Carnaby St Fish & Chips

Carnaby St Fish & Chips
1627 N Hacienda Blvd
La Puente
626-918-9223

I was really hoping to find a fish and chips place, that is as good as my favorite fish and chips place; England Fish and Chips, but closer to me, than Long Beach. So I was looking forward to trying Carnaby St Fish & Chips in La Puente and seeing how they compare to England Fish and Chips.

Located in a huge shopping center, Carnaby St Fish & Chips, is a hole in the wall, restaurant. They are frying the fish right in front of you.




Lunch special; one piece fish, three pieces of shrimp, three pieces of zucchini, and fried rice; $5.25. I thought this was a great deal.

The fish is cod, always the best fish to use for fried fish. But the batter was too heavy because this wasn't crunchy or crispy, it was soggy and greasy. Maybe they need to turn up the heat in those fryers. I did think the cod was good, cut thinner than England but about the same weight.

The shrimp had the same batter as the fish. The batter didn't even stick to the shrimp, they fell apart after a bite. The shrimp was fine.

I didn't touch the zucchini, which also had the same batter as the fish and shrimp.

The fried rice was cooked to order and had some eggs, celery, and a tangy taste to it. I didn't really care for it, but I wouldn't it was included in the price.

Service is below average. When I walked to the counter, they didn't bother to greet me. They were cooking something else. The lady who took my order was just going through the motions. When I got my food, they didn't bother to say thank you or have a nice day.

I wasn't impressed at all with Carnaby St Fish & Chips. The fish, while cooked to order was soggy and greasy. They do have good prices but if the food isn't good, why bother going back?

TJ Subs

TJ's Subs
1054 N Hacienda Blvd
La Puente
626-718-7007

Sandwich, deli.

Fridays during Lent means no meat. So for lunch I'll get a tunafish or egg salad sandwich. So I found TJ's Sub and decided to give it a try. I most placces I'm weary of tunafish. If it's not kept cold, it could mean lots of time sitting on the throne. So I decide to go with the egg salad with provolone sandwich, $3.99. I'm standing at the counter and I see the sandwich being prepared right before me. I liked that. I assume it will be fresh. They used an egg slicer to cut two eggs into small pieces. Then add mustard, mayo, salt and pepper. I asked for the lettuce, mayo and tomatoes on a roll.

As you can see it's a good sized sandwich. But when I take a bite I find it's one of the saltiest egg salad sandwiches I've ever had. I needed water so badly. She must have put in a ton of salt. The egg salad was fresh or so I thought. The roll was nice and soft and chewy. But nothing could overcome the saltiness of the egg salad.

But about two hours later, my stomach didn't feel well. I only had the egg salad and a can of Arizona raspberry ice tea. So it wouldn't take a genius to figure out the egg salad must have been the reason. I didn't see where she got the eggs from. I could have been the frig or just at room tempurature. The sandwich wasn't especially cold or chilled.

Service was good. The lady was nice and friendly. Though she did seem to want to rush through taking my order.

I would not go back to TJ's Subs. The sandwich was too salty and I didn't think it was all that fresh, so I paid for it later.

Troy's Drive In #10-Closed

Troy's Drive In #10
720 N Hacienda Blvd
La Puente
626-330-3659

I much prefer going to the local burger place for lunch than any coporate fast food place. So with this in mind I go to Troy's Drive In #10 for lunch. Troy's is your basic "greast spoon" type of burger place.

I got the 1/4 lb bacon cheeseburger combo with fries, $5.59. The burger was cooked well done so it made the burger very dry, even with lettuce, tomato and 1000 island dressing. The bacon left a little to be desired. It seemed as though the bacon had been sitting in a warmer since breakfast. It was tough, greasy and just down right bad. After a couple bites, I took the bacon out and eat the rest of the burger. The cheese wasn't melt, it was like they forgot to put the cheese on there and at the last minute put a slice of cheese.

Service is good and friendly. My order came quickly which is good considering I only have about 30 minutes for lunch.

I would not go back to Troy's. The burger isn't good and I think the prices are on the high side.

Wok Express

Wok Express
15330 Amar Rd
La Puente
626-937-6578

Wok Express is a Panda Express type Chinese restaurant. I wanted to try something new in the area and so I decided to go to Wok Express. I ordered the two item combo, teriyaki chicken and chicken and broccoli with fried rice and chow mein, for $4.75.

Both the rice and chow mein was standard fare you get from any Chinese fast food places. Nothing special about them. The teriyaki chicken was very dry and even the teri yaki sauce didn't help either the dryness or the flavor.

The chicken and broccoli was the best item but that's not saying much consider the other three items weren't anything great. The chicken was tender and flavorful and the gravy was very tasty.

Service was OK. It was very business like.

I would not go back to Wok Express. Nothing outstanding about the food.

Doublz

Doublz
825 Hacienda
La Puente
626-961-9300

Not sure what it is but there are a ton of the burger places within a 2-3 mile area on Hacienda. I tried and enjoyed Burger Depot and now I tried Doublz about a mile south.

Doublz had a 1/4 pound burger for 99 cents, so I ordered two of them. The burgers come with Thousand Island dressing, lettuce, tomatoes and onions on a seasame seed bun. The burgers are on the dry side so I added some ketchup. The thousand island dressing isn't overpowering, which I like. The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh. One big downside of the burger, it wasn't hot, maybe lukewarm. It seemed as though the burgers were placed in a warmer and then prepared. I expect these burger places to be far from a McDonald's or Burger King.

Service is good and in a heavy Spanish speaking area, the guy who took my order spoke perfect English.

I wouldn't go back to Doublz. The burger is a good size and prized right but I would much rather pay a little extra for a better tasting burger. Oh well there are many other burger places in the area to try.

The Donut Hole

The Donut Hole
15300 Amar Rd
La Puente, CA 91744
(626) 968-2912

When I heard that the Tail of the Pup closed down, I wanted to go to other places with that same kind of architecture. So an search on Yahoo turned up The Donut Hole. I don't eat donuts all that often. But when I do, I usually get chocolate covered donuts, either plain or with nuts or coconut. I'm not a fan of Krispy Kreme donuts, just way too sweet for my tastes.

Pictured is the a glazed donut topped with chocolate both in a classic donut shape and the other a more eclair shaped. The other is a plain cake covered with chocolate and coconut. The big donut is a apple fritter.

All the donuts were good. Nothing special but good quality donuts.

Burger Depot

Burger Depot
1169 Hacienda Blvd.
La Puente,
626-917-1872

I enjoy going to "diner" like places. You know the place, a local restaurant that started by serving burgers only and now has a wider variety of food. I found Burger Depot while driving around. The first time I went I didn't have my camera so I didn't take any pictures of the burger combo (Burgers, fries, soda for $4.25) I ordered.

So I go back again and they now have a 99 cent 1/4 pound burger after 3pm. So I decide to order two burgers and well done fries. The burgers are one of the best burgers around. The meat is fresh and very juicy, the cook it over a grill. The lettuce and tomato taste like they were just picked this morning. As you can tell by the pictures they burger is huge and they give you so many fries nobody can finish them alone. The burgers and fries were $3.66.

I have seen people order the shrimp dinner, fried chicken dinner, and Mexican food like burritos and tacos. They all look very good.

Very friendly service and great prices as nothing is over $8. I look forward to going back and trying some of their other dinners and their burgers are the best around. A great value at regular menu price of $2.35 and steal at 99 cents.