Brians' American Eatery-Closed

Brians' American Eatery
1451 Washington St
San Diego
619-296-8268

Brian's American Eatery is your classic diner. You're getting comfort food in good sized portions at good prices. I've been to Brian's once, back around the time when Petco Park opened for the San Diego Padres. I went during their Saturday special, all you can eat beef ribs. The ribs are pretty good, they aren't BBQ, the menu even says oven cooked ribs, but they tasted good and for about $14, you can't beat it.

This time around, I came on a Sunday afternoon and it was fully of people. Luckily the weather was cloudy and overcast, so I said first available, and we got a table outside on the patio.

I got the Big Rooster-grilled chicken with bacon and melted swiss cheese on onion bun, with side salad and mac and cheese.

The chicken sandwich was a bit greasy, the bottom portion of the bun was a soggy mess and a bit dry, I guess they figured you would add condiments to the sandwich. But, the chicken was well cooked and the swiss cheese was melted nicely. The bacon was huge, crispy and tasted like it had just been cooked, not sitting under heat lamps. I added some ranch dressing, from my side salad, and it really helped. Maybe, Brian's should call it the Ranch Big Rooster.

My favorite part of the meal was the mac and cheese. WOW!! What a great example of mac and cheese. Everything was well blended together!! The cheese, the perfectly cooked macaroni, everything. They know how to make a roux at Brian's!! They serve this as it's own entree, I think that's what I'll get next time I come to Brian's.

The side salad had fresh veggies and their ranch dressing is great!! It's now some watered down ranch you find at other restaurants, but a well mixed and seasoned ranch.

Service was ok. The server was nice but he wasn't around that often. I understand they were busy, every table in the dining room and patio was filled. But, that's not an excuse for coming by the table only to take our order and to drop off our order. He didn't even come by to give us our check, we were walking to the cashier, when he gave us our bill.

While this visit wasn't great; the Big Rooster wasn't good, and I wouldn't order it again. But, I like my other trip to Brian's and will go back for their ribs, soon!!

Byblos Cafe-Closed

Byblos Cafe
129 W Chapman Ave
Orange
714-538-7180

Byblos Cafe is in the Orange Circle. The New Diner has been to a restaurant on the east part of the Orange Circle; Watson Drug & Soda Fountain, one on the north part; Beach Pit BBQ, and one on the south part; Felix Continental Cafe so it made sense to review a restaurant on the east side of the Orange Circle. So Byblos was my choice.

Walking around the Orange Circle I almost feel as though I will see Biff saying "Hello McFly, anybody home?" The city Orange tries to go back to the future, and bring that old time feel into today's hustle and bustle world.

The lentil soup-with celery, swiss chard, and lentils, comes with an order of kebobs. I don't eat much soup, and this may have been my first experience eating lentil soup. I was impressed with the soup, though it had a tangy sour taste, which comes from the Swiss chard. The broth was thin, I always thought lentil soup broth was a bit thicker, and the lentils were cooked perfectly. I would have liked this better if there wasn't the tangy sour taste.

Sirloin beef kebob with hummus, $10.99, with lentil soup. The first thing I noticed was the small portion! I know this was lunch, but the amount of beef was pretty small. The beef was perfectly cooked and very tender. They say it's sirloin and I'm sure it was, but this was more tender and flavorful than other Middle Eastern restaurants that called their kebobs, filet mignon.

The rice pilaf was nothing to write home about. It was there, it wasn't memorable, it added some carbs to the meal.

The hummus was wonderful. Most hummus is too tangy for me. This hummus was much more mild. It was very smooth, no lumps, and had the right consistency. It was made better by the warm pita bread. I hate going to Middle Eastern restaurants that serve cold pita bread.

Service was very good. I believe the owner was serving us. She was nice, friendly and informative. She was the only server and kept the 15 or so diners happy.

Overall I did enjoy my meal at Byblos Cafe, but I didn't think it's a good value. The portions are small and while the quality of the beef is very good, it's not worth making a trip back.

Juicy Burger-Closed

Juicy Burger
6340 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles
323-465-8429

When I went to 25 Degrees, back in May, 2011, I walked east on Hollywood Blvd to see if Skooby's was still open, it is!! Anyways, walked past Juicy Burger, which has long been on my list of places to try, and decided I needed to go there soon. It's November, and while that isn't soon, at least least I made it to Juicy Burger.

I heard Juicy Burger was a gourmet burger restaurant. So I wanted to see how they compared to other gourmet burger places like 25 Degrees, Father's Office, Umami Burger in Hollywood, Umami Burger on La Brea, and 38 Degrees.

Located at the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Ivar, Juicy Burger, is much like The Counter, where you check off what you want on your burger. After placing my order, I found a seat, and this was among the dirtiest restaurants I've ever been in. The tables were dirty and in serious need of being wiped off. The floors were dirty and needed to be swept. No wonder everybody was eating at the counter and not the tables!!

Anyways, I ordered the 1/3lb beef burger, cooked medium, with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, mustard ketchup, and 1000 island dressing, on a bun, $5.75. The first thing I noticed was the bun, which is very much like the buns at Umami Burger. A chewy soft texture with a golden brown dome. The burger was cooked to medium, was very juicy, maybe on the side of greasy, but good flavor and well seasoned. I asked for the toppings and the 1000 island dressing was very tangy, which I like. I bet they use Miracle Whip to make their 1000 island dressing. The other toppings were fresh and tasty. While the burger was good, there wasn't anything gourmet about them. It's a good diner style burger at a good price, nothing more and nothing less.

Service is good. The young lady is very nice and helpful. But, as I mentioned before, the place is just a mess. The workers should stop texting and clean the tables.

I had pretty high expectations of Juicy Burger and I came away pretty underwhelmed. I'm not saying the burger isn't good or it's not a good value, they are, it's just not gourmet-which I was led to believe, and there isn't anything really outstanding about it.

The Hollywood Way-Closed

The Hollywood Way
1333 N Hollywood Way
Burbank
818-845-4400

I have been to two very mediocre BBQ restaurants in Burbank, Handy Market and Ribs USA. About a year ago, The Hollywood Way, part BBQ, mostly a sports bar opened up. So, I finally got a chance to give The Hollywood Way a try.

I went on a Tuesday night, when it's trivia night. The place wasn't crowded but it was pretty loud with the trivia game host, asking questions. The Hollywood Way is set up as part sports bars-there are a ton of TV's all over and part BBQ restaurant.

The BBQ at The Hollywood Way is smoked over a combination of oak and apple woods, the finished on a grill where they add their sauce. I'm not a fan of any BBQ being finished on a grill. I want that full smoke flavor! I'm also not a fan of baby back ribs. They don't take as much skill or talent to BBQ, as spare ribs.

I got the K.C. RIB TEASER- four of our baby back ribs, smoked, grilled and glazed with our honey BBQ sauce. Served on a bed of onion straws. $9.95. I was going to get half slab with two sides, $17.99, but I wasn't really that hungry and I would have much preferred spare ribs.

The ribs are coated with a tangy/spicy honey BBQ sauce, which is a tomato based sauce with a good helping of chili power. I liked this sauce, though a bit too sweet.

The ribs had some char on them, since they are finished on the grill. There was a good smoke flavor and the classic smoke rib. But, these are baby backs, so they are already tender. But, they were just slightly too done, the meat was a bit too mushy, that falling off the bone BS, that does NOT make good BBQ. The meat should have some give, not fall off the bone. But, overall I did like the ribs much better than the other BBQ restaurants that I have tried in Burbank. Though Burbank is hardly a good BBQ city.

Service was OK. The biggest problem is you don't know if The Hollywood Way is a sports bar or restaurant. There isn't a host station. I walked in and I actually had to ask one of the servers, if I just pick a table or if I needed to be seated. The server I had was nice and friendly, but a bit slow at refilling drinks and just being around. While it was trivia night and fairly busy, it wasn't packed and there were three other servers working. Not sure why I didn't see my server that much.

I wouldn't make a special trip back to The Hollywood Way, but I wouldn't be against going back if I was in the area.

South-Closed

South
3001 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica
310-828-9988

Personally, I hate the westside of Los Angeles-which includes areas/cities like West LA, Santa Monica, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Westchester, Marina Del Ray, because the people there are such pretentious assholes. They are all douchebags with Ed Hardy clothes. Ok, the women may look nice, but they are filled with silicon and botox. Who the hell wants to be around that?

Anyways, I heard about South- really it's a sports bar, that served up some good soul food. I was a bit hesitant to try soul food in Santa Monica, but figured why not? If worse came to worse, I can laugh at all the douchebag, pretentious, asshole people of the westside!!

I went to South, on a Sunday. So, it was packed with football fans. They had every game on and fans of every team were all over the bar. Honestly, there weren't that many douchebags at South. Maybe, they only show up at night.

While I was looking around for a seat, and I saw a gameday menu. I had looked at their online menu and knew what I wanted; fried chicken. But, I didn't see fried chicken on the gameday menu. So I asked the bouncer, if they served their full menu, he said yes.

A few minutes later, I found a seat, and when the server took my order, I wanted to make sure they served the full menu. She said "It depends on what you want." Huh? I said fried chicken, she said they could do that. Whatever, as long as I got the fried chicken, mac and cheese, and hush puppies, $16, it was fine.

A few minutes later, I got four small pieces of fried chicken, a huge helping of hush puppies and mac and cheese. I tried the white meat first. This was a small portion of the breast meat and it had a strong paprika taste, a pretty good crunchy, and it was pretty moist. Not the greatest fried chicken ever, but solid. The interesting part was none of the other pieces had the strong paprika taste. All other pieces; wing, leg, and thigh, were your regular fried chicken seasoning; salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. The wing and leg were ok, nothing special. But, the thigh was so moist and juicy. The $16 price tag is a bit high for four small pieces and I don't care that I got two sides, that were good sized portions.

The hush puppies were among the best I've ever had. Seasoned perfectly, cooked perfectly-a light golden brown, and just wonderful.

The mac and cheese was fairly bland and they could have used more cheese, but the macaroni was well cooked.

Service. Ok, I know it was crowded on Sundays during football season, but there was only one server for the entire back section!! Not good staffing by the manager. The server was nice, but the first time around taking orders, she missed me completely. It took her awhile to come back, since she had the entire back section. Then she finally took my order, but she never gave me my drink order. I had to ask the busboy for my ice tea. The tables didn't have any silverware and the busboy/runner, who brought me my food, didn't bring any silverware. Bad training by management. My food did arrive quickly, in fact a very quickly considering the number of people at South.

I'm cutting the server some slack, because she was working hard but she is just overwhelmed!! They need to add, at least, 2 more servers in that back area.

I may come back for the food, because I saw a waffle fried chicken sliders that looked very good.

Nicky D's Wood-Fired Pizza-Closed

Nicky D's Wood-Fired Pizza
2764 Rowena Ave
Los Angeles
323-664-3333

Silverlake has some damn good pizza places, including Tomato Pie and Garage Pizza. I heard some great things about Nicky D's Wood-Fired Pizza and decided to give them a try.

Nicky D's is basically a house that has been converted into a restaurant. There is a very small parking lot and then you climb a few stairs to get to the restaurant. You actually walk into the dining area at the top of the stairs. The place to order is in the middle of the building. The kitchen is the back part of the building and the wood fire oven is right there!

I ordered a medium, half cheese and half sausage, $14.63. The first thing I noticed about the pizza was the thin crust, maybe not exactly like New York thin crust, but good. When I took a bite, the texture was perfect, a bite chewy but firm. I really liked the crust. The cheese was piled on and good gooey cheese. The sausage was large slices of good quality meat, without many fillers. This was a very good pizza and I loved the crust.

Service was very good. I was greeted once I walked into the ordering area. That doesn't happen too often, which is a sad commentary about the restaurant business. The guy who took my order was helpful, answering my questions about how big the medium pizza were and asking if I wanted a beer while waiting for pizza. While I didn't get a beer, I liked his low pressure, subtle sales pitch. I sat down at a table, while waiting for the pizza. A young girl came up and asked "You didn't get anything to drink." and then handed me an individual sized pizza. I told her I didn't order this. She asked what did I order and got my pizza. She was also very nice and helpful. Nicky D's can teach many other restaurants about good customer service.

I would go back to Nicky D's anytime. Is it better than Tomato Pie or Garage Pizza? Put it this way, I wouldn't complain if I was forced to go to any of three. You people in Silverlake are lucky, you got some very good pizza places in your area.

Prizzi's-Closed

Prizzi's
3821 Riverside Dr
Burbank
818-641-5900

There are certain things about a Chicago style deep dish pizza that I love. The chucky tomato sauce, the layers of cheese and toppings, and a nice flakey, usually with cornmeal, crust. There are places in LA like Masa of Echo Park and Hollywood Pies that serves up a very good example of Chicago deep dish pizza.

Then there are places like Numero Uno Pizza, that think a deep dish pizza means doughly crust baked in a pan. That describes Prizzi's. I heard some good things about Prizzi's but never tried their location on Franklin in LA. Then they closed that location. Then, I heard they moved to Burbank, so I decided to give them a try.

Deep dish sausage pizza-$19. This reminded me of pizza places like Numero Uno Pizza, where they bake a pizza in a deep dish pan and call it Chicago deep dish pizza, but in reality it's nothing close to deep dish Chicago pizza. This was just a large amount of doughy crust, a little sauce then the ground up sausage, and then cheese. It was better than Numero Uno Pizza, but it wasn't a true deep dish Chicago pizza. I wasn't impressed with the sausage, because it was like ground sausage, not in the chunky pieces or the flat layer of sausage you see. The texture and taste was just wrong.

Deep dish meat lovers pizza-sausage, pepperoni, and ground beef, $25. The first thing I noticed about this pizza was the sausage. It was so thin. If you had true Chicago deep dish pizza before, you know the sausage has chunky pieces of tomato. It isn't a thin smooth layer.

This was a little better than the sausage, but the crust wasn't that good, a bit doughly. The cheese and toppings were OK, but nothing really stood out. Nor did this come close to Chicago deep dish pizza.

Since I have had deep dish pizza before, I know they take awhile to bake. The servers should tell people about the wait. Our server did not and that could be a problem for people who don't know about Chicago deep dish pizza.

I paid the server and told her it's all your's. A few minutes later the server came and asked, "Do I need change?" Now, WTF is that, I already told you "it's all your's" and even if you didn't understand, you come back with change and not empty handed.

Otherwise, service was pretty good.

To call Prizzi's a true Chicago deep dish pizza place, would be a mistake. I saw some of their other items, salads, sandwiches, pasta etc and they did look pretty good. I may go to try the other items, but I won't go back for the pizza.

The Market Grill-Closed

The Market Grill
525 S Shamrock Ave
Monrovia
626-303-4314

Have you ever had great expectations about something, but they didn't live up to expectations? Maybe it was a date with a beautiful woman, but during the date you found out she had the personality of a lugnut and the IQ to match? Or maybe you were expecting a great vacation and all you got was rain and a bad tour guide?

Well, that's the way I feel about The Market Grill in Monrovia. I heard some great things about The Market Grill and had great expectations. But sadly, my expectations were not met.

Located in a market, duh-thus the name, Market Grill serves up burgers, sandwiches, soups, and hot dogs. There are about six tables and a few counter spaces to dine in. It wasn't that crowded when I went on a Saturday afternoon around lunch time.

I ordered the 1/3lb. bacon burger, $7.25, with cheese, add 50 cents, with fresh fruit. The burger comes with lettuce, tomato, red onions, pickles and 1000 island dressing. I asked for no pickles. They ask how you would like your burgers cooked, I asked for medium rare, I got a burger that needed to be on the grill just a little longer. Nothing too bad, but I would like the burger cooked how I asked for it.

Anyways, the burger was fine. The meat was well seasoned and moist, it was messy and a bit greasy, what a burger should be. The toppings were all fresh, the bun was your standard bun. But, there wasn't anything mind blowing or outstanding out it. It wasn't something I would drive out of my way for. You could get this burger from any greasy spoon, in any neighborhood. I read that things are freshed baked here. I saw bread with the label from Costco. The burger buns were from a package, that looked like a food service package. Somebody has wrong information.

Service is very good. You are greeted once you enter the restaurant, whether by a cook or the person taking orders. Very nice, something many restaurants need to improve upon. The guy taking my order was nice and helpful. After asking me if I wanted everything on my burger, he listed everything that came on the burger. Some cashiers and servers don't know their own menu, and have no idea what comes on their burgers. So it is good to see this staff is well trained and knowledgeable about their menu.

Again, the burger was fine. I don't want to give the impression that The Market Grill was bad. It's just that I heard some many great things about The Market Grill and it just wasn't outstanding or worth the trip.

Roadside Cafe-Closed

Roadside Cafe
1822 N Glassell St
Orange
714-283-4901

I love broasted chicken and I'm always excited to find out about new broasted chicken restaurants. When I found out that Roadside Cafe serves up broasted chicken, I planned on going back to Hida'Way, to see which place in Orange serves up the best broasted chicken. I called up Hida'Way and the number was changed, so I called the new number and it was Roadside Cafe!!!

Guess the story is, Hida'Way's owner decided to get out of the restaurant business and turn his building into a laundromat!!! Roadside Cafe bought Hida'Way's broasted machines. So the city of Orange still has a restaurant that serves broasted chicken.

Roadside Cafe is an oasis among the many industrial buildings on the stretch of Glassell. The decor is great, with old signs and an old gas pump near the front door. This does remind you of a roadside cafe along Route 66.

I went to Roadside Cafe's website and found a coupon; eight pieces of broasted chicken,$9.49 on the coupon, $10.32 after sales tax. The eight pieces broke down into 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 breast pieces. I went on a Monday, and on their "Specials" board, the eight piece broasted chicken was $9.99. The regular price for the eight piece chicken is $10.95.

The chicken is cooked to order. For your stupid Yelpers, that means the chicken isn't sitting under heat lamps. It is only cooked after you ordered it. That means it may take 15-20 minutes to get your broasted chicken. What would you rather have; chicken that has been sitting under heat lamps for hours on end, or chicken cooked to order? I can't believe that people would complain about the wait time for cooked to order chicken. Stupid Yelpers.

I only had the breast piece. The skin was darker than other broasted chicken places I have been to. That usually means the oil they use to broast the chicken needs to be changed. But, the skin was light and crispy, like broasted chicken should be. The breast meat was pretty moist and flavorfull. Not the best broasted chicken but pretty good and certainly better than Hida'Way.

Service was great. The young lady who took my order was very nice and friendly. She told me about Hida'Way closing and how Roadside brought the broasting machines. Many other restaurants could take lesson in customer service from the people at Roadside Cafe.

I would go back to Roadside Cafe and give the broasted chicken another chance; like I said it wasn't the best broasted chicken I've had, but it was pretty good.

Senor Baja-Closed

Senor Baja
3908 Grand Ave
Unit A
Chino
909-902-5110

A few years ago, I reviewed a restaurant, Senor Baja/El Taco Nazo, that had undergone a name change. To show how quickly things can change, the building that held the Senor Baja/El Taco Nazo I reviewed, has been demolished and is currently a parking lot for a Fresh & Easy Market.

I found out that the owners El Taco Nazo/Senor Fish had a dispute. So, to settle this dispute, one side kept the El Taco Nazo name and the other side opened up Senor Baja.

So I decided to try both and see who had the best fish tacos!! I first went to El Taco Nazo, then tried the Senor Baja in Chino!!

Unlike the El Taco Nazo, Senor Baja does have fish tacos for 99 cents on Wednesday. The fish tacos are regularly $1.59. I asked the cashier what type of fish they use and he told me mahi mahi. But, the fish here was just too greasy. It was clear the oil they used to fry the fish, wasn't hot enough and just soaked up all the oil. The fish wasn't mahi mahi, I figure the fish they use is either pollock or basa. It may have been good, but the oil soaked through the batter and into the fish.

The cabbage and tomatoes were fresh and the white sauce good.

Service here was good. While the guy did give me wrong information, he was nice and friendly.

So, who was better? El Taco Nazo or Senor Baja; I'll call it a mediocre tie!! Neither was great or even good. Honestly, I would only go to Tacos Baja in East LA, for fish tacos.

Coney Dog-Closed

Coney Dog
8873 Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood
310-854-1172

August 27, 2013 Update-Coney Dog is closed.  But, another restaurant has opened in it's place, Gabby's and still serves the coney dogs. 

About a mile west, on Sunset Blvd, from Carney's is a new hot dog place called Coney Dog. While many people may think coney dogs were invented on Coney Island, that simply is not true. Coney dogs were invented in Detroit. A coney dog has mustard, onions and chili on a natural casing hot dog, usually an all beef dog.

Now, I hate Detroit and all sports teams from Detroit. I hated the "Bad Boys" Pistons with Isiah Thomas and Bill Lamebeer. I hate the Tigers, and hope either the Indians or White Sox beat them out for the 2011 AL Central Division title. I especially hate the commie Red Wings. The Lions suck, so it's not a big deal to hate them. But, a coney dog maybe the only thing from Detroit I like, well besides a Pontiac GTO.

Anyways, I found out about Coney Dogs, on the site filled with arrogant assholes, chowhounds. The original poster that mentioned Coney Dogs, doesn't even understand the meaning of Grand Opening. Hey stupid, most restaurants have a grand opening, a few weeks after being opened. Then some idiot, who has an axe to grind with Coney Dogs, constantly posted some BS about the hot dogs and chili being a bad mixture of meats and horrors, the chili had beef hearts. Out of maybe 15 posts, maybe two posts actually talked about Coney Dogs. No wonder chowhounds if just full of assholes!!



Coney Dog, $3.95, chili, mustard and onions, grilled 80% beef and 20% pork hot dog. The hot dog was grilled, with some nice charring. It had a great snap. The hot dog was well season and was bursting with flavor. It's easy to tell they use a very good quality hot dog.

But, what got me was the chili. I normally don't order chili dogs. But, I figured when in Rome, I mean Detroit. This chili had no beans, just filled with meat. Good seasoned, well cooked beef!! It wasn't spicy at all, just thick, hearty, good chili. They use quality stuff here at Coney Dogs.

Service is very good. They are nice and friendly and the food comes out quickly!! There is free validated one hour parking on the roof or you can street parking. They are across the street from The Whiskey, so I imagine they maybe very crowded when all the bars on Sunset close. But, a good and welcomed addition to the LA hot dog scene.

I would go back to Coney Dogs, any time. But, go Indians or White Sox, win the 2011 AL Central!!!

Crossroads BBQ-Closed

Crossroads BBQ
2927 S Sepulveda Blvd
Los Angeles
424-832-7300

I haven't had BBQ in a long time, so I figured I would give Crossroads a try. Crossroads BBQ is owned by the same people who own Dinah's Family Restaurant. I first saw Crossroads mentioned on Chowhounds, when a jerk named servorg, mentioned he saw a sign announcing the imminent opening of Crossroads BBQ. After 4-5 months, they finally opened. I guess the new Webster's, now has a different definition of imminent? Anyways, servorg is an idiot and I don't pay attention to his reviews. But, I always pay attention to the opening of new BBQ restaurants. So I called a friend and we met at Crossroad BBQ. Finding good real BBQ in West LA is limited because the snotty jerk people of West LA, have no clue about good real BBQ.

Crossroad BBQ is a shared restaurant, next door is a Mexican restaurant and you can order from both menus are either location. Interesting business model and the night we were there, the BBQ side was packed.




I got the half rack of spare ribs, dry rub, with mac and cheese and mixed vegetables, $17.

These ribs remind me of Lucille's, meaning they were almost burnt, badly smoked, flavorless, and just plain bad. They are St. Louis spare ribs, so they look nice but there isn't much meat, and the what little meat this is, just tastes terrible.

The mac and cheese was bland and the cheese sauce barely covered the macaroni. The mixed veggies were pretty good, with string beans, carrots, broccoli, and squash, though I didn't touch the squash, that were lightly sauteed, well seasoned and cooked perfectly.

This is so overpriced for such mediocre food.

Service throughout dinner was pretty good. But, when we first came in, there was nobody at the hostess area and it took the hostess about five minutes to appear. Not sure what was happening, but that's a good way to lose customers.

I would not go back to Crossroads BBQ again. I wasn't expecting great things from Crossroads BBQ and sadly, I was proven correct.

Hollywood Pies-Moved

www.hollywoodpies.com
323-337-3212

Nov. 2014 review of Hollywood Pies' new location on Pico.

In the LA area there are only two places to get a good Chicago style deep dish pizza; Tony's Little Italy and Masa of Echo Park. Now, Hollywood Pies, has emerged as a third place to get a good Chicago style deep dish pizza.

Hollywood Pies is an interesting business concept. They do not have a store front, they only use the kitchen of a restaurant that has closed. Also, it's a delivery and pick up only location. Well, it's not really "pick up," they have curb side service, so you call them when you arrive and they will come out with your pizza. They do accept credit cards.

So, I drive out to the given GPS address of 417 Westmont Dr, in West Hollywood, which is just north, on La Cienega, of the Beverly Center. And, I see a closed down restaurant. I park and when I get outside, I can smell the wonderful smell of pizza!! So, I know I'm close. I walk closer to the restaurant and I see a young woman walking away from a car, and inside the car I can see pizza boxes. So, I ask the young lady is this Hollywood Pies. She says Yes. We talk for a couple minutes about the location and business model etc. She goes back inside and a couple minutes later, comes out with my order!!!



I ordered a galf Classic Chicago-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage and fresh house-made ricotta and Half Fairbanks-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage, onions and baby bella mushrooms $22.

Chicago pizza take 45 minutes to cook. Any place that says they are a deep dish Chicago pizza place, and their pizza takes 20 minutes to cook, get the hell away from there. That place either, isn't a real Chicago deep dish pizza place or their pizza are prebaked/frozen, and that's not what you want.

I placed my order and they said the wait time was 90 minutes, because they were at their max. I wasn't too happy about the wait; not so much with Hollywood pies, but with myself for not placing my order sooner.

Anyways, they called me when my pizza was ready and I quickly drove over. Hollywood Pies' website gives 415 WESTMOUNT DR. WEST HOLLYWOOD CA 90048, as a GPS direction. Just go to the intersection of La Cienega and Westmount, go west and you will run into the building that is pictured. There is a small parking area that says No Parking but if you stay in your car, you don't have to worry about the meter maids.

Anyways, I was handed my pizza, my arm dropped about six inches, because the pizza was so heavy. Always a good sign when it comes to Chicago pizza. I found a crate to take a picture of the pizza, then drove about 45 minutes to finally dig into the pizza. The pizza holds up amazingly well after 45 minutes.

The crust is dense, but light, flakey, and buttery. It holds up very well to all the sauce and toppings.

The sauce is on the tangy side, but is very good. I get an oregano flavor from the sauce.

The whole milk mozzarella, is very good quality.




Fairbanks-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage, onions and baby bella mushrooms. This was awesome. The sausage was crumbed up pieces of mild Italian sausage, with good flavor and seasoning. The onions were very sweet and cut into long silvers, which allowed them to remain crispy even after baking.




Classic Chicago-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage and fresh house-made ricotta.

All the flavors really worked well together for this pizza. The ricotta added a rich creamy flavor and texture.

I think my favorite is the Fairbanks, but would gladly order the Classic Chicago, again.

Service was very good. The young girl was professional on the phone and when she gave me the pizza, was nice and helpful. I would order at least an hour in advance, and give yourself time to find Hollywood Pies.

I would go back to Hollywood Pies anytime.

JJ Noodle House-Closed

JJ Noodle House
18303 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights
626-839-9269

I make it a point on every June 5th, to go to a Chinese restaurant, to honor Tank Man. For weeks in late May-early June, pro democracy students protested in Tiananmen Square against the communist Chinese government. Then on June 4, 1989, the Chinese government sent in troops who murdered thousands of those students. On June 5, 1989, Tank Man stopped a column of tanks, that were going to Tiananmen Square. And become a hero to many. The pictures and video have become iconic in the 22 years since Tank Man, stopped those tanks.



The northeast corner of Colima Rd and Fullerton Rd., in Rowland Heights, has a ton of restaurants. The New Diner has already reviewed two restaurants, Feedable BBQ Buffet and Pizza & Chicken Love Letter.




I wanted to try their xio long bao, XLB, $5.95, and got an order. The first thing I noticed about the XLB, was the thicker skin. I like the thicker skin, because it holds the inside contents, much better. The inside contents were, great. The soup was full of flavor, well seasoned, hearty. And the pork was great, well seasoned, cooked perfectly and great. The XLB here rank as one of my favorite XLB.

Service is good. The ladies are friendly and the food arrives quickly and hot. But, they only speak Chinese, and when I tried to call to get directions, they weren't very helpful. This is a cash only restaurant.

I would come back to JJ Noodle House for the XLB, anytime. The next time I come, I'm going to order the scallion pancakes, which looked great.

Nonna Pizzeria-Closed

Nonna Pizzeria
818 Fair Oaks Ave
South Pasadena
626-403-4100

A few doors south of Gus's Barbeque, and across Fair Oaks Ave, from
Fairoaks Pharmacy, is Nonna Pizzeria. I read they serve up some good New York style pizza and decided to give them a try.

I had their special, any two slices and a 16oz soda, $6.04. Normally, I don't like getting slices, but I was going to Mamma's Brick Oven Pizza, after and there was no need to get a whole pie.



I decided to get a regular pepperoni and sausage slice. The pie had been on the counter for at least 45 minutes, the amount of time I waited for other friends to come. Even though the pizza had been sitting around for awhile, I thought the toppings were very good on this slice. The cheese was a good quality cheese that had melted nicely. The pepperoni had a good flavor and the sausage was nicely seasoned.

But, what I didn't like was the crust, this was a weak crust with no flavor or texture.



I noticed they put a Sicilian pizza up, while I was waiting, so I know it wasn't sitting around for hours on end. Sicilian slice with pepperoni. I loved this slice. The crust was great, nice and brown on the bottom with some nice crispy part. The toppings were great, same quality cheese and pepperoni. The Sicilian is the way to go at Nonna Pizzeria.

Service was good. The people are nice, friendly and they take and get your order out quickly.

I would go back for the Sicilian pizza again, I would have to think long and hard, if I wanted a regular pie.

Mamma's Brick Oven Pizza-Moved

Mamma's Brick Oven Pizza 710 Fair Oaks Ave South Pasadena 626-799-1344 After going to Nonna Pizzeria, I walked a couple blocks north on Fair Oaks Ave. to Mamma's Brick Oven Pizza. I did the samething as I did at Nonna, ordered slices. Pepperoni slice, $2.75. I loved the crust. This crust was firm, had good texture, was soft, yet chewy. The pepperoni was ok, nothing great. But the cheese was also top notch, good quality cheese. I wanted something different and saw the buffalo chicken slice- $3.25; buffalo sauce, mozzarella, southwest seasoned chicken breast, and ranch sauce, on the counter and decided to try it. The first thing I noticed was this pizza is spicy, whatever buffalo wing sauce they use, needs to be on wings. The buffalo sauce had a lot of vinegar and a lot of spice but overwhelmed the taste of the pizza. There wasn't that much chicken breast but they tasted ok. They did put some ranch dressing on top, to try and balance things out, but it didn't work. Service was good. People are nice, friendly and get your orders out quickly. The regular pizza slices are better here at Mamma's, mostly because the crust is so much better, than at Nonna. I would come back to Mamma's and try a freshly baked pie.