Jacob "Thee-O" O.'s Profile

I just have to comment on something that happened the last time I was there. I have been going to Open Door pretty religiously. I love the place. One of the things I have been trying to avoid is rice. So I always ask for the hand rolls with no rice and this has never been an issue. They seemed always happy to take care of me and my request. The last time I came in, I ordered some handrolls with no rice. The server comes out after talking with the chef and apologizes, she even says "I know you come here all the time and this hasn't been a issue before, but the chef would like to keep the integrity of his dish and would not like to remove the rice from the handroll". OK I am not trying to change the integrity of your dish. I just don't want rice in a hand roll. I HAVE NEVER had any other sushi place refuse this request. I could see the chef being upset if I told him to had some ketchup to a dish for me or something like that but this was not a change that would ruin his interpretation of what a hand roll is. I am sorry, this really pissed me off and turned me from a loyal customer into someone who doesn't care if I go back again.

We had dinner here this past Saturday night. I first read about Maximiliano in LA Magazine. All I remember was from the article was "Highland Park, Italian food from the creator of Oinkster" and I was sold. Made reservations, and had dinner at 7PM on Saturday night.

The space is very nice. Kind of surprising in the neighborhood that it is in, but I love the fact that good things like this are popping up in HP. We sat down and promptly ordered a bottle of wine along with some appetizers. We shared the meatballs and the burrata.

The meatballs were great, not to dense, and the sauce was excellent as well. The burrata was also very good. The cold peeled heirloom tomatoes and the balsamic eaten with the burratt on crostini lead to a perfect bite. For our main entries, my wife had the special pizza of the day, which was Pesto pizza with prosciutto. I found it to be a bit salty but still very tasty. As for me, I had the Orecchiette, with fennel sausage, heirloom cherry tomatoes, cavolo nero, jalapenos and pecorino romano.  It was phenomenal. I really enjoyed the different tastes that were combined in the dish. Every bite was a joy. I don't eat much pasta these days but I am glad I had this dish.

For desert we had the special which was the Lemon Gelato cake and also the Olive Oil Ice Cream. The cake was OK at best. It felt and tasted like a cold lemon pie. The ice cream however was awesome. The combination of salty and sweet was perfect and my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We will be coming back for sure.

The crowd inside was a good mix of urban hipsters, eastsiders and SGV foodies. The service was great and the GM, Topher, was very accommodating. I really had a very pleasant experience even though as we left and walked back to our car we were reminded of what part of town were in by the 3 cop cars arresting some local gang members right by my car. Gotta love LA!

I recently ate here for my birthday with my wife. We were staying next door at the JW Marriott and I personally wanted to have dinner here for a while. Now the wife and I are both "foodies" so the chance to eat the new Wolfgang Puck Pan Asian Restaurant with the killer Downtown LA view was a no-brainer. The dining area is a little trek from where you check in with the hostess. They take you through the bar and lounge before heading into the dining area. The lounge looked very nice. I will have to head back there for drinks and nosh soon.

As soon as they seat you they start bringing you little potstickers and side dishes with compliments from the chef. All of these little dishes were amazing. The one that sticks out is Shrimp Dumpling with Indian Curry Spice...sooo good.

The menu is prefix with 3 course running around 80 dollars. 3 courses is more than enough. For appetizers we had Crispy Suckling Pig and the Lobster Spring Rolls. Both were outstanding. The Crispy Pig was just what I wanted, crispy, fatty, salty and sweet. The very essence of pork!

For our main courses, my wife had the Black Cod Broiled with Chinese Ginseng Honey while I had the Grilled Lamb Chops Marinated with Korean Gochu Jang Chili. Both were excellent. The lamb had a wonderful taste and texture and was quite filling.  We also shared a side dish of Hunan Spicy Eggplant. This dish could easily be a full meal. The eggplant was cooked expertly. The crisp garlic and spicy sauce complimented the eggplant which just soaked up all the beautiful flavor.  

I almost didn't have room for dessert but it being my birthday I had to succumb. We shared the Chocolate Jun-paku and the Tobu Bananas. Again, no real complaint here and it was a very fine end to a excellent meal. The service was amazing and the staff was very attentive to our every need. I will be coming back here again for another fine meal soon.

I had drinks here a few weeks ago with some co-workers. I have to say, this is a great place. I don't drink beer anymore, but if I did....this would be my go to spot in Long Beach. The selection of taps looked great.

Since I don't have beer, I go for scotch/bourbon/whiskey usually these days and the Jameson went down smooth with the Grilled Artichoke and the Pub Pretzel. They also have exotic sausages on the menu and I tried the Duck and Bacon which was delicious.

I didn't have any of the Belgian style fries we ordered but my co-workers said that they were great. I would highly suggest you come during their happy hour to save some dough.  Although I heard it gets pretty packed, when we arrived right after work, we were able to get a table with no problem. I will be coming back here for sure.

I ate here last night with my wife and a couple of friends who live in Belmont. We strolled over and although the place did appear quite packed, we were seated quickly. The service was very attentive. They quickly asked for our drink order and also placed an appetizer order.

We ordered the Oxtail Poutine and the roasted cauliflower. I don't eat potatoes anymore so I can't say if the fries in the poutine were any good but they looked great. I did have some of the oxtail which was delicious. It was tender and a bit fatty, but I prefer it that way. The cauliflower was delicious. The spice and use of capers really fitted the dish in my opinion.

I had for my main course the Ahi Tuna Salad. This salad was amazing. It was so good that the wife kept stealing bites off of it. The tuna was seared very rare and they gave you plenty of it. The dressing was great. With a sweetness and tartness from the rice vinegar melding into the wasabi on the tuna to give you a great ying and yang dynamic. My wife had a Black and Blue Burger which was outstanding. The Pretzel bun, the blue cheese and the medium rare beef, just mixed the right way to make a delicious burger.

The couple next to use ordered the Maple Bread Pudding which smelled amazing and judging from the looks on their faces, it tasted the same. I would have loved have had tried it but I was stuffed from the salad and the bites off my wife's plate, but there is always next time.

Looking forward to trying this place again soon.

I am not one that usually gets excited about Mexican food. Don't get me wrong I love good Carnitas just like the next guy but when living in LA and being in a culturally diverse universe such as this, Mexican food just seems like the norm.

This place is different.

I discovered this place with a few friends from work. After the first time, we soon found ourselves eating here at least once a week. Why? Everything is fresh, tasty, inexpensive and made to order.

First off the ceviche is awesome. Very well done.  I love good ceviche and this place does it right. There is plate with ceviche and grilled shrimp that is perfect for sharing.

The guacamole is outstanding. I hate pre prepared guac. It does nothing for me. This is the real deal. Fresh, bright and delicious.

I have several different plates here and everything I had was delicious. When I am craving Mexican, this is the spot I crave.

There are a ton of Thai places in Long Beach. Especially along Pacific ave. I really need to visit more of them but I find myself coming back to Thai Sky for a quick lunch with the co-workers.

The lunch specials are great and come with a free Thai Iced Tea. Hard to beat that. I prefer eating off the menu family style with my co-workers. We tend to get the Pad Kee Mao (which is pretty damn good), the Thai Beef Salad, Chinese Broccoli with Crispy Pork and the Spicy Wings.

I consider myself a Wing Man (I love chicken wings) and these are great. There is an amazing sauce that covers the wings and there will be enough left over to pour of your rice. YUM.

All in all, this is a great Thai spot for lunch, although parking sucks for this place. So make sure you get there early to avoid the lunch rush.

I love this place. I am always in the mood for Sashimi. After my lap band surgery, I have been trying to stay away from rice, so this place has been a life saver. Just go up to the counter, look at the nice array of pieces of fish. They will cut your selection into a nice array of Sashimi and they usually throw in a little other fish for you.

Last night, I went in and got a piece of Salmon and a piece of Yellowtail cut into sashimi. They also threw in a little Ahi Tuna on top. All for under 10 bucks. You can't beat that.

Their off the shelf sushi is really good and rivals a lot of local sushi spots.

Honestly this place is going to be my new go to take out spot. Places like this are the reason I love living in the SGV.

Tucson is the first stop on the road trip the wife and I are on. I am DJing in El Paso tonight and then we are heading to Albuquerque and Flagstaff before we head home to LA.

We got into our hotel last night and wanted a bite before calling it a night. Luckily for us Fusion Wasabi was open.

The reviews on yelp were good for the food but not so hot on the service. With that in mind, we walked in. We were quickly seated and placed our drink orders. They had a nice selection of sakes so we decided to partake. The service on our night was very good. They were very attentive.

Now on to the food. The wife ordered the asparagus/steak roll appetizer. The flavor was great but it came covered in a thick sweet sauce. Maybe this could have cone on the side to dip because it was just too much on the plate. Sashimi came next, which was albacore and salmon. Both were fresh and tasty. We ordered 3 rolls. The ultimate spicy salmon roll was great. Just the right amount of heat. The "nutty" roll was amazing. It was basically a shrimp tempura roll covered in albacore, avacado, crushed peanuts and this amazing green sauce. I had never had peanuts on a roll before but it worked so well. It provided a nice crunch and a little bit of salt. The last roll was another special roll. I forgot the name of it but it was a riceless roll that used cucumber instead of nori. It had this mixture of roe and tempura flakes that covered the lobster meat. Again another winning combo.

This was a great way to start off the trip and when I am in Tucson again, I would make sure to return here again.

Dr. Chung is popular. It is easy to see why. He is caring, compassionate and always trying his best for his patients. It is why I continue to see him for almost a year now.

I have been having shoulder pain that radiates down my left arm for a few years. The severity of the pain comes and goes so there are weekes where I don't really notice it.

Last year when it became very bad, I decided to see a chiropractor hoping it was something that can easily be fixed by adjustment.

Dr. Chung and his staff did all sorts of treatments, to no avail, but after he ordered a MRI, we discovered a pinched nerve, and he altered his treatment to suite my issue.

Still in pain, but getting better. Thanks Dr. Chung.