Mehrdad "Yelpilicious Von Funkenstein" M.'s Profile

Good pho, at great prices, late at night, with great service to boot!

This place isn't as fancy as some other places, but they sure do make up for it with their great service, and their FREE chrysanthemum ice tea.

They're open nice and late, like many pho places in Little Saigon are.  However, this place seems to have a longer waiting line outside, than most other places.  But it was well worth the wait.  

Our pho tasted delicious, and the free ice tea was just wonderful.  I loved how the servers, were very receptive to our needs.  Always filling empty glasses, and taking discarded plates away.  Overall, a very good experience.

Great atmosphere.  Great food.  Horrible service!

Why is it that my pho cravings always kick in late at night?  Well those cravings will be crushed, since this place is open Mon - Sun from 9am - 3am.  That's right, they're open 7 days a week, and only close for 6 hours everyday!  Now that's dedication!  

They also specialize in what I like to call "gourmet pho."  I mean filet mignon in my pho?!  What the pho?  Yes, it's pho real!  Okay, I'll stop that now.

This restaurant is really pretty, and has flat screen TVs all over it.  There's a tile wall behind the counter, that has water running over it.  Very beautiful, and refreshing to see at a late night eatery.

The only problem at this place is the LOUSY service.  The waiters will only come to your table once.  No, I'm not joking.  You had better order EVERYTHING that you want when they first come around, 'cause they aint coming back!  There are servers that will bring you your food, and they won't be the same guy, and they won't take your order either.  You can try flagging them down, but they'll just pretend that they don't see you.  Just awful service.  But if you can put up with that, the food is great, and so are the hours.

Yet another cool LA hotspot that lives up to the hype.  

I had the Bockwurst, Bratwurst, and Rabbit/Veal/Pork/White Wine sausages.  All were cooked to perfection, and simply delicious.  

The large fries were to die for.  You get 2 dipping sauces with the large fries.  I tried the Tzatziki and Curry Ketchup.  The Tzatziki was fine, but the Curry Ketchup was mind-blowing!  I don't care what sauces you try, just make sure that one of them is the Curry Ketchup.  If Heinz sold it, I would stockpile it  like a mad militia member.  Don't forget that the fries are double-fried, Belgian style.  The way God intended fries to be made!

FYI:  "French Fries" is a misnomer.  Fries were created/perfected by the Belgians.  However, in America we have just gotten used to calling them "French Fries."  In fact, the Belgian consulate writes nasty letters to the US of A, sometimes asking, other times begging, us to re-name them back to their REAL name.  But I think Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar shred those documents before anything can become of them.

The beers are also Belgian, and varied.  Everything from Chimay to Delerium Tremens.  They also have a very wide selection of non-alcoholic drinks for us teetotalers.  

To top it all off, they have a live DJ spinning while you eat and hang out with your friends.  All in all, a great time, and a place I'm sure we will revisit soon.  We better, I'm craving those fries and curry ketchup again!!!

Picture this.  It's midnight, and the New Bev is showing Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo for its 25th anniversary, and it's only $7.  Good enough?  Okay, now imagine that 2 of the movie's stars are there, giving out autographs and doing a quick Q&A session before the movie starts.  Sounds great, right?  Well, when the movie starts, they've even made a custom "Coming Events" trailer reel, that shows every goofy dance movie from the 1980's (thank you for the memories, Canon films)!  All these great times and memories for a measly $7!!!  I'll be back for sure, you can count on it.  Thanks for a memorable night, New Bev, I'll see you again soon!

If I have to sum it up in one word; Average.

I tried the Chicken Katsu Curry, and had the Gyoza dumplings.  The dumplings were "okay," but had too much spring onions in them, ruining the taste of the pork.  The chicken curry was "okay" (noticing a trend here?) but the perfectly cooked chicken was bastardized by the curry, which tasted like it came from a can.  It's a shame, the service was great, as was the atmosphere.  I'm sure if they tried a little harder, they could make their food more memorable.  But alas, some only aim for "average."

For the same price as a fast-food burger meal, you can sit down and eat an all you can eat gourmet pizza buffet!  The restaurant gets packed for the lunch-rush, so be prepared.  The buffet includes a salad bar and free soft drinks as well.  If you're a local, you'll get coupons for the buffet, making it only $5.99!  So be careful not to toss out that junk mail too hastily.  They even have flat-screens playing ESPN.  Just a great deal, at a wonderful location.

My friend Alex has been on a two-year journey to find good Peruvian food.  No, not great Peruvian food, and certainly not even perfect Peruvian food, but simply GOOD Peruvian food, that would put an end to his Peruvian baby-punching ways.  I am pleased to announce that the Peruvian babies of the world can now rest easy.  For we have finally found a restaurant that does justice to what has to be one of the yummiest cuisines the world has ever known.

The location is in a mini mall with very few parking spots.  It's smarter to park in the street, next to the church, and walk a few feet to Mario's.  They were taking people's names when we got there in the afternoon, thus we had a bit of a wait.  But it was so worth it!

Protip:  Yes it's true, if you live close by, I would simply order to go.  There were MANY college kids who got their food much earlier than we got ours, because they had ordered take-out.  Not to mention, they didn't have to stand in line!

I ordered the Lomo Saltado, without tomatoes (vile berries)!  I also ordered the Arroz Chaufa de Carne, which is simply Beef-fried rice.  I must say that it was dumb to order two entrees, as one filled me up just fine.  The Lomo Saltado was juicy and delicious.  If I have to use one word to describe Peruvian food it would be, "savory."  These people know how to cook beef.  Yes, the recipes are simple.  So much in fact that you may feel ripped-off for paying for something so plain.  However, one taste will change your mind for good.  The food was mouth-watering, and went down great with a can of Inca Kola.  It's Peru's coke!  A bubble-gum flavored soda, with a golden color.  

So don't wait, treat yourself to one of the yummiest cuisines in the world.  It's the love-child of Chinese and Mexican food!

Protip:  That green squeeze bottle is filled with Aji sauce.  Which goes good with ANYTHING on the menu.  Be sure to use it to give your food a delightful kick.

This is the Gold Standard for a steak dinner.

We ordered a metric ton of food, and everyone's food was simply perfect.  From the appetizers to the desert.  You have to bring a special someone here, if you want to give them a perfect steak-dining experience.  

For appetizers, we ordered:  Calamari, Crab cakes, and Crab-stuffed mushrooms.  All were cooked to perfection, and absolutely delicious.

For entrees, we ordered:  Cowboy ribeye steaks all around.  The bone-in, Cowboy  ribeye (different from the regular rib eye) is their flagship item.  I ordered mine medium rare, and loved every bit of it.  

One person in our group, ordered a Filet mignon, which looked perfect.  But I didn't taste it, so I cannot comment on it.

Pro-tip:  When your steaks come out, they're still sizzling, because they're still cooking!  Give them a few minutes to cool down.  Otherwise, you'll burn your tongue on the first bite, and won't be able to taste any of the amazing food that you've ordered!!!
 
I got a side of Au gratin potatoes with my Cowboy rib eye, which complimented it so well.

For dessert, I ordered the cheesecake, thinking that they would cut me a nice slice.  No, they actually bake you a personal size, whole cheesecake!  It was as yummy as it was adorable.  

What can I say, this place lives up to the hype.  This particular location is very close to Disneyland, so if you want to entertain a client while your Club 33 application gets approved, search no further.  The service is amazing as well.  Perfect for special occasions.

I agree with the previous poster that bakeries like this are "a dime a dozen" in the SGV, but sadly this is the only such business in Irvine.  That's really the only reason why people are so crazy for it.

The baked goods are great, as is the service.  However, the prices have been inflated slightly to Irvine-specifications! ;)

My only problem, and it is a major one that cost it so many stars, is the pitiful level of hygiene at this place.  First of all, the employees do the best that they can, but there's just TOO MANY people in one cramped space.  This results in the tongs being dropped on the floor CONSTANTLY, while customers simply pick them up from the dirty floor, and put them back on the hanging rack, as if nothing had happened before!  I saw this happen BOTH times that I visited, and it turned my stomach.  They need to do something about this glaring problem.  I did notice that if the employees saw it happen, they would quickly do something about it, but they're just too busy to play "Tong Police" all day long.  They should have an employee stationed in the front to stop this from happening.  Until then, I'll just stick to my usual haunts in Hacienda and Rowland Heights.

Ooooh, I love the sausage rolls here.  Simple yet delicious.  The taro buns are sweet and creamy on top, and spongy through the bottom.  The pineapple bread, is crispy and sweet on top, and crumbly to the bottom.  The prices are very reasonable (about $1.10 per pastry).  Excellent treats to complement your afternoon tea with.  They also have delicious meat-filled pastries up-front next to the cashier.  These are pretty much the same as Diamond bakery's, but who's complaining?  There's simply nothing yummier than meat-filled pastry, and Kee Wah Bakery delivers them at a great price.