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.

Taste Chicago-Closed

Taste Chicago
603 N Hollywood Way
Burbank
818.563.2800

Maybe it's because the Chicago White Sox are in the World Series but I was hungry for some more Chicago style hot dogs. So I decide to go to Taste Chicago in Burbank. Big mistake. First there were three accidents driving there, bunch of idiots driving and not paying attention. Next I get to Taste of Chicago and six people are in front of me in line and only one person taking orders. So after about a twenty minute wait I order a Chicago Dog with no peppers and you had to request the bright green relish for $3.84.

After another ten minute wait for the food, my Chicago dog finally arrives. As I was watching the guy behind the counter make the hot dog, he put the peppers onto my hot dog then looked at the order and took the peppers off. The bun was a plain hot dog bun no the poppyseed bun that are standard for Chicago dogs. The hot dog was flavorless and bland. The toppings were pretty fresh but didn't make up for the lack of flavor of the hot dog.

Not impressed at all. This place is very expensive and not worth the wait or the drive out there. I wouldn't go back. Not a good example of Chicago style hot dogs.

Carneys

Carneys
12601 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA
818-761-8300

Carney's is my third and final stop to celebrate the Chicago White Sox winning the 2005 ALCS. My other two stops were Cupid's and QT Chicago Dogs.

As you can see Carneys is a very unique location, a renovated train. A nice way to stand out. Today though some idiot got into an accident right in front of the parking lot entrance to Carneys. Oh well, plenty of street parking so that isn't too much of a problem.

Still continuing the Chicago theme, I went to Carney's to try their Chicagoan Hot Dog and Spicy Polish. The Chicagoan Hot Dog was $2.44. The hot dog comes with on a steamed bun which made the bun a little soggy. The hot dog was pretty good but as you can see it isn't a true Chicago Dog, no pickles, tomatoes, or celery salt. But relish and onions were fresh. Overall a good hot dog but I think Cupid's is a better hot dog and a better deal.

Then I tried the Chicagoan Polish Dog grilled for $3.36. When you asked for it grilled, they will split it in half and put it on the grill. Not bad but the polish dog certainly wasn't spicy. I think a little overpriced and not worth it. Mustard's in better.

There were many people who ordered burgers during the time I was there. I may go back and try a burger. I would pass on the hot dogs or polish dogs.

QT Chicago Dogs-Closed

QT Chicago Dogs
8650 Reseda Blvd.
Northridge, CA 91324
818-993-1999

Just down the street from Cupid's, is QT Chicago Dogs. My second stop on my hot dog quest, to honor the Chicago White Sox winning the ALCS.

A jumbo Chicago Dog is $2.69. But that's without natural casing. A natural casing Chicago dog is a $1 more. But I decided just to try to regular Chicago Dog first. A Chicago dog has onions, very green relish, mustard, pickles, tomotoes, celery salt and hot peppers. I always get my Chicago Dogs without the peppers.

The jumbo Chicago Dog is decent sized. But I wasn't impressed with this Chicago Dog. The other toppings seems fresh but I don't know, something is missing. When I went to Mustard's and had their Chicago Dogs, I felt I was in Chicago watching the White Sox at Comiskey Park. At QT I felt I was in LA eating a a restaurant that was trying to copy the Chicago Dog.

Nice service, friendly people but I wasn't impressed with the hot dogs. So much so, that I didn't order a polish dog as I normally do.

I may try the Chicago Dog with natural casing but $3.49 is kinda of steep compared to other places

Cupid's Hot Dogs

Cupid’s Hot Dogs
9039 Lindley Ave.
Northridge, CA

To celebrate the Chicago White Sox winning the 2005 ALCS and going to the World Series, I decided to do a hot dog run. First stop was Cupid's in Northridge. Then QT Chicago Dogs, and the last stop was Carney's, in Studio City.

Cupid's is just south of Cal State Northridge and offers a very simple menu. Hot dogs with mustard, onions and chili. On request, ketchup and relish can be added. Cheese is 25 cents extra. The only other thing on the menu is soda.

I ordered one hot dog with everything and one hot dog with mustard and raw onions. I had the mustard and onions hot dog first. Very good stuff. The hot dog had a nice snap, good flavor, and was hot. The bun wasn't toasted or anything, just out of the bag. The onions were fresh and I did enjoy the hot dog. For $2 it's a good deal.

What isn't a good deal is the everything dog. The everything dog has chili, mustard and onions. The chili tastes like the chili Del Taco puts on their chili cheese fries, had a Mexican spices flavor to it. And I hate thin, runny chili, AKA chili water. I was not impressed. The hot dog itself had the same snap and was served hot. The everything dog is also $2.

I would go again to Cupid's but I would not order anything with chili

Hacienda Village Meats

Hacienda Village Meats
2021 S. Hacienda Blvd.
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
626-330-5555

I had plan to try the sandwiches from this Italian Deli but with the rain I decided to try a pasta dish. Big mistake. I ordered the chicken parmigana with spaghetti instead of the penne pasta for $6.45. The chicken were like very thin chicken fingers. They were kind of tough and not tender. The sauce was so thin I could almost drink it with a straw. The garlic bread seemed more like buttered toast, garlic flavor was lacking. The only good thing I can say about this the chicken parmigana is that they do give you good portions.

I will try some of their sandwiches next time. The meats and breads look very fresh. But I will not have a chicken parmigana sandwich.

Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken- Long Beach-Closed

Property of The New Diner

Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken
1004 PCH
Long Beach, CA 90806
562-218-7778

Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken is a very good fried chicken. A nice crunchy skin with a nice kick of spice. I only ordered two breast pieces for $3.50. Very good flavor and moist.

I believe this is a chain but is much better than Popeye's or Church's.

Nick's Taste of Texas-Closed

Nick's Taste of Texas
545 N Citrus Ave
Covina, CA 91723-1508
(626) 331-2824

A Tex-Mex place near the Covina stop of the the Metrolink. Nick's Taste of Texas is ok. The ribs are slow roasted in an oven and then finished on the grill. Nothing great about the ribs. They have a combo that gets you four beef and four pork ribs for about $16. The ribs are very chewy and tough. The BBQ sauce is along the lines of a sloppy joe.

Monday Night Football special gets you a $4.25 One Pound Hamburger. The burger is pretty dry.

Service can be slow. I wouldn't go back here for the BBQ.

I may try some of their Tex Mex items. The tacos look good.

Great Wall Mongolian BBQ-Closed

Great Wall Mongolian BBQ 1261 S Harbor Blvd Ste A, La Habra, CA 90631 (714) 680-3569

Mongolian BBQ is where you choose the vegetables and meats and oils then a BBQ chef will quickly cook those ingredients on a large flat grill. Some chefs even put on a good show while cooking your meal.

I love this place. The vegetables are so fresh you think they just picked them from the fields that morning. Almost any kind of vegetable are there for your enjoyment. The meats are frozen and are lean. They offer, beef, pork, chicken, and lamb. They have all kinds of oils and sauces to mix with your meats and vegetables. Best of all, the bowls they use are huge so you can stuff as much of the fresh ingredients as you want.

They offer a pocket biscuit which you can stuff your meats and vegetables into. A Mongolian version of a Pegorie.

They offer an all you can eat dinner for $7.25. A single serving dinner is about $6.00. As you can see on the picture lunch is $4.50 for a single serving.

Update: Sept 14, 2005

They are very paranoid about anybody taking pictures. After I took the picture of the meats and vegetables island, the owner told me, Sorry no pictures. So I couldn't take a picture of the chefs. But as you can see the bowls are huge.

Still the best Mongolian BBQ around. And nobody can beat their prices. $10 for all you can eat include any soda.

Donahoo's Golden Chicken - Pomona

Donahoo's Golden Chicken
1074 N. Garey Ave.
Pomona CA 91767
909-622-3213

Update August 27, 2012

I went back to Donahoo's and posted another review at The New Diner 2.

Donahoo's Golden Chicken is a Pomona landmark. They have changed ownership the past few years, but everybody I've talked says the quality is still the same. The chicken are made to order, so you may be in for a wait. So called ahead. This is a take out place only.

I ordered Chicken Dinner for $7.45 tax included. Four pieces of chicken (breast, wing, thigh and leg) with fries, salad and a roll. The chicken was fried to a very nice golden brown. The chicken was very moist and flavorful. The skin had a very nice crunch and a nice taste of spices. Fries are good, htough nothing to write home about. But I don't go to a fried chicken place for fries. One thing I do like is they do not put any salt on the fries.

I really like Donahoo's and I would go back again and again. There are also Donahoo's in Riverside and Ontario.

L.B.Q.-Closed

LBQ
1782 Martin Luther King Jr Ave.
Long Beach
562-218-0040

A nice small BBQ restaurant just south of PCH on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. I really like their sauce. Not too sweet and has the right level of spice.

The lunch order of the pork ribs is pictured. $6.98 with two sides. A very good price and as you can tell by the picture, the ribs are huge. Nice smoke flavor and tender. Good quality and good prices make this the best BBQ in the area.

Service is pretty good. This is a small place and can get crowded quickly. But you get your food quickly and the people are nice.

I would go back to LBQ anytime. People who go to Lucille's or Naples Ribs are getting second rate BBQ. LBQ has the best BBQ in LB.

Donahoo's Golden Chicken Ontario

Donahoo's Golden Chicken
1117 N Grove Ave,
Ontario, CA 91764
(909) 983-4319

Update August 26, 2012

I went back to Donahoo's and posted another review at The New Diner 2.

I have been to the Donahoo's in Riverside and Donahoo's in Pomona. So Today, June 30th, I went to Donahoo's Ontario location to see if there is any difference in quality. The owner in Ontario told me he's bought his store from the Donahoo's and has owned the store since 1965. I also found out that there are three Donahoo's. Pomona, Ontario, and Riverside. I ordered two breast pieces for about $4.30. The chicken was hot and fresh. But not as crunchy or seasoned as the Pomona location. But still good tasting chicken. I prefer the Pomona location. But I would go to the Ontario location again without any hang ups. Maybe later this summer, I will go to the Riverside location and post a review.

Update: Today September 26th I went back and ordered two breast pieces so I can take a picture. The chicken was a little undercooked. The older man wanted to take out the chicken about five minutes before the actually came out. I could tell just by looking the chicken wasn't done. Not a good thing for the chicken to be undercooked. Not sure if I would go back

Jaybee's BBQ

Jaybee's BBQ
15915 S. Avalon Blvd
LA, CA
310-532-1064

I went to Jaybees back in April and again on Fri, Aug. 5th. As always I had the large order of pork ribs with double potatoe salad. I was little disappointed this time. The first time I got five huge pieces of ribs with a wonderful rub and sauce that was a little on the sweeet site. I thought the ribs were great, nice smokey flavor and done just right ro me, which is a little chewy but not falling off the bone tender.

When I went on Friday, I got small pieces of rib with little meat on the bone. They also didn't take the membrane off the back of the ribs. That was weird because they did take the membrane off the first time I went. The ribs had the smokey flavor and they were a little chewy and not falling off the bone.

I'm not sure if I would go back to Jaybee's. The inconsistency of the food isn't something that makes me want to go back again soon. Plus there are tons of other BBQ places that I want to try.

While driving to a friend's house, I saw there there was an M & M Soul Food on Avalon Blvd, across from the Home Depot Center. Since I will be going to the Home Depot Center I may have lunch at the M & M and give a review.

Update Nov 4, 2009.




Well I haven't seen the hottie in a long time, matter of fact since seeing her at Famous Dave's Pitt BBQ in Long Beach. So we decided to have lunch at Jaybee's BBQ. She comes walking up to Jaybee's and I'm in awe, she looked so hot!!

I wanted to some how tie in Top Chef Las Vegas into my review. One of the episodes this season involved the chefs cooking for the Thunderbirds at Nellis Air Force Base. The chefs were using items in the mess hall. They didn't get to go shopping for any of the food made in the episode. So this was a tough competition.

There were two chefs that really impressed me that day. Kevin, who made a pulled pork that the judges loved, mentioned all the male members of his family had served in the military was most impressive. Preeti, who would get cut at the end of this episode, mentioned that Sept 11th was her defining moment in wanting to become a chef. Yes, this is a competition but the real purpose was feeding American soldiers who are or who have come back from war. Almost all the chefs gave it their all. Only one chef, who I will talk about later, was a douchebag.

Jennifer was the chef in charge during this episode and she was clueless!! Sure she took charge in the kitchen. But her menu choices sucked. Hello, clueless Jennifer, it is 100 damn degrees in Vegas, why do you have two hot dishes? Chili and clam chowder? Tell your fellow chefs, it is hot outside and we should stay away from hot food items on the menu like chili and clam chowder. Make something light and refreshing!!!! Even though I think Jennifer is clueless, she doesn't really bother me, OK, OK, during an episode with dingbat Natalie Portman, Jennifer was so nervous serving food and at judge's table. Get a grip woman. Otherwise she is OK.

Now I can't stand a few of the douchebag chefs on the show. Mike I. is a douchebag and a moron. He is plain and simple an arrogant asshole. He made a terrible "Greek" salad for this episode, hey idiot, Greek salad don't have shrimp in it and does have feta cheese. But the worst part was his douchebag attitude and arrogance. He said something to the affect that I wasn't really happy with it anyways. One of the hosts, Padma, said, "Well then you shouldn't have served it." Though he didn't get cut that night, though he should have, and it took awhile, it was a great night when this douchebag was cut. He even lost on a vegetarian episode and his mom was vegan!!! For all his douchebag arrogance, he deserved to get out much sooner. I would never go to a restaurant this douchebag worked at.

Ash is another douchebag. I can't believe how much he kiss one of the Voltaggio brother's ass!!! I mean, he should have just tucked him in and kiss him goodnight. What a douchebag!!! He needs a dose of confidence!!!

Mike and Brian Voltaggio may have the woman dreaming but both are douchebags. I will give them credit because their younger sister is in the Air Force and they wanted to do well because of that. One of the brothers, I can't tell the difference between these two douchebags, lost to Kevin in a vegetarian episode but instead of losing with class he acted like an asshole. He was such a sore loser, I'm surprised he didn't go suck his thumb and cry. Douchebag. One of the brothers was the winner of The Thunderbirds episode because he made some great bacon. Kevin, came in second but was a classy winner. Not a douchebag.

So as a way to work in this Top Chef episode and Kevin making that great BBQ pork dish, I got the pork shoulder sandwich and the brisket sandwich, each was $5.10.

Readers of The New Diner know I love pork ribs. I rarely order sandwiches from BBQ restaurants. Most BBQ places just drown their pulled or chopped pork and brisket with BBQ sauce, making it almost like a sloppy joe. I hate sloppy joe!!! Maybe it was because I had so much mystery meat sloppy joes for lunch as a kid but I can't stand them. Many BBQ sandwiches remind me of sloppy joes, so I rarely order them. Today I got two BBQ sandwiches, pork and brisket and got sauce on the side.

The pork shoulder sandwich was OK. The chopped pork didn't have much smoke flavor and a bit dry, even after I added sauce. The pork was tender but there were pieces that were burnt. I wasn't too impressed with this sandwich.

The brisket sandwich had more smoke flavor. The brisket was tender and fairly juicy but not as juicy as I would like. I added a small amount of BBQ sauce and it did add some moisture to the sandwich.

Service was pretty good. The lady was nice and friendly.

I know Jaybee's has been on the Food Network with that loudmouthed jerk but I'm still not impressed. It is ok but nothing I would go out of my way for. Well unless I could see the hottie again!!

Angelo's Drive In

Angelo’s
511 State College Blvd.
Anaheim CA 92806
714-533-1401

Angelo's has been rated by many online and newspaper reviews as one of the best burger places in the Orange Curtain. I am not impressed with their burgers. I think the old time feeling of waitresses on rollerskates and a jukebox somehow influences the people into thinking the burgers are great.

I ordered the Burger Basketball special with onions rings and a small drink for $4.85 tax included. The burger is very dry and lacks any type of flavor. The meat is so thin, I'm reminded of the old lady in the commercials where she says "Where's the beef?"

The onions rings I was served seemed as though they were sitting under a heat lamp for the last hour.

Service was very friendly and the waitress was nice eye candy but I wouldn't go back for the burgers. I would go back to try some of the sandwiches on the menu.

Tonight was Monday Night Football and the crowd seemed to pick up around 6:30pm. When I got there about 6:15 I had the entire indoor section almost to myself. But by the time I finished eating almost every table was filled. They have $1 special on Mondays for jr. burgers, hot dog, corn dog, small fries and onion rings. $3 large domestic beers and $2 small domestic beers during the game.

A nice atmosphere, nice waitress, OK burgers. If it wasn't for the friendly service, I wouldn't bother coming back to try any of their other items.

Woody’s BBQ-Rancho Cucamonga-Closed

Property of The New Diner


Woody’s BBQ
11897 Foothill Blvd
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730-3910
909-291-8125

This is one of three locations, the other locations being Inglewood and LA.

I have been to the Rancho location four times. Three of those times I got the pork ribs dinner. They give you 4-5 pieces of ribs and they ribs are very meaty. The sauce is good but a little on the spicy side. The ribs are tender but I find they lack a smoke flavor. Pictured is the pork rib dinner with two sides, baked beans and potatoe salad for $11.26. Again good size ribs with lots of meat. But I still can't taste any smoke flavor. The beans are drowned in the bbq. The potatoe salad is served cold. Which I like. But both the baked beans and potatoe salad aren't anything to write home about.

The other time I went to Woody's a buddy and I did a taste test. We tried Woody's, Redhill and Wilhitte's all at once. We got the three meat combo from each place, pork ribs, beef ribs, and sliced beef. The beef at Woody's is very good. First they use tri-tip instead of the more fatty, brisket. They also slow smoke the beef for a long time, so it comes out nice and tender. I rarely order sliced or chopped beef at BBQ restaurants, but I would order Woody's sliced beef.

The Rancho location is on the north side of the minor league baseball stadium. But I wouldn't go to a game there anymore. The last time I went, my car was broken into and the help by the stadium officials and police was sorely lacking.