Hugo C.'s Profile

Ever have one of those moments where you realize you had a small piece of food hiding between molars several minutes after you've finished your meal? Sometimes it's a cool -- but gross -- surprise, other times it's just a stark reminder of a bad meal.

Chile Verde neatly falls into the "shit you can't pay me to eat" category.

I naively saw the 'Mexican Food' banner and thought, "I'm Mexican, I like food -- it's perfect!" I noticed that I wasn't the only brown-skinned brother here that had set unrealistic expectations. Those handful of Spanish-speaking families also looked up at the menu and were excited to see the names of food that we recognized, only to have to share our disappointment when our food came out of the kitchen.

There's plenty of great places in the area to get satisfying Mexican dishes, there's no need to go here for dishes that are made with cheap ingredients (I don't care how fresh it is, cheap is cheap) and prepared hastily with total disregard for flavor.

The guys over at Ed Little aren't doing anything extraordinary. They're treating you the same way that you expect to be treated if you were to go to any expert for their services. Whether you're going to your mechanic, lawyer, dentist, banker, doctor, or neighborhood drug dealer, you expect awesome customer service, great knowledge of their field, the ability to explain complicated issues in easy to understand language, reasonable prices and good phone skills.

I knew great things about this place, but Bob was still able to go above and beyond my expectations and provide a really positive experience. There's no question about it: if you're in the West LA area (hell, I drove all the way from the South Bay) and you need service or maintenance on your vehicle, call to make an appointment at Ed Little's and be prepared to be blown away with their commitment to service and quality.

I hate shabu shabu. I tried it a few times, but I just don't get the appeal -- I'm boiling my beef and vegetables in my own personal pot? It wasn't for me. The rest of the lunch crew loved the place, though.

After refusing to participate in the rest of the crew's weekly outings to shabu shabu, I became used to the idea that I would never come back to Mizu 212. One fateful day the words, "they have bento boxes, too -- ya know?" were uttered as the crew was leaving the office.

Sure, I feel a bit out of place being the only person in the place NOT ordering the shabu. I'll be the first to tell you, the Prime Rib-Eye with a sweet soy glaze is totally worth the stares. Take a bite of that organic green salad with the slightly acidic dressing and that goes perfectly with the sweet glaze of the beef. It's an awesome alternative to the shabu!

I imagine that the point behind building a kitchen in a fast food joint that has open viewing to the public is to show that you have nothing to hide -- you're proud of your food and the way you cook it. Such an open concept kitchen will most times turn out in your favor, unless of course one of your cooks is on his cell phone the entire duration of a customer's visit.

It was a slow Saturday afternoon and I turned out to be the only person in the restaurant. The salad was tasty, the service was courteous. Unfortunately, I purposefully sat in such a way so as to not be able to see into the kitchen while I waited for my order to be called; I didn't want to believe that some guy was holding his cell phone with one hand and putting together my salad with the other. I did happen to see that there was a second guy in the kitchen, and I have hope that this was the guy cooking my food.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that there are magical microbial organisms that get passed from people on cellphones. It's just that if I know that an employee has no problem ignoring one specific policy, I can easily imagine other, more important, policies being ignored.

This Culver City gem is the absolute go-to for Italian take-out.

When building your own pasta plate you get to choose from over half a dozen dry pastas, over a dozen sauces, and then get to top it with vegetables, meat or fish. If you're not feeling the pasta (there's always that one person in the group), you always have the option of building your own salad, or trying out on of their pizzas.

This really isn't the place where you'll find very many bargain-hunters, but you will find a quaint gathering of locals that have discovered the authentic flavors that this place serves up in nifty to-go containers. These Italians -- by way of New Jersey -- really know how to put together a great tasting dish. If that weren't enough (which it really is), the service we've received has been exceptional. I suppose this is the elusive Italian hospitality that you hear about in those Olive Garden commercials.

The parking at this plaza is a breeze, it's having to deal with the super heavy traffic from Centinela that's the real pain. Always getting a friendly nod from the security guard standing post outside helps ease the frustration, though.

This branch isn't the cleanest or brightest, but a quick line will always win me over. Unfortunately, you're not always assured a quick line -- even with my quirky banking hours. After you've stood in line long enough, you're greeted with some of the most soft-spoken tellers I've ever met. I understand that those bandit barriers are there for your security, but I seriously can't hear a damn thing you're saying!

In my efforts to achieve my black belt in passive aggressiveness, I'll often reply to their questions in an equally soft tone. It usually plays out like a badly written comedy sketch, but it keeps me amused.

The LMU Alumni Association sponsors a National Day of Service where sixteen regions throughout the country get together to give back to their local communities. Fortunately, the Richstone Family Center graciously accepted our offer to provide volunteers.

The Richstone Family Center is dedicated to preventing and treating child abuse; strengthening families and preventing violence. They carry a multitude of programs, including: a child abuse treatment and prevention program, a transitional living program for young women who have been emancipated from foster care, parent education and case management, and an after school program.

About 25 LMU Alumni, family and friends arrived to assist in various capacities. As much as we were looking forward to help in whatever way we could (which ultimately involved helping to paint, organize, and give some long deserved TLC to certain facilities), we really appreciated the gracious staff that welcomed us with open arms. If you're ever considering donating your time or resources to a local cause, take note that Richstone is an awesome organization that continues to restore the love, trust, confidence and hope in the lives of the many children they are able to serve.

Talk about personality! From the moment you reach the counter, the crew at this location will have you feeling more like their long last college roommate, rather than just another office park drone stopping by to get their caffeine fix.

There's plenty of space to grab a seat, or an entire 6 person table if that's more your style. It's not uncommon to see plenty of folks enjoying the adjoining outdoor area by catching some rays while badmouthing their Activision coworkers.

Best of all, they have a killer oatmeal bar during the mornings! They have plenty of great components to throw into their steel-cut oats -- most of which you'd expect to see on a dessert menu, not oatmeal. Whether you try one of their guaranteed-tasty ingredient combos, or choose to have your fresh oatmeal personalized with your choice of fruits and/or toppings, you'll soon be back for some oatmeal made to order!

The nice folks at this Starbucks might not be the fastest espresso-slingers around, but they get the job done. They service a number of nearby office parks, so you're well off expecting a reasonable wait at all hours of the day.

Unfortunately, the high volume that this store experiences usually means that all hands are on deck to help out with drink orders. It's not uncommon to find a condiment bar that could use some tidying and refreshing, but the staff will usually go out of their way if you make a request for anything.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this location if you're looking for a place to sit and lounge, as there is already a lengthy cast of regulars that hog the tables on a daily basis. Besides, the horrible parking situation is something that you're better off never having to experience.

While I'm a fan of any bar that has nearly two dozen beers on tap, I'm not a fan of the Sunday-night crowd that assembles here. Looking back, walking in and having to listen to the douche in the faux chinchilla coat and sunglasses that was rapping along to his karaoke pick should have been a sign worth noting.

Although I was doing a pretty good job of ignoring the blaring karaoke songs and trying to not be distracted by the patrons that looked like they belonged at a middle school dance (not that they were factually underage, just looked extremely young), I couldn't help but hold deep anger and ill-will towards the lady going around collecting tips for the DJ. We had just arrived and sat down with our beers when she comes around and starts making condescending statements because we refused to tip the DJ.

Bad form, tip collecting money for the DJ lady, bad form.