Donna's Home Caribbean Restaurant

12855 Prairie Avenue
Hawthorne, CA 90250

http://www.yelp.com/biz/donnas-home-caribbean-restaurant-hawthorne

Rating: 3.5 stars

Typical cost for lunch: $$$ ($10-14)

What was ordered: Oxtails, Brown Stew Chicken, Homemade Pineapple-Ginger Beer

Date of visit: 11 April 2011 (1^st visit)

Review:  When you go looking for diamonds in the rough, you have to be prepared for the rough.  That was our take-away message after visiting Donna’s Home Caribbean Restaurant.  Much like Front Page Jamaican Grille, this place is a hole-in-the-wall serving Jamaican/Caribbean food in a rough part of town.  We are big fans of Front Page so we were pretty excited to try Donna’s Home.

We showed up and it took about 5 minutes before anyone appeared to take our order.  We spent the time perusing the menu which looked quite bit like Front Page’s.  When someone finally came out from back (maybe it was Donna?), she told us they had Ox Tails and Brown Stew Chicken.  I’m not sure if they just weren’t prepared for our arrival or the menu just tells possible dishes they are serving that day.  Either way I was a bit disappointed not to be able to try the Jerk Chicken. 

The menu said we had a choice of three different styles of rice (white, vegetarian, or rice & peas).  I asked what she recommended.  She said the rice & beans but only the steamed rice was available right now.  Notice neither steamed rice nor rice & beans is mentioned in the menu.  I’m not sure what matches up with what.  We opted to wait the 10 minutes while they made the rice & beans.

Like Front Page, they have a list of homemade beverages available.  I ordered a cup of the Sorrel, a sour, fruity punch made with hibiscus flowers; however like the rest of the menu only certain items were available.  We decided to try the Pineapple Ginger Beer.

Ok, now that we have dealt with some of the rough, did we find a diamond?  Well, the food was excellent.  The Ox Tail was spicy and delicious; the Brown Stew Chicken had a slight sweetness; and the beans & rice were full of flavor.  The real winner, however, was the steamed vegetables.  Front Pages’ tend to be over cooked.  Donna’s Home were full of flavor but maintained a slight crunch… very nice.  My only complaint about the food is that it was too greasy.  There were literally pools of grease at the bottom of the container.  Now Front Page isn’t health food, but they are able to maintain the same great flavor without so much fat.  The Pineapple Ginger Beer was delicious, but you got about half what you get at Front Page for the same price ($3).

Another oddity about Donna’s Home is the strong Christian vibe throughout the restaurant.  It’s the kind of place were the walls are plastered with Bible quotes.  It didn’t bother me; I figure that kind of cultural kitsch is part and parcel of getting homemade ethnic food.  I am sure it is meant to be welcoming to members of the faith.  They probably don’t realize how exclusionary it can feel if you’re not part of that faith.

Finally, when the bill came, we discovered two things: 1) they only accept cash and 2) we had ordered the small size for lunch.  I don’t mind too much that they only accept cash; I just wish they had put a sign on the door indicating that.  Lucky we had enough money to cover our meal.  Also, we had got the small size for lunch, but she never asked us which size we would like.  The small size was plenty for our big appetites (hmmm… maybe next time I will order the small at Front Page).

Evaluating Donna’s Home Caribbean Restaurant is tough.  The food was excellent, but you have to evaluate them in light of your other nearby options.  Donna’s Home has an edge on Front Page on a few things but overall Front Page is the better choice, in my mind, for lunch.  Why eat all that grease if you don’t have to get the same flavor?  Add in everything else you have to deal with when you go to Donna’s Home and Front Page is the clear winner.

-Ben

La Paz Restaurant

514 Center St

El Segundo, CA 90245

310-322-3742

http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-paz-restaurant-el-segundo-3

Rating: 4 stars

Typical cost for lunch: $-$$ ($4.50 - 9)

What was ordered: Two Super Deluxe Burritos (1 w/ chicken, 1 w/ shredded beef), Horchata

Date of visit: 21 March 2011 (1^st visit)

Review:  La Paz has been at various locations around El Segundo for over 30 years.  Currently it’s tucked into a non-descript strip mall on a side street in El Segundo.  There aren’t any other restaurants around so it is easy to miss.  The restaurant itself is your standard hole-in-the-wall, family run place.

Chips and Salsa!

La Paz looks like a great place to find authentic Mexican food and it does not disappoint.  The chips and salsa came fast and was delicious.  It tasted homemade and is the thin, spicy kind of salsa that I love.  Prices are cheap, too (burritos starting at $4.50 and combination plates $7-9), but I thought the menu was arranged oddly.  They have a section of Wet Burritos (7 choices) and a section of Dry Burritos (17 choices).  I am used to picking out my burrito and then deciding if I want it wet or not.  Under Wet Burritos, they have the Super Deluxe with a nice set of accouterments (rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole, and cheese).  Sounds great (and only $6), but it is served with ground beef.  When given a choice, who the heck chooses to put ground beef in their burrito? (you know who you are – and yes I am talking about you)  Luckily they happily let us substitute the meat choice.

Super Deluxe Burrito

The chicken was good, but the shredded beef was better.  It is slowly stewed with bell peppers and onions until it falls apart.  Who wouldn’t want to find that inside their burrito?  I wasn’t very impressed with the sauce on the outside of the burrito.  There was too much of it and kind of tasted like it came out of a can.  I was impressed with the big scoop of guacamole on top.  They give you plenty and you never can have too much guacamole.  All in all it was a good lunch at a great price.  4 stars.

-Ben

El Pollo Inka

1100 Pacific Coast Highway, Ste 2

Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

310-372-1433

http://www.elpolloinka.com

http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-pollo-inka-hermosa-beach

Rating: 5 stars

Col Saltado

Typical cost for lunch: $$ ($6 - 9)

What was ordered: Chaufa de Pollo, Col Saltado, Vainitas de Pollo, Pollo a la Brasa

Date of visit: 22 March 2011 (too many times to count)

 

Review:  One of the reasons we started the Aerolunch Blog was because we felt we were going to El Pollo Inka too often.  We have come across many great restaurants since so I was interested to see how El Pollo Inka would stand up.  It didn’t take long to remember why we used to come so often.

Rolls & the green Aji sauce

Shortly after you sit down you get warm dinner rolls and a big bottle of the green Aji sauce.  Nice!!!  When you order, stick to the lunch specials.  They have a pretty nice selection that rotates periodically and is a much better deal than ordering off the regular menu.  The best part is all the lunches come with a cup of Cilantro Chicken Soup.

Chicken Cilantro Soup

Here is my Peruvian-Gringo translator to make ordering easier:  Most dishes are served with one of three meats: (1) Carne (beef steak strips), (2) Pollo (chicken, $2 extra for all white meat), or (3) Mariscos (mixed seafood).  If the meat isn’t specified in the name it’s probably beef.  The majority of dishes are stir fried (saltado) and tend to be pretty salty (but ohhh so delicious).  Chaufa means it is stir fried with rice; col means with cabbage; and vainitas means with greenbeans.  If one of those are not specified it probably comes with French fries.  Alternatively, you can get the Rotisserie Chicken (Pollo a la Brasa), which is excellent, or a stew type dish: Aji de Gallina (chicken in a walnut gravey) or picante (a creamy, spicy sauce).  The Aji de Gallina is OK and I find the picante has too much sauce that is too thick and rich.  The Saltados are by far my favorite.

Pollo a la Brasa

I usually want some vegetables with lunch and order the col or vainitas…mmmm… a big pile of stir fried meat and vegetables on a scoop of steamed rice.  The seasoning is a bit salty but it makes everything taste spectacular.  A more common dish people like is the plain saltado which comes with a big mound of French fries.  It isn’t health food but it sure tastes good.  No matter what you order at El Pollo Inka you can be assured you will leave full.  All of the lunch plates are huge; add in the cup of soup and the bread it is one heck of a deal at around $8.  And don’t forget to use the Aji sauce liberally.  It has a bit of a kick to it, but they put it in such a big bottle for a reason.

Vainitas de Pollo

 Congratulations El Pollo Inka you have earned (and deservedly so) the Aerolunch Blogs first 5-star rating!

-Ben

Deluca Trattoria

225 Richmond Street,

El Segundo, CA 90245-3719

(310) 640-7600 ‎

www.delucapasta.com

http://www.yelp.com/biz/deluca-trattoria-el-segundo

Rating: 4.5 stars

Typical cost for lunch: $-$$ ($5-11)

What was ordered: Linguine Frutti di Mare, Pollo al Marsala, Penne all’ Arrabiata

Date of visit: 9 March 2011 (1^st visit)

Review: Richmond Street is a quaint, low-key street a block past the busier Main Street in El Segundo. I’m not sure how long it would have taken me to discover this street if I hadn’t gotten a tip to check out Deluca’s Trattoria. It is a serene street for lunch and Deluca’s, with its brick building, fits in nicely.

Inside is elegantly decorated and they even have cotton tablecloths. I was thinking to myself, “I am going to have to put some cash down for this lunch.” Then I saw the menu. A typical bowl of pasta is $6! Then, before we even ordered a big pile of hot, fresh from the oven, homemade bread was brought out. A bowl of olive oil, fresh minced garlic, and red-pepper flakes was on the side to dip the bread into. It wasn’t a plate with a splash of olive oil on it… it was a whole bowl… stuffed with fresh garlic. He couldn’t keep our hands off that bread.

I ended up ordering the most expensive dish on the menu and only paid $11 for a huge plate of Frutti de Mare stuffed with shrimp, scallops, and squid. My friend ordered the Chicken Marsala and when it came out it had a red sauce instead of the typical white marsala wine sauce. We were leery of it at first, but when we tasted it, it was all marsala goodness. The chicken came with vegetables on the side instead of pasta so my friend ordered the Penne all’ Arrabiata, too. The waitress suggested the half-order for only $4. I thought that was nice of her.

The pasta is good at Deluca’s (I would call it 4-stars), but everything on their menu half of what you would expect to spend. Plus, that bread… well I still dream about that bread and the garlic olive oil at night. As is normal procedure, I will refrain from giving out 5-stars based on one visit. 4.5 stars.

-Ben