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.