Restaurant Review #201: Valley's Pizza Land, Van Nuys

Meatball sandwich

I know, I know. You can't believe I would actually eat at a restaurant called Valley's Pizza Land. The name says it all, doesn't it? This is just further evidence for why you only dine on the Westside.

Well, you're partially right. I didn't eat at Pizza Land, I had it delivered. The only reason I considered this place at all is because delivery options in some parts of the

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 #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 #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 #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 #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