Eli "minativism" G.'s Profile

Burger #235: Lak sjdfl;kj asdf

Average average average.
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And while their s'more pie sure looked impressive, taste was just par.
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Mediocrity will be the downfall of us all.

Lots of beer.

Lots of hot dogs.

Deep fried bacon wrapped dog wasn't as good as it should have been;
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I'd go back.

An above par burrito at a spot that offers burritos in sizes larger than most babies;

Here's a normal sized burrito;
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And a pic of the baby sized burrito from their Novato location;
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I'd go back.

Burger #234: Not a Veggie Burger

Nice spot for happy hour. The bar area was average sized, off to the side of the main dining area, complete with a fire roaring in the fireplace.

At first glance, the phrase "Boca Burger" on the menu through me for a look. Why would a place like this serve a frozen veggie burger? But once my brain got back in gear and remember the name of the restaurant was Boca, it was okay. So I ordered that, medium rare, with a side of the duck fat fries.

http://www.yelp.com/bi...

The burger was about as par as you can get. Everything planked at "okay". The meat was cooked a hair past med-rare, there wasn't much of a crust on the underside, the grind was a bit too fine, and the meat needed an extra shake of salt or two. The fries were a letdown though. Not only were they not crisp enough, they lacked any hint of duckiness.

I did really enjoy the desserts though. The brownie sundae for two could have fed four and all the components worked in harmony.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...

Not a place I would go out of my way for, but I wouldn't baulk at going back.

Hard to say how good the bacon latte should have been since the large man behind the counter struggled to make it. At each step he paused, read a crumpled piece of paper, paused, wandered off, and came back a few times noting that they were first out of maple syrup, then that they were out of other key ingredients.

All this went on in a cloud of pot smoke that was wafting in from the radio room adjacent the cafe. I'm pretty sure the guy making my drink was just too high to know what was going on.

I was left with a sad excuse for a cup of anything;
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Don't waste your time supporting these lazy hippies.

Just okay and not worth the wait.

Had the line been not there or less than 15 minutes AND had the oysters been a notch up in taste, this would have been the best seafood I've had in the states. But those were just broken dreams.

I can't really complain about the wait, but I can safely say that the oysters I had at Hog Island were a better bang for the buck. Here, nothing had that magical creaminess that I want in my oysters. However, there were some items at Swan that bested any other oyster joint; 1) the olive oil drenched sashimi and 2) the seafood cocktail.

http://www.yelp.com/bi...

I guess I could just go to any LA sushi spot and bring some quality olive oil and get the same effect, but I won't. Regardless of what I will or will not do, this was a great eat.

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For the seafood cocktail, they let us pick exactly which creatures we wanted to be shredded into our cup. The thing that got me off the most about this one was the portions, HUGE! You get a fair amount of crab and other goodies for a good price. This is something that I would get again.

But for a place that has oyster in their name, I was let down. I would only ever go back if I happened to be driving by and there was no line. Else, Hog Island will be my SF go-to spot for oysters.

If you're getting ramen around the corner, then you as well come here for the best snow ice I've had (Class 302 being the only other snow ice I've had).

http://www.yelp.com/bi...

It's light, sweet, and comes in a bunch of flavors with a modest selection of toppers.

Here's a hint; the sesame flavored ice almost tastes like peanut butter, so consider that when picking toppings.

My Personal Ramen Tour - Chapter 20

The first time I had it, I thought I may had been the best ramen of my life.
The second time I had it, I thought I must have been high the first time I had it.
The third time I had it, I thought, this is some pretty good ramen, but not the best.

Looking past the fact that a place with "Noodles" in its name, took months after opening to even serve noodles, and looking past the fact that you'll spend 50% more for a smaller bowl of ramen than you would elsewhere; this is some god damn good ramen.

All my comparisons below are to Asa and Santouka, my favorite ramen spots.

At Tsujita, the noodles are thinner, the broth is a smidge heavier but just as rich and porky, and it might be a little less salty than Santouka. The soft boiled egg rivals the perfectly runny one at Asa and has better flavor. The pork at Tsujita has been inconsistent; the first visit yielded pork that could go toe to toe with the special pork at Santouka, but the next two trips brought pork that was on par with any average ramen joint. And lastly, Tsujita serves much smaller portions at a higher price, ouch.
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I did really love their topping selections of spicy mustard greens, grind your own sesame seeds, pickled ginger, and magical salty pork oil stuff that gives you that extra kick of pure love.

Despite the high prices, the stupid long wait to get a seat, and the inconsistent pork, I will be back again and again, as it is rare to find really good ramen in LA.

Burger #23.... Nope, not a burger

I always know going into a place like this what to expect, and I always feel bad for dragging my wife along. But anyplace that has a cheese burger sushi roll deserves at least one visit.

To be nice, we didn't really like anything that much. The surprising star of the show was in fact the cheese burger roll. It had great beef flavor and did remind me of a burger.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...

Since we had a good discount from some deal site, it made the bill slightly easier to deal with. Had we paid full price I would have been mad.

This place is sadly a gimmick that specializes in rolls named after cars and provides sub-par fish and rice. But hey, I hear people love that kind of stuff.

Burger #233: Over The Hill Burger

Let's face it, if you don't live in the SFV there isn't much reason to ever go there. But when you're a homeowner and need furniture, Living Spaces has been our go to spot for the past couple years. So when faced with a trek over the hill, I always try to find a some good grub to make it worthwhile. This time, my friend said the burger at Laurel Tavern was good so that's where we went.

Midday on a weekend it wasn't crowded at all, I can only guess that that changes at night.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...

The wife got some mussels and a beet and burrata salad, meh.
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I got the bacon bleu burger, medium-rare. To my joy, the burger also came topped with thin sliced apples, which gave a nice textural contrast to the burger and a good tart flavor that cut through the meat and cheese. The meat had an okay crust to it, the grind was on point, and the meat was cooked to order. But alas, it lacked seasoning. Even with the bacon and the mild bleu cheese, each bite was devoid of the meaty kick that salt could have provided.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...

Overall, it was okay. Not worth trying again though.