Frank "10,000 marbles" L.'s Profile

This place just opened up across the street from my office. There have been several restaurants come and go in this location over the years, so it kind of has bad ju-ju, but I seriously hope Hokkaido makes a long go of it.

It's not just a seafood buffet. They have a TON of different items: clams, mussels, roast beef, sushi, Teppan, ribs, crayfish, shrimp, tempura, salads, soups, stir fry, desserts...hell, I could get carpal tunnel syndrome if I keep going.

The dining room is gigantic and looks like a cafeteria with rows of heavy, wooden tables lined up. Four large flat screens line the perimeter but their screens were blank with a "no signal" message. ???

It seemed like my entire office was there for lunch today. My co-workers have been raving about the place--mainly because of the price of admission. $9.99 gets you all you can stuff into your gluttonous face. I heaped up two plates of sushi and two more of other delicious items. Everything seemed very fresh and I still don't have a bellyache after my over-eating spree this afternoon.

If the quality and the price remains the same, I'll eat at Hokkaido once a week.

The Angry Beast! One of the best roast beef sandwiches I've had in long time!

Based on a Yelp friend's review, I bookmarked this little place today. Man, I've got a ton of bookmarks and I don't know when I'll ever get the chance to whittle that "to try" list down. Luckily, I had to pick the kid up from school at lunchtime and The Market Grill is right down the street. The boy has been to this place and RAVES about the chili cheese fries. He says the chili is homemade and delicious. He doesn't have the most discerning palette, but the boy could be considered an expert on chili cheese fries, that's for sure.

We ordered the chili cheese fries (of course), the Angry Beast and an Adult Grilled Cheese for Girlfriend. The fellow behind the counter was very friendly. He gave me a handful of free candy for being a new customer. The guy manning the grill was equally affable and I got a kick out of the way he announced when the orders were about to come out.

We got the sandwiches to go. When I got the food home for inspection, everything looked fantastic. I ordered the Adult Grilled Cheese with bacon (choice of bacon, turkey or ham) and it was thick and crispy. The Angry Beast was just the right amount of spicy. I got it on grilled sourdough. I opted for the mint potato salad instead of fries. Delicious. The boy was in heaven with those chili fries. He disappeared into his room with them and an empty container materialized on the kitchen counter in about ten minutes.

I think we've found our go-to to-go sandwich place. It's obviously an independent, locally owned and operated small business. Anyone who knows me knows that's where I like to spend my money. Keep it local and support the little guy who is working his butt off.

FYI: The Market Grill is cash only.

Driving in from the bleak Arizona desert on I-10, this In-N-Out was like an oasis sent from heaven!

We were starving and when we spotted a sign indicating that the familiar deliciousness of a Double-Double could be had 9.5 miles away, a cheer went up inside the trusty Chevy Cobalt.

It was 12:30 PM when we pulled into the lot and the place was packed--the Carl's Jr. next door; not so much. While I ordered the food, Girlfriend and the kids staked out the dining room for a table. They really need to add more seating to this place. I thought I was going to have to arm wrestle an elderly Good Sam's clubber for a seat. Gratefully, the kids stared a family of hillbillies out of their booth next to the trashcan. Way to go, crew!

This is a slammin' In-N-Out. The kids behind the counter move like a well-oiled machine. Our burgers and fries were piping hot and perfect. Man, oh, man, oh, man. Is there anything more tasty than a Double-Double animal-style, fries well-done, and an icy cold Coke? No. No, I say.

Girlfriend had to take over the driving after we ate, as I was lapsing into a burger coma. I fell asleep with the delicious aroma of Double-Double grease wafting up from my goatee. Ahhhhh.

I was on the way to Arizona with Girlfriend and two of my grown children when we spotted them--the dinosaurs. My heart skipped a little beat. I remember visiting this fanciful tourist trap when I was a kid. We were moving to California from Nebraska and I couldn't wait to get to the Realm of Wonder--the home of Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and a host of other fantastical amusements. That giant dinosaur in the desert (the big brontosaurus was the only one at the time, I believe) was my first glimpse of the amazing things that awaited us. Years later, the dinos were prominently featured in one of my most favorite films of all time: Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

Of course, our bankrupt state is far from the same golden land of opportunity that my family cruised our U-haul into 40 years ago. Nevertheless, there's still something magical about the kind of kooky dreams that would lead a man to construct massive concrete dinosaurs in the middle of nowhere. I was also heartened to see that my kids were as excited as I was about getting in a photo session with Pee Wee's dinosaurs.

As far as tourist traps go, this is one is in pretty decent shape. You can check out the museum (hey, I think the loony, right-wing fundie slant adds to the charm) or you can just browse around. The dinos are huge and you can climb around inside them--as long as you're not claustrophobic. We had a fun, brief time taking photos.

It was a great road trip with my kids. We all enjoyed reminiscing about all the other wacky expeditions I led for my little crew over the years. They laughed and giggled just like they did when they were wee ones. Oops, tears staining the keyboard means it's time to stop.

When you're going through Cabazon, just past Palm Springs, take a short detour to check out  the dinos. The fun memories are worth the ten minute stop.

I was driving to Arizona in the dependable Family Truckster on Friday. Dang, that's a long, long drive. We started out in Ventura at 6:30 AM and by the time we reached the desert, our empty stomachs were complaining mightily. Girlfriend had never been to Palm Springs, so I busted out my trusty Droid and fired up the Yelp app. I typed in "breakfast". Pinnocchio's in the Desert was the first restaurant to pop up on the list.

What I love about Palm Springs is that they booze it up there 24/7. Pinocchio's has a full bar and the bartender was serving drinks at 10 AM when we arrived. With my driving duties and the precious cargo of two of my progeny, I couldn't responsibly imbibe, but I noted that they had endless glasses of champagne for $3.95. Pinocchio's Yelp page also says you'll get the champagne for free if you mention Yelp. What I really wanted was a Bloody Mary. Alas, we had many miles to go before Phoenix.

The breakfast menu is quite extensive. I opted for the biscuits and gravy. Girlfriend got the French toast combo. Number One Son selected eggs with hash and Number Two Daughter went with a short stack.

I must say, we were all quite satisfied with our meals. Each breakfast was prepared well and came out of the kitchen promptly. I really enjoyed those biscuits and gravy. The bacon that came with Girlfriend's breakfast was thick and crispy.

Nice little restaurant. The place is mostly patio and it was a bit chilly when we were there, but I imagine it is most comfortable during the warmer months.

A sign painted on the window boasts that Bottles 'N Bins has the best selection of Belgian beer--or something to that effect. I stopped in for a look. Wow, they do have a great selection of Belgian beer. They also has quite a few domestic Belgian style ales from some of my favorite craft breweries. The prices are reasonable, too. I bought a bottle of North Coast Brewing Company's Brother Thelonious, a Belgian style abbey ale, for only $6.99. Part of the proceeds goes to support the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. What a delicious, tasty brew. It's also nice to know I'm supporting the arts while I get my beer buzz on. I picked up a sixer of Dragon Slayer IPA from the local beer maker, English Ales Brewery, too. I only wish Bottles 'N Bins was close to home, instead of way up there in Monterey.

I was driving back from Monterey to L.A. when it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't eaten anything all day. It was 2:00 PM and my stomach was grumbling something fierce. I was making good time (in spite of countless CHP speed-traps, requiring constant rearview vigilance), and fast approaching San Luis Obispo. I decided to hit downtown and hunt up some grub. Once again, I whipped out the Droid and fired up my Yelp app. Typed in "BBQ" and saw Mo's Smokehouse BBQ was 1.6 miles away.

For a small-ish town, SLO has big town parking issues. Still, it's a nice little burg and the downtown area is chock-full of dining options. Driving down Monterey Street, I finally spied Mo's, just where Yelp said it would be. I could see a big screen TV from the street. Was that the NFL playoff game I was missing? Mmmmm, BBQ. Mmmmm, football. Sounded perfect.

The place was fairly crowded for a Sunday afternoon. There was a sports team gathered inside (soccer? volleyball? beats me, they were wearing shorts) and what appeared to be quite a few parental types luncheoning with their college-bound offspring. It was nice to see that I'm not the only heartbroken schlub forced to send a favorite fledgling off into the cold, cruel world.

Mo's is the kind of place where you order at the counter and they give you a number for table delivery. The number is etched on a wooden pig. I noticed that the prices are a little on the high end. The  1/2 slab of Memphis ribs I ordered was $15.95. With a beer, my entire lunch was $21 and some change. Ouch.

I settled down at a table with my beer and watched the football game. The silverware, napkins and condiments are self-serve. I got a little cup of the "hot" sauce--it wasn't very.

The ribs came with a little cup of beans, coleslaw or potato salad (I went with the P.S.) and a corn muffin. The ribs were plentiful and very meaty. They were sufficiently tender and smoky-flavored. There was an interesting spice in the sauce that didn't really ring my chimes: Cardamom? Cloves? Whatever it was, I could have done without it, but all was still pretty tasty. The busgirl came by and snatched the basket off the table before I could eat the last little riblet. Bam! She was off with it before I could say anything. Oh, well, I certainly had enough.

After a sufficient dose of pig meat and pigskin, it was time to hit the road again. I wiped most of the BBQ sauce out of my beard and headed out. My oldest daughter called me as I was walking to my car (the married one), and it seems I'm going to have another grandbaby in a few months. Of course, I'm overjoyed, but who keeps pressing the fast forward button on the Betamax of life?

There just aren't any decent microbreweries in L.A. Why? It seems like every other major metropolitan area in the country has ass-kickin' regional beers a-plenty. Los Angeles is a craft brew wasteland. That's why I always go beer hunting whenever I'm out of town.

I'm in Monterey again this weekend, armed with my handy-dandy Yelp Adroid app. I typed in "brewery" and English Ales Brewery was at the top of the search list. OnStar took me straight to the place.

The brewery/pub is in the middle of a mixed industrial area. It's clearly a working class neighborhood and the clientele bellied up to the bar consisted of mostly blue collar guys. That's a good thing. There's nothing worse than a bar full of hipster wannabes when all you want to do is some serious beer drinking.

I sat down at the bar and the bartender, a friendly fellow who had to be close to 80, asked for my selection. I ordered a Dragon Slayer IPA from the numerous brews on tap.

That was a mighty tasty beer. I ordered some fries to go along with the IPA and looked over the room. There has to be about a thousand beer steins hanging from virtually every inch of the ceiling. I guess if you're a regular, you buy your own mug and just keep getting it refilled.

The fries were thick-cut and golden brown. The food sitting in front of the other patrons looked really good, too.

I ordered a Black Prince Porter for round number dos. Excellent. It was served at just the right temperature. Bars often serve stouts and porters way too cold and flavor dies a sad, frozen death. The brewmaster at English Ales clearly knows what he's doing.

Great little micro-brewery. I am definitely going to see if I can take some of their beer home with me before I head back to SmelL.A. this afternoon.

I really don't like chain restaurants, but this is the place the girl wanted to go for lunch when we dropped her off at college last weekend. (I'm driving her up there again today--don't ask, it's a LONG story.)

There are three reasons this place gets four stars from me:

1) Crispy, warm, salty chips. Salsa was decent, too.
2) GAWD DAMN Cadillac Margaritas! Yeah, OTR, extra salt on the rim, a shot of Grand Marnier dumped in there for good measure. Just what the doctor ordered.
3) FLIPPIN' AWESOME view of sea otters cavorting in the ocean!

I ordered the Macho Combo. I don't even remember what was on it. Meat, beans, and cheese, in a deep-fried tortilla. It was okay. I was too busy being Marlin Perkins and irritating the heck out of the fam with my play-by-play of the otter antics. "Look, look! He's got a clam and he's smashing it open on that rock! Ooooo! Ahhhhh!"

Gotta love those otters!

Does this place serve GREAT Chinese food? No way.

Is it cheap? Do they give you a TON of it? Will the kids like it? Yup. Yup. Yup.

Hey, I'm not about to take the kiddos someplace expensive. They could care less about high quality. Teenagers don't have particularly discerning tastebuds. They're in heaven with a can of Mountain Dew and a bag of Funyuns for gawd's sake!

Starlight Express is just the ticket when Girlfriend is out of town and I don't want to cook after a hard day at the old officina. It's a steamtable joint like Panda Express. I noticed that there weren't a lot of items in the trays, but what was there looked fresh enough. The sweater-vested man behind the counter looked rather distraught because he knew there wouldn't be enough noodles for us. He kept barking out orders for more chow mein into a microphone, and the loudspeaker was hilariously...loud. It was comical because you could see the dude cooking the chow mein in the kitchen--and he was about ten feet away.

Anyway, a two item combo is only $5.49, and it's enough grub for dinner and a midnight snack. That's hard to beat.