad impression. Indeed, the floor probably is the least nice aspect of the interior, but the tables are a solid, shiny golden brown, and, well, I'll let my photos tell the rest of the story.



The walls are actually covered in inexpensive cream-colored carpet. It seems strange, but it looks nice, and may be part of the reason that the restaurant isn't too noisy. Since it's busy, it's still noisy, but you'll have no problem carrying on a conversation. Some of the tables are uncomfortably close together, though--if there are only two of you, you might find yourself so close to your neighbors that you are practically sharing a table.

The restaurant felt a bit chaotic and hostile when I first walked in--there is no apparent hostess, waitresses are darting to and fro, and space is limited. There's always a line, so how do you get on the wait list?

When you walk in, walk past the chairs on the wall to your right (which will probably be full of people) and write your name on the dry erase board, as well as how many people are in your party and whether you want a seat at the bar (s), table (t), or first available (s/t). A handwritten poster next to the dry erase board explains all this, as well as the restaurant's cash only policy (they have their own ATM just inside the door in case you're short). The system is efficient, but it can seem cold to a newcomer. I was kind of nervous about what kind of dining experience I was in for. Was this the kind of place that scolds you if you don't eat your food properly? Because I don't eat my nigiri in one bite like I should (if they want me to do that, they should make it the right size for my mouth!).

I didn't need to worry, though. Hide Sushi is an extremely well-run restaurant, and any place that serves spicy scallop rolls has no license for scolding. As soon as we were seated, our waitress took our drink order. Our food came quickly, and our check came quickly. The restaurant has plenty of staff, and they really stay busy. When we first walked in, we could barely get through the door because of the hustle and bustle of waitresses running plates to and from tables, but that paid off later when our waitress came by to check on us more than once and our water was refilled quickly.

So, how's the food? Hide Sushi does, in fact, serve top-notch California sushi at midwestern prices. I ordered only a few pieces, both because I wasn’t that hungry and because when trying a new sushi restaurant, I've found that it’s always a good idea to test the waters before ordering $50 worth of sushi. The menu is pretty short and pretty basic, but that was fine with me since I usually don't stray far from my short list of favorites: yellowtail, albacore, red snapper, and scallop.


Yellowtail scallion roll and yellowtail sushi

Our food came quickly, but I was a little skeptical of my less-than-clean looking plate. I'm well aware that the two minute cycle in the industrial dishwasher doesn't always make plates look clean, even though they've been safely sterilized by burning hot water, but I still want to eat off of a clean plate. Also, Hide Sushi's picked ginger is hot pink, which grosses me out since ginger is supposed to be pale yellow (except for young ginger, but that isn't what they were serving).

These minor shortcomings aside, the fish was excellent. The yellowtail was perfectly smooth, soft, and fresh. I wasn't as big a fan of the roll, but I think that had more to do with my changing tastes than with its preparation. Some of the rolls come with only four pieces, so the lower prices can be somewhat deceptive. I'm okay with this though--if I want to eat a variety of things, I don't really need six bites of the same roll. I actually wish more restaurants followed this practice (while adjusting their prices accordingly, of course).

The halibut was unexciting--it truly tasted like nothing, and brought to mind something I heard on KCRW's Good Food about fish being like condiments for the rice. I'm not a fan of that view, but with such a mild fish, I could suspend my disbelief for a moment. The albacore was another piece of excellent quality fish, and came with a bottle of ponzu. Dipping the fish in ponzu didn't work very well--I couldn't get enough sauce on my fish. Next time I'll dribble it over the top. It is nice that Hide Sushi lets you decide for yourself whether you want ponzu on your albacore, unlike most other restaurants. They also list any toppings and extra roll ingredients on the menu, so there are no surprises whatsoever.

Surprisingly, I was full in spite of sharing my small meal with my friend. You might want to try the teriyaki and tempura lunch special though, which is $10 for plenty of tempura and a small piece of meat. There are also several salads, with and without fish.

If you've been to Hide Sushi, how was your experience? Leave a comment!




Hide Sushi
2040 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-477-7242

Restaurant Review #126: Ketchy's II, Sawtelle, West LA

Cheeseburger with all the trimmings

Ketchy'’s II is part of the Sawtelle strip, but have you ever seen it? Did you even know that there is another restaurant behind Mizu 212?

I didn'’t, until I went exploring on foot one day. But every time I walked by Ketchy'’s II, it was closed. I was starting to wonder if it was actually in business. As far as I can tell, the hours aren't posted in the window anywhere.

I was in the right place, but at the wrong time. Ketchy's II has been open for five months, but it's only open until 6:00 pm, which explains my confusion. The owner mentioned the possibility of keeping it open longer in the summer, which would be nice. A big red sign on the sidewalk informs pedestrians of the restaurant'’s existence, and the accompanying phone number points out the restaurant'’s aspirations to do a steady takeout business.

Though it is relatively new, Ketchy's II has quite a history. It replaces a beloved neighborhood hamburger and taco stand named Ketchy'’s that operated for 40 years but was completely destroyed when a pickup truck drove through it over 20 years ago, according to the newspaper article taped to the wall. The owner informed me that the original stand had actually been hit by a vehicle not once, but twice!

A true hole-in-the-wall, Ketchy'’s II has no indoor dining--there simply isn'’t space. There'’s barely space for two people to come in at the same time to order. What'’s interesting about this lack of space is that it nearly forces you to interact with the owner and the cook, both of whom were very friendly. There are a few metal tables where you can eat outside, if you don'’t want your food to go.

Ketchy's II serves hamburgers, hotdogs, chili burgers, chili dogs, tamales, fries, onion rings, and a few other things. Multiple flavors of soda in cans are easily grabbable if you'’re thirsty.

My quarter pound cheeseburger was made-to-order in plain view and came with plenty of toppings--lettuce, pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. If you'’re looking for a less messy burger, I'’d skip the lettuce--it's cut into square inch-sized pieces, a small detail which most people won'’t realize makes the burger easier to eat and prevents you from eating chunks of lettuce vein (yuck). The pieces get condiment-covered and are prone to falling out, but a paper wrapper inside the burger'’s foil wrapper will help you eat more neatly. The meat was cooked thoroughly (okay with me, but you may want to specify if you like your burger pink) and wasn't greasy at all. A quarter pound isn'’t much bigger than an In-n-Out patty, and there was only about half as much cheese as I would have liked, but with all the condiments and the bun, the burger had plenty of flavor and filled me up. A cheeseburger is $3.70, and a tip jar awaits your change. I don't think anything on the menu is over $5.00.

Ketchy's II may not have the excitement factor of some of the other restaurants on Sawtelle, but it is a most welcome addition to the neighborhood. Where else in the area would I go to get a hamburger or a quick lunch for so little?

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

Ketchy's II
La Grange (at Sawtelle, behind Mizu 212)
Los Angeles, CA 90025

Restaurant Review #125: India's Sweets and Spices, Culver City

India's Sweets and Spices doesn't look like much--in fact, it looks like a place you'd want to avoid. If you just get out of your car and step inside though, the lines, the clientele, and the pungent, savory aroma of Indian curries will convince you that you're in exactly the right place.

Though there is a large menu on the wall behind the counter, it seems to make more sense to order what's visible in the steam trays. At lunchtime, order the lunch special and you can choose three curries from about six options, and for the ridiculously low price of $5.50, rice, naan, raita, and gulab jamun are included. One caveat: while I was more than full after eating all of this, if you have a rather large appetite, you may find yourself wishing you were at a $6.95 all-you-can-eat buffet (on weekends though, some restaurants that charge $6.95 or $7.95 for their buffets during the week increase the price to $9.95). On the other hand, if you have trouble controlling yourself at a buffet, here's your chance to have the variety of a buffet without overdoing it.



India's Sweets and Spices is not just a restaurant--it's also a small grocery store and sweet shop--one where the owners have crammed as much stuff into as little space as possible. As such, the experience of eating your food on-site is about as minimalist as it gets. The entrees come on a styrofoam tray that struggles to support the food. You serve yourself free water in tiny styrofoam cups. The silverware, of course, is plastic, and you bus your own brightly colored Formica-on-particle-board table booth (think Subway). Choose between not quite indoor dining under the plastic tent, or tables on the sidewalk. Either way, parking meters and the hectic whooshing and honking sounds of six lanes of Venice Boulevard traffic don't do much to create ambiance.



The food makes up for it, though. I am constantly let down by Indian food that isn't spicy enough, is served at room temperature, or has some other fatal flaw. The yogurt curry, aloo gobi, and mattar paneer I scarfed at India's Sweets and Spices fulfilled a major craving for deliciously real Indian food. I'd never had yogurt curry before, and I have decided that I much prefer its tang over the sometimes sickening sweetness of coconut milk curries. I didn't like the paneer in my mattar paneer, but that's always true for me. I like cheese and I like tofu, but a cheese that combines texture and flavor elements of each does not please me. (I should point out, for those who don't know, that there is no bean curd in paneer, and that it isn't meant to be reminiscent of cheese+tofu, that's just what it reminds me of.)

The aloo gobi really made me happy because both the potatoes and the cauliflower had been cooked until they were tender and had fallen apart into small, easy to eat pieces. So many restaurants serve up impossibly huge chunks of undercooked chunks of vegetables, which are not only unappetizing and difficult to eat, but also prevent the dish from reaching its potential. As I learned in 10th grade biology, when you break something down into smaller parts, you increase its surface area. More surface area=more places for spices to go, and that means tastier food.

I love Indian sweets. I don't know much about them, except that many of them involve sweetened condensed milk, and I've never seen a place label them, so I just asked the man behind the counter to give me a pound's worth. Both here and at Shan Halal in Artesia, someone has been more than happy to help me out. There were many more things that I could try in one visit--it would probably take about 3 pounds to try one of each thing. Many Indian sweets are very dense and weigh a lot, and a pound will run you $9 here, but I think it's worth it.

The squiggly orange thing tasted like cotton candy tastes if you mush it all up into a compact ball, but seemed to be something deep fried filled with a sugary liquid (though I don't think that's scientifically possible). My favorite, which you can't see in the photo, is a simple, soft white rectangle about three quarters of an inch thick sprinkled lightly with pistachios. Just point to whatever looks good to you, and try a little of everything. You can't try these sweets at most Indian restaurants--dessert menus usually consist of kheer, gulab jamun, maybe some carrot halwa (which you might find in a sweet shop), and maybe some kulfi. So take advantage and order a bunch of sweets here.

I didn't peruse the grocery selection at all because if I'm being honest with myself, I will never actually cook anything that I might buy. I like the idea of cooking, the idea of owning every spice known to woman, but after 10 hours away from home and at work, dumping a bag of something from Trader Joe's into a skillet is about all the cooking I feel like doing.

India's Sweets and Spices is a small chain with locations throughout the state. I haven't been to the other locations, but even if you don't live near Culver City, you might still have access to their great, cheap Indian food. Check out their website (link below) for details.

India's Sweets and Spices
9409 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles (Culver City), CA 90034
(310) 837-5286
Website

Restaurant Review #123: Famima!!, Santa Monica

According to Famima's napkins and bags, "Easy is good. Easy with all the amenities is rare. At Famima, every day becomes a better, richer experience. Simplicity in design, superior products and personalized customer care is what life should be all about."

Should I get into all of the things I take issue with in their mission statement? Why not?

Simplicity in design: First of all, while the store looks lovely, simplicity should include functionality. The store's design is inefficient when it comes to moving about the store and paying for your food.

Superior products: I liked my curry chicken bun quite a bit (more on the food to follow), but the chicken in the steamed chicken and mushroom bun bordered on gross. I also considered getting the sushi, but declined for three reasons: rolls with lettuce in them, carrots cut into unnatural round matchsticks, and an unidentifiable brown ingredient in one of the veggie rolls (some kind of pickle, perhaps?).

Personalized customer care: What? Where? Do I need personalized care for grab-and-go food? And while there was nothing wrong with my cashier, there was nothing special about him, either.

Finally, I hope my life is about more than superior products and simplicity in design. But hey, this is America.

Okay. So here's the deal. Walk into Famima. Be confused because you thought it was a lunch to-go restaurant of some sort, but all you see are school supplies, gum, and refrigerated stuff. Walk by the counter. Ponder the absence of menus behind the counter. Wonder if they have any real food to order. Note the plethora of cigarette boxes. Are they advocating the consumption of nicotine sticks in lieu of lunch?

There are actually just a couple of hot food items, and they come from display cases by the registers. The chicken curry buns are only $1.75 and they are yummy. Where else can I get hot food so cheaply on the Promenade? (Wetzel's, okay, maybe, but that's just bread.) Since the buns are small (about the size of your hand, fingers and all), you can either eat one as a somewhat nutritious snack, or eat 3-5 for a meal. I guess at the 3-5 mark you aren't really saving money anymore, but it's a nice break from the corporate coffee shop's refrigerated sandwiches. The buns have flaky breadcrumbs on the outside, like curry chicken.

Other hot selections include soup (one soup each day, depending on the day of the week, listed on a chart behind the registers), more breadcrumb-coated things, and assorted steamed buns ($1.50), including char-shu (barbecued pork) and the chicken and mushroom bun that I ordered. I wasn't very happy with it, since the filling kind of like school cafeteria food and the chicken was watery and fatty (the curry bun didn't suffer from the same problem). For those of you not familiar with steamed buns, they are completely white since they haven't been baked, making them look raw, especially when they're still in the display case. Rest assured that they are cooked, and the bun part has a consistency similar to Wonder Bread (or pan Bimbo), except that it sticks to your teeth more.

Famima also sells a variety of sushi rolls and their kin, an assortment of French-influenced Japanese desserts, and treats like Pocky and bottled drinks usually only seen at Japanese grocery stores or 99 Ranch. For bringing all of these items closer to the mainstream, I'll allow Famima!! to keep their exclamation points.

And they're right about the easy part--I picked out my food and paid in 5-10 minutes. I went on a rainy day, so it's hard to tell what real lunchtime traffic will look like, but there was barely any line, though the place seemed popular.

Since I was in a hurry, I wasn't able to really examine or absorb everything that the store sells. After visiting the website, I discovered that my idea of what Famima!! was supposed to be was off. Rather than a lunch-to-go spot, it's really more of an upscale convenience store. Though not necessarily all it hypes itself up to be, Famima is not a bad stop for a cheap to-go lunch.

Famima!!
1348 3rd Street Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-393-2486
Open daily 6am-2am
Website

Restaurant Review #121: Sanamluang Cafe, North Hollywood

Indian curry noodles with beef

If you're never been to Sanamluang Cafe before, you may be thoroughly confused when you walk in. Do I seat myself? Do I order at the counter? Is there a real menu with words, or do I have to pick one of those numbered photos and hope for the best?

I read good things about Sanamluang Cafe on Chowhound. Anyone who maligns the Valley for not having good food has clearly never been to North Hollywood, the third mecca of Thai food (after Thailand and Thai Town, of course).

I was really confused when I first walked into this restaurant. There was no sign of a hostess, and behind the counter, instead of a regular menu, there were rows and rows of backlit (lightbox-style) photos of food. My plan was to just order vegetarian pad Thai and fish cakes like I always do, especially because with a purely pictorial menu there was no way I'd be able to safely pick something new. Fortunately, they do have real menus. Just walk up to the counter and get a menu, and if you're staying, someone will point you to a table. The photos aren't the best, but they are a nice complement to the menu descriptions and a good way to avoid stupid patron questions about what a dish is like.

It was a cold, rainy day, and the metallic tables and chairs were freezing. In spite of that, my friend couldn't resist ordering a cold drink. Neither of us understood the waiter's heavily accented description of the pink drink photographed but not named on the menu. He ordered it anyway, which was a very proud moment for me. I love it when my adventurousness rubs off on formerly conservative eaters! Our waiter was friendly and very accomodating of our non-Thainess. The hostess made me mad though when she seated a large party with several children right behind our table, when there were many other empty tables available.



Mystery drink with boba

The drink was pretty sweet, then sort of sour but not puckery while still retaining its sweetness. I understood that it was some sort of fruit drink, though I couldn't identify the flavor (or what fruit was supposed to be represented by the very late 80's pink food coloring).


Pad Thai with tofu

I didn't order fish cakes because they only had shrimp cakes. Did you know that you can often tell how authentic a Thai restaurant is by the prevalence of both fresh and dried shrimp on the menu? If you're allergic, note that there is an extra charge for shrimp in most dishes at Sanamluang Cafe, which means you'll be safe if you order the basic plate. If you're really allergic though, you probably don't belong in a Thai restaurant (and I'm very sorry).

I did get my pad Thai, though. In general, my chief complaint about pad Thai is that the noodles are never chewy enough (except at Krua Thai and Cholada), and this was no exception. The tofu, however, was the real star of the dish. Instead of the usual dense squares, the dish came with big hunks of fantastically spongy bean curd. I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it. Where can I buy this stuff, I wonder? The dish was pretty saucy, but there really isn't a right way to make pad Thai--every cook has his own version, and part of the fun is that it tastes different everywhere. It's also a great comeback when people make fun of you for ordering it--just make up something about how you're on a mission to find the best rendition of pad Thai in Los Angeles, and make sure to cite my previous sentence. There is a reason why pad Thai is so popular--it's good! Maybe I do come across as a stereotypical foreigner every time I order it, but at least I enjoy my meal.


Barbecued pork with rice

I'll admit that I don't like pork to start with, but the main reason I didn't like the barbecued pork dish was because the sickeningly sweet sauce tasted like gingerbread cookies. There were also some pieces of something sort of spongy and salty that I couldn't identify. Could it have been deep fried pork fat?

To try something new, I ordered Indian curry noodles with beef. Once and for all, I was forced to concede that I don't like coconut milk based curries anymore. Panang curries used to be my favorite--I even learned how to make a mean one at home (thanks, Mae Ploy), and now I can't stand them. Sigh. That aside, the dish still wasn't great, since the noodles were clumped together and I kept splashing my clothes with broth each time I tried to pull them out. The flavor of the beef reminded me of beef stroganoff. The dishes here are super-cheap though (about $6-8), so anyone but the poorest college student can afford to take a chance on a second dish.


Dining room

Sanamluang Cafe is located in a strip mall with very tight parking (a parking attendent helps direct traffic, though). It looked like a nightmare when we pulled up, but we somehow got a spot right away. Of all the authentic Thai restaurants I've been to in LA, almost all of them have the same horrendous parking situation. Why is that?

The interior was funky with lots of neon. It reminded me of Toi, or maybe even Krua Thai, but significantly sleeker thanks to the metallic tables. Incidentally, eating off of a metal table gives the impession that things are extra clean. Most restaurants that are this cheap don't pay much attention to decor. I wouldn't take a date here or anything, but it's far from a hole in the wall.

Try to avoid sitting in the far corner by the drink coolers--it's noisy. Make sure to check out the bathrooms though, which are consistent with the restaurant's decor, and quite a trip.

They also have insane hours. They're open until 4:00 AM!

Sanamluang Cafe
12980 Sherman Way
North Hollywood, CA 91605
818-764-1180
10:00 AM-4:00 AM

Restaurant Review #99: Krua Thai, North Hollywood

Pad Thai Krua Thai

I chose Krua Thai because it's one of Jonathan Gold's 99 Essential LA Restaurants, and because I'm trying to expand my foodie universe beyond the Westside orbit.

The restaurant's name means Thai Kitchen, which, though not very inventive, is a fitting name given that the dishes here are more authentic than they are at the plethora of Thai restaurants I am accustomed to eating at on the Westside.

The restaurant is known for its noodles, and in fact the front cover of the menu quotes Jonathan Gold as proclaiming that Krua Thai serves the best pad Thai in Los Angeles.

Finally, an excuse to order my favorite dish without being mocked for being unoriginal.

The menu offers both pad Thai and pad Thai Krua Thai, so I chose the latter, what with it being a signature dish and all. The difference between the two is that the pad Thai Krua Thai is spicy. I always thought pad Thai was supposed to be spicy, though I'm not sure what I based that assumption on, given that I'd never been served spicy pad Thai before.

Much to my relief, the restaurant was happy to accomodate my request to leave out the dried shrimp, and the dish already comes with tofu. You can add chicken, beef, or pork for no extra charge, or regular shrimp for another $1.50. The chicken was ground, so I assume the other meat would be, too. Since it's hard to impart chicken strips with the flavor of pad Thai, I think grinding the meat was a good choice.

Krua Thai's recipe is the (perhaps) more authentic version that uses tamarind paste, not ketchup, as a base for the sauce. Sadly, I've actually gotten really used to the bright reddish orange version of the dish (I like to think that it's not made with ketchup though, especially since I don't even like ketchup) and now I actually prefer this version. As far as authenticity goes, from what I understand, there is no one right way to make pad Thai, and what with globalization, for all I know there are street vendors making pad Thai with kethcup over in Thailand. Also, I think it's better without the heat. Although there's generally nothing wrong with mixing sweet and spicy, something about the sweetness of this sauce doesn't mix with chilies, according to my taste buds. I still prefer the pad Thai at Cholada Beach Thai.

The noodles were indeed nice and chewy, though I don't see how that sets Krua Thai apart from any other place that knows how to cook noodles. Rice noodles are easy to mess up, I can attest to that, but for a restaurant that knows it's stuff, this is a basic, basic thing that no one should get extra credit for.


Dining room

The dining room was decked out with Christmas lights and tinsel, and neon lights and brightly colored walls mean that it must look festive year-round. In spite of the decor, the place doesn't exactly have atmosphere--it isn't a place I wanted to linger after my meal was done, or a place I would take a date. A lot of the tables are very large, which leaves me wondering if, at busier times, you end up sharing these large tables with strangers, a la Palms Restaurant. Fortunately, at lunch time, we secured our own table. It was kind of greasy and didn't look like it had been wiped down very well, but alas, I suppose that is part of the authentic ethnic experience. Actually, no, I don't think "dirty table" is anywhere in the definition of "ethnic."

Our server was friendly and took our order promptly, though she disappeared for a while near the end when we were ready to pay and get our leftovers boxed up. Krua Thai gets points for being environmentally friendly because they use Chinese-style paperboard takeout containers. Why must so many restaurants use styrofoam?





















To drink, we ordered palm juice, which came in a bottle accompanied by a large cup brimming with crushed ice. We also blindly ordered a whole young coconut (pictured above). The palm juice wasn't that exciting, which was disappointing because drinking whatever brand they serve at Palms Restaurant is simply a heavenly experience reminiscent of liquid sugar cookies, if such a thing existed.

The whole young coconut was, in fact, a whole young coconut, with a little door cut into the top so I could poke my straw in and suck out the clear, sweet liquid whose consistency was much like water. It also came with a spoon, which I assumed was for scraping bits of coconut from the insides.

I would recommend getting a sweet drink to go with your meal. As I sit here eating my leftovers accompanied by only a glass of water, I'm finding myself really craving something sweet. Yes, Thai food is sweet, but the flavor it leaves behind in your mouth is salty and spicy.


Pad Kee Mao

The other dish we ordered was also a noodle dish called pad kee mao which I have never tried before. The dish consisted of wide, flat noodles, ground beef, tomatoes, onions, and mint leaves. This dish was just okay. It's main selling point for me was the noodles, but the overall flavor was a bit lackluster, and the noodles were very greasy. Also, I really have no desire to eat entire strips of onion, large chunks of cooked tomato with the skin on, or mint leaves, so I had to pick around those things to get to the noodles and beef. Finally, while this was listed under noodle dishes, the noodle to meat ratio didn't seem right--there was much more meat than there were noodles.


Fish cakes

As usual, I couldn't resist ordering an appetizer of fish cakes. These were chock-full of tiny, fresh, sliced green chilies, but that didn't mean they were too spicy. The real heat was in the dipping sauce, though if you don't eat a bunch of sauce straight out of the spoon like I did, you shouldn't find your throat catching on fire. It isn't really a spicy sauce, more of a sweet sauce, it just happens to have a a few pepper bits in it. It's that red sauce with cucumbers and crushed peanuts that fish cakes always come with.

Here's something useful I figured out when I was getting my leftovers packaged up. You know how they never package the sauce in with your leftovers? Well, if you dump the remaining sauce all over your food while it's still on the plate, they have to package your sauce. This only works with foods that won't become soggy, of course, but I've eaten the leftover fish cakes and the sauce dumping trick worked nicely.

By the way, we had plenty of leftovers even though we came in famished. I'm also starting to think that Jonathan and I don't have similar tastes, and that his reviews really don't tell me everything I need to know about a restaurant.

In addition to noodles, Krua Thai serves 21 appetizers (fried tofu, fried taro, nam-thai sour sausage); 10 soups (wonton soup, tom yum koong, spicy beef tripe soup); 19 salads (papaya salad, larb, salted blue crab salad); 21 rice dishes (roasted duck over rice, catfish with chili sauce over rice, pineapple fried rice); 37 entrees (fried salted turnip with egg, clams with chili paste in oil, tilapia with Thai herbs); and several drinks and desserts. As you can see, there is something for everyone, and enough variety to keep you interested for many, many visits. They also have a special vegetarian menu!

Total cost of this meal for two, including tax and tip: about $30

Krua Thai
13130 Sherman Way
North Hollywood, CA
818-759-7998
Open daily 11:30am-3:30am

Second location (not reviewed):
Hong Kong Market Plaza
935 S. Glendora Ave.
West Covina
626-480-0116

Restaurant Review #91: Fritto Misto, Santa Monica

Sweet potato ravioli with wild mushrooms in a sage cream sauce

Hidden across the street from the Big Blue Bus barn at the busy but unnoticeable corner of 6th and Colorado lies Fritto Misto, a highly rated but somewhat unknown Italian cafe that I discovered by accident one day while looking for a parking space. It looked quiet and peaceful, popular but not overcrowded. Though I rarely go out for Italian food, something told me I should make an exception.

I went with the expectation that I was about to be let in on a hidden secret.

The interior didn't look like I'd anticipated--it's very casual. There is a refrigerated display case to your left when you walk in (yet I had faith that it had no connection with what I was about to eat). The decor is scarce--three walls are taken up by large windows and the kitchen, leaving only one wall to be adorned with large, brightly painted plates. Two fans turn overhead, their rhythm making the track lighting flicker across the glossy wooden table tops. There are about fifteen tables in the main room, and I think there may have been another room in back, though I didn't investigate.


Dining room

Some of the tables are much too close together, but since I arrived for an early dinner on a weekday, I got to take the more secluded table for four in the back corner by the window. Several other tables filled around the time we arrived, and by the time we left an hour later, the restaurant was almost full. Even when it was full, it still wasn't too loud.


Fritto Misto

My friend and I ordered the fritto misto appetizer, jumbo ravioli, pasta puttanesca, and creme brulee. The fritto misto appetizer was described on the menu as "Shrimp, calamari, artichoke hearts and seasonal vegetables in a light spicy batter, quick fried in vegetable oil and served with pineapple cocktail sauce and roasted garlic mayonnaise." I was surprised to get a heaping plate of food that would have been enough for four meals for me (or two or three for someone with a larger appetite). I was also pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of a few whole baby calamari, although they didn't have as much flavor as the calamari rings. The flavor of the calamari took me back to Spain, where the food is fresh and flavorful. According to my friend, the shrimp were his favorite part of the dish, and the broccoli was quite good, considering that he doesn't like broccoli (I still wouldn't touch it).

The artichoke hearts didn't live up to my hopes of what a fried artichoke could taste like--I think they should use bigger chunks to lock in more moisture and artichoke flavor. The other vegetables were broccoli, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, and button mushrooms. The calamari and the eggplant had the best flavor, so next time I'll get the calamari appetizer and maybe ask them to throw in some eggplant. If there was pineapple in the cocktail sauce, I couldn't tell, though it sounds like a good idea. What sounds like a better idea to me though is to forgo the red cocktail sauce altogether in favor of something more pinappley, but still tart. The flavor of the roasted garlic mayonnaise complemented the batter nicely. There are a few cajun items on this otherwise Italian menu: cajun seared chicken and pasta New Orleans. Hmm. Quirky.


Make your own pasta

In addition to its excellent food, large portions, and very reasonable prices, another of Fritto Misto's strengths is the large variety of menu options. Fritto Misto has plenty of ingredients to choose from if you want to make your own pasta, making it a great choice for kids and other picky eaters. You can choose your own pasta, sauce, and toppings in whatever combination you want. Even without this option, the menu has plenty of variety and accomodates vegetarians and others with dietary restrictions.


Jumbo ravioli

The jumbo ravioli was the clear winner of the night. It was my friend's dish, but it smelled so good that I beat him to the first bite (and snagged the leftovers). The jumbo ravioli are "stuffed with prosciutto, mortadella, and chicken, tossed with garlic cream, carmelized onions, pancetta (bacon) and sundried bacon." In case you were wondering what mortadella is, it's a very large smoked sausage--real Italian bologna, which is very different from the rubbery slices you see in the supermarket. Though I don't really care for meat, I didn't mind it in this dish, since it was all either in small bits or well-disguised, and lent the ravioli and cream sauce a very rich, smokey flavor. The dish was also very colorful, though I thought the actual arrangement on the plate was a bit sloppy.


Pasta puttanesca

This was my first experience with pasta puttanesca: "kalamata olives, capers, fresh roma tomatoes, anchovy, red pepper flakes on lemon pepper fettuccini in a cabernet butter sauce (spicy)." I was in the mood for something nice and salty. The dish tasted like Christmas trees, and though that may sound highly unappetizing, what I mean is that the flavors somehow captured the essensce of Christmas for me, maybe because that's usually the only time of year that I eat real Italian food. It paled in comparison to how good the ravioli was, but my addiction to the leftovers confirmed that it is indeed a very flavorful dish. I especially liked the cabernet butter sauce. In case you're scared of anchovies, don't worry--they're cut up into bits so tiny that you barely notice them.


Creme brulee

The creme brulee had a pleasantly thick carmelized crust and a slightly thicker consistency than usual. The dessert had a rich, eggy flavor, and overall I really liked it, though it was served just a tad cold, indicating that it had been stored in the fridge (or perhaps that display case) and not heated well enough before it was served.

Our friendly, unpretentious waitress stopped by frequently to check on us, our food came quickly, and our water glasses never got more than 1/3 empty. There is a small parking lot behind the restaurant which fills up quickly and may have a hard time accomodating large vehicles, but when we went, street parking was plentiful.

I think this is one of my new favorite restaurants..

Fritto Misto Italian Cafe
601 Colorado Ave.
Santa Monica, CA
310-458-2829
Fritto Misto Menu

Second location:
316 Pier Ave.
Hermosa Beach, CA
310-318-6098

Restaurant Review #89: Real Food Daily, Santa Monica

Club sandwich with Asian slaw

Real Food Daily is very popular and almost always full, though I don't think the food itself is exactly the cause for its popularity so much as the concept behind the food. The food can be a bit hit-or-miss, especially if soy milk and tempeh aren't for you, but the stuff that hits is awfully good, and healthy, too.

A lot of people in LA, and especially in the yuppie-friendly north side of Santa Monica where RFD is located, are very health conscious, and RFD really caters to these people with their menu full of fresh, balanced, organic offerings. And I get it, because I really do like seaweed, tofu, and tofu cheesecake. Really. And I definitely like not putting weird chemicals into my body, be they food chemicals or pretty much anything else except wine and the occasional martini. And I used to be plenty concerned about staying thin. If you're trying to eat healthy, RFD isn't a place where you'll have to ask for a million substitutions to keep the tablespoons of butter away.

RFD is also a completely animal-product-free restaurant, which I think is wonderful. At so many restaurants, vegetarians get stuck ordering whatever the one meatless dish is and vegans often have a hard time going out to eat at all. Here, the entire menu is available to these groups.

RFD's food is also grown locally and organically, which I have become a very staunch advocate of after reading a book called Eat Here. Have you ever noticed how many of the avocados in the grocery store come from Chile? Have you ever wondered why, when we produce plenty of avocados right here in southern California? This book will tell you. It reveals about produce what Fast Food Nation reveals about meat.

The atmosphere at RFD in Santa Monica (there is another location in West Hollywood, which I haven't been to) is cozy, particularly upstairs. Some of the tables are a bit close together, but I still feel like I could sit upstairs by a window and write or read for hours. The restaurant's popularity makes it noisy, but it's the kind of din that makes it easy to block everything out and work. The service has always been very friendly and. . . peaceful. How often do you come across a restaurant employee who is neither weary nor unnaturally perky? The management must be doing something right here.

Here's a rundown of the dishes I've tried:

Nori Maki
Sweet brown rice with tempeh, avocado, carrot, collard greens, scallions and umeboshi rolled in nori served w/ ginger tamari dipping sauce, daikon, wasabi & pickled ginger

Disappointingly dry and refrigerator-cold, a dead giveaway that it wasn't made fresh, which seems contrary to the restaurant's philosophy. Also, does anyone else think that calling it nori maki is really odd?

The Club
Lightly breaded seitan served club-style on toasted sourdough bread with tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato and vegenaise $10.25

This sandwich could convince anyone that being vegetarian or vegan doesn't mean you're missing out--it's incredibly flavorful. In fact, I fantasize about this sandwich (now you know).

I'd much rather eat breaded seitan than the usual slimy coldcuts and dry turkey breast. By the way, seitan is a meat substitute made from wheat gluten. It tastes better than it sounds--it has a richer, more complex flavor than than tofu and doesn't have the bitterness of tempeh. I think it's the most accessible and effective meat substitute (did you hear that, Boca?).

Basics
Create your own dish from a selection of vegetables, grains, and proteins. I've ordered the sea vegetable of the day with tofu and house dressing (purée of tahini, tamari, lemon and watercress). The seaweed goes very well with the house dressing, but the tofu is lackluster. I think you'll get a better feel of what the restaurant has to offer if you order a real menu item, though I do like this option because it makes life easy for people with dietary restrictions or very limited budgets.

Asian Pear Ginger Kombucha Wonder Drink $4.00
A slightly tart, slightly sweet effervescent wellness drink.

This is a bottled drink that you used to be able to get at Wild Oats (I guess I didn't buy enough to keep it on the inventory list, sigh. Home Grocer carries it though). It's fizzy, but not explosively fizzy like ordinary soda (soda gives me the hiccups instantly!). I'm predisposed to like this drink because it has ginger, but damn, it's good, though $4.00 is pretty expensive for a small bottled drink (to be fair, it is $2 even at the grocery store).

Teeccino Latte
A caffeine-free coffee-like beverage blended from herbs, grains, fruits and nuts capped with steamed soy milk $3.95

Since caffeine makes me batty, I tried this drink. I really didn't like it, which probably is at least partly, if not completely, because I really don't like soy milk--I think it tastes like glue. By the way, don't ask for sugar with your coffee--RFD only has maple crystals. I would like to give this drink another shot without the soy milk.

Dessert
I've had both the coconut cream pie and the tofu cheesecake. No instant toothache here--I really liked both of these, particularly because RFD only uses natural sweeteners. In fact, if you've never tried an RFD dessert, you might not even realize just how incredibly sweet most desserts are! I love sugar, and have no issues with my waistline, but for some reason I find a little less sugar in my dessert incredibly refreshing. And if you're skeptical of tofu in a dessert, let me just say that you really can't taste the tofu. The best cake I've ever had was actually a homemade tofu chocolate cake--wow, was it moist.

I really respect Real Food Daily's mission and the niche they've both filled and created. As long as you go with an open mind and a recommendation for a good dish, you'll really enjoy your meal, even if you aren't a vegetarian or a health nut.


Wednesday's Soup of the Day: Squash and Apple Bisque

Real Food Daily
514 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 451-7544
Website

Restaurant Review #87: Rosti, Santa Monica

I almost never eat at chain restaurants, so I'm always surprised when I walk by one and see how busy it almost always is. But then when I do eat at a place like P.F. Changs or Buca di Beppo's, I can kind of see why. All snobbery and noise level consideratiosn aside, the food is quite good.

Rosti hypes itself as an authentic Tuscan restaurant. To be fair, I haven't eaten much authentic Italian food, but I'm sure that this isn't what everyone raves about when they talk about real Italian food. The food at Rosti is bland and uninspired, with the possible exception of their signature dishes, the roasted chicken and rosemary potatoes, both of which I have not tried because I hate roasted chicken and roasted potatoes.

To elaborate a bit on why Rosti's food is overhyped--mostly by the restaurant itself--I'll tell you about the dishes I've had there. The tomato, basil, and mozarella salad is the first loser. Smack in the middle of August, the tomatoes weren't the greatest quality. When the Santa Monica Farmer's market teems with delicious heirlooms just blocks away, there is no excuse for any restaurant to serve subpar tomatoes, especially in the middle of tomato season, unless they all decide to make a run on the market one week and exhaust the supply. Also, the mozarella wasn't very flavorful. Sadly, most Americans think of mozarella as a very bland cheese with no other purpose than to adhere toppings to pizza, but true mozarella has a deliciously rich, creamy flavor. A salad that highlights tomatoes and mozarella should use nothing less than the highest quality tomatoes and mozarella.

The other dish I've tried was probably doomed from the moment I ordered it since it came from the healthy section of the menu, but still, it's not hard to make a tasty, healthy piece of fish. All you need is some olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, and an oven--ingredients that any restaurant has on hand. If I, a slightly above average home cook, know this, any restaurant should. Instead, Rosti tries to use butter to flavor the fish, while trying to skimp on the butter in order to be healthy, and serves it up with a side of uninspired vegetables. If this is what's labelled as healthy, it's no wonder so much of our population is overweight.

Rosti gets points for having vegan soups, but I'm going to assume that vegans don't have a terribly difficult time at Italian restaurants anyway. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

In short, if you're on Montana and jonesing for Italian, skip Rosti and go to Spumoni instead.

Rosti
931 Montana Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90403
310.393.3236
Website

Restaurant Review #77: Buon Giorno Caffe, Santa Monica

The first time I went here, I was so hungry I thought I was going to pass out and had to get food from the nearest available place. Fortunately, I stumbled upon a lovely little Italian cafe. The small, rectangular interior had a dark green nicely tiled floor and a just few small tables, maybe about 8, and another 3 tables outside. It was very clean and bright, and somehow has a bit of atmosphere and tranquility in spite of its location on busy Santa Monica Boulevard. It's not enough atmosphere to impress any date, unless you've got a quick breakfast date (but who does that?) who would be impressed by your ability to choose a non-chain, but the atmosphere is definitely better than you-know-where. The back wall has lots of framed artwork. Metered street parking was very easy to find at 8:15 AM.

I did not want to spend my money on a full blown meal, so I got an orange cranberry muffin. The muffin was exceptionally good, and this is coming from a person who does not like muffins. And it wasn't just because I was starving that I thought it was tasty. Though it was because I was starving that I actually ate a muffin. Why don't I like muffins? I don't know. I don't like breakfast food much, except for pancakes and French toast. I can often be found eating pizza for breakfast. However, this muffin was exceptional, and even used real fresh cranberries, not dried ones! The service was friendly and respectful and offered to heat up my muffin for me. Fortunately, they did not ask if I wanted my muffin buttered.

In addition to breakfast pastry type items and coffee, the cafe has panini and a pretty extensive menu of other Italian stuff. They also have various desserts and other breakfast items, like eggs. I'm pretty sure they had some hot pasta dishes. I wouldn't mind eating here for real sometime, but we all know how often I eat Italian when I go out.

This morning, I tried Buon Giorno again, because I wanted coffee but wanted to give my money to someplace more unique than the Coffee Bean. I ordered a blueberry muffin and a medium decaf coffee. The total for these two items was a reasonable $4. My decaf coffee was excellent. It tasted fresh and rich-- not old, watered-down, dull, or burnt. The muffin was good as well, though I liked my previous cranberry muffin better. It seems these muffins don't have preservatives--it took me a couple of hours to eat mine since it was a busy morning at the office, and it started to dry out and get stale quite quickly. As I prefer to not eat preservatives, I consider this a good thing.

If you're looking for a potentially good undiscovered hole in the wall Italian cafe, you may want to check this place out.

Oh, and they actually said "thank you" when I put my change in the tip jar!

Buon Giorno Caffe
1431 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-260-0073

Restaurant Review #76: Lago, Santa Monica Farmer's Market

Parma Panini: Mozarella, tomato, and proscuitto

Lago, an Italian restaurant located on the Promenade, has a panini stand diagonally in front of their restaurant during the Santa Monica Farmer's Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They sell mostly panini, but also lasagne, polenta pancakes, and minestrone soup. All but one of the panini had meat, I believe. One may have been vegan, if the pesto spread did not contain cheese. They also sell $2 Italian bottled soft drinks, and less expensive cans of Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite.

The stand has a short line most of the time, and a short wait for your food, which is all pre-made but needs to be heated and/or boxed. Unfortunately, they use large styrofoam boxes for everything. I wish more places would use Juliano's Raw/Real Food Daily style cardboard boxes. The service was smiley and appeared to speak Italian as a first language, rattling it off between customers and wishing me "buon apetito" when they handed me my food. Panini are $5-6 each for two medium sized triangles--about the perfect lunch portion to be full but not stuffed.

It took me about 15 minutes to get the panini from the stand back to my office where I ate it. By that time, it was only vaguely warm, so I popped it back into the toaster oven. The sandwich as a whole didn't taste like much and was a little too salty, and in my opinion, would have benefitted from some freshly ground black pepper and a basil spread. Cheese is not enough to moisten bread properly for a sandwich. The bread was very crunchy and covered me with crumbs, but this may have been due to its stint in the toaster oven. I prefer chewier, moister bread in general (a la Panera Bread, though I'm not a huge fan of the foccacia they use for their panini) and think that all sandwiches benefit from some sort of spread--just enough to moisten the bread without making it soggy.

I decided to take apart the second half of my sandwich and eat the ingredients individually. The tomatoes had a rich heirloom tomato flavor, but were ruined by a mealy consistency. The proscuitto was very thinly sliced and soft, not tough, and didn't have too strong of a flavor. I'd say the quality of it was pretty high, though I'm no expert, and my inner vegetarian couldn't eat all of it. The proscuitto had the effect of making the tomatoes and mozarella taste extra salty (or maybe they added salt to the sandwich?). The mozzarella was on the more flavorful side--not the best I've had (that was in Italy), but definitely above average. The proportions of ingredients were well-balanced, except that there was a bit too much bread.

The sandwich wasn't good enough to finish, and I doubt I'll return to try any of their other food. In generally, I'm not too quick to forgive a restaurant for a sub-par dish. Instead, I'll try the not-yet-opened Panini Grille on Wilshire at 6th in the old Mon Sushi spot (which, according to Tony Bourdain, means it's already destined to fail).