Big B's Barbeque

Big B's BBQ
1948 Placentia
Fullerton
714-528-7427

This must be a bad ribs week for me. First the ribs at Pinnacle Peak was bad. Now the ribs at Big B's BBQ in Fullerton are among the worst ribs I've ever had. They are even worse than ribs from Tony Roma's.

I ordered the half rack of babybacks, which are the only type of ribs they serve, for $8.89. There were six bones to the rack. As you can see there is very little in the way of a rub on the ribs, just a little salt and pepper. The ribs are cooked in an oven and then finished on the grill. The typical suburban BBQ. YUCK. The ribs were meaty and tender but then again babybacks normally are. But they lacked any type of flavor. The BBQ sauce is pretty good. The sauce is thin and has a kick to it. They add some flavor to the ribs but then again anything would.

Service was pretty good and quick. Big B's is mostly a take-out place but there are four tables. Brian's is a college bar next door that is owned by the same owner as Big B's. Not too tough to figure out what the B stands for. So if you wanted to have a couple beers and some bad ribs, you can also order at Brians. The crowd at Brians tend to be a college crowd but mostly it's a bunch of the typical jerk people from OC. I wouldn't go back to Big B's especially with Blake's Place BBQ so close.

Pinnacle Peak- San Dimas

Pinnacle Peak
269 W. Foothill Blvd
San Dimas, Ca 91773
909-599-5312

Pinnacle Peak is the home of the "Famous Cowboy Steak" Well I've been to Pinnacle Peak three times and this last time I thought the quality of the steak has gone down.

Pictured is the steak and ribs combo for $18.99. All dinners come with salad, which is your typical prepared salad you get in a bag and beans, which I didn't have. The steak is a center cut top sirlion cooked medium rare. The steaks are cooked over mesquite wood but I there wasn't any mesquite flavor. Not sure exactly what happened but it was flavorless. Though it was tender and lean, very little to no fat at all. The steak was a little undercooked for medium rare but I like my steaks on the rare side.

The ribs were babybacks and while meaty, they didn't have any flavor, except for the BBQ sauce. The meat was slowed cooked in an oven and was tender but they are your yuppie, suburban ribs. The BBQ sauce was a sweet tomato based sauce. Nothing to write home about, but it did add flavor to some flavorless ribs.

The service was pretty good. The server was being trained and she did well. Though she was a little slow in refilling our drinks and she almost forgot to ask what kind of dressing we would like on our salads. She asked that, just as she was leaving. But she worked hard and was good overall.

I wouldn't go back to Pinnacle Peak because as I said the quality of the steak has gone down. I've had the center cut sirlion before and it was tender and had lots of flavor. But now the steaks are flavorless and while still tender, I wouldn't go back.

Oki's Dog

Oki's Dog
5056 W. Pico
LA
323-938-4369

Oki's Dog isn't really a hot dog place. It's more of a burger stand with everything from tacos to teriyaki plates to burgers. But the hot dogs are damn good and a great value at $1.80 and $2 for a chili dog.

I ordered a hot dog with comes with regular mustard, onions, and relish. I asked for no relish. The hot dogs are cooked to order and wow it was great. The hot dog had a nice snap and the wonderful mixture of spices and meat made the hot dog one of the better hot dogs I've had. The mustard and onions were fresh.

I next tried a chili dog and the same great snap was present. The chili dog is topped with mustard and onions in addition to the chili. The chili, which has beans, was very mild but came pipping hot. It was almost burned my tongue during the first bite. I liked the mildness of the chili and thought it made for a perfect topping.

I would go back to Oki's for the hot dogs. A great hot dog at a great price. There is also an Oki's Dog on Fairfax but has a different own than this, the Pico location. Having a good hot dog makes up for the bad fried chicken I had from Maurice Snack N Chat.

Maurice Snack N Chat-Closed

Maurice Snack N Chat
5068 W. Pico Blvd.
LA
323-931-3879

Maurice Snack N Chat is a fried chicken place a couple blocks west of Roscoe's on Pico. I found Maurice didn't live up to the hype. Their menu is limited and served al carte with one hush puppy. I order a breast for $6.44. The lady goes into the kitchen, puts a cast iron pan on the stove, poured some oil in the pan, got some fresh chicken, coated it with flour and placed it into the hot oil. Now that's real fried chicken. Of course this takes a long time, about twenty minutes. So either call ahead or leave plenty of time to enjoy the food.

So after twenty minutes the order arrives and I decide to go to Oki's Dogs and eat the chicken there. I was surprised when I opened up the container to see four pieces of chicken breast. It's clear the breast was cut into four pieces. I peeled off the skin and tried to see how crispy it was. It was pretty crispy with a nice combination of spices. Then I tried the actual breast meat and it was as dry as a desert. The flavor was pretty good but when the chicken is dry, it doesn't matter.

Service was great. The lady was friendly and made me feel welcome. But I wouldn't go back to Maurice's again. Prices are high and the food isn't anything to brag about. The broasted chicken I've had, from Chicken Box, and Broaster Kitchen are much better. I was expecting wonderful chicken and I when I saw the way she was preparing the chicken, I thought I would be tasting the best fried chicken in LA. But it didn't happen and I'm still looking for the best fried chicken in LA.

Panda Garden Buffet-Closed

Panda Garden Buffet 5136 Plaza Lane Montclair, CA 91763 909-398-1838 Though the picture above is at night, I've only been to Panda Garden for lunch. The lunch crowd was pretty steady, we arrived at 12:45pm and there was about 30 people the entire time we were there. So that means a good turnover of food. Lunch is $6.89. The first picture has fried rice, beef and broccoli, and General Tsao chicken. The fried rice was pretty basic, with very little peas, onions and scrambled eggs. It was good and is wasn't greasy as many fried rice combos tend to be. The beef and broccoli I had seemed to have been on the steam table a little too long. The broccoli was a mushy and the beef was tough and overcooked. Maybe a bad batch so I went again and they did put out a fresh batch. The beef was tender and the broccoli was crispy. The gravy was a little salty but overall I'm glad I gave the broccoli another chance. General Tsao chicken is basically orange chicken. Panda Garden's version the orange flavor doesn't overpower the dish. It was only a hint of orange flavor. But the actual chicken was just covered with batter. I would say the pieces were 20% chicken and 80% batter. At a buffet, it doesn't matter too much as you can get as much or as little as you want. But I would like to see less batter and more chicken. The second picture is a lobster roll, fried scallops, hunan chicken, and smoked chicken. The lobster roll was pretty bad. First it had been sitting on the steam table for a long time. So because of that, there was no crunch and the inside was imitation crab and fish paste that lacked flavor. I didn't bother trying the lobster roll again. The fried scallops were pretty damn good. A nice crisy outside and a hot, tender scallops inside. The Hunan chicken is basically broccoli chicken. It was pretty good with large pieces of chicken cooked just right and crisp broccoli. The smoked chicken had a ton of black pepper which really flavored and overpowered the chicken. The chicken was tender though and I thought the dish was good overall. The third plate had BBQ chicken, buttered corn, string beans, and shrimp. The BBQ chicken was basked with a light hint of BBQ sauce. The chicken was tender and good. The string beans was very crisp and the sauce/gravy they used, I'm guessing a little soy sauce, some garlic and maybe some pork, was great. The butter corn was so sweet and tender. The corn wasn't mushy at all. It was almost like eating corn on the cob. A great dish. But the shrimp was lacking in flavor. I don't mind the head of the shrimp on there. But the shrimp was overcooked and I just didn't like it. Overall Panda Garden is a good buffet. But they do lack variety. Sure there are plenty of chicken dishes but only a couple beef and seafood dishes. The food is good though and if you like their dishes and hate seafood or do not eat meat, you'll be very happy at Panda Garden.

Michael J's-Closed

Michael J's
2315 Foothill
La Verne
909-596-1567

A family style restaurant at the corner of Foothill and Fruit in La Verne, Michael J's has your typical homestyle foods. A sign on the windown mentioned all you can eat fish and chips for $7.99 so I decided to give it a try. Big mistake.

I get to the restaurant and there were about 15 people there. So take a look at the menu and they offer everything from burgers to salads, to breakfast items, and sandwiches. But I go ahead and order the fish and chips. The dinner cames with soup or salad and I get the salad. The salad was just lettuce, croutons and some red cabbage. The salad was fresh and cold, which all salads should be. So I'm happy with the start.

The fish and chips are cooked to order and arrive at my table very hot, five minutes or so after I finished my salad. Four, finger sized pieces of fish arrive on top of a plate of fries. I take a bite and there is little crunch. Not good. The fish, I believe cod, was indeed hot but too greasy and the lack of crunch really makes it a bad example of fried fish. I decided to try one more batch to see if things would improve. But the second batch was more greasy and still lacked crunch. The tartar sauce was nothing to write home about either.

The service was pretty good. The waitress did forget to bring/ask about malt vinegar but I don't put malt vinegar on fried fish so that didn't really matter. Otherwise she was nice and attentive.

I wouldn't order the fish and chips again at Michael J's but I may try some of the other items on the menu.

Tasty Goody

Tasty Goody
1483 Foothill
La Verne
909-596-8879

Tasty Goody bills itself as "The Greatest Chinese Food in California." Well I would go that far but they are very good. They pride themselves on quality and quanity. They give you huge portions. Their menu says a two item combo will be more than one and a half pounds. It is. It's really too much for one person to eat. This will be two meals for me.

I ordered the two item combo, with Chinese BBQ pork and teriyaki chicken, for $5.51. The fried rice had peas, carrots, and bits of eggs. It was lightly seasoned but without soy sauce like most fried rice are. The Chinese BBQ pork was more tender than other places I've been. Most of the pork was lean but a few pieces had their share of fat.

The teriyaki chicken was very good. Many teriyaki chicken tend to be salty but they had the right amount of spices. A good amount of the ckicken was white meat and the chicken was lean. The chicken was very good and one of the better teriyaki chicken around.

Service is very good. The turnover seems high for the dinner rush so nothing was sitting on the steam tables for a long time.

Felix Continental Cafe-Closed

Felix Continental Cafe
36 Plaza Square
Orange
714-633-5842

I haven't gone o many Cuban restaurants. But one mof my first taste of Cuban cuisine was a Cuban sandwich and I have loved it ever since. I think Felix in Orange has one of the best Cuban sandwiches around. Felix is on the southwest side of the Orange Circle, which is Chapman and Glassell.

I went to Felix for lunch and the ordered the Cuban sandwich for $6.40. The sandwich is huge, as you can see from the pictures. The sandwich is filled with roast leg of pork, ham, swiss cheese, mustard and pickles on a Cuban baguette. The pork is nice and tender with lots of flavor. The ham is your regular lunch meat ham and the baguette is nicely toasted and chewy.

Service is good. I ordered the sandwich to good and they said it would be 10 minutes for my order. Ten minutes later the sandwich came and was pipping hot. The actual dining room is fairly small but they have outdoor seating but then you have to deal with scumbag smokers. I haven't tried any other items on the menu but the Cuban sandwich is good and a great deal.


Update May 22, 2008




I went back to Felix and again had the Cuban sandwich, now $7.95. It was still the same quality and quanity as the last time I went. A good sanwich.

I also ordered the Calamaritos Fritos, which is thin strips of squid lightly floured and deep fried. Cuban calamari, $7.50. I wasn't happy with this. The calamari was very chewy and not fresh at all. They also need to change the oil they deep fry the calamari. It's too diry and thus turns the calamari very dark brown.

Service was very good though the lady spoke with such a heavy accent, it was hard to understand her at times. But we weren't lacking for anything.

I know I should try something different but I do love a good Cuban sandwich. Maybe one day soon.

Ted's Place-Closed

Ted's Place
843 Arrow Hwy
Azusa
626-812-6400

Ted's Place is billed as "The best kept secret in Azusa" Well they live up to that billing. Ted's a great place for good quality food in large portions. I order a 1/3lb bacon, avocado burger combo with mashed potatoes and a drink for$6.48. I would say it was one of the best values around.

The burger is huge, just huge. They don't cheat you out of anything. The meat is cooked well done and is topped with cheese, 1000 island dressing, lettuce, tomato, and tons of avocado. The bacon was a little too wel done but the burger was very tasty.

The mashed potatoes was so big, I didn't even come close to finishing. The potatoes are real and not from some box. The brown gravy is from a mix and is a bit bland.

The service was good and fast. The allowed me to substitute fries for mashed potatoes at no charge.

My only problem is that I got bad directions from the lady on the phone. I forgot to print directions before going to Ted's. So when I called, the lady who answered had no idea which way is north and south. I was about a block away when I first called. She should have told me to go north for about a block and I would have found Ted's. But I eventually found it and I'm glad I did. A nice place for good good.

Mama Petrillo's-Closed

Mama Petrillo's
2123 Foothill Blvd
La Verne
909-596-5600

A friend called and said we should go for pizza. I said Petrillo's in Glendora. She said sure why not. But instead of going to Petrillo's in Glendora we went to Mama Peterillo's in La Verne. The two Petrillo's are run by different people. Though there is another Mama Petrillo's in Temple City.

I think I just found my favorite pizza place. The pizza is great here. We ordered a medium pepperoni, sausage, and mushroom pizza for about $18. The pizza arrived quickly and it was hot and it was soo good. The pizza is cut into squares and the toppings are piled on. After we took a couple pieces, I lifted the pizza and it was very heavy. The crust is harder texture than other pizza but it is soo good. The sausage could have had a little more spicies but otherwise it was fine. The pepperoni was perfect where the outer part is crispy and the inner part is cooked perfect. The mushrooms seem to be canned mushrooms but they were flavorful.

Service was good, as the served always kept the drinks filled up. I would go back again and again.

Smokey's BBQ-Closed

Smokey's Rib Factory BBQ
6131 Atlantic Ave
Long Beach
562-423-4044

Smokey's is just south of the 91 Freeway, on Atlantic. They will be moving to Long Beach Blvd and Victoria within the next few months. It's clear to see why, since everything on their block is being torn down. I have been here once a few years ago and wasn't impressed with the ribs at all. But I was in the area and said what the hell, give them another chance.

I ordered a half a rack of pork ribs for $11.37. I wish I never ordered the ribs. They had the nice flavor and smell of lighter fluid. The ribs were dry and had a lot of fat. After eating two ribs I started to feel sick and just gave the ribs away to people walking by. The ribs were served hot and the BBQ sauce was very good with a nice balance between sweet and spicy.

The service is good. But when the food is bad, service really doesn't matter. I would not go back, even to their new location.

Claro's Italian Market-Closed

Claro's Italian Market
322 Glendora Ave.
West Covina
626-918-8818

Italian Deli, sandwich.

Claro's has six locations throughout LA and OC. In the back they have a deli and you can order a small sandwich with up to 3 meats and one cheese for $4.49. I ordered a roast beef and turkey with provolone cheese with mayo, lettuce and tomato.

The Italian bread was nice and soft. That was the best part. The server put the meat and cheese on the scale and it came to .31 of a lb. which I don't think is enough. The meat and cheese wasn't good either. It was better than ToGos but which place isn't? I also thought the sandwich was dry as he didn't put enough mayo on the sandwich.

Service was poor. There were five people behind the counter all doing a lot of nothing. Even with that it took a couple minutes for somebody to say Can I help you?

I wouldn't go back, even if I was in the area. There are much better sandwiches places, including Von's.

Phillips-Leimert Park

Phillips
4307 Leimert Blvd.
LA
323/292-7613

As readers of The New Diner knows, I love Phillips. Since I was in the general area, I decided to head to the first Phillip's I ever went to, in Leimert Park. Well they didn't disappoint. I ordered a pork rib dinner with double macaroni salad and NO sauce for $11.25. The ribs are soooooo good at Phillips you don't need them. The sauce is good though but I would never order the hot version. That is just way too hot for my tastes.

Unless you have perfect timing, expect to wait awhile at Phillips. There are always a line 4-5 people deep. But service is quick. Phillip's is take out only so if you want to eat your ribs, go a few block west to Crenshaw, then go north and there are some fast food places where you can sit down and enjoy the best BBQ ribs you'll ever have.

When my ribs came out they were hot and the smell was so good, I just had to try one. The smoke flavor was awesome. They were tender and very meaty. I was so full after eating one and a half burgers I only ate one rib and then saved the rest for lunch on Sunday. WOW the ribs were awesome even after being in the fridge for about 24 hours. The smoke flavor was still there and the ribs were still tender. The mac salad is very creamy.

Phillip's is the best BBQ ribs place in LA. I've been to all three locations and all three locations always serve great BBQ. The Phillips BBQ. on Crenshaw and Adams is the newest location. The other Phillips BBQ. is in Inglewood.

The Counter

The Counter
2901 Ocean Park
Santa Monica
310-399-8383

These reviews should make Chowhound poster, Burger Boy very happy. Well maybe not since he hated The Counter. Burger Boy is a very good poster and has always come up with reviews that are right on the money. But he hates The Counter and I disagree. The Counter is very damn good. Burger Boy is one of the few Chowhound posters, who's posts I will read. He doesn't BS you with a bunch of crap. He gets right to the point. Burger Boy, when you read this email me and we'll go to one of your favorite burger places, J & J's!!!

At The Counter, there is a clipboard and you mark what type of burger (Beef, turkey or veggie. They also have a grilled chicken.) Then you choose the toppings you want.

I choosed the 1/3 lb beef with Tillamook Cheddar, lettuce blend, tomatoes, and honey mustard dressing, which is served on the side, for about $7. The burgers are cooked medium but you can order them any other way. I really liked the burger, nice and juicy and all the toppings were fresh. You can't complain about what type of toppings because you picked them. Burger Boy may think I'm weird, but The Counter's burger rank right up there with the burgers at Pie and Burger" and The Apple Pan.

Service was below average. Our waitress was your typical teenager who is just there for the money. After we were almost done with our burgers did she ask "How are things?" She didn't notice my water was almost gone and never bothered to ask if I needed a refill.

I would go back and either sit at the bar or take out. Or at least have a different waitress.

Father’s Office

Father’s Office
1018 Montana
Santa Monica
310-393-2337

After hearing so many good and bad things about Father's Office, I finally went and tried it. The first myth that needs to be cleared up: There are NO substitutions, Modications, Alerations or Deletions. This is on their menu in bold letters. Which means if you don't like caramelized onions on your burger, tough, they will come with carmelized onions.

A buddy and I split the Office Burger, which is a pricey, $10.75. The Office Burger is made with dry aged beef, caramelized onions, applewoud bacon compote, gruyere, maytage blue cheese and arugula, on a french roll. As you can see not the usual things somebody puts on a burger. There are a lot of flavors competing and the caramelized onions really stand out with it's sweetness. Surprising I liked it. The french roll is toasted and very soft. The burger was cooked medium rare and was nice and juicy. While I do like the burger there are so many different flavors working together so it's almost like you're not eating a burger.

Now another myth is that people are Father's Office are a bunch of jerks. But that wasn't the case for me, I grant you that there may have been times when people are jerks but I haven't seen it. Though I did have a huge problem with their entrance policy. They allowed my friend in and he was the 49th person in Father's Office. Thus until somebody came out, I couldn't get in. I guess the fire marshall has been around and more than 49 people would be a violation and fine. It turned out ok because the very nice girl, who was first in line, allowed me to be first in line, as she was waiting for five other people. During the wait, the girl was a walking ad campaign for Father's Office with her "This is the best burger you'll ever have." I think being on the West Side some people may have chip on their shoulder to that "West Side" attitude. I find many places in Orange County to be worst, with jerk people and the dumb surfer dude and his dumb blonde beach bunny.

There is no table service, you have to go the bar and order. The female bartender was a sassy, smart a$$ed young lady. Which is a plus in the my book. I ordered a real Coke in a glass bottle. The Coke was made and bottled in Mexico, where they are made with sugar and not that crappy corn syrup. She was giving me good natured attitude and being the smart a$$ I am, I returned the favor.

I had a good experience at Father's Office and enjoyed the burger. I don't like the have it my way, welcome to Russia way of ordering but sometimes you can't change things. Parking can be an issue and of course you will be waiting in line awhile to get in.