My Move To LA

Talk about a sweet place to get a drink in Hollywood! Some friends and I discovered this place while en route to get a drink at Bar Marmont (well known for having outrageously priced beverages but a good chance at rubbing elbows with the rich and famous). The enticing tabletop signs at the Trocadero easily seen from the sidewalk read, "Happy Hour 6:00 - 8:00pm All drinks half price." ALL drinks half price?!! Half suspecting this to be some kind of scheme to get you in the door I was ready to pay $7 for a $14 beer but it turns out that a domestic beer runs about $6 and a martini runs about $10, so, during happy hour you can easily get loaded for $20 (or at least I can).

The bar wasn't crowded so we easily got a seat on their nice patio where we could politely tell all the homeless walking by that we would prefer not to give them any money.

On our exit we decided to hit the bathroom before our journey out of Hollywood and discovered on the walls of the bathroom many photos of the biggest celebrities of yesteryear sitting in the very same bar (although the decor was slightly different). To me at least, the present day celebrity hang outs are far too hip and overpriced (like the aforementioned Bar Marmont) and I'd rather get a bit of that Hollywood nostalgia from a picture on a wall (like the Trocadero) or a plaque above the booth (like the Hamburger Hamlet) to let me know that I'm sitting in the very place Frank Sinatra or Humphrey Bogart once sat.

I give the Trocadero Lounge two thumbs up.

Nicole and I were scootering around yesterday (enjoying the 80 degree March weather) and even though our budget for eating out has already been blown this week we decided to stop and get a bite. We were initially scootering around the touristy part of Hollywood Blvd but decided it would be much too expensive to eat there so we headed on down to Sunset and then east a few miles. Eventually we came to a Los Angeles institution known as Zankou Chicken on the corner of Sunset and Normandie and figured it was probably a good place to eat inexpensively.

Turns out we were right and for under $20 we were stuffed with Armenian grease and had food to take home. The food is great but the service is terrible. It's one of those joints where they act like you're wasting their time with your order. They take your order at the register where we were greeted with a "Yes please?" and then told that our order (and apparently no one elses) would take 15 minutes. Our order also included a beverage which apparently comes with the food when they call your order number and not before. When Nicole asked for the drink she was greeted with a blank stare by the young girl behind the counter who didn't say anything for a few moments and then asked for our order number (which I had taken to the table).

Anyway, to sum it all up: Zankou Chicken, good food, great price but prepare for the abuse.

Rarely can I go to a restaurant (or order takeout) and get the same thing. I usually like mixing it up, even if I really liked something the last time. However, when I eat at Bossa Nova I have to get Willy's Favorite Burrito or else I get depressed that I'm missing an opportunity to get the most delicious burrito on the planet.

I'm not going to write a review on the restaurant as that's already been done well here: LA.foodblogging - Bossa Nova. But, if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend getting Willy's Favorite Burrito. I give it two thumbs way, way up.

Whoever Willy is, he's frickin' awesome.

Last night Nicole and I made a trip down the street to the recently opened Tender Greens restaurant. The Chipotlesque way in which you order your food is cool and after I got over being abused by the girl taking our order (she was completely emotionless and unhelpful) I was shocked to get to the cashier and find that it's $21.00 plus 9.25% tax for two salads. I began to wonder where I was saving money for sacrificing a proper hostess and wait staff (and being abused by the first employee I encountered). They do get two thumbs up however for having microbrews on tap!

For $10.50 my salad was extremely disappointing. I ordered from the "Big Salads" menu and got the Wild Shrimp Ceviche. I didn't know it at the time but Ceviche is a fancy word for raw fish "cooked" (when they really mean just marinated) in lemon or lime juice. I'm a big fan of sushi but ceviche fucking sucks (or at least shrimp ceviche sucks). It was cold, limp, tasteless and looked like part of the afterbirth from one of the Aliens movies when the little alien pops out of the human's chest. I guess it would have been slightly better if the shrimp was actually cooked but not by much. I almost ordered off of the "Simple Salads" menu as I wasn't that hungry but I'm glad I didn't because even the "big" salad wasn't enough.

Nicole ordered the Chinese Chicken Salad from the big menu and while it was pretty delicious it didn't come with enough dressing and her chicken seemed to suffer from the same afterbirth effect as my shrimp. She didn't finish it.

I wish I could base this entire review on the beer but, alas, I cannot. Tender Greens gets two thumbs down this time around. I'll be giving them another shot sometime in the future but for now, please avoid this establishment and go to one of the many other great places easily within walking distance on Santa Monica.

If you're a masochist here's the address:

Tender Greens
8759 Santa Monica Blvd, W. Hollywood, CA 90069

Simple food at amazing prices.

Nicole and I like to eat at Lala's on Melrose before we see a Groundlings show. Each time we've been back we've received the same great service and food. The Argentinians don't waste a lot of time trying to make your food taste like something it's not or distract you from the main dish with frou frou sides. If you get steak, it tastes like steak. If you get chicken, it tastes like chicken. They've got delicious salads, sandwiches and pasta if you're into that but I like to keep it simple. A piece of meat and a side. Bam, that's it, two delicious items on my plate for under $10 (if I go with the chicken). Plus, they've got $3.50 Bud Lights! Delicious.

My other favorite thing about Lala's is the bus staff. I know what you're thinking; if they clear your table promptly how much better can they get? Well, the bussers at Lala's all keep shims in their pockets and are constantly on the lookout for wobbly tables. What's worse than a wobbly table when you have a full beer? Nothing.

Last night we had a drinking party of four and the bill came to $99.00. Suck that New York City!

Lala's Argentine Grill
7229 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

I'm such a bad blogger... I meant to post about this when we did it (back in August) but just never did.

Photo from www.littledoms.com

Nicole and I walked by Little Dom's after seeing one of her friends perform at Tangiers sometime back in 2008. On that short pass Nicole saw Sarah Silverman, Bijou Phillips and Michelle WIlliams. I guess I must have been busy studying the sidewalk or something (for which she scolded me afterwards) because I didn't see them.

So, last August we had a hankerin' for some Italian cuisine and decided to take a trek out to Los Feliz and see what little Dom's was all about. While waiting for our table at the hostess stand inside I was staring at this guy seated at a table outside and I was trying to figure out where I know him from. I'm sure I was making him uncomfortable especially after I realized it was Giovanni Ribisi. I can be such a turd. We were eventually seated outside, luckily around the corner and out of sight of Mr. Ribisi, as I didn't want to accidentally catch eyes with him again and have him think I'm some weird stalker. While we were seated and studying the slightly overpriced menu Rachel Bilson came walking by with a guy who looked like a hipster pulled from a dumpster and her awesome and very well behaved dog. They were promptly seated two tables over from us where they began to discuss relationships. Then, just about the time our appetizer arrived (which took almost 30 minutes!), Brian Baumgartner and his family were seated immediately to our right.

As a WOP named Dominic I have to give Little Dom's three stars for the food (to impress an Italian you have to cook exactly like his mother) and five stars for the atmosphere. If you're on a short trip to LA and want to increase your chances of seeing a celebrity eat at Little Dom's.

See a map here and all the reviews you'd ever want to read here