Olive Branch

Olive Branch
3658 Foothill Blvd
La Crescenta
818-248-9876

Very good food and terrible service is the way to describe Olive Branch. I found Olive Branch online about four years ago and put it on my list of places to try. Well I finally went to Olive Branch and enjoyed the food but thought the service was terrible, one of the worst I've ever had.

I ordered the Tender Filet Kebab or Barg Kebab with rice, $15.95 with salad and your choice of rice, garden salad or bbq veggies. This is suppose to be filet mignon but it's either the lowest grade of filet or another cut of meat that they pound and make tender. But either way, it was fairly tender. Nothing like melt in your mouth tender. But you didn't need a knife to cut the meat. The seasonings were perfect and this is among the best barg kebab I've ever had. Almost as good as Shiraz.

What wasn't good was the service. I walk in and the hostess/server asks will there be five people? I was alone and wondered how she got that figure. I said, No just one, please. She then said another server will seat me. The other server put me at a table that was basically sectioned off, which was fine. But she just threw the menu down on the table and basically said sit there. Nice first impression. When the hostess/server came to take my order she never smiled and was just really unfriendly. After taking my order, they only came back to drop off my food and when I asked for the check. After dropping off the food, they never bothered to ask how the food was, never refilled drinks, and never smiled.

The only good thing the two server did was when taking my order, she said would you like soup or salad, which is included with your dinner!!! Not many places make it clear what is included and what costs extra.

Again, the food is great at Olive Branch. I loved the barg kebab, big portion, pretty tender and well seasoned. But the service is TERRIBLE. If I do go back to Olive Branch it will be for take out only.

Sunnin-Closed

Sunnin
5110 E. 2nd St.
Long Beach
562-433-9000

Sunnin is one of three Middle Eastern restuarants on 2nd St, in Long Beach.

I just ordered the kebobs a la carte, to go. Beef, $5.95 and two orders of the chicken, $5.50 each. The beef was full of flavor but a bit tough and chewy. But I thought it was very good.

The chicken, I didn't like at all. The white meat chicken was very sour, what they put it in I have no idea. But whatever it was it had a nasty, sour taste to it.

Service was OK. The hostess is a young girl, who says HI to everybody passing by Sunnin. Very nice. But she's also pretty good looking, so a lot of young guys try to hit on her. While I was waiting for my order, at least three young guys tried hitting on the hostess. But she was nice and knew she had a job to do, so she didn't let guys hitting on her distract her from doing her job.

But I had the chance to watch three guys strike out with her, because it took forever for the kebobs to cook. At least 20 minutes. I was very surprised at how long it took. Why? I have no idea. The place had a steady flow of customers but hardly packed. Maybe they were short a cook or something.

So not that I have tried all three Middle Eastern restaurants on 2nd St, which one is the best? At the bottom is Magic Lamp. Sunnin comes in second place. Open Seasame is the best.

Hacienda Heights Pizza Company

Hacienda Heights Pizza Company
15239 Gale Ave
City of Industry
626-855-2590

Hacienda Heights Pizza Company is part of a chain that takes the name of the city the restauarnt is located in. Nevermind that Hacienda Heights Pizza Company, is located in Industry but you get the point.

I ordered a jumbo half pepperoni and half sausage pizza, $19.21. This pizza was huge as you can see. The sauce was one of the sweetest sauces around. Not that it's bad but I prefer a sauce that isn't that sweet. But they put a ton of cheese and toppings. I was impressed with this pizza.

Service was average to good. The young girl taking my order was just going through the motions. She wasn't nice but wasn't rude. But while waiting for my order, either the manager or the owner, and another cashier was very nice. The manager or owner checked on my order. The other cashier asked if I wanted to order. I didn't even get a hello from the cashier who took my order.

I went on a Friday night and there were a ton of families and kids having dinner. So it was loud and pretty busy.

Is Hacienda Heights Pizza Company better than World's Best Pizza? Both are top notch pizza. Both have good prices. So I would say it's a tie. But Hacienda Heights Pizza Company is actually open for lunch during the week, where World's Best only opens at 4 during the week.


I would come back to Hacienda Heights Pizza Company. The pizza is fresh, full of toppings and well worth the price.

The Pike

The Pike
1836 E 4th St
Long Beach
562-437-4453


The Pike was voted the best fish and chips in Long Beach. I'm always leery when a restaurant is named the best in any city? Why? Well it could be like being the tallest midget or the smartest Cal State Long Beach graduate; you maybe the tallest midget but you're still a midget or you maybe the smartest Cal State Long Beach graduate but you still graduated from a second rate, glorified JC. Is The Pike the best fish and chips because Long Beach is lacking in good fish and chips places?

So I decided to see what they hype about The Pike's fish and chips is all about. First and foremost, this is really a bar that serves food. And it's a DIVE bar. Look up the word dive bar in the dictionary, LB grads, it's that very thick book with definitions of words, and you will find a picture of The Pike. I went right in the middle of happy hour and the bar was full. There are about 8-10 tables and a long set of picnic tables in the middle of the room, as you walk in.

I got the fish and chips, $9.99. The fish is cooked to order, so expect at least a ten minute wait. The fish and chips arrive and they were right out of the fryer, huge, hot, and smelled wonderful. I take a bit and find that the fish is sole, but the reason for the size isn't the fish but the batter. There were four large pieces of fish but I bet they didn't add up to half of pound of fish. The batter is very crunchy but very greasy too. I felt a little sick after eating them. The best fish and chips in Long Beach? If so, then Long Beach is really hurting for fish and chips!!!! Though the tartar sauce is very flavorful and tangy, exactly how tartar sauce should be.

Service is below average. I sat down and they really don't have any servers. The bartenders are responsible for taking orders at the tables. So if the bar is full, you maybe waiting a while, which I was. The server was ok but he did something strange. The coleslaw and tartar sauce are chilled in a cooler behind the bar. The server took out the coleslaw and tartar sauce put it on the counter where servers pick up the food. The coleslaw and tartar sauce were left on that counter for at least five minutes. Why couldn't he pick up the order, get the coleslaw and tartar sauce and then drop them off at my table? So when he came out with the fish and chips, I asked for another tartar sauce and use that. I didn't touch the coleslaw or chips.

I would not go back to The Pike again. The fish and chips are hardly the best in LB and it's a dive bar.

Maddalena Restaurant at San Antonio Winery

Maddalena Restaurant at San Antonio Winery
737 Lamar St
LA
323-223-1401

Maddalena Restaurant at San Antonio Winery is actually a fair priced restaurant. At most wineries, the restaurant is overpriced. The best part of Maddalena is that they really don't have a menu, they have each dish covered with plastic wrap and put on a table for people to view.

I ordered the rib eye sandwich, $9.69, which had sun dried tomato spread, tomatoes, lettuce and cheese on french bread. The rib eye was good sized but thin and it lacked flavor and had alot of fat. The french bread was toasted, soft and chewy. Very good. Overall the sandwich was average. Some good things, price, freshness, but some bad things, too much fat, no flavor. I didn't touch the potatoes.

This is basically self service. After looking at their menu, you place your order and the lady will put a sign with your item. Then you go further down the line to get drinks and the cashier. Depending on how busy it maybe, you will either be seated by a host or you can find a seat yourself. When I went, it was very busy and the host are right in your face or they come back behind you. I was in line still paying and the host comes up behind me and ask how many people in your party? I'm like back off man, don't come up behind me. He wasn't rude but he shouldn't come up behind people. After I finished eating, I didn't see any trash cans, so I just left my dish there.

I then asked the front office about hosting a wine tasting event. We went back into the restaurant to see one of the private rooms and my dishes were still on the table. Not sure why they couldn't clear the table, sooner. Oh well, not really my problem.

I wouldn't rush to go back to Maddalena Restaurant but I wouldn't mind going back and trying other sanwiches or salads.

On the Mark-Closed

On The Mark
355 Nieto
Long Beach
562-986-5811

On The Mark is an interesting place. They are opened for breakfast and lunch everyday. But served dinner only on Thursday. I went there for breakfast.

I ordered the Seafood Omlete, $13. Shrimp, lobster, crab, spinach, tomato, and jack cheese. I got on tomatoes since we are in the middle of tomato recall due to salmonella. The omelet was very good, cooked just right and loaded with crab, shrimp, and lobster. But this was seasoned much at all, very bland. I should have added some pepper and maybe even some cocktail sauce.

Service was below average at best. When I arrived the hostess saw me but took about five minutes to come over and greet me. At most there were 15 people eating. Then the hostess told me that the person who made the arrangements, had canceled the "reservations" I was pretty sure the reservations were not canceled. About five minutes later my friend walked in and our party finally got seated. The server took forever to take our order. She took forever to refill drinks. Our party wasn't that big, maybe 12 people, certainly not overwhelming. But she was just too damn slow.

I liked the food at On The Mark but service just sucks. If I do go back I may do a take out order.

Naples Rib Company

Naples Rib Company
5800 2nd St
Long Beach
562-439-7427

Naples Rib Company is part of the Newport Rib Co that has locations in Costa Mesa and Ladera Ranch but none in Newport. As the name would indicate, this is your typical white, suburban rib place. The ribs are cooked in an oven and do not have any kind of smoke flavor. They want you to drown the ribs in their BBQ sauce and think you're having BBQ.

I ordered a full rack of the St. Louis ribs $20.95. The rack was huge. Bigger than most full racks from other BBQ places. But there wasn't that much meat on the bones and the meat was a bit dry. The BBQ sauce they use is tomato based but has way too much vinegar in there. Just too tangy for my tastes.

But to their credit they have some of the best corn bread and mac and cheese around. The corn, especially served right out of the oven, is so moist, flakey, and has such a great taste. Maybe the best corn bread I've ever had.

The mac and cheese also ranks up there was one of the best I've ever had. The macaroni was cooked just right and was covered with cheddar cheese. There was cheese everywhere!!!!

Service was average. The server was a bit slow getting drinks and taking orders but after that she was good at refilling drinks, getting napkins and anything else we needed.

For what Naples Ribs is, suburban BBQ, it's very good. Much better than other suburban BBQ places like Tony Roma's and Chris and Pitts. For people who like real BBQ, they need to go somewhere else.

Sitar-Closed

Sitar
618 Colorado Blvd
Pasadena
626-449-5954


I went to Sitar once before but I did not have my camera. I though the food was good enough that I would go back again and take pictures. So about two weeks ago, I decide to go back to Sitar. I walk in and the host tells me they are closed, due to a private party. I see a couple eating dinner and ask what about them? The host tells me they have been there before Sitar closed the restaurant to the general public. So I was pretty mad, especially considering the cost of gas. So I wanted to back and give them a bad review. So I decide to go back for their lunch buffet, $8.95. Their take out menu says $7.95, so that must have been printed before gas was $4.50 a gallon.

Anyways the lunch buffet is set up in the back of the restaurant. They have three main entrees,
Chicken tikka masala., Butter Chicken and Chicken Curry. In terms of spiciness, they are all mild. If you order off the menu you can ask for hot or super hot.

I loved the chicken tikka masala, chicken roasted in a clay oven, and simmered in a zesty sauce. The chicken had a wonderful flavor. Not spicy and I wouldn't say zesty either. Just a nice pleasant tasty meal. The chicken, some white meat and some dark meat, was tender and cooked just right.

The butter chicken, tandorii chicken in tomato, butter and Fenugreek sauce. This was more like a curry flavor. This is mild and more of a heavy dish. Much different than the tikka.

I didn't care for the curry chicken. The chicken itself was a bit fatty and not tender at all, more like rubbery chicken you get at a banquet. This was heavy like the butter chicken but not as good.

They had basmati rice, which was light and fluffy but not oily.

Service was OK. They would come around and take away the plates but I had to ask twice to get more water. They were friendly and nice. I would give them a better review on service if they had filled up my water, without me having to ask.

The regular menu prices for the three entrees are $11 each and they are al carte. So the lunch buffet is well worth the price since you can get as much as you want and rice is included.

If the food wasn't good, I would have ripped Sitar because of what happened the last time I tried to eat there. But the food was very good. I may go back to Sitar but I will only go during their lunch buffet. You get to try different menu items with rice at a much cheaper price.

Jade House Seafood & BBQ

Jade House Seafood & BBQ
1124 S Diamond Bar Blvd
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
909-861-9383

Jade House has been in Diamond Bar for at least ten years. I always thought of them as more of a take out place but they do have a large menu for sit down dining.

I ordered the:

Shrimp fried rice, $6.95. This was more like shrimp with rice. There were about ten large shrimp, with some eggs, green onions, and oil. That's it. No veggies at all. I thought the shrimp wasn't the freshest and was chewy. The shrimp needed more seasoning, it was pretty bland. I don't need the entire garden in fried rice but damn, at least put some vegetables in there. If the shrimp was good it would have been an OK value. But with chewy, maybe four day old shrimp, it wasn't worth the price.

Scallops in Szechuan sauce, $10.95. This was a spicy and flavorful dish. They had lots and lots of celery. Figures, they finally put in veggies, celerly and carrots, and it's a veggie, celerly, I don't like. They also had ginger, mushrooms and watercrest. The scallops are sliced thick and were knid of rubbery. I don't know where they get their seafood but it's not fresh at all.

Chicken with cashews nuts, $6.95. Again they put in celery and carrots. But this was a bland tasty dish. The chicken was horrible, not tender, not fresh, almost seemed like chemcially engineered chicken. Not a good combo at all.

Service was good. I didn't lack for anything except for good food.

I would not go back to Jade House. Most of the dishes were pretty bland and not fresh, especially the seafood, at all.

Mediterranean Triangle-Closed

Mediterranean Triangle 4917 Eagle Rock Blvd. Los Angeles 323-340-8314 Mediterranean Triangle is a small place in Eagle Rock. They surrounded by chain restaurants but serve some good food at good prices. I go the #4 combo, shish, chicken, and luleh kebobs with rice and salad, $17.31. The shish kebobs were well spiced and they gave you a big portion. But they were a big tough and chewy. The chicken was a bit bland but again a big portion and juicy. But the best was the beef luleh kebob, ground beef. There was so much flavor and not a bit dry. I normally do not order luleh kebobs but I'm glad the luleh was included in this combo. It was very good and among the best luleh kebobs I've had. Service is good. It's a mom and pop operation and very friendly. I would go back to Mediterranean Triangle anytime. It's almost as good as Shiraz for their shish kebobs.

World's Best Pizza

World's Best Pizza
3142 Colima Rd
Hacienda Heights
626-968-4794

When you have a name like World's Best Pizza, the pizza better be damn good or the owner is one arrogant bastard. For the sake of World's Best Pizza the pizza is good.

I got a medium Canadian bacon for $14.06. The crust was cooked just right, a big crispy at the top and towards the middle soft and chewy. They put a ton of cheese and it melted nicely over the pizza. There were good amount of Canadian bacon on the pizza. What was interesting is that I saw huge cans of pizza sauce stored by the front counter. I thought the sauce was pretty good, nothing great but good enough. But I would have never guessed it was from a can. I saw the can, it wasn't tomato paste, it was pizza sauce.

I found out about World'S Pizza through Yelp.com and one reviewer said watch out for the Pizza Nazi. I never saw him. A younger kid helped me and he was OK. Not the friendliest but not rude or a punk. More a matter of fact.

This is a take out place. There are some table in front of the store but take it home and enjoy.

Even though the pizza sauce was from a can, I would go back to World's Best Pizza. I liked their pizza.

Z Pizza- Long Beach-Closed

Z Pizza 4612 E 2nd St Long Beach (562) 987-4500 A gourmet pizza place on 2nd Street in Long Beach, Z Pizza is a chain that needs works. I ordered two rustic pizzas, chicken sausage and arugala and the Mediterranean Pesto, artichoke hearts, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, eggplant, and kalamata olives, $16.15 for the pair. The rustic pizzas are oblong shaped, thin crust pizza. The chicken sausage and arugala was OK, the arugala wasn't bitter and didn't have an overwhelming flavor. The chicken sausage was pretty standard,nothing bad but also nothing good about it. The Mediterranean pizza left a bitter taste in my mouth. All those flavors do not work on a pizza. It's like a Chicago hot dog, too many toppings ruin the flavor. What's interesting is that Z Pizza's website doesn't like artichoke as an ingredient on the pizza. Either way I wouldn't order this again. I called in the order for pizza. The little service contact I had with them was OK. A guy who looked like the owner or manager was sitting on top of a counter/table and just chillin!!! Interesting first impression. They weren't the most friendly or welcoming but they weren't rude either. Just kinda going through the motions. I would not go back and order the rustic pizza from Z Pizza. The crust was good but most of their toppings don't work well together. I may try their traditional style pizza but I won't rush back.

Trattoria Limone-Closed

Trattori Limone
3405 Orange
Long Beach
562-424-3752

A fairly new restaurant in the Cal Height section of Long Beach, Trattoria Limone offers good Italian food at decent prices. It's a small place, hold about 35 people in their dining room. You actually enter into the counter/kitchen area. Yes I said kitchen.

I ordered the penne alla salsiccia, penne pasta with grilled chicken breast, sliced sausage, fresh peppers in a light pink tomato cream sauce, $15. This was an excellent dish with lots of chicken and sausage and penne pasta. The sauce was very light, not heavy and overpowering as some sauces can be. The penne was well cooked and the chicken moist and tender. The sausage was a bit tough and not that flavorful.

Service was very good. Our server was nice and friendly and always made sure we had everything we needed.

I picked up a menu in early May and they listed the price of the penne alla salsiccia at $14 and they used corkscrew pasta. Now on June 1, they raised the priceby a dollar and they use penne pasta.

A nice location, though parking can be a little tough, good food, and service makes Trattoria Limone a fine addition to the dining options in Long Beach. I would go back to Trattoria Limone but it was a bit loud in there.

Update July 30, 2008



I went back to Trattoria Limone and ordered the fettucine al compleano, $15, with andouille sausage, spciy tasso ham, peppers, chicken breast, shrimp in a light spicy cream sauce.

I loved it. All the flavors worked so well together. I was say it was a spicer, mild cream sauce. There were good amounts of sausage, tasso ham, chicken and shrimp. Well worth the $15 price.

Service again was good. I walked in and was greeted promptly. We didn't lack for anything while at our table.

Trattoria Limone is a great restaurant and I would go back there again. The next time I go back I may sit at the bar and watch John, the owner and chef, cook my meal.