Woody's Bar-B-Que-LA

Woody's Bar-B-Que
3446 W Slauson Ave
Los Angeles
323-294-9443

I wasn't that impressed with the Woody's in Rancho Cucamonga but people have told me to go to the original Woody's on Slauson, in LA. So I finally made it there. Oh, the Rancho location is now closed. Woody's is trying to find a Rialto location.

I ordered the half rack of pork ribs, 10.11. Now I want to point out something to readers of The New Diner, I do not go to BBQ places for the sides. Why would I care if the cole slaw or mac salad is good? It is all about the meat at BBQ places!!! If I'm paying $10 or so for a dinner, the main cost of that dinner is the meat!!!

The ribs had a nice bark, and an OK smoke ring and flavor. Woody uses good quality ribs, that are meaty and do not have much fat. But for BBQ ribs, they weren't that great. I wasn't impressed with the smoke flavor, there was some smoke flavor but it wasn't anything great. Something is just missing from the ribs here.

Service is good. Woody's is take out only.

I would not go back to Woody's again. They do use good quality ribs, they just don't do a good job BBQing the ribs.

Chili My Soul-Closed

Chili My Soul
4928 Balboa Blvd.
Encino, CA 91316
818-981-2202

Chili My Soul has a unique way of making chili. Their chili is a long process that is suppose to be leaner and more healthy for you then regular chili. They have 30 different flavors of chili, of which 11-15 are picked and served daily. All chili is served with your choice of corn bread, tortilla chips, or garlic bread.

I got a cup of chili, $6.95, Rio Grande, lean ground beef in a rich beef stock with baby pinto and tender black beans topped with sour cream and cheddar cheese. Chili My Soul has a spicy scale from 1-10, 10 being the hottest. Rio Grande was a 5. For me chili has to have beans. This was a tasty chili, lots of flavor, they put a good amount of cumin in their chili. Rich, thick, a bit thicker than I like chili but still good. Good amount of beef and beans. The corn bread was pretty good. Nice and moist inside. But I prefer cornbread that the crust is a bit burnt and crunchy. Overall I was impressed with the chili.

Service is very good. The lady at the counter allows you to try any chili you like. I only had 2 chili the rio grande and Texas Pride, The classic Texas-style beef chili brought "up-town" without all that fat. Lean bacon is simmered into this wondrous blend of thee rich, red chiles, black pepper, roasted cumin, and rich beef stock, also a 5 on the spicy scale. But the Texas Pride was more spicy. As I said, I prefer chili with beans, that is why I didn't order the Texas Pride.

I would go back to Chili My Soul. I do think the prices are a bit high but the quality of the chili is great. I will be back if I'm in the area.

Update April 28, 2009

Somebody asked if Chili My Soul is better than Chili John's in Burbank. Two words, HELL YES. I thought Chili John's was overpriced and they charged for extra toppings, sour cream, without telling you they were extra. I did like the fact Chili John's had spaghetti with their chili. Nothing better than a four way!!!!!!

Bonello's New York Pizza-Closed

Bonello's New York Pizza
16006 Crenshaw Blvd
Gardena
310-327-0355

As all readers of The New Diner, should know I love Village Pizzeria. I have searched for other NY style pizza places in LA and have found a few places that come close like
Vito's Pizza and Rocco's Pizza but nothing tops Village Pizzeria.

I heard about Bonello's New York Pizza and I went down to Gardena to see how they measure up to Village Pizzeria. Bonello's is across the street from El Camino College, so they must do a damn good business during lunch time.

I got the combo deal, two slices of pizza, pepperoni and sausage, salad and a soda for $7. A pretty good deal. First thing I noticed was the smaller slices. At Village Pizzeria they are much bigger. Now Bonello's isn't tiny, it is a good size but I wouldn't call these slices huge.

The slices had a great crust. Nice texture, a bit crispy and held onto the cheese and toppings well. But the toppings, other than the cheese, weren't anything that great. The pepperoni was ok, nothing great. The sausage had a bit more flavor but there just wasn't anything there. The sauce was a bit bland. They do put a lot of cheese on the pizza and they cheese is great. Goey, stringy, and melted!!!! A plain cheese pizza is the way to go here.

Service was pretty good. Bonello's is cash only.

I wouldn't make a special trip for Bonello's but if I was in the area, I would go back. But like I said, the cheese pizza is the way to go. I am not impressed with their meat toppings

Geisha House- Santa Ana-Closed

Geisha House
2773 North Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92705
714-564-0350

Geisha House is much like RA Sushi, an upscale Americanize sushi place. Geisha House opened in Santa Ana about a month ago.

I went during a happy special that offered 25% off all food. So I had the Maine Lobster roll, $10, with lobster, creamy spicy sauce and cucumber, and the beef skewers, which is suppose to be filet mignon, $12 menu price.

The Maine Lobster roll was great, very fresh and tasty. They gave you a good size piece of lobster. The rice paper was different but had a nice texture. I would order this roll again. And $10 is a very good price.

The beef skewers were very tender, so it was filet. They ask you how you like the the beef cooked, I asked for and got medium rare. A nice teriyaki sauce added to the flavor of the beef. I would order this again but at $12 it is a bit pricey.

Service is good in the bar area. The tables in the dining room were surprisingly empty. Not sure why they aren't drawing a crowd because the parking lot was packed.

While I did think the Maine Lobster roll was worth the $10 price, I think a lot of the food item are overpriced. The quality of the food is good and generally the portion are good sized, but the prices are just a bit high, especially in this economy. What got me was the price of a bottle of Fiji water, $8, the same bottle you can get for about $2 at the store. So basically the 25% discount I got was spent on the bottled water. Come to think of it, maybe it is the high prices that keep people from coming to Geisha House.

Straw Hat Pizza-Closed

Straw Hat Pizza
1716 W Chapman Ave
Orange
714-385-1048

Straw Hat Pizza used to have a ton of locations during the 1980's. But they all quickly closed and just disappeared. Now they seem to be making a comeback. I saw one on Harbor and Imperial Highway, in Fullerton/ La Habra, about 4-5 years ago. But within 2-3 months, that location closed down.

Now Straw Hat Pizza seems to be making a comeback. There is location on Central in Chino. And this location in Orange opened up about three months ago.

Straw Hat was the place to go after Little League baseball games. Thin crust pizza, a soda, and some change to play video games. Of course, I'm much older now and I have more mature tastes. But the pizza at Straw Hat today reminded me of the Straw Hat pizza of yesteryear. I got a medium half pepperoni and half sausage, $14.45.

The pizza is thin crust, almost cracker like crust. Not exactly my favorite type crust but it's ok. The sauce is sweet then has a bit of a kick to it. There were good amounts of sausage and pepperoni.

Service was good.

I don't think I would go back to Straw Hat. The pizza is good but pricey. Almost $15 for a medium? Straw Hat maybe good if I had coupons for it. Otherwise, no chance to go back.

Chicago Pizza-Closed

Chicago Pizza
3332 S Bristol St
Santa Ana
714-557-5950

The last Chicago style pizza place I have tried, Chicago Joe's, was a fake pretender. Chicago Pizza, in Santa Ana follows in Chicago Joe's footsteps.

The pizza served at Chicago Pizza is best described as thick crust pizza. It is not deep dish, Chicago style pizza. I got a medium, that was the largest size they had that day, mushroom and half sausage and half pepperoni, $9.45.

For what it is, the pizza is pretty good. A thick crust, lots of cheese, mushrooms, spicy pepperoni, and good sausage. There wasn't too much sauce on the pizza but the sauce was pretty good, nice seasonings and good balance. Not too sweet, not too spicy.

Service was OK. Nothing special but nothing bad either.

I would not go back to Chicago Pizza. The prices are good, about $10 for a medium pizza with a lot of toppings, but it is not good enough to make a special trip down there. If I was in the area, I may go. But I wouldn't go out of my way for it

Up N Smoke BBQ-Closed

Up N Smoke BBQ
7373 East Ave., Unit A
Fontana
909-463-7242

After the going to Hickory Joe's, almost any BBQ place would be better. Up N Smoke, beats Hickory Joe's by a mile.

I got the rib lunch, which is served the entire day, with double mac and cheese, $8.99. The ribs had a nice bark, good smoke ring, and a pretty good smoke flavor. I think they smoke their meats with oak. The ribs were a bit greasy but other than that, they were very good. Lots of tender meat, not falling off the bone, but very tender.

The mac and cheese was very good. Soft macaroni, topped with nice cheese. But the most impressive was the quanity. They were huge. I couldn't believe how much mac and cheese they give you.

Service is good. A big slow but the server was nice.

Up N Smoke also has soul food on their menu. Their po boy sandwiches look awesome.

I would go back to Up N Smoke for their BBQ ribs. Good quality and good value.

Hickory Joe's BBQ-Closed

Hickory Joe's BBQ
120 Hidden Valley Pkwy
Norco
951-273-7427

Why do I even bother? I am always on the lookout for good BBQ ribs. I search the web, read papers, get tips from other people. One place I use is Yelp. Not some much because the reviews are good, most Yelpers are too stupid to know what real BBQ is, but they do find restaurants.

So I found Hickory Joe's BBQ in Norco, on Yelp. Hickory Joe's says they smoke their ribs 3-4 hours. But they don't do a good job. I got the rib lunch, $8.49 with double mac and cheese. Their lunch specials are in affect Mon-Sat until 3pm. The ribs lunch gets you 1/3 rack of St. Louis spare ribs. The ribs are finished on the grill, no real BBQ would do this. The ribs were not meaty, didn't have much smoke flavor, and not impressive at all. This is a less expensive version of Lucille's.

The mac and cheese tasted exactly like the mac and cheese from KFC. I'm serious. A bit salty and more cheese than KFC, but in a blind taste test, you can not tell the difference.

Service is good. The girl was nice and my order came out quickly.

I would not go to Hickory Joe's again. The ribs are below average.

Bryan's Pit Barbecue

Bryan's Pit Barbecue
6333 W 3rd St
Stall #740
Los Angeles
323-931-2869

Bryan's Pit Barbecue is located at the LA Farmers Market. I understand this is an off shoot of Sonny Bryan's BBQ of Texas. I know Texas BBQ is all about the brisket, but I hate BBQ brisket. As readers of The New Diner know I'm all about the ribs.

The baby back ribs are sold by the pound, $12.50/lb. These are cooked in an oven and then left in the warmer, which you can see in the second picture. I got about half pound of ribs, $5.75. The ribs were very small but had a decent amount of meat. But there was no smoke flavor to them at all. They were tender but baby backs are always tender.

Service is OK. They are rude when calling on the phone. Like I was botherting them asking where in the LA Farmers Market they are located. While I was there, they were ok, not bad, not good.

I would not go back to Bryan's Pit BBQ again. I could just go to Tony Roma's for oven cooked ribs.

Pecos Bill's BBQ-Closed

Pecos Bill's BBQ 1551 Victory Boulevard Glendale, CA 91201 (818) 241-2750 Pecos Bill's BBQ is NOT a real BBQ place. They cook their ribs in an oven and drown them in BBQ sauce. Ribs are sold by the pound, $15/lb and only sold on Saturday and Sunday. I got half a pound, which was about four ribs. The ribs were so mushy and terrible. They must have been boiled before and then cooked in a oven. I can't believe a place would serve this crap. The sauce was bland and lacked any flavor. It is no better than the no name brand BBQ sauce you get at any store. Service is SLOW. When I got there, two people were ahead of me in line. It took about 15 minutes before they took my order. Not sure why it takes so long. But damn terrible. They are nice and friendly but I can't believe how slow they are. I would not go back to Pesco Bill's BBQ. This isn't real BBQ. This is a fake BBQ that gives people the wrong idea what real BBQ really is. Real BBQ means that meats are cooked at a low temp, no more than 225 degrees, and for a long time, up to eight hours for ribs, 14 hours for brisket and pork shoulder.

Taco Lita

Taco Lita
120 E Duarte Rd
Arcadia
626-445-2889

If you're a pretentious, jerkoff, like those from the Westside and Orange County get the hell away from my blog. The following review will piss you off. Oh wait, on second thought stay and read my review of Taco Lita.

Taco Lita is about as Mexican as a Obama is the first black President of the US. Umm Obama was born to a black father and a white mother. That makes him biracial. He is also, the person we will vote out of office in four years. What does this have to do with Taco Lita? It's about perception. Taco Lita is not an authentic taco stand. It is an Americanized taco stand. Don't expect to go to Taco Lita and get a carnitas taco.


But for what it is, Taco Lita is damn good. What is Taco Lito? An Americanized taco stand. Taco Lita is the Tito's Tacos of the San Gabriel Valley. If you're expecting authentic tacos, go to Mexico. Taco Lita used to have 15 locations throughout the San Gabriel Valley but now the only location still in business is the Arcadia location.


I ordered two tacos, $1.55 each. The tacos come with a ton of cheese, ground beef, fresh lettuce and a tomato wedge, all on a hard shell taco. The tacos are great here. The shell is crunchy. The beef is well seasoned and the veggies are so fresh. Then they pile on that cheese. Unlike Tito Tacos where you pay for cheese and they don't give you much cheese, Taco Lita puts a ton of freshly grated cheddar cheese on the tacos. I also found the taco sauce to be flavorful and added to the taste and flavor of the taco. It is not a HOT sauce, it is a taco sauce.

Service is good. The guy who took my order was a bit standoffish but the other guy behind the counter was nice, when I asked about the burritos. But the wait can be long because Taco Lito is very popular. I must have waited 10-15 minutes for my food because there were so many people in front of me in line.

Friday nights they have 5 tacos for $6.95. Wednesday nights 5 tacos are $7.50.

I would come back here anytime. I love the tacos. Much better than any taco from Taco Bell and Del Taco. Yes, they are more expensive but you get more meat, cheese, and veggies. I will try their burrito next time I come. Then take home a five pack of tacos.

Update April 26, 2009





I went back to Taco Lita to try their jumbo burrito, $6.28. Their jumbo burrito is ground beef, beans, lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes.

I asked them to cut the burrito in half. The burrito was huge, worth the price, for quanity. But I think they need to put more beef in the burrito. I tasted the beans, lettuce, cheese and tomatoes but there wasn't enough ground beef. The burrito was good, everything was fresh and tasty. Again, this isn't real Mexican food but it is solid food.

Service was good.

I would stick to the tacos at Taco Lita.

Oinkster

Oinkster
2005 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles
323-255-6465

The Oinkster. I have heard about the Oinkster for a long time. But I just never made the trip to Eagle Rock to try their food. So I got together with some friends and we had a late dinner at the Oinkster.

The Oinkster is known for their pastrami and pulled pork. I decided to try their pulled pork sandwich, 6.99, and chili cheese fries, $4.95. The pulled pork sandwich comes with red cabbage cole slaw and carmelized onions. They have Carolina BBQ sauce at the condiment table. The pulled pork was a bit dry, matter of fact everything about the sandwich was dry. The pulled pork didn't have that smokey flavor. It was tender and had decent seasoning. The cole slaw was dry, hardly any mayo. The BBQ sauce is a very thin, tomato based sauce. It does have a kick at the end but I wasn't a fan of the BBQ sauce. It did make the sandwich a bit moist and added a kick but I didn't think it enhanced the flavor of the pork.

The chili cheese fries are OK. The fries themselve are Belgian fries and I love them. Beligim fries are lighter and more tasty than French fries. I call them the Muchos of fries. Since Munchos are the lighter and in my opinion, better version of fries. Next time I go, I will just order the Belgian fries.

But the chili fries just didn't cut it for me. The chili was bland and lack flavor. Yes there was a lot of cheese and that is alway good but the chili just made the fries soggy and bad.

Service is very good. Friendly, nice, and helpful. I asked the girl behind the counter if they could turn the TV to the Dodger game. They quickly turned the TV to the Dodger game. She even said, she didn't even know they were on.

I will go back to the Oinkster and try their pastrami and burger. But I would not order the pulled pork again.

Update March 7, 2010.




I went back to Oinkster and tried their rotisserie chicken. I got the quarter white meat chicken with rice and fries, $5.99.

When the chicken arrived I was a bit disappointed by the small size of the chicken, I also thought that maybe the chicken would be dry. But much to my surprise the chicken was tender, flavorful, and moist. I wouldn't say juicy but moist. I think the chicken has been sitting in a warmer for almost too long, a few more minutes and I know the chicken would be dry. But I got lucky and it wasn't dry. I did like the chicken and thought it was a great deal.

The fries are great. Light, crispy and the aoali sauce, with a lot of garlic was a wonderful dipping sauce!!! The rice was flavored with spices and maybe cooked in chicken stock. Nice and flavorful.

Service was good. The young lady taking my order was nice and friendly.