Restaurant Review #198: Pecorino, Brentwood

Tortelloni di Melanzane

Pecorino, a hard-to-spot restaurant in Brentwood’s Little Italy, serves traditional rustic Italian fare plus a few innovative creations in a cozy setting. Unlike the Italian restaurants of the suburbs, Brentwood’s eateries are small and cozy and serve smaller portions of less-Americanized dishes, and Pecorino is no exception.

The clientele also reflect the expensive

Restaurant Review #197: Gladstone's of Malibu

Indoor dining room

I only went to Gladstone's because I dragged my family out to Malibu to visit Cholada Thai and it was closed (they're closed on Mondays--I forgot). There aren't a ton of dining options in the area, so we forced my mom to deal with her bird phobia so we could all deal with our raging hunger. I can't accurately say that I regret the choice, since we didn't really have any other

Restaurant Review #196: La Pergola, Sherman Oaks

La Pergola's attractive dining room

I chose La Pergola because Zagat recommended it and I needed a place with "normal" food to take my parents to. The restaurant looks dingy from the outside with a dirty old awning and a neon red sign, which is probably why I'd never considered eating there before, though I've driven past it many times. Its outside appearance is deceiving, because the interior

Restaurant Review #195: Il Moro's Fall Harvest Menu, West LA

Salsiccia Casareccia in Umido con Polenta Fresca

Being invited to try Il Moro's Fall Harvest menu was a unique opportunity for me in that I have never previously had a comped meal at a restaurant which I am already familiar with. I was looking forward to seeing how my previous two experiences at Il Moro as an average diner would compare to my experience as someone who needed to be impressed.

Restaurant Review #194: Cafe Bizou, Sherman Oaks

Sesame coated salmon with potato pancakes and mushrooms in a burgundy wine sauce

Despite having eaten at over 200 restaurants in Los Angeles, when my parents come to town, I have a hard time figuring out where to take them. My adventurous tastebuds don't appear to be genetic, so my knowledge of local Japanese restaurants is lost on them. Thankfully, Cafe Bizou turned out to be a place that

Restaurant Review #193: Cafe Orient, Chatsworth

Orange ChickenWhen you're in the Northridge/Chatsworth area, there aren't a lot of unique dining options--almost every restaurant is a large, loud chain. Cafe Orient is an oasis in the desert, serving homemade Chinese and Vietnamese food in a hand-decorated, cozy, lavender setting. Despite being small, the restaurant was uncrowded enough that we were able to be seated right away. Fortunately, we

Restaurant Review #192: Robin's, Cambria, CA

Tandoori chicken with yellow dal, fruit and mint chutneys, sauteed sugar snap peas and brown basmatiRobin's is an "eclectic" restaurant offering dishes from all over the world (sort of the Al's Pancake World of Cambria, if you will). When I first read Robin's menu, I thought, any restaurant that serves this many different types of food can't do any of them well. Unfortunately, I overrode my

Restaurant Review #191: Rincon Salvadoreno, Van Nuys

Pupusas topped with curtido

After eating at a few hundred restaurants, almost 200 of which I've taken the time to write about, I've learned that there are no undiscovered restaurants out there, particularly in a city as large and thoroughly combed as Los Angeles. So why did I decide to get my birthday dinner from the dirty, dingy, hole-in-the-wall that is Rincon Salvadoreno when there were zero

Restaurant Review #190: Gio Cucina Napoletana, Encino

Involtini di PolloMany Valley restaurants are crowded and noisy on Friday nights. If you'd rather celebrate the end of the work week with a quiet evening out, Gio Cucina in Encino is a great choice. While I don't agree with the old LA Times review that hails Gio Cucina as the best Italian food in the Valley, they do serve up solid food at reasonable prices and provide excellent service in a

Restaurant Review #189: Java Groove Coffee, Van Nuys

Grilled chicken paniniJava Groove is a relatively new coffee shop and cafe in Van Nuys about a four block walk from the Van Nuys Courthouse. Despite its warm wood floors and deep orange walls, it maintains some of the sleek sterility of a corporate coffee shop while seemingly aiming for something a bit more personal (it is family-owned, after all). When I visited on a Saturday morning, they had a

Restaurant Review #188: The Black Cat, Cambria, CA

Sauteed shrimp and beet gnocchi

The Black Cat, a self-described American bistro and wine bar, is one of Cambria's top-rated restaurants. "That's not saying much," you may be thinking, given that Cambria is such a small town with about twenty restaurants total. Even if it were subjected to the rigors of the LA dining scene, however, The Black Cat would fare quite well. This isn't quite as

Restaurant Review #187: Golden Crown Wok Palace, Sherman Oaks

Kung pao chicken

Ignore what I've said in the past--Golden Crown is my new favorite restaurant for Chinese delivery in the Valley. Their sauces are flavorful, their meat is cooked correctly, and the food always arrives quickly and piping hot.

I don't know when I will ever find kung pao chicken that lives up to my memories of the stuff I ate as a child (quality chicken, plenty of sauce that was

Restaurant Review #186: Friedel Caribbean Cuisine, Studio City

Mango beef

In the mood for a lazy dinner, but something different from the usual pizza or Chinese delivery, I ordered Freidel Caribbean Cuisine through a food delivery service called LA Bite (formerly Freeway Food). Using this service, you can place your order online and get food from restaurants that otherwise wouldn't deliver to your neighborhood; however, you'll pay a steep delivery fee (

Restaurant Review #185: Meditrina Cafe, Venice

Meditrina sandwich

Recently, I was invited by the owners to try Meditrina, a new, family-owned cafe at the somewhat neglected end of trendy Abbot Kinney near Main Street in Venice. Unlike the furniture stores that line both sides of the street, Meditrina is very affordable. They serve breakfast and lunch and offer take out and local delivery.

Meditrina offers such a wide variety of dishes that

Restaurant Review #184: Las Fuentes, Reseda

Burrito

Las Fuentes gets a lot of raves, plus it's located in the Valley, so I went in with high hopes for some tasty Mexican food.

I was expecting table service, so ordering at the counter was a little disorienting, as was reading the huge menu off of the wall in the cramped, crowded doorway. While the menu was extensive and had many different options, I was jonesing for some cheese

Do-it-Yourself Pinkberry

Since I really like Pinkberry but I don't like paying $5 for it, I decided to concoct my own. If you have an ice cream maker, try this recipe and see if it satisfies your cravings, too.2 cups nonfat plain yogurt1/2 cup 2% milk1/2 cup sugar1 cup half and halfBlend ingredients together with a hand mixer. Put into ice cream maker. Serve with your favorite toppings.The taste is similar, but the

Restaurant Review #183: Cravings, West Hollywood

Grilled calamari salad

Unlike Lucques, Nobu, and Melisse, Cravings is not a restaurant name that gets thrown around in the press and amongst foodies. You may have never heard of this restaurant, especially if you don't live in West Hollywood. But don't let a lack of buzz deter you from checking it out, because you'll be very pleasantly surprised by the food, atmosphere, and service. You'll also

Restaurant Review #182: Big Sugar Bakeshop, Studio City

Big Sugar Bakeshop is a tiny new bakery on crazy-busy Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. It's so small you'll miss it if you're driving by at more than five miles per hour, but unless it's two in the morning, you probably won't be going much faster. The bakery has no parking, so you'll need to fight the masses for a meter on Ventura or a free spot on a nearby side street.Chocolate cupcakeI stopped

Appetizers To Go

Brie en CrouteAppetizers to Go is a new website that promises to make your party planning easier. Instead of hiring a caterer, you can order gourmet appetizers in bulk from their website and have them shipped overnight. All you have to do is pop them in the oven and you’re ready to go. Some items require a little bit more work in that they need to be deep fried.I think this is a great concept.

Restaurant Review #181: El Super Taco, West LA

Al pastor tacos

El Super Taco occupies the former Mama Voula's space on Santa Monica Blvd. at Brockton. Unfortunately, the peaceful pastel color scheme of the former restaurant doesn't really go with tacos, so the walls have been redone in red, orange, and purple. The restaurant is still small and quiet, with diners focused on the flatscreen TV showing futbol games in Spanish. The restaurant is

Restaurant Review #180: Hong Kong 88, Van Nuys

Kung pao chicken

I initially dismissed Hong Kong 88 since they serve sushi in addition to Chinese food and are willing to deliver sushi. That seemed to me like an glaring sign of a restaurant that didn't case about the quality of its food. Multiple recommendations on Chowhound's boards, however, convinced me to give them a shot.


Orange chicken

It's a good thing I listened, because Hong Kong

Restaurant Review #179: Woodlands, Chatsworth

Puri, idly, chile veg gravy, khadi bhindi curry, and more

Woodlands is a southern Indian vegetarian restaurant with branches in both Artesia and Chatsworth. I visited the Chatsworth location, where the restaurant is a welcome respite from the area's many chain restaurants and there aren't a lot of options for ethnic food. If you happen to be staying at the Radisson Chatsworth across the street,

Restaurant Review #178: Mi Ranchito Salvadoreno, Van Nuys

Pan con pavo

Mi Ranchito Salvadoreno is one of those restaurants where if you walk through the door, they'll assume you speak Spanish even if you look like a flaming gringo (I love Van Nuys). A jukebox blares an array of tunes (all in Spanish) and two small televisions play the Latino equivalent of MTV (and the volume isn't turned down, which can create cacophony with the jukebox if you're