oldhat's Profile
carousel on hollywood blvd.?
I went to this place last weekend with four friends. We got the Carousel Dinner for $22/person. It's not really fair to call it a dinner, it's more like a feast. The amount of food was staggering and every single dish was superb. So delicious. The three kinds of meat were perfect, all of the veggie dishes were amazing and the beef tartar was wonderful. The dishes kept coming and coming and coming. I can't say enough good things about this place. Make a reservation and definitely order the Carousel Dinner. Highly recommended. One of the best casual meals I've had in LA.
Best cheap sit-down restaurants in Berkeley / Oakland area
Oh wow, I didn't remember the menu being that pricey! I'm from Los Angeles and I try to go to Rivoli for an early dinner whenever I'm in town. Well, the food is really good but I guess if you want an inexpensive place, it looks like it isn't the greatest.
Quick! Need a restaurant for 8 tonight in Oakland/Berkeley
Rivoli on Solano Ave. in Berkeley.
Best cheap sit-down restaurants in Berkeley / Oakland area
Rivoli on the east end of Solano Ave. in Berkeley. Great little spot, unpretentious, reliable, consistently good food.
Zoya in Hayes Valley
Anyone gone to this place on Grove? I drove by the other day and I was intrigued by the fact that it looks like it's in a little lighthouse thing next to the Days Inn. I've heard the food is pretty good and it's a mom-and-pop. Any reports?
Vegetarian Indian: India Sweets and Spices vs. Annapurna on Venice Blvd.
Did you know there's yet another India Sweets and Spices on Fairfax? Not related to the one on Venice. I wonder if it's any good.
I go to the one on Venice because it's right down the block from my apartment.
Vegetarian Indian: India Sweets and Spices vs. Annapurna on Venice Blvd.
India Sweets and Spices, Venice and Bagley on the Los Angeles side of Venice Blvd.
I love this place as much as I hate it. It's a tiny little hole in the wall Indian market that also has a small cafeteria style lunch/dinner counter. The family that runs it is rude and the place looks like a total dump but the food is good and the prices are so cheap. They switch the menu every day so you can go back a few times a week and get something different. They have vegetarian dishes only, usually lentils, garbanzo beans, eggplant and potatoes, spinach, plus samosas and a battered, deep fried spinach ball thing that's very good. I get the Special #2 (comes with rice, two items, yogurt sauce, plus a samosa, fried spinach thingee and naan and a big cracker). If they have it that day, I get the lemon rice and yogurt curry and lentils with a mango lassi. You get a lot of lunch or dinner for around $6. Delicious!
If you want a much nicer dining experience, hit up Annapurna a few blocks west on Venice. It's in the strip mall at 10200 Venice, on the Culver City side of Venice Blvd. Originally recommended to my by an old Indian boss of mine who was religious and didn't eat meat. Delicious, fresh South Indian vegetarian style food. Great service in a nice, clean restaurant. A total 180 from India Sweets and Spices. This place seems to cater to lots of Indian techie professionals, there are Indian music videos playing non-stop on two monitors, plus there are four computers with Internet access in four booths. Get the giant roll thing, I forgot what it's called. Dosa? It's huge and good. Reasonable prices, too. Gets packed on Friday and Saturday nights.
You know Indian places are good when Indian people eat there. True for both India Sweets and Spices and Annapurna.
Rutt's Hawaiian
I just got back from lunch at Rutts and I had the loco moco. It was pretty good. I'm a white boy from California so I don't know what authentic loco moco is supposed to be but this was two seasoned hamburger patties over steamed rice and covered in thick gravy, with mac salad on the side.
The gravy was excellent but the burgers were overdone/crispy on the outside. I don't know if that's how it's supposed to be. Also, the rice was a little inconsistent, around the edges of the plate, the grains were a little hard, like the rice hadn't been stirred in the rice steamer. Pretty minor quibble. Overall, very tasty. Can't beat the price, the service or the atmosphere.
