Category Archives: Culver City

The 10 Best Things I Consumed in 2012

Best LA Eats
2012 was a banner year food-wise in the City of Angels. Angelenos have never before had so many amazing restaurant options and I have tried to cover many of them on this blog. Of all the dishes that I wrote about in 2012, the following are my ten favorites; the ones that I happily dream about and crave pretty much all the time. Some of them were introduced at exciting and cutting-edge new local eateries this past year, while others are things that I have loved for years. Most are not “healthy choices,” so if you’re planning to make a New Year’s resolution to watch your weight, get to work; you only have a few days left to indulge!

Beef Roll

10. Beef Roll at 101 Noodle Express I’m crazy about this Northeastern Chinese delicacy made of thinly sliced and braised fatty beef with fresh chopped cilantro and sweet bean sauce rolled in a fried doughy Chinese pancake. It’s salty, crispy, beefy and incredibly delicious!

Papa Rellena

9. Papa Rellena at Porto’s Bakery & Cafe This Cuban treat (which I finally wrote about this past year) is essentially a ball of mashed potatoes which has been filled with seasoned ground beef and deep fried; kind of a spherical mini Shepherd’s Pie. Muy delicioso!

Bacon Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuit

8. Bacon Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuit with Maple Butter at MB Post Even if you live in the Valley or the Eastside, these biscuits are reason alone to travel to Manhattan Beach. Served hot out of the oven with soft and sweet maple butter, they are outrageously good.

Maple Custard Pie

7. Maple Custard Pie at The Pie Hole The only dessert to make the list, this is possibly the best pie I have ever had. It is the perfect combination of a sublime buttery not-too-sweet crust and an incredible caramelized custardy filling. I only wish they sold it year round!

Fried Clams

6. Fried Clams at Sonny McLean’s Irish Pub I went on a mission this year to find authentic New England-style battered and fried “whole belly” Ipswich clams (not strips!) and was surprised to find the real deal at this little Boston Irish sports bar in Santa Monica. They’re wicked good!

Cuban Torta

5. Cuban Torta with Pork Terrine, Prosciutto, Provolone, Pickled Jalapeno & Mustard at Sunny Spot Of all the amazing dishes at Chef Roy Choi’s creative Caribbean-themed restaurant, this mouth-watering, non-traditional version of a Cuban sandwich is my favorite.

"Philly Cheesesteak"

“Philly Cheesesteak”

4. “Philly Cheesesteak” at The Bazaar The Bazaar is one of my favorite restaurants in the city and my favorite dish is this playful take on the Philadelphia classic sandwich. It’s made with "air bread" and cheddar cheese, and covered with thin slices of Wagyu beef and finely chopped chives.

Steak Tartare and Mustard Ice Cream

3. Steak Tartare and Mustard Ice Cream at Eat Drink Americano Savory and spicy mustard ice cream may not sound appealing on its own, but once mixed with a delectable steak tartare, the resulting flavor combination is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before and out of this world!

"The Toron" Bäco

2. “The Touron” Bäco at Bäco Mercat Each of Chef Josef Centeno’s original sandwich creations called “Bäcos” are works of culinary genius. However, the best in my opinion is The Touron with oxtail hash, pickle, potato & cheddar cheese on Bäco Mercat’s signature flatbread.

Gougere Sliders

Gougere Sliders

1. Gougere Sliders with Fried Oysters, Tartar Sauce, Applewood Smoked Bacon and Arugula” at Little Bear These little sandwiches on Greyere cheese puffs combine cheese, dough, bacon and fried oysters, so it’s not a total surprise that they are my favorite dish of the year. I love them!

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Filed under Alhambra, Arcadia, Burbank, Culver City, Downey, Downtown, Glendale, Manhattan Beach, Mid-City, Santa Monica, Venice

Best Mall Food Ever


Hanging out at a shopping mall is not my idea of a good time, especially during the holiday season. Parking is a pain, most of the chain stores are uninteresting and the food options are terrible. (I’m looking at you, Sbarro and Panda Express.) But lately I have a reason for frequenting the mall, or at least one mall in particular. I am head over heels in love with the Beef Rolls at 101 Noodle Express in Westfield Culver City.

This food court delicacy hails from the Shandong region in Northeastern China and consists of thinly sliced and braised fatty beef with fresh chopped cilantro and sweet bean sauce rolled in a fried doughy Chinese pancake. Salty, crispy and beefy, this dish checks a lot of boxes for me. It can be found not only at the Culver City Mall, but also at 101 Noodle Express’ two other locations in Arcadia and Alhambra.

While Beef Rolls are the standout dish, there are other great things on the menu. The Hot and Sour Soup is surprisingly good and the Soup Dumplings are definitely worth ordering. They’re not as good as the ones at Din Tai Fung, but they’re pretty damn tasty and the ones in Culver City are the best I’ve had without schlepping to the San Gabriel Valley.

101 Noodle Express is located at 6000 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City (in the Westfield Culver City Mall formerly known as the Fox Hills Mall), as well as 1025 Baldwin Ave. in Arcadia, and 1048 E. Valley Blvd. in Alhambra.

Soup Dumplings


Hot and Sour Soup


Food court excellence!



101 Noodle Express on Urbanspoon
101 Noodle Express on Urbanspoon
101 Noodle Express on Urbanspoon

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Filed under Alhambra, Arcadia, Culver City

Three Iconic LA Eateries Revisited


Every city has its landmark diners and food stands, perenially popular places that have survived the test of time and become local institutions. Growing up and going to college in Los Angeles, I would frequent many of this city’s landmark eateries back in the day, often late at night with my fraternity brothers. Feeling nostalgic last week, I decided to revisit three such restaurants, two of which I had not been to in over 25 years. I was curious to see whether these iconic eateries would live up to my memories.

My first stop was Pink’s Hot Dogs. Pink’s was founded by Paul and Betty Pink, who started selling hot dogs from a pushcart in 1939 and upgraded to their current brick and mortar location in 1946. As evidenced by the perpetually long lines, Pink’s is the most popular hot dog stand in the city. They specialize in chili dogs and also offer numerous hot dog creations named after celebrities such as Ozzy Osbourne and Martha Stewart. A lesser known fact is that they have incredibly delicious slices of coconut and marble layer cakes. I have great memories of midnight “hot dog runs” to Pink’s, but rarely go there anymore. However, my opinion of Pink’s has not changed. Pink’s hot dogs aren’t the best in Los Angeles, but they’re still very good and Pink’s is a fun place to go.

My next stop was Tito’s Tacos, LA’s most famous taco stand. Tito’s Tacos opened in 1959 and is known for their inexpensive hard shell tacos and close proximity to the airport. I hadn’t been to Tito’s since I was at UCLA. I’m not sure whether the restaurant has gone downhill since then or my palette has become more sophisticated, but I was incredibly disappointed when I recently visited Tito’s. I certainly didn’t remember very dry and flavorless shredded beef, rubbery cheese and watery salsa and guacamole (which should more appropriately be referred to as “avocado sauce”). There are probably 100 better taquerias in LA. I guess some memories are better left alone.

My final stop was The Apple Pan. Around since 1947, The Apple Pan is a diner famous for their burgers and pies. All seating is at a long U-shaped counter which surrounds the cooking area. The servers are grumpy old men who provide uber efficient, no-nonsense service. There is usually a wait. Eating at The Apple Pan again after a quarter of a century, I was still impressed with their Hickory Burger. It’s not UmamiBurger, but really tasty nonetheless. I was less enamored of my apple pie, which had a burnt crust. But all in all, The Apple Pan was a fun experience — a real blast from the past — and I’ll probably not wait another 25 years to go back.

Pink’s Hot Dogs is located at 709 N. La Brea, Los Angeles (Mid-City). Tito’s Tacos is located at 11222 Washington Place in Culver City. The Apple Pan is located at 10801 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles (in West LA). If you enjoy Consuming LA, please subscribe, like me on Facebook and/or follow me on twitter at the top right of this page. And please forward to your friends!

Pink’s Hot Dogs


Pink’s Chili Dog with Cheese


Pink’s Layer Cake


Tito’s Tacos


Tito’s Taco with Cheese and Chili Beans


Tito’s Chips and Salsa


The Apple Pan


The Apple Pan’s Hickory Burger and Fries


The Apple Pan’s Apple Pie

Pink's Hot Dogs on Urbanspoon
Tito's Tacos on Urbanspoon
The Apple Pan on Urbanspoon

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Filed under Culver City, Mid-City, West LA

Burger Battle!

In case you haven’t heard, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a hugely successful national chain which started in Washington DC, has come to conquer LA. In the world of fast food hamburgers and fries, Five Guys occupies the same space in the market that In-N-Out Burger has locally dominated for many decades; super-fresh, never frozen ingredients, fries made from potatoes cut in the restaurant and fried in trans fat-free oil, and burgers which are all cooked to order. As we all know, In-N-Out is a Southern California institution. It’s the object of many late-night cravings, the home of an awesome “secret menu” and hidden biblical verse references, as well as the place most frequently visited by LA vegetarians when they’re ready to start eating meat again for the first time. Is Five Guys better than In-N-Out? No, it’s not. But it is better than most other fast food burger restaurants.

The burgers at Five Guys, like In-N-Out, are really good. Five Guys even has several more choices for toppings than In-N-Out, including bacon, jalapenos and sauteed mushrooms. Five Guys also gives you free peanuts to munch on while you’re waiting for your food to be cooked. While I like both burgers a lot, I slightly prefer the burger at In-N-Out mainly because In-N-Out has much better buns. I love the fries at In-N-Out, but Five Guys also has great fries, and you can order Five Guys’ fries with cajun seasoning generously sprinkled on top! Unfortunately, I found the service at Five Guys to be less than stellar. They are not staffed with the uber-efficient yet exceedingly friendly, clean-cut kids that one always encounters when going to In-N-Out. The last time I was at Five Guys, after waiting about 20 minutes after ordering, I was given our burgers and unapologetically informed that they ran out of fries and we would have to wait another 20 minutes while they prepared a new batch. This would never happen at In-N-Out! Also, Five Guys in notably more expensive. So while Five Guys is definitely worth trying, I think In-N-Out has nothing to worry about.

Five Guys currently has locations in Culver City (at the Westfield Culver City Mall), Valencia, Carson (at the Southbay Pavillion) and Thousand Oaks; more locations are opening soon including Northridge, Mid-City and Downtown. In-N-Out is all over Southern California. UPDATE 12/10/11: Five Guys now also has locations open in Cerritos, El Segundo, Northridge, Whittier and Downtown. UPDATE 5/25/13: Five Guys now has additional locations in Long Beach, West Covina, Lakewood, Westwood, West Hollywood and Studio City.

Five Guys Burger


Five Guys Fries


Lots of bragging on the walls at Five Guys


In-N-Out: Still the Champion

Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Urbanspoon
Five Guys Burgers and Fries (Carson, Avalon Blvd) on Urbanspoon
Five Guys Burgers and Fries (Cerritos Promenade) on Urbanspoon
Five Guys Burgers and Fries (USC W27th) on Urbanspoon
Five Guys Burgers and Fries (Valencia Town Center) on Urbanspoon
Five Guys Burgers and Fries (El Segundo) on Urbanspoon
Five Guys Burgers and Fries (Whittier) on Urbanspoon
In-N-Out Burger on Urbanspoon
In-N-Out Burger on Urbanspoon
In-N-Out Burger on Urbanspoon
In-N-Out Burger on Urbanspoon
In-N-Out Burger on Urbanspoon

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Filed under Carson, Cerritos, Culver City, Downtown, El Segundo, Lakewood, Long Beach, Mid-City, Northridge, Studio City, Thousand Oaks, Valencia, West Covina, West Hollywood, Westwood

Finger-Lickin’ Korean Goodness

WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS POST IF YOU WANT TO AVOID DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO ONE OF THE TASTIEST THINGS IN L.A.

KyoChon serves Korean fried chicken and it is insanely good! This is not your run of the mill fried chicken and it is certainly nothing like the KFC variety. There are many different kinds of chicken at KyoChon. However, the most popular item is their chicken wings, which are very much like Buffalo wings, but with an incredibly delicious Korean-style sauce.  You have your choice of three different flavors of wings including Spicy & Sweet Wings and Honey Wings but, by far, my favorite is the Original Soy Garlic Wings. I recommend the Soy Garlic even if, like me, you usually go for the spicy option; trust me on this one. The Soy Garlic sauce is so finger-licking-good and the fried chicken is so crispy and tasty. It’s the perfect mix of saltiness, tangy sweetness, crunchiness and juiciness. You can also get bigger drumsticks and a whole fried chicken. Another option is the healthier (and less tastier) grilled wings, but really what’s the point?

A new offering at KyoChon are the Sal Sal Strips, which are battered strips of white meat lightly fried and then coated with puffed rice crumbs and cooked to a golden crisp. They are served with your choice of dipping sauces and can also be included in a salad. The Sal Sal Strips are good, but I much prefer the wings. If you want to try all of the wings, they offer a sampler platter. I’m big on sampler platters, so if that’s the way you want to go, I won’t hold it against you. Side dishes include rice, potato wedges and my favorites, broccoli salad and sweet radish pickles. The broccoli salad is made with fresh broccoli, bits of bacon, green onions and raisins in a homemade sauce; it’s really great.

KyoChon is a very popular chain in Korea with with over a 1,000 locations, only a few of which are in the United States. They opened their first Los Angeles branch in Koreatown, but there are three additional LA locations; in the Glendale Galleria, Westfield Culver City and Los Cerritos Center. It’s surprising that one of the most delectable things in LA can be found in mall food courts. I often go to the Glendale Galleria location and it’s every bit as good as the Koreatown location, although if you’re looking for a whole fried chicken, you can only get that in K-town. KyoChon proudly advertises that their chickens are always fresh and hormone-free, so that makes it kind of heathy even it you don’t go for the grilled option, right??

KyoChon is located at 3833 W 6th St., Los Angeles (in Koreatown) and in the Glendale Galleria, Westfield Culver City (formerly Fox Hill Mall) and Los Cerritos Center.

Soy Garlic Fried Chicken Wings


Baked Wings in Hot & Sweet Sauce


Original Sal Sal Strips


I love the Broccoli Salad!


It's surprising to find such good food in the Glendale Galleria!


KyoChon Chicken on Urbanspoon

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Filed under Cerritos, Culver City, Glendale, Koreatown