Little Dom's

Little Dom's
2128 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles
323-661-0055

Every Monday Little Dom's has a three course, Monday Night Supper Special for $15. The menu changes every Monday so what I had, when I went, may not be served again until much later.

First course: Shaved fennel and parmesan. Fresh shaved fennel on top of spinach with parmesan cheese and some lemon juice. Actually pretty good and refreshing.

Entree: Beef braciole. They use a top round cut, slice it thin, roll it with pine nuts and mushrooms, seared, then topped with a tomato sauce. The beef was too dry, top round doesn't have much fat, so if you overcook it, it will be dry. They overcooked it and it was very dry, even with the tomato sauce on top. The beef was fairly tender and flavorful. Not too impressed.

Dessert: Chocolate caramel tart. This was indeed tart. The chocolate was very tart, I want sweet chocolate. But the caramel and whipped creme almost balanced it out. In some ways this tasted like an almond roca without the almonds.

Service was good. I was very impressed with the server, when she asked if I wanted a refill and she told me that they charge for refills on Arnold Palmer. At $3.75 per glass that can really add up. I passed but I tipped a little extra for her telling me that. I was very impressed. I was also very impressed with one of the hostess. She was a hottie.

It is very crowded at Little Dom's and the small room will mean a loud room, so if you're expecting a nice quiet dinner, you may not get it on a Monday night at Little Dom's. Make sure to make reservations because all the tables are filled.

I wouldn't go to Little Dom's on any other night than Monday. All their menu items are overpriced and the portions are small. Somebody at my table got the spaghetti and meatballs for $14!!! What a rip off especially when the portion of spaghetti is no bigger than a can of Chef Boyrdee. I will say the meatballs were good sized, about the size of a baseball.

I certainly wouldn't go back when the beef braciole is on their Mondy Supper menu. Though I may go back next Monday for their basil risotto with grilled mushrooms and Alaskan halibut.

Handy Market BBQ

June 6, 2009. 65 years ago today Allied Forces, under the leadership of Dwight Eisenhower, stormed the beaches of Normandy. This invasion was officially named, Operation Overload and is more commonly known as D Day.

The mission of D Day? To liberate Europe from the scumbag nazi. American forces stormed Omaha Beach. Other Allied countries stormed, Utah, Juno, Sword, and Gold Beach. Within a few hours Allied Forces had captured all those beaches and started their way into liberating France. Soon Allied forces liberated France and then onto Germany and getting rid of the nazi scum.

Too many brave men died on the beaches of Normandy. They didn't burn their draft notices, dodge the draft, protest the draft, act like cowards and run away to Canada, they all answered the call of duty for their country. Too many paid the ultimate sacrifice and never came back home.

Today we need to take a moment to honor them. The saying at the end of the movie; Ike Countdown to D Day is so true, "We may never see their like again."

25 years ago, Ronald Reagan made one of his best speeches on the 40th Anniversary of D Day.









Handy Market
2514 W Magnolia Blvd
Burbank
818-848-2500

To honor those brave men who made the ultimate sacrifice on D Day, I went to BBQ. Every Saturday, Handy Market has a BBQ, it is actually a grill but it is well known and as you can see from the line, it is popular.

Baby back ribs, beef ribs, chicken, and tri tip are sold by the pound. Sausauge and corn are also sold.

I got half a rack of baby backs, $7.49/lb and three beef ribs, $3.99/lb. Most half rack of baby back ribs are going to be about a pound.

The ribs are smoked in a smoker with mesquite charcoal. But the ribs are cooked at a very high temp, so they aren't really true BBQ. The ribs are oversmoked, they need to control the flow of the smoker better. The ribs since they are baby backs were fairly tender but that chemical flavor of lighter fluid just ruins the taste for me.

The beef ribs were pretty bad. Lots and lots of gristle and tough meat to go along with the chemical smell. Not a good combination.

This isn't real BBQ. What this is GRILLING-cooking meats at high temps. Most people in line with me thought this was great and love the meat drowned in BBQ sauce.

Service is OK, the people are nice and helpful but slow. I waited in line for about 30 minutes. Then I had to go to pay for the meat inside the market. At least it doesn't take that long to pay.

Also when calling for directions, they aren't too helpful. I called and asked what exit to get off at going north of the 5 freeway. They told me Buena Vista. Well Buena Vista is only off the 134 freeway. If you are on the 134 get off at Olive and go south to Buena Vista.

I would not go back to Handy Market's BBQ. It is not real BBQ and I can do a better job grilling ribs.

Earthen

June 5, 2009. 20 years ago, the entire world saw one of the most bravest acts ever capured on TV or film, The Tank Man. One brave man stopped a column of tanks to protest the savage killing and beating of innocent people at Tiananmen Square. To this day nobody knows who Tank Man was. Nobody knows what happened to him. But on that June 5, 1989 day, the entire world knew about Tank Man. Time Magazine listed Tank Man, they actually listed him as the Unknown Rebel, as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. After he stopped the column of tanks, he climbed up onto the tank and told them that his city is in choas and to get out of his city!!!

One simple act can change the entire world. Many people from the former Soviet blocked nations said they drew inspiration from the picture you see above. I wish I could be as brave as Tank Man. 6 and 5, equals 11. Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets wears #11. His silent protest??

To this day the Chinese government does not acknowledge the fact they ordered the killing of so many innocent people. To this day the Chinese government bans any mention of Tiananmen Square. To this day companies like Google and Yahoo, whore themselves and follows the Chinese government ban about Tiananmen Square. Try searching Tiananmen Square in China. You will get nothing. The Chinese government even increased security around Tiananmen Square today to prevent anybody from remembering that day. So today to honor Tank Man, I went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner.








Earthen
1639 S Azusa Ave
Hacienda Heights
626-964-1570

Earthen is a few doors down from West Coast Seafood Buffet.

Pork dumplings, $6.25. Pretty bland pork inside and the wonton wrapper was a bit tough and chewy, cooked just short of ah dente.

House Special chicken, $7.95. I wasn't expecting a cold dish but this was a very good dish. The chicken is served cold, on top of cucumbers in a spicy soy sauce. The chicken is very tender and full of flavor. The spiciness doesn't hit you right away but slowly comes one. A very good dish.

Black mushrooms with veggies, $8.25. I loved this dish, though the sauce used was a bit oily. The mushrooms had a wonderful flavor, a burst of flavor in your mouth. The veggies are baby bochoy and were crispy and fresh.

Fried shrimp with hot garlic sauce, $15.95. This dish is a combination of sweet and sour shrimp and kung pao shrimp. The shrimp is fried, then topped with a spicy garlic sauce. There were a ton of chili leaves in the dish that gave the shrimp flavor. The shrimp wasn't as fresh as it could be, but this was a good dish. At first I thought this was a bit pricey but the portion was huge and it is worth the price.

Shrimp chow mein, $7.25. A nice example of chow mein that is topped with shrimp, bean sprouts, and cabbage. The noodles were soft and well cooked. The dish was nicely seasoned. Nice sized portion too.

Service is good. But this is cash only and I'm not a fan of places like that.

I would go back to Earthen again. I like the food and even though some of the entree prices are a bit high, they food is very good.

Daikokuya

Daikokuya
327 E 1st St
Los Angeles
213-626-1680

Daikokuya is a ramen place but I'm not a big fan of Ramen, notice there aren't many reviews of ramen place on The New Diner. But after some drinks at The Edison, one of the best bars in downtown LA, I went to Daikokuya in Little Tokyo. Daikokuya is the first restaurant in Little Tokyo that I have been to in over 25 years. Litle Tokyo has and is undergoing a huge transformation. Many shops are either closing or being taken over by Korean companies and/or Korean owners.

I looked at the menu and was thinking of ordering the ramen, but the tempura bowl looked so good, I couldn't pass it up. The tempura bowl, $8.25 has three pieces of shrimp and four pieces of veggies, green beans, sweet potato, and onions served with rice, salad and miso soup. I don't touch miso soup, it is too salty and has a weird texture for me. But the salad was great. Also a cole slaw with finely chopped cabbage and a tangy, almost thousand island dressing. Very fresh and tasty.

The tempura wasn't want I expect tempura to be. The tempura was soggy!!! Tempura should be crunchy!!!!! All the tempura pieces were so soggy!!! I think the tempura was topped with some kind of sweet seasame sauce because I got that flavor on the rice and the tempura. I did like the rice, which was sushi rice, if I'm not mistaken.

Service was good but they again asked "Do you need change?" I hate that. It is very rude. Just say I'll be back with your change. Don't ask if I need change. It is your job to get me change.

I wouldn't go back to Daikokuya again and not because of they asked, "If I need change?" I know it was a ramen place but their tempura bowl was bad and even though the portion is big and the price is good, the food just isn't that good. Tempura should be crunchy!!

Territory BBQ-Closed

Territory BBQ
534 N. Hoover St
LA
323-662-4100

Strike three for BBQ this weekend. Glencrest BBQ, Bondi BBQ, and now Territory BBQ have all struck out. Three BBQ places that I have never been to and will never go again!!

Territory got a huge write up in the LA Times. The person who reviewed Territory doesn't know anything about BBQ.

Territory does smoke their meats but they have no idea how to smoke their meats. I got a rib dinner, $15, with double mac and cheese. The ribs are baby backs, terrible choice, and were dry and was just overpowered with smoke flavor. I do like smoke flavor but the smoke flavor should not overpower the meat. They need to close the vents on their smoker because too much smoke is getting to the meat.

The mac and cheese was terrible. The macaroni was undecooked and not even hot. The cheese was like Velveeta. I mean I can do that at home, I don't go to a restaurant to get things I can make at home.

The best thing about Territory BBQ is that they offer free frozen pops!!!! I took two, one green and one blue pop!!!

Service is OK.

There is no reason for me to got Territory BBQ again. Overpriced, terrible BBQ. Why even bother?

Bondi BBQ-Closed

Bondi BBQ
46 Windward Ave
Venice, CA
310-392-3809

After the diaster at Glencrest BBQ, I walked down to Bondi BBQ, which bills itself as Austrailian BBQ. This isn't true, real BBQ. They do not smoke their meats but to their credit they do not bill themselves as a real BBQ place. Their menu even says their meats come right off the grill.

I got the Double Trouble, $13.95, with 2 beef ribs, 3 baby back ribs and cole slaw.
Right away I could tell this wasn't going to be good either. The ribs were drowned in a BBQ sauce that was so sweet, I thought I was eating syrup. The baby backs were pretty tender but then again they are babybacks. There was no smoke flavor at all so the sweet BBQ sauce made up for it.

The beef ribs were kind of fatty with a lot of gristle and very little meat. They again were drowned in BBQ sauce. I wasn't impressed at all.

A wasted day of trying BBQ places I haven't been to. To make matters worse it was spent in Venice, which is filled with pretentious asshole people.

Glencrest BBQ-Closed

Glencrest BBQ
1146 Abbott Kinney Blvd
Venice
310-399-9641

Glencrest BBQ is among the worst BBQ places I have ever been to. The meats are kind of smoked. But they sit around in the frig forever and then microwaved and then served. This is not how a BBQ restaurant should do things. At best ribs have a one day shelf life in the frig. Any longer and the ribs are bad.

I got the ribs dinner, $9 with double mac and cheese. I actually saw the guy take the ribs out of the frig and microwave them and then dump a store bought container of BBQ sauce on the ribs!!! The ribs were very chewy and had little flavor because they had been in the frig for so damn long. Not a good example of ribs.

Service is OK but it takes forever to get your food. Again everything is stored in the frig and then reheated. I saw what they called pulled pork, because reheated in a pan on the stove. The "pulled" pork was actually sliced!!!

I would not go back to Glencrest BBQ ever again. Besides the fact the food is terrible, it is in the pretentious neighborhood of Venice.

Western Smoke House-Closed

Western Smoke House
10640 Woodbine St
# 104
Los Angeles
310-837-3544

Western Smoke House has been on my list to try for over three months. I am rarely in that area and when I am, I will usually going somewhere else. But today I decided to go try it. I'm glad I did. Western Smoke House is a Texas style BBQ. But unlike many Texas BBQ places, they know how to BBQ pork ribs.

I got the pork ribs, $13.99, a la carte. They have a pork rib dinner for $19.99 but I don't need to be eating cole slaw or mac salad. While the ribs were a bit dry, I'm guessing they have been in the warmer a bit too long, they were very good. You will notice a nice bark and the classic smoke ring. They are smoked right. The ribs are tender and flavorful from the mesquite wood. But they aren't overpowered by the smoke.

If you go in a group, get the Texan, where you get one slab of pork ribs, and three other meats for $60!!!! The three ladies at the other table ordered the Texan and the brisket and fried chicken looked awesome.

Service is Ok. The owner is very nice, super nice. But service can be slow. I didn't get my drink and had to remind her of it. And it took awhile for the ribs to come out. Not sure why, there were only three other people there.

I would go back to Western Smoke House again. The ribs were good enough, in spite of the dryness, that I'm sure a fresh batch of ribs from the smoker would be great. The slightly higher prices for the ribs would prevent me from coming back.

Two Boots-Closed

Two Boots
1818 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles
213-413-2668

The second stop of our Pizza Crawl was Two Boots. The first stop was Pizza Buona.  Two Boots is a New York chain, that has NY style pizza with Cajun toppings. Yes, kind of a weird combination but one that works well.

I got a slice of the The Dude, a Cajun bacon cheeseburger pizza, $3.75. Tasso, ground beef, cheddar and mazzarella cheese. I didn't know what tasso was until I had this slice of pizza. Tasso is a cajun ham that has a ton of flavor. I really liked this pizza. All the flavors worked great together. A good thin crust that held up all the toppings. Wonderful combination of flavors.

I then got a slice of pepperoni, $3.75. Again a nice, firm thin crust that held the toppings. A nice spicy pepperoni and lots of gooey cheese.

The slices were huge, which is always a good thing.

Service was great. They did well serving 30 people from the Pizza Crawl. They were baking fresh pies and putting them out in the case as quickly as possible. They also answered questions, I'm sure many of the same question, in a very nice friendly manner.

I would go back to Two Boots anytime. It was wonderful!!

Pizza Buona-Moved

Pizza Buona
2100 W. Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles
213-413-0800

Update May 30, 2019- Check out my review of the new Pizza Buona- which moved a couple blocks south of their old Sunset location!

I went on a Pizza Crawl in Echo Park. We went to two places that I have never been to, Pizza Buona and Two Boots.

Pizza Buona was the first stop of the pizza crawl. A family owned store that has been around Echo Park forever, they are a no frills pizza place.

We ordred a medium pepperoni pizza,$11,70. When I first saw the pizza, I thought it was burnt. But in fact this pizza was baked just right. This was a heavy pizza, lots of toppings on thin crust. I bet the used more cheese on this pizza than four pizzas from Dominos. The cheese was nice and gooey and melted just right. Lots of pepperoni that was mild in flavor and worked well.

Service for about 30 people was great. Nice and friendly service.

I would go back to Pizza Buona anytime. Don't let the outside appearance fool you, this is a good quality pizza place with good prices.

EJ Malloys

EJ Malloys
4306 Atlantic Ave
Long Beach
562-424-5000

There are two EJ Malloys in Long Beach, one on Broadway and this location on Atlantic in the Cal Heights area of Long Beach. I'm not a fan of Mick bars but Malloys is more of a regular sports bar.

They have good food. I got the bacon cheeseburger with their gorgonzola fries, $9.95 and $1 extra for the gorgonzola fries. They ask how you want the cheeseburger cooked, I asked for medium rare and it was a bit undercooked. The burger is a half pound of beef with lettuce and thousand island dressing. The bacon had been sitting under a heating lamp. I thought the burger was pretty good, nothing great, but worth the price more for the quanity than the quality of the burger.

The gorgonzola fries are great. They are the waffle fries topped with gorgonzola cheese sauce and green onions. A nice combination of flavors with the seasoned waffle fries and tartness of the gorgonzola cheese.

Service is actually pretty good. The bar was packed because of it being Friday and I sat outside because the hottie I was having dinner with wanted to smoke. But the server came by our table and was nice and friendly.

EJ Malloys is a good place to watch a game, grab a beer and have some pretty good bar food. I would go back again though I may not order another burger.

Duke's- Huntington Beach

Duke's
317 Pacific Coast Highway
Huntington Beach
714-374-6446

I did a review of Duke's in Malibu, and now I will review the happy hour at Duke's in Huntington Beach. The Duke's in HB is right next to the pier and right on the water. It is a nice location but you gotta put up with the pretenious, asshole, jerk people of Huntington Beach.

But Duke's has a great Taco Tuesday special. Mahi Mahi tacos, either grilled or fried, for $2.50. These tacos are great. A huge piece of mahi mahi, I ordered both the grilled and fried, on top of fresh cabbage, tomato, and a white sauce. The grilled mahi mahi is very fresh, flakey, nice firm texture. The fried is firm and tasty ont he inside and has a nice thick crispy batter on the outside. All the veggies are fresh. What was missing was salsa, gucamole, and sour cream for the tacos. I saw other people get them. I got my tacos in a plastic basket with no salsa or sour cream.

Service is OK. The $2.50 tacos are only served in the bar area. But the server I had wasn't around alot and the bar area was not that crowded. So I'm not sure where she was.

I would go back to Duke's for their Taco Tuesday specials. Otherwise I wouldn't be anywhere close to Duke's.

Uncle Andre's

Uncle Andre's
11715 Moorpark St
Studio City
818-763-8414

Uncle Andre's is one of the worst fake BBQ places I have ever been to. BBQ is all about cooking the meat with the smoke of hardwoods. It is not cooking meats in a stupid oven, finishing them up on a grill, and drowning it in BBQ sauce, what I call Chilizing of BBQ.

I got the half rack of baby back ribs, $12.25. After I ordered them, I could see the cooks putting a half rack of ribs on the GRILL!!!!! The ribs were not better than any Tony Roma's or Chili's.. I knew the ribs would be hot to the touch since they were reheated on the griill. They were meaty, not much fat, since they are baby backs, and had a cumin and paprika rub on the outside. What a waste of money.

Service at Uncle Andre's SUCKS. The workers speak broken English, are rude, and not helpful at all. After I ordered the ribs, he told me the ribs would take 25 mins to be ready. WTF??? I told them I would eat there but the ribs were packaged in a to go container that had no napkins or forks or knives. I still ate there, got some napkins, forks and a knife. I finished eating but I looked around and there was no trash cans. I saw one of the workers and asked if there was a trash can. He said something but I couldn't understand what he was saying so I just left my tray there and walked out.

I will never go to Uncle Andre's again. Terrible ribs, terrible service and anybody who thinks Uncle Andre's is good BBQ, they are morons.

Sushi Koyo-Closed

Sushi Koyo
868 N Diamond Bar Blvd
Diamond Bar
909-861-6537

Updated August 30, 2015:  The Sushi Nazi, as the owner of Sushi Koyo was known, has retired and Sushi Koyo, open since 1982, is now closed.

Sushi Koyo has been in Diamond Bar for almost 30 years. When you are greeted at Sushi Koyo, they ask if this is your first time. They expain to you that sitting at the sushi bar means Omakase only. Omakase is basically chef's choice. I, of course, went with ordering off the menu. Sushi Koyo is a no non sense sushi place. There are signs that says they do no serve such things like rainbow rolls. They are a traditional sushi restaurant.

Yellowtail-$4.25 I wasn't that impressed with the yellowtail. A bit mushy and not that fresh. I wasn't impressed.

Tuna-$3.95- Loved the tuna. Very fresh piece of fish with a nice texture and flavor.

Shrimp $3.95 The sushi chef must have been a little heavy handed with the wasbi, when making these two pieces. I was feeling that burn in my mouth and throat. But the shrimp was nice and fresh. I would order this again.

Blue crab hand roll-$5.50. What really looks like tuna fish in mayo, is fresh blue crab with mayo and just a wonderful flavor. The blue crab was filled through the entire roll, not just what you see on top. I was impressed and would order it again.

Service is good but then again we were the only two people ordering off the menu.

Sushi Koyo has a 10% off sushi, if you ordered $25 or more.

I would go back to Sushi Koyo anytime, though I would stay away from the yellowtail. I have reviewed two other sushi restaurants in Diamond Bar, Kyala Sushi and Yoko Yoko. Sushi Koyo is by far the best.