Fred C.'s Profile

This Pastagina is a great addition to the Ralphs/Market Lofts building in South Park.  The food is fast, tasty, and cheap!  What's more, they are open EVERYDAY until 10 pm!  Fast, cheap, and open late daily? Downtown truly is changing.  The physical restaurant space is small, but stylish and clean, with a few tables and an row of stools along a bar.  You get to watch your food get prepared in front of your eyes by the pleasant cook staff.  There's also some outdoor seating, which is always nice for people watching in this rapidly changing part of Downtown.

Where Pastagina gets the most points from me (aside from the name) is the sheer value.  All pasta dishes range from $4.90 to $6.90, meaning an under $10 meal that's not tacos from a taco truck is finally within your reach!  Just today I had the combo, which is a pasta dish, a roll, a side salad, and a drink and it came out to just over $9.  I have yet to be disappointed with the pasta dishes, but I have heard some people call it "bland".  I think these people are probably just snobs who are full of shit.  That said, I can highly recommend the "Chicken Mushrooms", in my opinion the tastiest dish.

Bottom line, Pastagina is a welcome addition to the neighbordhood, and as I downtown resident I will be eating there often.  You should too.

Highly transit accessible as well!

Farmer's Market has not one, but two, outstanding meat markets. Well, there's also a poultry stand or two, but I haven't been there.

The Huntington also has a great selection of meats, though the steaks and chops are somewhat better at Marconda's across the market. Where Huntington excels, though, are the ground meats (beef, pork, lamb, other), sausages and cold cuts.

The Huntington's butchers offer custom sausage-making, with the customers' choice of meats and spices, up to 5 pounds of wursts. That'll come in handy for parties.

On the side case is a collection of Boar's Head meats and cheeses. Oh yeah.

I'm not partial to either this place or the "other" one, but I find the two complement each other well.

Transit connections: Metro Rapid lines 714 and 780; and Local lines 14, 16/316, 217 and 218; and LADOT DASH Fairfax.

Marconda's or The Huntington? These are Farmer's Markets two most prominent meat mongers. But which is better?

It all depends on the cut of meat. Marconda's is somewhat better in its choice of steaks and chops. Plus, the friendly butchers will trim cuts to order. The meat is very fresh, and the quality here cannot be found at any supermarket.

It carries Thumann's cold cuts, which is alright but pales into comparison with Boar's Head, available at the "other" place.

Transit connections: Metro Rapid lines 714 and 780; and Local lines 14, 16/316, 217 and 218; and LADOT DASH Fairfax.

Haroo, The House of Tea -- its full name -- follows the tradition of Koreatown's beverage houses with lovely decoration paid for through high drink prices.

Teas are about $5-$7 a cup. Haroo also carries coffee, boba and a limited dessert and shaved ice menu.

The ambience is soothing, almost zen-like. The room smells like exotic tea leaves and spices. The decor is minimalist, with tinted windows and barren twig "trees".

The tea selection is very impressive. There are over 60 teas, available in fruit, herbal, chamomile, black and green varieties.

Transit access: Metro Purple Line; Rapid lines 720, 757 and 920; and Local lines 16/316, 18, 20, 206 and 207; and LADOT DASH lines Wilshire Center/Koreatown and Hollywood/Wilshire Center.

It's a Grind is a very good coffee chain that Long Beach can call its own, though it is growing rapidly.

This location shares space with two other fast-food restaurants in a food court at the ground floor of an office building. This means, this location is only open weekdays for the Dilberts. It closes at 4 p.m. Also, the selection of coffees and drinks is about 75% of what can be found at a bigger It's a Grind. This one doesn't have the yummy cereal bar, though.

There's a very sweet blonde girl who works here. She's very friendly, almost to the point of dipping too much into the caffeine she peddles. She's great, though.

Connections: Metro Blue Line, Express Line 577 and 232; all Long Beach Transit routes except 101-103, 131 and 171; LADOT Line 142; Orange County Transportation Authority Line 60; and Torrance Transit Line 3. Note: this is two long blocks away from the Transit Mall. Direct bus service is provided by Long Beach Transit Passport A and D, lines 181/182 and 191/192 on Magnolia and Broadway or Third Street, and LADOT Line 142.

Umm ... no.

Mosher's opened this spring in downtown Long Beach just outside of The Loop. It boasted a menu of burger joint and sandwich deli food.

Yet nothing seems to work. Even Mosher's signature corned beef lacks the savory zing of the meat. The "fire dog", and the quote marks are appropriate, had no fire. The dog had no flavor, period, and at the least it should be salty. Nope. It was as flat as water. And it looked scary. It was a camouflage brown color, then a thin pink ring, then brown again. That's not right.

Mosher's is trying new dishes, as it has a lot of paper-printed specials in addition to its painted menu. I'm sure that they are not worth trying, either.

This would be the place for transit access, but 1-star establishments do not get them.

Pink's is one of the hardest places to rate. It reluctantly gets three stars, mainly for it's interesting background and its contribution to the local economy. If I weren't such a nice Yelper I'd give Pink's the two stars it richly deserves.

The long lines aren't a reflection of a transcendent dining experience. The crowds tend to be tourists who know of Pink's through guidebooks or TV, but they're easy to sniff out by the short clothing and doughy limbs. Many more are poorly dressed; these are the local heshers and hipsters. The appeal has to be in all the celebrities' photos encrusting the walls.

The food itself is delightfully downscale at upscale prices. Pink's purportedly serves Hoffy hot dogs, the RC Cola of heavily salted meat products. And most of the good dogs are in the $4 to $7 range. Despite being a house built on hot dogs, the burgers and sausages are a better meal and value for the money.

Pink's is better for grab-and-go customers, as there aren't very many tables in the back. Also, sitting outside, beware of the pushy pigeons and sparrows. They like Pink's scraps, and swatting them away won't make them fly off like the garden variety candyass pigeons and sparrows. They'll just stare you down, maybe crap on the table, and inch ever closer to the food.

For the car people, Pink's has a small lot and an attendant will stack park. Do not, though, park in the flower shop next door. Tow trucks lie in wait for noobs who try this. Also, do not park on La Brea, especially on weekdays, lest you taste the wrath of the Tiger Team.

Transit access: Metro lines 10 (continues as Line 48)  and 212/312; other close east-west buses include Metro Rapid lines 704 and 714 and their local counterparts, 4 and 14.

Mashti Malone's has a unique lure: ice cream owned by a Persian Irishman. Doesn't get any more original than that. :)

Mashti Malone's is a great place to try ice cream with Middle Eastern accents. Many flavors have a hint of rose water flavoring, which is unusual for the Western palate but tastes better with each subsequent spoonful. The faludeh, the noodle-looking ice cream dish, is worth a try at least once. The best of all the flavors has to be orange blossom, which has a hint of rose and nuttiness.

The more mainstream Western selections are OK and hit the spot, but Bennett's and even Baskin-Robbins have more creative flavors.

Mashti Malone's also carries a small selection of Persian foods and snacks, though I haven't tried any of these yet. One freezer has prepacked cartons of signature flavors, starting at about $4 a pint.

The store is located in a strip mall on La Brea Avenue, north of Sunset Boulevard, and next to the offices of LA XPress, adult newspaper of record. It is not too difficult of a walk from the Hollywood/Highland Red Line station, but bus stops are closer.

Transit access: Metro local lines 2/302, 156/656, 163, 212 and 217; and LADOT DASH Hollywood and Hollywood/West Hollywood.

The upside: Brazilian food, especially at Pampas is very good. The sides are well-flavored and offer a delectable variety even for those wary of trying something "exotic." Although, Brazilian food has salads and sides very familiar to the North American palate.

The meats are savory and served off the swords they are cooked on, but an all-meat plate would be too salty.

The downside: The costs add up quickly here. Food is served cafeteria-style, but at the end it is weighed. All sides are cheapest, all meats is the most expensive and a bit o' everything is in the middle. And yes, the tare of the heavy plates is accounted for on the scales. But the costs can get steep real fast. Always expect to pay a little more than you anticipate.

Transit connections: Metro Rapid lines 714 and 780; and Local lines 14, 16/316, 217 and 218; and LADOT DASH Fairfax.

Singapore's Banana Leaf has been around for a few years, though it had the lowest profile of the Farmer's Market eateries.

It's next door to Kokomo Cafe, and it occupies a dark nook. It should get more attention when the Pinkberry opens next door.

Singapore serves a small selection of Asian staples. It's a little Indonesian, Indian and Malaysian. These cuisines are not as ubiquitous, except for Indian, but if you like Chinese or Thai you'll love the dishes served here.

The Los Angeles Times review, laminated and posted for patrons to read, says the dishes evoke the spirit of food hawker stands in Singapore, though over in the Straits the vendors typically deal in a few dishes whereas Banana Leaf serves them all in one shop.

The curry is OK, but the goreng dishes, either fried rice or noodles, are very good. They can be ordered in three strengths: mild, medium and hot. Dishes look and taste like fast food, but they're made to order and take about 10-15 minutes to prepare.

All dishes are served on an inedible banana leaf, hence the restaurant's name.

Farmer's Market and the Grove are served by very frequent bus services, so if you hate the parking situation, leave the car at home.

Transit connections: Metro Rapid lines 714 and 780; and Local lines 14, 16/316, 217 and 218; and LADOT DASH Fairfax.