La Provence Patisserie

La Provence Patisserie: Pretty much "meh". I've been having a craving for waffles for weeks, but I haven't been able to work up the effort to go to a highly rated (and probably packed) restaurant for breakfast. So today I searched on Yelp for waffles nearby, sorted by highest rating and picked this place. I tried: Belgian waffle, chocolate covered brioche french toast, machiatto, apple/carrot/orange juice, croissant, red velvet cupcake, caramel macaroon, and raspberry macaroon. The waffle and french toast were pre-made and then toasted, a big letdown because they were missing that freshly made texture and cooled off quickly...in fact they were pretty forgettable, though the waffle was better than the french toast (flavorless except for the chocolate sauce...so like eating chocolate sauce on a slice of bread). The machiatto was ok, but not strong enough...it's not a european macchiato, but americanized so there was more foam than coffee. The apple/carrot/oj was too carroty and didn't have that fresh oj flavor (and oranges are so good around here right now). The croissant was made with real butter, but had an odd aftertaste. The caramel macaroon was super salty, super sweet, without enough toothiness for me (more just mushy with the slightest crust). The raspberry macaroon was better...same texture, and the flavor seemed just a bit artificial (but maybe that was just because I needed to wash the sugar salt out of my mouth first, but simpler. Finally, the red velvet cupcake had some pretty tasty cream cheese frosty over a very moist but relatively flavorless cupcake...maybe it tasted slightly like chocolate.
So, meh.

Monster Thai, and Cafe Bolivar

Monster Thai: Yay yummy Thai food. And cheap too. Double thumbs up on the fried banana in springroll wrapper with coconut ice cream, and also for the excellent soup. Pad Thai and Red Curry and Pineapple Fried rice were all good. The vegetables in the red curry were great. They also spice the way you ask...medium means medium, good job. My thai ice tea was pretty good, though just a bit light on tea. It's a tiny restaurant...about 6 tables inside and another 2 outside, but they deliver. And they were empty between noon and 1pm on a Saturday, which for yummy Thai food is a bit distressing.

Cafe Bolivar: Our fifth time here. The limeades have been amazing four of those times, and still pretty good the other time. The arepas are always great....yum warm corn bread-like sandwich. This time I tried one of their sandwiches, serrano ham with roma tomatoes, olive oil, and black pepper. Very good.

Vizzi Food Truck

Vizzi Food Truck: Saw this while passing by the Daily Pint. Tried the slider sampler (beef, chicken, chickpea), the chicken piadina, and the carnitas tacos (special). They each came with spicy popcorn mixed with thinly sliced figs. The chicken was the least interesting, ok flavor but boring. The beef and carnitas were excellent, and the chickpea patty was spicy-hot but little flavor. I would eat there again, though I would avoid the chicken next time.

King Hua, SinBala

King Hua: Went out for Dim Sum. It was ok, but nothing special. Less deep fried foods than Boston's dim sum, but more MSG and not as flavorful.

SinBala: We then stopped for shaved ice. This place was completely packed, with a waiting list, even though the place next door was empty. So we got our shaved ice to go. We chose condensed milk, small red beans, rice-flour balls, taro balls, and I forget the fifth thing. It came in two containers...toppings in one and ice with maple syrup in the other. So that made it tough to eat on the go, but it was still very yummy. The lunch food here looked good too.

Al Watan Halal

Al Watan Halal: Good-to-great food, diner-level decor. Good service. Spicy pakistani/indian food. I really liked the butter naan, garlic naan, and the nehari (?, spicy beef). The lunch special was good too (variety plate). Mango lassi shake wasn't a shake, but was great. Chai was pretty good. All in all a very nice place for lunch, though not a "date" restaurant.

Sauce on Hampton, Inn of the Seventh Ray

Sauce on Hampton: We were looking for a special/romantic breakfast, but the first impression when we got there around 9am on a weekday was not good. The tables are small and close packed, and there was only one table occupied. They (the other couple) were outside, a choice necessitated by the music blaring inside the restaurant. We also chose to sit in the blinding sun with the rather poor view, so we could at least hear each other talk.

We took time trying to find the right things to order (no pancakes/waffles/crepes on the menu). We got the Mexican omelette with a side of bacon, the Traditional breakfast plate (eggs over-easy), a pomegranate lemonade, and a coffee. In order of experience:
1) The eggs came out sunny-side-up. Though well prepared, that's not what we ordered.
2) The omelette was the best part, delicate yet filling, cilantro adding flavor.
3) The bean salsa did not "go" with the omelette; it washed out the flavors and wasn't flavorful/spicy enough itself.
4) The salad that came with the omelette was drenched in way too much dressing.
5) The side of bacon that came with the omelette was very tasty and just-right crispy.
6) The bacon that came with the breakfast plate was soggy and only tasted ok...not so flavorful.
7) The potato chunks with the omelette were soggy and had no flavor.
8) The roast tomatoes were cold. I love roast tomatoes, and these were charred on the outside, but didn't have any flavor.
9) The toast (on both plates) was fine/serviceable.
10) The lemonade was very dramatic looking, though the flavor wasn't so impressive. It was too sugary though not too-too sugary...it didn't have that fresh taste.
11) The coffee was poor...diner-level coffee...too bitter and yet not strong enough. They had just brewed a fresh pot, so I feel sorry for people who arrived later after it'd been sitting longer.
12) The coffee cup had three bits of napkin stuck to the inside (hidden under the coffee). It had obviously not gotten clean in the dishwasher and wasn't visually examined before use.
13) The waitress was fine...not so experienced but friendly.
I will not go back. Zabies could show these people many things, and I'm not all that fired up about Zabies.

Inn of the Seventh Ray: We made a second attempt at a romantic meal for a weekday lunch. This time we chose from Yelp based on location and "romantic" in the reviews. We called ahead trying to get special seating, but were brusquely told that there's no hostess for lunch. When we got there the sign said to grab a menu and seat yourself, so we did. Then we were told we couldn't sit there. Apparently half the seating area was off limits...the quiet part that wasn't cramped seating next to big tables of loud people. So we sat down, and waited and waited and waited. Ten to fifteen minutes later we yelled out "I'd like some bread too!" And sure enough, a couple minutes later we had bread and a while after that we got our drinks. I'm sure it's hard for a single server to cover 24+ people spread amongst 8+ tables, but feeling neglected does not make for a romantic setting. Thankfully, a second person started bringing waters and bread. Unfortunately the bread was no-fat, no-flavor...though it did have plenty of seeds. Oddly enough it was served with a bitter olive oil (not high grade), and a strong/young balsamic vinegar. Not only did the bread not go with either, but the oil didn't go with the vinegar. If only they'd given us a bit of butter maybe it would've had a good taste. We also got a lemonade (fine, not great), and one of their special drinks (Around the World) which had a very interesting flavor but reminded me so much of Kombucha that I wasn't impressed in the end.

Anyway, the setting was why we were there, right? Not the service or the food, apparently. Unfortunately, the setting was outdoors/rustic, plus a white ribbon around the wooden fence. The stream was nice enough, I suppose, but I've seen woods before. This one even had an old wooden chair just randomly sitting out there near the stream/crick. And the constant sound of traffic completely ruined the "nature" vibe. The wobbly chairs and smallish round "patio" tables didn't help...nor the way I had to lean forward so the waiter could pass by me to reach the table next to us.

When the appetizer arrived, things started looking up. We ordered a three beat appetizer and got a beet salad (with two types of beets that I could tell), that had very nicely done golden beets (and beautiful yellow with red swirled edges), overdone red beets, some salad, pecans, a touch of blue cheese, and a bit of salt and olive oil. The golden beets, touch of salt, and salad made things much happier, though the overdone beets were disappointing. The main courses were a steak sandwich and a flatbread with olives and chicken. The sandwich was ordered medium rare, came out well done. The best part of a steak sandwich is biting into a thick steak, with a bit of bread to keep it from getting your fingers messy. This had thinly sliced steak of pretty high quality, with a really thick ciabatta bun and some not-so-helpful toppings (I remember some fresh spinach and a flavorless tomato). Disappointing...I suppose it's my fault for ordering steak at an apparently "new age" restaurant. The sandwich came with uninspired potato salad...potato salad needs something in it other than potatoes...maybe some green onion? Finally, the flatbread was ok, way too salty. The chicken was prepared well, but didn't have that wonderful poultry flavor, and it was all pretty overwhelmed by the olives anyway.
I will not go back.

La Dijonaise

La Dijonaise: This place was recommended to me for good almond croissants. Unfortunately they didn't have any when I stopped by, though I did have a pretty good butter croissant (great crunch, nice flavor, but not enough to chew on inside)...probably my second favorite behind Le Pain du Jour's. I also tried a bearclaw but was not impressed...lacking in flavor and the first bite tasted burnt, which doesn't go well with marzipan.

Munchie Machine

Munchie Machine: Walking through the neighborhood we saw a foodtruck parked on a sidestreet and went to check it out. It wasn't open for business, but a man ran up and said he was just taking it to the Daily Pint. So we stopped by there later and tried the Croque du Munchie and the club, and smores. The croque contained egg, which was good, but really is just overkill...it's already a very heavy sandwich...I prefer something closer to a cuban (yum...pickles). Though it was tasty, the club was better. Avocado goes well on a club sandwich, and the toasted 6 grain bread was great. Still not perfect...too much mayo and it needed some lettuce. The smores were made using flavored marshmallows, which was neat, but they were blowtorched, which means they weren't cooked all the way through. So eh, good, but not really good. I'd cross the street if I were in the mood for a sandwich, but I wouldn't go further out of my way.

Lal Mirch

Lal Mirch: I was in Hollywood / Studio City / Lake Toluca, working on my laptop in a coffee shop. Here are my comments noted as I was eating.

chicken tandoori has great taste...not bright pink, but colored by
spices
Chicken curries are good too, but not special.
Cabbage tastes like curry...tasty. It's all very mild...meaning the entire meal.

The naan is good, though I wish it were whole wheat...roti.

Chai is interesting. Seems very weak without sugar. Adding enough
sugar to make it sweet. I would prefer a standard chai...I can't
taste any cardamom or pepper in this...I'm not sure what it is.

Paneer doesn't go as well with peas...I prefer spinach. But the curry
sauce is great...creamy.

The corn, carrot, potato dish is nicely spiced but not overwhelming.
Very flavorful, though I wish it had more heat.

Seating is good, comfy booths, carpeting, medium lighting. Attentive
waiters. Not even half full. There are a very small number of
parking spaces in back. I'm picking up an open wifi node, but I don't think
it's official.

I wouldn't go back unless I had a craving for Indian food and was in the area. I should get it through my head that LA doesn't have good Indian food and just eat other types of food.

Zabies

Zabies: Sunday brunch was pretty good. Not too crowded, nice service. The breakfast sandwich was unremarkable. The sausage was amazing, though a bit salty. Bacon was crispy, not burnt. My latte was good, lots of foam. The whole wheat pancakes with blueberries were good. The eggs were excellent over their yummy toast. The fresh lemonade wasn't bad. In all, a fine/solid brunch experience.

Cafe Bolivar

Cafe Bolivar: Having read the Yelp reviews, we hunted this place down and had some arepas. Very tasty, best when hot. The corn bread is great and the fillings were all excellent. The chicken and avocado got high marks, as did the mango/cheese/avocado. My cafe con leche was good and strong with nice foam. The limeade was fresh/homemade and absolutely perfect.

Umami burger

Umami Burger: Umami burger was good, though I think I prefer other toppings than soy sauce and mushroom. The meat itself was excellent. Bun was not so good...white flour. The triple pork burger was pretty good, though I hadn't expected it to come as a patty...looked a little strange and I couldn't tell that there were three types of pork since they were all mashed/mixed together. Iced tea was good, though an odd yellow color. Root beer float was great. Tater tots with cheese were excellent. I would go back, but I think I prefer the burgers from Father's Office for their toppings and overall flavor. Here there's more options though. It's just hard to make burgers taste much better...they're already great.

Interim Cafe

Interim Cafe: Looking for someplace new in downtown Santa Monica, Yelp led me here. I can only assume that vegans in Santa Monica don't know what they're missing. I have had exquisite vegan food and this was no more than passable. Non-vegan chicken madras was pretty good, not intense enough, but on brown rice so that's extra points. The tamale with pico de gallo and avacado slices was pretty good, and had a side salad that was pretty good, with three small strawberry slices, some coconut shreds, and a few seeds. The fake-chicken bbq sandwich wasn't bbq but mustard (though nice and tangy), but the faux chicken was not a good consistency and so bland. Arnold Palmer was average. Cherry vanilla smoothie was icy, with an ok flavor but not enough flavor. In all, it was an ok meal, but nothing to write home about. The oat cookie was dry and tasted weak/healthy...they need to add raisins/dates/almond flour. Overall, I'd rather go to the Panera across the street any day and I wouldn't go to a Panera with so many better options for food in Santa Monica. So I'm mystified by the 4.5 out of 5 stars on Yelp for this area and can only assume that Santa Monica doesn't have any good vegan food. I wish I'd gone with my second choice and tried Umami burger even though I had a burger for dinner yesterday.

Genwa Korean BBQ

Genwa Korean BBQ: Seeking to satisfy a deep craving for bi bim bap, we suffered rush our traffic for dinner here. An elegant dining room, if a bit small. Free parking in the garage in back. Very pleasant wait staff. The food was good, though it ended up being a bit "finer" than we were looking for...not comfort food, but rather going-out-to-eat-food. The sizzling bi bim bap was mixed at our table for us, and was maybe a bit lacking in flavor. The seafood and vegetable pancake was great, but the accompanying hot sauce was somewhat lacking in flavor. The myriad appetizer/sides ranged from forgettable to excellent. The Vavo brand ginger ale was excellent, gingery but not too sharp, and sweet but not cloying. For a finisher they brought around a very sweet, cool tea (with a pine nut) that was great. And all for ~$40. A great deal, but I'm not sure I'll go back anytime soon. Looking at the other tables, the shabu shabu was very popular.

Izzy's Deli, Pinkberry, Funnel Mill, Mama's Lu, Beard Papa's Cream Puffs, Fruitti Yogo

Now that we've been in Santa Monica about 3/4 of a year, we have some favorites.

Izzy's Deli again. Big sandwiches. The Matzo ball soup was great. Potato pancakes were overdone. Reuben was excellent. Stay away from the Cobb salad. Oh, and the coleslaw was perfect. So good, and apparently open 24/7. Though the cheesecake is a bit artificial-tasting.

Pinkberry again. Excellent as always...still my favorite place for frozen yogurt because I like their toppings best (except for frutti yogo's lychee).

Funnel Mill again. Everything was amazing. The iced espresso was so exactly perfectly what I wanted. Their two hot chocolates were both great (maybe not quite as good as Burdick's in Harvard Square, Cambridge), but I preferred the "European" version which wasn't sweet.

Mama's Lu: Mother's Day we got out to a restaurant early (10:30am) so as not to face big crowds. This place gets good ratings on Yelp and it's pretty good. I guess it's dim sum, but without the carts and in a small place and no crowds, and without some of the crazier foods. Dumplings were excellent, particularly the veggie. The green onion pancakes were also excellent. I would be fine going back...this is the best place I've gotten dumplings in LA.

Beard Papa's Cream Puffs: I was itching for dessert, so we stopped nearby (it seems like Monterey Park has a high density of good restaurants) at a store that sells little more than cream puffs. Pretty good, but not perfect because they're light on flavor.

Frutti Yogo again. Love that lychee but the other toppings seem lackluster compared with Pinkberry.

Ricky's Fish Tacos, Cheesestore of Silverlake, Pazzo Gelato, Forage, Yamazaki Bakery

Ricky's Fish Tacos: After a terrible experience at a Rubio's, I've been craving good fish tacos for months. A trip to London showed me how good fried fish can be (so amazing), and a free afternoon saw me hunting down not only a fish taco place, but a food stand. Food stands are another goal of mine, and this one was quite good. The fish was nowhere near as good as in London, but still better than most fried fish I've had in the US. Yummy, if a bit difficult to track down. I would eat again. Even better, it introduced me to the Silverlake area with lots of great stores.

Cheesestore of Silverlake: Our second stop was a cheesestore. I love cheese and especially love cheese shops with other import-y type goods. We bought their wonderful house olive oil (tasty but not overwhelming) and a baguette to eat it. Places that let you try olive oil are excellent and they get my money. A half pound of cheese...soft like brie but I forget the name...pretty good but a bit stinky. Also some salty caramels (so good). This was an awesome store. It looked like right outside the door they had a restaurant that was very busy, but we were full from fish tacos. Also right next door was Intelligentsia, which was incredibly busy so we didn't stop.

Pazzo Gelato: Across the street was a gelato place that was pretty good. They had several excellent flavor combinations. I had their balsamic vinegar and fig. I also tried the raspberry/mint/chocolate. While the flavor combos are great, they didn't quite pull off good gelato. Looking at the yelp reviews, I'm guessing they change flavors often. I would go again, but not go out of my way.

Forage: Earlier in the day we heard a radio story about this store (for buying ingredients from locals), and a random passerby told us they had tasty baked goods, so we stopped in. Very busy. The food looked great, and their oat bar with fruit/nut toppings was heavenly. The chocolate cupcake was also great...so moist and with cacao nibs. I loved it.

Yamazaki Bakery: On another day we checked out Little Tokyo. Bleh, I got five "pan" (breads/rolls/cakes) from here, and they were all tasteless, textureless, insipid. I would not let myself be dragged back.

We walked around the area and checked out the stores...bought a little teaset for $20...got some ok tacos at a foodtruck whose name I forget.

Yogurtland: Nearby however, was a Yogurtland. We tried four flavors (strawberry, chocolate, taro, and plain). Definitely just go with the plain yogurt. It was indistinguishable from pinkberry's and the other flavors were not as good. The toppings were fun, but we had higher quality strawberries at pinkberry and better lychee at frutti yogo. The brownie bites were nice, but a bit heavy. And the condensed milk squeeze bottle was a neat touch, but really not what I'm looking for on frozen yogurt. So good, but I'd rather go to pinkberry.

Happy Family Vegetarian, Lares

Happy Family Vegetarian: Rowland Heights smelled delicious. I've been to a vegetarian restaurant in Boston that made dishes like meat dishes. This restaurant did a much better job, and yet the dishes themselves still seemed lacking. We tried taro made like dried fish covered in sesame...pretty good. The best dish was probably the mushrooms cooked like batter fried chicken. We also had green beans that were fine, and another dish that was spicy small cubes of maybe tofu. Oh, and an appetizer with crunchy things in a cabbage leaf that was rather good. I'd be ok with going back.

We also went to a neat dessert place in diamond plaza...some shaved ice, octopus balls, taro milk tea, and red bean paste in fish-shaped waffles. All of it so good. I would love to go back here.

Lares: An excellent Mexican restaurant. We ate upstairs with a nice view out the back to the mountain. I had a margarita on the rocks that was very tasty. Chips were thick and tasty. Salsa was delicious. Appetizer was a fish ceviche that was absolutely delicious. Main courses were two shrimp dishes that were delicious (good shrimp flavor) and a thin sliced steak in sauce. A great mexican restaurant. A sit-down place, so classier than Tacos Por Favor, though perhaps not tastier. I would love to go back and would prefer this to Gilberts.

Shaherzad, Paris Pastry, Saffron and Rose Ice Cream

Shaherzad: Last time we were in the area, Shaherzad was packed, and it had been recommended to us and it's highly ranked on Zagat. So we headed there for a Saturday lunch. The waiter was a bit standoffish, but not to the point of rudeness and the food was rather good. We got the hot combo appetizer with excellent dolmes, some wonderful eggplant dip, a good cutlet, and some ok/forgettable chicken salad. For the main course we got the chicken koobideh (very good) with some of their special cherry rice on the side (very good), and the whitefish (fine) with a special herbed rice (tasty. The meal came with extremely good flatbread and a raw onion. I also got a very good Persian tea.

Paris Pastry: Just down the street is a patisserie. The raisin roll was not so good, tasteless and without the structure I've come to expect thanks to Le Pain du Jour. The meringue is amazing, and the cookies range from ok to wow.

Another stop at the Saffron and Rose Ice Cream. This time I got their poppy seed slush. Highly recommended, especially with lemon juice to cut the sweetness.

Tacos Por Favor

Tacos Por Favor: has been recommended to us several times. Today it was recommended again and we up and went. On a whim I got a carnitas sandwich (with egg and this delicious mole sauce and avocados and onions) that turned out to be outstanding. In fact, everything we got was wonderful. That includes pastor soft taco, chorizo soft taco, mahi mahi sopes, and a guacamole burrito. Oh, so delicious. The pico de gallo and salsas are great too. Not expensive and apparently they deliver. The al pastor and the sandwich were probably the best, but all of it was something I'd want to eat again.

Miyako, Frutti Yogo

Miyako: I've walked past this restaurant many times, and have even been to the adjacent frozen yogurt place next door, but I never wanted to go in because it didn't look busy enough. After we got rudely treated at nearby The Counter, we hopped out looked toward 31st street but didn't see anything interesting (though apparently Mrs Winston's Green Grocery is over there), and stopped in here to be quite pleasantly surprised. For a very reasonable price we got a huge amount of eel on a bed of onions sizzling on a hotplate, plus a nicely cooked salmon teriyaki bento, and a shrimp tempura appetizer (half off during certain hours). The bento came with quite a bit of tasty veggie tempura (or I could've chosen shrimp), some edamame, very tasty sprouts (pickled?), rice (can get brown rice), a passable salad with a peanut flavored dressing, and an orange slice. The eel special also came with rice/salad/edamame/sprouts. Some of the eel was excellent, most weren't bad. So not the highest quality food, but pretty good nonetheless. Worth going back for.

Frutti Yogo: The second time we've gone. Again, great tasting frozen yogurt. This time we got the lychee and they were awesome. Kiwi, not so good. Strawberries ok.