Steven "CHiNKL!GHTNiNG" C.'s Profile

i try to avoid eating food from here as much as i can.
unfortunately, my brother has always had a strange affinity for this place, and i, in turn, must also eat some of this "food"

where to start...

i seriously don't understand what all the hype about this place is for.
the food is not tasty.
the tacos are cheap but i honestly don't see how so many of my friends love titos tacos' tacos so much.
maybe i am just biased against carnitas, but the cheese on top of the tacos are also plastic... dont get the cheese.
the burrito meat tastes like nothing. the salsa is okay, but watery enough to drink through a straw...the chips are decent. and the guacamole is good...if you like watered-down, avacado-less guacamole. so let's just call it "fake guacamole water"

oh, and get this! they store their chips in trashcans...i understand that they're probably "clean"...but its really unattractive when you see servers digging their hands into trashcans to get your food.
food from trashcans? unappealing.

on the side of the restaurant, they have windows where you can see into the kitchen and such...you can easily see that both the meat slop and bean slop sit in the same place for hours and hours and the beans on the side of the bean slop tray start to get crusty and hard.

i've had their enchiladas, which are barely OK.
nothing special and nothing i'd consider "good"

the tamales, also are only "meh"

oh and
the whole management and system of taking orders sucks. you're all crammed up at windows where you have to place and pick up your order. there isn't separate lines for the, which becomes a huge pain when the fat guy is hogging up the whole window space, and you're just trying to reach for your food.

if you want authentic mexican food, don't go here.
if you want food that was prepared in a clean enviornment, don't go here.
if you want aesthetically pleasing food, don't go here.
if you want tasty food, don't go here.
BUT
if you like annoying, crowded lines, go here.
if you like enjoy meat or bean slop, go here.
if you like the idea of chips being stored in a trash can, go here.

i guess the only good side is that the food is not overpriced.

titos tacos is overrated.

well the pizza is definitely tasty and the flavors unique*, but the service was terrible. sure, they were friendly when they came to our table, but then again, they almost never came to our table!

i came here with my family twice and both times we got the all you can eat pizza. i got the feeling that most people come to Bella Vista for their AYCE pizza. pretty much, the way it works is that about every 5 to 10 minutes, a server comes around with a single plate of pizza** and serves everyone in the room...with one plate of pizza. given that there are only 6 tables in the whole restaurant, (fit for about 24 people total) there is never enough pizza to go around. obviously, the table served last are going to have crap of the crop selection but it is all you can eat so it's understandable and i don't really mind waiting...

***HOWEVER...i did mind the fact that the server would give pizza to the table before us and then SKIP over our table and then serve the table next to us and behind us....at first we thought this was because we came in later, but as other people came in after us, the servers still seemed to serve us last. when this happened the first time i came, i was willing to overlook this as a fluke, but when i came back today with my father and brother, the same thing happened. now, i don't want to play the race card, but we were the only asians in there both times. just an observation. coincidence? hopefully.

regardless, i don't think their poor service is justified because the restaurant is tiny. it's not like they're running a huge nor fancy operation in there.

i would have probably given them at least 3 stars for their uniqueness and variety of pizza but because Bella Vista failed me in the overall experience...2 stars is all they get. i was quite dissatisfied with the service.

*AYCE PIZZA FAVORITES
- Romeu e Julieta - cheese & guava paste
- 4 Cheese - Mozzarella, catupiry, provolone, parmesan
- Meat Lovers - pepperoni, brazilian sausage, salami and ham (and bacon! :D)
- Beef Stroganoff
- Alho frito - mozzarella & fried garlic

**pizza is THIN crust just fyi

***----------------- ---------edit------- -------------------
As I was nomming on a leftover slice of their beef stroganoff pizza that I ordered to-go yesterday, I was thinking perhaps I was too harsh on critiquing the service. After giving it more thought, I have to give more credit to this restaurant on account of it's owner. He is both very friendly and professional and is an attentive server. As far as my previous customer service complaints go, I am definitely going to come back to eat here!

on the way to school this morning, i burped and tasted last nights bulgogi. awesome. im definitely coming back.

went here on recommendation of a friend.
Gyenari is very americanized...but i talked to Jimmy and he said they were going for that feel.
interesting. compromising authenticity to cater to the people of Culver City? alright. considering it is located next to cold stones, chipotle and the culver theaters...

the decor is very trendy and modern...i like it.
the service was fast and attentive and the overall staff was friendly.

the banchans here are pretty good
i enjoyed pretty much everything we ordered.
the bulgogi and galbee here, i think was the best. the marinades were perfect...almost so perfect that the 4 dipping sauces would have ruined the flavor!

louis xiii = $60 per 1/2 oz

i don't usually associate heavy desserts and korean bbq...but i thought i'd give it a shot since i was here anyways.
-green tea cake donuts...mmmm...and they have this light strawberry dipping sauce. YUM.
-chocolate fudge dream...mmmazing.

another plus: you don't leave here smelling like smoke and there are no huge fans overhead, because the grill ventilates from underneath, and little or no smoke gets in your face. i appreciate that.

kinda pricey, but i'll be back for the marinated beef.

there is a $2 valet parking service and it does get very crowded at night,
BUT
out of all the the AYCE kbbq's that i have been to, tahoe galbi has, by FAR, surpassed all other places...except manna, a close competitor.
i go here quite often, and when i decide to go to a different korean bbq, i always feel like i down-graded.

for only $17, you get AYCE meat which includes bulgogi and kalbi.

Service: *** [considering that it is a korean bbq, the service is decent and they don't give you dirty looks for ordering more meat]
Meat Quality: **** [as far as the AYCE choices go, it is fairly decent, and better than most other place's AYCE quality meat.]
Price: **** [$17 for what you can get & how much of it is more than reasonable]

i definitely recommend tahoe galbi if you love meat and lots of it...
but if you're a vegetarian, i'd suggest souplantation.

...
tahoe, let me be your galbi.
you could be the
korean to my bbq
i could be the marinade for your bulgogi
you and i
will make the perfect banchan.