Who? CASA board 05-06
Where? Alhambra
Extra + for value.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Macaroni Grill * * * * / + + + + $$
Who? Rajay, Tatsuzo, Steve, Andrew
Where? El Segundo, Rosencranz & Aviation
Zagat: * * *, $22
Andrew's take: First of all, thanks to TATSUZO for suggesting this restaurant. A nice dining environment with both booths and tables (suitable for a date) and operatic singing waiters. You can snack solely on the bread appetizers, which are spongy and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, and then pack up half your dinner to go. Don't forget to soak the bread in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The sangria was very refreshing, but very watered down with ice - so even 1L of the stuff won't do anything to you. The key is to get the "Create your own Pasta" card: from this you can select your pasta type, sauce and vegetables all for about $9. I added spicy sausages and shrimp (for extra) and it was so very good. Not much of a wait on Saturday night and free parking in the lot across from the restaurant.
Themos' take: This is a nice place that is a mix of 2 type of cuisines: Classic pasta stuff, plus grill type dishes (mostly chicken), and then combination of these two. The food quality is impressively good, the service is excellent, and I have no words for the bread they bring for appetizer (I had 2 whole loafs myself). The audience comprises mostly of families and adults - not your traditional student hangout.
Where? El Segundo, Rosencranz & Aviation
Zagat: * * *, $22
Andrew's take: First of all, thanks to TATSUZO for suggesting this restaurant. A nice dining environment with both booths and tables (suitable for a date) and operatic singing waiters. You can snack solely on the bread appetizers, which are spongy and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, and then pack up half your dinner to go. Don't forget to soak the bread in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The sangria was very refreshing, but very watered down with ice - so even 1L of the stuff won't do anything to you. The key is to get the "Create your own Pasta" card: from this you can select your pasta type, sauce and vegetables all for about $9. I added spicy sausages and shrimp (for extra) and it was so very good. Not much of a wait on Saturday night and free parking in the lot across from the restaurant.
Themos' take: This is a nice place that is a mix of 2 type of cuisines: Classic pasta stuff, plus grill type dishes (mostly chicken), and then combination of these two. The food quality is impressively good, the service is excellent, and I have no words for the bread they bring for appetizer (I had 2 whole loafs myself). The audience comprises mostly of families and adults - not your traditional student hangout.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Gaucho Grill * * * * $$
Who? Themos, Hlias, Dimitri, CostasZ
Where? Brentwood
How much? $18
Zagat: * * *, $23
Costas said that was the best chicken he's tried since he came to LA... The rest of us left very impressed too. This is an Argentinian restaurant who I personally hand-picked, and indeed I wasn't wrong that they have great meat dishes... The huge steak with the melted cheese on it was plain pleasure. The environment is slightly romantic yet too noisy, consisting of an interesting mix of people in late 20s till early 40s. Niam niam...
Where? Brentwood
How much? $18
Zagat: * * *, $23
Costas said that was the best chicken he's tried since he came to LA... The rest of us left very impressed too. This is an Argentinian restaurant who I personally hand-picked, and indeed I wasn't wrong that they have great meat dishes... The huge steak with the melted cheese on it was plain pleasure. The environment is slightly romantic yet too noisy, consisting of an interesting mix of people in late 20s till early 40s. Niam niam...
Mikoshi + + $
Who? CASA
Where? The closest one to USC is at Fig and 30.
The food is decent - it's similar to Panda quality, but with much better presentation. A very cookie-cutter chain of Asian food without any authenticity. The curry chicken rice was decent and of sufficient portion, but nothing like Hurry Curry. Good destination for a large group, say if you're having an after-meeting event.
Where? The closest one to USC is at Fig and 30.
The food is decent - it's similar to Panda quality, but with much better presentation. A very cookie-cutter chain of Asian food without any authenticity. The curry chicken rice was decent and of sufficient portion, but nothing like Hurry Curry. Good destination for a large group, say if you're having an after-meeting event.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
La Dijonaise * * * * $$
Who? Themos, Patrick, Erdem, Bing, Xiaodong, Chris, Tom, Reeza
Where? Culver City
How much? $21
Zagat: * * * *, $21
This is another 3.5 star place... Authentic french cuizine at low prices, this is a little gem at the heart of Culver City. Steaks, pastas, salads, plus the best bread I've had in LA so far - truly great stuff. The service is more than you could expect, the people are nice and warm, and the food is more homestyle than your mom's birthday dinner.
Where? Culver City
How much? $21
Zagat: * * * *, $21
This is another 3.5 star place... Authentic french cuizine at low prices, this is a little gem at the heart of Culver City. Steaks, pastas, salads, plus the best bread I've had in LA so far - truly great stuff. The service is more than you could expect, the people are nice and warm, and the food is more homestyle than your mom's birthday dinner.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Gypsy cafe * * * $$
Who? Themos, Nikos
Where? Westwood
How much? $16
The food includes tasty middle-eastern cooked dishes, the people include ucla chicks, and many tables are outside in the street (which is a great plus for me). You can smoke 25 different flavors of hookas and also stay up late in the night (=classic greek spot). Realatively loud middle eastern music accompanies the experience. I can't have more than 2 stars since this is not the type of restaurants I prefer though.
Where? Westwood
How much? $16
The food includes tasty middle-eastern cooked dishes, the people include ucla chicks, and many tables are outside in the street (which is a great plus for me). You can smoke 25 different flavors of hookas and also stay up late in the night (=classic greek spot). Realatively loud middle eastern music accompanies the experience. I can't have more than 2 stars since this is not the type of restaurants I prefer though.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Manna * * * * * / + + + + + $$
Who? Tim, Evan, Marco, Andrew aka. the Manna Boys
Who? Themos, Stayros, CostasZ, Dimitri
Where? Arlington and Olympic
How much? $18
Zagat: 21, $22
Themos's take: This is a real deal. The lines are long (1h+ on weekends) but it is worth the wait. For $15 you can get as much meat as you wish, until the stoamach is full ot until they close. What these places are missing is the way to make meats tastier: dip in olive oil, oregano and salt before, lemon juice on top after. The meats are great quality, including pork, beef and chicken. I also don't see the point of the various sides they bring :-)
Andrew's take: This place is just awesome. Unlimited, good quality meats accompanied with a crazy salad bowl and 20 little plates of niblets.
Who? Themos, Stayros, CostasZ, Dimitri
Where? Arlington and Olympic
How much? $18
Zagat: 21, $22
Themos's take: This is a real deal. The lines are long (1h+ on weekends) but it is worth the wait. For $15 you can get as much meat as you wish, until the stoamach is full ot until they close. What these places are missing is the way to make meats tastier: dip in olive oil, oregano and salt before, lemon juice on top after. The meats are great quality, including pork, beef and chicken. I also don't see the point of the various sides they bring :-)
Andrew's take: This place is just awesome. Unlimited, good quality meats accompanied with a crazy salad bowl and 20 little plates of niblets.
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