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.

South Coast Winery Restaurant-Closed

South Coast Winery Restaurant
3608 S Bristol St
Santa Ana
714-957-1857

South Coast Winery of Temecula, opened up a restaurant and wine tasting room in Santa Ana, not far from the South Coast Plaza. The wine tasting is $10 for five pours. The servers give you more than a "taste", two tastes almost equal a glass. I love their sparking wines. Not dry but a nice refreshing taste.

As for the food, it's pretty good but pricey. I got the northern halibut. The halibut was a little overcooked, making it on the dry side. Some fish, like halibut are easy to overcook. But the halibut was fresh and putting on some of the salsa helped with the dryness. Was it worth the $30? Hell no. There were some small pieces of vegetables but nothing to write home about.

As an appetizer we ordered the cheese plate for $10. They had four kinds of cheese. Munster was the best and then they had three very bitter cheeses, blue cheese, Asiago and one other. Some people may like those sharp, bitter cheeses, but not me.

Service was very good. We had a party of 10 and we were served quickly and they were attentive. But then again there may have been four other people eating in the restaurant at the time.

I would not go back to South Coast Winery for the food. It's very expensive and the food isn't worth it. The food is average at best. I could get a better halibut at a better price at most other seafood restaurants.

The wines are great at South Coast. But the food leaves a lot to be desired.

Formosa Cafe

Formosa Cafe
7156 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles
323-850-9050

A LA landmark, I had to try Formosa Cafe's kobe burger. I had high expectations but after having the burger, I would have been better off going to any other burger place.

The kobe burger has jalapeno cheese on an onion bun for $14. The burger was suppose to be cooked medium rare. When the burger came it was huge and had a nice presentation. But once I took a bite, I felt as though I was having a $6 burger from Carl's. The beef was very dry. Kobe beef should be very moist and juicy. I really doubt if they used kobe beef. I'm pretty sure this is kobe-STYLE beef. The burger priced in the $5-$7 range would be a good value. At $14 it's a rip off.

Service was average. We waited a little for refills on drinks. But our server was nice and pleasant.

Ok, so Formosa has pictures of many Hollywood stars. So what. The food isn't anything to brag about and it's overpriced. I have no need or desire to go back here again.

Masa of Echo Park

Masa of Echo Park
1800 W Sunset Blvd
LA
213-989-1558

Chicago style pizza!! Of course you need to go to Chicago to find the best, I prefer Connie's but there are others like Lou Malnati's. But out here in LA, whenever I hear those words, I think of Tony's Pizza in Placentia. But Masa comes pretty damn close to Tony's Little Italy. Actually, Masa comes very close to Lou Malnati's.

Pictured is the large "Lots of Meat" pizza, Fontanini sweet Italian sausage and pepperoni, $19.95. As most people know Chicago style pizza takes about an hour to bake. Best best, order before getting there and your pizza will be ready.

The sausage was very good. But instead of the crumbled sausage it was sausage patties, just like some places in Chicago. There was a ton of sausage and pepperoni and cheese. The sauce was good but I didn't think there was enough of it. The pizza was on the dry side. But overall a very good Chicago style pizza. As good as Tony's Little Italy? No. But pretty damn close.

Service was below average. The server had a lot of attitude at times. She was slow to refill drinks and instead of asking us to do something, she ordered us to pass the plates down. I mean isn't that the server's job? If she wants some help, be nice and polite about it.

I would go back to Masa but I want a different server. This is a great place to go before a Dodger game. The pizza is very good and worth the trip. Parking can be tough in the area.

El Tepeyac Cafe

El Tepeyac Cafe
812 Evergreen Ave
LA
323-268-1960

The Manuel Special Burrito. Most people will known what that means. It's one of the biggest burritos I've ever seen. Named after the owner, the burrito must be five pounds. It feeds four to five people easily.

I ordered the pollo (chicken) Manuel burrito for $20. To go orders are priced a little more because of the costs of the packing materials. I mean you just can't put this burrito in those regular containers.

The burrito is good. There is a ton of white meat chicken, beans, rice, and guacamole inside the burrito. But was the best burrito ever? No. It's good, Mexican comfort food. The draw of the Manuel burrito is the size. Some people have eaten the entire burrito by themselves. But most people will split the burrito and for about $5 a person, the burrito is very good.

El Tepeyac is also known for their Hollenbeck burrito, which is just a smaller version of the Manuel.

Service is good. The server speak English very well and are very nice and friendly. The area is fine. Of course you won't see this area on post cards but I never felt any kind of danger and I went there at 9pm on a Friday night. El Tepeyac has a parking lot right next door. Nothing happened to my car when I was there.

They are building the Gold Line extension from Union Station through this area. So getting to El Tepeyac is a little tough, coming from the 60, as many roads are either closed or have reduced lanes due to construction. The construction is set to be completed by 2009.

I would go back to El Tepeyac if I was in the area. I wouldn't make a special trip just for El Tepeyac but if I'm going to downtown LA, I would stop by and eat here.

Woody's Wharf

Woody's Wharf
2318 Newport Blvd
Newport Beach
949-675-0474

Woody's Wharf has a Sunday Champagne Brunch, where unlimited champagne comes with your meal. The champagne is actually pretty good. I hate dry champagne, the champagne they serve doesn't have that bitter taste. It's not too sweet but very flavorful.

So keeping in mind that champagne is included in the price of your meal, I got the turkey sandwich, $13.95. The sandwich came on a baggette with swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato. The sandwich was stacked high with good but not great turkey. It was fresh but nothing better than a supermarket deli turkey. The baggette was soft and chewy and had a nice texture. The lettuce and tomato were very fresh. Overall a good sandwich. Not worth that $13.95 price, even if that included champagne.

The service was average. When we got there, it wasn't that crowded. But people started coming in and by the time we left there was a 30 minute wait for a table. But even when it wasn't crowded our server wasn't the most attentive, we needed refills of drinks, not champagne, a couple times. They have somebody, I believe the hostess, coming around pouring champagne.

There is decent view. There is some water but the marina, with all the boats prevent it from being a great view. Valet parking only for $3.50. But when I arrived, there wasn't a sign and the punk kid, valet was nowhere to be found. When we walked towards the restaurant, he came up and said valet only. He needs to be more visable. Not hiding.

I would not go back to Woody's. The food is good but nothing overwhelming. But the prices are on the high side and even if you have a couple glasses of champagne, it's not worth the price.

Jimmie's-Closed

Jimmie's
701 Whittier Blvd
Montebello
323-726-7783

Jimmie's is a local restaurant that tries to cater to all of Montebello. So that means American food, Persiand food, and Mexican food.

Well they don't do American breakfast right. Pictured is the one egg breakfast special with a biscuit for $4.79, which includes potatoes and bacon.

Where should I start. The biscuit and country gravy. TERRIBLE. First there was a thick layer on top of the gravy. When I dipped the biscuit, both the biscuit and gravy weren't even luke warm. The gravy tasted as though it had been sitting around for an entire week. TERRIBLE.

The egg was ordered over hard and this was overcooked. It's too brown. There should be some white showing, even in a over hard egg. The was the best part of the meal.

The bacon was undercooked. They needed to be on the grill for a few more minutes.

The pototoes were nothing great, very bland.

Service was average. The young server took my order and the order came quickly but my drink wasn't refilled until I had to call for her. But she was nice and pleasant.

I would not go back to Jimmie's. Terrible food.

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.