Philly's Best- Walnut-Closed

Philly's Best
368 N Lemon Ave
Unit B
Walnut, CA
909-598-3650

Philly's Best is rapidly expanding and one of their newest locations is in Walnut. The place is kinda of hard to find but it's in the Von's shopping center on the corner of Lemon and La Puente Rd.

As with all Philly's Best location the restaurant is very clean. I ordered the cheesesteak with prolone and easy onions for $5.83. There is no quality difference between the Walnut location and any other Philly's Best locations I've been to. But the amount of meat and cheese seem to have gotten smaller. The San Dimas location you couldn't see any part of the bread since it was covered with meat and cheese. I don't carry around a scale but I would be this cheesesteak weighed less than the San Dimas location. Dispite the small size, the cheesesteak was very good. Nice blending of cheese and meat. All their products are shipped from Philly.

I went back and ordered an American Hoagie, which is ham, salami, bologna and cheese. Top picture. All the ingredients were very fresh. The hoagies come with oil and oregano but I think they overpower the sandwich, so I have them put mayo instead. I like the hoagie but again is on the high side. A good once in awhile place to go.

I asked the cashier, if this owner also owned the San Dimas location. He said no. Then while eating I noticed his t shirt that listed the Walnut and the Buena Park locations. So I assume the same person owns both places. The cashier might want to mention that or the owner might want to inform his employees about that. But the service was good and fast.

As I mentioned in the San Dimas review, the food is good but on the expensive side. I wouldn't make this an everyday place to pick up lunch but they have good quality food and service. Can't ask for much more.

Backwoods BBQ-Closed

Backwoods BBQ
4300 Green River Rd Ste 102
Corona, CA 92880-1506
(951) 371-7227

I found Backwoods BBQ while doing a search for BBQ places in the Inland Empire. So after about a year, I decide to finally try Backwoods. It's pretty easy to get to, right off the 91 freeway at Greenriver.

I go at about 4pm and nobody was in the restaurant. But the restaurant is huge and has a few pool tables and a couple TV's to watch games. I order the one meat dinner with tri-tip chili and macaroni salad as my two sides. for $9.69. I wait about ten minutes for the food to arrive. The cashier seemed like the only worker actually in the restaurant. Two other workers are outside on a smoking break. One of the worker comes back and I gets my order ready.

The meal finally arrives and it looks good. Four decent sized spare ribs and nice cups of chili and mac salad. I taste the tri tip chili first. Big mistake. It is very spicy and spicy food isn't for me. There were small bits of tri tip in there but mostly it was filled with beans. I would have liked to seen more balance between the tri tip and beans. To calm down the spice, I try the mac salad. Nothing special about it, I bet it's one of those premade mac salads you buy at Costco.

Finally I go onto the ribs. Not that impressed. First of all it seems as though the ribs were reheated in the microwave and not on a grill. The ribs were very tough and they left that membrane on. Hey if you're going to have a BBQ place, please take off the membrane. There was no smoke flavor, even though they say it's mesquite smoked. The BBQ sauce is ok but nothing special.

I wasn't impressed with Backwoods and I wouldn't go back.

Morons

The only downside of a blog is some morons who have nothing better to do than write crank emails. So to honor them here are their emails minus some of the four letter words they used.

From a MORON named Pete Champion

petechamp@hotmail.com

I read some of your "reviews." Man, you are an idiot....Moron.

Moron Number Two.

Frank Rizzo

babab00ee@yahoo.com

hey fat ***

i read your restaurant reviews. if you're looking for a big, meaty, good tasting hot dog to put in your mouth, just ask your buddy to unzip his pants. that way you don't have to worry about not having "the right kind of mustard"...do everyone a favor- go back to baltimore. you pickle sucker. and before you leave, take all of your reviews and stick 'em up your ***!

Senor Baja-El Taco Nazo-Closed

Senor Baja
635 E. Bonita Ave.
San Dimas
909-599-3712

The sign outside says El Taco Nazo but Senor Baja has taken over. Senor Baja is at the corner of a strip mall. All of the stores in the strip mall have been closed for a long time. But Senor Baja was doing a steady business the day I went.

As you maybe able to tell, every Wednesday is 99 cent fish tacos!!! I am very impressed with their fish tacos.

The fish is lightly breaded and very moist and flakey inside. The toppings are all fresh. You feel as though they caught the fish right that morning and served it up in the afternoon.

Senor Baja has 18 other locations. I was very impressed with their San Dimas location. A very clean dining room and very quick friendly service.

Colima Burger-Closed

Colima Burger
19811 Colima Rd.
Suite 520
Walnut, CA 91789
909-595-7355

Colima Burger is your average "greasy spoon" restaurant. As always I ordered the burger combo with well done fries for $4.75 which is about average for burger places.

I usually order no onions but I just forgot tonight. The burger is loaded with onions and I might have scraped off 8 ounces of onions!!! The patty is pretty thin and flavorless. The thousand island dressing was ok and the tomato was cut very thick.

The fries weren't close to being well done. They tasted as though they were sitting under heat lamps for awhile.
Overall not impressed by Colima Burger. Burger Depot which is about seven miles away serves a much better burger at a great price after 2pm, 99 cents!!! Some of their other items like the chicken sandwich and chicken fried steak sandwich are pretty good.

The figure you see is a Frank Thomas Starting Lineup. As of 9pm PST,Wednesday December 7, 2005 , Frank Thomas will not be a member of the Chicago White Sox after 16 great seasons. Many times he was the only player worth watching on the White Sox. I can understand why the White Sox let him go, it will be weird seeing The Big Hurt in another uniform. I could bring myself to eating a Chicago style hot dog or pizza.

Tito's Taco

Tito's Tacos
11222 Washington Place
Culver City, CA
310-391-5780

Tito's has been serving good tacos for as long as I can remember. The food at tacos are comfort food. It's not real Mexican food but it's damn good. I ordered two tacos with cheese and a large strawberry soda for $4.85. Cheese is 40 cents extra on tacos.

The tacos are shredded beef and deep fried. I love the crunch of the taco shell. The beef topped with lettuce and cheese, which are always fresh.

Tito's is the place for good food at cheap prices. Keep in mind that lines can be very long. Waiting 20 minutes for food is normal.

Pollo Campero-Long Beach-Closed

Pollo Campero
281 Willow St.
Long Beach
562-981-8938

WOW what can I say. I've heard stories about this place. The SEVEN hour wait when they first opened in LA. The good tasting chicken. So I decided to try it myself. I went to the LB location and they had a $1.99 Try It Menu. I ordered the breast and fries. Well what a great deal. The chicken is one of the best around. The skin is crunchy enough but too salty for my taste. But the chicken is sooo moist and tender. As you know breast pieces can be very dry. But as I sliced open the chicken juices were everywhere. The best fast food style fried chicken in LA.

I would go back again and again. There are currently 10 locations in the LA area.

Pink's

Pink's
709 La Brea
LA
323-931-4223

Pink's is known for it's hot dogs and the stars who come to Pink's. I think Pink's is very overrated.

I got there and the line was down the sidewalk and around the corner. I decided what the hell and waited in line. The wait took about 40 minutes on a Saturday night. I got the 10 in stretch chili dog and the Chicago Polish.

The 10 in stretch had chili, mustard, and onions. The hot dog was pretty good. Decent snap but the chili isn't anything to write home about. I would much prefer heating up some canned chili and putting it on top. The stretch chili dog is $3.10. I think Cupid's is a much better deal.

The Chicago Polish had mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes and lettuce for $3.55. The polish was mild but WAY overcooked. It was very tough eating the polish. The toppings were fresh but the Chicago polish is something I would stay away from.

If you never been to Pink's, you must go just to experience the place. But the hot dogs themselves aren't anything special. If you are at Pink's catch the northbound Metro bus on La Brea to the Hollywood and Vine station. Take the red line to Hollywood and Highland. Then walk to Skooby's. A much better hot dog without the long line.

The Pig-Closed

The Pig
612 N. La Brea
LA CA 90036
323-935-1116

The Pig bills itself as Memphis style BBQ. It maybe Memphis style but it doesn't compare to Jay Bees BBQ for the best Memphis style ribs in LA. I ordered the 5 bones of the St. Louis style spare ribs for $10.28.

The ribs lacked a true smoke flavor. I thought I was eating Tony Roma ribs. They were a little too tender. Again falling off the bone is too tender for my tastes.

I like the Smokin Spicy BBQ sauce. Maybe the best BBQ sauce in LA. The Pig's regular sauce is way too sweet. But the ribs overall are just OK though the portions are big.

I went on a Saturday and there was a gorgeous woman eating there alone. Not sure what's wrong with her but somebody that gorgeous shouldn't be eating alone at any time.

Parking can be a problem on La Brea. The Pig is on La Brea about half a block south of Melrose. The Pig used to have a location at City Walk but that has closed.

The Beach Pit BBQ

The Beach Pit BBQ
1676 Tustin Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA
949-645-7487

The Beach Pitt BBQ is owned by the son of former Baltimore Orioles and California Angels Doug DeCinces. (The Angels were called the California Angels when DeCinces played for them thus the name)

But just as Doug DeCinces could never replace Brooks Robinson, Tim DeCinces should NOT own a BBQ restaurant and try to pass if off as real BBQ.

I walked into the Beach Pitt and went inside to the counter. The man behind the counter asked "For here or to go?" I said "I'll eat here" He replied to take a seat anywhere outside and he'll take my order.

So I go outside find a table and sit and wait. And wait and wait. I must have waited 15 minutes before he came out to take my order. What the hell he was doing, I have no idea. NOBODY was in the restuarant.

Well he finally comes and I order the big portion of the ribs for $11.95 with sauce on the side and a double order of cole slaw. What is really stupid about the pricing is that the "bigger portion" is $13.95 and you only get one more rib. While the cost per rib is about 50 cents cheaper when you get the "bigger portion" it's still not my idea of a good value.

I wait about five minutes and the order comes out with the sauce on top of the ribs. I told him, I ordered sauce on the side. He takes it back and I get a new order of ribs with sauce on the side. If he would have bought back the ribs with the sauce wiped off, I would have walked out. That has happened at other BBQ restaurants before. But he didn't so I start in on the ribs. Big mistake.

The ribs were way too tender, like they were over cooked. I wish this myth of falling off the bone tender, would stop. When ribs are fall off the bone, it's too done. They didn't have any real smoke flavor and they were same of the smallest ribs I've ever had. The sauce is good. A nice flavor that would enhance a good piece of ribs. Too bad the Beach Pitt doesn't make a good piece of rib.

I would not go back to the Beach Pitt. The service is terrible. Nobody is there and I wait 10-15 minutes for somebody to take my order??? What the hell? Prices are a little high and the ribs are terrible. Not a good combination.

The Stand

The Stand
17000 Ventura Blvd
Encino
818-788-2700

The Stand is a hot dog place on Ventura Blvd. Every Monday, after 5pm, at The Stand is $1 Stand Dogs. I decided to try The Stand. I went in and the place was almost empty but by the time I left it was starting to get packed. I ordered three Stand Dogs. Mustard and onions, stand corn relish, and stand red sauce.

The hot dog itself lacks any natural casing which means no snap when you bite into the hot dog. But otherwise the hot dog is very good with a nice flavor. The toppings are fresh. Mustard and onions my regular hot dog was good.

The Stand corn relish takes a little getting used to. As you can see from the picture there is a lot of corn but it really doesn't belong on a hot dog.

Not a big fan of the Stand Red Sauce either. The red sauce is almost like ketchup.

The regular price of the Stand Dog is $2.95. A bit on the high side but for a $1 they are well worth it. I would only come back on Monday's but would stick to regular toppings like mustard, onions, tomatoes, and regular relish.

Good service and they do have TV's so you can watch Monday Night Football. They also have $2 draft beer specials on Monday.

Rubin's Red Hot-Closed

Rubin's Red Hot
15322 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks
818-905-6515

Rubin's Red Hot is across Ventura Blvd from the Sherman Oaks Gallery. Rubin's was made from part of the L train from Chicago. When you're at Rubin's you almost feel like you're in Chicago.

I tried the Chicago Polish for $3.96. The polish is topped with mustard and kraut. First off the bun was an onion bun with some poppy seed. So not off to a good start. An onion bun? Come on, all poppy seed bun. The polish itself was lacking any flavor. The toppings were fresh, I really liked the sauerkraut. But the topping mean nothing when the polish is a bland piece of meat.

The service is good but the parking is terrible. The next time I go, I would park in the Gallery and walk to Rubin's. But I won't have to worry about that since I won't go back.

The Wiener Factory-Closed

The Wiener Factory
14917 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks
818-789-2676

The Wiener Factory is one of the best hot dog places around!!! The service is great. I ordered the all beef-mustard, relish, and onion dog for $2.75 and the chili cheese dog for $3.15.

WOW both of them were great. The hot dog itself has the right blend of spices and has a nice snap. The only think I didn't like is they use brown mustard instead of yellow mustard. Next time I'll remember to tell them to use yellow mustard. The toppings were all very fresh and I really enjoyed my first taste of a Wiener Factory Hot Dog.

The chili cheese dog is just overloaded with chili, cheese and onions, a steal at $3.15. The chili was a little bland, not spicy which is good for my tastes. The cheese and onions were nice and fresh.

I really enjoyed going to the Wiener Factory. Great service and great food. My favorite hot dog stop along Ventura Blvd!!!!

My Brother's Bar B Q-Closed

My Brother's Bar B-Q 21150 Ventura Blvd Woodland Hills CA 818-348-2020 They only serve baby back ribs at Mr. Brothers. Stepping into My Brothers is like stepping back in time when Love's Restaurant was around. Mr Brothers has the same decor as the 1970 and 80's Love Restaurant chain. We got their in time for the early bird special and I got the baby back ribs. The baby back ribs are OK though they are not smoked at all but for $12.95 they are a good deal. The ribs were a little too well done for my tastes. Some ribs were almost burnt. The BBQ sauce was just too sweet. I got fries and the garlic mashed potato. Fries were done just right. The mashed potatoes were OK. Service was very good. I wouldn't go back to My Brothers. Update January 19, 2011 I know I said I would never go back to My Brother's Bar B Q, again and that is still true; I wouldn't go back for the BBQ ribs. But, I read that My Brother's serves broasted chicken and I wanted to try it. I believe My Brother's is the only place in the San Fernando Valley, that serves broasted chicken. I got the half broasted chicken, $8.25, a la carte. The chicken is suppose to be cooked to order, but I wasn't that impressed. It wasn't as juicy as other broasted chicken that I have tired. I did like the crispy skin, but this was an average example of broasted chicken. Service, for to go orders, was terrible. When I walked in, a young girl was sitting down, talking with her friends. She didn't bother to get up and greet me or the couple who came in right after. She just sat down and asked if she could help me. The couple, who came in after me, was dining in, and she told them, to pick any seat. Again, never bothering to get out of her seat. Terrible first impression. I asked to make sure they had broasted chicken and she said yes. I then asked how is that sold, by the piece, as a meal, etc? She finally got up, got a menu and told me "How about I give you the menu and you can see for yourself." Nice, friendly service. While waiting for the broasted chicken, a man came in to pick up an order of broasted chicken. I asked him how the broasted chicken was. He said very good but the service, sucks. I agree. Broasted chicken takes 15-20 minutes to cook. I was waiting about 10 minutes when my order came. The terrible host said they had made extra chicken. I felt the box and it was hot and when I opened up the chicken it did seem as though the chicken had been cooked within the past few minutes. I would not go to Mr Brother's again. The terrible service and the average broasted chicken.

Mr Cecil's-Sherman Oaks-Closed

Mr. Cecil's
13625 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks 91423
818-905-8400

Mr. Cecil's in Sherman Oaks is the suburban BBQ. What is suburban BBQ? A place that thinks cooking a piece of meat in an oven and drowning it with BBQ sauce makes it BBQ.

I ordered the 1/3 rack of St. Louis Style Ribs for $9.69. Not worth it at all. The ribs lacked any kind of smoke flavor. The liquid smoke they used must have wore off. :) The ribs were tender. The bbq sauce was one of the best I've had, a nice blend of sweetness and spice. The 1/3 rack doesn't include any sides.

I would not go back to Mr. Cecil's though I will go to their West LA location on Pico and try it.

Jerry's Dogs-La Habra-Closed

Jerry's Dogs
1360 S Beach Blvd
Suite C
La Habra CA
562-697-4644

Update Nov. 8, 2010.

I went back to Jerry's Dogs because the pictures I posted weren't that good.

I found out that Jerry's used white oak wood to grill their hot dogs. The buns are steamed.

I got the Jerry's Signature Dog, $3.85, topped with Cleveland Stadium mustard and raw white onions. The Cleveland Stadium mustard is a spicy mustard, but not as spicy as the brown mustard.

The hot dog is an all beef dog in natural casing. The hot dog has a nice snap but the meat isn't that flavorful. The first time I went to Jerry's Dogs, the Signature Dog was $3.50. It is now $3.85. That's not bad, for the price to increase by 35 cents, in five years.

Service was pretty good. The guy who puts the toppings onto the hot dog, allowed me to taste the Cleveland Stadium mustard.

The question about hot dogs; is the hot dog worth the extra money from a $1.50 Costco hot dog. While I think Jerry's Dogs is reasonable, now, it isn't worth the extra money. A Costco, hot dog would be better.

Oct. 24, 2005 Review:

A nice hot dog place in the middle of chain restaurants make Jerry's Dogs stand out. The La Habra location is the on the corner of Beach and Imperial Hwy. They also have a location in Santa Ana off the 55 freeway.

All hot dogs are prepared over a wood fire grill. I ordered the Jerry's Signature Dog for $3.50. At Jerry's you can have as many toppings as you want, just tell the guys and they will put whatever you want. So I asked for yellow mustard, raw onions, tomatoes, celery salt, and a pickle spear. I was surprised when the guy said Chicago style. I wasn't sure if they would know what Chicago style is, so I just list the toppings. He even ask do you want peppers and as readers of my blog should know, I do not put peppers on my hot dogs.

The hot dog was good but not great. The toppings were all fresh. But the hot dog itself had a decent snap but seemed to be a run of the mill hot dog. Nothing special but nothing bad either. The signature dog is the only hot dog with natural casing.

Good friendly service but I think the place is a little overpriced. I would go back to either location but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Skooby's-Closed

Skooby's
6654 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
323- HOT-DOGS

WOW what a great surprise. After the disaster that was Taste Chicago, I go to Skooby's. But since it's a Friday night on Hollywood Blvd, parking can be and was a pain in the butt. It was terrible. Next time I go and I will go back soon it will take the Red Line Metrorail to the Kodak Theatre and then either walk or take a bus to Skooby's.

I first ordered the Skooby's Original Dog for $2.50 with onions and relish, I had to put on the regular yellow mustard as they only have brown mustard. Boy was I surprised!!! A great hot dog. Very nice snap and the bun was toasted on the grill and is the best hot dog buns anywhere!!! I'm so impressed I order the Bacon Cheedar Dog for $4. Again great snap with the hot dog. The mixture of spices in Skooby's Hot Dogs make it one of the best hot dogs I've ever had. Lots of bacon and cheedar cheese and yellow mustard. What great stuff.

I'm sooo damn impressed with Skooby's. I would go back again very soon.

July 1, 2009




Ok, very soon became almost two and half years but I finally made it back to Skooby's. The Original Dog was on special for $2.00 and I got it. This was served plain and I put on yellow mustard and raw onions, as you can see on the bottom picture.

It is great to know that the quality of the hot dog has not changed at all. A great hot dog with a wonderful snap, nice texture and seasoning, just wonderful.

A major plus was being able to wash this down with Coke made with real cane sugar, none of the HFCS junk.

Service is good.

To me this is the best hot dog place in LA, especially now that Weiner Factory has closed down.