Allen's Take Out-Closed

Allen's Take Out
6541 Greenleaf Ave
Whittier
562-696-9151

Not sure what is it about Whittier, but bad service, at BBQ restaurants seems to be a theme. I got bad service at Red Oak BBQ and I got even worst service at Allen's Take Out. I found out about Allen's, and decided to give their Friday, all you can eat ribs night a try.



All you can eat spare ribs, $10.99. The ribs are cooked in a oven, there is no smoke flavor at all. It's ok, but nothing I can't do at home. I also got a bunch of rib tips, not actual ribs. The ribs were fairly tender, but lots and lots of gristle and fat. I got two more servings and both were more of the same, lots of gristle and fat, mostly rib tips. The bbq sauce was a tomato base sauce, that was bit too sweet, for my tastes.

As I mentioned service was terrible. I was greeted when I walked in but it went downhill from there. I never got any silverware, I had to wait and wait to get the second servings. Nobody bothered to ask how the ribs were. Just terrible service, maybe one of the worst I've ever had.

I would never go back to this place again. The fact that it's not real BBQ, I can live with. But terrible service should never be rewarded!!

Red Oak BBQ-Closed

Red Oak BBQ 

7051 Greenleaf Ave 

Whittier 

562-907-0008 

 What do you get when you serve up below average BBQ and terrible service? You get Red Oak BBQ in Whittier. As the name suggests, Red Oak is Santa Maria style BBQ which means meats cooked over oak wood. Santa Maria BBQ is known for their tri tip but some restaurants will cook other meats to, shocking, make money!!! I got the tri tip and spare ribs dinner, $17.95. The dinner comes with two sides, I got a green salad and onions rings. Both were OK, nothing special. The spare ribs were bad because they had a chemical smell, as if they used lighter fluid to start their BBQ's. The meat was a bit tough but that has to be expected since they aren't actually smoked. But they should smell like lighter fluid. The tri tip was a little better but nothing great. It was a bit tough, something tri tip, which is a sirloin cut, shouldn't be. It was also pretty bland, I dipped the tri tip into the au jus and that gave it some flavor. Service was terrible. I was greeted, seated, and got a drink quickly but it went downhill from there. After the drink I didn't see the server for at least five minutes to take my order. I also asked for a refill after placing my order and I had to ask another server for a refill. Then I made a call at 7:55pm and talked for about 10 minutes. I didn't see the server at all during that time. About five minutes later, he tells me I'll check on your food order. I wait for another five minutes and I still haven't gotten my food. I don't know if they went all the way up to Santa Maria but damn it shouldn't take that old to get the food. Finally my order comes. But the onion rings are cold. Nice. I had to wait another ten minutes to get my bill. The place was by no means crowded and they had three people serving. But it was so damn slow and terrible. I think he was just talking to people at the bar in the back and not paying attention to people having dinner. Idiot. The final straw came when I got my receipt for my credit card. Another server, not the server I had, dropped it off and said "Here you go." WTF? No Thank you. Have a nice night. Stupid idiot. Hope you liked my tip. I would not go back to Red Oak BBQ again. Below average food and TERRIBLE service. Plus the night I went, there were a bunch of young kids running around, crying and screaming. Parents should know that other people are trying to enjoy a nice dinner, they don't need some screaming kid ruining their dinner. Hire a baby sitter or teach you kids some manners.

Golden Triangle

Golden Triangle
7011 Greenleaf Ave
Whittier
562-945-6778

Golden Triangle is suppose to be a Burmese restaurant. But really a combination of Burmese, Thai, and Chinese food.

The first picture is the Golden Fried Combination, $8.95. They had fried shrimp, egg rolls, samusa, and falafil. All the fried foods were cripsy. The shrimp was a bit thin but I kinda of expected that considering the low price of this appetizer. The egg rolls were just filled with cabbage and carrots, there was no meat in them. Samusa is triangle shaped and filled with potato, peas, onions and spices. This is a very spicy appetizer. Be care as the potato filling will be very hot. Falafil is pretty tough and hard. I didn't like this item. But I enjoyed all the other items.

The chicken chow mein noodles, $7.35, with onions, celery, and carrots. This is very good as all the flavors mixed well together. I liked this dish. Very tasty.

Burmese Shrimp, $12.95 was a bit spicy. They had tomatoes and a chef special sauce which I would describe as almost a kung pao sauce. This was very good, the shrimp were about medium sized and fresh. They didn't overcook the shrimp, which they could do. I do think at $12.95, it's a little overpriced.

Service was OK. The language barrier can be a little tough. They workers there are Thai, so they don't speak English that well. But they are nice enough and they want to make sure you enjoy your meal.

Even though the food is pretty good at Golden Triangle, I wouldn't go out of my way to go back. There is nothing overwhelming great about this restaurant. But if I was in the area, I wouldn't mind going back there.

Arturo's Puffy Taco's

Arturo's Puffy Taco's
15693 Leffingwell Rd
Whittier
562-947-2250

A puffy taco? What exactly is that? It's basically a taco shell made of masa and deep fried until it is almost like a pastry shell.

I ordered the carne asada puffy taco, $2.10 and the puffy tostada, $2.00. The taco was great. The carne asada was nice and flavorful. They use a good quality meat. What made it great was the shell. It was light, airy and for lack of a better word, fluffy. It was much better than a soft or hard taco.

I didn't care for the puffy tostada. It was just beans, lettuce, and salsa. Not much flavor, I wouldn't order a burrito from here, the beans have no flavor. Even the puffy shell didn't go well on the regular tostado. Maybe next time I'll order the carne asada puffy tostada.

Service was very good. The guy behind the counter spoke English very well. He was helpful, friendly and nice.

I would go back to Arturo's for the tacos. I would like to try the chicken and carnitas puffy tacos and I would give the tostada, this time with carne asada another try.

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?

Barro's

Barro's Pizza
16130 Leffingwell
Whittier
562-943-7251

After eating at That's Amore, I drove around and saw Barro's Pizza!! I couldn't believe it, because I thought the Barro's in Diamond Bar was the last one around. But, the owner of this Barro's pointed out, the Diamond Bar location is called Barro Brothers Pizza, while this is called Barro's. Small difference but a difference, never the less.

It took awhile but I finally came back to try Barro's. This Barro's has been owned by the same person since 1980. There used to be a ton of Barro's during the 80's but mismanagement caused many to close.

Pictured is a giant half pineapple and half pepperoni pizza, for about $16. The dough is made fresh everyday. It's not frozen like many other pizza places are doing. The sauce has a lot of oregano in it. They put tons of toppings on the pizza. You certainly don't feel cheated. This was a very good pizza.

Service is great. The owner greets you when you walk in. He is very friendly and will answer any questions you may have. They are not open until 3pm Mon-Thursday.

I would go back to this Barro's anytime. It's better than the Barro Brothers Pizza in Diamond Bar.

Joe Peeps

Joe Peeps
14450 Whittier Blvd
Whittier
562-945-9691

WOW, WOW, WOW. I eat so much pizza and I love pizza, that it takes a great pizza to WOW me. Well Joe Peeps pizza did just that.

Pictured is a large pepperoni pizza for $16.33. The pizza at Joe Peeps has tons and tons of cheese and pepperoni. That pizza was heavy when I got it. It must have been five pounds. The cheese was melted and gooie. The pepperoni was nice and spicy. You could not take a bite and not get a large piece of pepperoni.

Service is good. The people are nice and friendly when taking your order. I heard they original location is in the Valley. If I'm out that way I would gladly give that location a try.

I would go back to Joe Peeps at anytime. I loved their pizza and was very impressed with the amount of cheese and toppings they put on their pizza.

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.

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.