Michelle M.'s Profile

This a nice little place, elegant but homey. It's great for a date night with your spouse, which is how I experienced it for the first time. We ordered the bison meatloaf (very good) and the penne with salmon (tasty but not exceptional). Next time, I'm trying a few things off the bar menu, like bison sliders and the crab cake with goat cheese. They also have an interesting cheese menu. THE TWO BEST PARTS: 1--The amazing live music. 2--The salted caramel crunch cake.

This was a great place for breakfast. We sat on the covered patio. I had the scrambled eggs with spinach and goat cheese (so good), with the delicious crispy potatoes. My friend thought the $4 mimosa was reason enough to come back, and I certainly will, the next time I am in Austin.

I may be the only person ever to only spend $10 at Malaga on a Saturday night. I had the shrimp bisque, which was delicious. It was a little oily, but the flavor was nice with a little kick and the shrimp were perfectly grilled. To be honest, there wasn't much else I wanted to try, and I don't drink wine. My friends seemed to enjoy their meals, though. They raved about the mahi mahi and the fried avocado. Maybe I was having an off night.

P.S. It was so fricking loud in there.

Iron Cactus had an interesting menu with lots of appealing dishes.

We had a large party, but we went early on Sunday evening and had no trouble being seated. The host asked us if we wanted to sit upstairs on the patio or downstairs in the dining room. It would have been great if he could have radioed upstairs to see if there was room for our large party instead of having us tramp up three flights of stairs to find out there wasn't, but we were quickly seated at a big table in the front corner of the dining room.

Service was a little slow, but our waiter was helpful with recommendations.

I liked everything I tried, but I thought it was all a little bland. I don't like things too spicy but even I thought they could kick it up a notch. I tried the guacamole (made tableside by the waiter), the lobster tacos (shredded, not lump), and the pollo relleno. My friends liked the bellini martini, the chicken enchiladas, and the Mexican chocolate mousse (huge!). I also liked the table salsa.

I'll definitely be back the next time I'm in Austin. I want to try those bacon-wrapped shrimp.

A coworker told me that a lot of places have changed the name of some of their trucks (or restaurant locations) so that they don't have more than five locations so that they do not have to comply with the new law requiring them to post nutrition facts.  I'm not saying that's what Calbi did, but if they did, that is so tricky!

Pros:
$5 for a big gyro with lots of meat
Tasty tzatziki sauce

Cons:
Fries in the gyro
Not enough tzatziki sauce
Nothing green on my gyro

I'll be back, but next time I will ask for extra sauce, no fries.

I haven't been out to the food trucks on Pennsylvania Ave in Santa Monica for months. Today, a friend joined me for lunch, so we ventured out there. There were two Hawaiian BBQ trucks today, Onolicious won out by virtue of proximity.

I had the Papaya Teriyaki Chicken plate lunch. The chicken was delicious. Juicy, flavorful, not too fatty. The macaroni salad was good, too, but not what you expect with a plate lunch. It needed about ten times more mayo for that. I can't eat sticky rice anymore, so no comment on that.

My friend had the Mochiko Chicken because she is a mochi fanatic. I forgot to ask her what she thought, but she ate every bit of it with no complaints, so she must have liked it. The plate lunch comes with a little bit of kimchi, too. I believe that kimchi is the devil's food, so I had none of that.

Note: I didn't ask, but it didn't look like they take credit cards.

Delicious! This place totally lived up to the hype. I had the Truffle burger (with truffle cheese and truffle glaze, without bun, since I can't eat bread anymore). It was so rich and yummy. My friend had the Manly burger (cheddar cheese, onion straws), which looked even better, and the sweet potato fries. I didn't ask him how the fries were, but he ate all of them, so they must have been good.

I will be back again and again until I have tried every burger they have (except the veggie burger).

Things to note:
-They have a bar, but I didn't notice if it was a full bar or just beer and wine.
-This place gets packed! But, it was deserted when I showed up at 11:45, so get there early.
-Today was a gray day and it was not much warmer in the restaurant.
-The name isn't on the door, but the door is the first entrance from the parking lot.

I'm done with this Chili's. I wanted to love it since it is nearby, but the service has been terrible too many times. The food is what you'd expect at any Chili's, so no complaints there. Next time, we'll drive to the Chili's in Westlake Village.

I had the IncrediBall, a Kobe beef meat ball wrapped in bacon, topped with gruyere, on a toasted brioche bun with garliz aioli and arugula. For $6.50, I got two balls. I guess balls are supposed to come in pairs.

It was delicious. If they are in the area again, I will go back for the CiaoBalla, which look like a tiny little meatball sub. That is what most of the people in line were ordering.

Other things to note:
Chips and soda are extra and the selection is slim. The wait wasn't long. They take credit cards.