Joey "Science is a verb now" C.'s Profile

I don't make one-star reviews at all.

But the last time I was at the block was about 8 years ago when this place was THE place to go to in OC.

I just went yesterday and sad to say the place has gone downhill. Gone are the cool and unique stores. They are replaced with outlet stores.

So to the tourist expecting to have the OC experience of "Housewives", pretty blondes and overall beautiful people, don't come here. This place resembles a penal colony now. I think it's in the best interest of the ownership to raze the Block and replace with something useful, like a school/boot camp for the riff raff that visit this place. It is really sad how a place like the Block has completely lost it but Irvine Spectrum is still going strong.

Another thing, I needed the restroom. And to my surprise, the doors were missing to the bathroom stalls. That's right, there were no doors if you needed to do good ol' Number 2. Yes, it is a good raping spot for anyone who just got out of prison, which is most of the patrons there.

They sent me a message on Twitter, saying they are moving towards becoming an outlet mall. I don't know how that's going to turn out as they are plenty of logistical and basic infrastructure problems there/ Show owner comment »

There aren't really many sushi near my work since Hokusai went down. This place is just okay. I live right next to Little Tokyo, so I am spoiled by much better Japanese eating establishment.

I highly rate the Japanese fried chicken or Kara-Age.

The rolls are not rolled tightly and tend to break whilst eating them. The tempura shrimp is much too small and they are dwarfed by the vegetable tempura pieces. That is a "no no" to me as I want my shrimp tempura pieces to be absolutely huge.

Other than that, it's a good place for a quick meal. But if you have the appetite and the stomach, go for the lunch bento box.

So my one year hiatus from writing reviews on Yelp is over, I'd like to first review this great windshield repair shop on La Cienega.

So I had to leave on a business trip to Vegas. Seriously, who goes to Vegas for business. Well I did, and I needed to get going quick that day. So I had an appointment for 1pm, but in the hurry that I was in, I came in at 12:30pm.

Even though I was 30 minutes ahead of schedule, Bill was able to take care of my windshield ding in 20 minutes flat. A rock hit my windshield a week ago and I needed work done on it before driving out to Vegas.

He explained to me exactly the process he was going to perform on my Toyota. I took a seat in the waiting and in 20 minutes everything was done. We both took a look at it together and he explained the nature of the dent and the extent of what he team could do. He did a great job and was very nice and honest.....These are qualities that go a long, long way.

It's hard to find people and businesses like this around anymore. So I highly recommend this place because of the service, the speed and the courtesy. It's also right next to a Kentucky Fried Chicken. So that's a plus.

I got on business trips and other outings, I've had the chance to stay here whilst in Central London. From what I remember, the rooms are slightly larger than I expected and there was no strong smells.

Sainsbury is down nearby Holborn Station. Ruseell Square station is just around the corner. London Pub is close, adjacent to a another hotel. And Russell Square is just right there.

Everything else touristy and dining is just a 5 to 10 minute walk away. ie. West End theatres, British museums and everything else that is crowded. Nice place close to everything

I came here some time ago for the UFC fight. We got a table reserved and we arrived quite early and that was a good thing because a lot of people showed up and we had prime seats. Overall the place was very clean and kept very well. The crowd for the UFC fight was young and full of energy but they weren't too rowdy nor were there any steroid energized fights.

Now I had a huge group with and we sample plenty of their menu. So we liked the Satay skewers, the hot wings and the golden crab. We really enjoyed the #99 Crying Tiger. (marinated beef steaks). There are over 100 dishes for you to try here. If there was anything I didn't like it was the Hainan chicken. It was okay but it doesn't match up with the Hainan chicken at Savoy in Alhambra.

In my experience, the service was acceptable. If you want something, just go out and get it. The beers on tap were great and you can order huge pitchers. Sometimes service was slow, but you just have to be aggressive in life. I noticed their servers had electronic PDAs to take orders so that was cool. Overall, it was a nice place to go to for an event like UFC, even though you have to pay for it. But being in a crowd watching cage fighters go at it was worth it.

On the corner of La Cienega and Olympic is Chicken on Fire. It's a Chinese and/or Thai fast food/comfort food restaurant. With dishes ranging from 5 to 10 dollars, it's a good place for a quick lunch. It shares a parking lot with two other restaurants a 7-11 and a dry cleaning place...so parking can be a little of a hassle, but street parking is available.

So they have the Pad Thai which is acceptable but not very exceptional. There is also the Orange Chicken which can get very dry at times and the same can be said for the chicken skewers.

Now where this place shines is with the Chicken Lunch Special. So for about $7.00 you get 3 big juicy pieces of chicken with fried rice and a salad. Breast, wing and leg is what you get. And for some reason this dish is far superior than anything else on the menu.  They cook it quick and it's a full meal that I hardly finish. But it's good.

The place looks like a refurbished El Pollo Loco. Few seats in there but you can take out also. Huge grill, food smells good and it's good Asian food if you really want it.

Before you attempt to get a tee time or even a walk up, consider this. Try to think of any other regulation 18-hole golf courses in the area. No, not Riviera, LA Country Club and Bel Air. They are all private courses. You can play them for $15 million a year. So, there are not a lot of places to play on the Westside unless you're filthy rich from embezzlement or selling guns to the Communists.

With that said, it might difficult to get a tee time right away because this course gets really busy. On the weekdays, there are a lot of mens and womens and seniors golf clubs. So a lot of early tee time might be taken. What I try to do is get a tee time early in the morning before groups go out. We are talking in the 6am to 7:30am range. On the other end twilight and super twilight times are available. I've been able to get a late time and finish under 3 hours.

As for the course. I was surprised to see how good the conditions and how well managed the course was. Marshals are on strong patrol, no huge gashes on the greens and the fairways and rough were nice and consistent. So well done on that. Overall the course is a nice test, plenty of mature trees here so please keep it straight.

Your usual round here on the weekends will run pretty long, even if you choose to use a cart. But if you play with a fun group or with great friends, time may go by quickly. There are a lot of locals here who think they own the course, so there maybe a few pushy people.

Now, if you can't get a tee time, the range, short game area and plenty of greens are here to practice your game. I don't think they use grass tees at the range, so minus points there. It looks quite outdated at the practice range, but it's a suitable place for one to practice their game.

Overall, it's a good place to play and they manage it well considering the amount of traffic and play they get daily.

Hidden deeply within the medical offices on La Cienega and Wilshire is the Ruby Room. Adjacent to a music studio, dry cleaner and other businesses, the Ruby Room is hard to find, but if you find it and I hope you will; You will enjoy the many different dishes this small but wonderful place has to offer.

The dishes here range from primarily Persian, Middle Eastern to French and Italian. So kebabs, salads, stews among others. What I usually order here for a quick lunch are the sandwiches, which go from Veggie, to Filet Mignon and Ground Beef.

Lunch specials here are great. Seven dollars for a quality sandwich, salad or fries. That's all and it fills me up for the rest of the day. Kebabs are even better. Chicken, ground beef and filet mignon. All good, light and tasty.

Service here is wonderful. There's always a gorgeous Persian lady who works there taking orders, serving and bussing tables. I love her. So if you find this place, you can sit down and have a cute meal. Or you can call an order and take it home with you.

Find this place, if you can and enjoy. Great success.

Wow! It's been quite a while since I have been here. But thank God this place is still here on La Cienega. I mean, there are way too many new age and fancy-schmancy restaurants in this area; So it's really good to see something old school and authentic in WH/BH.

So Norm's  with its 50's/60's decor. Kinda like Hawthorne Grill in the movie Pulp Fiction. Though the Hawthorne Grill is no more, this Norm's and other Norm's like it (Torrance) bring me back to the old days. The old days being the Norm's on Vermont and Sunset near Kaiser and the Scientology/old Cedar Sinai building.

Now, the usual meals here are great. Steak and eggs, French Toast, Chicken Fried Steak and my personal favorite - Strawberry Waffles. Speaking of which, try it. Anytime of the day or night. 24 hours a day and you can those Strawberry Waffles anytime.

Always ask your server what the special is or take a look at the boards once you walk in. The specials are usually the best value and/or best filling meal for the price.
As for the crowds, usual WH/BH crowd. The Jewish, the young professional, the gay, the rich, the poor, they all come here. It's a good sample of the demographics of the area. But a great location just in case you want to walk around and do some window shopping. I believe there's a Sprinkles nearby, but why would you want that when there's Strawberry Waffles!

Until I find another place for Pho in Beverly Hills, this will be the place for me. I can't find one Tacos Mexico nor a King Taco in a 5-mile radius near my workplace in Beverly Hills. The same almost goes for Pho. While at home, in Lincoln Heights, there's Tacos Mex, King Taco and Pho everywhere. The lack of ethnic foods is a bit distressing as I look for it during my lunchtime hours.

Anyways, this place always seems to fill me up and fit the bill. Though I know I've had better Pho at other places, Ab Pho does an adequate job. What do I always order?

13: Chicken Pho or the 14. Beef Pho.

Overall: The soup is good, it's salty, but what do you expect.
Noodles: Great, but I've had better
Meat: Just about right, a little smaller than I wanted. But there's plenty of it. And that's good.
Beverages: Sweet, condensed filled Vietnamese coffee works for me.
Service: Asian restaurant. I expect rudeness and they were quite nice and decent.
Atmosphere: WestHo/BH mix of business people, spolied shopping princesses, uber gay middle class and the occasional hot hot girl. I like people watching here.
Size: A little small, looks like they can only fit about 20 people, God help you if they're busy.
Price: $7-8 for a bowl, $1.50 and up for drinks. Expect about $12 for a meal.
Overall: The food hits the sport every time I go there. I've had better in Westminster and Alhambra. But when I'm in the mood for Pho I go to Ab Pho and they do it just fine.