Fox's

Fox's
2352 N. Lake Ave
Altadena
626-797-9430

Fox's hold a special meaning for me. This is the first place where my girlfriend and I went out to eat. We went hiking in Pasadena and wanted to get something to eat and she took me to Fox's.

This is a small place but it's gets really busy on weekends, because they serve good quality food at good prices.

I got the two eggs, three strips of bacon, fresh fruit and wheat toast, $6.75. How can they serve such good food at good prices? I ordered the eggs over medium and they were cooked to perfection. Very nicely done. The bacon was crisp yet chewy, which I love. The best bacon around. I got fresh fruit instead of the fries, too much carb for breakfast isn't a good thing.

Service is good. The servers are really hard working people. Even though it's packed they really do a good job getting people their food and keeping water, coffee or orange juice filled.

I would go back to Fox's anytime. My favorite breakfast place in the area, even if it wasn't the first place my girlfriend and I went out.

West Coast Seafood Buffet-Closed

West Coast Seafood Buffet
1655 Azusa Ave.
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
626-581-9893

I like buffets, especially if the food has a lot of turnover. One of the best Chinese buffets is West Coast Seafood Buffet. The buffet is $17.99 and well worth it.

King crab legs,served hot, is great. These are no snow crab legs but the bigger, better tasting King crab legs. Sweet and tender and just a treat. The best part you can go back for more and more and more. The only problem is that they don't always refill the tray when the crab legs are gone.

I usually don't get sushi at buffets but I decided why not. I got two pieces each of the ahi tuna, yellowtail, and salmon. All were pretty fresh and tasty. Not the best quality fish but it was pretty good.

Shrimp cocktail. Nice and fresh and about medium sized. Good stuff.

I got the fried rice, green beans and corn. The fried rice was pretty basic, rice, some peas, eggs, and carrots. Interesting that they didn't use soy sauce. Most of the fried rice you see are brown from the soy sauce. Still it was pretty good. The green beans and corn were cooked pretty well. I found the corn to be very greasy. Why can't they just steamed the damn thing. The green beans also had some oil on them but not as greasy as the corn. Pretty good stuff.

The last picture has grilled steak, chicken teriyaki, and satueed shrimp. The grilled steak is done right there at the buffet line. Pretty tender for a buffet and good flavor. The steak is more than likely top sirloin and USDA Choice but it was good. The chicken teriyaki was mostly white meat and tender. The shrimp was also tasty.

Service is OK. It took awhile for the server to take away the empty plates and refill the drinks.

But West Coast Seafood buffet is about the seafood and they give you good quality seafood at a good price. It can get very busy, a 45 minute wait on Fridays and Saturdays, but it's well worth it. One of the best buffets around and at $17.99 a steal of a price.

Red White and Bluezz-Closed

Red, White and Bluezz Wine Bar and Grill
70 S Raymond Ave
Pasadena
626-792-4441

An upscale, pricey, poor service restaurant, Red, White and Bluezz Wine Bar and Grill
is just south of Colorado Blvd, in Old Town Pasadena.

The first picture is the of the bread they give you. A nice presentation. They had a french roll and some kind of seven grain bread. Nice texture and fresh bread.

The second picture is the Shrimp Shooters 3 Way, $12. The three types of shrimp were sweet and spicy grilled, tempura, and cocktail style. All the shrimp were good sized shrimp, about medium. The sweet and spicy grilled was OK. Not especially flavorful, just too bland. The tempura was my favorite. Nice crunch and tender shrimp. The cocktail style was simple, regular shrimp cocktail. This appetizer is all about the presentation. It looks nice but the not worth the price.

Maryland blue crab cakes, $10, was very good. I'm from Maryland and I love crab cakes. The crab cake was filled with a ton of crab, there was very little filler. Well worth the price and one of the best around. The mango-papaya chutney was too sweet. Just give me regular tartar sauce or cocktail sauce. Screw all this fancy crap. I wish some places would learn to KISS their food. Keep It Simple Stupid.

The last picture is the crab claw ceviche salad, $9. Again this is an example of them trying to reinvent the wheel. They just made a simple recipe, into something new and exciting but really it's a huge mistake. The salad has avocado, pico de gallo, creme fraiche, with chipotle peppers, and coriander oil and topped with fried plantain. I would prefer to go to any hole in the wall Mexican restaurant instead of this crap.

Service is poor. The host or hostess is a jerk. Very condescending and full of himself. He was too busy trying to get away for a smoke or trying to impress his boyfriend. The server was pretty slow to greet us and take our order. She wasn't knowledgeable about the menu, she kept having to go back and ask what was in certain items.

I would not go back to Red, White and Bluezz again. The food isn't worth the price. They just try to get to fancy with the food. Maybe it appeals to the wine sippers but really it's just overpriced, crappy food.

Joe's Pizza-Closed

Joe's Pizza
2412 Garfield Ave.
Monterey Park
323-724-4324

When you think of Monterey Park you think of Chinese food. You rarely think of pizza. But what a surprise when I found Joe's Pizza. This is a no frills pizza place. Just good qualtiy pizza at good prices.

Pictured is a small pizza with half pepperoni and Canadian bacon and half pineapple, $11. The crust is thick and has a nice chewy texture. They piled on the pepperoni and Canadian bacon. I thought the sauce was the perfect compliment to the toppings and crust. It didn't overpower pizza. Good quality toppings, good solid crust makes a good solid pizza.

The hot wings, $6.95 were baked instead of fried. They also weren't hot but very mild. It's not too bad but I prefer wings fried. But they were also very meaty. A good chicken wing but they could fry them and increase the spicyness of the wings.

Service is good. When I went, they were either renovated the restaurant or just moving in. There was construction going on and you could see and hear hammers and power tools being used.

I would go back to Joe's Pizza again. Good quality pizza at good prices.

Garden Ranch Market-Closed

Garden Ranch Market
1501 W Beverly Blvd
Montebello
323-888-2054

Garden Ranch Market is an Middle Eastern market that serves burgers and kebobs.

I got the 89 cent burger special. The burger wasn't any better than a burger from any fast food place. Pretty average and while it was bigger than a regular burger at a fast food place, I wouldn't order this again.

The next picture is the Maple Combo, $7.99, which is a beef kebob, chicken kebob, and beef shawarma. The beef kebob was OK. They beef was a bit tough, not as tender as other kebobs I've had. It was flavorful but I don't want to feel as though I'm chewing gum.

The chicken kebob was a bit dry. It was also bland. Not sure what happened here but not good.

The best part of this combo was the beef shawarma. This was tender, juicy and wonderful. The beef shawarma is the only thing worth a damn on their menu.

The combo comes with a good hummus and fresh salad.

Service is just OK. I get the feeling these people want to only serve Middle Eastern people. They weren't that friendly and very business like.

There are many other great kebob places in Montebello, so I don't know why I would even bother going back.

Bar Celona

Bar Celona 46 E Colorado Blvd Pasadena 626-405-1000 Bar Celona is a tapas bar, that also serves sushi, in Old Town Pasadena. I'm not a big fan of a place that trys to do something other than what they are known for. Tapas and sushi? The first picture is the yellowtail sushi, $5.50. It's ok, nothing special, though one of the bigger yellowtail sushi I've had. It was fairly fresh but nothing outstanding. Jackpot roll, $7.95, has shrimp tempura and tuna. But again it's nothing special but it's a big portion. Now onto what they are known for, tapas. Veriras con salsa de Maiz dulce, $10. Pan seared scallops with sweet corn sauce and mushrooms and jamon serrano salad. This was a great tapa. The scallops were nice and fresh, and tasty. The searing was gave it a nice outside. The sweet corn sauce added a nice flavor to the scallops. I can't really describe or compare the flavor. Albondigas en Salsa de Champinones, $7. Beef and pork meatballs in a Spanish Rioka wine-mushroom sauce. The meatballs were too dry and lacked any flavor. You can get better meatballs from a can of Chef Boyardee. Croquettas de Cangre o, $9, crab and potato croquette breaded and fried with red mojo. This should be renamed the potato croquette. That's what this was. There wasn't a lot of crab, mostly potato. Not worth the $9 price tag. Gambas al A illo, $7. Black tiger shrimp sauteed in garlic and red pepper flakes. The tiger shrimp was well worth the price. It was big, full of flavor and very tender. What a treat and for $7 a great steal. Service is OK here. One time my girlfriend and I went to here, sat down and nobody came to our table for about ten minutes. We walked out. This was later at night when this place turns into a more club like atmosphere. But we went back and the service was OK. Our server was helpful, explaining the tapas and how big the portions are. But she was slow in refilling drinks, she never asked if we wanted other orders, we called her over and ordered the crab cakes. The place wasn't busy, so I'm guessing she's just really slow or talking to other people working at the restaurant. This is a hit and miss type of place. Some of the tapas are great. Other tapas are terrible. I would stay away from the sushi. I would go back and just order the tiger shrimp and the scallops. I would not try anything else or give the crab cakes or meatballs another try.

El Toro

El Toro Cantina
5368 Wilshire Blvd.
LA
323-525-2618

El Toro Cantina offers a wide variety of tapas at pretty reasonable prices. The portions are a bit small, I know, I know, tapas are small plates. But even small plates can be small.

The first picture has three tacos, carne asada, $4.50, lump crab, $5.50, and Mahi mahi, $4.50, all with corn tortilla. The carne asada was pretty bland and not as flavorful as I would like. This was just Ok. I loved the lump crab, lots of crab, in a pineapple salsa. The mahi mahi was fried, an interesting way to cook it and topped with avocado. A nice dish.

Service is good at El Toro. We were seated quickly and the server took our drink order right away. Our server was nice, friendly and helpful.

I would go back to El Toro anytime. Matter of fact, I have been back and the now have a special combo, any three tacos for $15. That means I can get the lobster, $6.50 and Yucatan shrimp, $5.50. I think this is one of the best tapas places around.

Spring Street BBQ

Spring Street BBQ
640 North Spring
LA
213-626-0535

I never realized all the other options for food around LA city hall. Spring Street BBQ is a very good BBQ place.

Ok, OK I know it's rare to see me review a BBQ restaurant and see other meats. But I had already gone to Spring Street BBQ and had the spare ribs but I forgot my camera. So two days later I go back since a couple buddies and I are going to the Dodger game.

Instead of the ribs, I order the Sampler plate, $10.95, baby back rib, St. Louis style spare ribs, smoked chicken, sliced brisket, and hot link. A lot of food. Some good, some I wouldn't order again. But well worth the price.

The good:

Baby back ribs. Pretty good sized and meaty. Nice and tender and flavorful.

St. Louis spare rib. A very good example of why spare ribs are better than baby backs. A nice tender, full of smoke flavor rib. When I went the time before, I got the lunch basket of St. Louis spare ribs, $7.95, which is about four good sized pieces.

Hot link. A nice kick to this sausage. Full of flavor and very tasty.

The bad:

Chicken: smoked and sliced thin, this is just too dry. I wouldn't order this again.

Brisket: again smoked and sliced thin but just too dry. Even the BBQ sauce doesn't help.

Service is very good. The server was a nice, friendly young lady. I tried to call earlier and the line was busy, I tried two other times and still busy. I mentioned this to her and said I called just to make sure they were open. She said yes the phone was off the hook and Thank you for letting us know. Then she said we are open everyday except Sun. Most servers wouldn't have even bothered replying.

I would go back to Spring St BBQ. I liked many items on the menu, but the spare ribs are very good.

Update Feb 7, 2009



I went back to Spring St. Smokehouse and tried their pulled pork sandwich, $9.95. I wasn't impressed. The pork was a bit dry on some parts and just drowned in sauce in others. The small parts of pork that wasn't dry had a nice smoke flavor but this just didn't work for me.

I wouldn't order the pulled pork again. But somebody at my table ordered the spare ribs and they looked great.

New Capitol Seafood

1330 S Fullerton Rd.
Rowland Heights
626-581-9813

Dim Sum literally means touch the heart, in Cantonese. To get the best Dim Sum experience you need to go to a restaurant where the food is served in carts. You pick and choose what you want. Most dim sum places have dumplings, BBQ pork buns, chicken feet, shrimp ball, pork blood cakes, and egg rolls.

Most places have tiered pricings for dim sum. The ladies with the carts will mark your bill after you picked your items. There are basically two types of carts, steam carts mostly with dumplings and non steamed carts with things like egg rolls, fish balls and any sweet "dessert items"

At New Capitol the items are either $1.99 or $2.19. A great price for some of the items. To be honest I forgot how much each item picture cost. But as a general rule, BBQ pork buns, pork and chicken dumplings are $1.99 and shrimp balls are $2.19.

The first picture is the chicken wings. This wasn't a good item. Very greasy, not fresh, and just bad. This had been on a cart way too long.

BBQ pork buns a dim sum staple. The pork buns from New Capitol Seafood are a good example of how BBQ pork buns are made. The pork is nice and tender and flavorful. The buns are nice and fluffy.

The next two pictures are something of dim sum fusion dishes.

The first one is a shrimp ball covered with a crunchy outside. The stick is a sugar cane. This wasn't good at all. The flavors of the shrimp ball and the crunchy outside didn't work well at all. This was terrible. But at $2.19 it's not going to break my wallet to try it.
It is a fish ball topped with mushrooms in a soy sauce. Not a bad thing. I thought the fish ball and mushrooms worked well together.

The last picture is the pork shu mei. As long as you use fresh ground pork and steam it properly, you can't really mess up shu mei. There is nothing outstanding or bad about the shu mei at New Capitol.

Service is good. But be warned, this place is packed on Saturday and Sunday during prime dim sum hours, 11am-1pm. You may wait up to an hour and a half for a table. This is a big restaurant and they do get people in and out of the restaurant but there this is a popular restaurant.

You may have noticed a C food department rating. The day, March 11, 2007, we went for dim sum it was a C rating. The day I took the picture of the front door, that had the C rating was April 16,2007. I had forgotten to take a picture of the entrance so I went back later.

I'm not all that impressed with New Capitol Seafood. It's ok but nothing outstanding for dim sum. Not sure why they are so popular. I do think their low prices are one of the biggest reasons why they are popular. In Rowland Heights, there are many other places for dim sum. I would try those other places first before coming back to New Capitol.

La Serenata-Closed

La Serenata
1842 E First St.
LA
323-265-2887

La Serenata is a very good upscale Mexican seafood restaurant. The First St. location isn't in the best of neighborhoods. But I didn't feel I was in any type of danger.

Shrimp cocktail, $15.95. Ok very pricey for shrimp cocktail. But the quality of the shrimp was very high. The shrimp was tender and tasty.

Halibut ceviche, $6.95. This is the first time I've ever had a fish ceviche. I've had the shrimp ceviche plenty of time and thought trying the halibut ceviche would be a good idea. But for some reason, I didn't like this dish. Just the tangy citrus and the texture and flavor of halibut just don't go together. For me the flavor combination didn't work for me. The halibut was fresh and good quality. The tomatoes, onions were very fresh. If you like halibut ceviche, I'm sure you would like this dish.

The last picture is the scallops a la plancha, $22.95, which is topped with mushrooms, garlic and green chiles. The scallops are huge and very fresh. I liked how all the flavors worked very well together. Though a bit on the pricey side, I thought it was very good quality seafood.

Service was pretty good. The server was nice and friendly. The language barrier got in the way a couple times but nothing too bad.

While I think La Serenata is a bit pricey, I would go back again. It's good quality food and the portions are fairly big.

Mikomi

Mikomo
414 S. Myrtle Ave
Monrovia
626-359-1058


Mikomi is a very good sushi restaurant in Monrovia. Monrovia is a very underrated city for good restaurants.

We ordered the chicken on a skewer, $5, as an appetizer. Nice tender pieces of chicken, with a teriyaki sauce. While the portions was a bit small, but for $5 it was worth the price.

Red Snapper, $4.75, and tuna, $5.25, were up next. They were very fresh and tasty. For those prices, they had better be fresh. Among the highest prices for red snapper and tuna I've paid but it was also worth the price.

Spicy Shrimp roll was up next. At $5 this was a steal. I would guess these were rock shrimp and cucumber. This was a bit spicy but nothing overwhelming. I liked this and would order it again.

California rolls were up next, $4.50. Good, fresh California rolls.

Shrimp tempura crunch roll, $8.95. Shrimp tempura, avocado, sprouts, gobo, cucumber and stick crab. This was nice, fresh, crunchy, and tasty. A bunch of flavors and textures that work very well together. One of my favorite rolls.

Service is pretty good. We were not lacking for anything and they staff was attentive and friendly.

I would go back to Mikomi again. Very fresh and tasty sushi, with good service makes Mikomi a winner.

Hikari

Hikari
1864 Montebello Town Center
Montebello
323-720-1955

I am still surprised at the variety and quality of restaurants in Montebello. From Sushi to Chinese to kebobs, Montebello has more than just Mexican restaurants.

In the Montebello Town Center Mall, Hikari is a very good sushi place.

The first picture is the spicy tuna roll. This is very spicy, I had to drink lots of water after finishing the rolls. Nice and fresh and tasty. What a steal at $4.95.

California Rolls, $4.95. California rolls are imitation crab, avocado and cucumbers. This was very fresh and tasty.

The last picture is the scallops roll, $5.95. Filled with fresh scallops and smelt eggs. I'm not used to smelt eggs but these were very small so you can barely taste them. But the scallops were fresh and this was a good tasting roll.

Service is good. You're greeted and seated quickly. You almost don't know who your server is because different servers come up and ask if you need anything. We weren't lacking for anything. Drinks were quickly refilled, food was good, and we had a nice pleasant dining experience.

I would go back to Hikari again and again. Good, fresh sushi, at good prices with good service. You can't beat that combination.