Restaurant Review #40: Unurban, Santa Monica

A true coffeeshop lover's coffee shop, Unurban, located on Pico slightly west of Centinela, offers the funky atmosphere and surly, quirky servers you've been missing on all those trips to the Coffee Bean.

From the outside, Unurban looks tiny and perhaps intimidating. Why was I intimidated by this place? Maybe it was the punk rocker types I saw hanging around--I know how painfully wholesome I

Restaurant Review #39: Thanh My, Westminster, Orange County

Bun with charbroiled beef

And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a small automobile

One random Sunday afternoon I decided to go to Fullerton, just for the hell of it. What did I finally buy a car for, if not to enjoy it? Next question: Why would anyone go out of their way to go to Fullerton? Well, now I know. They wouldn't. Fortunately, Westminister, and Little Saigon, were not too far

Restaurant Review #38: All India Cafe, West LA

This is supposed to be one of the better Indian restaurants in the area--and this judgment refers strictly to the food, as there is no atmosphere, unless you count a stunning view of the Blockbuster Video across the street. So I faxed in my order, had my friend pick it up on the way home from work, and enjoyed my Indian feast in the atmosphere of my tiny apartment.

We ordered the Bombay chicken

Sushi Etiquette

Escaping the teriyaki chicken: how to get the most out of your sushi experience Sushi is my favorite non-dessert food, but often I have a hard time finding someone to share a meal of raw fish with. My friends are usually either scared of it, turned off by it, or intimidated by not knowing what anything is or how to eat it. Or sometimes they’re very eager, but they embarrass me with their

Restaurant Review #37: Warszawa, Santa Monica

Salad sampler

Since I have heard many a good thing about Warszawa and I have never had Polish food, I decided to give it a try. I went on a Wednesday night at 6pm, which is exactly when they opened. Only three tables were occupied the entire time I was there (but I was only there until 7 because I had to be somewhere). The restaurant was very quiet, so quiet I almost felt the need to whisper,

Restaurant Review #35: Zankou Chicken, West LA and Van Nuys

Chicken Tarna Wrap

After a girl in my public speaking group gave a mini-speech on Zankou chicken--well, I was skeptical. Roasted chicken? Ehh. Not my thing. Roasted chicken has an odd texture, kind of like someone already chewed the chicken and then put it back together for me to eat. But somehow I convinced myself that I needed to taste what she'd spent several uninterrupted minutes raving

Restaurant Review #36: Malibu Kitchen, Malibu

"The Rachel"

Malibu Kitchen is kind of a mini gourmet grocery store, sandwich shop, and bakery all rolled into one. It's located in Malibu Country Mart, because, well, everything in Malibu is located in Malibu Country Mart. There are several tables outside with vinyl coated fabric table cloths. Apparently there were also birds outside, because my mom refused to stay and eat at a table. She is

Restaurant Review #34Literati Cafe, Santa Monica

Large decaf cappucino-my favoriteLocated in that hazy is-it-Santa-Monica-is-it-Brentwood-is-it-West-LA strip of Wilshire, Literati Cafe serves coffee, beer, wine, and standard cafe fare, including breakfast, to quite a few patrons. The coffee is quite good, though it would never stand up to any random coffee shop in Seattle or Portland.At first I avoided the place because it seemed, from the