Posted January 22nd, 2009 by Meg
I don’t know BBQ well at all. I rarely eat it. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it, it just never happens. My boyfriend however loves it and even stated that it was his favorite “food.”
We were on the hunt for dinner and driving down Pico when we saw Mr. Cecil’s tin can shack and thought it was probably the best bet for the night. The place is very small and has pictures of pigs all over the walls which honestly make the whole experience a little conflicting; cute happy piggies on the wall and dead, delicious piggie on the plate. Sorry, I didn’t take pictures of the walls. I was too sad.
I avoided this porcus conflict by ordering the Samara’s Southwest Salad - grilled chicken, salsa, corn, on a bed of lettuce with bbq ranch dressing. The salad was good, but not worth 13 dollars.
In order to make my experience more bbq-ey I also ordered a single beef rib. I don’t know anything about beef ribs, but I did know that this giant rib had more fat on it than it did meat which was a little disappointing. Maybe that’s just how it is supposed to be though and that is the wonders of beef ribs. The bbq sauce is nice, but both my boyfriend and I agreed that it wasn’t the best ever. Would I go back again? Sure, it was fine. But, I would also like to explore other bbq places in Los Angeles first…
Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs
12244 West Pico Boulevard,
Los Angeles, California 90064
310-442-1550
Posted October 21st, 2008 by Meg
I love Mexican food. I don’t have it as often as I like, but that makes it quite the treat when I do get my taco fix. A few weeks ago my roommate and I were both in the mood for Mexican in close proximity to the home. Usually, we just go to El Cholo, Border Grill, or La Cabana. Not this time. We wanted to try a different place. We drove down Pico with our hungry eyes wide open looking on both sides of the street. We pulled over when we saw two signs side by side: The Talpa Restaurant and Don Antonio’s Cantina. Was it the same restaurant? Or was it two separate restaurants next to one another? We both checked our phones to see what was up with this situation until we realized we were how silly it was to be parked right in front of both restaurants looking at our phones for information about the restaurant(s). So we did what any rational person would do: flipped a coin. It landed on the Talpa Restaurant. We walked in but immediately recognized it was not where we wanted to eat for dinner. It reminded me of a pizza place where you order at the register and then sit down at a booth and watch the tv that is hanging on the wall. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but we just wanted a more restaurant-y atmosphere. We awkwardly turned ourselves around explaining to the hostess that we “forgot to lock the car.”
We traipsed over to Don’s where we quickly realized we had made the right decision. It was a little busy, so we put our name down and sat at the bar. But, before we could even order a margarita, our table was ready for us. We sat down while within a few short blinks of the eye a server had brought over water and chips and salsa. I would rate the chips and salsa very high because the chips were warm and the salsa was spicy.
I ordered a margarita to drink (on the rocks with salt) and to eat I decided on the basics: cheese quesadilla, carne asada taco, and a chile relleno.
I wish I could say that this was the best Mexican food I have ever had. But, sadly it is not. I am a taco truck girl and spent my college years eating the best: Leo’s Taco Truck in Eagle Rock. The fact that I spent 8 dollars on a cheese quesadilla is beyond ridiculous. Although it came with guacamole and sour cream, this q-dilla was just too plain and boring for me to ever order again at that price. The taco is the same story. I am used to flavorful carne asada, but this was bland and a little too dry for my palate. The worst was the chile relleno. It was no bueno; soggy and bland.
I don’t like writing bad reviews, but I would return to Don’s. Why would I give them a second chance you ask? Am I crazy? Yes! But, the margarita was great! They cost around six dollars a pop; an amazing price for a non-Happy hour satisfying margarita. Worst comes to worst, they have no good food in which case I would still come back to drink the cheap yummy margaritas and eat the deliciously free chips.
Don Antonio’s
11755 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 312-2090
Posted October 15th, 2008 by Meg
No, it’s not a soap for STDs. It’s my latest find at Trader Joe’s! Lumpy Bumpy Bar is creamy caramel and peanut nougat drenched in dark chocolate. Yum. This lumpy bumpy bar is 290 calories (130 of the fat kind), 14g of fat, 6 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber. Whatever that means, hah! It’s chewy, nice and nougat-y, and goes well with the dark chocolate. It had me at lumpy.
Three stages of L.B.B.
1. Uncut
Reaction: That’s not so lumpy OR bumpy.
2. First Cut
Reaction: Where’s the bumps and lumps at?
3. Second Cut
Reaction: Ohhhhh, I found the lumps and bumps!
This delicious Lumpy Bumpy Bar was bought at the Trader Joe’s in Santa Monica (the one where it is always ridiculously crowded, out of my favorite foods, and takes at least 10 minutes to check out; supposedly one of the busiest in the nation). I found this gem where the chocolate bars are normally located at TJ’s: near the cash register for last minute “oh I really absolutely need this” grabbing.
Trader Joe’s
3212 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 581-0253
Posted October 14th, 2008 by Meg
Recently my boyfriend and I went to the Abbot Pizza Company at it’s flagship location on Abbot Kinney. (The other location is on Pico in Santa Monica). Abbot Pizza Co. is quintessential Californian gourmet pizza. Known best for their bagel crust (a mixture of poppy seeds, onion, garlic and sesame) and supposedly as the best pizza on the West side of Los Angeles. However, the bagel crust is not the only option; if you were to order a pie they offer six crust options: Onion, Garlic, Sesame, Poppy, Hot-Crust and The Blend (Bagel). Also, they have a pretty wide selection of toppings (4 types of mushrooms!: shiitake, oyster, portobello, and buttons). The place is very small and filled up quickly with a wide variety of clientel. If we had not have come so early, we would have probably had to sit outside or get our food to go. Or be a looming (drooling) seat hunter.
I took the gourmet route and ordered a slice of the Cheese Bomb - parmesan, romano, fontina, gouda, ricotta & mozzarella cheese on an alfredo sauce.
And a slice of Popeye’s Chicken - spinach, mushroom, onion, tequila lime marinated chicken with mozzarella cheese on a garlic pesto sauce.
They were both great. I thought the cheese bomb was going to be my favorite because I love cheese, but other than the ricotta and mozzarella the cheeses were hard for my palate to pick up. I think I would have enjoyed the cheese bomb more if it had been a red sauce instead of the alfredo. I really enjoyed the garlic pesto on the popeye slice. I have yet to have a bad pesto experience.
In regards to both slice’s crust, I found it to taste more like a big soft pretzel than a bagel. I suppose when you add salt to a bagel, it increases it’s chances to taste like a pretzel exponentially. I would go again; it was good pizza. I want to continue trying their gourmet slices like the Meatless/Sauceless with pizza crust and seasonal vegetables. It’s a great place to go if you’re in Venice and hungry for pizza.
Abbot Pizza Company I
1407 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 396-7334
Hours: 11am - 11 pm
Abbot Pizza Company II
1811 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-2777
