Tony Miller's Profile
Top 5 Sushi L.A.- I know it's been done, but this is 2010!
Ogden-san, you speak for me as well. If you ever need a sushi companion in LA -- one with modest means -- let me know.
Best sandwich I ever invented
When I was a little kid, my mom used to make me peanut butter & radish sandwiches on toast, with mayo & lettuce. Or, as an alternate version, peanut butter & sliced sweet gherkins. I have made both in the recent past, although I haven't bothered with the lettuce. Both were good, although I preferred the radish version.
Top 5 Sushi L.A.- I know it's been done, but this is 2010!
I did return to Sushi Zo last summer, as I had planned. I though it was excellent, but I was not blown away as I had been two years previously.
I've been eating sushi for about 35 years. At one time I considered myself more knowledgeable than most other Americans, but that's no longer true. I don't think my taste has developed significantly over that time, while many American sushi-philes have passed me by.
My point is, I still love sushi, and would prefer to eat it over almost anything else, but I don't see the point in spending $100+ per head to eat it. I am content eating at places that charge 1/2 or 1/3 as much, even if it means I can't have Omakase and toro is a rare treat.
I don't plan to return to Zo -- not because of the service or the food, which I thought were both fine, but because of the cost.
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Sushi Zo
9824 National Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034
Your choice for Trader Joe's BEST item
Lately they've been featuring "Power Berries" at the cash register. They're dark chocolate balls with various centers made from cranberries, blueberries, pomegranate and acai berries. These should be prescription only, as they are seriously addictive!
Best Kung pao chicken now?
Seems like most Kung Pao chicken in LA is wimpy -- too much celery, too few peanuts, and (worst of all) too few fiery peppers. I have eaten it in SFO, Minneapolis, and New York, and it was satisfyingly spicy almost every time. I wonder why not in LA?
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Kung Pao Restaurant
4911 Warner Ave, Huntington Beach, CA 92649
American breakfast - the meal still stuck in diners?
Scrapple: Your handle reminds me that the best breakfast I have ever eaten was in a restaurant around Lancaster, PA. Eggs, scrapple (mmmm!!!) and crumb cake -- can't find that combination in nearly enough American cities!
On the West Coast, at least, scrapple in a restaurant is an extreme rarity.
Devonsheer / Old London / Wise cheddar waffle snacks
Thanks for your detailed response -- your research matches mine exactly. Wise seems to have been the last vendor, but hope is fading fast for finding them in stock anywhere.
Devonsheer / Old London / Wise cheddar waffle snacks
I do know how to spell Devonshire, but the cheese things were branded "Devonsheer" when I was a kid.
Devonsheer / Old London / Wise cheddar waffle snacks
Thanks for the lead. They are listed at hometownfavorites, but are shown as out of stock. That's what I had found previously on Amazon.com.
Devonsheer / Old London / Wise cheddar waffle snacks
When I was a kid (1940's) my mother used to buy "Devonsheer Wafers". These were sharp cheddar process cheese filling in a sandwich of miniature waffles -- about the size of a Ritz cracker. I was crazy for these, but eventually they disappeared from stores.
After many years, I found them again, now called Old London Waffle Snacks, sold at a Safeway market in Manhattan Beach, CA. Then they disappeared again.
Last year, I discovered that I could buy them from Ralphs Online, and I consumed a couple of cases of them. I just tried again, though, and found that Ralphs no longer carries them (even online). Amazon shows them, but lists them as Out of Stock.
I found a website for Old London, and asked them about them; they told me that they had sold the brand. They suggested that Wise Waffie Snacks were the same recipe, so I tried that: again, no longer available. Amazon says that these are currently not available, and they don't know if they will be again.
These things are addictive. The cheese is tangy, like Kakauna Club Extra Sharp (also getting hard to find), and the waffle crackers have a wonderful crunch to them. I crave them passionately, but fear that they are another of my favorite foods that are going out of existence.
Sorry to whine at you. Anybody know anything I've missed; any comparable products that are still available?
Grill du Chateau in Palos Verdes
That bad, huh?
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Grill du Chateau
767 Deep Valley Drive, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
Chili Dogs
Yeah, I DID like the OJ chili dogs, particularly in combination with the Julius drink.
Chili Dogs
Sadly, this is an obsolete response. For something like 40 years, I went to Orange Julius stands wherever I found them, and always had two chili cheese dogs with onions (and a regular Julius). Not much originality there, but great, comfortable taste.
This worked very satisfactorily for me both in L.A. and in Minneapolis, both of which had OJ stands.
Now, the only OJ stand I'm aware of in L.A. is in Redondo Beach, and they don't even offer chili dogs. Sighhh.
Grill du Chateau in Palos Verdes
Relatively new French restaurant in the South Bay. Anybody been there who can comment on it? We're thinking about going there this weekend, even though I find the name suspicious.
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Grill du Chateau
767 Deep Valley Drive, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
Top 5 Sushi L.A.- I know it's been done, but this is 2010!
I'm a bit surprised at Sushi Zo's fall from favor. We ate there in '08 after reading its many praises here, and I thought it was spectacular. I am planning to return next month, but I'm curious why some hounds dislike it????
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Sushi Zo
9824 National Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034
Mongolian BBQ
I agree. My dad introduced me to the one in Hollywood ages ago; probably in the '60s. I think that Big Wok (even though it's much cleaner and brighter) is a worthy successor.
Gan Bien Su Ji Do?
At a Bay Area Chinese restaurant, a friend asked for -- and got -- some amazing long, skinny, blackened green beans by this name (spelling is his; I'm not certain that it's correct). They were delicious, by far the best green beans I've ever eaten.
Does this ring a bell for anybody? Do I have the name right, or do they also go by some other name? Any idea what restaurant(s) serve them, preferably in the South Bay / Harbor / Westside areas?
Mexican and seafood recommendations in the South Bay/Harbor areas?
Oh yeah, I may have been there once. Is it on Centinela?
Please note that I was asking for Mexican OR seafood; it needn't be both.
Thanks!
Mexican and seafood recommendations in the South Bay/Harbor areas?
Family is visiting from MN and asks if there are any must-go Mexican or seafood restaurants in the South Bay or Harbor cities. I know a few of each, but none that I think are truly memorable.
Anybody have favorites they'd like to recommend?
Wil Wright's macaroons
Wow, we could have a reunion of Wil Wright's alumni! I worked regularly as a fountain guy at the Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades stores, and occasionally as a fill-in guy at the Westwood store. I'm not sure of the precise year, but it might have been the summer of '57 or '58. My grandmother, Flo Dawson, was the office manager at the factory, and my uncle, John Dawson Jr., worked in the factory and at the Westwood store -- both in the early '50s.
Chocolate Burnt Almond and Nesselrode Bula were among my favorites too, but probably remember their coffee and peppermint stick flavors at the top of the list. Even their vanilla was extraordinary!
Cork Irish Gin: where?
Sadly, no. BevMo doesn't carry it, my attempts to email parent companies drew no response, no luck at all so far.
Thanks for asking.
Corned beef hash??? ANyone??!
Agreed -- I found Ralph's canned hash both better and cheaper than the national brands. Regrettably, our local Ralph's has now quit carrying it.
Corned beef hash??? ANyone??!
A friend of mine and I (both hash enthusiasts) tried OPH's version based on a reco from Chowhound some time ago.
We were both massively disappointed. It was so salty as to be virtually inedible, and when we pointed it out to the server, she just shrugged and said "that's the way they make it."
I actually like OPH very much for other breakfast dishes, but I thought that the hash was a complete flop. I would much prefer to eat Mary Kitchen's canned hash at home.
best cole slaw?
It hadn't occurred to me that region was a factor, but it certainly makes sense. Grandmom was from St. Louis and was born in 1900, so her recipe might well have had a Southern influence and would have used traditional ingredients.
Thanks for the response so far!
best cole slaw?
My grandmother used to make brilliant cole slaw. It contained cabbage, of course, and some kind of wet stuff (mayonnaise?), and lots of celery seed. The family recipe is now lost, and our attempts to recreate it from memory have failed miserably.
At this point, my pride is shattered, and I'm quite willing to buy some slaw from a deli or market. Any suggestions as to sources of good, tasty and interesting slaw? Maybe with a hint of horseradish?
Wil Wright's macaroons
I'm delighted that you remember WW so fondly.
My grandmother was the office manager at the plant, my uncle worked in the plant, and I was a soda jerk at various times at three of the stores. Since it was a family place to me, I remember it with pride as well as gustatory nostalgia.
There was great attention to detail about the place -- the recipes, fixtures, equipment and decor were all specified in detail by the original partners. I haven't tasted the ice cream or the macaroons in probably 45 years, but I remember it all with great delight.
Vegetarian in South Bay?
I reviewed the thread about upscale vegetarian places in the LA area, and found Akasha in Culver City, which sounds like a place to try. We're in San Pedro, kinda the Southernmost tip of LA, and would be particularly glad to find good vegetarian places in the South Bay or Long Beach. Any suggestions?
Best things at Baja Cantina?
I have had what I thought were excellent Huevos Rancheros at Baja Cantina.
South Bay Favorites (VERY LONG)
Can't agree with you. Go to Wendy's Cafe for breakfast and order the Jose's Special. It is so much better than good that I can't bring myself to order anything else.
South Bay Favorites (VERY LONG)
I've now been to the Depot three times, and it has become my go-to place for good and innovative food in the South Bay. Every dish I've tried has been excellent, and each time there have been new and novel combinations of ingredients. Enthusiastically recommended!
There is some stylistic connection between Christine's and The Depot. I think they're run by ex-spouses, so there is a similar emphasis on novel combinations. I like them both.
