Lucille's-Brea

Lucille's
1639 Imperial Hwy
Brea
714-990-4944

Lucille's was the top rated BBQ place by Nine on the Town. Too bad Nine on the Town didn't go to South Central LA to find the best BBQ. But Lucille's caters to the suburban BBQ lovers and they do a great business. Too bad they don't do a good BBQ.

I ordered the half rack of St. Louis Spare ribs, with corn and mac and cheese, for about $25 with tax and tip. The ribs are baked in an oven, then grilled to make them hot, smothered in a sweet, sticky BBQ sauce and then served. They have three different BBQ sauces at your table, a regular, spicy and a Memphis BBQ sauce. I only tried the Memphis and it was actually damn good, one of the better BBQ sauces I've had. It's has a spicy flavor that really kicks in. I like it. I didn't care for the ribs too much. They were fairly meaty but they were a little chewy and lacked any smoke flavor. In the last picture you do not see the classic smoke ring. The corn was steamed/boiled and then grilled. It was OK, not sweet but tender. The mac and cheese was pretty bland. They need to add something to it.

Service was good, except for the fact the waitress forgot the wet towels after dinner. She was attentive, helpful and friendly so I won't hold forgetting the wet towels against her.

I would not go back to Lucille's. The ribs are decent but not worth the $19.95 menu price. They do get very busy, so expect a 30-45 minute wait during dinner. One plus for Lucille's instead of giving mints they give out Tootsie pops, including the blue raspberry, which I didn't know they made.

Please note, if you're going to comment about Lucille's or any other BBQ place I've reviewed, spare me the "You should try the brisket or the pulled pork." Those comments will be deleted. I have already stated I only go to BBQ place for PORK SPARE RIBS. There are many other blogs that review the other meats served at BBQ places. Or create your own blog. My blog will only review the PORK RIBS.

That's Amore-Closed

That's Amore 

11223 First Ave. 

Whittier 

562-943-6266 

 That's Amore is a nice pizza place that caters to the local sports teams and kids parties. I went on a Thursday and surprisingly there were a lot of parties going on. I went with a buddy after watching his son play JV football. The kid had a Caesar salad and a meatball sandwich and my buddy and I had a large pepperoni pizza with two sodas for about $31. The pizza was actually pretty good. The pizza is made in those roller ovens. I'm not sure of the exact name but you put the pizza in on one end and then it rolls through the over and comes out nice and hot at the other end. Some pizza purists do not feel that's the right way to make a pizza. But I don't give a damn. The pizza had lots of cheese, about the same amount as other pizza place's extra cheese and a decent amount of pepperoni. The crust was a regular crust. The pizza was good but nothing great. The listed menu price is $14.50, which is about average for most pizza places. Service is bad. Placing your order at the counter is fine. The young ladies taking the order are very nice and helpful. They greet custumers and are friendly. But, the kid ordered a salad and a meatball sandwich. The salad should come first. But the pizza came first and we had to remind the girl about the salad and meatball sandwich. The meatball sandwich came next. But we had to remind the girl about the salad. Then after a five minute wait, the kid finally got the salad!!!! People shouldn't have to remind the server what we ordered and it shouldn't take that long for a salad and meatball sandwich to arrive. I wouldn't make a special trip to That's Amore. Plenty of other good pizza places closer to me. But if I were in the area I would order a pizza to go. They have a huge pizza called the Pizzamus Maximus, which has 20 slices, for $30 with one topping.

Tasty Q Bar-B-Que-Closed

Tasty Q Bar-B-Que
2959 Crenshaw Blvd,
L.A. CA 90016
(323) 735-8325

Tasty Q is housed in what looks like a former Taco Bell.

I ordered the mini-dinner pork ribs with double cole slaw for $8.39. The four ribs were just OK. The ribs seem like they are grilled over hickory instead of being smoked. Which makes for a pretty tough piece of rib and only a decent smoke flavor. The ribs also had a lot of fat on them. The only thing I really liked about the ribs was the spicy rub they put on. But after the first bite it goes downhill from there.

The BBQ sauce has a spice that really overpowers the sauce. You can't taste anything else. I'm not sure what the spice maybe but it's too strong and overpowering for my tastes.

Tasty Q also serves turkey legs, turkey necks and other soul food options.

The people are friendly and service is good. But the food isn't anything to write home about.

With Phillips and J & J within five miles of Tasty Q, the only reason to go to Tasty Q would be if the other places were closed.

Please note, if you're going to comment about Tasty Q or any other BBQ place I've reviewed, spare me the "You should try the brisket or the pulled pork." Those comments will be deleted. I have already stated I only go to BBQ place for PORK SPARE RIBS. There are many other blogs that review the other meats served at BBQ places. Or create your own blog. My blog will only review the PORK RIBS.

J&J Burger & Bar B Que-Closed

J&J Burger & Bar B Que
5754 Adams Blvd.
LA, CA 90016
323-934-5390

Ok, nothing great to look at from the outside. But never judge a book by it's cover. Or in this case a BBQ restaurant by it's exterior. This is one of the best BBQ places in LA. J&J Burger & Bar B Que is on Adams, a block east of Fairfax. They have about six plastic outdoor table to eat there but mostly J & J is a take out place.

Pictured is the pork ribs, lunch portion, with potato salad for $5.41. You get 3-4 ribs for lunch and 5-6 ribs for dinner. The ribs were nice and well smoked and very meaty. There was a little more fat than the last few times I went but the ribs were still very good. Not mushy and falling off the bone but very tender and flavorful. It's pretty easy to tell they use real wood to smoke their meats, there is a place that sells all kinds of wood that is used for smoking.

The mild BBQ sauce has a good flavor throughout. There isn't a kick at the end but a flavor and adds well to the ribs.

Very friendly service. But it does take awhile for them to prepare your order. But it's well worth the wait.

The only thing I do not like about J & J is their times. They close about 6:30pm everyday. That's too early!!! And they close on Sundays. It's hard to get to J & J during the week with LA traffic.

Please note, if you're going to comment about J &J's or any other BBQ place I've reviewed, spare me the "You should try the brisket or the pulled pork." Those comments will be deleted. I have already stated I only go to BBQ place for PORK SPARE RIBS. There are many other blogs that review the other meats served at BBQ places. So if you want those reviews go to those blogs. My blog will only review the PORK RIBS.

Steve's BBQ

Steve's BBQ
7007 Greenleaf Ave.
Whittier
562-789-0200

I found out that Steve's has a $6.99 all you can eat, lunch special, Wed-Fri. So I was in the area and decided to give it a try. Steve's is in Uptown Whittier and there is parking in the back.

The buffet is set up with somebody piling your plate with whatever you want. They have everything from bbq spare ribs, chicken, chips and salsa, salad bar, and some Mexican dishes.

The first picture shows the BBQ spare ribs, BBQ chicken leg and broccoli. The ribs are not smoked but baked in an oven and just covered with a sweet BBQ sauce. They were overcooked, falling off the bone, which I'm not a fan of. They had a lot of meat on them but also a lot of fat. The sauce is too sweet for my taste.

The BBQ chicken was also very soft and overcooked. They only have leg quarters, no white meat during the buffet.

The broccoli was also mushy as if they were on the steam table for too long. I prefer my vegetables crispy.

The best part of the buffet at Steve's was the macaroni salad. WOW was it good. First of all it's served hot, which is different than almost every other mac salad I've had at a BBQ place. The mac salad has peas, carrots and huge pieces of ham in it. But the best part is the stroganoff-like creamy topping, which is so good. By far the best macaroni salad I've ever had.

Service is very good. The lady who is behind the steam table was very friendly and she kept asking if the amount she put on my plate was enough. She would have piled my plate with tons of ribs if I wanted.

Steve's is an OK BBQ place. Nothing great but it caters to the area, meaning suburbanites!!! I wouldn't go back to Steve's for the BBQ. I would go back for the mac salad.

Please note, if you're going to comment about Steve's BBQ or any other BBQ place I've reviewed, spare me the "You should try the brisket or the pulled pork." Those comments will be deleted. I have already stated I only go to BBQ place for PORK SPARE RIBS. There are many other blogs that review the other meats served at BBQ places. So if you want those reviews go to those blogs. My blog will only review the PORK RIBS.

Mr. Wok-Closed

Mr. Wok
326 Diamond Bar Blvd.
Diamond Bar
909-396-8551

Mr. Wok is a neighborhood fast food Chinese place, with food on steam trays and people ordering 1, 2, or 3 item combinations. I ordered the half rice and half chow mein with teriyaki chicken and mushroom chicken for $5.40.

The rice has some cabbage, carrots, and peas. Nothing great just your run of the mill fried rice. The chow mein is kinda of greasy and is just noodles and some cabbage mixed in.

The mushroom chicken is on the right side in the pictures. The chicken was bad. First of all there isn't that much chicken, mostly it's filled with potatoes, zucchini, and mushrooms. Which are cut up big so it makes it looks as though you're getting a lot. There was a very small amount of chicken and the chicken was pretty bland and tough. Not good. The fillers were good but it shouldn't be 75% fillers and 25% chicken.

The teriyaki chicken, they can't put in any fillers. But the chicken was cold!!!! It wasn't even luke warm, just cold!!!. The steam must not have been working!! The chicken was also bland and flavorless, even if you added the teriyaki sauce.

Service was good. I was greeted quickly and I told him what I wanted. He quickly filled the order and it was nice. But I would not go back. How can any hot item be served cold??? It just shouldn't happen. I also don't like the idea of adding big chucks of fillers to make it appear like you're getting a lot.

Los Sanchez

Los Sanchez
11906 Garden Grove Blvd.
Garden Grove
714-590-9300

Los Sanchez used to be on Harbor, near Orangewood for 27 years, until the city of Garbage Grove whored themselves and allowed a much needed hotel to be built when Los Sanchez used to be. If that sound like it's happened before, you're right. They torn down Belisle's, a great restaurant that used to have huge portions and is older than Mickey and Minnie's house so that Outback Steakhouse and a hotel could open up.

But unlike Belisle's, Los Sanchez has been able to reopen. Los Sanchez closed down in February but reopened at this new location about three weeks ago. They are known for good prices and huge portions.

I ordered a carnitas burrito with beans and cheese for about $5.00. The menu price is $4.50 and cheese is 35 cents extra. They are called super burritos because they are huge, as you can see in the picture. They are stuffed with carnitas, beans and cheese, wrapped in a flour tortilla. I didn't like the carnitas as much because they were boiled with little flavor or spices, just too bland for my tastes. I have had their carne asada taco and burrito before and it was very good, with good flavor and spices.

Service is good and fast. The people are very nice and great you warmly. They want to make sure your experience is a good one. Lines can by long but they move fast, as they will have 3-4 cashiers taking orders. The restaurant is very clean and there is somebody always walking around clearing off tables.

I would go back to Los Sanchez but I would not order a carnitas burrito.

Billy's-Glendale-Closed

Billy's
216 Orange St.
Glendale
818-246-1689

I haven't been to Billy's in over ten years. But I remembered Billy's being a very good deli. So since I was in the area, I decided to go back to Billy's and try their sandwiches again. I'm glad I did go back to Billy's after going to Canter's about a week ago.

I ordered the #16 combo for about $14 tax and tip included. The sandwich is suppose to be brisket, corned beef, swiss cheese and dressing. But I asked for pastrami instead of brisket and they gladly made the substitution. All sandwiches include a side and I choosed cole slaw. About two minutes later my sandwich comes. The meat are staked so high and I was impressed. The swiss cheese and dressing were put on the pastrami. I took a bite out of the pastrami and it was much better than the pastrami at Canter's. The pastrami was tender and wasn't salty at all. It had a little more fat than I like but overall the pastrami is first rate. The swiss cheese added a nice nutty flavor. The dressing, which is Thousand Island dressing, wasn't as tangy as many thousland island dressings I've had. A much more mild flavor to this dressing which also added to the taste of the sandwich.

I next had the corned beef and wow, was it great. Tender, not stringy, flavorful and lean. Maybe the best corned beef sandwich in LA. The rye bread was soft and fresh and the crust was hard at all. I personally don't understand why people like the crust hard on bread.

I also really like the cole slaw. This cole slaw wasn't soaked with mayo. It was basically some kind of pickled cabbage. Not too tart or sweet. But very fresh and crispy cabbage. If BBQ places could make cole slaw like this!!!

Service was good though she could have filled my glass of water a little faster and checked more often. But when I paid, there were four or five people in front of me and only one cashier!!!

I would go back to Billy's. The parking structure next door to Billy's offers 2 free hours of parking with validation.

Quality Seafood

Quality Seafood
130 South International Boardwalk
Redondo Beach
310-374-2382

I heard about the Lobster Festival at the Port of LA this weekend, Sept 15-17 and another Lobster Festival in Redondo Beach next weekend, Sept 22-24. While trying to decide which Lobster Fest to go to, I found that Quality Seafood on the Redondo Beach Pier is offering a $15 lobster dinner for the entire month of September. The Lobster Festivals cost about $8 for admission and $17 for a Maine lobster meal. The admission price includes the live bands and other booths but who cares about that stuff, I just want the lobster. So I decide to go to Quality Seafood.

Quality Seafood is really three to four different sections. One section they sell fried seafood. Another section they sell oysters and clams. Another has the shellfish. The fried section looked good, so I ordered one piece of fried fish, one fried shrimp, and a fish taco for $7.25. The fried items aren't fried to order but allowed to sit under heat lamp. That doesn't make for a crunchy or fresh piece of shrimp or fish. The fried shrimp was pretty bad. The shrimp was very small but it's just covered with tons of batter. The batter was very greasy and nasty tasting. I torn off the extra pieces of batter and just ate the shrimp, which was ok but nothing special. I would much rather have fried shrimp from almost anywhere else. The cocktail sauce is really just ketchup.

The fish was a little better, as there wasn't as much batter but it was soggy and pretty bland. The tartar sauce is packaged and is mostly mayo. Again I would rather go to a H. Salt or Mr. Fish and Chips or The Olde Ship for their fried fish.

The fish taco was actually pretty good, as the spicy salsa and the mild white sauce covered up the taste of the fish. The fish is the same fried fish but is covered with fresh cabbage, a medium spicy salsa, and a white sauce. It's pretty big and I was stuffed after having the fried fish, fried shrimp and fish taco. But I wanted to have at least some of the lobster while it was nice and hot. So I cracked open a claw.

The lobster is steamed and takes about 30 minutes. There are already cooked lobsters served cold but I wanted a freshly steamed lobster. The lobster comes with butter and corn on the cobb. The lobster is pretty good, tender, not too tough but on the salty side. The lobster is steamed in a steamer, not a pot of hot water, so I'm wondering what gave the lobster such a salty taste? The lobster is 1.25lb but the meat is much smaller than the size of the shell, when I cracked opened the claw, I was expecting a huge piece of meat but it was about a third the size of the claw. If you eat there, either bring your own mallets and nut crackers. They require a $3 deposit for their mallets.

Service is pretty damn good and fast. It was crowded there and the outdoor picnic tables can fill up pretty quickly but people also finish quickly. An added bonus they serve beer!!!!

I'm glad I made the trip to Quality Seafood. I know that I would not order the fried items but having crabs and shrimp steamed is the way to go. The crab, including my favorite, Maryland blue crab, looked very good. I wouldn't order the lobster unless it was $15.

El Cholo-La Habra

El Cholo
840 Whittier Blvd.
La Habra
562-691-4618

El Cholo has been around since 1923. They also have locations in Pasadena and LA, which I believe is the original location. The La Habra location looks like a mission, complete with the bell tower. It's a very popular restaurant with a fairly small parking lot, so park on Whittier Blvd.

I had the chicken chimichangas for $14 tax and tip included. The chimichangas weren't the traditional burrito deep fried. They were shaped as egg rolls and then deep fried. The filling was just chicken which was boiled and bland, just no flavor to it. The tortilla was flakey, crispy and light and I would rate the tortilla better than Casa Jimenez. But the chimichangas at Casa Jimenez, which was stuffed with flavorful beef, beans and rice, was overall much better.

Service was fast and friendly. But it's a very busy place and it can be quite loud in there.

I wouldn't go back to El Cholo. The food is good enough but nothing special. I think the main problem with El Cholo is that they cater to a mostly gringo crowd. A sure sign it's an average or worse Mexican restaurant. Even if I was in the area, I would go over the hill to Casa Jimenez, which has better food and much lower prices.

Newport Seafood

Newport Seafood
18441 Colima Rd.
Rowland Heights
626-839-1239

The Newport Seafood in Santa Ana, that I went to a few years after this review, is owned by a different company than the original Newport Seafood.

I normally do not want to be social around September 11th. With the 5th anniversary of Sept. 11th coming up, I changed my way of thinking. Sure I am still very angry and sadden by what happened. I don't need reminders about that horrible day. I WILL NEVER FORGET. But being angry and bitter doesn't do me any good and more importantly it doesn't honor the memory of all the innocent people who were killed that terrible day. So I figured I would go and enjoy the company of a new found, fellow foodie and the food of Newport Seafood. Great company and great food always make a great combination. Newport Seafood provided the great food and my fellow foodie provided great conversation and company. All the while I had these two songs in my mind Calling All Angels and Proud to be an American.


We ordered the Newport Special crab and the shrimp with curry sauce, white rice, and two beers was about $47 with tip. The crab is listed as seasonal price, which tonight was around $9lb.

The Newport special crab is steamed and then topped with the special sauce, green onions and jalapeno. It made for a spicy wonderful dish. The crab was steamed just right and it was the so flavorful. It was messy but worth it.

The shrimp with curry sauce was label hot and spicy but I found it a notch below mild, and I'm not one for anything over medium spicy. The shrimp were large and tender. The curry was very good with a spicy but not too spicy flavor. The onions, green and red peppers added to the dish helped add color and a crunch to the dish.

Service was good but you do get the impression they want you to order, eat and get out as soon as possible. We sat down and barely took a look at the menu when a waiter came by to take our order. But we were so busy talking, we didn't really decide what we wanted. They must have came by 3-4 times asking if we were ready. They could give us some time to actually look at the menu. The food was served quickly and was served hot.

I would go back to Newport Seafood anytime.

Update 6-25-08




I went back to Newport Seafood for their Newport Special lobster, $15 per pound. I got a 5lb lobster for three people. The Newport Special is made with lots and lots of black pepper, ginger, garlic, and green onions. But the black pepper really overpowered everything. They used finely ground pepper. course ground pepper and even half peppercorns.

The lobster was tasty but a bit tough and of course had the overwhelming pepper flavor. I did enjoy the lobster because I like pepper but next time I'll ask them to go easy on the pepper.

Service was below average since the server actually left while I was ordering. What the hell kind of service is that?

Canter's Deli

Canter’s Deli
419 North Fairfax
LA
323-651-2030

Canter's has been in LA since 1924. Since I was near Canter's I decided to try their pastrami sandwich. The pastrami was $10.55 and was stacked with lean cuts of pastrami, on rye bread. The pastrami was a little on the dry side, I put some regular yellow mustard to add some moisture, and was sort of lukewarm. I wasn't too happy with that. I wanted a hot pastrami sandwich. I didn't think the pastrami was overwhelming but much better than Johnny's in Culver City. I really liked the rye bread with it's crunchy crust and soft bread.

Service was good. I sat at the counter and while it took a while before I got a drink, I wasn't ignored. The server acknowledged me and said he would be right there. Nothing worse than sittting at a restaurant and the servers not talking to you. The order came up quickly but the pastrami wasn't hot, it was lukewarm.

If I went back to Canter's I would order another sandwich. I wasn't too impressed with the pastrami. I would rather go to The Hat in Glendora or The Hat in Alhambra for pastrami. I will soon review the pastrami at Langer's, which I've already been to but wasn't impressed with.

The Gumbo Pot

The Gumbo Pot
6333 W. Third St.
LA
323-933-0358

After a tour of the art work along the Gold Line, I decided to go to Farmer's Market and Canter's Deli, taking the trains and buses. The trip to Farmer's Market from Union Station took about 30 mins, which is great. The bus dropped me off right in front of the Farmer's Market on Fairfax.

So I go to The Gumbo Pot. Now I hate gumbo but I love Cajun/New Orleans style cooking. I ordered the shrimp plater for $8.12, that included cornbread and a salad. Shrimp is rolled with cornmeal and then fried, making for a nice crunchy outside. The shrimp came right out of the fryer, so the wait was about 10-15 minutes. The shrimp was very hot but they weren't exactly big, but for $8, they did give you a good portion. They have a heavy crunch/texture to them because of the cornmeal.

The salad was romaine lettuce with a nice creamy dressing with walnuts. The red sauce you see is the cocktail sauce and is one of the better cocktail sauce's I've had. A very good spicy flavor that added to the shrimp.

Service is good but lines can be long and since they cook to order most fried orders, be prepared to wait.

If I'm in the area, I would go back to Gumbo pot and maybe order a Po'Boy but I wouldn't go out of my way for the Gumbo Pot. The shrimp is good enough but nothing special or outstanding. And with so many other food choices at The Farmer's Market, I would have to be in the mood for Cajun/New Orleans style food.

Casa Jimenez

Casa Jimenez
15844 Gale Ave
Hacienda Heights
626-336-5668

Casa Jimenez has many locations throughout LA. I was told the Hacienda Heights location has some good specials and good food, so I decided to try it.

They have an all you can eat special for $7.50. You order three items to start and then you can order whatever else you want. They have a wide variety of items, from tacos to burritos to chimichanga to chile colorado. The best thing is that they aren't sitting on steam trays but cooked to order.

I only ordered two items, beef chimichanga and the carnitas to start. I really like the chimichanga. Unlike another Mexican restaurant I went to, this chimichanga was acutally deep fried. It was filled with tons of shredded beef and beans. The fried tortilla was flaky and crunchy. The outside of the carnitas were very crispy, almost like bacon. But the carnitas tended to be dry, though tender.

My next order was a chicken taco and beef taquitos. The chicken taco was filled with chicken, lettuce, and topped with cheese. The chicken was kind of bland. The lettuce and cheese was fresh but overall the taco was dry. The taquitos was just beef rolled into a tortilla and deep fried. Pretty good.

Then I had a small portion of the Chile Colorado, which is a red chile sauce over beef. It was very mild, not spicy at all. The beef was tender. Reminded me of beef stew.

Service was below average, even though the place was pretty empty. I had to track down the waitress for my next order and to refill my drink. She also did not take the dirty dishes away. But the most galling part was the bill. The price is $7.50 for the meal. I only ordered water to drink so that of course is free. I didn't order anything else. There is nothing on the menu about an extra charge for salsa or gucamole or sour cream. I also wasn't asked if I wanted either one. So my bill came out to $8.42. $7.50 x .0875 is about 66 cents, so the bill should have been $8.16. Why the extra 26 cents? I know that may sound petty but restaurants should calculate your bill correctly. There is reason to screw somebody like that.

I did like the food and thought it was a good value but why try to rip people off? I don't want to create a scene, because I feel somebody who is reviewing food should try and be anonymous, so I didn't ask why it cost more