Diego "Diegermeister" P.'s Profile

Ever been punked by a burrito?  I have.  It was a beautiful day where the Mexican in me was wearing the X-Bulletted vest, stroked my mustache, and yelled out, "For Zapata!"  lol

I wanted food.  Real food, and I wanted it now.  I was feeling supernaturally divine that day.

Unfortunately, since there's divine, there's also evil and if there's evil, there's a Satan.  Sometimes he... likes to show up in the form of a burrito for some reason.  Haha

Yep, can't win against the devil.  That thing is so big, you can feed livestock with it... well, maybe a small pig - and we all have a cousin that resembles one, right?

What you do is you go get THAT cousin and take him here about two weeks before Chrismas, then you wait for him to give you a Christmas gift because believe me, he'll be grateful for the portion.  :)

It's not the greatest food, but you probably won't forget it very easily.

Shortest legitimate review:  food was fine, service wasn't bad... but you'll never catch me having "Won-Kok" because I'd rather have "Tu-Klams!"

(I'll give you a second to let it sink in.)  I might come back to this place, why not?

Yours truly,

-Diego-

I'm very skeptical about coupons and discounts - you can even call me an advertising pessimist.

Black Friday?  Even that won't cut it for me.  To tell you the truth, I'd rather pay twice the usual retail price instead of standing in line.

I have better things to do... like SLEEP.  It's quite simple, really: wake me up and I'll give you Black Friday - a Black-Eye Friday.  (Anyone?  No?  Ahh, screw it.)  lol

So when this place yelled out "Grand Opening," I yawned, "bite me."  A few weeks later, I needed to notarize a bank account affidavit and I came in here.

It turns out they're providing free notaries to the open public until 2010's tax season starts.  The only thing they ask in return is to honor them in bartery by handing out a few cards to some friends, 'nada mas ni nada menos.'

On top of that, I hadn't finished my income tax return for last year because I normally end up paying, so I came back a second time to get it out of the way.

I was very impressed with their knowledge and customer service.  The place is not huge, but it's very clean.  Here's the kicker, though:  they keep their office open all year round.  My regular tax preparer was on vacation somewhere.  My guy's good, but let's face it:  when you need help, you need it right there and then.  Call it a tax preparer affair, I don't care.  This review is just my bartery payment to their free notary, I thought that was pretty innovative of them.

I guess some of the best things in life really are free.  I said "some," not ALL - then you'd just be a cheap bastard.  Don't believe me?  Just ask your girlfriend; I'm sure she'll tell you all about how cheap you can be sometimes.  lol

Hey, it's true.  :)

I hate this place with all my guts - and I'm a lover, not a fighter.  

This is the part where I'm supposed to inject you with overwhelming evidence and hypnotize you into thinking, "that asshole's right."  

Well, I'm not gonna do that.  

I'll give it to you the way Brazilian Capoeira swingers do:  short, sweet, and to the point:  I once came here to System Of A Down and I was able to hear my friend talking to me in a low voice (in a SYSTEM show!).  We were nowhere near the nosebleed section - we even had a good view of the band.  What's worse?  That was my first time seeing 'em.  **ck this place.

"Well, what did you expect, Diego?  It's an outdoor venue..."

"Yeah?  Well f$ck you!"  I've been to The Ford, The Hollywood Bowl, and Colosseums.  Let me tell you that's no excuse.  Even free events have much better sound.

Then, there's the over-priced food, stressed parking lots, and all that other stuff that makes a bad concert venue even worse.  

If you want a REAL natural outdoor concert venue, please run away from this place faster than a Kenya sprinter and head towards the Ford Amphitheatre.  You really won't regret it.  Hell, if I was rich, I'd even refund you the Greek's admission price just to save you the grief.

Really.

This is one of those situations where your taste buds are beefin' it with your wallet and you end up choosing the fatter one, not the one that makes you fatter.

What's better than having a Teriyaki plate for about ten bucks?  That's right:  TWO teriyaki plates, and it's not even ten bucks... it's seven.

If you're not in love with Waba Grill, I guarantee you that your wallet's been drooling over it for a while now, and you better pay attention to her or she'll book it across the ocean in a teriyaki plate.  

It happened to someone I know, and he still cries like a little girl at night.  Sorry, dad.  Mom still loves ya, but you f&*cked up!  

No, but seriously... try it if you haven't.  Tell 'em Diego from Yelp sent ya and then wait for the blank "What the hell are you talking about" stare.  

Works every time, baby.  :)

-Diego-

This is one of those places that's more impressive by its appearance than the actual venue.

Don't get me wrong, it's very "House-Of-Bluesy" smack in the middle of the newest part of Downtown Los Angeles, that's not the focus of my complaint at all.

What did tick me off, however, is that it's the first stand-up venue I've seen that has a secluded section for those paid more to get closer to the platform.  Even though I don't mind paying the extra money, I thought that was a pretty uptight move from the club.  

If someone's gonna go through hell to get to the front, they're probably gonna make the most of it once the artist performs, raising the concert's energy.  I like having all the fun rowdy people right next to me in a concert when I'm up front - not a bunch of snobs who think they can buy fun and wouldn't know what to do with it when it's right in front of them.

Boo-f%^#&ing-hoo.

On the positive side, the sound, the view, and the venue are all very nice, I'm not gonna lie.  Great place to go if I won tickets on the radio... or if Radiohead were to perform there.

Then I'd eat my own words for being stupid.  Haha

-Diego-

PERFECT... HANGOVER... FOOD!  

*  God called me.
*  Said "Change your hangover remedy!"
*  I says, "Aye Aye, Cap'n"
*  He says, "Foolish Fool!!" and slaps me and I fly across five towns.
*  I land in the SHABU SHABU house and beg for forgiveness.
*  A thunderbolt hits the restaurant
*  I am smitten with a plate of Shabu Shabu before me.

That was my religious experience.  I am now a female nun and have converted to Shabu Shabu-ism, where I have weekly worshipping sessions with the old dude from the restaurant...

Only he doesn't know, so don't tell him.  Shhh... this will be our little secret.  lol

-Shabu Shabu One-

There's a reason this place has an average of 4 1/2 stars in this site.  I came here to see Voodoo Glow Skulls, but I am definitely coming back to this bar.  

Drinks were cheap, place was cool, area is industrial which means the community lets it be, but most importantly, the people are the absolute BEST.  

From the bartenders to the crowd, you could not bump into an unapproachable person even if you were blind.  Their atmosphere is pretty damn warm in that way that only LBC can offer you.  

If you're looking for glamour, then you probably don't belong in this place... even though this place would take you in anyway.  I heard they even have open-mic band karaoke.  

Oh yes, I'm coming back.

I heard good things about this restaurant chain, but I always dismissed it as as just another BJ's where the food is not bad and the ambience is lively, but the place is overrated

And while that may be true for other Yardhouse restaurants, this particular location is GREAT.  I'm not a beer guy, but I'll chug theirs... not because it's great, but because the sea dock environment is extremely calm, yet lively in that way that only California can offer you.  

Happy hour gives you the best prices, and I'd say this is the PERFECT place for a spontaneous date with a lot of interest, especially if they've never been there before.

I was recommended this place years ago, and the food was fine, not great.

BUT...

It has a very special element.  It's one of those things that you'd say, "that place is all right, but you GOTTA try the..."

and that something is the Bean & Cheese burritos.  Plain and simple:  real cooked, casserole-smashed Mexican-style beans integrated with Monterey Jack cheese for under two bucks.  Impregnate it with a shitload of avocado, throw some lemon and salsa in there and you... might... just cry like a little ugly girl who just got her first kiss.  lol

Well, maybe not.... but it's really good.  It's enough to go find out for yourself... so go.