Cat "Haute Chocolate" M.'s Profile

I debated how many stars to give, because you know-- 1 star is pretty harsh! But after stopping in here a few times, I just couldn't in good faith give Norm's much higher.

One of my coworkers said they have good bacon, but I decided to gamble on a chorizo/egg breakfast burrito. A place like this has got to have a bomb-ass greasy burrito, right? Alas, it was a huge let down: the chorizo did not taste like chorizo, I'm almost afraid of knowing what was in it, considering sausage in general is a mystery meat. It was just tasteless overall, no other way to describe it...

I also had a hot chocolate. I can turn my eyes to the fact that you're using the Nestle packets I have at home-- yes, the price of convenience... but to mix it with lukewarm sink water... I MEAN COME ON. At least get a purifier. Needless to say, I did not finish it.

For a while they were cash only, but I think they recently started accepting card. I basically only run in there if I need to buy bottled water or something canned though. Never again shall I order food.

I have to say the best part of this establishment is the fact that they're always trying to upsell me! (Really? Just one egg? How about two? Do you want bacon with that?) It's very amusing.

I work by this place, so I guess it's better that I don't like it-- otherwise I'd frequent this heart-attack-in-a-shack.

P.S. Not that you would, but don't ever use their restrooms. I went in to wash my hands, and have seen better facilities at rural camp sites and third world countries.

Never had a bad experience at Western Bagel! The staff is always friendly-- they have never gotten my order wrong (and even if they did it wouldn't matter because they're just so darn nice).

My favorite spread is lox. At Noah's it's more like flecks of lox or lox flavored cream cheese. At Western Bagel it's chunky! Also, the price is a bit friendlier, though I guess it's also because the bagels are a tad smaller. If you really like lox like I do, it doesn't get much better than Western Bagel's real lox with cream cheese. Yum!

I tend to stick with Pumpernickel bread, but they have an amazing variety (chocolate chip, strawberry, egg, etc.) so you'll find your favorite. They also have soup/sandwich specials, but I am a woman of habit so I've yet to stray from my lox-ness monster.

The only bummer is that they seem to run out of popular bagels, but I guess I should stop going there for a mid-afternoon snack.

And of course, the ultimate reason to visit Western Bagel-- BAGEL BRAD! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, they have a mascot. He is part man, part bagel, but full cowboy. Sign up for his newsletter to get updates on deals and whatnot.

Kind of bummed one of my fave Yelpers, Marthie D., had a bad experience here-- because I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm almost 99% sure the main difference is that I came during Happy Hour, so I didn't feel gouged by the prices.

A friend and I headed back to the ol' stomping grounds of Westwood for a party, but arrived to the westside a tad early and thoroughly famished. Sushi is always a good call. "Happy Hour 5PM to Closing" the sign read. "We're down," we said!

We hadn't been there before because it opened after we had graduated (yikes, feeling old...). Good thing though, because I'm pretty sure I would've blown my meager student budget on their happy hours!

Between us we ordered several scrumptious rolls. Mine were from the Chef's Special, including a Hot Night Roll and another I don't remember (it was like Oh My Sushi or something like that, I always order stuff with cheesy names). We also had some of that crispy rice with spicy tuna on top (not that great, but a decent appetizer) and a regular ol' Philly Roll. Each were between $5.95 to 7.95.

Our server was really nice. The place was rather full, and there are two floors, so we waited a bit to get water refills and whatnot, but all in all it was good sushi for a reasonable price.

And the drinks? Oh the drinks. Apologies to Dionysus, but we did not end up ordering from the drink menu. We saw some sexy lychee martinis being served up around us, so I'll have to come back for repeat review and a true happy hour experience.

Palomino, better watch your back! There's another bomb happy hour in town! (Still love you, though.)

I would love to give this place a better rating, I really would. What The Cellar had going for it was convenience-- it was down the block from where my friends and I were staying. None of us felt like going as far out as the Castro and or the last night of Poleng. We wanted to imbibe and not worry about transpo, so off to The Cellar we went!

Poleng, Castro district, ANYWHERE would've been a MUCH better call. This place was whack attack and a half! Two dance areas, "so" + "so".

The crowd was pretty random, which can be a good thing, but for some reason it just didn't work out that night. There was a core group of overdressed people (birthday maybe), some oldies who were kind of half standing, half head bopping on the dance floor. There was also some dude who went around pretending to hit on girls, but was really promoting his CD (not a free copy either).

I had a decent enough time because of the friends I was with, but other than that I can't in good faith give them a high rating.

Two stars all due to bartenders and a security staff that is polite and  able to deal well with an annoying crowd.

I love coming here late at night, that's obviously the best time. It's super convenient after a belly full of beer from The York just up the street.

Their al pastor* is awesome-- I almost always order that, but the carne asada is nothing to scoff at. I live by Leo's and also frequent Sonia's, but La Estrella is easily at the top of my fave trucks in the area (and I don't remember any awesome trucks while living in West LA, so this possibly applies to the entire city).

THEY PARK NEXT TO THEIR OWN SIGN. Yes, THAT legit.

*AL PASTOR FTW.

Stopped by here when I was shopping to get something warm to sip and hold on to. (Awkward pause...) In any case, it was very spacious and I immediately thought "this definitely looks like a place I would enjoy studying or writing in". It reminded me of a similar place in Seattle...

But I digress. I read some of the signs while waiting (there were about 5 people ahead of me, but I didn't wait crazy long) and saw some great offerings, including the option of several different kinds of milk (almond, rice, soy...some others). Love that! I had just about lost my voice that weekend and the cashier was very patient with me and leaned in attentively as I attempted to enunciate my order. So +1 star for not making feel foolish!

I can't judge them on anything but some super legit hot chocolate and friendly service (then again what more do you need)... but I'd definitely stop by more if I was in the area.

My friends and I didn't want to venture far from where we were staying, so we took a chance on this little gem around the corner (and by "a chance" I mean we Yelped it of course).

The owners run the entire place, they were super polite and-- despite being super busy for Sunday brunch-- were very accommodating and not as slow as I would've anticipated.

I ordered a VEGGIE OMELET-- I'm capitalizing because somehow I want to emphasize it was so HUGE. I couldn't finish it for sure. It was stuffed with the goodies too, which I enjoyed since a lot of breakfast places skimp on avocado and the good stuff, trying to hide it with more cheese... but this was just an all-around party of veggies. My friend ordered a regular pancake breakfast, and the other had cream cheese stuffed French toast (of which I had a scrumptious bite, might I add).

Taste-wise, I was satisfied with my order... it definitely fulfilled what I wanted for that morning: Nothing too fancy, just a legitimate omelet on a Sunday morning, you know what I mean?

Oh, what can I say. This has become a go-to place for a lot of crowds-- mainly because you can get together with a bigger group and not have to spend a load of money.

Regular Food/Entree type things: Just stay away from them. I have to say the only food item that was decent was the popcorn chicken. If you're in the right mood, it's pretty tasty. Whatever version of chicken katsu curry they offer here is beyond gross.

Dessert: This is why I assume people come here-- to satisfy a sweet tooth. Brick toast always disappoints me, though I try different ones. It just seems like it should be more appealing than it actually is.

Sharing the fatty shaved ice can be a thrilling experience the first time. But remember kids, this is shaved ice. With fruit. And condensed milk. Are we really still marveling that this is a culinary masterpiece?

That said, I can't even give it a low rating because I have found myself here many times. Service is whatever, and I have never waited longer than a couple of minutes to be seated. (And for the record, I would never wait long to go in.)

So yeah. Eat somewhere else, save some room for shaved ice/boba if you must come to Guppy's. I'll give them that it's a good place for a casual group hangout.

Okay, so when I was told this was a dive-y bar, I guess I was picturing something more chill (a.k.a. dives I frequent in L.A.). It's more like the hipsters' secret realm to dance to Bel Biv Defoe-- because you know, if it's 90s pop, it's acceptable. Downstairs people awkwardly stand around and attempt to socialize, upstairs people awkwardly dance around and attempt to socialize. So choose your floor wisely.

My friends and I opted for the latter. Despite the dense crowd, the bartenders get to their orders quickly-- always appreciated.

I'll give any place multiple stars just for staying away from too much Top 40 (yes we're drunk, no we're not THAT drunk) and too much mellow/indie music (uh, we're here to dance right). DJ kept it classic and fun. There is no one too cool to sing along to Motownphilly at the top of their lungs, I tell you NO ONE.

Grabbed a cup of hot chocolate here with the friend I was visiting in D.C. There's a definite homemade feel to everything, even walking into the place you'll feel like you're walking into someone's house.

They have a lot of offerings on the menu, but we were on the prowl for hot chocolate. It was served in cups you can find at home and were super generous with the whipped cream (stars abound for that alone in my book)! I also had some of their chocolate chip cookies... they were pretty cake-y so they might've been scones (yeah, this is the part where I admit that sometimes I don't know my pastries that well). I don't usually like stuff like that, but it complemented my hot chocolate well.

The owners/workers were extremely friendly, and it just seems like a great place to stop by for a warm cup of coffee/chocolate and read... and possibly a good place to study since there's no cell phone (must take calls outside) or WiFi to distract you.

In any case, I enjoy any place that clearly and very freely advertises community events. Wish I was in town for half of the stuff posted on their board!