Wolfgang's Profile
Where to buy grass fed beef or farm specific beef in LA?
I tried grass fed beef for the first time last night. They were boneless 100% grass fed, organic rib-eyes from Sommers purchased at Sprouts in Culver City. These were from Uruguay. We grilled them over an oak fire. I did not like the steak at all. It was soft but incredibly chewy and tough. It was still pink in the middle so I doubt that it was overcooked. It wasn't dry. After reading all of the precautions about overcooking grass fed meat, I was determined to error on the undercooked side. The flavour was musky bordering on gamey. I couldn't add enough salt to make it enjoyable. I'm hopeful that a braised shortrib or a ground chuck burger will be more to my liking.
Anyway, I'm still going to try other grass fed cuts in other preparations but I don't see a reason to try a steak again any time soon. I just don't see any reason to eat steak if this is what it's going to taste like.
Meatball Subs
I agree with you about the mealy meatballs at Bay Cities, but I still enjoy them. I get them to go along with sausage in a 2:1 meatball to sausage ratio. I heat them up in the sauce, cutting both the meatballs and sausage into bite size pieces. The mealiness fades away a bit when cut into smaller pieces and mixed with the sausages. The Bay Cities roll comes to life in a low oven--about 250-275 degrees for 10 minutes.
Food for plane on route from midtown to LAX
I agree with the suggestion of La Brea bakery. They have about 5 cold prepared sandwiches to choose from. They travel well and are not messy. The turkey with avocado, arugula and chipotle aioli is probably my favourite of the cold ones and the oatmeal currant cookie is my favourite of their small cookie selection. Parking is easy.
Leo's taco truck at the Unocal station on the corner of Venice and La Brea. I think they're there by 5p. Tacos won't be warm after the long wait but a burrito wrapped in foil may still be palatable.
Moving a mile or so east is Larchmont Wine and Cheese. Call in your sandwich order ahead of time and it will be there waiting for you. Because they are not loaded with wet stuff, they do not suffer from hours of neglect.
There's a Nicaraguan? restaurant on La Brea about 1.5 blocks south of Washington on the east side of the street. I haven't been but I recall a positive write-up a couple of years ago.
Moving closer to LAX is The Good Pizza in Weschester. They have 4 sandwiches to choose from. They sound slightly messy but may be worth it. I've only had the pizza from them, but that only comes in full pies IIRC.
Lastly, there's the In-N-Out on Sepulveda a stone's throw from LAX. I don't like waiting to eat burgers but you may be less picky.
Umami Burgers....Worth the price ??
Yes, it's worth it, or close enough, to try it to decide for yourself if it's worth it. I wouldn't call it a good deal though. It's a splurge to spend around $20 on a burger and fries, even if that's the going price for gourmet burgers.
I've been about 6 times, all in L.A., and always have the manly burger in spite of its name. It's always been cooked a perfect medium rare, which is a rarity. Even when I used to live down the street from FO in SM and would frequent their burgers, they wouldn't turn out meat temperatures with the same consistency. I don't put Umami on FOs level, though, but I put it clearly above the Counter, which I find clinical and bland while still being greasy.
Langer's vs. Katz's and One Other LA vs NY Observation
I recently went to New York and ate a lot of food. The place that I was probably most excited to try was Katz's deli. I've lavished praise upon and more recently, lamented a pattern of decline at, Langer's. For this comparison, I will take Langer's at its best vs. one visit to Katz's. At Langers, I order a plain pastrami on rye and sometimes spread a small amount of mustard on the bread. At Katz's, I ordered the pastrami on rye and due to a misunderstanding, the sandwich maker added mustard.
The pastrami at Katz's is better than at Langer's. It's very close though. Langer's at its best does not leave me wishing I could go to Katz's. The pastrami at Katz's is slightly smokier and has a slightly deeper, more robust taste. The Katz's pastrami is also a little bit fattier and juicier. The sandwich maker hand slices it right in front of you and offers a sample on a paper plate before assembling the sandwich. Katz's gives you more meat than at Langer's but not by a large margin.
The rye bread at Langer's is far superior to Katz's rye bread. Katz's rye bread is an afterthought, it seems. It's soft all the way through the crust. It fell apart while eating the sandwich. I compared it to the bread or rolls that you get at most BBQ joints--it's just a vehicle for the meat and doesn't add anything to the sandwich. Langer's rye bread is exceptional. Soft in the middle with a great crust. Since I wouldn't be returning to Katz's, I went back to the counter for another sandwich to split with one of my companions. This sandwich came from a brand new hunk of pastrami. The pastrami was identical--perfect. The bread was the same as well.
I'm glad we have Langer's and I hope my last five or so sandwiches aren't the new reality at Langer's. At its best, I'd choose Langer's over Katz's because of the bread.
Other observations: NY pizza is not better than LA pizza. I had pizza from about 5 different places in New York, including John's on Bleecker Street and Joe's (to compare with our SM Joe's) and I never found myself wishing we could have this pizza in LA. Between the fancier wood fired oven places and a few of the better gas oven pizza places, LA has as good or better pizza than I had in NY.
Eataly
I would recommend Eataly for lunch on Saturday. The Rotisserie has a meatball sandwich special on Saturday along with their daily prime rib sandwich. Both are excellent.
The cappuccini at the front espresso bar are very good, as is the gelato served next to the coffee bar.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Clementine makes a perfect chocolate chip cookie. As described above--the crispy perimeter is about as good of a cookie bite as you could hope for.
If I'm not out west, Larchmont Larder makes a nice chocolate chip cookie, though I prefer their oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, which is as good as Clementine but different. I'm forgetting the name, but the bakery on Robertson by the 10 fwy that bakes for the Ivy has some very interesting chocolate chip cookies.
Ventura/Oxnard help?
Cuernavaca on the avenue in Ventura is my favourite Mexican restaurant in the area. I've tried a few of the places along Channel Islands Blvd and they do not compare. Cuernavaca is very casual and serves beer. Try the al pastor tacos.
You have to try Topper's Pizza Place once. It's right on the harbor now, so if you're in Hollywood Beach, you can walk there. It's not gourmet pizza but it's really enjoyable. I ask for it well done.
Welcome to the neighborhood. I hope you enjoy your stay.
Best pizza west of the 405?
Gjelina pizza is more like bar food--something to accompany your drinks. It's good but doesn't leave me craving it when I haven't been in a while. I'd order it again if I went but it's not a reason to go.
What do you think of the Good Pizza? I think it's pretty good. It's not great but it's an enjoyable pie that needs to be ordered well done and even if you do, you'll want your toaster oven ready to go. Their sausage is a good step above other pizza joint sausages out there, not counting Mozza.
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Good Pizza
7929 Emerson Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Gjelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
Most delicious gelato--Grom Malibu -- gelato made the old fashioned way
We recently tried Grom. I loved the staff. They were very friendly and very generous with the samples.
I really really enjoyed the Crema de Grom. I wish their generosity extended to the scooping for the orders. The 2 scoops could be eaten in 6 bites without a problem, 4 if you were pushing it. It was $5.25 for that fleeting moment of pleasure.
I don't have the gelato credentials of some of the other posters beyond not liking most that I try because it is way too sweet. I thought Grom got the sweetness close to perfect.
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Crema Cafe
322 Main St, Seal Beach, CA 90740
Umami Burger - Does it live up to the hype?
I've only had two burgers and both times from the LaBrea and 9th street location. I had the Manly burger both times. They are nice, good burgers. They're familiar tasting. I enjoyed it but I would say that it does not live up to the hype. It's good but it's not something that claws at me and nags me to return when I haven't been in a while. I have never and would never say to someone, you HAVE to try Umami Burger. It's more like, if you want a burger, you'll probably like what you get here.
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Umami Burger
850 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Do I need both a VitaMix and A Juicer?
MacGuffin, I was hoping you could help again. My wife has had 2 juicers in the past that were around $100 or $150 and she quit using them because it took so long to make a glass of juice. I told her about the Champion but she thinks at that price, she is going to be getting something similar to what she's gotten rid of. She sees the juicers used in health food shops and wants something that works that fast. We don't have a Norwalk budget but we are very willing to spend $1,000-$1,500 or more for something that is easy enough to make us want to use it often. Do the health food stores use centrifugal juicers? Is there anything between a Champion and the Norwalk that you recommend? Have you heard of Omcan?
We will be juicing a combination of fruits and vegetables--carrots, celery, parsley, spinach, kale, apples, beets, etc.
Thanks for your help.
Tender, Juicy and Crisp? Roast Chicken Battle - Melisse, Costco, Pollo Ala Brasa, Rustic Canyon, Zankou, A Frame, Gjelina, Marouch, Lola's, and more! [Review] w/ Pics!
Exile--Wonderful report. I want to echo the praise deservedly lavished on you. 2 things stuck out for me: 1) Most of the roast chicken in this town is not worth trying and 2) Recommendations from other hounds don't guarantee anything.
I've tried only 2 on your list--Costco, which is a good value but always too salty and the original Pollo A La Brasa on Western and 8th, which is always tasty but leaves me wanting crispier skin and a second, less doctored up version.
I'd love to buy my chickens at Healthy Family Farms but I'm too cheap right now to do it. $20+ for a bird elevates a simple dinner to special occasion faire.
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Pollo A La Brasa
16527 S Vermont Ave, Gardena, CA 90247
ISO Lunch and Dinner Restaurants that can accomodate a group of 25-30
We're back from our Seattle trip. We were there for 4 days. For a few meals, we were able to break into smaller groups than 33. Here are some of the places we visited. Our first meal was at Elliot's Oyster House. It fit our party well and the service was good and friendly. I didn't care for anything I tried--cioppino, crab cakes, clams, alder plank salmon or seafood pasta. The fish didn't taste fresh and the frying seemed heavy handed.
Serious Pie. I'd been here once before. We went with a group of 6 and were told that it would be 2 hours. We ordered 4 pies to go and ate a couple slices in the cab on the way back to the hotel. I love Serious Pie. I liked the spicy salame and fennel sausage pies the best. Ivars on the waterfront. I split the steamed clams with chorizo and the bacon cheeseburger. I was fished out and after Elliot's, I didn't have much hope for another touristy spot. We had our full group here. Both the burger and clams were good except they didn't come out hot. They were both luke warm by the time they were served. A few of us had cappuccinos at Cafe D'Arte. I thought it was great, but I'm not a coffee drinker. We went to Ventana, splitting into 3 tables of 3 or 4. Ventana is on 1st ave near Bell. Our table of 3 ordered the fried chicken and waffles, fish in a thai red curry sauce, beef short rib, and venison osso buco. From the other tables I tried the pork spare ribs, fries, and burger. I liked the fried chicken and fish the best. The osso buco was a little dull. The short ribs were quite good but needed a better accompaniment. The pork ribs were so so and the burger was quite tasty. For dessert, we tried the red velvet cake, twinkie, and doughnuts. The doughnuts were very good; the others were average at best. The server was not nice at all and the hostess was rude as well. A group of 6 of us split 4 sandwiches and soup from the Batali Salumeria. The meatball sandwich was the best I ever had. The porchetta was great and I really enjoyed the mole salame sandwich. The other salame sandwich was good but not as good as the others. The St. Joseph's soup was excellent. Mario's mom is the sweetest thing and the food and her hospitality makes me want to go back all the time. We had gelato at Gelatiamo after this lunch. I had an affogato with white chocolate gelato--they didn't have vanilla--and it was fantastic. I also tried, separately, the grapefruit gelato and it was amazingly similar in taste to a grapefruit. We wish we found this place before our last day in town. That's about all I can remember for now. Seattle is a great city and we really enjoyed our time here.
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Serious Pie
316 Virginia St, Seattle, WA 98101
Gelatiamo
1400 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
Oyster House
320 4th Ave W, Olympia, WA 98501
Ventana Restaurant
2323 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Do I need both a VitaMix and A Juicer?
Thanks so much MG. I really appreciate your thoughts.
Do I need both a VitaMix and A Juicer?
MacGuffin-
What do you think of Angel juicers?
Are they worth the premium over a Champion?
Who makes a really outstanding roast (or rotisserie) chicken?
I've never had it crispy either and I've had birds right out of the rotisserie. The skin has always been a little wet and slippery.
Review: Langer's Delicatessan - Los Angeles
I had a bad Langer's sandwich last week. The bread was fantastic as always but the pastrami was not. It was dry and lean. I always order the plain pastrami on rye. The meat was bad enough that I took some of my brother's coleslaw and put it in the sandwich. We do curbside pickup from Langers about once every 2 months. The sandwiches are usually very good but there is more variation in meat quality the past couple years than there was before. I never know if I'm going to get a good sandwich or a great sandwich. I would like to expect great pastrami every time. Now I can only count on the bread being great.
Taco Trucks/Caterer Santa Barbara
Hi Gordo,
Did you find a taco caterer?
We're looking for the same thing.
Anyone else have any recs?
Thanks
ISO Lunch and Dinner Restaurants that can accomodate a group of 25-30
We've traveled in a similarly sized group in the prior years to Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia and were able to find places that fit our budget. For dinner, we are looking for entrees under $20.
We do not expect to, nor necessarily want to, sit as a group. We just need restaurants that fit the budget and can fit 25-30 people that come in at the same time.
Thanks, Mike for the rec.
Firecracker, what part of t
ISO Lunch and Dinner Restaurants that can accomodate a group of 25-30
We will be visiting Seattle in March and are looking for moderately priced restaurants--lunch around $10, dinner less than $20, food only--that will have room for our group. We do not need to sit at the same table or same room. We just need to be in the same restaurant at the same time.
We will be staying in Downtown Seattle but will travel if public transportation allows for it.
Most of the group will be under 21, so cocktails and/or wine list are not important.
Any ethnicity is fine.
I know this is a tall task. I appreciate all of your thoughts.
Osteria Mamma - New Italian in Hollywood
I recently visited Osteria Mamma because of the reviews and the proximity. We wanted pasta for dinner so we narrowed it down to Angelini, Mozza, La Buca and Mamma. I've been to the first two and like them but wanted to try this place. What a waste of a night. It's experiences like these that make me want to never eat out again. I leave feeling like I was had. Had by the reviewers that somehow find something redeeming about this place and had by the restaurant that puts out such mediocre food in such a dour, depressing space. First the bread. We should've cancelled our orders and left after the bread came out. It's no wonder (no pun intended) they bring the bread out after you order. It's barely a step up from Wonder bread. The soups and salads were okay. The pastas, a special of spaghetti and meatballs and the tagliatelle bolognese were just blah. The meatballs were about the size of a macadamia nut. The bolognese tasted like bolognese light. There was no long simmered decadent richness to it. I even found the homemade noodles to be lacking. They did little to absorb the sauce and become one.
The specials did not have prices next to them on the chalkboard. The spaghetti and meatballs were $17.25 each, not exactly commensurate with the space, service, or quality of the dish.
Experiences like these, along with a new house, keep me happily eating at home. I make pasta from Mario's cookbook or other recipes and they are so much better that what we wasted our money on at Osteria Mamma. I don't have the bank account to give restaurants multiple tries. And besides, it's one thing to overcook or undercook something or be slammed. This wasn't the case.
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La Buca
5210 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Osteria Mamma
5730 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Take-Out Pizza between Miracle Mile and Westchester
Pepperoni and sausage on one; pepperoni and jalepenos on the other. The toppings are by no means standouts but when combined with cheese, a nice sauce and good crust, they make for a really nice pie. Not a destination pizza mind you but a nice place to have in your neighborhood. I called on the way and it took them about 30 minutes to have the pizza ready.
There are two basic ways to get to Westchester from here--you either go down la brea to stocker to la cienega to la tijera... or you take the 10 to the 405... Coop is very convenient if going the latter way, which I did because of Coop's location right off the freeway on National. Unfortunately, there's no 10W entrance right there.
Take-Out Pizza between Miracle Mile and Westchester
Thanks everybody. I ended up with 2 XL pizzas from the Coop. The pizza was very enjoyable and I probably prefer their crust to the Good Pizza, which is usually a little doughy for my taste.
For those wondering, it's $14 for an XL + $1.75/topping. The XL is 18".
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Good Pizza
7929 Emerson Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Take-Out Pizza between Miracle Mile and Westchester
I'm driving from the Miracle Mile area to Westchester and need to pick up pizza. I usually just get pizza from the Good Pizza but it is temporarily closed. Can you think of a good spot that's not too out of the way?
Thanks for your suggestions.
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Good Pizza
7929 Emerson Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Best Budget Steak?
I've only had it once but that one time I enjoyed the steak frites at Father's Office.
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Father's Office Bar
1618 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA
quiet cheap(ish) bar in Santa Monica/Pacific Palisades??
I concur with Warszawa on a weeknight.
I like it there. I liked it better 3 years ago but it still beats most of the other haunts around there. That would be my #1 choice if you don't mind being outside and you don't need a luxurious space.
R+D Kitchen on Montana--I haven't been by there on a weeknight in a long time--is it still crowded at nights? If it's deadish, that would be a nice spot.
Casa Escobar on Wilshire and 25th is quiet and has a nice atmosphere in a non-swanky, non current kind of way. You may have to talk over the piano.
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Warszawa Restaurant
1414 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401
