Restaurant Review #161: Pho 999, Van Nuys

Pho 999 is your prototypical strip mall Vietnamese restaurant. The decor can only be described as garish, but the prices are low and the service is fast. The restaurant's specialty seems to be a meal of seven courses of beef, but I can't eat that much meat.

The pho tai was about average, maybe slightly above--the broth was flavorful, tasted more of cardamon than usual, and needed a bit of

Restaurant Review #154: Mi Casita Salvadorena, Van Nuys

Empanadas

Salvadoran food is not very familiar to me--I've only had it one other time, at La Curva in east LA. At La Curva, I got an introduction to the types of seafood dishes that are commonly eaten on the coast, but I had yet to try the most well-known of Salvadoran dishes--the pupusa.

Our meal started with thick, crispy tortilla chips and a rather bland salsa, but I didn't despair over

Restaurant Review #153: Donuts and Delites, Van Nuys

Donuts and Delites sells the best donuts I have ever eaten. While their ordinary donuts are nothing to get excited about, the ridged donuts you see here taste like they're made from a completely different batter. Either the batter or the shape of this donut is responsible for a treat that is more moist, more gooey, and somehow simultaneously both denser and lighter than an ordinary donut.

Restaurant Review #150: El Taco Llama, Van Nuys

Al pastor (foreground) and asada (background)

I haven't eaten a taco in eight years. I'm not kidding. On the plus side, the last taco I ate was actually in Mexico. I was skeptical of that taco--I didn't eat much meat back then, so the idea of eating meat that was roasting out in the open didn't seem very appetizing or very sanitary. And the taco was so covered in onions and cilantro that I

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