Crystal T.'s Profile

I am obsessed with the Chicken California sandwich here.  I keep wanting to eat other things, but I never got around to it. It's amazing on a grilled sourdough slice with melted cheese and avocado with lots of homemade mayo. My boyfriend's sampled the menu a few times and although he likes the Angry Beast, the absolute best sandwich he's had there is the pulled pork special. Too bad it's a special :(. The minty potato salad isn't my thing, but the fries are delicious.

The staff is friendly but the food can be a little slow coming out, mostly because it's a small joint and if you're there during the lunch rush fresh food takes awhile. I think the only criticism I have is that I had a bite of the burger once and the meat was definitely high quality but I wasn't that into the toppings, almost like it was too good for the stuff they had put on top which is what another Yelper had mentioned. Knowing it could have been a little better didn't mean it wasn't good though.

Had the beef barchetta and a burger. Wasn't that impressed, maybe it was an off day. The beef was dry in the barchetta that was never going to come back to life even with the au jus poured all over the top. The burger was juicy and I dug the caramelized onions but it was a lot of bun. It wasn't particularly inexpensive or a good value either at about $8 per sandwich without sides. I've been meaning to go back to try another sandwich but Claro's service and choice of 3 meats and cheese just keeps dragging me away.

I mean the flavors were good, but the atmosphere was blah. Definitely not your friendly hole-in-the-wall diner kind of service.

This is probably a 4-4.5 star review but I've rounded it up to five.

Glancing at some of the reviews I realize that a lot people came here to eat sushi. Don't. They have it it, but it's not going to be great and in my experience it never really is at an izakaya. This is NOT a sushi bar, you will be underwhelmed.

That said, there are many other things they do great here and the service I've had has always been impeccable. The last time I went I spent about $30/per with a beer, which isn't a lot of money but it wasn't inexpensive. Their beer selection isn't bad and it's reasonably priced. Overall, it was worth every penny . The ambiance is gorgeous especially for some joint in a strip mall and wouldn't be a bad date place.  I spent as much at the London Gastropub in Monrovia and regretted it.

During the soft grand opening we ordered almost everything on the menu between the 4 of us. The things that stick out in my mind are:

Braised pork belly -Soft pork with a perfectly cooked egg in a sweet and salty broth.

Tempura chips - Thinly cut mandolined root vegetables fried till crispy like potato chips with a sweet sauce drizzled. If they sold these by the bag I'd hoard them like an old crazy lady hoards cats.

Agedashi tofu - Fried so it's crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside with some fried mochi chunks. Really well prepared, textually almost perfect.

Yakitori - Yakitori here was excellent. I really appreciated the choice of salt or sauce. The chicken skin, mushroom, tongue, and liver were yummy. I could probably have eaten $50 worth of skewers alone.

We also go the waygu beef appetizer, clams, and the monkfish liver. They were both good but not as memorable. I do remember getting a roll with some eel on it and the seared mackerel none of which I really cared for and neither did the rest of the table. They were good, but not nearly as good as some of the other dishes we had.

Summary: Don't eat sushi. Get the other stuff and a pint of beer and enjoy the service and the fact such a nice/trendy place could be in Monrovia across from Olive Garden and BJ's.

Half and Half is damn good. Pudding, excellent, boba, excellent.

The docked stars is for the rip-off of the super cup! 98 cents more for maybe an inch more of drink. YouTube it.

And 2/4 times that I've been there they ran out of boba. HOW THE HELL DO YOU RUN OUT OF BOBA!? It is their trademark! Does someone not notice that the boba supply is dwindling and start a fresh batch before it happens. I don't even mean they misjudged and you have to wait 5 minutes for the next batch to come out. I've waited 40+ minutes for drinks there. I know they want to keep things fresh but seriously 40 minutes for to go orders is TOO long especially with no real seating.

Stick to the pudding. You'll get out on time.

Okay. I come here a lot, to the point that I think I'm recognized.

I think the shaved snow here is a little overpriced and not as good as Class 302's. Sorry, but it's good in a bind and the texture is pretty close.

But really the 5 stars is for their milk tea. It's damn good quality and a much better value than most of the other quality tea places like Ten Ren, Au 79, and in a way different league than TapEx in the same plaza. But what really seals the deal isn't the quality it's the happy hour. It's conveniently located right next to me AND happy hour is gong on as I need a respite from my work cave home office. Hand mixed with crushed ice and a little simple syrup it's good milk tea at a great price and not cloyingly sweet.

I usually get the grass jelly and not the boba, if the owner is reading this, yes I'm that girl, but both are excellent.

Alright. I've never been to Maine and my favorite lobster is the spiny kind from Florida or the Pacific. But, shit, I haven't met a lobster I didn't enjoy devouring.

I split a butter lobster roll with a friend, a little steep at $12, but it's actually a pretty good amount of lobster that I didn't have to peel myself. The roll was perfectly toasted, a little sweet, supple in the middle, and crunchy on the edges. Now stuff that with lobster coated in butter and it was amazing goodness. Butter + carb + sweet chewy lobster = awesome.

My only qualm is the lobster isn't served warm, which is a little upsetting. It was still a bit chilled when I got the roll.

This just makes me want to fly to Maine and get the real deal.

3-ish? I've been twice.

The chicken balls had great rosemary flavor but I wasn't really a fan of the texture, somehow too much flour/batter had gotten into the inside so the ball felt kind of mushy instead of chewy like a nugget. It was also a little too salty for me, but it was definitely flavorful. Mm dark meat.

I would have preferred a Popeye's chicken thigh to the experience though. God I love Popeye's.

The first time I had the wings which were perfectly crisp, I just didn't think the glaze was that special and a little overly sweet.

The coleslaw was tasty, very tart. Seems like it was definitely vinegar based (as opposed to citrus) with no mayo. Fresh tasting but definitely tart so if you don't like vinegar in your face don't eat it.

I thought the blood orange basil drink was the best part of my meal. It was a little sweet at first but once the ice hit it was delicious and I would readily order that again at any time. The biscuit was a bit dense, but I liked the lavender and honey. More of a dessert than a savory buttery biscuit you'd get elsewhere.

I think it's just a bit overpriced for the whole experience which really just makes it average. I would steal a chicken finger to really solidify my findings though..if it were free.

Four, four and a half?

Bonnie B's has my favorite side orders of any of the local BBQ joints in the SGV area. The beans and yams were spot on. The beans were sweet and smokey and not too mushy. The yams were mashed and buttery with just the right amount of sweetness and nutmeg. The ribs and chopped brisket were fantastic and could eat a bowl full of the stuff. Their homemade BBQ sauce had a nice array of flavor, from the slightly sweet, to the super tangy, and slightly spicy. You should have no problem dousing the brisket in a sauce of your choice.

When I went it was pretty dead, service was good. There are a few 1/2 star knock-offs. The portions are a little smaller than I'm used to at a BBQ joint and the sweet tea isn't your typical sweet tea. It's got a more citrus flavor to it, so sweet tea purists beware. Also the chicken was smokey but a little too dry/mealy.

Passable fusion tacos. I thought the soy ginger taco was a bit much too sweet and the sauce was overly starched to the point of getting gloppy.

The carne asada was fine, not the best but acceptable.

My favorite was the tofu taco. That said, I think of all the fusion taco's I've consumed, I still prefer the old standby old school Mexican trucks.

$5 for 3 tacos isn't too bad.

The line and price is kind of steep for what you get.

Is it snackable and umami delicious from the powdered flavoring? Yes. Have I had better potatoes? Yes. Have I had better potatoes in spiral form for optimum for sharing? No.

It's not a must have, but when ya need carbs, it fits the bill.