Sorry I haven't been posting new reviews lately. My second son was born at the beginning of June and things have been hectic (to say the least). I am now back to working full time (and eating lunch!) and will hopefully have some new reviews up shortly. Thanks all for reading.
-Ben
Monday, July 25, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Hummus House
12211 Hawthorne Blvd
Hawthorne, CA 90250
(310) 675-3400
Rating: 4.9 stars
Typical cost for lunch: $$ ($7-9)
What was ordered: Chicken Shawarma & Greek Salad
Date of visit: 31 May 2011 (3rd visit)
Review: I had the hankering for some pita and grilled meat, but we couldn’t decide where to go. We’ve been to various Middle Eastern restaurants in the area, but none has ever stood out. Al Hamra isn’t filling; The Hummus Factory has a pretty limited menu; Chicken Maison is a little pricey (but has delectable garlic sauce); Open Sesame and Sabra are down-right overpriced; Hummus House is… hmmm… maybe the best of the lot. With that we set off for the restaurant with 8 types of hummus!
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| Chicken Shawarma |
If nothing else, Hummus House is known for its wide variety of hummus options. They include: Traditional, Jalapeno Cilantro, Roasted Garlic, Roasted Red Pepper, Artichoke Pesto, Kalamata Olive, Habanero, and Sun Dried Tomato. When I think of hummus, I think of garlic so I usually end up getting the Roasted Garlic. It sounds a bit odd, but the Jalapeno Cilantro is actually probably the tastiest option. The Artichoke Pesto sounds flavorful but is actually a bit bland. I don’t think I’ve ever tried the traditional (who would choose plain when you have so many options?) or the Habanero. The rest are pretty tasty but not exceedingly distinctive. Most of the lunches come with your choice of hummus. I recommend you coordinate within your group so you can try a couple different ones.
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| Greek Salad |
As far as entrees, the Shawarma is my favorite (and most popular according to our server). It is a big pile of juicy marinated meat (beef or chicken), next to a scoop of rice, and a sizable salad. With the pita and hummus it is a filling lunch. I’ve had the Kabob (skewers of grilled meat) and they are excellent, too. The pita wraps are a little bit smaller but still filling. During this visit, my friend ordered the Greek Salad. It was huge and stuffed with grilled chicken breast and feta cheese. Unfortunately the salad doesn’t come with hummus.
Based on my previous two visits that would be my review and I would have given Hummus House 4 stars. However, on this visit I found something I don’t remember previously. When we sat down there was a big pot of creamy garlic sauce ready for us to add however we like to our meal. It is the same sauce that drives my back to Chicken Maison like a fly to light. However at Chicken Maison, you get a small plastic cup. Here they give you a big pot of the stuff! I looked up a recipe online for this sauce and it is basically: garlic, garlic, and more garlic. Add in a bit of olive oil and salt and blend for an eon. After some time the oil must start to emulsify to give it that creamy texture. It doesn’t have a strong bite when you first taste it, but before long you realize how much garlic you just ate. I don’t recommend this stuff before an important meeting with the client, but other than that I can’t think of too many items that wouldn’t be tastier with a little bit of this sauce.
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| Garlic Sauce!!! |
The only downside to Hummus House is that it is right next to Rosy’s Cuban Café and Bakery. Hummus house is great but it is tough walking past Rosy’s. 4.9 stars.
-Ben
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Indian Buffet Round-Up Super Post!!!
Akbar Cuisine of India
1101 Aviation Blvd
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
(310) 937-3800
Priya Indian Cuisine
15651 Hawthorne Blvd
Lawndale, CA 90260
(310)675-1100
Indian Summer
219 Main St.
El Segundo, CA 90245
(310) 322-7550
India Grill Express
11918 Aviation Blvd
Inglewood, CA 90304
(310) 725-9842
Rating: Akbar – 5 stars
Priya – 4.5 stars
Indian Summer – 3.5 stars
India Grill – 3 stars
Cost for Lunch Buffet: Akbar – $8
Priya – $9
Indian Summer – $10
India Grill – $8
Review: We recently found ourselves at Priya Indian Cuisine enjoying the lunch buffet. I wanted to blog about our experience, but I would have to discuss it in relation to the other Indian buffets in the area. Instead of blogging about each one separately, I thought I would put together a round-up of all the Indian buffets in the area (all the ones I’ve been to at least).
Akbar is my gold standard for Indian buffets. It’s actually quite small (about 3 vegetarian and 3 non-veg. dishes) but what they have they do well. The standard dishes on the buffet include Dahl (kind of like a lentil stew), Gobi Aloo (gobi means cauliflower/aloo means potato… it’s the standard Indian dish cooked with plenty of spices), Sag (spinach stew… with paneer – Indian cheese – if you are lucky), Tandoori Chicken (BBQ’d chicken pieces – without a sauce), Chicken Tikka Masala (boneless chicken in a creamy tomato curry sauce), and either a Lamb or Chicken Curry. All of the vegetable dishes are excellent with plenty of Indian spice; the Tandoori Chicken is juicy and fresh from the Tandoor (Indian clay oven); but the Chicken Tikka Masala is the star of the show. The secret is, they use the Tandoori Chicken to make the Chicken Tikka Masala, and so the chicken by itself is a wonderful dish. Then they bathe it in this rich, creamy tomato sauce… I have dreams about that sauce. Together they are a truly spectacular dish.
The lunch buffet comes with Naan (Indian flat bread) fresh from the oven that is crispy and blistered on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. If you ask (which I suggest you do!) they will give you Garlic Naan. The freshly chopped garlic is an excellent addition to the delicious Naan they serve. In full disclosure, my Indian friend is not as high on Akbar as I am, though I chock that up to his well documented love affair with boneless, skinless chicken breast. The Chicken Tikka Masala is made with dark and white meat.
Priya (pronounced pre-ya), is my new addition to this list and I have to say it makes a decent challenge to Akbar for top spot. What makes Priya unique is that they serve southern Indian cuisine on their buffet. Almost all Indian restaurants in the US, outside of Little India, serve Northern Indian cusine (Korma, Saag, Tandoori, Aloo Gobi…), which is a real shame because Southern Indian food has great flavor and tends to be a little bit healthier. What tips you off right away that they are serving Southern Indian Food is the Idli. Idli is a steamed rice cake that sops up the flavor of Sambar and Rasam to make a wonderful dish. Sambar is a thick vegetable soup made with yellow split peas (dahl in Hindi). Rasam is a thin spicy, sour soup made with tamarind. Sambar and Rasam are a requirement for any Southern Indian meal. I’ve eaten at a lot of Indian buffets in my life and I’ve never seen Idli, Sambar, or Rasam on any of them.
If you like heat, you should try Southern Indian cuisine as it tends to be a bit hotter than their neighbors to the North. Case in point, they had a dish called Chicken 65 on the buffet. It is chicken pieces marinated in yogurt and then bathed in tons of chili peppers. It was hot, but the reward is worth the pain. They also serve many of the standard Northern Indian dishes. These are pretty good too. I would say a step up from what you get at India Grill. The lunch buffet does come with Naan, but they were the biggest disappointment for me. I thought they were greasy and lifeless. Why should baked bread have pools of oil on it?
Indian Summer is located in downtown El Segundo and is the biggest buffet I have found in the area. The main selling point here is variety and they have it in abundance with many vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The quality is pretty good and they tend to have a sizable lunch crowd. That means high turn-around on the buffet and fresher dishes on your plate. There is one dish on the buffet that looks like chicken meatballs. I can’t recommend staying away from it enough. It tastes like a watery sponge to me. Naan is included on the buffet (versus being made fresh and brought to your table) which means it is usually pretty rubbery and lifeless.
India Grill is your standard Indian buffet. It is a little bit larger than Akbar’s buffet with all the typical dishes you would expect to find. They have a Goat Curry that is quite good and they deliver freshly baked Naan to your table. Also, they ask you when you place your order if you would like Garlic or Plain Naan (again, I recommend Garlic). A year or so back, a couple took over management of the restaurant. They are quite friendly and service tends to be a step above what I normally find at Indian restaurants. The biggest selling point for me (which I didn’t include in the rating) is that I can walk here from my office.
In terms ambiance, Indian Summer is in the nicest part of town (picturesque Main Street, El Segundo). Akbar is the nicest on the inside and they even have cotton tablecloths. Priya and India Grill are both in strip malls in rougher parts of town.
-Ben
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Big Mike’s Philly Steaks and Subs
310-726-9638
Rating: 5 stars
Typical cost for lunch: $$ ($7 - 9)
What was ordered: Cheese Steak, Chicken Mushroom Steak, and Garlic Fries
Date of visit: 25 March 2011 (multiple previous visits)
Review: I’ve never been to Pat’s or Geno’s in Philadelphia, but this is the best Philly Cheese Steak I’ve ever had. They start with ribeye steak, slice it thin, and grill it up to order (without oil). That gets piled into a freshly baked, soft and chewy, hollowed-out steak roll along with your choice of extras (grilled onions, hot peppers, sweet peppers, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, and cheese). For a little bit more, you can add pizza sauce or grilled mushrooms to the cheese steak. Your cheese choices include Provolone, Cheez Whiz, or white American. I usually get Provolone but if you’re feeling authentic, I have to admit Cheez Whiz (a poor excuse for cheese) is pretty tasty on there.
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| Lunch Combo: 6-inch Cheese Steak and Garlic Fries |
If you are looking for something a little healthier, the Chicken Philly is the same thing made with thinly sliced chicken breast. Big Mike’s also has subs, hoagies, and salads on their menu, but I have never been able to get past the cheese steaks. They have lunch specials; for around $8 you get a 6-inch cheese steak with a soda and chips, fries, or garlic fries. It’s a good deal - and the garlic fries are superb – however, if I’m feeling hungry for about 50 cents more you can just get the 12-inch cheese steak. I don’t care much for the soda, so I figure I’m trading the garlic fries for another 6 inches of sandwich. The garlic fries are tasty (lot’s of fresh garlic), but it’s a good trade-off in my book.
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| 12-inch Cheese Steak |
Now, you should only go to Big Mike’s if you have a big appetite. The place is usually filled with El Segundo PD, TSA officers from LAX, and men from the surrounding companies eating big hearty sandwiches. It is hard to daintily eat a cheese steak. If you do have a big appetite, Big Mike’s is a great place to fill it. 5 stars.
-Ben
Monday, April 11, 2011
Donna's Home Caribbean Restaurant
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 (1st 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
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