Vons Chicken

OMFG!!!!!! My taste buds are STILL burnt from the fiery chicken I had on Sunday.

YEP. SUNDAY.

My friend and I came here and ordered 4 pieces of chicken. The guy said it would take 15 minutes. So, we went to the store and checked out some live octopus.

15 minutes later, we came back and still no chicken. BLAH!! I was starving and hungover! Feed me!

After 25 minutes we finally get the chicken. Go upstairs to the food court and dig in anxiously.

I took one bite and my face turned red and beads of sweat came down my forehead. OMFG!! Someone give me some milk!! GEEZ.. this chicken was so damn spicy, I could barely eat it.



And, the guy forgot to give us napkins or forks. Blah.

My friend said it wasn't even spicy. WTF. He must have burnt his taste buds from all times he ate here. Hahahaha.

Don't think I will be back, but it was interesting to try.

Vons Chicken
3250 W Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(323) 733-9292

Joan's on Third

Over the weekend, my GF and I were shopping on Melrose and decided to check out Joan's. It was freakin hot as a mofo that day and finding parking was a major pain in the azz. Lucky for us, I spotted a street spot 2 blocks away.

I didn't know that Joan's was a store and bakery as well, so it was cool to be able to check out the goods. I took a pic of the cupcakes and the lady was like, "No pictures allowed" My bad. It's not like I'm gonna sell the pic to someone.. sheesh.

the pic I wasn't supposed to take


Sandwiches are pricey here. My tuna sandwich was $10! And it just came with some pickles. But, whatevs. It was a pretty damn good sandwich and it was ginormous. I was only able to eat half of it. The pickles were really good too.



Tuna up close


My GF got the prosciutto sandwich and it was quite tasty as well. I prefer tuna though. After all, I am a cat.

Prosciutto di parma


I noticed that Joan's has a lot of rules. There was a sign by the cash register that said "Please finish your cell phone conversation before ordering". Ok.. Kinda random. I get that it's rude to be on the phone while ordering, but what if you are on the phone with someone who wants you to order something?

Anyways, the waiter was nice and pleasant. At least he seemed to enjoy his job. We sat outside in the shade which was nice when the breeze kicked it.

Since my GF has such a sweet tooth, she ordered a vanilla cupcake with raspberry filling. It was pretty, but I thought it was too sweet. Meh. I'm more into Angel Maid cakes.

Pretty lil cupcake


I'd come back, but Urth still reigns in my book.

Joan's On Third
8346 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-2285

Ma'Kai Lounge

I always have fun at Ma'Kai!

We hit up this lounge after Copa and it was pretty poppin.

DJ was spinning music, some Michael Jackson, some hip hop and some house. There was one super drunk girl dancing and she was all over the place! I was like girl, you better not step on me or run into me. Sheesh. Like she was doing circles and stuff all over the dance floor. The guy she was dancing with looked at me and gave me a "I'm not with her" look. Classic.

Drinks were good, $10 each which seems to be the norm around here.

It was super hot and humid inside though, so we left after an hour.

Can't go wrong here if you want a cool place to hang.



Ma'Kai Lounge
101 Broadway Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 434-1511

Wokano

After a long day of biking on the beach, my sister and I were starving. We came to Wokano and got our grub on.

The restaurant is huge, 2 stories high and decorated nicely. We got a booth upstairs overlooking the first level.

Service was nice and efficient. I liked it.

Food was pretty good. The prices were a bit steep, but hey, it's a nice place, not Panda Express.

Hamachi with chopped green onion in a citrus ponzu sauce was very refreshing! I loved it! 6 pieces in the appetizer at $6. Definitely try this dish if you like fresh fish.

Hamachi-you know you want some


My sis got the orange crispy chicken and added a complete meal (rice, miso soup and salad) for $3.50 more. It was really good as well, nice n spicy. She said it was too spicy for her, but she still ended up taking it home and eating it.

Firey orange chicken.. notice the big pieces of pepper?


I got the tokyo crabmeat fried rice. Yum yum.. love crabmeat! I liked the cucumbers in the rice, which popped up like refreshing lil surprises. And they use real crabmeat, no imitation crap here!

yummy.. rice.. carbs.. cucumbers


I'm starving.. let me eat.


Bill was about $40 before tip. I'd come back for sure, especially since I am always at the beach.

Wokano
1413 5th St
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 458-3080

Ocean Park Omelette Parlor

Yeah, this place is alright. Nothing special really.

Came here on Sunday cuz my sister was craving omelettes. I don't really eat breakfast, but hey, she's visiting, so I had to oblige.

There was a small wait, but we got a seat on the outdoor patio no problem.

I was kinda irked that they come around with fresh OJ and coffee and ask if you want some right when you sit down. Why? Cuz the OJ was $3 and I guess my hungover ass didn't realize that OJ wasn't free. Duh. $3 is damn pricey for juice though.

I had the omelette with red and green bell peppers topped with an insane amount of salsa. It came with a side of potatoes and some fruit garnish.



Portions here are ginormous. 3 egg omelette for $10 is a decent price.. But, we both couldn't finish our dishes. Potatoes were da bomb though and I tried hard to eat them all. Alas, the belly was like hells no.



Decent place to try, but not sure I'd come back.

Ocean Park Omelette Parlor
2732 Main St
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 399-7892

Versailles Restaurant

Food- 3.5 stars.

Service- 2 stars.

Best Cuban food? I can't compare since this is the only Cuban place I've tried.


Garlic bread, too crunchy for my taste


Garlic chicken is the only dish to get here. We ordered a top sirloin steak dish and it was so not worth the $12.95.

The chicken was tender, juicy and packed with lots of garlicky flavor. I love the mojo sauce it comes with. Wish they gave more though cuz my sis and I were wanting more. If you ask for extra sauce, they will charge you $2. Say what? No thanks.

Best garlic chicken I've tasted.. too bad they don't give you extra sauce for free.


Steak was really hard and over-cooked. It's rare for me to say that steak is over done since I like mine medium, but this thing was so hard to chew and cut. Umm yeah.. Forgo the steak. Get the chicken, or better yet, try the oxtail stew. I heard that's a good dish.

Blah.. not good at all


Service was sucky. She seemed unhappy to be there, didn't bring out plates for us till way later even though I asked for them at the beginning. Dude, we need to eat our crumbly garlic bread without getting bread all over the table.

So, in a nutshell. Get the chicken to go. You can enjoy it at home and not have to worry about garlic breath. Huge portions too, so feel free to share. Or not.

Versailles Restaurant
10319 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 558-3168

Pan's Kitchen

Been wanting to satisfy my Taiwanese food craving for a while now. So, when my GF and I hung out yesterday, she took me here to fulfill the crave.

It's small restaurant and they even have birds in cages by the front. I just thought that was interesting, it's kinda like dining in the rain forest. Yes, it was humid yesterday and they didn't have any AC.

Service was fast and straight to the point.

We ordered cold noodles, stewed tofu, green onion pancake, noodle soup with broiled egg and ground pork and wonton soup.

Cold noodles were good, with a touch of peanut butter. Refreshing and chill.

Stewed tofu was yummy, I liked the sauce it came in, and the fact that it wasn't fried. You know, I'm trying to eat healthier. Key word: TRY.



Green onion pancakes were decent. I wish it had more green onion.



Noodles in soup was very good! I liked the homemade noodles, thick and yummy. Just like Mom's cooking. Except, my Mom never made noodles from scratch. Haha. Broth was even better after some hot chili paste! I love spicy soup! Loved the broiled egg, very reminiscent of Taiwan.



Wonton soup was for my kid. She liked it and it came with lots of wontons. No scrimping on wontons here. I hate when you order wonton soup at some other places, *ahem Noodle Planet*, and you get like 3 wontons.



In a nutshell, good Taiwanese eats here. Credit cards are accepted for orders over $20 only.

Pan's Kitchen
18438 Colima Rd
#31
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(626) 810-2998

Cube @ Divine Pasta Company

All these great reviews made me want to try Cube. However, it was not as awesome as anticipated.

We came here on a Saturday afternoon, around 1:30 pm for a late lunch. There was one other party seated inside, so it was pretty dead. We sat outside to enjoy the nice June gloom.

Our waitress came by a few minutes later to clean up the table for us and give us menus. I immediately wanted to try the braised baby octopus and the black truffle pizza. My DC got the lamb burger.

the lunch menu


Waitress comes back to take our order and tells us that there are a few items that are not available. Grilled artichokes and something else. That's cool, I didn't want either.

So, we wait about 10-15 minutes and notice that another party who sat down after us had already ordered and got bread for their table. Hmm.. ok. We ask the waitress for some bread and she said it was coming out. Pita bread arrives with 2 teeny tiny pieces of cheese which were complimentary. They were good, but really small, so I can't really comment on it.

pita bread w/ sampling of cheese


Waitress comes back out and says that the braised baby octopus is not available either because they haven't prepared it yet. What? The restaurant is open right? So, why are there 3 items that are not yet ready? I did not understand this at all.

Whateves. I got the scallop instead. And it was indeed ONE scallop. Granted it was a good tasting scallop, but at $9 for the appetizer, I was expecting at least 2 scallops. It just seemed absurd. *shrugs*

lone scallop


Truffle pizza arrives with 2 fried eggs on top. Yum! Tasty! I really liked it, but I didn't love it. However, this was a very creative pizza and the fried egg balanced the truffle flavor perfectly.

better tasting with the egg on top


Lamb burger was good, but not really my thang. My DC liked it though. Fries were alright. I think the best dish was the one scallop.

baaaa.. along with some skinny fries


Overall, a decent place to eat lunch. But, I really think they should have dishes prepared for customers. That was a total letdown for me. Lunch was about $47 before tip.

Cube
615 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 939-1148

Bar Food

OMFG. I just had the best BREAD PUDDING ever!! And I say this with all honesty, because I don't even like bread pudding. In fact, I'm not even a fan of dessert.

So, my buddy and I headed over to Bar Food tonight since I've read all these fab reviews and wanted to check it out. I knew this was in the old Zu Robata place, and thank god they closed, cuz they sucked!

We walked in and Jason (the owner) greeted us and told us to sit anywhere. As we head towards the seats, I run into Hans whom I have been twittering with. He gives us a warm welcome and takes us to our seats.

After perusing the menu, I knew that I was going to order the Thai Bangers and Mash. We also ordered mac n cheese, sweet potato fries and my friend got the Bar Burger.

I had a Rose wine but did not like it at all. Blech. Hans was cool enough to get me a pinot blanco which was way better. In retrospect, I should have gone with beer, but since I'm not not into beer, eh, maybe I should have just stuck with water.

Anyways.

Sweet potato fries- they were okay. A bit too salty for my taste, but the sauce it came with was tres bien!



Mac n cheese- Really enjoyed this dish. Cooked perfectly, topped with melted cheese and chopped scallions. Yum.



Bar Burger- My friend liked his burger. I had a bite and it was decent.



Thai Bangers and Mash- YEAH!! Now, we're talking! I haven't had a sausage in a long time just cuz it's not healthy for me. But, I sure am glad I sacrificed tonight cuz this was a damn good sausage! And, the cilantro mash was to die for! Great dish!



Bread Pudding- OMG. I've never had bread pudding that tasted so LIGHT and fluffy. It was hard to not eat the whole thing, but I'm nice so I let my friend have most of it. My fave dish of the night! Topped off with vanilla ice cream, this is a must try!



Service was very attentive, friendly and great all around. I felt like Jason and Hans really wanted us to feel welcome here. Jason came around and introduced himself and asked us how the food was. I'm a sucker for good service. Hans gave great suggestions on what to order and he only charged me for the Rose wine instead of the Pinot which was was more expensive. Gotta love that!

I'd come back for sure. I think the service trumps food here. Ambience is chill. People were watching the Lakers game tonight which is good if you want to avoid all the drunk peeps at Cabo and Q's.

Remember to get the bread pudding! Thanks Hans and Jason for being so cool!

Bar Food
12217 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 820-3274

Little Fat Sheep

Seriously, I am STILL full from last night's dinner here.

I. can. not. eat. anymore.

We ordered way too much food for the 3 of us and all for $25 each. Not bad. But, not good for my belly.

-3 plates of beef
- shiitake mushrooms
- winter melon
- enoki mushrooms
- napa cabbage
- clear thin vermicelli noodles
- fish balls
- fish dumplings
- tofu
- seaweed knots
- flounder filet
- imitation crab meat

My faves by far are the seaweed knots, cabbage, tofu, flounder, winter melon and enoki mushrooms. Yum.

Make sure you get the spicy medium cuz they ain't kidding with that shiet! Spicy is damn good though, way better than the normal broth.

Excuse me while I go run for hours on the treadmill.

Little Fat Sheep
120 S Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 282-1089

Fig Restaurant

After purchasing a $25 GC from Restaurants.com for $3, I was excited to try Fig.

My gf and I came here the other night, valeted the car and headed into the hotel. We were early for our 8 pm reservation, but the hostess seated us anyway. We asked for a patio table, but she said they were all reserved. So, we ended up at a booth right by the door.

View from our booth


I liked the creative table setting.


First up, drinks. Alcoholic drinks. I had the Bubble & Squeak and she had the Fig mojito. Neither one were great. In fact, mine tasted like rubbing alcohol. Blah.

Bubble & Squeak- more like blah and squawk


We perused the menu and the curly endive salad caught my eye. In terms of main courses, nothing in particular stood out. I was really looking forward to trying the butterfish, but since they didn't have it, I ordered the trout. She had the Jidori chicken.

After we ordered, out came the famous arugula butter and 2 small sticks of bread encased in paper wrapping. I had a few bites, since I didn't want to fill up on bread, and was quite impressed with the arugula butter. It had a nice bite to it. And it was green. Never seen green butter.



They brought us amuse bouche of something on cucumbers, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was! It was good though.



Curly endive salad with soft poached egg, crispy pig's ear and cider vinaigrette. OMG! This was one of the best, most original salads I've ever had. The poached egg was awesome, and the pig's ear was delicious! I loved it.



Whole trout with green garlic, peas and baby savoy cabbage- Um yeah, I guess I didn't really read the part about it being a whole trout, complete with head and tail. I can't eat fish if it's staring at me, so I cut off the head and had the waiter whisk it away. It was tender inside and I only got a few pieces of bone. Loved the cabbage and peas.



Roasted Jidori chicken with rocket panzanella and capeberries- This was just roasted chicken. I didn't taste anything fantastic or different about it. My gf agreed. Don't bother getting the chicken, I'd opt for the duck.



We were pretty stuffed after dinner, but I really wanted to try the Fig Bars for dessert. I'm glad I did, because the greek yogurt ice cream it came with was so damn good! I've never had this flavor before and it really enticed my taste buds. They should make a dessert of just the ice cream. For reals. Fig bars were decent, nothing too exciting.



Service was good and attentive. The manager came by a couple times to check up on us. Ambiance was chill and classy. I liked it.

Dinner was $100 before tax and tip. Next time, I'm gonna stick to martinis. Their special cocktails were not up to par. I'll have to return for happy hour- Fig at five.

Fig Restaurant
Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows
101 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 319-3111

Umami Burger

I have to go against the grain here and say this was not the best burger ever. It was damn good, but not the best.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and the place was pretty packed. It took about 5 minutes for them to seat us and I felt a bit cramped, but hey, the more the merrier right?

So, we sit down and wait another 5 minutes to get menus. I notice that the waiter seems to be a bit cranky or maybe he is just feeling stressed out. I felt the service was a bit lacking, almost lackadaisical. He seemed to be annoyed.

Perusing over the menu, my eyes immediately went to the Truffle Burger. Yummmy. I love truffle anything! I picked that and my boy had the Triple Pork Burger. Dang. We also got 3 order of fries and 2 onion rings for the 3 of us. My kid opted to not get a burger.

Food arrives approximately 10-15 minutes later. Hot damn! My burger was very simple, just a beef patty topped with truffle cheese and finished off with truffle oil on the bun. I took a bite and was like damn, this is really good.



Then, I saw that the meat was medium rare. Umm.. yeah.. not a fan. I don't want my food MOOO-ing at me. But, my boy assured me that is how a burger should be cooked.



Kiddo asked for a bite since she saw that it had no veggies. What is up with kids not eating their vegetables?! She liked it as well. Boy took a bite too and loved it. He ended up ordering one because his pork burger wasn't that good.

Pork Burger- ground pork, chorizo, and smoked bacon


Hahaha.. dat's right. When in doubt, go with truffles!

Fries were fat, decent, nothing special. I liked the aioli sauce you get to pick to dip them. Personally, I'm more into the skinny fries myself. It gives me an impression that eating fries makes me thin. Yeah. Right.



Onion rings were good! Crispy with just a touch of greasiness. Can't complain.



Portions here are on the small size. At $11 for the truffle burger, I wish it were bigger, but I was stuffed after eating half of that and some fries.

Fries were $3 and onion rings were $2.50. Pork burger was $9, but don't get it if you are craving a real burger. Total for 3 people- $50 before tax and tip.

Overall, I'm glad I came here. But, they should step up the service, or maybe that's just how they are over there.

Umami Burger
850 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 931-3000