Soho House - West Hollywood, CA

I was recently given an opportunity to go to the Soho House, a private members-only club, as a guest of a family friend.  Located atop a rooftop on the west end of the Sunset Strip, I was excited upon entering this “other world.”  Upon getting out of the elevator, you are met with an array of movie industry photos on the walls and a giant staircase leading up to the lounge and bar area.  The lounge and bar area is an exquisite space, beautifully decorated and spacious enough to make it feel homey.  Couches and lounge chairs are interspersed with tables for dining and a large bar with excellent cocktails.  The entire room offers a view of outside, through the surrounding glass doors.  This makes for an excellent location to watch the sunset, be it inside or outside.

The food at the Soho House was impressive as well.  Having just gotten off work, I was starving so I ordered the Tagliatelle Bolognese and Lamb Meatballs.  The tagliatelle was served al dente, which I typically consider a little underdone.  However, for this dish it worked well.  The bolognese was great as well.  A good amount of meat helped season the entree while leaving some standalone meat at the end.  My only gripe was that the dish could have been a little bigger.  The meatballs came with two slices of bread, which was not enough given how delicious the sauce turned out to be.  The sauce was a fantastic combination of tomato-based sauce with a blend of spices that was a match made in dipping heaven.  The meatballs were also very good and brought out a different sauce flavor than the one achieved by dipping the bread.  As for drinks, though beer is my typical choice, I opted for a Manhattan this time around.  It was very well made with a strong, yet crisp tasting whiskey.

All in all, I would say that Soho House has probably been my favorite place to visit in Los Angeles so far.  The views are exquisite, accompanied by excellent food and drinks.  The ambiance is another highlight, with comfortable couches and workspaces, not cramped together, yet well situated to allow the high profile clientele to mingle.  I saw a number of celebrities in my short time there and enjoyed the atmosphere, as well as the people watching.  Getting to watch the sunset here is just an added bonus.  Needless to say, if you are lucky enough to get an invitation to the Soho House, pounce on it.  This is a spot well worth visiting.

Food: 8.5

Atmosphere: 10

Service: 5

Price: 2

Overall: 10 (The atmosphere really carries weight here)

Lucy's Drive In - Los Angeles, CA

After reading an article on the best breakfast burritos in Los Angeles, it got me in the mood for one.  Fortunately, a number of the places were near my apartment.  My first stop was Frank’s, less than a half mile away, but it must have been closed on Sunday’s for I arrived to a locked door and sight of chairs on the tables.  I then decided to take my breakfast hunger a few miles south to Lucy’s Drive In, located on La Brea near the 10.

I opted for the drive in option, which took about 4 minutes at this cash only joint.  The prices were cheap, with my breakfast burrito checking out at $6.98 for an enormous portion.  Having been hungry all week, this was good to see.  I quickly brought the burrito home and added a bit of hot sauce, having forgotten that while ordering.  The first couple bites in and I immediately realized that this was probably the best breakfast burrito that I had ever consumed.  The egg was delicious and fluffy, unlike many breakfast burritos, which throw a less-than-cared-for egg in.  The meat was plentiful, packed with sausage and adding a little bacon in to enhance the flavor (I had ordered a combo of the two meats).  The cheese was perfectly melted, completing this delicious meal.  By the end of the meal, I was feeling quite full, struggling to finish it off, but refusing to leave any.  This was not a fleeting satisfaction either, as I did not even need a real meal the rest of the day.

Lucy’s is a place that would likely not get recognition by many of the hip LA restaurant crowd, but believe me it should.  A combination of quick, cheap, and delicious food will make me a repeat customer in the future.

Food: 9.5

Price: 8.5

Overall: 9

Ciao Cristina - Burbank, CA

After living in Burbank for a few months, I was never too thrilled with the food selection in town.  Sure, there are a couple decent non-fast food places and Timmy Nolan’s offers some top notch Irish grub, but nothing else really stands out in my book.  This time, when visiting my grandmother with my family we went to Ciao Cristina on my uncle’s recommendation.

A couple blocks walk from my grandmothers house, this made for an easy walk over.  Despite being a small place, the beer list is impressive, boasting about 20 beers on draft.  A classic Italian menu, there were many items that caught my eye.  In the end, I opted for one of my favorites, the Chicken Parmesan.  As a group of six, we went for the calamari as an appetizer.  Bite sized, fried pieces of calamari arrived shortly thereafter with a marinara dipping sauce.  The calamari had a good fried coating and were a bit smaller than typical calamari, but the taste was good.  My chicken parm was well crisped, yet not overdone.  The dish could have used a dash more marinara, but it was better than being overly smothered with it.  The cheese was also well melted over this big slab of chicken.  Accompanying the chicken parm was a small portion of piping hot spaghetti.  My grandmother had a cup of minestrone, not typically my soup preference.  It tasted decent, though I have very little to which  I can compare this particular type of soup.  The gnocchi was also quite impressive, quite fresh and covered with a nice marinara sauce.

In an area that seems a little lacking in terms of great sit down restaurants, Ciao Cristina stands out.  This is a place where I will gladly return when I find myself in the Valley.

Service: 7

Food: 8

Price: 6.5

Overall: 7.5

Fred's Downhome Burgers - Los Angeles, CA

Having recently been to Mom’s Burgers down in Compton and having such a positive experience, I  was craving another delicious “hood” burger.  A quick look into my Yelp bookmarks led me to decide on Fred’s Downhome Burgers located in the Park Mesa Heights district of Los Angeles.  After a trip down La Brea and a left on Slauson, I soon found myself at Fred’s.  Hopping out of the car, I was met with an unassuming little building housing the burger shack.  The short line of people that were ahead of me went quickly, but the wait for the burger took about 15-20 minutes.

After a brief look at the menu, I decided to go with the Royal Burger, a monstrous meat-eaters paradise.  The mega-burger only clocked in at $8.25, yet packed two eight-ounce patties, fried egg, bacon, chili, pastrami and cheese all under its colossal buns.  The service was great and when my burger did finally arrive, it was so big that it was popping the box open.  One bite in and I immediately knew that I made a great decision coming here.  The meat packed so much flavor and had just enough juice.  Every component complemented each other perfectly, with each adding a unique element to the burger.  The bacon brought a little crunch, while the not-too-sloppy chili brought some extra juice.  The pastrami packed some flavor into the mixture and the fried egg was the perfect item to combat all the meatiness.  Also, for the size this burger held together great.

If you are one who is fearful of a neighborhood that might be considered unsafe though, I would not recommend Fred’s.  Personally, I love getting a feel for all kinds of areas and never felt in danger myself, but the neighborhood definitely had a pulse, between the borderline domestic dispute taking place on an apartment balcony across the street and the guys hustling bootleg DVD’s and perfumes.

As a Los Angeles burger connoisseur, I would put Fred’s in my list of top burgers in the city.  The trip between the freeways is well worth the trip and one that you will not regret.  Simply put, a burger this big and this good should not be this price.  (But I am sure glad it is!)

Price: 10

Food: 9.5

Atmosphere: 3

Overall: 9.5

Rok Sushi - Hermosa Beach, CA

Rok Sushi sits on the corner of Pier Avenue and Hermosa Avenue.  The spacious restaurant offers a trendy, modern atmosphere.  An expansive menu features numerous specialty rolls, many featuring avocado, some classic sushi offerings, pasta, appetizers and soups.  Even if not a sushi fan, there should be a little something for everyone at Rok Sushi.

I ordered the Surf & Turf Roll, a specialty roll with marinated steak, crab meat, and citrus wasabi.  The roll came with about 14 pieces, a sizable portion so keep that in mind when noticing the higher prices attached to the specialty rolls.  Although it was a unique concept and I normally love steak, I was not crazy about the roll being warm, so I think I will stick to sushi itself in the future.  Also, the citrus wasabi was not quite what I was expecting.  I also ordered the octopus sushi, my favorite, which was very fresh and tasty.  My parents got the yellowtail cut roll, tuna cut roll, and yellowtail hand roll.  They each liked the yellowtail hand roll best.  After a tip for our outgoing sushi chef, he gave us a beautifully designed and extremely fresh fruit plate with oranges, bananas, pineapple and strawberries all glazed in chocolate.

Rok Sushi offers a great happy hour Monday through Saturday from 4:30 to 6:30, as well as Sunday night after 9.  I would generally suggest only trying to go during these times, especially given the plethora of options in Hermosa Beach.  However, for the ambiance and pretty good food, I would recommend Rok Sushi.

Atmosphere: 10

Food: 7

Price: 4.5

Overall: 7

Hot's Kitchen - Hermosa Beach, CA

After a cold winter in Los Angeles, the weather finally broke, allowing for a weekend to be spent by the beach.  Heading down to Hermosa Beach with my parents, we decided to go to Hot’s Kitchen.  Being a frequent visitor, I had long heard good things about this controversial restaurant.  The controversy around Hot’s stems from the fact that, despite the foie gras ban they still serve the dish, getting around the ban by not charging for it, instead serving it as a free side with the THE Burger.  Hot’s menu consists primarily of burgers and tacos, with a variety of unique twists on each.  They also serve fries, wings and some other dishes.

Given that the burgers were small and each taco order came with just one, we got an assortment of different items.  However, the opinions of my family differed on many items.  I loved the Crispy Shrimp Taco, which had a nice cooling taste and a bit of a softer feel.  The Philly Taco had a nice cheese sauce and was a simple twist on the Philadelphia cheesesteak.  The Fat Burger was a bit messy as a result of the egg.    The burger was decent, but I preferred the tacos.  Also, I found the lettuce to detract from the overall taste.  Next up I tried the Original Shrimp Taco, which had a little bit of a lime salsa taste.  This one was well enjoyed by my parents, but I preferred the Crispy Shrimp myself.  Starting to get full, I made my final order, a Buffalo Taco and a Ken-ee Taco.  The Buffalo Taco came with a very big piece of uncut chicken slathered in buffalo sauce and with a cream topping it off.  I think that I would have preferred the chicken chopped up, but it was still pretty good and I was impressed with the amount of chicken in the taco.  The Ken-ee was my Dad’s favorite, with some chopped up onions, peppers and jalapenos, a spicy salsa and diced marinated steak.  While I didn’t hate this one, I wasn’t so enthused by it.  It did have a bit of kick, but tasted a little like a sloppy joe to me.

Although I liked some better than others, I walked away pretty impressed by Hot’s Kitchen overall.  The only thing I really did not find too appealing were the Lime Fries.  I look forward to returning so I can try some of the other tacos, including the Cubano, Chorizo, Ancho, BBQ, Korean, and Dirtybird).  They also have a great craft beer selection so if that is your cup of tea, head on down.

Atmosphere: 8

Food: 7

Price: 4

Overall: 7.5

Mom's Burgers - Compton, CA

As a self-proclaimed food adventurer, no trip is too inconvenient for me and when my mind is set, well there is no going back.  This particular trip involved a trip one weekend to Compton for a well-reviewed burger.  I went with my friend and fellow food adventurer, Brian.  Unfortunately, we were met with bitter disappointment when Mom’s Burgers was closed (despite being a Saturday afternoon when it should have been open).  Discouraged, we trekked down to Fronk’s Restaurant (review upcoming) instead, but vowed to return to Mom’s.

A few weeks passed and then came a perfect weekend to head down.  Once again, I met up with Brian and his roommate, this time at the Compton Swap Meet, where we walked around and I found a few pieces of clothing that I needed for a great price.  Heading over to Mom’s we were enthused to find it open this time.  There was no line so we stepped right up to the window and took the advice of the cashier, ordering the Chronic Burger, which comes topped with a fried egg.  The cashier was extremely friendly, eager to chat with us, hooking us up with a combo meal and offering us a free CD and some buttons of her friend, an aspiring rapper.  The burger arrived after roughly a ten to fifteen minute wait.  With a couple condiment modifications, my burger arrived ready to be dug into.  Despite high expectations for this burger, I was pleased to say that they were met.  The patty had an excellent flavor to it, juicy with a little pepper flavor.  Everything else came together nicely, a strong blend of egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mustard with a touch of hot sauce.  (One of us did think that the mustard was too strong though)  After scarfing down this well-sized burger, I was feeling pretty full, yet accomplished.

This was a burger well worth the trip and a fun little excursion to The Hub City, a part of town to which I do not typically make it.  I would rate Mom’s amongst my best burgers in LA, so if you live in the city, get down there and check it out.

Food: 9

Price: 10

Service: 10

Atmosphere: 5

Overall: 9