i picked a dud at little dom's deli

one of the worse kinds of eating experiences, other than finding a roach in your food, is to pick the wrong item off of any menu while everybody else hits a gustatory jackpot. you know what i mean. while everybody smacks their lips praising what they ordered and devouring their said awesome item, you sit there picking through yours just WISHING you had ordered differently. perhaps you start whining a bit, attempt to play the pathetic card so others may offer you a morsel of theirs. OR if you're anything like me, you make do with what you have and burn this item in your memory as a NEVER-EVER-order-it-again item. fyi, my brain is full of these kinds of useless never-ever notes.

not too long ago, i ate at little dom's deli in los feliz which left me with one of those never-ever notes. this experience was rather disappointing given the good things i've heard about its mother restaurant, little dom's.

but back to the deli...the deli menu is rather diverse, with all kinds of interesting sounding salads, hot and cold sammiches, pastries, and a variety of deli meats and cheeses to go. after the usual "what are you getting?" discussions with my party of four, i ordered my truffled chicken salad & arugula sammich ($10.95). it was tough not to grab a package of these sweets as well.

when our sandwiches arrived and we all took our initial bites, i heard nothing but satisfied sighs around the table....except for me. ack, i picked a dud! dangit! this sammich looked great and i was allured by the "truffle" aspect of it, but the creamy chunks of chicken were severely underseasoned. in fact, i think a sweaty gym towel might have more flavor than this sandwich. not wanting to face the sad truth of picking the failed item in the group, i nabbed myself some salt to sprinkle on the sammich. it still did nothing for the overall taste of it *sigh*

not to mention that the bread was rather chewy. if i had dentures, then that's one issue, but my beaver-like teeth can bite off evander holyfield's other ear, but biting this bread it could not. i've never met such a tough piece of bread in my life. i left on my plate what i couldn't gnaw.

to be fair, everybody else in my group enjoyed their sandwiches and my dud of a sandwich does not bespeak of the the overall quality of this deli. but to also be honest, the plethora of dining choices out there and the tightness of my wallet does not afford me the luxury of giving many second chances so i probably won't come back. besides, parking in los feliz sucks :0

although i have no desire to go back to the deli, i have yet to partake in the offerings of the main restaurant, little dom's, and look forward to it. besides, they currently offer $15 monday suppers which intrigues my tastebuds and my wallet.

Little Dom's Deli
2128 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 661-0055
www.littledoms.com

price: $$
verdict: ?

no whoa mommy for umami

a friend's belated birthday celebration was a great excuse for me to pimp umami burger on him. after all, it's been blogged and yelped about like a two penny harlot and the feeling that everybody has tried umami except for me made me feel so uncool. luckily, the birthday boy enthusiastically agreed to this selfish plan of mine so all six of us headed towards umami on hollywood (which i believe took the space of the once there cobras y matadors) to celebrate his advancement in age and his flirtations with senility. parking around the area was not too difficult cuz we ate mad early like senior citizens but i can see how tough it might be during prime dining hours. it is los feliz-ish after all so you know how that goes.

once inside, we sat in a near empty dining area. the decor was not at all attractive to me. sure you have hiragana on the walls....and??? i don't read japanese, but i'm guessing this particular wall just instructed us on how to assemble a shelf unit for our walk-in closet.

before i sat down, i already knew that i had to try their namesake burger, the umami burger, but was torn between that and the hatch burger after looking at the menu....thank god for friends with greedy burger eyes because i was able to cut a deal and split both.

here's the umami burger ($9). it is a thick medium rare to rare cooked beef patty that is rather bloody for those of you that like your dead cow really dead. there were no options on how you wanted your burger cooked. in fact, it was more of an "eat-it-like-you-get-it-bitches!" so we did. i think a few of my companions did not enjoy how rare their meat patties were. anyways, the umami burger was topped with shitake mushrooms, grilled onions, and a cheese crisp. the brioche buns added a slight sweetness to your burger bite. although tasty, the umami burger was far from mind blowing.

the hatch burger ($9) was the better burger between the two. although the chiles provided no heat whatsoever, there was a nice earthiness to it which i enjoyed.

damn this meat patty was still mooing!

i also requested the sweet potato fries which came with a light sprinkling of sugar on it. it's not significant enough to alter the savoriness of the sweet po fries, but i can see why folks who have a saltier palate would not enjoy them. dude, i can eat a snickers bar for breakfast so i enjoyed them.

thank god for many hungry mouths because we ordered the thin fries ($3.50), thick fries ($3), as well as the tempura onion rings ($3). ok, ok, and meh. i think if you're really looking for something different, then the sweet po will do the trick. the other fries can be gotten anywhere.

with all that being said, did we ever figure out what "umami" really is ? this elusive fifth taste? the birthday boy thinks it's msg and by golly, he might be onto something. anyways, the meal was tasty, but it did not meet the inflated expectations that the name "umami" carries. i would not stand in a long or short line to get one if i was craving a burger, but if you bought one for me and delivered it to my door, i would totally take it.

Umami Burger
4655 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
umamiburger.com/

price: $$
verdict: tasty, try it.

vino for the wino

Vinoteca Farfalla
1968 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90189
(323) 661-8070
http://www.vinotecafarfalla.com/

price: $$
verdict: omg, i love it!

in my brain, the word THIRST always conjures up an image of a skinny white dude in a dirty torn up dress shirt crawling his way through the sahara desert. how did he get there? who knows, but i do know that he's crawling towards a mirage thinking he finally found water. so sad when he finds nothing but sand around him.

now imagine me, waiting for the last minute of the work day on a friday to conclude and then sprinting towards my car. i too, am driven by the word THIRST like that poor white dude that i just described, but mine ALWAYS result in pleasantries and not death...and it almost always involves wine and not just plain water. it is absolutely 100% cooler than what happened to that dude. for reals.

this friday, a friend and i checked out vinoteca farfalla in los feliz for their happy hora. from 4-7, you can spend 3 full hours drowning your THIRST with $6 wine or $4 beers. holla! the space is also narrow, chic, and dark. a GREAT place for a date or for weary workers like us who wanted good eats while we drank.

check out the way they dispense wine...ghetto fabulous?

omg cheese. cheese like a wheel, cheese in buckets, cheese, cheese, cheese!

the happy hora menu looked awesome. we decided on three dishes (click on the picture if you want to read what's on the menu you blind bat) and a glass of chardonnay for my thirsty self. they do generous pours as well. marry me...please? i can cook.

we started off with the ceviche vinoteca which was limey white fish, shrimp, basil dip, and guac served with tortilla chips. the ceviche is tart but sweet and not super sour like most places. i thought it was yummy.

we also ordered the empanadas plate which were three empanadas with different types of filling: oozy cheese with hearts of palm (my favorite amongst the three), beef (which tasted like chinese stir fry for some reason. there were celery and carrot bits in it), and chicken (which tasted like chicken pot pie). although only one of the empanadas was truly amazing, if you plan to split something, this would be a good pick so i recommend that you try it.

empanada with oozy cheese and hearts of palm. salty and tart wrapped up and fried. did god make this because it is good!

and being the burger whore that i am, i convinced my friend that we NEEDED to order the braziburger or else we would be lame. the burger had a thousand island, mcdonald's big mac inspired sauce on it dressed up with grilled onions. the buns were sweet which made me think it was either a hawiian sweet roll or some sort of brioche bread. it also came with delicious crusty fries which made my lips smack. yummy. anyways, the knife stabbed through its center was dramatic and hilarious and such an appropriate way to celebrate the end of another work week.

since i eat INSANELY early, i will beat the happy hora vinoteca farfalla crowd by rolling in at 5 on the dot sometime soon. fyi, chatting up with the server revealed to me that 2 doors down on the corner is vinoteca farfalla the RESTAURANT. please don't be a stupid ass like me and go there first before finding the right place.

no home cooking here

Home Restaurant
1760 Hillhurst Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 669-0211
www.homelosfeliz.com

price: $$
verdict: it's aight

this home is not where my heart is. nor does it speak to my stomach. the ambience is nice with its pleasant outdoor eating area...but seriously, ambience can only take you so far. once you hunker down and chow, the food HAS to deliver...and alas, no foodie deliverance found at home.

i ordered a tuna melt sandwich with a side of fries. i know, boring, but heck, sometimes, my tummy just wants some fish mixed with mayo! the fries are AMAZING though but the sandwich itself fell short. to be honest with you, i thought house of pies served a better tuna melt. a

nd yes, i agree that i did not give other menu items a try, but given the atrocious parking and the longish wait to get a seat depending on the time of day, i would rather go to the alcove. good luck parking your toyota prius and getting a taste of home you hipsters.

food baby

House of Pies Restaurant & Bakery
1869 N Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 666-9961

price: $$
verdict: it's aight

how to conceive a food baby:

1) order a tuna melt sandwich and consume every bit of it
2) select a side order of fries to dip with ranch dressing
3) finish off with a slice of banana cream pie. shared of course because you want to keep your figure...relatively

i had a food baby today at the house of pies. thank you for the gastronomical conception.

craving the kitchen

The Kitchen
4348 Fountain Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 664-3663
www.thekitchen-silverlake.com

price: $$
verdict: omg, i love it!

i had the most ginormous meal there last night and it still sits in my stomach as i type out this review. i say this in a good way because i still feel pretty full. dang, a meal that keeps going and going!

my friends and i came here for dinner and what a good find it is! at first when we walked through their doors, it was pretty off-putting because the space is so small and crowded and the thought of a long wait with an extremely hungry stomach seemed murderous. BUT apparently, they sit you first if you have all your party present so we were able to "front cut" a few folks. score!

i ordered their meat loaf entree (such yummy mash potatoes and veggies on the side!) while my friends ordered their sesame encrusted albacore and almond encrusted trout. all three dishes tasted HEAVENLY so my taste buds did the happy dance all through dinner. the service was good even though they were busy and never once did we feel pressured to leave a.s.a.p. to make room for others. we were able to sit for a bit to digest.

as we left the kitchen, our conversation started with "when i come back next time, i'm going to order the...." that's a true sign of a good restaurant, when you already start talking about coming back to eat more. seriously delicious eats!

alcapulco it is

Acapulco Mexican Restaurant
4444 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 665-5751

price: $$
verdict: it's aight

went here last night with my friend. this is our "usual" hangout spot when we meet. why acapulco you may wonder? well, the food is pretty consistent here doncha think? whatever entree i've ordered always taste the same...no hidden suprises. yesterday, i was adventurous and tried their picadillo enchiladas...yuck. too salty. but their combo meals are fine...i like their chili relleno, tamales, enchilada options.

we've never had to wait for a table which is critical when you're hungry and must chow immediately. the margaritas are decent. parking has never been an issue for me...i just park in the circuit city lot. i haven't been towed yet (knock on wood), though my car has been dumped on numerous times by poo poo filled birds.

they also have a pretty rowdy happy hour once in a while. funny cuz i can't really imagine acapulco as being a "happening" place, but it appears to be so on some nights...you would think so too when you witness some grind action next to the hot trays full of $2 tacos.

my cookie love

Viktor Benes Continental Bakeries

2725 Hyperion Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90027

(323) 913-1966

price: $

verdict: omg, i love it!

viktor!!! where have you been all my life?! if i only knew you were nestled in the gelson's on hyperion, just waiting for me to find you, i would have come to you so much sooner!!! so, so much sooner!!

my first taste was your yummy rugalah cookies. they were flaky and tart. yuummm....then i tried your chantilly cookies which i prefer to call "tubes of heaven." ooh, what a sweet treat with chocolate cream inside, sealed on both ends with melted chocolate dipped in sprinkles. your scones are pretty amazing too...i have a feeling that i will be visiting you often...especially after my weekly trader joes run. it won't feel right if i don't drop in and get some cookies, too.

viktor, i think we will be friends for a very long time.....

bag o' cookies. flakey, chewy, chocolatey, and 100% yummy!

the cove of crab sammiches

Alcove Cafe & Bakery
1929 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 644-0100
www.alcovecafe.com

price: $$
verdict: tasty, try it!

it's a great place to go when the weather is warm and you're strutting around in your sexy summer dress. they have cute outdoor seating with mismatched wood furniture and tables. you order at the counter and they bring the food to you, so make sure you snag a place early on because seating is tight peoples! it's a real nice place to hang when you just want to sit around and chew the fat with your buds or enjoy their extensive array of desserts.

the food is pretty tasty, but my favorite has got to be their crab cake sandwich. *drool* good lord that is tasty!! nice crust to the the crab meat patty and it's served with a spicy sauce that you smear on tip. crispy fries come with it which rounds out this meal. i've ordered other items from their menu before, but this sandwich has remained my absolute favorite.

by the way, i saw shannon elizabeth there once. she was heavily made up. wow, not hot.