Kabob Curry-Closed

Kabob Curry
108 W 3rd St
Long Beach
562-495-2262

I haven't been to many Indian restaurants. Natraj Cuisine of India, is the other Indian restaurant, I've been to in Long Beach. I saw Kabob Curry while driving near downtown Long Beach and decided to have dinner there.

Located off west of Pine Ave, on 3rd St., Kabob Curry is a very casual restaurant. I thought this was counter service, but it is really table service.




I got the plain naan, $1.25. I was very impressed with this. Served hot, flakey, light, chewy, just awesome. It was huge and worth the price.



Chicken tikka, $5.99. This was awesome!!! Very well cooked, seasoned, and tender. A good sized portion for the price. Good quality chicken with onions and green peppers. My only complaint, one piece was charred on the outside. Otherwise a great dish.

Service was average. I walked in and waited in line, but was greeted and I took a seat. But they took care of the take out orders first, and I was waiting awhile for somebody to take my order. I understand that. But there was, really only one server taking care of the entire restaurant. But there was another guy who just stood there doing nothing. This lead to to very slow service.

Another thing, I didn't like was after ordering, the server asked, if I would like rice. I said is that included? She said no. This is another pet peeve of mine. Servers need to tell you if there is a charge for something. If she said "Would you like to add rice for another $2.50?" I would have no issues. But this is another example of restaurants trying to deceive customers. I've seen this happen when it comes to refilling drinks. The servers will ask young kids if they want refills, without telling parents that the refills aren't free. Servers should ask the parents, about refills for young kids.

I wouldn't go back to Kabob Curry because of the slow service. Food is very good. I think much better than Natraj.

Zankou Chicken- Pasadena

Zankou Chicken
1296 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena
626-405-1502

The first time I tried Zankou in Montebello, I did not know about the infighting between the owners of Zankou. A LA Times story gave a brief history about the infighting. I'm not going to bore everybody with the story. But, the Montebello location was opened by a family member who is bickering with another family member. It is not listed on Zankou's website.

So I decided I wanted to try a Zankou, that is listed on their website. So I visited the Pasadena location. I went on Sunday, April 25th. This Zankou still had a sign on their door, informing customers they would be closed on Sat, April 24th, to remember the Armenian Genocide.

While I knew how important, April 24th is to Armenians, others may not. So Zankou should have put something on their website about closing on April 24th. I did not see any mention of them closing on April 24th, on their website, and I checked on Fri April 23rd.



I got the combination kebobs, tri tip beef and chicken, $10.96, that came with basmati rice, pickled turnips, hummus and pita bread.

The tri tip was pretty flavorful, the spices were different than the spices used at the Montebello location. The Montebello location also didn't use tri tip, which is a sirloin cut.

The chicken was a combination of white and dark meat. The dark meat was tender,flavorful and moist. But the white meat was dry. But a nice idea putting both white and dark meat. I liked the spices in the chicken. There are the same spices as the Montebello location.

I like the hummus, very mild flavor, smooth, and fresh. I'm not a fan of tangy, sour hummus.

But the rice was too watery. They either put to much water in the rice or they took the rice out of the pit before it was fully cooked.

I finally found out what those purple veggies are; pickled turnips. I hate turnips, so I didn't touch them, but I never knew what kind of veggies they were until today.

Service is pretty good. They have two cashiers, one for all transactions and another one, just cash only. Some people have said Zankou is cash only, they just misunderstood the sign.

Overall there are only minor differences between the Zankou in Pasadena, which is a part of the Zankou company, and the Montebello location, which is owner by another family member.

I would come back to this Zankou location to try their roasted chicken.

I saw David Allen, just as I was leaving. We got a chance to talk for a little bit.

Pizza & Chicken Love Letter

Pizza & Chicken Love Letter
18333B Colima Road
Rowland Heights
626-839-1235

My first experience with Korean fried chicken, was at Chicken Day. I wasn't really impressed so I haven't been back to any Korean fried chicken locations. But when I went to Feedable BBQ Buffet, I noticed Pizza & Chicken Love Letter. Love Letter is a well known Korean fried chicken place. Actually a The New Diner reader, told me about it. So it was late, I was hungry and I wanted something fast. So I decided to go to Love Letter.

Love Letter has five different flavors of wings, I split the 12 piece wings, with lemon pepper and buffalo flavors, $8.99. The wings are fried to order, which is always great. But the wings are a bit small.



The lemon pepper is very good. A more subtle lemon pepper than I'm used to, most lemon pepper wings are very powerful. The wings were fried just right, well fried, crispy and the inside was moist. I liked the subtle lemon pepper flavor.



The buffalo was OK, very mild. If you're expecting spicy, this isn't it. But again it was well fried, crispy and the inside was moist. The wings were also bigger than the lemon pepper wings.

Service was good. But for some reason, you can't split some flavors of wings, which is there way of making more money!!! I mean if you ordered a 6 piece wings of one flavor and another 6 piece of another flavor, they should as hell would serve that, right? But, of course you would pay more when ordering six pieces.

The chicken wings at Love Letter are pretty good. But there aren't anything great and could be bigger. I wouldn't go back to Love Letter.

Mike's Sandwich Shop-Closed

Mike's Sandwich Shop
1717 S Soto St
Los Angeles, CA 90023
(323) 264-0444

I heard about Mike's Sandwich Shop and their famous hockey burger and decided to give them a try. Mike's is a diner style restaurant, in an industrial area off of Soto, not far from that old Sears building.

Not sure what the hockey connection is, but there were photos of movie stars including what looked like most of the cast of Dallas.





So I ordered the hockey burger, $3.85, cheeseburger, with mustard, lettuce, tomato, and a hot dog on top. The burger was a thin patty, pretty moist, the lettuce and tomato was fresh and the bun was nicely toasted. The hot dog has a spicy bite to it. An interesting combination but nothing special. I could get this type of burger from any local burger place.

Service was bad. I walked in, went up to the counter but was never greeted. The old hag taking my order was cold and unwelcoming. Can't you say Hi and greet your customers?

I wouldn't go back to Mike's Sandwich Shop. Rude service, average food. Why bother?

Angelo's Italian Deli

Angelo's Italian Deli
190 La Verne Ave
Long Beach
562-434-1977

A small deli in Belmont Shores, Angelo's is known for their torpedo sandwich. Parking is a bit tough and there are two tables outside, but Angelo's is mostly a take out location.



I got the large torpedo, $8.99, provolone cheese, capicollo ham, genoa salami, mortadella, garlic sauce, romaine lettuce, tomato, and red onions. I hate olive oil and balsamic vinegar, so I didn't get those two items on the sandwich. The torpedo comes on a baguette, that was hard on the outside, but had a nice texture and chewiness on the inside. I would prefer a soften crust but overall I did like the baguette. All the meats were fresh and tasty but there was only a thin layer on the sandwich. Not what I expect when paying almost $9 for the sandwich. The romaine lettuce was a nice touch, adding a different texture than iceberg lettuce. But the red onions just overpowered the sandwich. Next time I would ask for no onions.

Service was OK. The sandwiches are made to order and came pretty quick. But if you want to use a credit card, they do an illegal thing, by forcing people to spend a $10 minimum. I know this because even though I paid with cash, the customer in front of me tried to use his credit card for an order less than $10.

I think the sandwiches are overpriced at Angelo's. Yes they use good quality meats but they don't put enough of the meats on the sandwich. I wouldn't go back to Angelo's

Doner G Turkish & Mediterranean Grill

Doner G Turkish & Mediterranean Grill
2139 E Ball Rd
Anaheim
714-956-0123

As I write this review in the early morning hours of April 9, 2010, I think back to the early morning hours of April 9, 2009. Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver, just a few hours after pitching his best game as a major leaguer. I've driven by the intersection of Lemon and Orangethorpe in Fullerton so many times. I have driven south on Lemon like the car Adenhart was going in. I have driven east on Orangethorpe, like the driver of the car who killed three people that horrible night. I also remember that a couple professional athletes got DUI after Adenhart was killed, including a Dodger pitcher. Stupid. I remember all the press about the Angels and how the celebrated winning the AL West, by pouring champagne and beer on Adenhart's jersey. The bad press was stupid. Alcohol is legal, for everybody over 21, but alcohol and driving never mix. That is is really stupid.

I'm old enough to remember when Lyman Bostock was murdered, back in 1978. The Angels played the very next day, at Comiskey Park in Chicago. I thought the Angels should have played the A's the next day.

While I believe that drunk driver is guilty as hell, there is no way in hell, he is going to get a fair trial in Orange County. It will be interesting to see if a judge will move the trial to another location.

But I have this question: many people die because of a drunk driver. Why aren't people up in arms when the average Joe, including innocent kids, are killed because of a drunk driver?

Having lived in Glendale for a few years, and getting to know Armenian people, I was a bit torn about trying a Turkish restaurant in the month of April. Turkey hasn't admitted the Armenian Genocide occurred, and our current President, who throws a baseball like a damn girl, never fulfilled one of his campaign promises to Armenian-Americans.

Of course, I think Armenian Genocide was terrible, but that isn't my fight, I'm not Armenian or Turk. So I decided to see what Doner G is all about.



Chicken shish kebob, $7.99, with two salads.

The chicken shish kebob, was a bit unseasoned, not bland just needed more seasoning. But fairly moist and tender.

The two salads included a romaine lettuce based salad with red cabbage, that I didn't touch. The romaine lettuce was fresh, cut in thin pieces and topped with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing. The other salad had tomatoes and cucumbers and was also topped with the olive oil and lemon juice dressing. The tomatoes and cucumbers were fresh and tasty.




No, that isn't a burrito. It is the doner wrap, that I also ordered for $5.99. The first picture is how the doner wrap was served. The second picture, of course, is after I opened the wrap to show readers of The New Diner, what is inside the doner wrap. I wanted to cut the doner wrap in half, but I only had a dinner knife and that wouldn't have done the job.

A doner is the Turkish version of the Gyro or the Shawarma, which are meats that are cooked in a vertical broiler. But this doner was very dry and again lacked seasoning, very bland. The wrap was nothing but a damn flour tortilla!! What the hell is this? A Turkish-Mexican fusion?

Service was good. The guy was nice and friendly and helpful.

I was really hoping Doner G would be a good option to go before an Angel game. But I wouldn't go back to Doner G. The prices are good but the kebobs and doner aren't anything special.

Update: May 21, 2010.

I got this comment, from somebody who I think is the owner. He included a phone number that was not the store's number. So I decided to reprint his comment and give my reply.

Dear Friend

I am very upsed that you have bad experiance at DonerG Restaurant.

I saw the wrap picture but I must say ,I even really did not like to look.

I ensure you that we are not this,If you give us a chance again I really would like to show our real taste,

I already talked to the guy who was there at that date and I told him I did not like it.

The New Diner's reply.

I am glad that owners are willing to take responsibility for their restaurants. The owner of Doner shows he cares. I like that. He didn't do what some other owners have done; make personal attacks to me or offer me a free or reduced price meal. I have had owners email me and asked for me to try their restaurant again and offered a free or greatly reduced meal. Whenever an owner emails me and offers a free meal or discount meal, I know exactly what the owner wants; for me to change my review. I would never do anything like that.

I do believe in second chances but in LA, there are so many restaurants, I don't feel like going back to a restaurant where I had a bad experience. Why should I waste my money on something that wasn't good, the first time around? Owners should remember, you never have a second chance to make a first impression.

I wasn't overwhelmed with Doner but I didn't think it was terrible. I can chalk things up to a bad day or an inexperience employee. So while I am glad to see the owner of Doner, taking responsibility for his restaurant, I won't be returning.

Rosie's BBQ Kitchen

Rosie's BBQ Kitchen
10220 Topanga Canyon Blvd
Chatsworth
(818) 407-0403

Does this restaurant sound familiar? It may since I went to Rosie's BBQ & Grillery in Northridge. But Rosie's BBQ Kitchen has nothing to do with the Rosie's in Northridge.




I got the lunch order of spare ribs, $7.99, with cole slaw and beans. The five ribs are smoked but a bit dry and a bit fatty. The nice flavor came from the sweet BBQ sauce. The good pieces of ribs, those that weren't dry, were tender.

Cole slaw: a very different type of cole slaw, no mayo, made with some kind of tangy sauce. And they had peanuts!!! Weird.

Beans: WOW, these beans were great. Nice and flavorful, a sweet but not too sweat sauce.

Not the best tasting ribs but OK. But they are known for their tri tip and maybe I should have gotten the tri tip.

Service was average, nothing bad but nothing outstanding either.

I wouldn't go back to either Rosie's but at least this Rosie's really smokes their ribs.

Ranch House BBQ and Grill

Ranch House BBQ and Grill
6157 Van Nuys Blvd
Van Nuys
(818) 908-8399

This is your typical everyday, suburban BBQ, cooked in an oven. For what it is, oven BBQ, Ranch House does a pretty good job. Ribs cooked in an oven isn't something I go seek and if it was up to me, I would ban the use of the phrase BBQ, if the meat is cooked at temps above 250 degrees.




I got an order of baby back ribs with mashed potatoes, $9.50, but $8.99 on the outdated menu. The baby backs had a sauce just like Chris and Pitts, a bit sweet but tangy, tomato based sauce. The meat was tender, since it was baby backs, and pretty flavorful with the sauce. But there is no smoked flavor. The meat was white throughout. A true sign of smoke is the smoke ring.

Service was good, the owner is nice and friendly. But they do need to update the menu prices. But the biggest thing was the smell in the restaurant. They need to throw away the rugs or get them dry cleaned. Just a terrible musty smell in the restaurant. So bad that I couldn't eat there. I actually drove from Ranch House to Cupid's Hot Dogs, which is still great, to eat the ribs.

I wouldn't go back to Ranch House, because when I want ribs, I don't want oven cooked ribs. If you like oven cooked ribs, these ribs are better than the ribs you get from Chili's or Uncle Andre's.

Golden Bird

Golden Bird
13501 Avalon Blvd
Los Angeles
310-324-2486

I never realized that a few blocks north of Jay Bees BBQ on Avalon Blvd., is Golden Bird Fried Chicken. I have reviewed two other Golden Bird locations, Golden Bird on Venice, and the Golden Bird in Inglewood, both are now closed.

Golden Bird in it's hey day, was one of the best fried chicken restaurants in the LA Area. But slowly Golden Birds closed down, leaving only a few locations left.

This Golden Bird location, is interesting because they have a ton of bottled soda for sale. They sell Bubble Up, Sioux City, and other smaller brands, at prices that rival, Galco Soda Shop.




I ordered two breast pieces, $5.90. Some people may wonder, why I only get chicken pieces, well I could care less about sides. I don't need to waste money on sides, I don't normally eat. Plus when I go to a fried chicken place, I'm most concerned about fried chicken. I mean, if a restaurants serves great fried chicken but average sides, are you will you stop going to that restaurant? Of course not, you would stop ordering the damn sides.

Anyways, the two breasts were huge, when I got the bag it was heavy. Always a good sign. The skin is much more crunchy, light, and airy than the other Golden Bird locations. The inside was moist but you could tell that this chicken was fried awhile ago, and had been sitting under heat lamps. And because of that, it was greasy, since all the oil had time to settle. While I was eating the chicken, I was thinking this would be great if fresh out of the fryer.

Service was good at the restaurant. Nice, helpful and friendly people. But when I called, the lady who answered the phone was rude and not helpful at all. I called because, I went on Easter Sunday. Well many businesses are closed on Easter, so I wanted to make sure Golden Bird was open, because I'm not wasting my time and money to drive down there for nothing.

I would go back to this Golden Bird location, because it has potential. If the chicken I had was right out of the fryer, I would say this was a great fried chicken. So hopefully the next time I go, I'll get chicken that has just came out of the fryer.

Sistahs Soul Food-Closed

Sistahs Soul Food
1782 W. Martin Luther King Ave.
Long Beach
562-591-7685

Does the address for Sistahs Soul Food, look familiar? Does the building look familiar? It should, because this is where LBQ used to be.

Right behind Pee & Gee Fish Market, Sistahs Soul Food, offers vegan friendly soul food, with a menu that changes daily. Let me explain. They do not use any salt for their cooking. Greens and beans are made without meat. Their gravies are turkey based. Sure there are items on the menu that aren't vegan friendly but if you're a meat eater and your SO, is a vegan you both can order from Sistahs!!

Call before you go to ask what is on their menu because their menu changes everyday. Saturday's is BBQ. It's not real BBQ, the meats aren't in a smoker but a grill. But they have BBQ ribs, sliced beef, and chicken. Smothered steak and chicken is a highlight for Thursday's menu.

Like LBQ, this is a take out only.



I got the lunch portion of the BBQ ribs, $7.50, with double mac and cheese. A lunch portion is three bones. Well I got way more than three bones. But a lot of the meat was overcooked and/or had been sitting in a warmer for too long. They were dry and tough.

But there were some pieces of ribs that were cooked just right. Tender, flavorful, and not much fat.

The mac and cheese was a bit dry, not a lot of cheese. But overall pretty good.

Service is great. The owner is very friendly and she wants you to enjoy your meal. She even offers you a free sampler plate, after you order. She asked me what I don't like and gave me a plate of BBQ chicken, beans and greens. Let me tell you the chicken was moist and flavorful. The beans were great, full of flavor, even though there was no meat used. The greens, which I don't usually like, was good, not bitter, tender and flavorful.

Some soul food places can make a good batch of BBQ ribs. Sistahs isn't one of them. So I won't be coming back for BBQ Saturdays. But I will come back for their soul food.

Pee & Gee Fish Market-Closed

Pee & Gee Fish Market
1002 E Pacific Coast Hwy
Long Beach
562-591-0395

While going through my pictures, I found that I did not write a review of Pee & Gee Fish Market. I'm pretty sure I went to Pee & Gee in May of 2008, right before going to Gallaghers.

Pee & Gee is located where Louisiana Fried Chicken and LBQ used to be, both have now closed.



My favorite my favorite at fish and chips place in Long Beach is, England Fish and Chips. Pee & Gee has a great lunch special, that is served all day. Three pieces of fish and 5 pieces of shrimp, fries, and a 12oz soda, for $6.95. The best thing is you get to choose what kind of fish they fry. They have red snapper, catfish, whiting, and sole. All fish and shrimp are fried to order.

I got the red snapper, which was fried using a cornmeal breading. Very crunchy and the fish was flavorful. I think the amount of fish, an fairly expensive fish, red snapper, was pretty good. I think all three pieces added up to a pound.

The shrimp were a bit small and had the same crunch cornmeal breading. Good but nothing outstanding.

Service is OK. Nothing great nor nothing bad about it.

Pee & Gee is a nice place but nothing special but the price. A good value but there is nothing outstanding about the food. I wouldn't rush back to Pee & Gee but if I were in the area and hungry, I would consider eating there again. But really my first choice would be England Fish and Chips.

Baba Ghanouj

Baba Ghanouj
4276 Atlantic Ave
Long Beach
562-424-4567

Every since I went to E J Malloy's, I wanted to try Baba Ghanouj, which is three to four stores down from EJ Malloy's.

Long Beach isn't a great city for Middle Eastern food. I have tried four other Middle Eastern restaurants in Long Beach; Open Seasame, Open Seasame on the Corner, Sunnin, and Magic Lamp. I wanted to see how Baba Ghanouj compared to those four restaurant.



I got the shish taouk, chicken breast skewers with hummus, garlic sauce, basmati rice and seasoned onions, $14.95. Let me let you about the hummus. Very smooth, thick paste like but not sour at all. I loved it. Too many places put too much lemon juice and turns the hummus sour. This hummus had a nice mild flavor. The best hummus I've ever had. The garlic sauce was addictive. Very bold flavor, I put the garlic sauce and hummus on pita bread, very good!!!

What didn't rank up, was the chicken. I would say the portion was average sized, not as big as it could be and not worth the $14.95 price. The chicken was dry and while flavorful, it wasn't that great.

The rice was also off. It is suppose to be basmati and it didn't look like basmati rice. Then they put a ton of different spices, including cinnamon or nutmeg, maybe both. Cinnamon and nutmeg has it's purpose and it doesn't belong on rice. And the portion was very small.

Service was good. Our server was nice and friendly and helpful.

I would put Baba Ghanouj at the bottom of all the Middle Eastern restaurants I've tried in Long Beach. I wouldn't go back.