James N.'s Profile

Decided to start using the Rapid to get to my office in the Miracle Mile area from my apartment in Brentwood.  Trip to and from the office had no more than 5-7 minute wait for the bus.  Found plenty of seats available.  Time was roughly equivalent to if I was driving Wilshire myself at those times... time lost to stops is quickly made up in aggressive merges...who the fuck wants to get in the way of a double length bus that is *adamant* about merging into your lane?

Will definitely become a more regular commuter.

Stopped by tonight with the usual foodie suspects from the office--we'd selected AXE tonight due to their reputation for having strong options for our meat challenged, vegetarian friends.  As always,parking in the Abbot Kinney area was brutal, so big kudos for the complimentary valet service on the weekends.

Multiple appetizers to start off the evening.

Flat bread with multiple spreads was strong, but uneven.  Universal acclaim for the sweet, carmalized onion spread, mixed reviews on the shallot and yogurt options.

Seared sake marinated kobe slices with jalepeno was awesome, although we barely had enough to go around for our table.

The sheets of pasta with cheeses and peas I thought was totally forgettable.  Others thought more highly of it.

Two orders of the green onion pancakes--in traditional Korean style with seafood and one vegetarian.  Big thumbs up all around.

Entrees ranged from the daily fish -- a white fish whose name I won't even attempt to spell, the farmer's market vegetable spread, and lamb chops. I started with a carrot puree soup and followed with the rib eye with roasted yukon potatoes and broccoli spears.  Pretty much everything I ate, including a bite of the lamb, was incredible.   The portion of the steak was  quite generous as well and the potatoes were surprisingly tender and flavorful.  I was most satisfied.

Finally my dessert of strawberry shortcake, while it was good, was generally fairly forgettable.  The meal had been very strong throughout, so the dessert was a tad of a let down.  The mint  ice cream that I tried was pretty good though.

All in all, I thought this was quite an excellent meal especially for the amount paid.   I'd certainly come again.

-1/2 star for the waitress who was Phoebe from Friends spacey at times and relatively MIA by the end of the meal.  

-1/2 star for the heat in the dining room... perhaps my dining companions are just sweaty mongrels putting out 1500 BTUs of heat, but I can't say I'd ever noticed before.  Tonight however, I was sweating up a good storm.

-1/2 for the worst bathroom signage EVER.

+1/2 star for the complimentary parking.

I think I will most definitely have to come again for the brunch menu next.

Quite literally this had to be one of the finest dining experiences I've ever had, in any city, at any price range, period.

We'd originally wanted to go here for a celebratory dinner with about a dozen people--not knowing about the cramped dining space and their inability to seat large groups.  (Though to be honest, the staff taking our call and attempt to reservations should have been able to handle the situation far better--they weren't even willing to consider seating us as two separate tables of 6).  

Undaunted, the chance came for a smaller group of us to try it again, and so we took the opportunity, this time coming with a far more manageable group of five foodies.  So we swung for a late reservation slated at 8:45 PM.

Upon seating, the wait staff were warm and friendly right from the onset.  Within a minute of being seated, water was poured, and out came two amuse bouches.  Quail eggs with a touch of trout and egg mousse  (smokey and tasty) and a shot of a wonderfully colored and very tasty broccoli soup.  Wine, appetizers and entrees are ordered, including the restaurant making sure they did anything necessary to accommodate the two vegetarians in our group.  

Started with a ravioli of mustard greens in a rich butter sauce.  Absolutely delicious.  I found myself wishing that the portion of the appetizer was a bit larger as it was just that good.  I then debated the skirt steak on special but instead opted for the mint and date encrusted lamb chops after the waiter highly recommended them.  They were perfectly prepared and laying atop a puree of chive and fava bean. Scrumptious though for my personal tastes, the puree while good, was a touch too sweet for me, as the date crust on the lamb already added a sweet touch to the meal.  Minor nitpick however.

Finished the night with an order of one of each dessert available that night.  My favorites were strawberry napoleon, the beignet, and the chocolate and peanut butter truffle cake.

Great staff, a small, cozy dining space, and excellent food from beginning to end.  I absolutely would come again and again to try the rest of the menu along with the daily menu specials.  We came in at just under $100 a head for 3 courses, cocktails, and a bottle of wine--so while not cheap, this has to be easily the best $100 I've spent on a meal in a very long time.

I'm one of the biggest red meat eaters you'll ever meet in your lifetime.  The things I enjoyed by far the most here?  The vegetarian dishes (broccoli soup, mustard green ravioli).  That pretty much says it all in my book.  I ate my veggies and I *LOVED IT*.

Been going to Lori's diners for well over a decade, dating back to my undergraduate days all the way to now whenever I happen to find myself in the city on business.  

Not a place one guys for a superb fine dining experience, but for what it is, it's a great shop.  Late night grub, breakfast all day long, and their famous orange blended shakes.  It's a greasy spoon, 50's themed diner..  if you head with those kinds of expectations, it's a great option if you happen to be passing by.

Passing through Westfield mall and happened to bump into this pastry shop.  The place  seemed to have an excellent selection of pastries, sandwiches, sorbets, and other quick bites.

Had a strawberry mille-feuille (aka Napoleon). Most excellent. Pleasent decor and a friendly staff.  Spent maybe 30 minutes just chilling, snacking, and talking with friends.  Bit out of the way (buried deep in a massive mall) but had it been in any location elsewhere in the city, could easily be a neighborhood favorite corner cafe.

If I could rate Spruce on the merits of their food and their food alone, they'd easily be 4 stars.  Unfortunately for them, so much goes into a dining experience above and beyond the food itself.  My experience here was one of those situations where everything else about the restaurant easily outweighed the food that was served us.

Had late reservations for a Sunday night, spent 30 minutes at the bar having cocktails (quite good too actually, albeit pricey even by SF standards).  Got seated in a corner and started with appetizers.  Charcuterie for the wife and I got the carrot and cardamom soup.  She loved her platter and devoured it (particularly raved about the duck liver mousse) and my soup was quite tasty although I did end up having to season it a little further.  We also ordered the fries.... amazing.  Probably our favorite thing of the night surprisingly.

All was good at this point, but then the troubles started to occur.  We'd been seated and had our orders taken by the hostess.. odd, but we didn't think much of it.  But soon it dawned on us that we hadn't really seen our waitress at all.  Even our appetizers were brought by someone who wasn't our waitress.  Our dishes, now empty, sat there.  And sat.  And sat.  Until nearly 20 minutes of idle time finally passed and our waitress finally appeared to remove the plates.

Entrees soon arrive.  Pork tenderloin and pork belly for the wife, steak and "duck fat fries" for me.  The tenderloin was a generous portion and tasty.  The pork belly, while extremely tender, was relatively flavor less.  My steak was wonderfully prepared and tasted amazing.  The duck fat fries sadly turned out to be over cooked potatoes with crispy (but tasty) skins, but ultra bland inside.  Throughout the course, I was hoping to place an order for another cocktail or at least get my glass of water refilled, but alas, no waitress.  Again.

And then once again we played the empty dish table sitting game.  This time nearly 30 minutes pass before dishes were cleared and dessert menus brought out.  By now, we'd been seated for nearly 2 and a half hours on simply appetizers and entrees.  While some of the choices on the dessert menu sounded interesting (particularly the beignets), we weren't willing to risk having to sit for ANOTHER hour just for that.  And thus, we called it a nightl, paid our bill and walked off.

The restaurant is gorgeous with tall ceilings, exposed duct work, and white marble throughout.  The hostesses and bartenders were friendly and accommodating.  Food was a bit uneven, but had several high points for us.  The wait staff however just ruined the experience and that alone is what crushes their score.

I'd consider coming back if I ever heard that they addressed wait staff issues, but monitoring other reviews, it certainly doesn't look like I'm alone in having these types of problems with the front of house.

I had fairly high expectations of Meltdown before arriving since I'd had coworkers rave about it for so long.  We finally made our way over for lunch and while the service was great and fast, and the food wasn't bad, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit disappointed.

My 3 cheese sammich with chicken was ok, the tortilla soup far better.  For me, the menu's narrow focus on grilled cheese sandwiches is both it's unique blessing  and its bane..  sometimes you just don't want melty cheese.  I'm sorry, but you just don't!  (Or maybe it's the whole I'm lactose intolerant thing...)

If I worked closer to the area, I'm sure I'd stop by on occasion.  There's a ton of great food in the area though, so I suspect even if a 20 minute drive weren't a factor, I'd probably still only go sparsely.  If you're down with the melty stuff, you'll probably love the place.  For me, it's more of a once in a blue moon type of thing.

What is it about Japanese crepe shops being run by eccentric bordering on Soup Nazi like personalities?  (See Crepe-To-Go in West Los Angeles).

Found myself in Japan center over the weekend and the 3 deep crowd outside this creperie told me that I definitely needed to check this out.  Walked in and just like my favorite joint in LA, signs abound.  "NO PHOTOGRAPHY".  "NO TICKET NO CREPE".  "NO SUBSTITUTIONS".  You'd think the proprietors grew up doing business only with a leper colony or something.

Taking a glance around, the place offered your standard variety of sweet and savory crepes with toppings ranging from hams, mixed berries, and of course, nutella.  The twist however was that the crepes could also be served a little bit crisper than normal, rolled up into an approximation of a waffle cone, and stuffed with ice cream or sorbet, along with a wide mixture of fruits and other toppings.

Got myself a crepe cone with nutella, fresh strawberries, and vanilla ice cream.  Damn. Freaking.  Good.  Totally worth the chocolate stains on my shirt.  And Jeans.  And um, my face.  Whatevers, one must sacrifice for good food at times.

Wouldn't hesitate to recommend to a friend.  However, leave the cameras outside.  I hear if you try to snap a picture ninjas descend from the ceiling and eviscerate you.

Stopped by on a lazy Sunday afternoon after a day of shopping at Westfield.  

Had the meatloaf sandwich, which while tasty, was messy as hell to eat.  The texture wasn't the greatest either.  My taste buds couldn't really complain, although my light blue shirt with the ever so slight grease spot from the tomato relish would beg to differ.

Only so-so value for the money makes me knock my score down from a 4 to 3 star.  I'd offer up 3.5 stars if I freaking could.  Dammit Yelp, change that column in the database to be a decimal from an int already.

Closer to 3.5 stars, but just couldn't get myself to go for the full 4.

Situated next door to Honey's Kettle at the end of what amounts to a strip mall of food, Akasha is a surprisingly large restaurant.  As you walk past the hostess and head into the main dining area / bar, you become overwhelmed by the size of the room as the space just opens in front of you, revealing a large room, near floor to ceiling windows, tall ceilings, and tons of energy and a buzz in the dining room.

We were  a party of 10 and arrived early to mingle at the bar.  The specialty drinks, keeping with the organic theme of the restaurant, featured assorted organic spirits and liqueurs... pomegranate seemed to be heavily featured on several of the signature drinks.  I tried a cocktail featuring red pepper, pomegranate, and vodka (if memory serves me correctly) and well.. all I could taste was the pomegranate.  (which for me, isn't a great thing).  The sip of my friend's cocktail also wasn't too hot either.  Strike one.

Then came the appetizers.  Now this, this I could get on board with.  Lots of orders of fries and onion rings, some mac and cheese, and several others came out.  All were scrumptious and definitely whet the appetites of all. Definitely a highlight, especially the onion rings with paprika sauce.

Eventually got seated in the side room, to the left of the main entrance.   A bit more subdued in energy, so our group, enjoying the energy of the larger room (which also features a view into the kitchen) were a bit disappointed to be segregated from all the action.  Because of the size of our group, we were forced into a prix fixe menu.  Strike 2, given the wide range of dietary restrictions in our group (vegetarians, non beef eaters, seafood allergies), giving us a smaller menu definitely was not cool.

Once the food arrived, generally, reviews were good around the table.  The salads were particularly fresh and flavorful.  I rarely find myself trying to get to the bottom of my salad dish..  entrees were solid (my steak was excellent although the portion size was definitely lacking).  Desserts were tasty but not really memorable.. I can barely remember what I had, I think it was the carrot cake.  My main complaint really has to do with portion sizes given what we were paying.  At $70 some a head before tax, tip, and wine, the prices were definitely exorbitant for what amounted to not really much food.  Strike 3.

It was a pleasant dining and I enjoyed my food.  I'd consider coming back and not having a prix fixe, but an outing would definitely be more of a splurge rather than a casual selection.  And honestly at what I ended up paying per head, there's probably a good dozen places throughout LA that I'd rather go to.