LA Tofu Festival
(I went on Saturday, but not on Sunday).LA Tofu Festival is a yearly gathering of tofu lovers everywhere - so I figured, hey, since I like tofu...it's the place for me! I'm amazed at how many other people also paid homage to the white block of soybean product. I am definitely not the only person who appreciates the tofu and the flexibility of this amazing food product - there are so many variations of tofu based foods that I love! And I think it's really nice how tofu lovers are everyone - meat eaters, veggie and vegan.

The festival itself was a little bit of a scramble to try to attend. Parking was a mess, luckily we snagged a spot at a nearby parking lot for$7 (a bargain, as it seemed the lot that we usually park at for $5 on any other day trip to Little Tokyo had raised their prices to $10 for the festival.) and was confronted with a MASS of people waiting in line to pay for admission. Yikes! The line moved fast, but we weren't pleased at the disorganization (no clear lines to stand in? People cutting everywhere? Chaos and confusion when a line that had no clear signs was told that it was a line for Will-call and credit card only?) I gave them the benefit of the doubt and elbowed our way through. Once inside, we passed by our friends over at King Kong Shrimp, selling awesome T-shirts (yes of course I got one :D)

We then surveyed our options at the food tents. They used a "scrip" system, basically a system like you have back at school carnivals: you buy tickets at the front, and food costs a certain amount of "tickets", depending on what you get. I know this is an easier system for them but I HATE ticket based systems. I lose track of tickets, there's a ticket left over so you HAVE to try to find something for "1 ticket" or whatever, even though you're full, but you have to spend it because you don't get your money back for unused tickets...you know THOSE kind of frustrations. In any case, Owen and I did quite well and planned accordingly...this time around we spent the right amount of money on "scrip". LA tofu festival escapes my wrath...this time.

The crowds! The mass amount of crowds! The more popular food tents had lines blocking the whole walkway, which made it difficult to maneuver around. Also, people who were interested in some sort of food would just wander over to the front, and then CUT. I HATE people who cut, and KNOW they cut but played it off like they DIDN'T know. You know EXACTLY WHO YOU ARE out there!! Anyways there was a lot of that happening, but I didn't feel like pushing around old ladies (I don't really push around old ladies at all). What's also scary is that people are pushing around with huge sharp skewer sticks in their hands, nonchalantly walking around and not looking where they're going. Skewer stick in the eye is one of my fears. I think that's an awful way to lose an eyeball (second most horrible way, having it popped out of your head by Uma Thurman. Then having your eyeball be squished under her toes. That's just salt in the wound - or, I guess, eyeball between the toes. Gross.) Now to the food! First up was Tofu Skewers - Teriyaki flavor. These were really tasty. The texture and consistency of the skewer had a good bite to it, and the teriyaki flavoring was mild - thankfully not too overpowering and sweet. This was a great way to warm up to all the tofu we were about to eat.Next up was BBQ tofu (on the left) and fried chicken wing with rice. The BBQ tofu was just okay. Nothing special, I don't know why they didn't ladle this over rice. I don't think it was hot enough either - temperature and spicy. It had been sitting in a huge serving buffet tray which wasn't kept at a warm enough temperature. Plus, there wasn't enough KICK to it, then again, I can eat wasabi like I eat ice cream, (no joke) so I might need to lower my standards. The fried chicken wing was pretty good but not worth 2 tickets (1 ticket = 1 dollar, so 2 bucks for a fried chicken wing and a little bit of rice is insulting to me.) Not horrible but definitely not great. Give me my dollar back you ticket hounding harpies!
Next up was Silken Tofu with Balsamic vingarette reduction with strawberries, fresh mint and candied corn flakes (far as I could tell.) This was also just okay - even though it had so much potential. Each ingredient was nice and fresh - strawberries freshly cut, mint juilenne-chopped on top of the tofu, the candied corn flake things were a nice sweet touch. But the tofu itself - just not flavored enough. When taking a bite of this, it was TOO much tofu beancurd taste, not enough sweet, which I think is what this dish was trying to do. It was too many conflicting flavors and not enough to tie it all together. This was the goods. Chicken skewer and Garlic Tofu. This was amazing! Freshly grilled chicken, neatly skewered, lightly sauced and cooked so it got those nice grill marks on the outside. The garlic tofu was lightly fried with a faint hint of garlic - I wouldn't say it satiated my garlic fix but it was sufficient and filling. A good combination and worth the "scrip".

This we passed over initially because of the long line, but I dared to brave it because it looked so good and I was craving some curry. This was Tofu Cutlet with Curry Rice. Dang was this good! The tofu was so tender and breaded so well, that I almost couldn't tell the difference if they had given me pork tonkatsu instead of tofu! They also gave it a nice touch by drizzling tonkatsu sauce over it. The curry was the standard curry they have at Curry House places, and gave everything great flavor. No complaints here!
We also got Barley Tea from the curry place. We mixed this with a Strawberry Boba we got that was too sweet (sorry forgot to take a picture of that) and made a makeshift tea and juice boba drink. It was perfectly refreshing after mixing it, and not too sweet. The way we like it!!


Lastly, we got a delicious treat - a place called Woo City had high quality ice cream. Owen got a 5-Star Chocolate scoop, and I got a green tea scoop. This was SO good...the best way to end the Tofu Festival! Aside from my usual gripes, it was fun and I liked trying a variety of food!

Beard Papa

In "Little Japan" - Sawtelle and Olympic

These amazing creme puffs were only the thing of dreams for me when I first heard about them. I had heard that one had opened at the new Hollywood and Highland center, and the buzz (and creme puffs) were good. I mostly have no business to do around Hollywood, so I never got the chance to go. However, one hot day last month, after the July 4th weekend - a bunch of us went to Nijiya for a lunch break...and low and behold...a Beard Papa had appeared out of the rubble that once was Mousse Fantasy. Better yet, Beard Papa and Mousse Fantasy were sharing the same remodeled space - a perfect dessert combo. The menu is very straightforward - cream puffs! When I had first gone to Beard Papa, they only had their original vanilla custard flavor. However, this time around - they also had chocolate and strawberry, in addition to their original. Their chocolate and strawberry cream puffs cost about 25 cents more...the extra flavoring expenses have to be made up somewhere!
The assembly line started when I ordered a box of 6. (they won't give you a box unless you order more than 4 - I think 3 and under and they give the puffs to you in a little paper bag. And NO they were not all for me...!) All the creme puff shells sit in a bin (relatively fresh, they seem to be baking these constantly). The creme puff technician gets instructions from the creme puff register lady - and away they go - C.P.T grabs a hold of one of the shells, inserts the nozzle of the huge creme canister into the puff, fills, then gently places it into the sugar bin. Creme Puff Sugar Bin technician dusts the creme puff according to what filling it has - white sugar for vanilla, cocoa-ed sugar for chocolate, and a pink sugar for strawberry.Since you don't know flavor is which once they're filled it's thoughtful that they're labelling them for you visually. (by the way, this time around I got 3 chocolate, 2 vanilla and 1 strawberry) So ingenious. All of them get placed in the box and you're on your way...
I took a picture of the "eat by" date last time I went to Beard Papa's. Eat by that date or die...kinda like the expiration date on the milk. Heck, the cream puffs don't even last that long in the house...yes that's because we eat them all instantly.

Gaze upon them...they are a thing of beauty...A close up of one of these beauties...note the crusty edges, perfectly baked, dusted powdered sugar on top - by the way did I mention these cream puffs are about the size of a baseball?
Does the cream puff live up to the hype? The only other cream puffs that I consider to be worth comparing these to are the choux pastry from Angel Maid Bakery (a future review, I promise!) These creme puffs are in a different category - not the choux pastry, so in my opinion, there is no "better"cream puff - they are both good in their own way.

The first careful bite of a Beard Papa cream puff (a careful bite, because you don't want the cream to be ejected out the other end of the cream puff - all over your hands)- is not what you expect at all. The shell has a piecrust type consistency. The inside shell has more of the traditional "puff" that most are used to. The creme is super delicious, a deep cream that is not sweet - but extremely rich. In the vanilla cream, there are flecks of real vanilla bean. The strawberry is definitely from real strawberries - not from a cornsyrupy artificial strawberry syrup. The cream puffs are huge - I'm usually used to the small bite sized ones. I guess if there was anything I had to complain about is the fact that they're a little TOO big - I like them so much that I go for another one and then I feel sick. Yeah it's not their fault - but I'd rather have them cost a little less and be a little smaller. That's the only complaint!

Here's my friend Amber experiencing her first Beard Papa cream puff...by the way she loved it.

Give these cream puffs a shot - they're really good but don't hold the same taste standards to them if you love more traditional, sweeter and smaller cream puffs. And thank goodness Beard Papa is closer to my area!

** by the way, thanks to Wonder to pointing out a few spelling mistakes. I have my own QA team!***

Versailles Cuban Food
(I went to the one on Venice Blvd.)

Versailles...you taunt me with your colorful sign...welcoming me to come inside...

By the way, they just redid the awnings. Nice, huh?

Versailles is quintessential LA. I had been to no other Cuban restaurant until coming to live in LA - when I thought Cuban food I thought...uh...an offshoot of Mexican food? I could not have been further away from the truth! One step inside this bustling restaurant and you're instantly greeted by a server...there are many waiters there, all seasoned men usually. It almost feels like they just happen to hang out there instead of work there...which I think is really cool. I've never waited more than 5 minutes for a table. Seated immediately, the weathered laminated menu boasts a dizzying number of items to order. Another waiter comes over with a fresh basket of toasty bread slices - they are already buttered and garlicy tasting. So delicious.

I don't even know why I bother looking at the menu - I have only ever ordered 2 things from here - and am so pleased with my order I never think about trying anything else.
I usually order the #6 - Famoso Pollo Versailles - Versailles Famous Garlic Chicken

OUR FAMOUS HOUSE SPECIALTY - JUICY ROASTED HALF CHICKEN MARINATED IN OUR DELICIOUS GARLIC SAUCE GARNISHED WITH SLICED WHITE ONIONS.

The chicken never fails to disappoint. It's good and spit roasted, with a good skin. The meat is juicy, and it takes all your willpower not to tear into it with your hands, a-la-Medieval Times (which I've never been to...a future food review perhaps?) The chicken is covered in a tangy garlic sauce. If you're not used to this garlic sauce, it will give you a kick in your pants. It's almost enough tanginess to give you puckery lips, but the garlic taste always mellows you out at the end of the bite. The white onion slices also add to the appeal of this dish - they garnish the chicken almost completely uncooked. Normally I'm not the hugest fan of raw onion, but the with the garlic sauce and the chicken - it's a necessity.

The meal comes with fried sweet plantains, rice and beans.

The plantains are always perfect, sweet but not too sweet, cooked until they are soft and buttery on the inside and carmelized on the outside. The black-ish beans are seasoned well, usually you pick out a bay leaf or two while spooning it onto your rice. Usually the rice is really good but this time I think it was a little too hard, maybe it was left out a little too long today.

The time in which I ordered the food to when I received the food to my table was like 5 minutes. This place is FAST. One time, we asked one of the waiters how long he'd be working at Versailles. I think he said over 25 years...that's some history!

If you've never been here before, then do yourself a favor and go. Prices are reasonable, service is lightening fast and you'll have food for 2 meals - unless you're really starving.

(by the way, the other thing I've ordered here is the #14 Rabo Encendido - Oxtail Stew

A CREOLE BASED STEW WITH A SHARP PEPPERY TASTE, COOKED WITH TRADITIONAL CUBAN HERBS AND SPICES, OLIVE OIL, AND BELL PEPPERS.
That was very delicious as well. But that will be another review!)

Note: I just want to say Blogger is going crazy. I keep trying to fix the font size but blogger is being the thorn in my side. Bear with me guys..I will keep trying to fix the problem...

Damon and Pythias in Santa Monica

Sometimes, there's a sandwich that just...well, blows you away - like, Arnold Schwartzenegger style from the movie Commando blows you away. Yes, there is such a thing. A sandwich so hardcore, that when unleashed on unsuspecting bad guys, they are attacked without pity or mercy until the point is made - I AM BADASS.

Yes, my love of the movie Commando and my comparison to this sandwich completely makes sense. Really. Make fun of me later after you've tried this sandwich:

BE AMAZED AT ITS' BEAUTY! Here is the official description of this sandwich from the website:

Turkey Club Sandwich
Roasted Turkey, Apple-Wood Smoked Bacon, Tomatoes, Romaine Lettuce, Avocado and Cranberry Cream Cheese Spread on Grilled Sourdough Bread.

Oh. Yes. If that doesn't make you start drooling, I don't know what will. (well, if you like sandwiches that is. If you don't like sandwiches...uh...that sounds like a personal problem...) The bread is perfectly grilled...yep, grilled not toasted. And there is a difference - toasted will give you a uniform crust to the whole slice of bread. Grilling will cause the bread to have a slight crust on the surfaces that touch the grill, but will mostly remain soft. And with bread like this, the combination of the crunchy edges, with soft delicious good quality generously portioned slices of sourdough bread...toasting it would take away half its' appeal. I'm freaking out about the bread and I'm not even describing the insides yet! THIS IS HOW GOOD THIS SANDWICH IS!

They give you a choice of turkey meat - dark or white. THAT is the true test of wether or not the turkey was actually carved from a bird, not the horrible pressed turkey stuff a-la-Oscar Mayer style. Pressed turkey is an unholy creation upon the deli world. Turkey is NOT meant to taste like that! I digress. The turkey on this sandwich is moist (oh, I chose mixed dark and white turkey meat, by the way), flavorful and again, very generously piled onto the sandwich. Buttery perfectly ripe avocado encases the turkey, with thick slices of applewood bacon - that's the real deal, not the shriveled pieces of bacon that look like scabs you've picked off your knee. (yep. disgusting. I'm making a point.) The kicker is the cranberry cream cheese. The spread ties the whole sandwich together - it's like Thanksgiving on a sandwich.

What could perfectly compliment this amazing meal but a side of garlic curly fries. These fries are best dipped in the ranchy sauce - they're perfect because they weren't greasy, they were actually really dry and seasoned well with the chopped garlic.


Owen decided on a...

Chicken Caesar Salad
Crisp Romaine Lettuce, Marinated Chicken Breast, House-Baked Crunchy Garlic Croutons and Parmesan Cheese Tossed in a Classic Caesar Dressing.

As caesar salads go, it was good. I didn't think it was stellar amazing, but nothing much to complain about, as everything was fresh, the dressing was recently made, nice big chunky flavored croutons. No complaints here. I liked the fact that the chicken was a good piece of chicken breast, with some good browning on the sides. Chicken that is earmarked for salads is sometimes boiled, like, lesser quality. It's nice to see that this chicken could have been the main feature in a sandwich or on its' own - again, another sign of a good restaurant.

Damon and Pythias also has the no-pressure-food-to-your-table service, which I enjoy. You order and pay at the cashier, they give you a number, you sit down, and someone brings your food to you. I usually choose to tip when I pay, and waiters/waitresses aren't falling all over you to get some extra gratuity. Everything is quick and no hassle - and the food is delicious.

This place is highly reccommended by me - and I would never steer you wrong!

Sushi Mac in West LA
(link is to website pertaining to Ventura location, I go to the one on Sawtelle)

Yes, one lone picture, sorry guys. This sushi arrives quick and gets devoured quicker. I manged to snap a picture of an order of a Dynamite Mac Roll. Sushi Mac is one of my favorite places to eat sushi. The music is all techno and plays loud (as stated in part of the RULES they have at Sushi Mac...). The seating is simple - all seats surround the sushi bar in a U formation. No tables - it's faster like this. The place is manned by 4 people - one waitress/cashier/busser, one dishwasher/fryer, and 2 sushi chefs. It's amazing how efficent this place is. Drink choices are displayed in can formation in the fridge, there's also tea and water.

The best part - EACH PLATE of sushi is $2.75! It may not be the best cuts of sushi but you'll get full and happy. The more expensive the sushi, the less you'll get on each plate, but at 2.75 who's complaining? The Dynamite Mac rolls, pictured above, have little baked hats of a mayonnaise based product, and the rolls are California Rolls. On the Spicy Dynamite Mac Rolls, the roll is Spicy Tuna. Another favorite is the Dragon Ball - 2 tempura fried salmon ball formations cut in half, with sweet eel sauce drizzled on top. Most everything else is standard base level sushi, with a lot of fried versions of stuff (fried California roll, anyone?) It's great to take first time sushi goers here, you can be adventurous without breaking the bank and try different things. If you're a sushi snob, this place probably isn't for you - try Sushi Tenn down the street.

This place only takes cash, so hit up the ATM or and dig up change from your couch covers beforehand. Go...here...now...(yes I command you :D)

Stroh's Gourmet in Venice

Abbott Kinney in Venice is a street full of specialized little shops, selling everything from too-cool for-you artwork, clothes made for the beach and furniture that is more expensive than 2 months of my paycheck to purchase. In the middle of these stores, there's Stroh's Gourmet.

Stroh's has a great beachy atmosphere, with old style signs (my favorite one they have is an old style metal sign that says, "Chicken noodle soup"), old crates holding bags of chips, and friendly employees. Ordering your sandwich is easy, with friendly employee asking if he should throw the sandwich on the panini grill (yes!!) before he wraps it up to go. They also had the Cola Cola from Mexico, and Coca Cola Light (I think Diet Coke here) in those awesome bottles.


This is what I got Owen - a grilled on the panini multigrain turkey brie avocado sandwich.
Inside shot, but the picture is a bit washed out from the flash of the camera. It was a very rich sandwich, as the brie was probably a double brie, and the turkey was a bit salty. Actually, I have to say both sandwiches were a bit on the rich savory salty side - but TOO much so. I think I needed something to cut through the richness, maybe some greens, or something bland to offset such rich ingredients. If I get this again, I'm adding herby greens from a bag to this to even it out.


The sandwich I got for myself was a pretzel bread ham sandwich. I love the novelty of this sandwich, as the pretzel bread was very unique. The texture of the bread was very much like a pretzel, with a good outside crusty bite to it, and I love the shiny salt speckled-ness of it. The innards of the sandwich, as I said, were very salty, but this one had a very spicy mustard. I like spicy but Owen was kicked in the mouth by the strength of it. He added some kewpie mayo from the fridge, which I have to admit, helped the sandwich's taste.

Stroh's is a good break from frou-frou restaurants that dot this area, but next time I'll probably stick to Abbots Pizza Company. I've had better sandwiches (for instance, from Bay Cities) but the atmosphere and staff at Stroh's might convince me to come back. Not soon though.

Tacomiendo in Culver City
(Inglewood and Culver)

Tacomiendo has been one of those places that I've driven past a bunch of times on the way to work, and I was curious but not too curious. However, after reading reviews on various sites,(The Great Taco Hunt being one of them) I went, and thank goodness I did.

This place is AWESOME. It feels really welcoming, like visiting a friends' house. Opening the metal door to keep the flies outside, the cashier (who's now seen me like 4 times) takes your order. Everything is made-to-order and they MAKE THEIR OWN TORTILLAS. That alone is a reason why I would haunt this place, but not only do they have their handmade tortillas, they seem to care about the food as well. Everything tastes fresh and made with care.

Case in point: what I got for lunch the other day. I got a 2 taco plate - one soft asada taco, one hard beef taco, rice, beans, guacamole and sour cream. I didn't dress the taco yet in this picture, but they have a great salsa bar with fresher than fresh pico de gallo, onions, different salsas, and even pinto beans simmer in a big black crockpot style pot, you can spoon some onto your meal.

I ate everything on this plate except for the sour cream - not much of a fan of sour cream. The meat was gristle free, great flavor. Rice and beans were great. Guacamole was spot on.



Owen got the 2 taco plate as well - but he got 2 soft tacos, one chicken and one carnitas. He said the carnitas were a little dry, the chicken was good white meat. He left everything but the sour cream as well though.









Chips! Well chips are always good...dip these in their salsa - you don't want to waste a drop of that delicious salsa!










Do yourself a favor and go to Tacomiendo. Great little place, difficult parking but I'd suggest parking on Culver and walking the 2 steps instead of trying to get one of 5 coveted spots in the front.

Oh and they have those big Coca Colas from Mexico - the ones in the glass bottles. Those are far superior in taste than the American ones, I've found out. I think they use cane sugar or something, because they taste less chemical, and maybe they use less high fructose corn syrup? Anyways, get one of those, get some asada tacos, sit back and enjoy some of the best food Los Angeles has to offer.

La Dijonaise Cafe in Culver City

The morning after a rambuncious wedding that Owen and I attended, we headed to Downtown Culver City, to find somewhere to sit for awhile that had sweet sweet air conditioning. If anyone's been in LA recently during the hot heat wave, they know exactly what I'm talking about - it's been a toasty, humid summer, like being in New York. La Dijonaise was quick to give us a seat inside, so La Dijonaise it was.

The Arnold Palmer (Lemonade + Iced tea) is my favorite drink on a hot day, or on any day really. It's a perfect blend of sweet and a bit tart, and watered down enough to be refreshing and tasty. This particular one was quite sufficient, it was slurped down quickly.

This is Owen's Cobb Salad. Notice the ONE slice of avocado. I get kind of annoyed at places that tout a particular more expensive item like avacado or shrimp on a particular dish, and then completely cheap out on it (for instance, Macaroni Grill - a dish that had a main ingredient of shrimp gave us ONE piece of shrimp. That's just CRUEL.) Anyways, back to this dish. The other ingredients in the dish were ample enough but I had a taste - nothing to write home about. The items in this dish were okay but nothing was extremely fresh, tasty or special.
I got a ham, bacon and cheese quiche, with vinagrette side salad. The quiche's crust was good - very buttery, flaky. The insides of the quiche was like, I guess, scrambled eggs with ham and bacon. The vinagrette had too much bite to it - I couldn't finish the salad because of that.

La Dijonaise isn't knock your socks off, but it's nothing you need to go out of your way to go to. Their pastries and baked goods are their specialty, so stick to those.

King's Head Pub Restaurant

I had never been to King's Head before, I swear! I love British Pubs, even though I can't drink (pesky allergy to alcohol, granting me the forever title of ultimate designated driver). I think it's because of the atmosphere of most pubs - they seem more like gathering places for people of every age group. A completely different feel than a greasy spoon diner - more like, if that greasy spoon diner and a sports bar mated and gave birth to a Pub. Yeah, that idea is kind of gross.

King's Head is located off of 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica - so it's hard to want to deal with the crowds of tourists, super overpriveledged college kids with their parents' credit cards, and WASPy ladies willing to elbow you in the stomach for a perfect pair of white capris. But friends, feast your eyes upon the spoils of this eatery...

I got the Full 2 piece Fish and Chips. It is GLEAMING with goodness! I only could battle one of these down, and kept the other one for lunch the next day. The quality of the fish underneath the deliciously flavored crispy batter was excellent. It's so important to have good quality fish for fish n chips - a lot of other places that I've had fish and chips at seem to hide their bad /slightly rotting cuts of fish under the batter. That's just a sin towards food. The chips themselves were very nicely fried, thick and with a good consistency to their fried outsides. Even the tartar sauce was exactly right, a little tart with relish and rich mayo. Owen got the Sunday Dinner Special - Roast Lamb covered in thick gravy, roast potatoes, carrot mash, broccoli, and a mini yorkshire pudding rounding out the plate. It was a lot to fit on one plate! I had a taste of the lamb - succulent, tender, gravy was tasty - everything I would want in a good piece of meat. Owen complained that the roast potatoes were not so great - I guess they cooked them too long and the outsides formed a hard protective crust. The carrots he also didn't care for, I guess they're carrots that are mashed with some not so tasty root, to stretch out, ah, a carrot side dish I guess. I think it's a British thing. The yorkshire pudding was light, airy and crisp. You rip a piece of yorkshire pudding off, dip it in the vat of gravy in the middle of the plate, and enjoy. So many parings with gravy - the British are ingenious! Anyway Owen enjoyed this meal greatly as there was only the carrot mash left on the plate.

King's Head gets an enthusiastic thumbs up from me. Next time, I will try a Scotch Egg - dying to know what that tastes like!!

Tender Greens in Culver City

There's a ton of new restaurants in downtown Culver City area. The first time I stumbled upon this eatery was on 4th of July, one of the few places that was open around the area. It was a great first impression, and this time around I wanted to give it a proper review.

Tender Greens has great atmosphere - pleasant green hued walls, sturdy modern furniture, little tables. However, don't bring a group bigger than 4 here, or else you're going to be hijacking tables to squeeze together in the small space. There's more room outside to sit.

Ordering is cafeteria style. You walk up to the spitshield glass style counter, and one of the hardworking salad tossers asks you what you would like. The menu is very straightforward, with flatrates for big salads, or combos of sandwich/small salad. ($9). The choices of meat are flatiron steak, free range chicken, ahi tuna, and veggie smorgasboard. After placing your order, you watch and wait. (I kind of feel guilty about this part, as you wait for your food, eyeing the employee assemble your food...very voyeristic)

The huge flaw about this place is paying for your meal. No, I don't mean, they should give me free food. I mean, when attempting to pay for the meal, the eating establishment's method of taking my money is inconvenient to me. At Tender Greens, the cashier does triple duty - they have to pour out any kind of soups a customer orders, has to prepare/fetch the drinks (we got Arnold Palmers, my favorite kind of drink) and collect money. This is the place where everyone is blocked up, as there are only 2 cash registers and a long line of people waiting to pay. The assembly line of TG workers are efficient, and the food is prepared very quickly. But we all have to wait to pay. A bit frustrating, but I know they're new and still probably learning the ins and outs of their business.

Now to the meal!

I ordered an Ahi Tuna Sandwich with Caesar Salad. Owen got a flatiron steak sandwich, also with caesar salad. So we each switched halves and got a taste of both. The salad is pretty standard, I can't say it was the best thing I've ever had but everything was fresh. There were little shards of parmesan cheese that infused with the dressing, which I enjoyed. I wasn't the hugest fan of the big crouton, it was good but having to chop up the piece myself with a butterknife is cumbersome. The sandwiches were very simple - good bread which had a great springiness to it (which is difficult to get in a foccacia style bun), bit of mayo, roasted cold red bell peppers and the meat. The bell peppers aren't something I'm used to in a sandwich. Sometimes, I think they have the consistency of slimy deviened earthworms that have been soaked in red food coloring. But...that's a personal paranoia and isn't Tender Greens' fault.

Close up, you can see the simplicity of the sandwich. I have to say the steak was superior to the tuna, because the tuna had little flavoring and was just...ehh. Not bad but not great. I have to get used to the taste of ahi tuna and bread - raw-ish tuna tastes best with rice I think. The steak slices were perfectly cooked the way I like 'em - medium, a little chewy, good flavoring.

Tender Greens is a decent place to go and have a quick style lunch when it's nice out. Nothing wrong with that.

This is it...the reason behind all of this

Welcome, officially, to my restaurant review blog. I have another blog, that contains more of the fun movie/animation/drawing/random interest stuff, but I want "Drink your milk...and eat your greens" to be something that strictly gives people the dirt on something near to my heart - restaurants and eating experiences. Mostly they will be eateries around Los Angeles and the smaller cities that surround it, but occasionally, like my first blog about Dussini, will happen to be in another city where I happen to be for the weekend.

I'll promise to be as honest and snarky as I can be...I'm not holding back. That's why this blog is named what it is...after a Mr. T saying. Mr. T is AWESOME...I can only hope to follow in his footsteps in the culinary critique world as he did in A-Team. I'll be the B.A." Baracus of food review...well, it's a goal anyways!

Eat decent food everyone! And hope you enjoy the blog!

Dussini Mediterranian Bistro

It's not everyday you wake up and think...

DAMN...I could use some really crappy food today!
I certainly don't. Or I try not to. Even McDonalds is not a horrible meal because you know what you're getting into. And I think that's the thing really, if you're expecting really bad food, and get really bad food, what else can you say but, well, it was McDonalds? And if that Filet O'Fish tastes especially good one time, isn't that an unexpected happy surprise?

I guess the point I'm trying to make is, it's all about expectations. And this place I'm writing up about - did not meet those expecations.

Here's what this place says about itself, taken from their website:

Dussini Mediterranean Bistro, an upscale and intimate restaurant with a distinctive menu, has opened in high style on the site of The Old Spaghetti Factory in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.

After months of planning, the vision emerged for Dussini with a warm and friendly atmosphere, highly-trained staff and an inviting range of exciting Mediterranean dishes from an olive tapenade appetizer to monkfish a la Nicoise, osso buco alla Milanese and paella.

Okay. That seems like something good, right?

After a long day at Comic con San Diego, our group had decided to get something to eat somewhere decent. We had loved the Old Spaghetti Factory every year we have gone to Con, but when we found out that it had closed down, we were disappointed. Dussini was its' replacement, owned by the same guys who own OSF...so we gave it a shot.

We had reservations at 8pm, and waited patiently until we were finally seated at 8:25. I figured, okay, busy day, with the Comic con going on and all. But not that many people were actually waiting with us...so I started getting suspicious. Our first glance at the menu was a disappointing one. What restaurant worth their salt doesn't offer something like sandwiches or burgers for dinner, forcing a patron to get something expensive?

Also, I have to say, our waiter was really shady. He was nice enough, but did something that made me want to pee and poo on his grave. When taking our orders, after someone would order an entree, he asked, "Would you like a soup or salad with that?" Now, usually when people hear that from a not so lameass waiter trying to confuse patrons of the restaurant for more money on the bill, one would think, "oh, my entree comes with a soup or salad." My friends around the table each fell for this one by one. I knew not to assume anything with this asshat with an apron, and declined my "soup or salad" option.

We waited for our food to come to our table. For a long time. A really long time. And when it comes to food, I can be pretty patient, but when it started hitting 45 minutes from time Asshat with an apron took our orders to food finally arriving at the table...my patience definitely wore thin.

This is what I ordered. Do NOT be fooled by its' appearance.

Lobster Mac and Cheese
Okay, I know what they were trying to do with this dish. They were trying to combine the feeling of comfort food with a twist of high class. I GET IT. And I was willing to buy into it, as long as it tasted good - but it tasted horrible! Kraft mac and cheese tasted better than this slop. The cheese taste was bitter, and had a nasty aftertaste. The lobster pieces were mushy and obviously frozen and defrosted poorly. The lobster had none of that good lobster taste that only comes from a quality piece of seafood. Taking a bite of one of those lobster pieces was like putting old chewing gum in my mouth; flavored like bitter nasty cheese. I definitely did not finish this entree.


Owen didn't fare much better either. He got the Ragu alla Bolongnese. I had a small bite of this and went, 'bleck'! The noodles were completely overcooked and mushy. The general taste of this dish was gummy mush in your mouth. The sauce was not tasty and meaty, could it have been imitation meat? Doesn't it cost more to make imitation meat than to give in and just have real meat in there? Even Taco Bell has better ground meat than this. And that's saying something.

After the drive back to LA from San Diego, I threw up. Tasting this food twice was like re-watching Star Wars Episode 1-3 Marathon. It's like the feeling of wanting to throw up after you've already thrown up.

So all in all, horrible experience here. Prices were extravagant for no reason, and food was piss poor. The bill for me and Owen (we nicely asked for a separate bill beforehand) came to 70 dollars for the both of us. If you're in San Diego, never ever go here. Ever.