Sevilla-Long Beach

Sevilla
140 Pine Ave
Long Beach
562-495-1111

Tapas. I have to review a couple other tapa bars but I'm not too keen on this concept. You're paying $3-$5 for small, almost bite sized pieces and to get filled up you have to get about 3-5 per person. Not that the food isn't good but I just don't think it's worth the price.

Sevilla is on Pine Ave in Long Beach. If you go on a Friday or Saturday night be careful as there it will be very busy and parking will be tough and/or expensive to find.

Pictured is the grilled marinated chicken skewer, $7 and the shrimp croquetas, $6. The shrimp croquetas was nicely deeped fried. But they have very little shrimp and more fillers, like potatoes. Not worth the $6 price. I would say it was a bit spicy but nothing too hot.

The grilled chicken skewers were white meat chicken, with a nice marinate. I tasted some tangyness to the marinate. The chicken was moist and juicy. But for $7 I would think you would get more chicken. The chicken was very good but wasn't worth the $7 price.

Service was good. Our server was attentive, friendly and helpful. One thing, they must not believe in ice water. The water I got was chilled but there was no ice. I kept having to ask for a cup of ice. Maybe somebody forgot the recipe??

Sevilla has a Tapa's happy hour seven days a week, where all tapas are half priced. That would be a great deal. But full priced tapas at Sevilla are a bit high and the portions aren't that big, though the quality of the food is very high. I would only go back to Sevilla during their tapas happy hour.

Salvatore

Salvatore
125 N. 6th St
Montebello
323-727-2803

Italian food isn't one of my favorite foods. It's not that bad, but it's very heavy and I don't need all those carbs. I think most Italian restaurants are overpriced for just simple pasta and some sauce. I just stick to basic Italian food like pizza, spaghetti, and lasagna.

But it's not like I won't go to Italian restaurants. So I went to Salvatore in Montebello. Again I'm surprised at the amount of quality ethnic foods in Montebello. I have been to a good Chinese, Thai, Persian, and now Italian restaurant in Montebello. Of course there are a ton of good Mexican restaurants in Montebello.

So I order the half and half, of spaghetti and lasagna, $12, which includes a salad and garlic bread. Now normally I won't take a picture of garlic bread but damn this garlic bread was awesome!!! On french bread (Ironic huh?) they put a mild tasting garlic spread. It doesn't have an overpowering garlic taste, more of a mild taste. The bread wasn't hard, which I hate, but so soft. Man was this great. I could just sit there and eat the garlic bread. They give you some buchetta or however you spell it but I didn't put anything one.

Next came the dinner salad, which I didn't take a picture of. Instead of antipasto salad I asked for a green salad. They green salad had way too many olives and I hate olives. But they had nice fresh greens, tomato, and mushrooms. All fresh and tasty.

Next came a hubcab sized plate with spaghetti and lasagna. WOW was this huge. The lasagna was huge. This is a half portion? WOW I'm not used to lasagna being topped with meat sauce but since this lasagna didn't have any meat inside they had to add the meat sauce. The meat sauce was very good. Not too tangy, which I hate, and just spiced right. The noodles were cooked perfectly and there was cheese everywhere. One of the best lasagna I've had.

The spaghetti was topped with the same meat sauce and was also huge. I'm glad this was a half portion. I took a few bites of the spaghetti but I was so full finishing the lasagna, I didn't have room for anymore food. But the noodles were cooked just right. The only thing that threw me off is they don't grate the cheese for you. You have to shake it from a shaker.

Service was OK. When we first got to the Salvatore, there was a party of about 8 people. But they were just paying their bill when we got seated. So there may have been 12 people having dinner. But service was off. At times the servers were there. But other times it took awhile to find them and get refills on drinks. After we finished eating and they put our leftovers in boxes, it took at least ten minutes for the server to come around, so we could ask for the check. I always thought that's when servers came around the quickest!!

I would go back to Salvatore. The food is great. The prices, especially considering the portions you get, are the best.

Open Sesame

Open Sesame
5215 E 2nd St.
Long Beach
562-621-1698

Billed as authenic Lebanese Cuisine, Open Sesame is one of a few Mediterranean restaurants in Long Beach. I like Open Sesame but be warned, it's a very popular restaurant. You maybe waiting up to 45 minutes for a table and parking is terrible. I got there at 6pm and by the time I was done with dinner, there were at least 10 people on the waiting list.

Pictured is the Open Seasame Combo plate, $13.99. Three of their skewer are included with this combo. Kafta, chicken tawook, and the beef kabob. Kafta is ground sirloin and lamb mixed with parsley, onions and spices. Now normally I'm not a fan of ground meat kebobs. I figured why not get real beef or chicken. But I was impressed with this combination of sirloin and lamb. Very flavorful and not dry at all. The spices they use add a nice flavor.

The chicken tawook was charbroioled marinated chicken breast. Some kebob places can overcook chicken breast and making it too dry. But Open Sesame does a great job cooking the chicken to perfection. The chicken was so juicy and tender. My favorite kebob.

My least favorite kebob was the beef. It was way too dry and chewy. They need to marinate the beef more and not overcook it. I wasn't impressed with the beef kebob at all.

The dinner plates come with basmati rice, your choice of salad, I got the open sesame salad, basically a Greek salad, and hummus. I didn't like the fact that the entire dinner comes on one plate. I love basmati rice and they give you a much smaller amount of basmati rice than other kebob places. I also didn't like the garlic sauce being placed on top of some of the rice.

Service was pretty good, though it took awhile for a server to come to the table after we were seated. But our server was friendly and attentive. She was also one of the very few servers who asked if we wanted appetizers and dessert. I can't recall the last time any server asked if I wanted an appetizer. Most servers as something like "Did you save room for dessert?" but it's very rare to be asked if I want appetizers.

I would go back to Open Sesame but I wouldn't rush to go back. I liked the chicken kebob but the interesting thing is if you order the chicken kebob, they will charge you another $1.50 for rice. I thought rice was standard. Oh well, there are many other kebob places I like better.

Cantina Express-Closed

Cantina Express
3530 Temple
Pomona
909-468-0147

Cantina Express is a Mexican restaurant near Cal Poly Pomona. I went there a very long time ago and decided to give them another try.

I ordered the 2 fish taco special for $3.99. They asked if you want grilled or fried and I asked for the grilled. The fish is red snapper but it was overcooked just a bit. A little too dry for my taste. The taco is topped with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, clintro and mayo. All those flavors worked well and, along with salsa, covered up some of the dryness of the fish.

Service is pretty good. At Cantina Express you order your food at the counter and then pick up your food when it's ready. She was helpful answering questions about their menu. I asked for ice water but she forgot to give me the ice water.

For a quick and good lunch, Cantina Express fits the bill. Good food, fair prices and good service. If I was in the area I would go back.

A Few Thoughts

It's come to my attention that some people actually read my blog and take my advice. Or at least I've peaked people's interest in a restaurant and they will try it for themselves.

So please understand, that I have had this site since 2005. I have gone to tons of restaurants. As most people know, restaurants, come and go. They also change owners, chefs/cooks, servers, and many other things. Some even close down, others move.

So a few things to consider before going to any restaurant I've reviewed:

First and foremost. YMMV. Your Mileage May Vary. If you go to a restaurant and find your experience at the restaurant is different than mine, please consider, the restaurant may have changed owners, chefs, servers etc. So if your experience at a restaurant is much different than mine, consider all the factors.


Or maybe they have improved their food and/or their service since I reviewed the restaurant. This I wouldn't know about because if the food and/or the service was bad, I won't go back. Mainly because there are so many restaurants I want to try, I won't make the effort to go back to somewhere that had bad food and/or service.

I know I am a stickler for good service. I do realize that everybody has his or her bad day. I know a server maybe having a bad day and that's why the service is bad. But as the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

If you want to go to a restaurant, I reviewed, PLEASE call them first. This way, you will know if they are still open and they are opened the day you want to go. I don't always get back to restaurants I've reviewed. Again things change.

At all restaurants the meal was paid for by me or somebody who came with me. I have never received a free meal at any restaurant I reviewed. I think to be fair, having restaurants pay for your meal, clouds your judgement. So I will not accept any offers for a free meal from a restaurant owner.

I have finally started to include reviews to the many restaurants that just had pictures. I am current up to March, 2007. I will try to finish all reviews within the next two weeks. Thanks for you patience and for reading The New Diner.

Claro's-San Gabriel

Claro's
1003 East Valley Blvd
San Gabriel
626-288-2026

I know I did a review of the Claro's in West Covina, but I wanted to try the original Claro's in San Gabriel. So I decided to have lunch there.

At the deli custom made sandwiches includes your choice of three meats and one cheese. I had the large, corned beef, roast beef, and turkey with mild cheddar cheese sandwich for $5.49. The sandwich came with mayo, lettuce and tomato. The sandwich is just too dry. They need to put more mayo or something. The meat is cut so thin, it would make Victoria Secret blush. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and the bread was soft and had a wonderful crust. But the meat and cheese make a sandwich and at Claro's the meet and cheese are below average. I will not order another sandwich from Claro's again.

As I was going to the pay, I saw them selling pizza by the slice, $1.25. So I decide to give their pizza a try. The pizza was filled with sausage and cheese but it was dry too. Not nearly enough pizza sauce. The crust was a bit on the chewy, dry, side.

As for service, I've seen turles go faster. First let me say the workers behind the deli counter are very nice people. But they are sooo slow. I must have waited 30-40 minutes, from the time I got in line and I finally got my sandwich. There were TWO, TWO people ahead of me in line. They didn't order that much, a couple meats and cheeses. But still it took forever.

I would not go back to Claro's. The sandwiches are just too dry and I know I can get better meat and cheeses at other places for a much better price.

Happy Family

Happy Family
869 Wilcox
Montebello
323-724-1818

With Montebello being so close to Monterey Park and all the great Chinese restaurant, I figured it would be tough to find a good Chinese restaurant in Montebello. But to my surprise, Happy Family is a very good Chinese restaurant. It's not the most authentic but it does serve very good food.

The first picture has chicken chow mein, $7.95. There wasn't as much chicken but the noodles were tender and cooked just right. There was also cabbage and bean sprouts. The chicken was tender and it was mostly white meat. But I didn't think there was that much chicken. They certainly could have included more chicken.

The second picture is shrimp and lobster sauce, $7.95. This dish had peas, carrots, mushrooms, and a nice gravy. I think one of the best shrimp and lobster sauce I've had. The shrimps were huge and they gave you a large amount. My favorite dish of the three.

The last dish is vegetable fried rice, $5.45. The fried rice had no soy sauce at all which is weird. But it was good. There were bean sprout, broccoli, green onions, and some eggs. The rice was a bit dry but I solved that by topping it off with the shrimp and lobster sauce.

This was a take out order. Service was good. My order was ready when I asked for it. The person who took my phone order, didn't speak English that well but good enough not to make any mistakes on the order.

I would go back to Happy Family, next time I will eat in the restaurant. The food held up remarkably well. After picking up the order, we went to the LA Zoo to catch the shuttle to the Hollywood Bowl, where we had a wonderful dinner. So in that hour's time frame the food was still good and fresh.

Haru Sushi-Closed

Haru Sushi
1032 West Covina Parkway
West Covina
626-962-7888

While searching for a place to eat, I found Haru Sushi across from the West Covina Fashion Plaza. So I decided to give it a try. I had a very interesting experience here.

Pictured is the tiger roll, $9.95, and the shrimp crunch roll, $7.95. The Tiger roll had imitation crab meat, spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, avocado and cucumber. All these flavors came together very well. I was impressed with the quality and freshness of the ingredients.

The shrimp crunch roll had imitation crab meat, shrimp tempura, acovado and cucumber with tempura flakes on the outside. Again all the ingredients were fresh and tasty. But both rolls are basically the same, the only major difference is that the tiger roll had spicy tuna. I should have ordered another roll with different items.

Service was bad. The server was new and didn't know how anything about being a server at a sushi restaurant. She wasn't familiar with many of the items on the menu and kept having to ask the sushi chefs for answers. It took forever to get refills on drinks. Then took forever to get change. I mean the bill was $21 even. I put $30. Just count nine, one dollar bills and you're done. The worst thing happened when I asked for the sushi menu. I got the menu and looked it over and about three minutes after giving me the sushi menu, she asked if she could take it back!!! I was like fine, if you don't want me to order more food, I won't. I have never had that happen to me before. What the hell is that???

The quality of the sushi is very good. But I wouldn't go back there with such poor service. Or maybe I would just go sit at the sushi bar.

Fogo De Chao

Fogo De Chao
133 La Cienega
Beverly Hills
310-289-7755

A Brazilian churrascaria in Beverly Hills. I was curious about it enough to try it. Now I compare all churrascaria to Green Field. The variety of meats and the price make Green Field hard to beat.

The first picture has roasted pork loin, bacon wrapped filet mignon, and chicken breast wrapped in bacon. The pork loin was very dry, I only ate about half of it. The bacon wrapped filet mignon was very tasty, nice flavor, pretty tender and cooked about medium rare. The chicken breast wrapped in bacon was also on the dry side.

The second picture shows, top and bottom sirloin, and the picanha, which is the prime part of the sirloin. All meats were well seasoned and flavorful. They were pretty tender. After awhile all the meats do tend to taste the same.

The third picture is the rib eye. I think this was the most tender and flavorful cut at Fogo. Cooked about medium rare and just full of flavor!! My favorite cut, though it didn't come around as often as the sirloin cuts.

The last picture has the filet mignon and another piece of bacon wrapped filet mignon. The filet was tender and flavorful but I didn't feel it was as tender as the rib eye. It was good but not on par with the rib eye.

Other meats they served included chicken leg, lamb chop and linguica, a pork sausage.

The buffet bar included lot's of salad, sliced cold cuts, and fresh cut vegetables. The servers also bring you side dishes like mashed potatoes and fried bananas to your table. I only had a green salad which was very fresh but I didn't touch any sides or any other items from the buffet table. I was there for the meat!!

Service was very good. But when I came back from the salad bar, all the servers came around with the meats. I couldn't even touch the salad. Not that's a bad thing. The meat carvers came around on a regular basis. But they had very few carvers with filet mignon, we may have saw him once the entire time we were there. The carver with the beef ribs never came around. The pork lion came around twice. But all other cuts of meat came around alot.

Also there was confusion over water. We ordered bottled water but I had a glass of regular tap water from the bar. I didn't touch the glass of bottle water until I finished my glass of ice water from the bar. When I finished the server came by and took the glass of ice away. I thought he was going to refill the glass, at some restaurants they take the glass away for refills. Others just have a jug of water and refill it at the table. Well at Fogo they refill glasses at the table. Later on the server asked if I wanted more water. He came back with another bottle of water. But while he was gone, another server asked if I wanted more ice water. I said yes. He came back with a glass of ice water. Then the other server came back with bottled water. The second server tried to take away the glass of ice water and I told him, I want to keep that. Personally I wouldn't have ordered bottled water but when you're going to dinner with others, you go with the majority. I hate just plain water, I need ice in there. I don't mind mixing bottled water with ice.

The churrascaria with the salad bar and all the meats you want is about $48. That's about double the price of Greenfield's. I don't feel the quality of meats is worth double the price of Greenfield's. Fogo is a very nice restaurant and the food and service is good but I don't feel the quality of meat justifies the prices. Of course you are paying the higher prices because you're in Beverly Hills. But you will get the same quality of meats and more variety of meats at Greenfield's.

I wouldn't go back to Fogo De Chao. It was good and I enjoyed eating there but it's not worth the price they are charging.

Chevy's-West Covina-Closed

Chevy's
100 S. California Avenue
West Covina CA 91790
626-851-9400

Chevy's is a chain Fresh-Mex restaurant. I have been to their location in West Covina and Anaheim Hills. Just like at most chains, the quality of food and service is pretty much the same.

I went to Chevy's for lunch and ordered a two item combination, with a salsa chicken taco and crispy flautas for $8.29. The salsa chicken taco was served with a crispy white corn taco shell. The shell was very light and crispy. The salsa chicken was mild in terms of spiciness. The chicken itself was a bit dry, even when I added more salsa. The taco wasn't great, but it wasn't bad.

The crispy flautas is basically like a Mexican egg roll. The flautas had salsa chicken, roasted red peppers, grilled corn and a trio of cheeses. It was fusion at it's best or worst depending on how you look at things.

Service was OK. I was seated at the tables near the bar area. It's lunch so there wasn't a bunch of drunks in the bar area. But I was served by the bartender. He had a couple people at the bar and other duties. So he wasn't always there. I was dying of thrist at times because he wasn't around to refill my drink.

Chevy's isn't the best Mexican, or even real Mexican food. But it's decent chain food. I wouldn't go back.

I'm not going to start reviewing a ton of chain restaurants. But I figured I would review some smaller chains.

Fred's Mexican Cafe

Fred's Mexican Cafe
300 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Huntington Beach
714-374-8226

Fred's Mexican Cafe is a nice Mexican restaurant in Huntington Beach. After eating at Fred's go for a walk on the Huntington Beach Pier or just watch the sun set while sitting on the beach. A very beautiful site.

Pictured is the mahi mahi tacos with spanish rice and black beans. $8.95. The mahi mahi were grilled, which is nice. None of that deep fried stuff. The mahi mahi was moist and they gave you a good sized portion. The white sauce, pico de gallo, onions and tomatoes in the tacos made for a tasty combination.

Service was below average. It took awhile for the server to greet us and take our drink order. I did see her looking at us but she didn't bother coming over. Why? I have no idea. All she had to do was ask if we had been helped. It would have taken her four steps, she must have been tired. I didn't have any silverware and I had to ask the server for silverware. She took forever to get us our check and didn't come back for a long time after we were served.

Fred's is OK, nothing great. I call it Americanized, Mexican food. It's good food but nothing outstanding. I wouldn't go out of my way to go back to Fred's but it wouldn't be that bad to eat there again.

Sushi Plus

Sushi Plus
2232 Honolulu
Montrose
818-248-5660

Sushi Plus is a new restaurant in Montrose. Montrose is a beautiful, quiet area with lots of restaurants options on Honolulu Ave. Get off the 210 freeway at Ocean View, go south until you reach Honolulu and go east or west and you'll find lots of restaurants options. About ten years ago, you couldn't find a sushi place in Montrose. Now there are two or three. Sushi Plus is the newest sushi restaurant in Montrose.

For a change, I decided to try some rolls. I ordered their sapporo roll, $9.95. which is spicy crab and avocado, inside and albacore and yellowtail on the outside. There were more pieces of albacore than yellowtail. This was a great roll. Very fresh and tasty. I would order this again.

I also decided to try the the halibut sashimi. $10.95. I do like sashimi but it's not my favorite thing. Sashimi becomes too chewy, almost like chewing gum. I like the combination of the rice and seaweed of sushi. But the halibut was very fresh and tasty.

Service was very good. The servers kept coming to the table asking if I needed anything.

I would go back to Sushi Plus again. The sushi is very fresh and tasty and the prices are good.

Harbor House Cafe

Harbor House Cafe
16341 Pacific Coast Highway
Sunset Beach
562-592-5404

Maybe I'm on a history kick but after going to Clifton's, I went to an Orange Curtain landmark, Harbor House Cafe in Sunset Beach. The Harbor House Cafe has been around since 1939. They never close so it will get packed after all the surfers close down the bars on PCH.

I ordered the omelette with turkey breast and cheddar cheese for $7.95. The omelette was interesting in that it was dry at one end and as I worked my way to the other end, it was runny and almost like a poached egg. There were small amount of turkey breast and tons of cheddar cheese in the omelette. The turkey breast was nothing more than sliced lunch meat.

Now I'm not saying it was the omelette but afterwards I had an upset, bloaded stomach. Even taking six tums antacids didn't help.

Service was decent with the server leaning on the side of "God I hate my job and I don't want to be here." She wasn't that friendly but she wasn't rude. She did refill coffee and water quickly. But she took forever to come by and pick up the check.

I wouldn't go back to Harbor House Cafe. The prices are good but the food isn't that good. Plus parking can be a pain depending on when you go.

New York China Buffet-Closed

New York China Buffet
3240 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Long Beach, CA 90804
562-498-2110

New York China Buffet offers the usual Chinese food you expect at buffets. Dinner is $7.99 and the high ticket items are the salted crab.

The first picture has fried rice, teriyaki chicken, and broccoli beef. The fried rice has small amounts of carrots, peas and scrambled eggs. Good stuff but nothing outstanding. The teriyaki chicken was on the dry side and seem to have been on the steam tray for too long. The broccoli beef also seemed to be on the steam table too long. But the gravy was very good and tasty.

The next plate is my veggie plate. The bean sprouts had way too much ginger. They were overpowered by the flavor of ginger. The corn was a little undercooked but the the buttery sauce it was soaking in, added a lot of flavor. The greenbeans were just OK. A little on the undercooked side.

The third plate is mushroom chicken, spicy teriyaki chicken, and another helping of broccoli beef. This helping was just out of the kitchen. So the broccoli and beef was very fresh and tasty. The gravy was as good as the first time. Sometimes going back for seconds at buffets is a good thing. The mushroom chicken wasn't anything great. The mushrooms were mushy and tasteless. The chicken was bland and tough. Something that didn't lack flavor was the spicy teriyaki chicken. It was HOT. Too hot for my tastes. They must have poured a ton of tabasco sauce that just overpowered the teriyaki. The chicken wasn't as dry as the regular teriyaki I had earlier, leading me to believe that the chicken had been on the steam table for a short period of time.

The fourth and fifth plates are their high ticket items. The salted shrimp and crab, were just way too salty for my tastes. I was drinking tons of water after eating. I didn't finish half the crab and I love crab. The cocktail shrimp was tender and flavorful.

Service was good. The server came by to clear the plates off the table quickly. I was never lacking for water. A minor point but I was waiting for the server to pick up the check but I learned you had to walk to the front to pay. When the server gave me my check she could have told me to pay at the front.

There is nothing outstanding about NY China Buffet. But then again nothing that bad. Though the seafood was too salty and some of the items had been on the steam table for too long but that does happen at buffets.

I would not go back to NY China Buffet because Royal Buffet offers more items and better items, though the prices maybe a few bucks higher, it's worth it.

Clifton's Cafeteria

Clifton's Cafeteria
648 South Broadway
LA
213-627-1673

Comfort food. I love comfort food. I seek out restaurants that serve good comfort food. So after reading an LA Times article about Clifton's Cafeteria and I wanted to try Clifton's again. A long time ago they used to have a Clifton's in West Covina. But that closed down a long time ago. The LA Times article mentioned the original Clifton's is still open in LA. So I went down there.

First and foremost, parking sucks. The are some lots that run from $3-$5 on Sundays. But I'm sure it would be a pain to find cheap parking during the week and on Saturdays. My suggestion, take the Metro trains to Pershing Square. Then walk a couple blocks to the corner of 7th and Broadway.

As you enter Clifton's you pick up your tray and go through the line to pick your food. After selecting your food, you go to the tables. The interior dining area has the look of the mountains. There are 3-4 levels and it's warm in there. They need to turn on the air condition. But it is clean and they do clear the tables quickly.

I got the turkey with stuffing and mac and cheese. ($5.79) They carve the turkey right in front of you. The turkey, all white meat, was on the dry side, but flavorful and tasty. The turkey gravy was very good with the right amount of spices. I wasn't impressed with the mac and cheese. Very little cheese and soggy, wet, macaroni.

I also got the Chinese style pork ribs ($5.79) with rice. The ribs had a very sweet, tangy sauce on them. The ribs aren't smoked but cooked in an oven. The ribs were tender and it was a lot of food for the price.

Service is good. The servers and cashiers are nice and friendly and they are bilingual. They speak English very well. They could move to Taylor's and make more money with tips, if they wanted.

What I loved about Clifton's is the history. Clifton's opened in 1931. Think about all the things that happened since that time. Then imagine eating at Clifton's on historic days in history. Just imagine being at Clifton's on December 7, 1941. For you idiots, the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and World War II for America started. Or being at Clifton's listening to a Dodger game when Sandy Koufax was pitching. Or hell eating at Clifton's and hearing the news that BASTARD Walter O'Malley was stealing the Brooklyn Dodgers from their rightful home and bringing them to LA. Or eating at Clifton's and hearing about the assassination of John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King Jr. Or maybe some people were eating at Clifton's the day after Bobby Kennedy was assassinated back on June 4, 1968.

Clifton's is a piece of LA history and a place everybody should go to at least once. The food is good quality food at good prices.