Kim Tar BBQ Restaurant

Kim Tar BBQ Restaurant
15475 Valley Blvd
City Industry
626-333-0070

At most Chinese BBQ restaurants, you will see BBQ por, roasted pork and duck. Kim Tar has those items along with a daily lunch special.

Their lunch special includes soup, egg roll and either chow mein or fried rice. I got the chicken in lemon sauce, $5.75, with fried rice, and shrimp in vegetables, $6.25, with chow mein. I didn't touch the soup.

The chicken in lemon sauce wasn't good at all. The chicken is breaded and then fried but there wasn't much chicken in there, all batter. Some of the pieces were very tough and chewy. There wasn't much of a lemon flavor at all. The sauce was bland with barely a hint of lemon. The fried rice had some carrots and peas and eggs. It was pretty good.

The shrimp and veggies had bok choy and some large pieces of carrots. The shrimp wasn't the freshest. The sauce was thickened with corn startch and was pretty bland.

What was great was the chow mein. WOW, stir fried to perfection, nicely seasoned, and there was plenty of it. This chow mein would be great topped with your favorite meat and veggies.

Service was good. But the server only brought two egg rolls, when our table should have gotten three egg rolls.

Kim Tar is the same shopping center as a strip club and adult bookstore. You would have to be blind to miss the huge signage for the strip club and adult bookstore. So this may not be the place to take your family for dinner. But during lunch time, it should be fine.

I would go back to Kim Tar for the chow mein. I would try other meats, maybe a beef dish or another chicken dish. But chow mein is the way to go.

Little Fat Sheep-Closed

Little Fat Sheep
120 S. Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park
626-282-1089

An interesting name for a restaurant. Little Fat Sheep is a Mongolian Hot Pot restaurant. What you do is choose what type of brooth you want, spicy, mild, half and half and veggie. I sat at a table with half and half. They ask you how spicy you want the brooth, scale of 1-10 and Fear Factor. We decided on 6 and it was a good thing. The longer the brooth boils, the spicier the brooth becomes. Brooth is $3.50 a person but they max out at 8 people. So our table of ten was charged $28 for the brooth, $2.80 a person. They will refill the brooth the entire night.

Then there is a menu that includes, meats, veggies, noodles, and seafood that you can put into the hot pot and cook. They also have cooked items like fried rice and a great scaliion pancake, $4.25. My table ordered about 4 plates of the scallion pancakes. Though a bit greasty they were very good. A flakey pancake with some scallions inside. I would use the pancake like a pizza crust, top with with some meats and veggies, that were cooked in the brooth, and I chowed down.

Our table ordered the sliced beef, $3.75, sliced chicken, $3.75, sliced lamb, $4.25, beef and lamb meat ball, $3.95 each, imitation crab meat, $3.95, fresh corn, $2.25, shitake and oyster mushroom, $3.25 each, spinach, $2.25, white noodle, $2.75, and hand made noodles, $2.75.

The meats and veggies come out in a small cart, which is placed next to your table.

I thought all the veggies were very fresh and worked well with the brooth. The veggies except the fresh corn cooked quickly, about 2 minutes. The corn about 5-7 minutes. While the corn was fresh and tasty, they only cut the corn, on the cobb, into two inch sections. They could be a little bigger. I especially like the spinach, super fresh, and both mushrooms.

The sliced meats were great. Thinly cut pieces so they will cook quickly, the meats were great with the brooth. The imitation crab meat took awhile to cook in the brooth but they were good when finished.

The noodles also cooked quickly and worked well. Next time I go, I will make this more of a noodles soup. Put in the noodles first, followed by meats, then the veggies. Putting those in the brooth in that order, allows for the slower and faster cooking items to be done at the same time.

Service is pretty good, the meats and veggies come out very quickly. The brooth was also refilled quickly. But getting refills on water and hot tea is a bit slow.

I would go back to Little Fat Sheep anytime, especially when it is a cold night. If you like spicy brooth, I would start at about 7 or 8. You can always increase the spice.

Tony's Restaurant

Tony's Restaurant
986 E 2nd St
Pomona
909-623-4695

French Dip sandwiches. Invented by Cole's, then copied by Philippe, French dip sandwiches are really a LA invention. Tony's restaurant in Pomona has been serving French dips for 50 years. It is funny, but I have lived in the area for over 30 years and I didn't know about Tony's until two months ago. Tony's isn't anything fancy. There is sawdust on the floor, red and white checkered table clothes, and you order at the counter and then find a table.

I had the beef dip, $5.68. The beef dips comes on a paper plate just like Philippe. The beef sliced thin and stacked high. The beef was tender and flavorful. They will give you a cup of au jus for free, if you ask for it. Unlike the copy cat, Philippe, you do not need some horseradish mustard to improve the flavor of the beef. The french roll is dipped but it was pretty soggy mushy. The key to any beef dip is have the bread not get too soggy. Tony's fails at this. But the quality of the beef makes up for it.

Service is nothing special but nothing bad either.

Tony's is not better than Cole's but is better than Philippe. I would go back to Tony's to try their corned beef or turkey dips. If you live the Pomona area, you would be better off going to Tony's than driving to LA for Philippe.

Artist Crawfish Express

Artist Crawfish Express
9041 Trask Ave
Ste A
Garden Grove
714-537-7260

What do you get when you combine good prices with good food? Of course the answer is, a good review from The New Diner.

Artist Crawfish serves crawfish and peel and eat shrimp. But I heard good things about their other seafood items, so I decide to try it. Located behind an car repair shop, parking can be tough to find before 6:30pm, since people are just picking up their cars after getting an oil change or service. But the food is worth the hassle.

I got the side order of butterfly shrimp, $4.50 and the Cajun Fish Fry, $6.95. I felt like I was stealing from them when the shrimp arrived. The menu says you get eight pieces and I got eight huge pieces of butterfly shrimp. OK they are frozen and then deep fried but that doesn't mean they can't taste good. Very crunchy and flavorful. How do they charge such low prices for this? I could order two of these and get make it a meal. The cocktail sauce is mainly ketchup but I liked the crunch so much, that I wasn't going to worry about a dipping sauce when the shrimp was this good and cheap.

Five minutes after the shrimp arrive, I get this huge piece of sole fish on top of Artist rice, which is fried rice with some mixed veggies. The fish was deep fried in a very nice crunchy, cornmeal batter. The inside was nice and flakey. One of the best fish I've had. The rice was ok, nothing really special about it.

Service was very good. The young girl was the only person working and she was nice and did a good job. We didn't lack for anything. And I'm not saying any of this because she was very easy on the eyes. If she was ugly I would still have said the samething.

I would go back to Artist Crawfish Express anytime. This isn't the fault of Artist Crawfish Express but there was a table of about eight people including a 4-5 year old kid who were so loud, they were almost shouting at each other across the table. Then this stupid kid is yelling and running around all over the restaurant, opening the door. Which isn't that bad but when it is windy and cold outside, it would be nice if the door was closed. It would have been better if the parents would watch their damn kid. Parents, a restaurant is NOT a babysitting service. If you want to go out for a nice dinner, hire a babysitter or make sure you are watching your damn kid while in the restaurant. People want to go to restaurants for a nice meal. They don't need a kid running around yelling his stupid head off. Take responsibility for your damn kid.

Update April 3, 2009.

I got a great question by a reader of The New Diner: Who do you think has better fried seafood -- Artist Crawfish or England Fish and Chips in Long Beach?

I think both are great and in most ways it is comparing apples to oranges. Artist Express has more items on their menu. English Fish and Chips is all about fried seafood. If I had to compare just the fried seafood, I think Englang Fish and Seafood is the best. The prices, $1.49 for a huge piece of cod, are better. I also like cod better than sole. The fried shrimp at Englad is better and they also have fried scallops.

NY BBQ-Closed

NY BBQ
901 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles
323-934-4343

New York City is not known for BBQ, at least real BBQ where the meat is smoked. Where are there hickory or mesquite or apple work in New York? But just the name, New York has appeal. So I went to NY BBQ on La Brea to see how good their BBQ maybe.

I got the lunch portion of the baby back ribs, they do not have spare ribs, $9.95, with double mac and cheese. Now I'm not a big fan of baby backs, but the baby backs served here was pretty damn good. Lots of meat on those bones. A decent smoke flavor and the meat was tender but there are babybacks, so they should be tender.

The mac and cheesy was pretty good but I too mushy and gooey. The macaroni was so overcooked. The cheese was pretty good and blended well but this was just off.

Since I ate there she filled a little bowl with water, so I could wash my hands after eating. A very nice touch. They are about 5-6 tables but very little parking.

Service is OK but sneaky. What do I mean by sneaky? I placed the order, lunch portion of the baby back ribs, with double mac and cheese. The lady, who I believe is the owner then asked if I wanted some dessert. She actually named the dessert but I forget exactly what she asked, maybe sweet potato pie or 7up cake. I was surprised because I read their online menu and they didn't mention dessert being included with lunch. I stopped her and asked if that was included. She said no. So I passed on dessert. I bet she has "sold" people on saying yes to dessert because of the way she asked the question. I find it just as wrong as when servers do not tell people that there are not free drink refills.

While I do like their ribs, I'm not sure I would go back to NY BBQ. I do not like how she conducts business, too sneaky.

Buffalo Wings n Things-Closed

Buffalo Wings n Things 11499 Jefferson Blvd. Culver City 310-391-7801 Buffalo Wings n Things, I must be on a wings and BBQ kick this weekend. I went to Wings Shack and was very impressed. So I found Buffalo Wings n Things in Culver City and wanted to see how they compare. I got a sampler order of hot wings, $4.75. About five minutes later, I got six piping hot wings, that were covered in sauce. The first thing I noticed was that the wings were a bit small. When I took a bit, they were crispy as other wings I've had. There was some meat on those small wings. The sauce was fairly spicy not the most spicy I've had but just enough to let you know they used some hot sauce. I did like they gave a small cup of ranch dressing and carrots and celery. At Wing Shack you have to pay for those. I like the smaller portion, not too many wings and a good price. Service is OK. The guy working was too busy watching USC lose to Michigan St in the NCAA tourney to give much notice. I also called twice after they opened and nobody answered. They are open at noon on Sunday and they didn't answer until about 12:35. They used to be on Jefferson and some sites still list their address on Jefferson, but the address I wrote is their new and current location. I wouldn't rush back to Wings and Things but I wouldn't mind going there if I'm in the area.

Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken-Culver City

Honey's Kettle
9537 Culver Boulevard
Culver City
310-202-5453

After dinner at Santa Maria BBQ Co. I noticed that Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken was across the street!!! So I decided to go over and see how this compares to Honey's Kettle in Compton.

I got the breast piece, $3.41. The chicken was very light and crunchy on the outside. But a bit dry on the inside. The chicken was tender and tasty but I could have been more moist.

Service is good. The cashier was nice and friendly and helpful when I asked about parking. This location is very busy, much more busy than the Compton location.

If I'm in the area, I would go back here but I think the Compton location is better.

Wings Shack-Closed

Wings Shack
5301 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles
323-934-9464

Does this address sound familiar? If so, this used to be the location for Hoagies and Wings. But Wings Shack took over and what a treat for the area. These are among the best wings I have ever had. I still think Ye Rustic Inn has the best wings in LA but Wings Shack comes very close.

I got the 5 piece in hot, $3.99. WOW what a treat. They sauce is thicker than other wings sauces I've had. It was spicy, not the hottest but it does have a kick. The drumettes were meaty and crispy. Truely a great sauce and example of what chicken wings should be like. But wings should come with dressing and carrot and celery sticks. Charging for them is a bad business practice.

Service is good. The owner is very nice but it does take awhile for the food to arrive. He cooks everything to order and he was the only person working when I was there.

I would go back to Wings Shack anytime. I want to thank Michelle R for the tip about Wings Shack.

Santa Maria BBQ Company-Closed

Santa Maria BBQ Company
9552 Washington Blvd
Culver City
310-842-8169

Yes, I have been to a Santa Maria BBQ Company in Culver City before. But they moved to a bigger location a few blocks north of their old location. So I decided to try it. BTW the old location is now Meltdown, a restaurant known for their grilled cheese sandwiches.

Santa Maria BBQ means tri tip, cooked over oak wood. So I ordered the half pound of tri tip, $8.00. I wasn't in the mood for bread or sides, so I went the protein diet. Just as before I loved the tri tip. Very tender, full of flavor and juicy, cooked about medium rare. Not fatty at all and a nice smokey flavor.

Service was good and bad. I had a group of 17 people and we only lack quick refills on drinks. But when I called early to tell them we were having a big group they were very tough to deal with. They almost gave me the impression they didn't want that many people. Then when I got there, they had to think realy hard about where to sit us. Hey that big space in the center of the room would be a good place. But other than that, we were treated well.

Parking is tough in the area but most parking structure gave you two hours free without validation.

I would go back to Santa Maria BBQ again. I didn't get the ribs this time but I like the ribs I got on my last trip.

Golden Bird-Closed

Golden Bird
4725 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles
323-525-0488

This Golden Bird is one of the last Golden Bird locations left. I have only been to the Golden Bird that was part of Porky's BBQ in Inglewood, which is now closed. So I wanted to try a stand alone Golden Bird. But I was very mad because my stupid GPS took me all over trying to find this place. I mean how tough can it be to say exit La Brea off the 10 freeway, go north, make a right on Venice and it will be about a 2-3 blocks ahead. But no, instead they make be go to Pico and then all these stupid turns.

Anyways, I got there, ordered the chicken breast, $2.71. The skin was a dark brown color, which means they oil needs to be changed. But the skin was very crunchy and cripsy. I though it maybe a bit oily but no, it wasn't greasy at all. The chicken was a bit dry and I felt it had been sitting under heat lamps for too long.

Service is good. The lady is very nice and helpful.

I think the chicken here can be good if they cleaned the oil more often and of course you go there, just after they cooked up a new batch of chicken. If I was in the area I would go back but I'm not making an extra trip.

Master Chef-Closed

Master Chef
937 N Hill St
Los Angeles
213-687-3638

Master Chef recently opened up on Hill St. in Chinatown. They offer a lunch and late night menu for great prices, nothing over $7.95. So with a group of friends we went and tried Master Chef.

With every meal you get soup, which is a corn soup. Lots of corn starch mixed with chicken stock and some corn. Nothing great but it does come with the meal.

Sliced chicken with spicy garlic sauce, $7.25. This was a very good dish, though it was listed as spicy and it wasn't spicy at all. Filled with slices of chicken, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and bamboo shoots in a garlic flavored sauce. All these flavors worked well.

Rock cod fish fillet with black bean sauce, $7.25. This was also a good dish. Lots of black bean sauce, onions, and bell peppers. Nice flavor and tender good tasting cod.

XO combination fried rice, $7.25. This fried rice had all the meats, beef, pork, and shrimp with some peas and eggs. I thought it was nice sized portion.

Pan fried scallops with asparagus, $7.95. Scallops, asparagus, and carrots in a light sauce. Fresh, sweet, and tender scallops make this dish. The asparagus could have been cooked a little longer, too crunchy for me. But otherwise a good dish.

French style beef, $7.95. Interesting item for a Chinese restaurant. The chef must have been trained in Vietnam or by Vietnamese people. Tender pieces of beef with lots of onions, in a light gravy.

Honey walnut shrimp, $7.95. A sweet dish, with a crunchy outside and a tender shrimp inside. I liked this dish but they could have put a bit more shrimp in there.

Service was OK. We did wait a long time for them to take our order and for them to give us our check.

I would go back to Master Chef again. I liked all the dishes we ordered and would order any of them again. They have a huge menu so next time I go, I will order something else. Their late night menu is the same as their daily lunch menu. I can picture myself going here after seeing the Dodgers lose or for lunch on the weekend.

Update July 14, 2009.






I went back to Master Chef for their late night special.

Soup-Not sure the exact name but this soup had pork and tofu. This was hot and tasty. The ground pork had a lot of flavor and the tofu was firm, not mussy. I wouldn't order this soup as my first couse, the corn soup is a better choice.

Deep Fried Sole with spicy brown sauce, $7.95. I saw this dish the last time I was at Master Chef and wanted to try it. A huge whole sole, covering a spicy brown sauce. But the sole was way too dry, as if it had been deep fried a long time ago and sitting around. The fish was tough, chewy and not good at all. The sauce was wonderful, not that spicy but lots of flavors including soy sauce, garlic, peppers, and green onions. If the sole was freshly fried, this would have been a great dish.

Kung Pao Chicken, $7.25. This was an amazing dish. Perfectly cooked piece of mostly white meat chicken, mixed with a light sauce. Maybe the best King Pao chicken I have ever had. And the portion was huge!!!

Service was again pretty good.

Even though the deep fried sole not living up to expectations, I did enjoy Master Chef again. A great restaurant and if you go during their late night special, a great deal.

Update: July 19, 2009





I love Master Chef so much, I went there three times in a week.

First I want to review a dish I order awhile back but forgot to mention, pan fried beef ribs with house special sauce, $7.95. The ribs were pretty tender but what a flavor. The house special sauce had a hint of orange and was fairly spicy. A good dish.

Now I got the shrimp with eggplant and spicy sauce, $7.25. This is a great dish, even if you don't eat eggplant, like me. There were a ton, I mean a ton of shrimp and the sauce isn't that spicy at all. It is a mixture of corn starch, chicken broth, and some spices. Order if, even if you don't eat eggplant. The hottie I had dinner with told me the eggplant was great.

Pan fried scallops with vegetables, $7.95. This is listed on the menu being with asparagus but there was no asparagus in the dish. What was in the dish was huge pieces of scallops that were pretty fresh and tasty.

Service was a little slow this time. It took awhile to get refills on water and rice.

Ostioneria Colima

Ostioneria Colima
1136 S Hacienda Blvd
Hacienda Heights
626-333-8017

I have passed by Ostioneria Colima a million times but I have never stopped in until today. I heard they serve good fish and shrimp tacos and a huge portion of shrimp cocktails.

So I got the small shrimp cocktail, $5.99, shrimp taco, $2.49, and fish taco, $1.99. The shrimp cocktail was great. This is the first time I've had Mexican style shrimp cocktail and I was impressed. So fresh and tasty!!! It was filled with a ton of fresh shrimp, onions, avocado, and cilantro. I thought the juice was going to be sour, much like ceviche, but this juice was sweet. I love this dish. I'm glad I got the small because I wasn't able to finish this.

The shrimp taco was also good. Filled with large pieces of deep fried shrimp, cabbage, and that white sauce, this was among the best shrimp tacos I have had. Full of flavor, hot, fresh and tasty.

I didn't care for the fish taco, though. The fish was too dry and not flavorful. It would have been better if it was deep fried. I would not order this again.

Service was good. But I found it weird that one of the guys who took the food to your table, was just hovering around the dining around, like a stalker. He didn't say anything to me or look at me. But it was just weird.

Ostioneria Colima is a damn good place to get Mexican seafood. I think the prices are fair and the food is very good. Parking is in the back, though as the picture shows there are 4-5 spaces in front. I would go back to Ostioneria Colima anytime.

Miceli's Italian Restaurant

Miceli's Italian Restaurant
3655 Cahuenga Blvd W
Los Angeles
323-851-3344

I'll be honest, I am not a fan of Italian food. I think most are just overpriced crap. I mean most Italian food is just sauce and pasta. Who can really screw that up? I consider Miceli's a decent place to go to, a step above Olive Garden. The big draw of Miceli's is the performing servers. They perform every night they are open.


I went for lunch, so no performances, and ordered the lasagna, $11.95. The lasagna had three cheeses, beef, pasta & meat sauce. This was pretty good but the lasagna was undercooked. It wasn't al dente, just a little under. Now I understand things can happen but damn, when an Italian place can't get the pasta right, what is going on?

I thought the beef and cheese was good. But the meat sauce was just too tangy and sour for my tastes. It was weird to find actual bay leaves in the lasagna. They need to be taken out since bay leaves are not to be eaten.

Service was OK. When I ordered the lasagna, the server asked me if I wanted cheese on that. I was said "I thought it came with cheese?" She said it comes with cheese but if I wanted cheese on top, it would be extra. I told her no. That question was stupid and what is more stupid is charging extra for more cheese.

I would not go back to Miceli's again. The food is very average, I mean I think the frozen lasagna from Stouffers is better and I can get an entire tray for less than one small portion from Miceli's.