South Coast Winery Restaurant-Closed

South Coast Winery Restaurant
3608 S Bristol St
Santa Ana
714-957-1857

South Coast Winery of Temecula, opened up a restaurant and wine tasting room in Santa Ana, not far from the South Coast Plaza. The wine tasting is $10 for five pours. The servers give you more than a "taste", two tastes almost equal a glass. I love their sparking wines. Not dry but a nice refreshing taste.

As for the food, it's pretty good but pricey. I got the northern halibut. The halibut was a little overcooked, making it on the dry side. Some fish, like halibut are easy to overcook. But the halibut was fresh and putting on some of the salsa helped with the dryness. Was it worth the $30? Hell no. There were some small pieces of vegetables but nothing to write home about.

As an appetizer we ordered the cheese plate for $10. They had four kinds of cheese. Munster was the best and then they had three very bitter cheeses, blue cheese, Asiago and one other. Some people may like those sharp, bitter cheeses, but not me.

Service was very good. We had a party of 10 and we were served quickly and they were attentive. But then again there may have been four other people eating in the restaurant at the time.

I would not go back to South Coast Winery for the food. It's very expensive and the food isn't worth it. The food is average at best. I could get a better halibut at a better price at most other seafood restaurants.

The wines are great at South Coast. But the food leaves a lot to be desired.

Formosa Cafe

Formosa Cafe
7156 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles
323-850-9050

A LA landmark, I had to try Formosa Cafe's kobe burger. I had high expectations but after having the burger, I would have been better off going to any other burger place.

The kobe burger has jalapeno cheese on an onion bun for $14. The burger was suppose to be cooked medium rare. When the burger came it was huge and had a nice presentation. But once I took a bite, I felt as though I was having a $6 burger from Carl's. The beef was very dry. Kobe beef should be very moist and juicy. I really doubt if they used kobe beef. I'm pretty sure this is kobe-STYLE beef. The burger priced in the $5-$7 range would be a good value. At $14 it's a rip off.

Service was average. We waited a little for refills on drinks. But our server was nice and pleasant.

Ok, so Formosa has pictures of many Hollywood stars. So what. The food isn't anything to brag about and it's overpriced. I have no need or desire to go back here again.

Masa of Echo Park

Masa of Echo Park
1800 W Sunset Blvd
LA
213-989-1558

Chicago style pizza!! Of course you need to go to Chicago to find the best, I prefer Connie's but there are others like Lou Malnati's. But out here in LA, whenever I hear those words, I think of Tony's Pizza in Placentia. But Masa comes pretty damn close to Tony's Little Italy. Actually, Masa comes very close to Lou Malnati's.

Pictured is the large "Lots of Meat" pizza, Fontanini sweet Italian sausage and pepperoni, $19.95. As most people know Chicago style pizza takes about an hour to bake. Best best, order before getting there and your pizza will be ready.

The sausage was very good. But instead of the crumbled sausage it was sausage patties, just like some places in Chicago. There was a ton of sausage and pepperoni and cheese. The sauce was good but I didn't think there was enough of it. The pizza was on the dry side. But overall a very good Chicago style pizza. As good as Tony's Little Italy? No. But pretty damn close.

Service was below average. The server had a lot of attitude at times. She was slow to refill drinks and instead of asking us to do something, she ordered us to pass the plates down. I mean isn't that the server's job? If she wants some help, be nice and polite about it.

I would go back to Masa but I want a different server. This is a great place to go before a Dodger game. The pizza is very good and worth the trip. Parking can be tough in the area.

El Tepeyac Cafe

El Tepeyac Cafe
812 Evergreen Ave
LA
323-268-1960

The Manuel Special Burrito. Most people will known what that means. It's one of the biggest burritos I've ever seen. Named after the owner, the burrito must be five pounds. It feeds four to five people easily.

I ordered the pollo (chicken) Manuel burrito for $20. To go orders are priced a little more because of the costs of the packing materials. I mean you just can't put this burrito in those regular containers.

The burrito is good. There is a ton of white meat chicken, beans, rice, and guacamole inside the burrito. But was the best burrito ever? No. It's good, Mexican comfort food. The draw of the Manuel burrito is the size. Some people have eaten the entire burrito by themselves. But most people will split the burrito and for about $5 a person, the burrito is very good.

El Tepeyac is also known for their Hollenbeck burrito, which is just a smaller version of the Manuel.

Service is good. The server speak English very well and are very nice and friendly. The area is fine. Of course you won't see this area on post cards but I never felt any kind of danger and I went there at 9pm on a Friday night. El Tepeyac has a parking lot right next door. Nothing happened to my car when I was there.

They are building the Gold Line extension from Union Station through this area. So getting to El Tepeyac is a little tough, coming from the 60, as many roads are either closed or have reduced lanes due to construction. The construction is set to be completed by 2009.

I would go back to El Tepeyac if I was in the area. I wouldn't make a special trip just for El Tepeyac but if I'm going to downtown LA, I would stop by and eat here.

Woody's Wharf

Woody's Wharf
2318 Newport Blvd
Newport Beach
949-675-0474

Woody's Wharf has a Sunday Champagne Brunch, where unlimited champagne comes with your meal. The champagne is actually pretty good. I hate dry champagne, the champagne they serve doesn't have that bitter taste. It's not too sweet but very flavorful.

So keeping in mind that champagne is included in the price of your meal, I got the turkey sandwich, $13.95. The sandwich came on a baggette with swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato. The sandwich was stacked high with good but not great turkey. It was fresh but nothing better than a supermarket deli turkey. The baggette was soft and chewy and had a nice texture. The lettuce and tomato were very fresh. Overall a good sandwich. Not worth that $13.95 price, even if that included champagne.

The service was average. When we got there, it wasn't that crowded. But people started coming in and by the time we left there was a 30 minute wait for a table. But even when it wasn't crowded our server wasn't the most attentive, we needed refills of drinks, not champagne, a couple times. They have somebody, I believe the hostess, coming around pouring champagne.

There is decent view. There is some water but the marina, with all the boats prevent it from being a great view. Valet parking only for $3.50. But when I arrived, there wasn't a sign and the punk kid, valet was nowhere to be found. When we walked towards the restaurant, he came up and said valet only. He needs to be more visable. Not hiding.

I would not go back to Woody's. The food is good but nothing overwhelming. But the prices are on the high side and even if you have a couple glasses of champagne, it's not worth the price.

Jimmie's-Closed

Jimmie's
701 Whittier Blvd
Montebello
323-726-7783

Jimmie's is a local restaurant that tries to cater to all of Montebello. So that means American food, Persiand food, and Mexican food.

Well they don't do American breakfast right. Pictured is the one egg breakfast special with a biscuit for $4.79, which includes potatoes and bacon.

Where should I start. The biscuit and country gravy. TERRIBLE. First there was a thick layer on top of the gravy. When I dipped the biscuit, both the biscuit and gravy weren't even luke warm. The gravy tasted as though it had been sitting around for an entire week. TERRIBLE.

The egg was ordered over hard and this was overcooked. It's too brown. There should be some white showing, even in a over hard egg. The was the best part of the meal.

The bacon was undercooked. They needed to be on the grill for a few more minutes.

The pototoes were nothing great, very bland.

Service was average. The young server took my order and the order came quickly but my drink wasn't refilled until I had to call for her. But she was nice and pleasant.

I would not go back to Jimmie's. Terrible food.

Troy's Drive In #10

Troy's Drive In #10
720 N Hacienda Blvd
La Puente
626-330-3659

I much prefer going to the local burger place for lunch than any coporate fast food place. So with this in mind I go to Troy's Drive In #10 for lunch. Troy's is your basic "greast spoon" type of burger place.

I got the 1/4 lb bacon cheeseburger combo with fries, $5.59. The burger was cooked well done so it made the burger very dry, even with lettuce, tomato and 1000 island dressing. The bacon left a little to be desired. It seemed as though the bacon had been sitting in a warmer since breakfast. It was tough, greasy and just down right bad. After a couple bites, I took the bacon out and eat the rest of the burger. The cheese wasn't melt, it was like they forgot to put the cheese on there and at the last minute put a slice of cheese.

Service is good and friendly. My order came quickly which is good considering I only have about 30 minutes for lunch.

I would not go back to Troy's. The burger isn't good and I think the prices are on the high side.