Restaurant Review #247: Loteria! Grill, LA Farmer's Market, La Brea

The first time I went to the LA Farmer's Market, I didn't try Loteria! Grill. $3 for a taco? Give me a break!

It's true--I have been spoiled by $1 tacos at cheap San Fernando Valley taquerias. But I regretted skipping the opportunity to try a restaurant I've repeatedly heard good things about. So on my second visit to the LA Farmer's Market, Loteria! was my first stop.

Nothing excites me

Restaurant Review #245: The Counter, Pasadena

Veggie burger

I've been hearing about The Counter for years. It was the favorite joint of a hamburger-obsessed colleague of mine, and everyone seems to rave about it. But I was really underwhelmed. There was nothing special about the flavor of the meat. I could have made a comparable, if not better, burger at home.


Beef burger

The concept behind The Counter is to build your own burger using

Restaurant Review #242, Little Spain Restaurant, LA Farmers Market, La Brea

Croquetas de Jamon

At Little Spain Restaurant, a stall at LA Farmer's Market, I enjoyed the best croquettes I've eaten since I lived in Spain. They were fried up to order, served hot enough to burn my mouth (which is how I like my food). Unlike most croquettes, the inside was actually moist, not dried out. The fries were soggy and unnecessary, however.






Little Spain Restaurant
6333 West

Restaurant Review #239: Blue Table, Agoura Hills

Italian sub - $8.99

I love Blue Table. It's so pristine that if it weren't for the constant stream of customers, I'd gladly eat off the burgundy-stained concrete floor. Everything, from the gourmet dry goods to the display-case salads to the plated sandwiches, is gorgeous to look at.

In total, there are 16 varieties of sandwiches (two of which are vegetarian). We tried the Italian sub, which

Restaurant Review #236: Daphne's Greek Cafe, Westwood

Creative Commons licensed Flickr photo by Made in Neverland

Imagine a Greek version of Baja Fresh and you’ve got Daphne’s Greek Café. Don’t be fooled by the “café” moniker; there may be tables outside, but this is not a nice, breezy sidewalk café. Sure, the food is tasty, quick and affordable, but the atmosphere is only slightly above fast-food. Indeed, they

Restaurant Review #228: M Cafe, Culver City

Tuna tataki salad - $11.25

M Cafe in Culver City is one of a small chain of three macrobiotic restaurants in Los Angeles (the other two are in Beverly Hills and Hollywood). If you're not a health food nut or a vegetarian, you might be turned off by the idea of a place that only serves macrobiotic food--you won't find any refined sugars, eggs, dairy, red meat, or poultry on the menu--but the

Restaurant Review #216: Soot Bull Jeep, Koreatown

Soot Bull Jeep has a widespread reputation as one of the best restaurants in Koreatown. It’s also notorious for being one of the smokiest, due to its charcoal (not gas) grills at every table in a dining room that is entirely indoors (and has all the ambiance of a truck stop).
Indeed, I wanted to change clothes when I got home, but while I was actually at the restaurant, I barely noticed the

Restaurant Review #214: Mijares Mexican Restaurant, Pasadena

Albondigas

It may not always seem like it from my reviews, but I genuinely want to like every restaurant I try. I think there's a common misconception that food critics like to, well, criticize. Maybe some life-hating critics go out in pursuit of a bad meal so they can rip a chef to shreds, but I think most of us are foodies trying to have as many fantastic culinary experiences as possible and

Restaurant Review #212: Bua Siam, North Hollywood

Pad kee mao


It's almost impossible to go wrong with a Thai restaurant in North Hollywood. True, no one on Sherman Way knows how to drive, there's almost no parking, the lots are full of potholes and puddles and trash, and there are scary-looking men hanging around sometimes. But hit any strip mall in the vicinity of Coldwater Canyon and what should really be called Sherman Boulevard and you're

Restaurant Review #211: Porto's, Glendale

Assorted pastries. From back left to front right: guava strudel, almond danish, croissant, coconut glazed, coconut strudel, apple empanada

Though Porto's is a Los Angeles legend, it's possible to not know about it, especially if you live on the Westside. In an attempt to avoid the crowds, we visited late on a Saturday afternoon, but despite primarily being a bakery, the place was a madhouse. As

Restaurant Review #209: Passage to India, Van Nuys

For the most part, the only way to get Indian food in Van Nuys is to have it delivered through a special restaurant delivery service that charges an arm and a leg in extra fees and minimum orders. Thankfully, there is an alternative: Passage to India on Burbank at Hazeltine. With decor that hasn't been updated since the '70s and a location in a tacky strip mall containing a falafel joint and a

Restaurant Review #206: Boneyard Bistro, Sherman Oaks

Ribs

I decided to pay a visit to Boneyard Bistro for two reasons: their extensive beer list and the promise of sweet potato fries. Located on busy Ventura Boulevard amidst dozens of other restaurants, Boneyard Bistro is a bit hard to spot. We had no trouble parking on the street, but we may have benefited from the cold weather keeping people home. Still, the hostess acted like we should have

Restaurant Review #205: Desserts at Patina, Downtown Los Angeles

Champagne Mousse, citrus salad, puff pastry, tangerine sorbet, mint pearls

When I was invited to Patina by a PR firm representing Ian Gresik, Patina's pastry chef, I couldn't have been happier. We scheduled our dessert tasting for 8:00 on a Saturday. Unlike most restaurants in Los Angeles, Patina was relatively empty at that hour, which is probably because much of their business comes from pre-

Restaurant Review #204: Sprinkles Cupcakes, Beverly Hills

I have to admit, I'm not a fan of the cupcake craze. I can't believe it's not over yet. I just think it's all rather ridiculous. I can make an entire batch of twelve cupcakes for about $5, no special skills required except the ability to follow a Duncan Hines recipe, so why would I go to a place that charges me $3 or more for a single cupcake, even if it is dense, moist, and abundantly frosted?

Restaurant Review #202: Sushi Roku, Santa Monica

I've been to Sushi Roku, a small chain with locations in Santa Monica, Pasadena, West Hollywood, and Las Vegas, more times than I can count. I suppose I always choose it in an attempt to fulfill a sushi craving when I'm in downtown Santa Monica and don't feel like fighting rush hour traffic to Brentwood or West LA or the Santa Monica Airport, where there are considerably better options (but it

Restaurant Review #200: Jaipur Cuisine of India, Westwood/West LA

Mattar Paneer

Though I have eaten at Jaipur many times, I have only had their food delivered (a much simpler option, given their chaotic location--not that this is a unique problem in LA). However, thanks to a $25 Restaurant.com certificate, I decided to dine in for a change. Unlike many of these certificates, which have restrictions on when you can eat, you can use a certificate to Jaipur

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.