Andrew "Andy" H.'s Profile

I decided to come here on a Sunday, with my mother, who lives not far from here in Marina Del Rey.

We parked across the street, not seeing any parking lot, and we dashed across the traffic and entered a very small, very dark, very symmetrical space. The Tripel has two large communal tables with stools, and maybe one or two small tables, and a long bar with the requisite gourmet list of craft ales, wines and various spirits.  

Walls are made of rough, vertical lumber boards with sawed out typefaces and words one will never read after a few beers.

Surprisingly, they had a Sunday brunch type menu filled with great sounding dishes.

Only the day before, I had picked up a Sunset Magazine in the check out line and salivated at the sight of a poached egg with kale on a mound of pearl barley. And The Tripel had a dish very similar called Sweet Carrot Farro with kale, chicken sausage, poached egg and truffle pecorino. We ordered it, along with "Duck" Hash: potatoes, duck confit, fried egg, pancetta and vinegar cooked greens.   The real treat, however, were the nine square poppy seed scones with a side of clotted cream and honey.

I ordered a golden, Belgian style, Victory Golden Monkey Tripel  on the suggestion of the not-too-energetic bartender who drably brought it. However, it was very good and it went well with the hearty dishes.

At our table were also seated three young guys, presumably straight, but nonetheless picky and choosy.... and when they ordered, they each asked for various dietary items: vegetarian, gluten, sugar. The waiter complied and then when the dishes came....nothing looked healthy but everything looked delicious... there were big juicy burgers and piles of Banana Bread French Toast smothered and dripping with maple syrup and bourbon cream.

It's a good thing that LA is finally getting the type of places that one would find in the walkable West Village of New York or up in pedestrian oriented San Francisco; little establishments with unique and well prepared dishes and a feeling of neighborhood.   To complain about parking is to invite the kind of restaurant that we know all too well...the chain monster dropped into the mall or mall parking lot somewhere in Cerritos or Woodland Hills.  

Tripel has poor parking -and great food- and that makes me hopeful for the future of living and dining in Los Angeles.

I have been here many times over the past few years, with my parents, or with my brother and his wife and kids, but only last night, eating sushi at the sushi bar with my mom, in the little "handicapped" section, did I realize how truly good the sushi is, and how high their standards are.

Forgive me, because I cannot remember all the type of sushi I had, but it was all buttery, fresh, soft, mouth-watering.  The sushi chefs were very attentive and very polite, even thought the restaurant was completely full.  Our bill, for the two of us, with one large hot sake and six orders of sushi...$98.  But it was really worth it.

For people who choose to sit at tables, remember that this is a real Japanese restaurant, where shoes are removed at the front door and one ascends onto an elevated stage of sunken seats, consisting of cushions arranged around knee high wooden tables . One's feet are kept in a sunken well below the table.

The crowd is composed of many ages and types of people, and for the most part the people are well behaved. But last night, there was a table of males and females:  obnoxious, baseball capped, beer guzzling.... and carousing and kissing and clowning.  They had no manners and they disturbed the other diners.

You can trust the chefs and the sushi here and it is a first-class place to eat and relax almost always.

I had very low expectations for this place, a reaction I reserve from 17 years of living in the San Fernando Valley, where the worst restaurants stay in business 50 years (Dupars, Jerry's Deli, etc.) and other indifferent, dirty, and badly run places somehow survive.

So Smoke City Market has been gradually trending upwards in the Yelp ratings, and I decided to check it out last night, sandwiched as it is on Van Nuys Blvd, in the middle of the car mall district not far from my Van Nuys mansion.

It's a very large restaurant. There are many long benches and picnic type tables set up under high ceilings, stylish halogen beam industrial lights, exposed aluminum, white tile and concrete floors.  There is both indoor and outdoor seating, and a very large open kitchen in back with bold graphic photos and signs; and a flat screen TVs blaring football on the walls.  A large, red Coca-Cola freezer stands on the floor like a defenseman on the 30-yard-line.

There are craft beers and wines and a hanging menu that advertises the beef, ribs and the house specialty: brisket, all of which come with a la carte sides in various containers (1/4,1/2, 1lb) of cole slaw, beans, creamed corn, mac & cheese.  

We walked up to the lone server girl, standing behind the counter, and told her we had never been there before, and she recommended the brisket, which comes sliced, on sheets of paper, accompanied by stacks of white bread and the sides.

The brisket was extremely flavorful, tender, moist and delicious. I really enjoyed it. But my friend, who liked the brisket too, was less than enthusiastic about the sides, which he complained tasted vinegary and sour. He thought that all the side dishes, along with the bbq sauces, were marinated in vinegar and that this sour taste infused everything. I didn't mind, but he did.

It was a Saturday night, around 7pm, and only about 1/5 of the tables were full. It looked mostly empty there, and I wondered what is keeping people away? Perhaps it's the location, which is obscure and dead and hidden amongst the car dealerships.

But I also noticed that the people working there never stepped away from the counter and smiled, or came out and asked anyone how they liked their food and that the energy level was rather low and lethargic. This is a place that needs gregarious, laughing, happy, outgoing, friendly help---not frowning people who conjure up a crowded DMV at 4pm on a Friday afternoon.

Overall, this place is very ambitious because it combines some slick and expensive design with an expansive and regional flavor Texas BBQ that is foreign to LA.   And they succeeded, very well, with the tasty brisket and the very decent sides.

The one ingredient that is missing here is anyone's guess, but they probably have lots of it in Texas.

The oddly named Thai restaurant Summer Canteen occupies a corner mini-mall on the corner of Riverside and Lankershim, near the western edge of Toluca Lake, that white bread, affluent conclave where ethnicity is only evident in restaurants.

High ceilings, an open kitchen, craft beers on the menu, untreated concrete on the floor, a long 1960s Thai movie mural on the wall; the restaurant aspires to a modern ethic of young, inventive, innovative and hip.

Unfortunately, it is none of these.

Only about 1/5 of the tables were occupied on a Saturday night, a warning sign we ignored.

At two of the tables were tattooed couples in ersatz 1950s outfits: a woman with a pleated skirt and inked up arms;  and a man in a plaid shirt and straw hat who would have been asked to remove his hat if he had sat inside a restaurant wearing one in 1955.

A perpetually smiling waiter was attentive. No problem there.

Sitting down we noticed that there was too much space inside, areas that looked like more business was expected than actually happened.

We ordered a sautéed fish dish with vegetables and brown rice, and also a shrimp dish with vegetables.

Both came in reasonable time but both came looking as if a dump truck full of broccoli, bok choy and mountains of rice had been dumped in large bowls with microscopic samples of protein scattered on the sides.   There was simply too much rice in each bowl, enough to a feed a family of four in Bangkok.

The presentation was crude.

And both dishes were bland, dull, and excessive. Why pile on so much, exactly the same, in two different dishes?  Isn't rice normally served in a separate container anyway?

I saw other plates pass by that looked good, but the size of the portions were also huge and I bet that lots of rice and vegetables are thrown out in the kitchen's garbage every day.

In normal economic times, this might have been a busy lunchtime spot where local, reasonably compensated professionals in blue shirts working in sales, real estate, banking and mortgage companies might have come for their mid-day meal. And maybe they still do, but dinner was a bust.

Nothing here would make me return. And Summer Canteen offers no competition to the vastly better Rustic Kitchen,  just north of here on Lankershim.

I am not Mexican but I don't necessarily believe you need to be to know good Mexican food.  

Tinga is one of only three Mexican restaurants I like in the Mexican city of Los Angeles. The other two are Frida Taqueria in the Brentwood Country Mart and Loteria Grill in the Farmer's Market.

I came here, for the first time, last week, upon the invitation of two out-of-town friends. When they said "La Brea" I was immediately expecting pretentious, overpriced, fashionista...

But Tinga is honestly one of the best, if not the best Mexican I've had in LA.  

Upon the advice of the counter person, I ordered a Kobe beef torta which was accompanied by an extremely flavorful ELOTE  ESPECIAL  -    g r i l l e d    s w e e t    c o r n ,    c r e a m y    l i m e ,    c h i l i ,    p o b l a n o    p u r e e  for   $ 5 . 2 5 .  Chips were unlike any I have had before: thick, double sided, almost like baked pastry.

I loved my food so much that I came back the next day, and again took the advice of the man behind the counter and had LONG  BRAISED  SHORT  RIB  -  salsa  verde   and   pickled   red  cabbage,  raw  tomatillo   salsa,   papas  bravas,  queso   fresco,  crema    $8.95  

Long, slow-cooked, fresh, flavorful, spicy, high-quality...these are the adjectives that apply to the food here.  

One of the only drawbacks to Tinga is the seating. Long benches are backless and there is only limited outdoor space.

But the prices are reasonable, and the food surpasses most any Mexican in LA.  I will come back again.

Had a crazy experience here today.

I had pulled up to the car wash, intending to buy a $7 wash.  I fed two one-dollar bills into the machine, but it would not take my $5.

I parked the car and ran into the store and asked the cashier if he would give me another $5 bill. He yelled "Honey" and a short-tempered shrew, with a twisted, angry face appeared. "What!" she screamed at the poor man, probably her husband, or maybe her grandson.

She looked at my $5, which had some discoloring on it, and she said, "I am not taking this!" She didn't apologize or seem to recognize that I was a customer or that I had been inconvenienced.  She didn't apologize or act appropriately as a customer service person should.

Anyway, I had $10 bill which was not discolored and I used it to exchange it for two $5 bills.

The stupid act of not exchanging my $5 legal tender will cost this station hundreds if not thousands of dollars in my lost business.

I've been to the TG in Culver City but this one is probably the most theatrical one, and given that it is Hollywood, it attracts quite a crowd of lookers, people posing and auditioning and flexing and phoning and sometimes even eating.

It's inside a 10-story high glass tower that took 10 years to build, on the corner of Vine and Sunset.  When you step inside, your eyes immediately rise to the enormously tall ceilings, and then they fall back down to a very long line that awaits the cashier. This is where you give your order.

Last night I had a Greek type salad with spinach, fresh tomatoes, feta cheese and light lemon vinagrette. There was a piece of toast on the side of the plate, and I also ordered a $2.50 iced tea. My friend had grilled shrimp with mashed potatoes and a side salad.

In the line, I had seen nice looking desserts, beers and wines, but had not taken any, as I did not want to spend a lot. It is easy to overspend here, because a salad and a drink averages at least $15 and then you add tax and you have spent almost $20 pp.

Aside from the food, the crowd included:

1. Two muscular asian guys with tank tops and salads. They were later spotted at the Arclight Cinema.

2. Two guys in line. The first one was tall and muscular and blonde and then his friend, a Latino with tattoos, was feeling him up from behind. Chin on friend's shoulders, ear licking, putting his hands in his buddy's pockets. Nobody seemed to care.

3. Three gorgeous blonde girls with Ray-ban aviators kissing and hugging on the sidewalk.

This is a good place to eat if you don't want to get full but like to spend money and get excited by watching the good-looking crowd.

I think the people here are extremely nice, very polite, very attentive. I will not write anything negative concerning the stale chips, the entrees that took 30 mins to cook, or the very mediocre special No. 9.    If you like melted cheese, beans, and hot tomato sauce wrapped around enchiladas, and you think it is very hard to find chips, tacos, tortas, and huevos rancheros in LA, then by all means, come here and join the auto service people who make this their second home.

Another excellent addition to better quality food in downtown Los Angeles.

Chimu is just next to the Grand Central Market, across from Angel's Flight, which has recently resumed its funicular operations.

Located in front of a street side garden, with outdoor seating, umbrellas and trees, it presents a pleasant sight in the midst of the concrete jungle. But there are many pigeons, as well as some homeless people, so eating here is not done in elegant isolation, but brings together some of the unsavory realities of Pershing Square.

However, the food and food servers seem to be hard working, friendly and helpful. I ordered "Aji de Gallina" or garlic chicken, which the manager came outside to explain was "not good" according to the chef. He comped me a delicious ceviche, with fresh yellow tomatoes, red onions, and creamy seafood. He also brought me a house beverage, Chica Morada, which tasted like iced tamarind juice.

My new main, my second choice, was "Seco de Cordero" or lamb belly with black beans in beer. It was crispy, fatty, and served with peas and carrots and rice. I tore into the mouthwatering meat. It was delicious and without that weird furry lamb taste.

Prices are a bit on the high side, compared to the $5 and $7 offerings next door at Grand Central Market. Because of the quality, it is entirely reasonable and not unexpected that some lunchtime entrees are $11-13. A Peruvian Family of four could spend as much as $60 for lunch.

My main critique here is to try and control the flood of pigeons who are continually flying up and fouling up the dining area. Perhaps a cat named Chimu should patrol the garden area?

Olive and Thyme

There have been numerous openings of these type of opulent sandwich, luxury coffee, and copious dessert cafes in the San Fernando Valley this past year:  Charlie's Pantry, Sweet Butter Café, and now Olive and Thyme located just behind those gigantic office buildings along the 134 on the Toluca Lake/Burbank border.

Gleaming subway tile, acres of marble, dazzling glass cases full of chocolate cakes, pies, mousse, cookies; espresso and coffee machines, and shelves of imported mustards, organic flour, truffle oil, Intelligensia coffee, pots of potted herbs, exposed wooden beams, bright white halogen shining upon high gloss white walls, long haired young dudes and crew cut girls with tattoos, women lunching and drinking flavored iced teas and eating mountains of arugula, refrigerator cases stocked with craft beers, chilled wines and bottled fruit juices, and big chalkboard menus listing various coffees from disadvantaged regions (Late Harvest Peaberry, Organic Finca Los Angeles, Los Delirios, Nicaragua).  

And there are sandwiches, salads, soups, too numerous to list and too expensive to consume everyday.  People are unemployed, and people are losing their foreclosed homes, and the nation and the world wonder if the US can pay its debts, some 22-year-olds owe $100,000 in student loans, but everyone, seemingly everyone, must drink $5 a cup coffee. And Olive and Thyme is of this moment, a strange time, when the basics like health care and work are out of reach, but little edible luxuries are not.

We sat at the bar, and we were treated to a bravura performance by a young, close-cropped, hard-working beverage manager who came here via San Francisco, and has the culinary reverence, epicurean intellect and studied intensity of those who have labored in Bay Area kitchens and restaurants.

Utilizing a Japanese, Bunsen-burner, glass coffee maker, into which was poured boiling water and freshly ground Burundi beans, she spoke of her mission to bring excellence in coffee to formerly unenlightened sections of our city. After pouring two cups of the fragrant and nutty coffee, she kindly implored us to not add white cream to their respective blackness.

One can satirize Olive and Thyme, but Burbank, dry and hot, monotonous and sterile, needs something elegant and popular, accessible and refreshing.   It has been the land, too too long, of Subway and Bob's Big Boy, Marie Calendar's and Honeybaked Hams, Chili Bob's and cheese steaks; and here is one small oasis, still within walking distance of the freeway, where you can leave your cubicle and imagine that you are somewhere in Sonoma County, far, far away from the eastern flank of the San Fernando Valley.