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8585 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069. (310) 854-7200

http://www.melsdrive-in.com/

Mel’s Drive-In as seen on TV! Yes, you may recognize this restaurant from “The Surreal Life” (at least my date did). I had been here a few years ago and met Scarlett Johansson and saw Lindsay Lohan sitting in her car in the parking lot. I thought I’d try my luck again after seeing Mylin at the Knitting Factory…

I believe this was my date’s Chocolate Milk Shake - thick and old-fashioned, featuring McGoo’s ice cream.

My date also ordered Hot Wings with a side of ranch. He said it wasn’t hot at all.

My late night choice was Mel’s Turkey Burger. It comes with lettuce, tomato, and pickles, but I just ate mine with mayo and pickles. It was a little dry, but the fries weren’t so bad. I still think the Studio Diner’s Grip Burger with the stand-in turkey is one of the juiciest…

What’s nice about this place is it’s open 24 hours! So you can come here no matter how late a night you’re having.

Taste: 7/10
Presentation: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Total: 14/20

403 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004. (323) 464-2820

http://www.miaafe.blogspot.com/

For Bridget’s birthday, we walked from her apartment to Cafe Miaafe… just a few treacherous blocks. It was dark and we almost had a casualty The atmosphere was awesome! We sat outside in a tent with the curtains drawn back. Inside, there is an art studio and gallery, but we didn’t have a chance to check it out. Maybe next time. The setting was so pretty with their tiny little lights, but it was cold.

B’s birthday cake was ok. The frosting reminded me of Cool Whip. Blah! I didn’t even finish my slice. More sugar, please!

Blended Green Tea Latte ($4.95) - What was I thinking?!?! Apparently, I was on crack! Like I mentioned, it was cold and I ordered an ice cold drink! In my defense though, I don’t usually order lattes, so for whatever reason… I thought blended = in a blender, but I didn’t think they meant blending ice… it was still pretty tasty. (Starbucks has a similar version.)

They brought out some pretty funky treats, which we didn’t order, but were willing to try. Aimee thought that there was a pate in-between the cheese and cracker, but sadly, it was peanut butter! It was one of the gnarliest things I’ve ever tasted! Each little “treat” was different… topped with pineapple, mango, bananas, strawberries, olives, meat, and other assorted oddities!

We had fun though!!! The staff was very nice. (I think they’re Korean. They also have another location in Venice Beach.) They gave B a bday card and they didn’t even mind us talking about Halloween parties with Gary Coleman, pierced male body parts, and bitch slaps… you just had to be there!!!

Taste: 6/10
Presentation: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Total: 15/20

1425 W. Artesia Blvd., #24. Gardena, CA 90248. (310) 323 - 7017.
http://www.house-foods.com/curry_house.html

JermZ:

The Green Iced Tea ($2.00) is excellent! It’s quite refreshing on a hot day and it has free refills!

Curry is good. I can’t say I’ve ever had bad curry. Fortunately the Curry House didn’t disappoint me at all. They had a pretty small menu and not much to choose from and might not satisfy everyones desires. I’m a really simple eater, so I chose the Chicken Curry with mild spices and a plate of rice.

It took awhile for them to serve us since there was a group of seven gentlemen at one table. The presentation of my chicken curry was real simple. There was a plain plate of steamy white rice, and a bowl of chicken curry. Most people just scooped bits of their meat over to their plate of rice, but I dumped the whole damn thing onto my plate of rice! The taste of the rice alone isn’t anything special but when you add the the meat and the sauce… It’s like you’ve never tasted anything like it! The chicken tasted great, but isn’t the best. It was too soft and didn’t seem unique other than its mix with the sauce. Nonetheless I finished the entire plate of rice and bowl of curry. I kinda think there wasn’t enough rice and curry to satisfy my empty stomach.

Oh… one massive complaint: My lemonade tasted nasty. I mean how do you do lemonade wrong?!?!

Dennis says that his chicken katsu was great. It was crunchy on the outside, yet tender on the inside. If the chicken was a bit more juicy, he’d give it a perfect 10 for taste. Unfortunately, no restaurant has ever made curry chicken-katsu as good as the old Tea Wiz near SDSU.

Curry Chicken-Katsu

Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Total: 16/20

Arik-Quang:

This is their chicken hamburger. I got this dish because the menu said it was a favorite of many people. Now, I have taste buds that judges things quite consistently with the population, but my mouth was not having this dish. You are probably asking, if this is a hamburger where is the bread. Well, what is hamburger about this meat is that the meat was ground and formed into the shape of a patty as you can see here. Texture-wise I found this quite strange for chicken, but it wasn’t like the menu didn’t indicate that this was a chicken hamburger – so I’m not going to hold that against them.

In terms of taste, I found the garlic in the dish to be too overpowering and that this power had apparently transferred to my breath which pretty much accompanied me to the wedding reception I had to go to that evening. I would describe the taste of the meat much like chewing straw wrapping for spit wads. I think the veggies rescued the dish, or at least kept me from starving because I didn’t finish the meat. Then again, how can you do pan simmered veggies wrong? Actually, I can tell you how to mess up veggies, but that is not the focus of this article. I’ll conclude with this. If you are going to go to the Curry House for a meal, you best order their advertised specialty – curry. You will be venturing into murky waters if you decide to order anything else. This reminds me of the time my buddy ordered salmon at the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco . I made fun of him. Go figure I would EAT my words at a later time.

Taste: 4/10
Presentation: 2.5/5
Service: 4/5
Total: 10.5/20

9748 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232. (310) 204 - 5136.

As a college kid, the first thing you should probably know before sitting down are the dreaded two words, “Cash Only.” But no worries, there’s a WaMu right across the street.

My friend and I went for breakfast on a Sunday morning but after I got ridiculously lost driving through South Central and Inglewood we didn’t get there until Noon-ish. Perfect; she got breakfast, I got lunch, you get the two different types of food up for review =)

Street parking is metered and a little difficult, but worth it. The restaurant is located next to theatres, studios, and a flair of other artsy type places and the crowd reflected the atmosphere. Prices ranged from as low as $3.50 to $10.00. The decor was very “eclectic” as my friend put it.

Although the presentation wasn’t great, and the wait was 30-45 minutes for a party of two, the taste made up for it. Apparently the wait is not uncommon as the restaurant is small and well-known by locals. It didn’t seem like a long wait because of the patient crowd of people, the benches available for seating, and of course, the good company.

On to the food. My friend ordered Corned beef hash, which, from what I gather is brisket and potatoes, a side of potatoes, 2 eggs (over-hard) and a banana pancake. I didn’t try the corn beef hash or the potatoes and eggs but the egg was supposed to be over-hard yet still had yolk and she didn’t like the fact that the potatoes had green bell-peppers and not red. In her opinion, the red would have had more flavor and in my opinion, it would have looked more presentable.

The banana pancake was delicious; the banana wasn’t mushed up on the inside, and actual pieces could be found. They tasted like they were part of the pancake, yet retained that distinct banana texture. My only reasoning is that they were sliced to the perfect thickness in order to be so soft and full of banana flavor without melting into the batter or tasting out of place. The pancake itself was also the right thickness and wasn’t crispy or mushy.

I ordered lunch. S&W’s famous chicken salad melt and a side of onion rings. It was all quite tasty. The wheat bread was toasty and crunchy, the sandwich wasn’t prone to falling apart like so many other chicken/tuna salad sandwiches I’ve experienced and it was all put together so well that I could cut the sandwich into pieces without any of the filling falling out. The chicken breast was fresh and the amount of mayo was sparse and did not overpower the taste. The cheddar was melted nicely and I love cheese so I was glad there was plenty. The onion rings were good; the batter was thick but didn’t cancel out the taste of the onions.

Taste: 9/10
Presentation: 3/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Total: 17/20

1701 S. Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach, CA. (310) 791-4849

http://www.htgrill.com/

Hmm… Where to go after a beautiful wedding at the Neighborhood Church? We ended up at HT Grill in Redondo Beach for a late lunch before heading to the reception in Gardena. Here’s what we ordered:

WALDORF CHICKEN SALAD
Served with whole romaine leaves $10

THE REDONDO LUNCH
Cup of soup with half Waldorf Chicken Sandwich & House Salad $9

SPECIAL SALAD
Served with pieces of lobster $11

BAJA WRAP
Smoked chicken, sprouts, and avocado wrapped in a tortilla with achiote ranch and served with house greens $11

WALDORF CHICKEN SANDWICH
Served in a pocket pita with lettuce and tomato, accompanied by thin cut grill fries $9

I truly enjoyed the Waldorf Chicken Sandwich. It sounded delicious on the menu and was just as delicious in my mouth! Tender chunks of chicken with juicy grapes… The pita was a little hard though. The fries were pretty good. Everyone kept eating them.

THE THREE RING CIRCUS
A trio of creme brulee featuring passion fruit, Starbucks Coffee Liquor, and vanilla custards $5

Two out of the three were sweet… like dessert should be, but the last one (either the passion fruit or the vanilla) was sour.

BERRY CRUMBLE
Seasonal berries and fruit, baked and topped with a crisp oat, walnut, and brown sugar topping. Served with ice cream $5

I didn’t care for this dessert. Again, not sweet (especially the topping). And I didn’t even have a chance to taste the ice cream! I looked up and it was already gone!

Overall, we had a great time chatting outside and enjoying the beautiful day. We talked so loud that I’m sure the other diners were annoyed, especially the old lady… Jenn asked Ben to ask if it was ok to smoke since we were outside. The old lady at a table near us was horrified at such a suggestion! She held her food mid way to her open mouth and was just staring at us… Too bad I didn’t get a picture of that!

Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Total: 17/20