Amaranta Cocina Mexicana-Closed

Amaranta Cocina Mexicana
6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Suite 1029
Canoga Park
818-610-3599

Billed as an authentic Mexican City Mexican food, Amaranta Cocina Mexicana is really an overpriced Mexican restaurant. The restaurant is in the Topanga Mall or whatever that damn corporate name all malls seem to use now. That should have been my clue about the food.

I ordered the carnitas with double Mexican rice, $14. The carnitas came out and they were very dry and lacked any flavor. They really need to spice their food up and not overcook the damn pork. I also thought the portions were very small for the price you pay. The Mexican rice was also bland with no flavor and was most rice. The menu says the rice has tomatoes and veggies but you had to dig around to find the tomato and corn.

Service was below average. It was a very slow night and I first went to the bar for a drink. The bartender carded me. Now I am 39 and don't look like some 20 year old. I don't get carded much at all. But for whatever reason I got carded. Now I don't really mind but I do have issues when I'm the only person being carded. She didn't card anybody else. Why was I singled out? She also was our server and she was slow as hell. Again it was a slow night. There wasn't anybody at the bar for most of the night. Four people came during out meal and they stayed for a drink and left. What the hell took her so long to take our order, get our food, clear our table and get our check. She was friendly but not a good server.

I would not go back to Amaranta Cocina Mexicana again. I can get a much better carnitas plate for about half the price, so why should I bother going out there?

Grandpa Fred's BBQ-Closed

Grandpa Fred's Bar-b-que
21040 Victory Blvd.
Woodland Hills, 91367
818-593-4269

When I heard about Grandpa Fred's BBQ I wanted to try it. First of all the owner grew up on a pig farm and grew so fond of pigs, he couldn't bare the thought of slaughtering them. So there is no pork at all at Grandpa Fred's. At first I was a bit upset because I love pork ribs. But he promised me his beef ribs would make me forget about pork ribs. A big task but I was willing to give it a chance.

I ordered the Angus beef ribs for $13.00. I actually paid $12 and I'll tell you about that later. You're suppose to get four ribs with this order but I got seven ribs. The ribs come with two sides and I got a very dry, mac and cheese. The ribs as you can see are huge, but that's normal because a cow is bigger than a pig. But these ribs were very meaty, just a ton of meat on them all. But the outter part was charred and dry. You needed to drown them in BBQ sauce to make it easier to chew. But once inside the beef was very tender with tons of hickory smoked flavor. The BBQ sauce they use is a tomato based sauce and is very mild, there is no kick to it.

The first time I went to Grandpa Fred's was about three years ago. I met the owner and he was great. Very friendly and helpful. He even gave me a rib to try while I was waiting for my order. I was so impressed with the service and ribs, I wanted to come by here more often, even though it a long drive. Well I finally get back to Grandpa Fred's and the service was bad. I went to the counter to order. Nobody was there, so I waited and waited. There was a man, dressed in suit and tie, talking to somebody who I couldn't see. After waiting for about ten minutes, I finally got that man's attention. The kid he was talking to got up and came to take my order. He only charged me $12 for the ribs that are listed on the menu at $13. I figured that was fine since I had to wait for at least five minutes before he took my order. Then after ten minutes of waiting for my order somebody comes out and said they ran out of corn, so I asked for double mac and cheese. Then after another ten minutes of waiting, I finally get my order!!! What the hell took so long. I mean they weren't busy, about four other people in the dining area. The kid who took my order was nice and everything but he seemed to be interested in talking to that guy than providing customer service. One of the servers actually sat down and watched a DVD after dropping off food at one table. Just sat there and kicked back like she was at the movies. Now they got a great HD projection TV that takes up the entire wall. But come on you're not a movie theatre, you're a restaurant. Take care of the customers.

While it's impossible for me to forget about BBQ pork ribs, these beef ribs are very good. Though they need to work on the burnt/charred on the outside. I would go back to Grandpa Fred's but I would either call in the order or hope that the kid who helped me wasn't there. The food is good but the service does vary depending on who is there.

Update June 14, 2009



I went back to Grandpa Fred's and ordered combination plate with filet mignon and ribs, $19. Overall I would rate them a solid B. But the ribs weren't as good as I had before. The ribs had a lot of gristle and some parts were almost burnt and very chewy. I also noticed that I got only three ribs when somebody else at my table got four.

The filet was like the ribs, some parts were great other parts burnt. The good parts were very tender and flavorful. But the burnt parts just weren't doing it for me. While the ratio was about 80-20, good parts to bad parts, it is not a good way to make an impression.

I was a disappointment in my return trip to Grandpa Fred's. It is still good, but the food shouldn't be so inconsistent.

Bollini's-Closed

Bollini's
2315 S. Garfield Ave
Monterey Park
323-722-7600

In Monterey Park you think of Chinese food. But to my surprise there is a great pizza place that has been opened for four months, Bollini's. They serve what is called Neapolitan style pizza. They are strict requirements for this style of pizza, one of them being a wood burning oven and as far as I can tell Bollini meets all these requirements. For me, as long as the pizza is good, I don't give a damn.

I got the Rocco, sauce, cheese, pepperoni and basil, $8.50 for the small 12" size. Well this pizza was so good. Gooey melted cheese with spicy pieces of pepperoni on a very thin crip crust. WOW, WOW, WOW. I have found the best Neapolitan style pizza in LA. I wasn't crazy about the basil but otherwise this is a great pizza and what a steal at $8.50!!!

Service is OK. They were a little slow in getting our pizza ready. It took about 30 minutes. This is a small, narrow space and when we were there, it was noisy as hell. Two guys were yelling at each other and they were sitting across the table from each other. Lower your damn voices. There was also a party of 6 or 8 and another party of about 5 people that seemed to slow the service down. The girl who took the order and the guy, who I think is the owner, we both friendly and helpful but they didn't seem to be able to handle this crowd too well.

I would go back to Bollini's but I think I would get my order to go. Dining in is too noisy and hectic. Not relaxing at all.

Lascari's

Lascari's
16255 E Whittier Blvd
Whittier
562-943-1113

Lascari's has been opened since 1970. They have three locations, a bakery and deli, a grill and a restaurant. After visiting their restaurant, there is no need for me to go to the bakery or grill.

I ordered their half spaghetti and half ravioli with two meatballs, $10.99, which includes your choice of soup or salad. I picked the salad with ranch dressing. One of the most interesting salads I've had. Mostly lettuce but they came with both kidney and garbonzo beans. A nice touch, very fresh and healthy.

The meatballs were good. Large ground beef mixed with good spices. The spaghetti was cooked just right but the meat sauce was a bit sour tasting though. It could have used more herbs and spices or just adding more sugar. But not too bad. If I just ordered the spaghetti and meatballs I would have been fine.

But I made the huge mistake of ordering the ravioli. You get a choose of beef or cheese ravioli and I picked the beef. The ravioli was terrible. I would have been better opening up a can of ravioli. The ravioli was hard and bland. Not taste at all. It seemed as though the ravioli had been sitting in a pan the entire day and they tried to quickly heat it up and put it on my plate. It was terrible. The beef was fine but it was cold!!!! What the hell is that?

Service was good though we rarely saw the server. The busboys came to our table to refill drinks and give us more bread. The server only came to our table to take our order, drop off the food, came back twice to see if dinner was ok and to give us the check. The busboys did a lot of work and they deserve the tip. Not the server, who was pleasant and all but hardly worked.

I would not go to Lascari's again. Terrible food and while the prices are fair, why does it matter if the food sucks?

Baby Blues BBQ

Baby Blues BBQ
444 Lincoln Bl
Venice
310-396-7675

Do you want bad BBQ at high prices? Go to Baby Blues BBQ and that's exactly what you'll get. I have no idea how this place has stayed in business for over four years. Actually yes I do. That area, Venice, Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, is lilly white and they think BBQ is Tony Roma's. Baby Blues ranks just above Tony Roma's.

I ordered the half rack of Memphis style ribs, $10.95. Ok that price is good but look how small the ribs are. There is barely any meat on there. Give me a damn break. Go to Phillips and see how a real BBQ rib should be done. They ribs are lightly smoked, notice there isn't that classic smoke ring and then finished over a grill, notice all those charred marks on the ribs. The meat is fairly tender but lacks flavor. You need to put some of their nasty BBQ sauce for any kind of flavor. The BBQ sauce is a tomato based sauce but lacks any kind of flavor. Your local bottled BBQ sauce would be much better.

I couldn't believe there was a line for this place. One group of four must have been there for at least 30 minutes. Baby Blues isn't worth crossing the street for, much less waiting 30 minutes.

Service was pretty good. I had a to go order and the server was nice and helpful. It took a little longer than I expected to get my order but it was crowded.

I would not go back to Baby Blues. I would go back to Luke Walton's BBQ place, Joey's Smokin BBQ, before going back to Baby Blues. And Joey's isn't anything great. Save your money and don't even bother going to Baby Blues. Overpriced, terrible BBQ.

Panera Bakery

Panera Bakery
3521 E Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107
626-351-8272

OK I know I'm not big on chains but I heard about Panera Bakery opening up and I figured why not give them a try.

I got there at lunch time, so instead of pastries I ordered a bacon turkey bravo sandwich, $6.39, smoked turkey breast, bacon, smoked Gouda, lettuce, tomatoes & signature dressing, on tomato basil bread. The turkey was stacked high and was very fresh. The smoked gouda cheese added a nice flavor to the smokieness of the turkey and bacon.

Service was very good. The cashier who took my order, was very nice and friendly. But be aware the lines can be very long.

I would not go back to Panera. While the food is good the prices are too high. There are much better places where you can get a better sandwich at better prices. Plus I'm not a big fan of chains. Support the locally owned restaurants.

Colombo's

Colombo's
1833 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles
323-254-9138

I heard about Colombo's about three years ago. I drove past it when I went to the Blue Hen last year and Casa Bianca, this past summer. So finally I decided to go to Colombo's for dinner.

This old style restaurant has red vinyl seats, wood planeling and grandmas as servers. What I didn't know was they have live entertainment, the night I went they had a nice jazz band.

I didn't realize Colombo's billed itself as an Italian steakhouse. So I decided to try their cracked peppeer crusted New York strip steak, $17.95. The steak was topped with crispy onions, in a red wine sauce and came with parmesan veggies and a baked potato, but I asked for double veggies. The steak was cooked perfectly, medium rare. It had a very nice flavor and tenderness. It wasn't melt in your mouth, tender but it was very tender and good for the price. But I didn't taste any of the red wine sauce. I tasted a lot of the cracked pepper which added to the flavor of the steak. The veggies were great though I only ate the carrots and broccoli. They were cooked just right. A little crispy but not too crispy and just soft enough that you didn't feel like you were eating raw veggies.

The sauteed shrimp served scampi style looked very good. Huge, jumbo shrimp in a white wine sauce served with linguini. The chicken parmesan looked so good. Two huge breaded breast pieces topped with mozzarella and tomato sauce served with spaghetti.

The service was just plain terrible. The old lady was nice enough. But I asked for steak sauce and never got it. We asked for lemons for the shrimp scampi and never got it. After she dropped off our dinners, she didn't come back until she dropped off the check. The busboy refilled our drinks. She didn't come back to ask how everything was. She wasn't rude when she was actually at our table but we weren't getting any attention from her.

I would go back to Colombo's but I would not want the server we had. She was just plain terrible. But the food and prices are very good.

Five Crowns

Five Crowns
3801 E Pacific Coast Hwy
Corona Del Mar
949-760-0331

Memories. I had fond memories of Five Crowns. Great food, great service. But that was back in the late 80's, early 90's. Now it's 2007 and I'm sorry to say that both the food and service was slipped to unacceptable levels. Five Crowns in a part of the Lawry's family, so they say the prime is the draw. Well if you want prime rib, go to Lawry's and get the royal treatment.

I got the Henry the VIII cut of prime rib, $40 with corn instead of mashed potatoes. The prime rib was medium rare, just as I ordered. But there was a ring of fat around the inner part. Not good. This cut is suppose to be 20oz and that includes a 4oz bone. They should add, 4oz of fat. What meat there was, was lacking in flavor and tenderness. The corn was about as good as nuking some frozen corn.

As for the service. The ending left a lot to be desired. Before paying the bill, our server was good. He was helpful, answering our questions, and prompt, we had drinks refilled, our food came out quickly and was as we ordered. But when we paid, my buddy had one of those discount cards. The card was buy one entree and get the other free, up to $24. So when we got the bill, my friend didn't give our server the discount card. So he puts the discount card into the, but we didn't pay. The server comes up and asks, will that be cash or credit card. We ask him about the discount card. He says he would take care of that. Then he had the gull to ask for payment so he wouldn't waste another trip!!!!!!! That F***ing GULL. I put the *** in there. I'm not eating at any restaurant to make it easier for the server. If the extra trip to my table is too much, get another job. What laziness of some servers.

I would not go back to Five Crowns again. The food was below average and not worth the price. The service just plain sucks.

Valley Ranch Barbeque-Closed

Valley Ranch Barbeque
16623 Sherman Way
Van Nuys, CA 91406-3735
(818) 989-1300

Think of Love's or Victoria Station. Think of the 1970's. That's what I feel going to Valley Ranch Barbeque. This old fashioned BBQ place bills itself as the same chef for 25 years.

You know me, I love spare ribs. But this place only had the yuppie babyback ribs. So I ordered the lite dinner portion, $12.99, which is about six to seven ribs. The dinner includes three sides, salad, corn on the cob, and fruit cocktail. The ribs, which I asked for sauce on the side, was pretty meaty but on the tough side. They weren't tender, which they should be, since they are babybacks. They didn't have a smoke flavor. They are not smoked but cooked over wood. The salad was fresh but nothing special. The corn on the cob was so bland, I had to check to make sure what I was eating. No flavor at all, even with the butter. The fruit cocktail, I didn't touch.

Service was good. The lady was very nice and helpful. But she wasn't around a lot. The host came by to refill drinks more than the server. But she got my order right and was friendly.

There are much better BBQ options in the Valley, Mom's and Swinging Door, even Dr. Hogly Wogly is better. So there is no need for me to go back to Valley Ranch.

El Original 7 Mares

El Original 7 Mares
6307 Whitter Blvd
Montebello
323-721-2741


Ok I'll admit it, I never knew what mariscos meant until last year. I'm used to carne asada, carnitas, and pollo as meats. So now that I've discovered what mariscos means, I've wanted to see what places have good mariscos.

I went to El Original 7 Mares and had their Combo El Mares, a seafood combination for $15.99. The combination included, halibut, surimi crab, Costa Azul shrimp, breaded shrimp, fish fillet and scallops. The Costa Azul shrimp is shrimp wrapped in bacon. The shrimp was huge and the bacon added a very nice flavor. I didn't really notice many Mexican spices in the shrimp. But this was good. The breaded shrimp was just ok. First of all it was about lukewarm, like it was sitting under a heat lamp. So of course it wasn't crunchy and it was mostly the bread coating. The shrimp was pretty small, I thought I was at Sizzler.

What I mean by Mexican spices is those spices used in Mexican cooking. The seafood here didn't taste like anything from a Mexican restaurant.

The fish fillet was the only thing that had any kind of Mexican spices. I think the fish was talipia but not 100% sure. It was very tasty though a bit on the salty side for me. The halibut, which is a fish I love, was fried!!! Why??? There is no reason to ruin a great fish by deep frying it. If they used the spices they used for the fish fillet, on the halibut, I would have loved it.

The scallops were small pieces of scallops and while they gave you alot, it wasn't fresh. It was very chewy and rubbery. Again no Mexican spices or anything.

What I hated was the surimi crab. Now I'll admit I didn't know that was Spanish for imitation crab. But I hate imitation crab, no matter how it's cooked. This crab was very rubbery and not fresh at all.

Service was below average. It took a long time for drinks to be refilled. When I got my iced tea, there was something in there, a piece of tortilla chip. I asked for a new cup and they took about five minutes to bring it back. They also took forever to run the credit card. Very slow. I got the feeling they wanted Spanish speakers only. I didn't feel uncomfortable but it's pretty clear this place caters to the large Latino population of Montebello.

I would not go back to this place again. Bad service, poor quality food. Not a good combo.

Barney's Beanery- Pasadena

Barney's Beanery
99 Colorado Blvd
Pasadena
626-405-9777

Barney's Beanery is a great place to watch a game, grab a beer, and get some good food. Look this isn't some gourmet restaurant. If you are expecting that, you're a moron. But for a casual, sports bar type restaurant, Barney's Beanery is great.

I ordered the Empire State Triple Decker sandwich with onion rings, $10.95. The Empire State has pastrami, corned beef, and roast beef with swiss cheese on rye bread. What a good sandwich. Now this isn't a deli style sandwich, where it's stacked with all those meats. It was more of a club sandwich where they cut the sandwich into triangles. But the meats were warm, tasty, and well worth the $10.95 price. The onion rings were crispy and huge. The perfect addition to a great sandwich.

Service was good. We went on a Sunday afternoon while the NFL games were going on. Our server was prompt and friendly. We were not lacking for anything.

I would go back to Barney's anytime. Good food, good prices, and good service. Plus tons of beers on tap makes this a good place to visit.