Restaurant Review: Johnnie’s Pastrami

During a day trip to Los Angeles to visit a friend from my high school days, we stopped for lunch at Johnnie’s Pastrami in Culver City. This is a retro dinner serving classic burgers, sandwiches, chili, onion rings, fries, and pastrami and beef dip sandwiches.  And when I say retro, I do mean retro.  The…

Restaurant review: Fukada

We made a special trip to Irvine, primarily to visit Fukada. This is a small Japanese restaurant in a shopping plaza in Irvine, CA. They’re doing something right, because this is pictured about 15 before they’ve opened.  There were a good 20-30 people waiting outside.  There was a sign up clip board on the front…

Restaurant review: McCormick & Schmick’s Grille

Walking through the (rather moribund and desolate) Anaheim Garden Walk Shopping Plaza, we wandered across Cheesecake Factory and McCormick and Schmick’s. The line up at Cheesecake Factory was quite long, and since we’d tried it before, we opted for McCormicks instead. McCormick and Schmick’s is a chain of seafood & steak restaurants based out of Portland,…

Restaurant review: Cham Sut Gol

After retrieving a rental car, our world of options expanded exponentially. Just as an aside, the public transit system in the greater Los Angeles Area is ridiculous. The issue being, metro LA is spread out. REALLY spread out. If you want to get anywhere by public transit, it takes FOREVER. I tried planning an outing…

Restaurant review: Wolfgang Puck LA Bistro

While visiting Universal Studios Hollywood, we decided to exit the studio grounds and grab something to eat from the shopping/dining area just outside the gates (we were warned that the concessions on-site were overpriced and not very palatable). Wandering through we spotted one of Wolfgang Puck’s establishments. Since we had no plans to visit Beverly…

Restaurant review: Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine

In spite of frequently visiting Honolulu, we’d never dine at any of Roy Yamaguchi’s restaurants. But when we passed by one of his establishments in Anaheim, we decided to give it a try. This Roy’s location is on Katella Avenue, on the street, at the south edge of the Garden Walk shopping and entertainment center….

Restaurant review: Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles

After a long day of doing touristy stuff, we wanted to grab a late dinner, and chose Roscoe’s. This was one of a number of “places to eat” recommended on Timeout’s Los Angeles web portal, and since it was (barely) within walking distance of our hotel, we decided to give it a try. We arrived…