Vegan House On Sunset

Vegan House On Sunset, 2703 West Sunset Blvd, LA CA 90026, 213-483-2105, is a place we have passed by hundreds of times. We've seen it but I guess the fact that no one had gone yet and the sort of odd mini-mall environment/ motel thing is weird. Today, I found myself in a rare solo lunch situation and decided to take one for the team. I drove to the motel with the mini-mall below it and walked in. I think this is somewhat related to the Vegan place on Centinela on the Westside. The take home menu is the type you find hanging on your home door knob after a long days work. The lunch special is $6.95. Can you believe it? I think that's how much the beverage costs at most vegan places. It was very decent and cheap. Nothing really stands out on the menu. I ordered Pad Thai. It came with brown rice, a salad and a spring roll. I enjoyed the meal, which was healthy and filling but not super-fresh. I'd go back, especially on the weeks the wallets a little thin.

Nicky D's Wood Fired Pizza in Silverlake

Nicky D's Wood Fired Pizza is located at 2764 Rowena Avenue LA CA 90039, 323-664-3333. I was introduced to this place by artist/ friend Jeff Mohr. Three things; 1) Miles used to work here and 2) Nicky the owner was one of the original Mutant Ninja Turtles and 3) this used to be the only wood burning pizza ovens in town, so it's been around for a while. We ordered the Margherita and the Blonde Bunny (cheese and lots of garlic). Jeff, having been here so many times, asked them to stretch the pizza, which means you want the thin crust as thin as possible. Let's remember that, shall we? The pizza's were excellent. I'm definitely going back. Hope to see you there.

Bamboo on Venice Blvd

Bamboo is at 10835 Venice Blvd. LA CA 90034, 310-287-0668. I hadn't been here since the early 90's. I remember I saw Ray Don Chong there; very beautiful. So today, when I get there about 5PM. No one was there. It was weird. I think it's a late night place. There's a bar, the main dining room and the interior is very pleasant and a bit romantic. The servers were great and very friendly. Oh, there's also an outdoor seating area that looks like it would be awesome during the day or summer. It was over cast and a little on the cool side tonight so I took a table inside. I ordered the stuffed mushroom which was outstanding. It was a ball of minced herbs and spices with sauteed mushrooms. The whole thing breaded and fried just danced in my mouth. It comes with a cream and cucumber dip on the side. When the plate came to the table, it looked so understated, I was really kinda shocked but it turned out to be really great. My main course was the Chicken Milanesa, a thin breaded grilled chicken with sauce that was pretty good. The sides were filling; rice, black beans and plantains. It's a very pleasant place, affordable and not over the top.

Maggiano's At the Grove

Apparently, a lot of my friends had been here before but it was my first time. It was the reception for my friends wedding. This was also my first wedding for a gay couple. Actually, they aren't "married" but "domestic partners". It's all messed up. Hopefully the state or the feds will fix all this soon. Anyway, this was a pretty cool place for being in a fancy mall. We were all up stairs in this nice room. I was impressed with the feel of the room. For a place that's fairly brand spankin new, it really felt lived in, unlike most of the Grove. It helps to have a good architect I guess. We had a house salad that was a creamy dressing drenched through lettuce. It was almost a coleslaw. We also had a Caprese style salad which wasn't the best. The tomato's were not ripe enough and the cheese wasn't at room temperature nor fresh to the taste. I think they should of poured some olive oil and threw more cut fresh basil over it. The pasta on the other hand was awesome! "Mom's Lasagna" was rockin and the Gnocchi with Tomato Vodka Sauce was my favorite portion of the dinner. I had seconds of the Gnocchi. It was so tender and girthy. The Salmon was pretty good. The Chicken Rosemary was a little dry. Next was a duet of Tiramisu (so-so) and Profiteroles which were two huge cream puff like halves with vanilla ice cream in the center. How could you not like that? Hey! Who's brilliant idea was it to serve two desserts before the wedding cake? Three of us had to share a slice. We were beyond our max. It was a cash bar but I brought my flask filled with Patron Silver (one of the brides request) so our table was set for the night. But seriously, it was an honor to be at this wedding. I felt I was part of a mini revolution.

El Baron on Pico Blvd

El Baron De Centro America is located at 4212 Pico Blvd. LA CA, 323-954-1384, just west of Crenshaw Blvd. My friend and DRE bass/ theremin player, Peter Watkinson came with me. El Baron is a one and a half room storefront on Pico that is jammed pack with soccer or futbol paraphernalia. There are several large screens playing games and the two times I've been there, it's been fairly packed. We had the 7 Mares soup which reminded us of the lemon grass soup you get in Thai restaurants and equally as rich and delicious. We also shared a papusas. I also ordered an El Salvadorian beer, Suprema which was excellent with the meal. As usual, I was the only Asian in the place. It helps to speak Spanish, luckily Peter is fluent.

Las Delicias in Highland Park

Las Delicias in Highland Park is where I had my first Tres Leche cake. Las Delicias is located at 5567 N. Figueroa LA CA 90042. Well, I remember the cake being incredible with a sugar high that lasted several hours. This was about 2001 or 2002. We had an intern who was from El Salvador. He turned me onto this place and introduced me to Tres Leche. Tres Leche or three milks is called that because it's of course baked with milk, then lots of milk in the frosting and then once baked, it's saturated with sweet milk. Unfortunately, the piece of cake we bought this time in my revisit was not great. I think it was in the fridge for a little too long. Regardless, I'm still a fan of this cake.

Park Restaurant in Echo Park

The Park is located at 1400 Sunset Blvd, LA CA 90026, 213-482-9206. This is one of my bosses favorite places so I thought I'd give it a try. I actually attempted to have lunch there several times but it was always closed. It turns out they have kind of complicated business hours; Wednesday through Sunday, 5:30 to 10:00 PM; Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 to 2:30 PM; and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM is Brunch. They are closed on Mondays. Anyway, I would call them before you make the trek.I ordered the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich and the Chick Pea and Fennel soup. The soup was outstanding! It was so fresh and hearty, a great homemade taste. The BBQ sandwich was also very good with excellent coleslaw inside. The prices are really-really reasonable too. The portions are not big so I didn't fall asleep later in the office around 3PM. The interior is kinda fun, a simple line drawing of a park. I ended my meal with a delicious Assam tea and a mediocre brownie. Still a very cool place when it's open.