Joseph "hold the tomato" A.'s Profile
DateLos Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 236-9577
Chaya Downtown
Category:
Asian Fusion
Neighborhood: Downtown
Listed in: Libations
1 Previous Review:
-
6/19/2011
Summer happy hour includes a Japanse Beer Garden which started last week and runs thru the end of summer. Nice, modern restaurant tucked below the City National Bank is an patio with a yakatori grille and lighted lanterns strung along the outdoors.
Was a bit disappointed that there wasn't much of a variety of Japanese beer on tap. A pitcher of Kirin was $10. The beer glasses weren't cold. Makes a big difference.
Appetizers were pretty good. Coffee pork ribs, scallop miso gratin, king salmon sashimi salad, fish & chips.. Yakatori beef, tounge, shrimp where really good. Tender beef and lime/cilantro shrimp were delicious.
They also had 12 year Yamazaki but for $25.. One of my fav whiskeys. Doesn't work for me though. You can get a bottle a few miles away for $35.
I give this place 3.5 stars and looking forward to having dinner here soon.
Portland, ME 04103
(207) 878-5385
Allagash Brewing Co
Categories:
Beer, Wine & Spirits,
Breweries
Allagash White is a great beer if you like white ales. I don't drink beers that much anymore since I restrict my alcohol intake these days. They also have a few others but haven't tried them extensively. It's not like most domestic beers which are lagers. This is a great summer beer with a crisp, citrus taste. Not too strong and not light either. Simlar to that of Hoegarrden which is from Belgium and a Great White from Lost Coast Brewery which is from Northern California.
We're fortunate to have this beer served on draft at several bars and gastropubs in Southern California. If it's in the bottle, forget it. It's best on draft!
Listed in: Libations
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 452-4427
2nd Street Cigar Lounge & Gallery
Category:
Tobacco Shops
Neighborhood: Downtown
2nd Street Cigar Lounge is a good place open late to get your cigarettes and cigars if you're in the neighborhood.
Listed in: Libations
New York, NY 10020
(212) 489-3747
Minamoto Kitchoan
Categories:
Bakeries,
Ethnic Food
Neighborhood: Midtown West
The aya shirabe which is a white bean paste wrapped in a crepe is like an upscale verson of filipino hopia. So good and creamy, not too sweet.
I also received a box of syocoramochi. First bite was, Wow! It's mochi covered with cocoa powder with a hazelnut chocolate filling. I could eat this stuff all day!
The last box I opened was the hakutoumochi which were individually wrapped. It's a mochi whith a sweet white peach bean paste filling. Good tasting, however, the syocoramochi was the best.
Each type of confectionary has a quick shelf life of 7 to 20 days. This bakery doesn't use animal fat and they also use natural unrefined sugar. Good stuff!
If this bakery was in LA, I'd proably be double my weight and bankrupt myself from eating these desserts. Then again, there is a J Sweets in Torrance where I can get these.
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 229-9961
Green Street Tavern
Category:
American (New)
Neighborhood: Pasadena
The food was great and their wine list was superb. We ordered a few appetizers. Crispy clamari with a sweet & spicy jalapeno gelle and green chili aioli dipping sauces was perfectly cooked and the dipping sauces were a complement to each other. The shrimp cazuela is a scampi type appetizerwtih sizzling garlic butter, spices, white beans, accompanied with slices of baguettes. Great appetizer. Not overly buttery and everthing work together well as you can mash the white beans with the garlic butter sauce and baguette. The also have a good wine menu. Ordered a bottle of white wine to accompany our dinner. The sommelier came by to help us choose a bottle to go with our dishes.
I ordered the special entree which was the African Paella which was very good. Came with a spicy couscous, clams, mussels, scallops, and topped with a grilled sea bass.
For dessert, I had their white chocolate croissant bread pudding. Came with a topping of blueberries and white chocolate.
Food portions are a bit on the lighter side. You'll need to order more than your entree to be satisfied. Service was great and attentive. The chef came out to say hello and make sure all was well.
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 440-0670
Tokyo Wako
Category:
Restaurants
Neighborhood: Pasadena
The food was just okay and nothing special, however again, definately not worth the price. Seared salmon with a small scope of rice and miso soup was $18. It would of been worth it it was double or 2.5 times the portion. I think I barely had 4 oz. of salmon. Green tea was bagged tea for a couple of bucks. Cheap! At least use some loose tea for better quality. Plus, the plastic pot was leaking. Looks like rent is high at Paseo Colorado. They sure do skip quality on the food but at least the restrooms are clean.
Service was decent the second time around.
Left this place hungry a second time. Hoping this is the last time I come here. If you're looking for unauthentic Japanese food and spend a fortune, come here.
Listed in: Rude places..
1 Previous Review:
-
10/13/2010
Ate dinner here prior to going to the Pasadena Civic Center for an event since it's just across the street. I give this place an H rating.. H for horrible service. Main dishes where sent out at separate times, 20 minutes apart. We had to remind two different waitresses multiple times about the appetizer which came way after we were done eating our main dish. This restaurant should teach their people some professionalism. Maybe, it would help if they didn't hire 16 year olds as servers.
Food was so so.. Miso halibut was okay. The veggie side was not so good. Grilled green bell peppers and that's it..
Pricey restaurant which I could understand for the high rent at the Paseo but the decor and service was nothing special.
Left this restaurant annoyed and still hungry....
He spoke about his upbringing, how he got started in politics, interaction with the president, and his current role. He's also been an advisor to a few politicians including Hilary Clinton. Located in the Pasadena Civic Center, it was about 2/3rds full filled with middle aged and older people.
Whether you're an Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Independent, it's important to understand issues from different perspectives. It's also interesting to hear from people of influence. Imagine, this person, David Axelrod who is not well known in the public eye, advises the President on the most important issues that we hear about in everyday daily life. It takes a lot to know what issues are critical, the impact on the nation and worldwide politics, and how to resolve them. That's a very prominent role without being a household name.
1 Previous Review:
-
10/13/2010 First to Review
The Distingished Speaker Series of Southern California host prominent influential speakers from all over the country at a few locations in the city. I attended the other night at the Pasadena Civic Center. The guest speaker was Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, CNN health correspondant, professor, nominated Surgeon General, and a family man. Wow, that like 4 people in one!
Dr. Sanjay discussed his personal experiences with health issues, travels over the world, and thoughts on social/economic policies.
There are 7 prominent speakers every season. Last year Bill Clinton and Condoleeza Rice were speakers. In the next coming months, Laura Bush and Tony Balir will be speaking.
Manna is located on the 3rd floor of the Little Tokoyo Marketplace. It has a large floor area full of tables with grills and exhaust hoods. The restaurant is quite modern with a large screen tv at the entrance playing some K-Pop videos and towards the rear more tvs showing live football games!
Some of the tables are continuous and long. You might end up seated next to a different party. Manna is all you can eat kbbq or shabu shabu and there are two choices of each. The gold or black options. The black options have quite a variety of different meat. We all went for the gold kbbq which is $17.99 for lunch.
We ordered the marinated meat and as well as a few others. There is also an all you can eat bar which has some basic veggies, banchan, soups and other items.
The meats cook quick on the grill and servers bring the meats to you. They give you a bowl of salad, however, if you want white rice, you need to request for it. The bbq was quite all right. The marinated beef slices and boneless short ribs were good, however, the spicy bbq pork was over-marinated with spices and quite salty.
Banchans were just okay. Egg potato salad, chap jae, and spicy soba could of used a bit more love. The chunks of potato were quite large and the chap jae lacked the typical sweet and sesame flavor. The soba noddles looked like they were drunk of the spices. Way too much and overly spicy.
I had a bowl of short rib soup in a clear broth. Great tasting. There was also caramelized sweet potato which was also good.
Dessert is limited to gelatin and oranges. Don't expect Jello. The gelatin is stiffer and it doesn't look like it melts.
Service just okay and the restaurant is clean. They did change out our grill when it was burning up from all the marinades on the grill. The could of been a bit more attentive.
Overall, a good place to go, especially, if you don't want to drive to Korea Town. Also here's some advice if you come here: Bring an extra shirt in the car. You'll end up smelling like what you just ate!
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 768-9555
Haven Gastropub
Categories:
Gastropubs,
Breweries
Neighborhood: Pasadena
They have quite a selection of microbrew from one end of the coast to the other including Golden Road which is a local brewery located at the Glendale/Burbank border and The Bruery in Placentia. Whomever chose their draught on tap knows their beers well from Stone Brewery in San Diego all the way to Allagash in Portland, Maine.
We came in and had a few drinks. Hostesses where friendly and accomodating as there were seats along the bar. They have a mid tier liquors at their bar being a gastropub, I guess it doesn't matter so much since it's not their theme. Bartenders were always on point to make sure we were taken care of. It's good to see a place like this in Pasadena since this place provides better options than what's in the area.
Listed in: Libations
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 617-0030
Woori Market
Category:
Grocery
Neighborhood: Downtown
1 Previous Review:
-
3/28/2010
This place has everything you need as far as Japanese food items. I come here for the sake, souju, and Japanese whiskey. Great selection of liquors. There's a bakery, small restaurant, hot food booth, and take home sushi booth. Upstairs, it's a mini mall of all sorts of things, clothes, electronics, housewares, etc.
The restaurants located in the market look so so. Haven't eaten there, but doesn't look as appealing as the Mitsuwa in Torrance where they have the best and most fresh take home sushi.
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Los Angeles, CA
Yelping SinceMay 2008
My HometownLos Angeles, CA
When I'm Not Yelping...Building Southern California and training for 2012 Olympics push up event.
Why You Should Read My ReviewsMy words are real...
My Second Favorite Website My First ConcertDuran Duran
My Last Meal On EarthGummy worms
Don't Tell Anyone Else But...I have Jedi powers..
Most Recent DiscoveryChocolate filled mochi.
It was happy hour and a few of us waited at the bar for a glass of wine and whisky. We ordered a few appetizers: crispy calamari, kobe short rib melt, and spicy tuna roll. All of which were just okay. The kobe short rib came with a few pieces of bruschetta and cheese melted all over it. It had good flavor, otherwise, a bit too cheesy for me.
As our group of friends started to roll in, the restaurant was pretty full for a weekeday, however, the hostess was able to hold a large table for our group. The menu cosist of similar items to that of Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant. I ordered the miso marinated sea bass which came with a wasabi soy broth, baby bok choy, and a dabble of rice. Honestly, it was just okay. The Roy's version and even Yardhouse version is much better and larger too. The birthday girl had the red wine braised kobe short rib. Honestly, I was eyeing her dish as I finished up mine too quick since it was the portions were small. The short rib, again, reminded me of Roy's also.
We enjoyed Chaya, however, we thought the food was just okay. A bit pricey for what it is. Service was quite average, however, the bartenders were attentive and friendly. The ambiance is quite pleasing, however, the next time around, I'd rather go to Roy's.