Los Angeles Food Review

Cafe 140 South

2011-01-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

Located at 140 South Lake Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101, Cafe 140 is the place I have walked past for almost a year on my way to the Facets Jewellery Store and never had a moment to check it out. Not so this week -- I just walked right in and asked for a table. I was seated immediately by a very friendly hostess (is "hostess" what what they call them these days? I've no idea, I'm 40 years old, and no longer care about the "in" phrases.)

Cafe 140 South is located on a hustling and bustling area of Lake Avenue, and if you like people-watching, you can sit outside on the patio -- I opted for inside (it was a very hot day - my apologies to East Coasters reading this who are currently enduring over a foot of snow, but yeah, it was in the 70s here). Cafe 140 South has a nice "upscale" feel about it and has a very well stocked bar. The interior also has a very classy feel about it, including nicely appointed spot lighting for evening dining.

I perused the menu, while sipping on a passion fruit iced tea. The prices seemed a little more than I would normally pay, but the waitress told me about the "specials of the day" and I just went for it.

To start I had an absolutely exquisite roasted tomato soup, with a deep fried mozarella cheese ball plopped merrily into the middle of the bowl, topped with basil. It was, in my own words, a "mouth-gasm".

The soup was accompanied by freshly baked bread with lots of butter. You can't have freshly baked bread without lots of butter, so don't even think about leaving comments to the contrary :-)

Then, the main course. It was HUGE, and of course after soup and bread, it looked overwhelming.

~~I finished the entire plate~~. Perfectly cooked chicken breast, stuffed with Jack cheese and spinach. The chicken breast was accompanied by a wonderful whole grain mustard sauce, the perfect accompaniment for the chicken. The vegetables, zucchini, carrot and broccoli were also perfect cooked, not too soggy, not too under-done. I believe the phrase is al-dente...it was utter bliss. The waitress stopped by my table and I gave my compliments to the chef - she replied "Oh I certainly will, he just made up this recipe this morning".

Okay, so here's the deal. My bill came to $28! Yes, this is WAY more than I would normally pay for a work day lunch (and I didn't even order dessert!!), but to be fair, I wanted to give an overall impression of the restaurant. So, I asked myself the following questions:

1. Would I come here everyday for lunch based on the prices? - NO.
2. Would I come here to impress a potential business client? - YES.
3. Would I be impressed at being taken here on a first date? - YES

So, there you have it. Classy, elegant, excellent food, helpful and friendly staff. I give Cafe 140 South:
a NICEY-BUT-PRICEY TWO THUMBS UP!!!!

Daisy Mint Oriental Cafe

2011-01-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

Daisy Mint is a delightful little place at 1218 Colorado Blvd, in Pasadena.

You can get directions at http://www.daisymint.com/

Walking into Daisy Mint is just beautiful, light, airy and clean, you immediately feel comfortable here, and as for the smells emanating from the kitchen, well, all I can say is if you walk in here and you weren't that hungry, you soon will be.

My colleague Elsbeth suggested this place, and I can see why she likes it. The prices are extremely reasonable, and the food is mouth-wateringly good. (when its served hot that is -- ahem, I'm getting there).

Elsbeth ordered the Green Curry Beef. I had a taster, and it really is delicious: curry beef, with eggplant, green beans, bell pepper and basil. A nice sized portion, and at $6.95 is tremendous value for money.

Colleague Dora ordered the Daisy Noodles. This dish is comprised of rice noodles, red curry, egg, crispy onions, bean sprouts and crushed peanuts. Again, as a lunch special at $6.95, is a great deal, and as you can see from the picture below it was a VERY generous serving. Dora really enjoyed it and pointed out, and I quote "Well its good and peanutty, that's for sure". I had a taste, and its not what you want if you have a peanut allergy!!

Yours truly ordered the Yellow Curry Chicken. The dish arrived, but I couldn't quite smell the wonderful curry aroma I was craving. And then I understood why. When I tasted it, it was luke warm (well, it was almost cold). Ugh. In any event, I told the waitress and she took the bowl of curry, and went back to the kitchen. While I ~~sat and fumed~~ waited, I took this little shot of the interior of Daisy Mint.

Well, despite the little temperature snafu, the dish, when it arrived at a proper temperature, really was delicious, and at $6.95, this simple dish of curry chicken, coconut milk, potatoes and carrot, was a curry-lovers delight. I ordered brown rice and the side salad that came with it was fresh, crisp, and had a light sesame dressing, which was a nice contrast to the medium heat of the curry.

I give Daisy Mint a big thumbs up. Despite my temperature-related gripe, Daisy Mint's staff were helpful, always available and very polite. I will definitely eat here again!! Check out their website: http://www.daisymint.com/ for the menu, hours, and directions.

Nine & Nine Thai Kitchen

2011-01-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

Nine & Nine Thai Kitchen is my FAVORITE Thai Restaurant, EVER! Huge praise I know, but thoroughly well deserved. Located at 754 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91101, it is one of those places you might just drive by and not even notice. To us locals however, it is a staple lunchtime eatery. Don't misunderstand me, there are a LOT of good Thai restaurants in Pasadena, but given a choice, I'll eat here every single time. The entrance is nicely decorated and inviting:

The interior of Nine & Nine is small, but inviting and the open plan kitchen at the back looks clean and the smells emanating from the kitchen are to die for!

Here's the lunch menu! Check out the prices!!

On this particular occasion I met with Heather. We hadn't seen each other in a few weeks because ~~she was so mentally scarred from the last food review lunch~~ of work commitments. Each dish comes with a simple salad and a light peanut dressing:

I ordered the Pork Garlic dish (my favorite). Should I ever find myself in the unlikely position of having to order a "last meal" this is what I'll order, hands down, no questions asked:

It is so delicious - garlic pork atop freshly (and I do mean fresh) cabbage with a side of rice. The dish is delicately garnished with green onions and served with a side of sweet and sour dip and a vegetable roll. At $6.95 you simply cannot beat this kind of value-for-money.

Heather ordered the Chicken Panang, also $6.95.

I tried a little of Heather's dish. If you like spicy (not overly hot, but spicey nonetheless) this is for you. We washed everything down with Nine & Nine's deliciously sweet Thai Iced Tea:

As a foodie ~~wanna be chef but no time or money for culinary school~~ what I love about Nine & Nine is that you can really taste that they are using fresh ingredients - and it makes a difference, trust me.

Our bill, for the two of us, came to less than $25, and you just can't beat that. As to the wait staff, they are always impeccably mannered, attentive, and polite and seem genuinely grateful that you have come in to dine in their kitchen. Nine & Nine is a great lunch place, and if you are into REALLY great Thai food, this would be a wonderful option for a first date (if your potential date likes Thai - actually, this would be a winner frankly).

I give them TWO THUMBS UP and I only wish I had more thumbs, heck I'd give them ten thumbs up. Well done Nine & Nine!

Nine & Nine has a website: http://www.nineandninethai.com/

Wolfe Burgers, Pasadena

2010-11-11T20:35:00.000-08:00

Behind this somewhat unassuming frontage lies a culinary delight. Wolfe Burgers is located on Lake Avenue in Pasadena, right across the street from my office. Rather annoyingly, there is no cross-walk, tunnel or overhead walkway to get directly across the street to Wolfe Burger, so you either have to walk down the street to Colorado, cross and then head back up Lake Ave, or walk up to Union and ....oh, you get the idea.

I love burgers, but I was not sure that I would enjoy the taste of wolf. Fortunately, for me and for wolves everywhere, I had completely misunderstood the concept of this place. Phew! I ordered the Wolfe Ultimate Burger, and here it is: toasted bun, tomato, lettuce (not too much lettuce, which I applaud), red onions and blue cheese atop a beautifully cooked burger. The cheese MADE this for me. I also loved the fries, which believe me, I could tell were not cooked in 3 day old oil - these babies were FRESH!

My only gripe (and this is not a criticism of Wolfe Burger - its a purely personal thing) was that the bacon was WAY too crispy. I prefer my bacon-al-dente, if there is such a thing (there is now - I just invented it). Overall I give the Ultimate Wolfe Burger 9.9 out of 10.0. And I'm not kidding, the blue cheese was just a delicious extra touch. The Ultimate Wolfe Burger was $9.75 (including my large drink) and although I wouldn't spend almost ten bucks every day on a burger, the freshness of the burger and the size of the meal, well, it was money well spent. Obviously this is also not a particularly healthy lunch, but once a week is a nice treat for me. And I can't blame my extra pounds on burgers (I blame it on my diet-of-facebook-and-blogging-addiction-and-general-innertia...but I digress).

If you don't want a burger there are other options: Pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, omelettes, pastrami, ruben and steak sandwiches, burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and a wonderful selection of different salads. You can also select from an excellent variety of side dishes including: mushrooms, onions rings, baked potatoes and zucchini. Heck, they even have biscuits and gravy ya'll!!

I sat right in front of the kitchen and ordering area. They have some neat "wolf" artwork, and a great corner condiment bar for everything you might need. I was also impressed at how clean this place is. You know how sometimes when you go to a condiment bar and you just cringe at the grease and grime and the goop all over the mustard and ketchup packets? Well, not Wolfe Burger. The place is absolutely immaculate.

In additional to the interior seating area, which has lots of tables and a big screen t.v., there is an outdoor patio, and beyond that, an additional outside seating area. All walks of life wandered in through the front door - business people, tourists, locals with theirs kids -- its a nice mix of people, all just wanting a good old American Burger.

In summation, Wolfe Burgers is all about fast GOOD food . Wolfe Burger is all about the short order cook and FRESH ingredients. Its not the kind of place I would immediately think of to go on a first date, but if you are in Pasadena, Wolfe Burger is where its at for great fast food, competitive prices and cleanliness. I should add that the staff at the front with whom you order are very fast, friendly and helpful. Kudos to the Wolfe staff!!

You can check out the menu at: http://www.wolfeburgers.com/

Avanti Cafe - Pasadena

2010-10-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Greetings foodies! I cannot believe it has been five (yes FIVE) months since I posted a review. My apologies -- I changed jobs and moved from downtown LA to the wonderful and fabulous Pasadena. Believe me when I tell you, I have certainly eaten (a lot) since May, which would explain my ever-expanding girth, but thanks to some clever undergarments, I still look about 130 lbs (but trust me, I'm a lot fatter with my clothes off). Today I sampled "Avanti Cafe", which is a grueling 45 second walk from my office...yes, life is tough. Here is Avanti, at 111 N. Lake Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101.

Avanti specializes in wood fired gourmet pizza. The sign outside the store says they are the best pizza in Pasadena, and legendary food critic Elmer Dills says "I Agree" (rest in peace Elmer).

Guess what? Elmer was right! The food is utterly fabulous. Regular readers of this blog (and I sincerely thank both of you) will remember that when I was located on the West Side, I regularly ~~dragged along~~ dined with my friend Kimberly. Now I am several miles away, I have two new ~~guinea pigs~~ lunch pals, my co-workers Jennifer and Socorro, and WOW what a lunch!

Here is the Linguine Carbonara: Linguine topped with prosciutto ham, shitake mushroom and parmesan cheese and garlic in an alfredo cream sauce - to DIE for!! I also loved that this is a huge dish and its only $12.95!

Just in time to mop up the cream and garlic sauce, some complimentary garlic bread rolls arrived.

Pesto Pasta Fettuccine! Pesto sauce with basil, pine nuts and garlic in a cream sauce. Again, well done Avanti on the portion size and only $11.50.

In the age old tradition of saving the best until last, I give you the mouth-watering Glazed Apple Pizza. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. What could be more delicious that roasted baby garlic, glazed sliced apples, roasted peeled red peppers, gorgonzola cheese, leeks and roasted almonds. Thank you!! We ordered the small one which was $10.50. Lord have mercy, it was a thing of beauty...

Being the team-spirit co-workers that we are, Jen, Socorro and I grabbed our plates and filled up on each of the three dishes. Here is my plate: Paging LA fitness, is my treadmill ready?

Here is a quick glance of the interior of Avanti. Its very light, airy and comfortable. Socorro and I are also curious what olive oil they use at Avanti, (because it is fabulous) but no amount of spying or scoping yielded any results.

Another quick interior shot I took: Avanti received the prestigious and highly-coveted Elmer Dills "thumbs up". Quite right too!!

I would definitely concur with their own sign:

The food at Avanti is fantastic, and wonderful value for money. Both of my thumbs are in the "up" position! I highly recommend you try this place.

You can reach Avanti at 626 577- 4688
http://www.avanticafe.com

Mexican Cafe

2010-05-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I sampled "Uptown Mexican Cafe" in Whittier, California with my good friend Karla. Here it is:

Uptown Mexican Cafe is located at 7040 Greenleaf Avenue in Whitter, California. Its the kind of place that you drive by and if you blink, you miss it. Fortunately for me, during lunch, I noticed that Karla doesn't blink, so PHEW for that! I'm kidding of course. In fact, Karla grew up in Mexico, where her family owned and operated a hunting and fishing camp, so she knows her Mexican food !!

Inside the restaurant it is simply furnished but very colorful, right down to the Toucan hanging from the ceiling. Yep, I said Toucan:

Our waiter was a heck of a nice chap, and immediately brought us our iced tea and chips and salsa. There were two salsas, one mild and one much hotter. I prefer the milder one, and boy I finished that whole bowl, trust me.

There is a regular menu and a lunch specials menu. Karla knew what she wanted, but I was an annoying lunch guest by repeating the phrase I just can't decide about 9 times.

Karla has eaten at this place for many years, and went for her usual (and delicious looking) Cheese Enchilada served with rice and beans.

I continued on perusing the lunch specials. Here is a sample of what they offer:

After many Oh but that looks good too and oh wait they've got this as well I decided on the Corn Tortilla rolled with shredded beef. The dish is served with rice, beans, guacamole and sour cream. I cannot even begin to tell you how delicious it was. Oh. My. Goodness. I finished the whole plate (If my mum had been with us she would have said Oh Wendy, honestly love, you've practically scraped the pattern off the china).

And all was right with the world that afternoon. Although we were there during lunch-hour, the place wasn't over-crowded, which surprised me, but perhaps the people walking by outside were busy blinking. After the meal, we thanked the staff, who were wonderful, and here is Karla with our amigos.

I would not hesitate to eat at Uptown Mexican Cafe again. GREAT value for money, wonderful service, and of course outstanding food. They also have locations in Industry, Cailfornia and La Habra California.

By the way, as I have previously mentioned, ALL of my friends are very talented (I'm the only exception). Karla is an extraordinary Western Riding Instructor AND pet portrait artist. Check out her riding site here:
www.karlaflippinridinglessons.com/info.html
and her pet portrait site here
http://karlaflippinpetartist.com/

WOKCANO

2010-05-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings Foodies! It has been a while since I've posted, but that hasn't let me stop eating, I assure you. (Note to self: just answered my own question about why am I not losing weight...but I digress). Back in April, I was on stay-cation. Stay-cation (for those of you that don't know) is when you are on vacation from work but cannot actually afford to go anywhere. That said, I had a great relaxing time, and caught up with some friends in and around the Los Angeles area. I had to return some books to the library and noticed WOKCANO and decided that I would check it out. I contacted my buddy Dairenn who works in the area and asked him to ~~please please come eat with me so I don't have to eat alone~~ join me.

WOKCANO http://www.wokcanorestaurant.com is (yet another) Asian-Fusion restaurant chain which is becoming very popular. They have several locations in Los Angeles. Pictured above is where I went with Dairenn, and Angeleno foodies will immediately recognize this as downtown Los Angeles at 800 W. 7th Street (between Figueroa and Flower). Non-foodies will immediately recognize it as that place next to Macys.

We were seated immediately and after briefly catching up with the hellos, how are you's, how's life and here are those books and that DVD I'd promised to lend you's, we ordered.

The Miso Soup was okay, but as I have discovered in many restaurants these days, it was TOO SALTY !! As my good friend Susan down south would say "honey, it had more salt than Carter had liver pills". Maybe if there were less salt in Miso Soup, we might all liver little longer?? Just saying....

Oh, but OH OH OH the next course completely redeemed WOKCANO in my eyes. Oh for the love of all things holy (and I'm not religious so it had to be good for me to say that), behold the GARDEN SALAD. It wasn't just the salad that sent me into a When-Harry-Met-Sally-I'll-Have-What-She's-Having moment, it was the dressing !! The menu described a "Ginger Dressing", and it certainly contained ginger, but there was something else in that dressing that gave it a creaminess and a slight sweetness that was the absolute BEST dressing on a salad I have ever eaten. The salad was light and crisp and I practically just put my face down onto the plate and just noshed away. All this excitement for $5 !!

When I finally regained my composure (I'm so going back there just for the salad) I ordered the Roasted Duck ($18). I really enjoyed this. It was cooked perfectly, and had just the right amount of crispness on the skin. It came with a bowl of rice and some nicely-blanched broccoli. By the way, the serving was huge, and I had to do what all classy foodies do and take it home in a box.

Dairenn ordered the Orange Crispy Chicken ($13) which was also delicious.

Here is Dairenn, giving his dish a hearty "thumbs up".

With our drinks, our bill came to $40, and for the amount of food (and the salad dressing) it was very good value for money. WOKCANO is a great place to have lunch with folks and given the quality of the food (salty miso aside) I would recommend this as a place to perhaps impress a date. Our waitress Jen was an absolute delight. I highly recommend WOKCANO.

By the way, Dairenn is a very talented musician/singer/songwriter, and he has just released an album. (seriously, all my friends are more talented than me, all I do is eat). So if you feel like some cool new music in your life, check out his music samples here http://www.starfiremusic.com and then (in my best Emeril Lagasse voice) Go buy yourself a couple of hundred copies will ya?

Next up on the review? Mexican food with my friend Karla !! Stay tuned.....

Yamashiro Restaurant

2010-04-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

Konnichiwa !! O-Genki Desu Ka !

Of all the CalAsian restaurants in all the world, I highly recommend this one! Located at 1999 North Sycamore Avenue, in Hollywood, Yamashiro Restaurant is, as Alton Brown would say GOOD EATS!

I desperately needed a delicious pick-me-up. Why? My 2010 started badly when a close friend died in January. The year really tapered off in February when my younger dog Nicky died, and the less said about March when I had to have my other dog, Floyd, sent to the Rainbow Bridge, the better. Then one evening, depressed and staring at the computer screen wondering how I would EVER get to level 61 in Farmville (like I said I WAS depressed), the phone rang and it was Kimberly.

If you are one of the 6 regular readers of this blog, you will know that my friend and colleague Kimberly is very often ~~dragged along~~ a willing participant in my culinary adventures, and on this occasion, she really stepped up to the plate (pun intended). She invited me to see a mutual friend sing in the Hollywood Master Chorale and suggested an early dinner somewhere first. "YAMASHIRO" I yelled into the phone, and to Kimberly's credit (and after her perforated tympanic membrane bounced back into place), she agreed. The photo below shows you the view as you pull up in front of the restaurant. It is really spectacular.

I confess I have been to Yamashiro before, several years ago, when my mum visited me from my native England. On that particular dining occasion, we went to Yamashiro in the evening, and the gardens outside the restaurant were beautiful with all the twinkly lights. Mum seemed entranced by the whole experience, but then again, she could just have been suffering from the shell-shock of being in Los Angeles, and therefore not constantly needing to pack an umbrella in her bag "just in case the weather tinkles". Anyway, it was really nice to see the gardens during the day.

If you want to see the "virtual tour" of the entire restaurant, go to the restaurant's website www.yamashirorestaurant.com. Yamashiro Restaurant has watched the rest of Hollywood below it for 88 years, and was started as a private estate by the Bernheimer brothers to house their collection of Asian treasures. It was their dream to build an exact replica of the palace located in the "Yamashiro" mountains near Kyoto in Japan. (Yamashiro means "Mountain Palace").

That said, allow me to casually sweep aside almost 90 years of history and move onto the food !! We arrived at 5pm just as the restaurant was opening as we needed to be at the Chorale performance by 7pm sharp (and you just don't keep a Chorale waiting, and certainly not a "Master" Chorale). Arriving so early it was pleasantly quiet as we were lead through the restaurant to our table.

And what a table! Window seats thank you VERY much. We drooled over our menus, looking up only occasionally to watch an extremely industrious hummingbird who was happy to put on a show for us). I took a quick shot from my vantage point (the first person to spot the hummingbird wins an all-expenses-paid-trip to California !!)

We began our meal with the classic Miso Soup. One thing I immediately noticed about this soup was how low in salt content it tasted, and it was delicious. It just goes to show you how much salt is added to these dishes in other establishments (ahem). The soup is laden with enoki mushrooms, tofu and scallions and is great value for money at $6.

Kimberly ordered the pan-roasted chicken breast. I tried a little of the chicken and it was deliciously moist. The dish is served with Chinese long beans, fried brown rice and teriyaki sauce ($19). As you can see, the portion was large !

Oh bliss ! I ordered the sweet and spicy shrimp, and although I STILL cannot use chopsticks, I added them to the plate for photographic effect. The shrimp was large and perfectly cooked, served with bok choy, snow peas, baby corn, bell peppers, scallions and steamed rice ($24). I could not finish the dish (thanks in part to a tummy-filling ~~Miller Lite~~ cocktail. It made for a delicious lunch the next day however, so it was two meals for the price of one.

I heartily recommend Yamashiro Restaurant. I must admit I could not afford to eat here all the time, but this would be an excellent spot for a "special" dinner. Our waiter had exactly the right balance of being there when we needed him and leaving us alone during mid-conversation.

Value for money: Excellent
Service: Excellent
Two thumbs up. In fact, if I had more than two thumbs, I would be waggling them all in the air right now!

Yamashiro Contact Information:
Tel: (323) 466-5125
Fax: (323) 462-4523 (seriously does anyone really fax anymore??)
Email: info@yamashirorestaurant.com
Valet fee $8

Clancy's Crab Broiler, Glendale

2010-01-09T21:10:00.000-08:00

I hemmed and hawed with the idea of calling this review "The Day I got Crabs", but didn't think that would make readers hungry. In any event, this review is LONG overdue, as it is now January 2010, and I went to Clancy's Crab Broiler back in November 2009. Clancy's is a WONDERFUL place in Glendale (the picture below is from the internet, as I stupidly forgot to take a picture when I got there...

Clancy's is located at 219 North Central Ave, Glendale, CA 91203

www.clancyscrabbroiler.com

Once again, I took my long suffering dear friend Akbar, and we met up with my friend Samantha

and her husband Athos

We started off with Ahi tuna and fresh ginger (with wasabi and ginger, soy & scallion dressing)

Athos ordered the "Cajun Scramble". This delectable dish comprises eggs scrambled with andouille sausage, green bell peppers, red onions, and cream cheese. It is served with potatoes and fresh fruit

Akbar ordered the "Fresh SeaFood Crepe". This comprised sauteed shrimp wrapped in warm crepes with a parmesan cream sauce. Served with potatoes and fresh fruit

and Samantha and I shared a bucket of crabs. It was delicious. It came with crusty bread, lemons and bowls of melted butter. Oh my, it was really REALLY good.

Obviously after this amount of food it would have been obscene to order dessert, right?

So, here is the Raspberry and Chocolate cake that Athos, Akbar and Samantha shared with 3 forks.

and here is the creme brulee which I ate all by myself (ahem).

Our service was wonderful, and we had no complaints. Our total bill for the four of us came to $98, which I think is great value for money, given the amount of food, and the food was fresh and delicious.

Thumbs up for Clancy's Crab Broiler !!

The Overland Cafe

2010-01-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

I have driven past the Overland Cafe for about 9 years now backwards and forward to work. Finally, on a day off, (not my first day off in 9 years obviously), my friend Akbar and I were driving across town and extremely hungry. I suggested the Overland Cafe. It is bright, breezing and very inviting and located at 3601 Overland Avenue, in Culver City. www.OverlandCafe.com

The Overland Cafe has a very welcoming atmosphere, is clean and bright and has a nice open bar.

However, what really struck me as we were escorted to our table, was the incredible artwork on the walls.

The lady in the picture was our incredibly nice waitress. VERY helpful and had just the right balance of asking us if we were okay, and leaving us alone.....

Akbar (below) peruses the menu under yet more incredible artwork.

Being the incredibly nosey curious person I am, I asked the waitress who the artist was. She very kindly went back to the kitchen and asked someone. It is someone by the name of Cornelia Karlstromer. I don't recall if Cornelia also works at the Overland Cafe, (or if her sister works there), but nonetheless, if you like this kind of art, please stop by Cornelia's website, which is www.corneliakarlstromer.com

Oh, yes, back to food. To start I had the soup and salad. I have to tell you, it was delicious. Nice and fresh and the coffee was good too !

Akbar ordered the grilled salmon salad, which, he says was "excellent".

I ordered a Blue Cheese Hamburger, which really hit the spot. Obviously, this is not "fancy schmancy" food like other so-called hotspots in Los Angeles, but this place would give the other places a real run for their money in terms of amount of food, great service, and excellent value for money. Our total bill, which included both starters, both lunches, endless coffee and a nice bread basket came to $38.

I give The Overland Cafe a hearty THUMBS UP.

Service 10/10

Quality/freshness of food: 10/10

Value for money: 10/10

I highly recommend The Overland Cafe

Moonshadows - Malibu

2010-01-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, it was about 78 degrees on January 5, 2010.

Moonshadows is easy to find: 20356 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu

www.Moonshadowsmalibu.com

This is the outside deck right over the ocean. We sat on the deck and enjoyed the breeze

Here is Akbar, who ordered the Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Burger, with avocado, tomato, arugula and taro root chips

I ordered the Open Faced Niman Ranch Pulled Pork Sandwich.

My sandwich came on toasted Brioche, with red cabbage slaw, apricots, fries, home-made bar-b-q sauce and a house salad on the side

This is Akbar's Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Burger

We ate and admired the sun-drenched view...

It was a beautiful day here in La La Land for sure. Our total bill was $38.00 which is incredibly reasonable and the food was EXCELLENT.

The service was excellent too.

The Blue Marlin

2009-09-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Another day, and another trip to Sawtelle Blvd (2121 Sawtelle, if you want specifics). This time I took the long-suffering Kimberly to the Asian-fusion restaurant "The Blue Marlin". It has been a couple of years since I have been to the Blue Marlin and I'm not sure what has happened. It wasn't as good as I remember - I'm not sure if they have changed ownership or just using cheaper ingredients, but the dressing on the salad used to be delicious - now, not so much.

The decor inside the Blue Marlin is, yes, you've guessed it, ocean-themed !! Even the ceiling is painted in an effort to make you feel like you are under water. This might make you very happy, or not, depending on your point of view.

The first thing that irritated me was the wobbly table. When I say wobbly, I mean Kimberly and I felt like we were on a see-saw. Fortunately, Kimberly has sturdy feet and steadied us while we waited for our menus. And waited, and waited. The restaurant was very busy, but that's no excuse to leave people without a menu for almost 9 minutes (yes, I counted).

Eventually, we ordered iced tea (which was never refilled I might add). Kimberly ordered the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Bowl which came with soup and salad (Kimberly opted not to have the soup). Priced at $10.95, this is very good value for money when you see how much food is on the plate. Kimberly said that the food was excellent and she really enjoyed the vegetables that came with the dish. In fact, the food was so good that she took it home in a box.

I ordered the Ginger Pork Steak, which came with soup and salad, and was priced again, at $10.95. For some reason, I never actually got the soup, and no explanation was given. To be honest, I was so disappointed at the salad dressing, which as I mentioned earlier in this post, used to be so awesome, but alas, no longer. What happened??? Again, a lot of food on the plate. I have to say that the pork and the sauce was absolutely delicious, if you happen to like a rich tasting sauce. I give high marks for this dish -- really, it was divine.

I give 6/10 for the Blue Marlin. It is good value for money, in terms of how much food you get, but the service and the salad dressing has really gone down-hill. Perhaps I caught them on a bad day? On this particular occasion, it was not the best - Ouch !!

Our bill came to $26.83, so I guess we can't really complain...can we?

Greens Up Salads !

2009-08-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

Greens Up Salads opened up a few months ago. It is located on Sawtelle Blvd, just North of Olympic Blvd (opposite The Curry House).

Like the Sawtelle Kitchen, Greens Up is somewhere I eat regularly, because of the consistency of the high quality and value for money. I usually head over here alone, during a busy work day and just grab a salad, but today I was accompanied by my great pals Diane and Kimberly. (Yes, the very same Kimberly that I ~~dragged~~ took to Sawtelle Kitchen).

The interior is, as you might imagine, green. Simply, but brightly decorated with veggie-related artwork, it is very small, but comfortable. The owner and chef, Robert, has a regular clientele and he greets each of us by name. It's a bit like walking into the bar "Cheers", only my name is not Norm, and it is full of salad, not alcohol.

Greens Up has a selection of salads that you can order, for example the "Sawtelle", the "California", the "Thai Salad". Alternatively, Robert will make your own salad for you, based on the simple instructions posted on the wall.

The dressings are outstanding, particularly the tropical ginger and my personal favorite, the thai peanut. On this particular occasion, I went with the special, which was a Chicken Salad. Robert recommended the tangy apple dressing, but I went with the tropical ginger. The chicken salad was absolutely delicious, and was topped with tomatoes, and slivered almonds.

Diane chose the "California" and chose the Balsamic dressing. the California has romaine, spring mix, roasted turkey, red grapes, orange segments, honey-roasted walnuts, fresh mozzarella. If you look closely you can see Diane's arms in this picture (I'm just a beginner, what can I say).

Kimberly chose the "Sawtelle" but substituted the pine nuts instead of the almonds. She also wanted the artichoke hearts instead of dates, but Robert put the dates in anyway, which Kimberly maintained added a nice sweetness to the salad, and complimented the overall flavor of the salad.

One of the nice "touches" in Greens Up Salad is the music. Robert plays the music of artists or bands that are unsigned - you never know right?

Value for money. Generally speaking, I would not pay almost $10 for a salad, but with Greens Up I will. The salads are huge and delicious, and if you work in the area, like I do, if you can't finish the salad in one sitting, you can put the leftovers into the office refrigerator and ~~assuming a co-worker doesn't steal it~~ take it home with you.

The young lady that works with Robert, who operates the cash register, and will also fill in for him in preparing the salads is delightful, helpful, and always friendly. Overall, I give Greens Up 9/10. I took away one point because as Kimberly pointed out, they are putting less pita bread slices in the salad these days...

Sawtelle Kitchen

2009-08-25T19:53:00.001-07:00

I have to confess, I eat at the Sawtelle Kitchen on a regular basis. Why? When a restaurant consistently offers high quality food at a reasonable price, I will consistently spend my money there (well, what little money I have left after the California tax hikes...but I digress). Sawtelle Kitchen is located at 2024 Sawtelle Blvd, and serves fusion Japanese-Western Cuisine.

The interior reminds me of a casual Italian bistro, not a huge interior, therefore giving a cozy feeling to the patron. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling and interesting, tasteful artwork (at least I think it is, its all personal isn't it?) adorns the walls. The outside patio is small but inviting (although not in today's heat, thank you very much).

The menu is wide-ranging and includes small dishes, pasta/gratin, katsu and curry dishes and a very reasonably priced lunch special menu. The menu also includes a pretty extensive beer, wine and sake list. With Dutch blood (on my mother's side) coursing through my veins, I opted for an Amstel Light (just to be patriotic, you understand). I have eaten just about everything on their menu, but my two favorites are (a) Red Snapper (grilled) with a citrus-soy sauce, a bargain at $9.95; and (b) The Katsu Jumbo Shrimp priced at $13.95. Today, my buddy Kimberly and I both opted for the Katsu Jumbo Shrimp, which includes a bowl of miso soup.

The shrimp is breaded and fried and served with a shredded salad (topped with the most delicious citrus soy dressing), potato salad, a side of brown or white rice, with a small plate of tartar sauce. The tartar sauce contains egg and capers and is wonderful ! Katsu sauce is also brought to the table in a syrup jug and poured liberally (in my case) in great quantities onto the plate (Kimberly is far more sophisticated). The portions are large, in fact, the only reason I got through almost all my lunch was because I had failed to eat breakfast. Kimberly had to have hers boxed up (again, Kimberly winning hands-down in the ladylike department).

The wait staff are friendly, fast, courteous and happy to help. Well, they are when you can get their attention. This is not necessarily a criticism, more an observation. Allow me to explain. In a restaurant, you can't win, can you? Every time you want to talk to your fellow diners, the wait staff constantly ask you "Is everything okay", their question usually immaculately timed to coincide when your mouth is full of food (or about to be proposed to), but when you NEED something (salt/extra dressing/heimlich maneuver), they are nowhere to be found. In Sawtelle Kitchen, it veers more to the latter, but in fairness, with no romantic proposals in sight (certainly not from Kimberly) and my mouth full of food, it was probably best that I could rarely get my waitress' attention.

Our total bill came to $38.03 (including our drinks) which is very reasonable. I did leave a good tip for the waitress, because although I didn't often see her, I felt badly that I was going to snitch on her about it on this blog. Hopefully the extra few dollars will take the sting out of it for her. All in all, I give the Sawtelle Kitchen 9/10 and honestly recommend you go there. It is a testament to the quality of the food that they are ALWAYS busy...