Category Archives: Studio City

August 4, 2011 · 12:15 pm

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

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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

Tagged as 5 Guys, Five Guys, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, In-N-Out, In-N-Out Secret Menu

April 22, 2011 · 11:00 am

Don Ask Don Tell: Amazing and Affordable Sushi

While a lot of Angelenos are aware of Sugarfish, the expansion effort of legendary Sushi Nazi, Kozurnori Nozawa, less people are familiar with Sushi Don, the outposts of esteemed Westside sushi restaurant, Sasabune. But those in the know come to Sushi Don to eat some of the highest quality sushi in LA at surprisingly low prices. Sushi Don serves many of the same melt-in-your-mouth sashimi, nigiri and rolls as Sasabune, but at a fraction of the price.Â Â The Spicy Tuna on Crispy Rice at Sushi Don is the best I’ve ever had; better than that at Katsu-ya. Â Once you’ve had it, it is something you will crave all of the time. Â And the Albacore Special (fresh slices of albacore in ponzu sauce) is perfection. Then there’s the Blue Crab Hand Rolls. Â They are perfectly prepared with the freshest blue crab and warm rice and wrapped in crisp seaweed. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. Sushi Don also serves their own homemade soy sauce!Â

There is no table service. You order at a counter and you can either take out or they will bring your sushi to you at one of the tables. The nice thing about this is that you can get in and out very quickly if you want. I go to the Valley Village location of Sushi Don (at 4816 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Valley Village; close to Studio City and North Hollywood), but I understand that there is now a second location in Pacific Palisades (at 970 Monument Street, Los Angeles).

Spicy Tuna on Crispy Rice

Blue Crab Hand Roll

Not fancy; just good

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Filed under North Hollywood, Pacific Palisades, Studio City, Valley Village

Tagged as best cheap sushi, best cheap sushi la, best cheap sushi los angeles, best inexpensive sushi, best inexpensive sushi la, best inexpensive sushi los angeles, Best LA Sushi, cheap sushi la, cheap sushi los angeles, inexpensive sushi la, inexpensive sushi los angeles, Sushi, Sushi Don, valley village restaurants

April 4, 2011 · 11:00 am

Bread Winners

Amazing signature bread served warm to your table soon after you are seated and order. Â Is there any greater welcome gift that a restaurant can bestow upon a hungry patron? Â Great bread is often the reason for choosing a restaurant (or if you’re watching your carb intake, a reason to avoid a restaurant where you simply can’t control yourself). Â Here’s my list of the top 5 winners in the category of best signature bread in LA:

Garlic Cheese Bread from The Smokehouse

1. Garlic Cheese Bread at The Smokehouse (442 W. Lakeside Drive, Burbank). Â This is hands down the best garlic bread you will ever eat. Â It’s salty, cheesy, garlicky awesomeness. Â Enjoy it with dinner and martinis at The Smokehouse, the iconic dimly-lit, red boothed throw-back which has sat for the past 65 years across the street from the Warner Bros. lot.

Pizza Dough Bread at Angeli Caffe

2. Â Pizza Dough Bread at Angeli Caffe (7274 Melrose, Los Angeles). Â These are small round loaves of piping hot perfection. Â If you’re dining with a hungry group (or kids), once this incredible bread is brought to your table, propriety will be abandoned, burns will be risked and this right-out-of-the-oven treat will be ripped apart and devoured instantly.

Garlic Knots at Caioti Pizza Cafe

3. Â Garlic Knots at Caioti Pizza Cafe (4346 Tujunga, Studio City). Â Hot, buttery, garlicky, soft and chewy. Â The garlic knots at Caioti Pizza Cafe, a small rustic neighborhood eatery, are extremely addictive. Â The one drawback: Â they sometimes run out.

Grilled Pita at The Great Greek

4. Â Grilled Pita Bread at The Great Greek (13362 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks). Â This is not the free (and good) bread they give you when you arrive at the Great Greek. Â You have to actually order the amazing grilled pita bread here and it would be a Greek tragedy to not do so. Â The pita is exclusively flown in from Chicago. Eat it with fresh whipped Hummus, tangy Tzatziki, or my favorite — Tarama, Greek caviar dip.

Popover to Neiman

5. Â Popovers at Neiman Marcus (9700 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills in their Mariposa restaurant; also 6550 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park in their NM Cafe). Â Who doesn’t like popovers? Â The ones at Neiman’s are consistently perfect. Light, cripsy and flaky on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside. Â Served with strawberry butter!

That’s what I call WINNING!