kevin "@kdoohan" d.'s Profile

Mastro's crushes Ruth's Chris and Mortons. Not even close. Mastro's is a fantastic steakhouse with outstanding decor/mood and service to match. 5 stars all around for the Thousand Oaks, CA location.

Throughout the meal the service ranked right up there with the best I've ever had anywhere. Five star service for sure.

Wife started with Onion Soup and I had a wedge salad. Both were outstanding versions of the steakhouse classics. The wedge isn't exactly a wedge though. It's more like a half head of lettuce with the core removed. It ends up with all the taste of a wedge but is better. The salad is huge. It could be an entree.

For entrees, my wife had the roasted chicken and I had the 12oz bone-in filet. Both were fantastic. The steak was a beautiful cut, cooked to order and perfectly seasoned. Sides were steamed broccoli and mastros mashed potatoes. The broccoli was cooked just right. They serve it with cheese sauce on the side which is kind of unusual but not a bother. The mashed potatoes were great basically they're garlic mashed potatoes with chives, sour cream, bacon, and I think cheese mixed in. They had a great smoky taste. The size of the sides is enormous. LIke enough for four people. Ridiculous actually...ridiculously awesome.

For dessert we had Mastro's Butter Cake. It is OUTSTANDING. Cake was awesome. The vanilla bean ice cream on top was unbelievable. Great texture and very, very rich. A giant dish of freshly whipped cream was served alongside dessert. It was fantastic. Way too much but fantastic. We both had coffee which was amazing as well.

Love this place. Will definitely return.

Food was 4 stars. Service 5 stars. Location 6 stars. A wonderful evening. Highly recommended.

Started with the ahi tuna tartare and we also ordered the baked brie with carmelized apples as a starter. Both were excellent. The tuna may be the best I've had. Outstanding.

Wife had roasted chicken entree which she said was great. I had sole with asian greens, potstickers, and sweet/sour sauce. The sole entree was good. It met my expectations. I probably would try the scallops with foie gras risotto entree next time though. Sole isn't my thing but the asian preparation as described on the menu sold me.

We had the cheese plate to end our meal. It was very good. Three cheeses, candied walnuts, and figs. The figs were divine.

Geoffrey's location is gorgeous overlooking the ocean with beautiful views in every direction. We reserved on OpenTable and requested a table near the edge of the patio with a view. We got the best table for 2 in the place. The service was excellent. Just the right amount of attention, great attitiude, and very prompt. Always there when they should be but never annoying.

SUMMARY: The decor is stuck n an 80s time warp. The food is very good but overpriced. The service is upscale casual restaurant level, not top-notch restaurant excellent.

"Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand..." This Duran Duran verse was stuck in my wife's head from the time we entered the restaurant.  The decor here is in need of a MAJOR update. It is so outdated that I'm afraid it may have affected my perception of the food. Definitely eat in the garden if you're able and escape the 1982 time warp of decor and art inside. The decor is a real problem. I don't get an elegant vibe at all. Just tired, very tired.

We ordered from the Dine LA menu for restaurant week. Restaurant week inspired us to try this place which has such an excellent reputation. The food was very good but not outstanding. You can get way better food for less $$ elsewhere in LA. Wilshire Restaurant for example is nearby and I've enjoyed my meals at Wilshire far more than last night at Michael's.

I started with the crispy sweetbreads and creamy risotto. Loved the risotto. Perfectly prepared and wonderful taste. I easily could have had the risotto as an entree. It was the best part of the meal by far. The sweetbreads were OK but not outstanding. Tasted as if they had been sitting for a while and cooled off and maybe even were undercooked.

My entree was Braised Beef Shortribs with Celery Root Puree, Brussels Sprouts, Natural Jus and Sage. The shortribs quality was good and the meat was prepared very nicely if unremarkably. The brussels sprouts were excellent.

For dessert I had the Apple Crisp with Sweetened Creme Fraiche. Big disappointment. Too much crust, not enough apple. Creme Fraiche was well done but  I was yearning for the ice cream they serve with the chocolate cake. The crust topping on the apple crisp is so rich, the creme fraiche just got lost in it.

We will not return to Michael's. Was great to be able to try as part of LA restaurant week but it feels like this place hasn't evolved much since it established itself as world-class restaurant 25+ years ago. Prices are very high for what you get. Much better meals in Santa Monica can be had for less at FIG and at Wilshire in my opinion.

Good but the prices are just too high for pizza. One appetizer, 2 pizzas, a dessert and 2 coffees totaled $78 with gratuity. Then you pay $10 to valet your car. Dessert was OUTSTANDING. Rest of meal was just OK. I look forward to trying Mozza Osteria next door. I'll feel better paying high prices for actual entrees.

Tried the fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta appetizer. It was good not great. The ingredients were high quality and it was clearly fresh but they were a little too oily. I wouldn't recommend this app.

I had the clam pizza. It was good. Fresh ingredients. Wonderful crust. Maybe a little heavy on the salt. My wife had a pizza with roasted garlic, bacon, goat cheese, leeks and scallions. Be warned. You better like leeks and scallions if you get this pizza cause it's loaded with them. I love leeks and scallions so wasn't a problem for me when I tried her pizza. However, the bacon topping was undercooked which was pretty gross. I wouldn't go back here for the pizzas we had. They were fresh and high-quality but preparation and taste were above average, not sublime.

For dessert we had the caramel coppetta which was EXCELLENT. I have to agree with Colleen L.'s description: "the crunchy hot, salty Spanish peanuts contrasted well with the icy cold ice cream and slight chewy, sticky marshmallow creme. They walloped my mouth for a dessert experience unlike any I've had in L.A." The dessert at pizzeria mozza is worth the trip..

Service was not great. Our server had a bit of an attitude. We didn't know what a "coppetta" and several other Italian items needed explaining too. He explained what they were like it was a chore to be  endured not an opportunity to help guests understand the great food they were serving. Server was impatient each time he stopped and believe me, we were not eating or ordering at a slow pace. It took a long time to get the check picked up. Same thing happened to the table beside us. They were waiting for a long time also. We exchanged knowing "WTF?" glances.

I bet the Mozza restaurant next door is better. I don't mind paying high prices for excellent food but the experience on the pizzzeria side of Mozza didn't justify the expense.

I loved this place. LOVED IT. We went there before seeing a play at the Ahmanson Theatre. Dinner was better than the play. I would return downtown just to eat at CIUDAD again.

Started with the Yellowtail Crudo (red jalapeño, lucques olives, seared garlic, meyer lemon, smoked paprika). OMG. This was heavenly. Great balance of hot, savory, and tart flavor. Also, this small plate seemed light and heavy at the same time. Hard to explain because I'm not a food critic but this was a very nice start!

I chose Herb Crusted Black Cod with Crispy Serrano Ham
(caribbean shrimp, peas, and peruano beans with saffron, green tomato gazpacho sauce) as my entree. It was fantastic. Fish was cooked perfectly. Each peruano bean was to be savored...again, cooked perfectly and very tasty. The sauces were great and the shrimp were perfectly seasoned and flavorful. A great entree.

My wife had tortilla soup and Pollo Ciudad (marinated grilled chicken, cilantro sauce, pickled tomatoes, cuban rice, grilled scallions). She loved both the soup and entree.

Ciudad is a super place to experience wonderful quality food with rich, original, unusual Latin American flavors. Great place. We will definitely return.

Outstanding service. Very good food. Excellent location and ambiance in this old, awesome lodge.

Started with Smoked Duckling Enchiladas with Chipotle-Plum Sauce and Queso Fresco. They were excellent and the sauce was perfect balance of sweet and spicy.

I had Apple and Blue Cheese Stuffed Pork Chop with Sweet Potato Hash and Asparagus, and Cider Glaze. It was very good. Great preparation and presentation. Again, a nice balance of savory and sweet flavors. I liked everything on the plate.

Wife had Huckleberry Glazed Half Chicken Slow Roasted with New Potatoes and Hominy Salad. Her entree was good but not outstanding. Just "Acceptable" for the price in her words.

For dessert we had Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler. I LOVED it. Just like the strawberry rhubarb pie my grandmother used to make. Took me back to happy childhood memories and it was really well done. Many people do this too sweet but the Cascade Dining Room had just the right level of tart from the rhubarb. Good stuff.

I recommend eating here at Mt. Hood. The location is amazing, the service is excellent, and the food is very good. You could definitely get better for the price in Portland but you wouldn't have the wonderful mountain side location or the ambiance of the historic lodge which were both impressive.

Visited this place with family we are visiting in Portland. Definitely very good. The tapas we had were outstanding. My entree was very good but not excellent and that makes the difference between 4 and 5 stars. The tuna itself could have been better quality. That said, I'm spoiled in LA eating the best sashimi grade tuna almost every week. The service at Andina was excellent. Really, really great. Each server we spoke with was professional, knowledgeable, and friendly and they paid close attention to finished plates, timing of courses, water glasses, etc. Excellent service.

On to the food...I copied what we had from the online menu.

TABULE DE CEREALES ANDINOS quinoa salad served with queso fresco, avocados and olives - We got this for free. Another table didn't want it and server didn't want to waste it or something. It was excellent. Presentation was great, taste and texture were very very good.

EMPANADAS CASERAS DE CARNE flaky pastry filled with slow-cooked beef, raisins, and Botija olives - these were quite good. freshly prepared and tasty. the beef was seasoned just right and the empenadas were cooked perfectly. everyone enjoyed them.

Causa is a traditional preparation of freshly mashed potatoes, infused with key lime juice and pressed into a cake with assorted fillings. We had: Causa MIXTA NIKKEI spicy tuna, crab salad, and crispy shrimp - It was awesome. Served cold. So tasty and so unusual. Flavors were perfect. I cannot say enough good things about this dish. Never had it before So I have nothing to compare it to but it was GREAT.

Everyone else at the table had an Australian Ribeye special which they said was good. I didn't try it. Looked good although my wife's looked like it was cooked medium and she requested medium-well. Shoulda been less pink...

My entree was ATÚN CON TACU TACU Y AGUAYMANTO
seared yellowfin tuna sprinkled with black pepper and orange zest, served with lentil "tacu-tacu", orange-endive salsa criolla, and a cape gooseberry-ají Amarillo sauce. I really liked the lentil "tacu-tacu". Unusual and totally tasty. Orange endive salsa criolla criolla and the gooseberry sauce were excellent as well. The sauce was a really interesting choice for tuna because it was so heavy and sweet. it worked though. The tuna itself was meh. Seared nicely but I wish the quality of the tuna was higher. It was simply average. Big serving size was a plus. I would rather have had less but better tuna though. The tuna is the only reason Andina didn't get 5 stars from me.

I definitely recommend this place if you're in Portland. Unusual and delicious Peruvian cuisine in a warm yet upscale setting with fantastic service.

We feel really misled by the other reviews. This place is lame.

Hostess had a mixup with pagers (cannot believe there is a wait here) which resulted in them giving me a place on the list meant for someone else ahead of me who had turned in the pager earlier. I didn't complain. Maybe the experience for the rest of my meal was karma. Or maybe the staff here is just really poorly trained and managed...I think it's the latter. I'd describe the staff as friendly but incompetent and poorly trained and managed.

Got to the table and there were crumbs all over my seat. I wiped them off. Took a while for server to arrive. We were ready to order by when he got there. I started with the wedge.salad. Wife had tortilla soup. Salad and soup took forever to arrive. Really really slow service but finally the salad and soup arrived. The wedge was OK. I've definitely had better. Blue cheese dressing was weak.

After about two bites of my salad and a couple spoonfuls of soup for my wife,  the entrees arrived.  The timing was probably about right if we got salad and soup when we should have but since we started so late, the entree timing was horrible.

We both were left to try and enjoy starters while our entrees literally "chilled" beside them. Wife had Bahama Chicken I had Kung Pao Calamari wok dish. She said her entree was OK and wshe was more disappointed with timing of when it was served. My entree was terrible. Weirdest calamari I ever saw no rings or tentacles just straight pieces which didn't seem fresh at all and were over breaded and fried. Peanuts in the kung pao were diced not whole. Hate that. Calamari was unexpectedly oily in this dish.

Way before we were through with entrees server was asking about dessert. We respectfully informed him we would discuss it as we finished our entrees. We were clearly not finished. Later he came back when we were through and asked if we needed a take-home box and if we would like dessert. We said no take-home for us and we would try the doggie bowl sundae for dessert. He accepted the order. Picked up a couple plates. Nothing had been cleared so we had salad, soup, and 2 entree plates to be picked up. He could only handle a couple plates. He left the soup plate on the table and the styrofoam take-home box on the table and said he would be back. He never came back until it was time to clear the dessert. So all through dessert we got to enjoy a big styrofoam take-home container and a half full bowl of cold soup on our table. WTF?

The doggie bowl sundae was bad. Ice cream was light, not rich at all. chocolate sauce was so thin you could almost call it runny. Just not a good dessert at all. Baskin Robbins could DESTROY this sundae. We should have known better after the crummy entrees.

I cannot believe this place has good reviews. I would say the ambiance is confusing. Don't know what it has to do with dogs or a dog. The servers are friendly but incompetent and desperately lacking training. The food completes the poor experience by being poor quality across the board. I will definitely never return here.

Another reviewer mentioned this is the son of the founder of Mimi's Cafe. Mimi's Cafe and this place aren't even close. Mimi's Cafe is MUCH MUCH better. The menu is better, the waitstaff has better training and presence, and the food quality at Mimi's is far superior to Lazy Dog.

This restaurant is amazing, awesome, wonderful. I'm shocked and delighted. It may be my favorite restaurant we have eaten at since we returned to the LA area.

We will definitely return. The food here is unbelievable. Small plates, tapas style let you try multiple items over dinner. Not cheap but definitely worth it. Everything is the highest quality and is prepared in-house with healthy and fresh ingredients.

We started with the hummus, sweet peppers, and sea-salt lavash. SCRUMPTIOUS. The hummus was definitely freshly made at the restaurant and was so flavorful. Peppers were delectably sweet and the salty lavash was the perfect counterbalance to the sweet peppers and savory but cool hummus. We also had sweet potato frites which I thought were average but the wife loved them.

Items are served as they're ready and we ordered four choices. First up was the "special" which was lump crab, tomatoes, and arugula over angel hair pasta with a garlic brothy kind of sauce. It was excellent. Next was black pepper caramel chicken wings. OK...these are literally the best wings I have ever had. Period. Unbelievably good. The quality of the wings was great. The sauce on them was wonderfully spicy and sweet. They were served hot, hot, hot just out of the fryer. Absolutely wonderful. Next up was the roasted garlic chicken with grilled corn and arugula. Also unbelievably good. The chicken was perfect. It was served piping hot with just the right spice and skin on the breast portion we were served. The arugula and corn salad beneath was to die for. The dressing was very nice, the corn was SWEET, and the whole salad was nicely chilled vs. the chicken which had obviously just been cooked and was perfectly warm. Finally was the braised short ribs with wilted spinach and red wine demi-glace. The ribs were perfect. Strangely they were served in little cubes but no worries...they were perfectly cooked and tender and the sauce was wonderful.

After such an amazing meal we had to see what they had for dessert. Tried the macadamia nut tart. I'd say its more torte than tart but whatever, it's good. Chock filled with macadamia nuts, obviously homemade there, and accompanied by a giant dollop of caramel whipped cream. YUM!

So as you can tell, we just loved the food here. In addition, the ambiance was quite good. You forget you're inside Nordstrom at the mall just about immediately except for the number of diners with shopping bags. The service is very, very good. As good as I've had in places that are world class.

So run don't walk to the Blue Stove in Nordstrom at The Oaks mall and tell them Kevin D. sent you.

Excellent time here. Went to the "Original Room" 16 comics show. Comics were very, very funny and so many of them. We showed up around 10:15 with four friends and left around 12:30? Didn't seem like that long but we did see a steady stream of comics... Everyone had something funny. I'd say that Kevin Christy was my favorite and John Caparulo was also awesome. Very funny stuff. Check the schedule before you go. If Kevin Christy is on the schedule don't miss it. We were busting out laughing with that guy.

As for the club, the interior was fairly typical for a comedy club. I was stoked to be there just because there is a lot of history for the Sunset location and many great talents have come through there. Servers had Red Bull aprons which reminded me to order one to help me stay alert in case one of the comics decided to pick on me or something and also to provide energy so I didn't miss out on any laughs as the evening continued. Red Bull was served perfectly including the can and an ice filled glass. Wonderfulness...