Grapevine-Closed

Grapevine
1204 Foothill Blvd
La Verne
909-392-3500

It's rare to find a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern Restaurant in the Pomona Valley. I only know of one, Grapevine. What is really interesting is that Grapevine is housed in an old house, where many other restaurants have tried and failed. Grapevine has been opened for at least three years, so there fulfilling a need.

I ordered the beef kebab, $16.99. For the first time at a Middle Eastern restaurant, I'm asked how would I like the meat to be cooked. I asked for medium rare. The kebabs comes with rice pilaf, grilled tomato, onions and pita bread. The kebabs arrive and I'm surprised at the small portion. It's smaller than Shirazz and many of the kebab places I've reviewed in Montebello.

The menu says center cut of beef tenderloin, which is basically the filet mignon. So it's suppse to be the most tender. Well the beef was very tough, not tender at all. It also lacked the flavor of the other kebabs. It wasn't as well seasoned. I think they just put some salt and pepper.

Service was below average. The server/host who seated me, was very unfriendly with a huge attitude. It took a bit longer than usual for her to come back and ask if I wanted anything to drink. When she took my order she was robotic, as if she doesn't have any personality.

I would not go back to Grapevine. The prices are higher than other kebab places, the portions are smallers and the service isn't as good. Why waste my money and time going to Grapevine?

Romano's Chicago Pizzeria

Romano's Chicago Pizzeria
5225 Canyon Crest Dr #60
Riverside
951-781-0773

In my quest for Chicago style pizza, I found Romano's in Riverside. I wanted to see how Romano's matched up, to my standard for Chicago style pizza is Tony's Little Italy in Placentia.

Pictured is the medium, My Other Sister's Favorite stuffed pizza, pepperoni and black olives, for $16.95. The pizza was very tasty but a bit on the dry side, they didn't put as much sauce or cheese as Tony's. There was a decent amount of pepperoni and they just overloaded the black olives. But something was missing. Maybe not enough spices or toppings or sauce. But this just wasn't as good as Tony's. The picture shows a lot of sauce on top but I'm used to sauce being inside the pizza.

Service was good. Our server was attentive and friendly. Since Chicago style pizza takes a 30-40 minutes to cook, she came by to refill drinks during our wait.

Romano's is pretty good but it wasn't worth the drive out to Riverside. If I was in the area, I would go back but I would not make a special trip out there. But I do think the prices are a bit high for what you get. Basically I found the prices of medium prices at Romano's would get you a large at Tony's.

Overland Stage-Closed

Overland Stage 1855 S Harbor Blvd Anaheim 714-750-1811 I went to Overland Stage about two or three years ago. They were a great steakhouse, serving good quality steaks. Another highlight was their all you can eat, great salad bar, which was included in all their entrees. But Sheraton took over and turned Overland Stage into Overland Stage Southwest BBQ and Grill. I figured something must have been up since the crappy, overrated Morton's opened less than 20 yards from Overland. But since I already made the trip to Overland Stage, I decided to stay but only after making sure they still had steaks on their menu. They have two steaks on the menu. A New York and a grilled, bone-in, rib-eye. I picked the rib-eye, $27.95, cooked medium rare. The rib-eye was served on top of real mashed potatoes. The rib-eye was tender and flavorful. It didn't melt in my mouth but it was still a very solid steak, cooked to perfection. The mashed potatoes were great, even without gravy. I asked for the wild mushroom ragout in a red wine sauce, on the side. The ragout was just like a thick gravy with lots of mushrooms. It was a bit on the salty side but it added alot to the mashed potatoes. Service was very good. The server was friendly, attentive and helpful. He's been working at Overland for a few years and was surprised at the change. I wasn't shocked when he told me that many people ask what happened to the salad bar and steaks. While I did enjoy my steak, I wouldn't go back to Overland Stage. I guess I'm not used to change. I wish Overland would go back to their original format but I know that won't happen, with the overrated, crappy Morton's next door.

Hamburger Hamlet- Pasadena-Closed

Hamburger Hamlet
241 S Lake Ave
Pasadena
626-449-5820

Hamburger Hamlet. That name brings back a lot of good memories. As a kid Hamburger Hamlet was a treat for doing good in school or special occasions like birthdays. There used to be a ton of Hamburger Hamlets but slowly most of them closed down. According to their website, there is only eight Hamburger Hamlet left, five in the LA area.

While Hamburger Hamlet has a lot of other choices, sandwiches, salads, seafood amd chicken, I always get a burger. Today I decided to get the Gourmet Baby Burger Sampler, $10.95. The sampler includes mini versions of their All American, Hickory Cheddar, Caliente, and Steakhouse Blue burgers. Burgers are cooked medium.

The first picture is the steakhouse blue burger, Pepper crusted patty with ripe tomato, Bermuda onion, iceberg lettuce, Wisconsin blue cheese, horseradish sauce and a touch of A1. This was a great burger. All the flavors come together so well. I normally don't like onions on my burger but they grilled their onions perfectly and I loved them. For a mini burger it was bigger than McDonald's burgers. I would order this burger anytime.

The second burger was the Caliente burger, pepper jack cheese, ripe tomato, caramelized onion, iceberg lettuce and roasted Serrano chili and cilantro pesto . Not my favorite but still a good burger. It was just too spicy for me.

The third burger was the All American Classic, American Cheese, ripe tomato, Bermuda onion, iceberg lettuce, dill pickle, and thousand island dressing. Your classic burger. Nothing special about it but solid, good burger.

The last burger was the hickory cheddar burger, crisp onion rings, bbq sauce, crisp bacon, Cheddar cheese, ripe tomato, Bermuda onion and iceberg lettuce. This was my second favorite burger coming really close to the steakhouse blue burger. The bbq sauce had a mild flavor, the onion rings were crispy and all the other flavors came together well.

Service was good. The host was helpful, he answered my questions about some menu items and allowed me to site at the outdoor patio. I got there early and asked to sit on the outdoor patio that faced Lake Ave. I was the only one there and there was one other table in the indoor section. But the server came around often and made sure I had everything I needed. The food arrived quickly.

I enjoyed my trip to Hamburger Hamlet. I would go back anytime.

The Pantry

Original Pantry Cafe
877 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-972-9279

Owned by former LA Mayor, DICK Riordan owns The Original Pantry. I guess DICK, owning The Pantry had NOTHING to do with Staples Center being built two blocks south? If you're stupid enough to believe that, I have some land for sale.

Anyways, opened in 1924 The Pantry offers meat and potatoes food. There is always a long wait, especially before or after a Lacker game. The menus are on the walls and blackboard.

I didn't want breakfast, though many of the breakfast items other people were eating looked great. I picked the BBQ spare ribs, $10.95. The ribs came with mashed potatoes and corn. The ribs were just covered in BBQ sauce. The ribs were not smoked but cooked in an oven. They were overcooked. I hate it when ribs are falling off the bone. They aren't suppose to be cooked like that. The boneless ribs had a lot of fat on them.

The mashed potatoes seemed to be made from a box and the corn was from the freezer.

Service was pretty good. We waited about 30 minutes for a table. But that's normal. After we placed our order the food arrived very quickly. Our server didn't refill our drinks, water and ice tea, and he didn't ask if we needed anything else after we got our food.

I would not go back to The Pantry. The food I had wasn't great and even though the breakfast looked great, I can go to other places that has just as good, if not better food for breakfast. But it's a place everybody should go to at least once. It's a historic place and even though DICK Riordan now owns The Pantry, you still have to go at least once. Again the lines can be long before and after a Lacker game. But they are also opened 24 hours.

Uncle Darrow's

Uncle Darrow's
2560 S. Lincoln Blvd.
Marina del Rey
310-306-4862

Cajun cooking. I haven't hadCanjun food much, I think the only time I've had Canjun food is at the Gumbo Pot. I've heard good things about Uncle Darrow's, so I figured why not try it.

I ordered the shrimp supper, $13.15. The supper comes with one side, I picked red beans and rice, salad, and garlic bread. The shrimp is butterflied and their fried in a light cornmeal coating. I liked the shrimp since it wasn't a thick cornmeal coating. Cornmeal can be very tough. But this was perfect. Light, yet still crunchy, and the shrimp was sweet.

The red beans and rice were perfect. The beans were cooked just right and had a lot of flavor.

The salad was fresh and tasty. They give you a thousand island dressing, along with a spicy ranch dressing, this is green in color. I passed on the spicy ranch dressing.

Since I've never been to New Orleans, I've never had beignets. They are kinda of like churros but with powdered sugar instead of cinammon. My first taste of beignets were good. They were cooked to order and came to us, pipping hot. I liked the texture of the beignets. They were tasty and not too sweet. They added the right amount of powered sugar.

Service is great. I called before and the guy who answered must have been in the Army, he said Yes sir, so much. He was very polite and helpful on the phone. You place your order at the counter and they bring it to your table. The guy taking our order, not sure if it was the same guy who answered the phone, was nice, polite, and friendly. There was a slight delay in getting the beignets, I had to remind him of our order. But he we got our beignets quickly.

I would go back to Uncle Darrow's but after looking at the menu, the entrees are not the way to go. It's better to order from their side orders section. Shrimp is $6.25, red beans and rice is $3.25. That's $9.50 and the salad and garlic bread aren't worth the extra $4.

National Sports Grill- Orange-Closed

National Sports Bar
450 North State College Blvd.
Orange
714-935-0300

National Sports Grill has three location, Buena Park, Torrance, and Orange. The Orange location is within walking distance of Anaheim Stadium. So before an Angels game it can get very busy. I made the mistake of going right when CRYBABY Nation, I mean Red Sox nation, was lowering the standards of the neighborhood. Red Sox nation's logo should be a crying baby with white sheets and hood because they are the most racist and the biggest crybaby fans in all of sports. Those scumbag bastards cry over anything and everything. It was the Curse of the Bambino. It was Bucky Dent. It was Bill Buckner. No LOSERS. It was a sorry, team, filled with sorry players, owned by a bastard, racist, jerk owner. Oh get rid of that rat infest, dump of a stadium you play in. What a bunch of losers. Not even Cub fans cry that much. Maybe because Cubs fans are drunk most of the time?

Anyways I ordered the Fall Classic Cheeseburger, $7.75, which comes with shoestring fries. More on that later. Anyways the burger is good but nothing outstanding. Maybe a little better than the burger served at a greasy spoon. The burger was big about 1/4 pound and came with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese and National Sauce, which is mayo and ketchup combined. The beef was cooked just above rare, I would prefer it to be medium or medium rare at least.

Service was good. Even though all the crybabies were around, the server was quick and attentive. But I have some issues with how they ask about fries. The server asked if I wanted seasoned, waffle, or steak fries. She didn't bother to say that all those are extra. I picked waffle fries and they were $1 extra, ok 99 cents extra. It wasn't really her fault but restaurants that do this type of thing are scumbags. The other thing that pisses me off is restaurants that do not tell you that soft drink refills are not free. It is their responsibility to tell you, especially when a server asks a child if they want free refills.

Nationals is a good place to hang out before and after an Angel game. The food is decent but nothing special. But then again it is a sports bar. If you expect gourmet meals at a sports bar, you will always be disappointed.

The Old Spaghetti Factory

The Old Spaghetti Factory
110 E Santa Fe
Fullerton
714-526-6801

The Old Spaghetti Factory is set in the old train Fullerton train station. It serves good Italian-American dishes.

I ordered the baked lasagna, $10.95. They gave me a huge piece of lasagna.The lasagna has both beef and pork and came covered with tomato sauce. But I'm not used to lasagna being covered with tomato sauce. I'm used to lasagna being served "dry" But the lasagna was very tasty with nice Italian spices and cheese.

Service was very good considering it we had about 20 people in our party. We were celebrating the 16th birthday of a kid, I call my godson. Parking is terrible at this location. This area is a hub for the OC bus. Yes, I know it's shocking that some people in the OC use public transportation. It's also a Metrolink and an Amtrak train stop. There is plenty of parking, you may just have to walk a long way to find parking. Parking is free.

Brooklyn Bagel Bakery

Brooklyn Bagel Bakery
2217 Beverly Blvd
LA
213-413-4114

While searching for a bagel place this morning, I found Brooklyn Bagels. I was expecting either a donuts place that sold some bagels or a run down older bagel shop. But it's really a wholesale/retail bagel store. The walls of filled with team pictures of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The sign says est. 1953. I wonder if they moved out to LA first before that scumbag bastard Walter O' Malley stole the Brooklyn Dodgers from their rightful home.

Anyways, all bagels are $1, with cream cheese add another quarter. I had a cheese bagel and a pumpernickel bagel. The cheese bagel was great. They didn't overload it with cheese. It was fresh, chewy, and great. Better than any bagel at Noah's.

I loved the pumpernickel bagel. It was smelled like great pumpernickel. It tasted like great pumpernickel. It was one of the best bagels I've ever had.

Service is good. The lady behind the counter took and filled our order quickly. This is a take out place only. They do not toast your bagels either. You have to wait to enjoy this great bagel place.

I would go back to to Brooklyn Bagel anytime.

Tacos Baja

Tacos Baja
5385 Whitter Blvd
LA, CA
90022

When LA magazines rates your fish tacos as the best fish tacos in LA, you have a lot to live up to. So I decided to see if Tacos Baja lived up to the hype. Well let me tell you it does.

This is one of the best fish tacos I've ever had. The only better fish taco I've had, was at Wahoos. Ok, I was only kidding. The only better fish taco was in Ensenada.

The fish tacos are a steal at $1.45. What a great deal. The fish are deep fried to just a golden crispness. So crunchy and the fish is flakely and out of this world. There is so much fish, cabbage, tomato, and white sauce, you should be arrested for stealing.

Service was very good. The lady who took our order spoke perfect English. She as friendly and answered all our questions.

I would go back to Tacos Baja anytime.

The Buffet at Bellagio

The Buffet at Bellagio
3600 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702-693-7111

When in Vegas, you have to go to a buffet. The Buffet at Bellagio is one the best buffets in Vegas. I went for Saturday brunch, $23,95. It's not cheap but it's well worth the price.

I wanted to go right for the big ticket item. Prime rib and jumbo shrimp cocktail. The prime is nice and flavorful. Depending on when you go, you can get your prime rib cooked the way you like it. It was tender, moist, and flavorful. Not the best prime rib but still good. The shrimp cocktail is fresh and tasty.

Since it was breakfast, I tried their bacon, sausage and eggs benedict. The bacon was too crispy for me. The minute you put your fork, it broke into pieces. The sausage had a mild taste to it. Nothing special but still good. The eggs benedict was actually pretty damn good. They are not cooked to order, just placed on the steam trays. But the hollandaise sauce was buttery and flavorful. I was damn impressed. The ham was a bit tough but not too bad. I don't like poached eggs, didn't eat them.

Turkey breast and chicken wellington are the next picture. The turkey was moist and juicy. It was a bit bland but nothing the very good turkey gravy helped overcome. The chicken wellington was unique. Of course I've had beef wellington before but this puff pastry filled with chicken was very tasty, though the chicken was a bit dry.

The omelette station is awesome. You pick what you want and they cooked it up right there. I had shrimp, ham, tomato and onions. The omelette were a bit overcooked but I still enjoyed them.

Service is very good. Our waitress cleared our dishes quickly. We never lacked for drinks. The line to get into the buffet moved quickly. There is a high turnover of food, except for the bacon, so food is usually fresh.

I would go back to The Buffet anytime. The quality of food is well worth the price.

Smith & Wollensky-Las Vegas

Smith & Wollensky
3767 South Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas
702-862-4100

WOW what a steakhouse. After Taylor's not living up to it's hype, I was in Las Vegas over the weekend and went to Smith and Wollensky. Again, WOW what a steakhouse. Right on the strip, near the Monte Carlo, Smith and Wollensky is one of the best steakhouses I've been to.

Their bread is so unique, I had to take a picture. It's a little salty on top, they have rosemary and sea salt on the crust. But the best is very good with a nice texture.

The shrimp cocktail comes with three jumbo shrimp, for $16.50. The shrimp were huge and fresh and chilled. It comes with classic cocktail sauce and a mayo based, ginger sauce, which was very good.

Meals come al carte, so we ordered two sides. The thing about their sides is that they are big enough for two and maybe three people. Steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes, $11,50 each. The broccoli was cooked just right. Crispy and crunchy. I hate mushy veggies. But they just cut the stems and steamed them. I wish they would have taken the time to cut the broccoli into smaller pieces. The mashed potatoe was good but it wasn't anything special. But I did not like they fact it was loaded with pepper. I think restaurants should lightly season items, then allow the customer to add the amount of pepper they want.

But really, I don't go to a steakhouse for the sides. It's about the steak and WOW, what a steak. I ordered the medium rare, 10 oz, filet mignon, $38.75. They give you a couple options for your steak to be cooked, but I prefer it simply grilled. When it arrived, I couldn't wait to dig in. After taking pictures, which was tough due to low lighting, I took a bite. It was so flavorful, tender, juicy, and delicious. What a great steak. It was cooked to perfection, medium rare. Just the way I like it. When you have a good cut of beef, you don't need anything else.

Service was very good. Our servers were attentive and we didn't lack for anything. But one thing that bothered me. I know what medium rare is. But after telling our server I wanted my steak medium rare, he said fully red, warm center. I realized it's policy after hearing another server say the samething at another table, but I think most people who go to an up scale steakhouse know what is medium rare. Oh well.

One thing, there is an entrance to Smith and Wollensky on Las Vegas Blvd but you actually enter on the north side of the building. I had 7:30pm reservations and we were seated promptly. Always a plus in my book.

I would go back to Smith and Wollensky anytime. What a steakhouse!!! What a steak!!!

Smooth's Sports Grille-Closed

Smooth's Sports Grille
144 Pine Ave
Long Beach
562-437-7700

Smooth's Sports Grille is now the only choice for a sports bar in Long Beach. It serves good quality food, at slightly higher than other sports bars prices but it's worth it. Legend's used to be their competition but Legend's was damaged by fire about two years ago and they still haven't rebuilt.

I normally don't order french fries but I saw their presentation and I wanted to order some fries. The seasoned fries, with rosemary and salt are served in a cone shaped cup. Great presentation. They come out very crispy and tasty. One of the best fries you will have. At $4.95 they are a steal.

Buffalo wings, 13 piece order for $12.95. They were all drummettes, which is always a plus. They were very mild, not spicy but very meaty. I'm sure you could ask for hotter wings but I was very happy with the size and taste of their chicken wings.

Quattro Pizza, $12.95 with sausage, ham, artichoke and mushrooms. We asked for sausage and ham on one side and artichoke on the other half. It came out perfect. Nice to see that the server and the kitchen can and do communicate. The pizza was tasty but the crust was too thin for my tastes. Almost like a cracker. But the toppings were good and there were a ton of them. Which is always a good thing.

Server was pretty good. We sat outside, so we could people watch. Good thing no scumbag smokers were sitting near us. Our server came by often to check on us even though we were the only people sitting outside. We didn't lack for anything.

I would go back to Smooth's again. The prices maybe a bit high compared to other sports bars, but the quality of food is well worth the price.

Update 8-14-08






I went to Smooths for their happy hour. They offer all appetizers except crab cakes for $5. So I ordered the Ahi Tuna, Smooths wings, and chicken fingers.

The ahi tuna wasn't fresh at all. It was very chewy and not good. They had a paprika seasoning on the outside but it didn't help the flavor. They need to use fresher ahi tuna.

The wings about half the regular order. Same great taste as before. A good buffalo wing but not that spicy.

The chicken fingers were crunchy but they were so thin, you had to look closely to find the white meat chicken. Ok it was only $5 but I wouldn't pay full price for this, even if you got double the amount of fingers.

Service was good but all the scumbag smokers were out tonight.