Larry M.'s Profile

A friend told me about this place and assured me they had the best chicken and asada.  I figured this was not the real deal but opted to give it a try.  I began to change my mind when I see this place.  It is a true Mexican caniceria (meat market in gringospeak).  

I walk in and there is barley enough room to move around.  There are no less than 5 guys preparing carne asada behind the counter.  The make it fresh here.  A lady next to me clearly does not know al pastor from asada.  She tries to describe the "wonderful" meat she had at a party until the butcher tells her it is called asada.  She clearly is feeling out of her element but she orders a heaping pile of it, hops into a Mercedes with it and drives off.  

Thankfully, I work close enough to here so I can pick up my asada whenever needed.  They make awesome pollo as well, pounded out to about 1/4 inch thin.

Be sure you buy your meat a day in advance, you want to let it marinate overnight.  Also, they have killer pico de gallo (salsa) and the good brand of corn tortillas to go with your meats.  

Having searched high and low, this is the best place I can find for asada.  Highly recommended!

Great place and a SCV legend, they have been here forever!

This place is great, dimly lit with cozy private booths.  All in all, very 1970's inside in a good way.

The food here is good and you will leave happy.  Everything is good enough, but nothing over the top.  All in all very average, not that this is a bad thing. Service is good as well.  

I will return and do come here once in a while, I just do not make special trips to come here.

My go-place for Chinese was closed, it was Monday and I forget that many traditional Chinese restaurants close.  So, I went to what was close by and non-traditional and ended up here.

I never have a very good meal here, and have not been here in years.  So, I forgot how bad it is but I did remember that they always screw up my order.  Most of the food is really mushy meat coated in sugary sauces.  Hell, they even charge you $1 extra just to put fresh vegetables in the food.

I placed my order in person, and told them no water chesnuts.  I told them this with each item.  They guy even repeated this back to me.  

When I get home, sure enough, everything has water chesnuts in it.  I should have checked right there in the store.  I should not have to but this is normal for them to get my order wrong.

Then I pull out their soy sauce packets and find they are some odd brand I never heard of.  Then I read the fine print on the packet "MADE IN CHINA."  Methinks not.  If Mattel cannot keep lead out of their Chinese made toys I have serious concerns about what could be in some odd brand of Chinese made soy sauce.  

If they are this cheap that they cannot spring on a little better quality soy sauce, who knows what else they could be skimping on in the back or with the purchase of everything else that goes into my food.  

I will not eat here again.

If you are ever in need of that odd plumbing part, this is the place for you.  I have gone to other plumbing specialty stores in the Santa Clarita Valley where they needed to order parts for me.  I then go to Larry and Joe's and find out they stock the same parts.

They are open 7 days a week, which is rare for a plumbing store that caters to contractors.  There are a couple of ladies who often are manning the counter on the weekends.  They are a bit rough around the edges with their customer service skills, but they do know their plumbing parts which is all that matters.

I got a referral from relatives years ago that this is the best place for quality framing at cheap prices.

Years earlier, I had gone to Fast Frame for framing.  I remember paying $250 to $300 to have things framed (with a half off coupon) per item.  This was in pre-internet days and I was too young to think to shop around.  

Anyway, years ago I went here with 8 pieces to have framed.  I thought it would cost a fortune.  The total damage was $350 for all 8 pieces.  Wow, what a difference.

Since then I have been a loyal customer.  They did a shadow box for me that was great.  More recently, I had a large odd sized photo I needed to be framed.  I called around for places closer to my house just for fun.  I was quoted prices ranging from $150 to $200.  Gonzalez Framing did it for $50.  This was in a nicer real wood frame with real glass.  

I cannot be more pleased with their work.  This is top quality for not a lot of cash.  I still have all the pieces I had done years ago, so I can testify that their work does stand the test of time.

Five plus stars!!!

I had the misfortune to need to come here for issues with my corporate phone and issues with another personal phone on several occasions.  

Every time I come here, there is a wait for help.  I can understand having to wait once in a while, people call in sick or you get an unexpected flood of customers.  Yet, it is normal for there to be a half hour wait here.

My wife insisted she needed a new phone that was an exclusive Sprint phone.  So, we had to come here to look at it.  Of course she needed it right away, so we had to wait.  Got the Palm pre, it is awesome.  But, overall a 45 minute wait for help.  Help to buy a $600 smart phone.  I guess it must be nice to be able to treat your customers this way.  Had the phone been for me, I would have told them where to shove their 45 minute wait and would have gotten the IPhone.  

Unless you really must have a Sprint phone, you may want to look at another carrier, or at least a different store.

Went here for something "different" and indeed I got it.

I had the chocolate custard.  It was thick and rich which I attribute to it being lowfat and not non-fat.  I got a medium, which was a bit too much.  I actually felt a little ill and bloated afterwards.

I did not get any toppings, unless you count the long black hair I found in the yogurt.  I pulled it out of my mouth.  I had not been anywhere near a female from purchase to eating, and it did not come from me.  These things can happen in food service, but this grossed me out even more.

I should have stuck to my usual Yogurtland.

I always somehow missed going to To-Go's.  My wife swears by this place, and she always was getting a sandwich from this place when I was eating elsewhere.  This day, our schedules synced up and I had my first Togo's.  

Everything was great, I opted for one of their hot sandwiches.  It was loaded with all sorts of special items, red onions and a fancy sauce on it.  It really was a great sandwich.  I wish I had tried this place sooner.

In a gesture of great service, when I picked up the sandwiches (I had phoned the order in), I saw that they waited until I was there picking up the order to actually assemble my hot sandwich.  They said they always wait to make sure the customer gets a hot sandwich.  

Wow, I gotta come here more often.

I had just discovered the Sam's in Canyon Country, the following day I actually got to meet Sam and try their offerings at the Taste of SCV Expo.  So, the day after that I was in the Saugus area and decided to go for the trifecta and get some take out from this location.

I was surprised to find the place packed, the phone ringing off the hook and a massive line of to go containers being filled up.  Sams is doing a booming business, obviously word has gotten out.

Sam was behind the counter, working away and ensuring everything was being prepared as it should.  He apologized for the wait to get food, which was nice.  I opted for the lula kabob.

Anyway, the food is incredible.  The hummus is awesome, some of the best I have had.  The meats are great, the prices are right.  For all of $9, I had enough food leftover to take for lunch the following day.  I had looked all over the SCV to find a great middle eastern fast food offering and I finally found a good one.  

I tried hard, but cannot find anything I dislike about their offering in the way of food or service.  I have only one minor suggestion.  The fountain 'thing' that dispenses 4 different flavors of iced tea is not iced tea.  It is junk, simply syrup mixed with water.  Ditch this and get some real brewed iced tea, (that you brew in the store), preferably Paradise brand.  You take alot of pride in your food, do not drop the ball on the tea.

A fellow yelper told me this place was really good.  But, I rarely get over to the east side of town to ever drop in.  Recently, I was in the area, alone and needed something to eat.  I popped into Sam's just before closing.

In spite of being within minutes of closing, the staff never let on and did not seemed rushed.  They recommended the chicken shawarma plate, which I went with.  I took the food to go, a 10-15 minute drive.  I expected to get some dried out chicken.  I was wrong.

The chicken shawarma was excellent.  It was so moist, flavorful and seasoned perfectly.  It was served with wonderful rice.  There was salad as well, tossed in a light dressing with cucumbers and tomatoes in it.  My meal also came with a side of some of the best hummus I have had and lavash.

They also serve the chicken with some of the most wicked garlic sauce I have had.  Yes, I have been to Zankou but Sam's garlic sauce blows their away.

I had so much food, I ate half for dinner and had enough left for lunch the next day.  I had been looking for a place in the SCV to get a good shawarma plate, I had no idea what Sam's served until I walked in.  I regret not trying them sooner.

I got to meet Sam the following night at the Taste of SCV Expo and tell him what I thought in person.  He was very appreciative and seems very passionate about his food.  He also has a second location in Saugus.  If you have not been here, stop in and try it!