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ABOUT ME:

Name: Gutenberg

Location: Somewhere near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Occupation: BRPR (Bunrab public relations.)

 
the BUNRAB blog spot
 

Do you need to answer back? You can send me comments if you want to.

If I want to, I'll post 'em in this very blog.

-Gutenberg



 

March 1-8, 2007

 

go to next week's blogs

 

 

Thursday, March 8, 2007
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Just about every time we’re in Los Angeles, we find a reason to drop by Philippe’s:

... and no visit to this sawdust carpeted, old-style, counter service eatery:

... would be complete without a French dip sandwich.

I went with a turkey sandwich ($5.15):

... which isn’t the thing to order here. Even their signature hot mustard wasn’t enough to enliven the slices of meh turkey in a French dipped roll.

Chubby went with our usual order (which I will return to next visit.) The lamb French dip with Swiss cheese ($6.85):

... is filled with tender, rich meat, Swiss cheese that softens from the heat of the lamb and a dipped bun that brings this messy and delicious sandwich together.

Cole Slaw ($1.00):

... was a buck well spent. These cabbage ribbons are a crunchy side dish that work well with the sheepy sandwich.

Philippe’s is a great place to drop by for a cheap and cheerful lamb dip in a bustling, sunny room.  And just so you don’t think that this old school place doesn’t keep up with the times, they just added WiFi.

Philippe the Original
1001 N. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA
213.628.3781

 

 


 

 

 

Wednesday, March 7, 2007
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J and A made fajitas for dinner.

We caught up over chicken and salmon filled tortillas, rice, beans and most importantly of all, good company.


-G

 

 


 

 

 

Tuesday, March 6, 2007
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This Jar is adored.

We decided to go to Jar for W's birthday.

For starters I got six oysters ($14.00):

... with black pepper ponzu. These were fresh and tasty heralds of good things to come.

Chubby decided to think outside of the appetizer box and got an order of roasted asparagus ($10.00):

... to start. These lovingly prepared spears had their legs shaved before being cooked to perfection and tossed in a thyme dressing.

W got the butter lettuce salad ($11.00):

... with radishes and parmesan which she happily consumed before we moved on to our mains.

Chubby went for the ribeye steak ($32.00):

... which arrived done to the requested rare. This buttery cow chunk was well marbled and flavorful. It was difficult to choose among the many steak options, but this selection was a winner.

I went with the chopped sirloin topped with fried egg in a pool green peppercorn sauce ($20.00):

... which was an openfaced burger with a sunnyside-up hat. Toasted bread acted as the foundation to this meat mound. It's just what the doctor ordered (if your doctor is named Suess) but I wish it had a higher fat content to ease the stiff texture of my medium rare, herbed patty.

W got Jar's signature pot roast ($25.00):

This tender meat fell apart at just the thought of a fork approaching. Carrots and onions acted as the rooty backdrop to this low impact molar workout. This tasty comfort food was spot hitting against a glass of 2001 Collepiano Sagrantino Montefalco.

For side dishes we shared some sauteed pea tendrils ($8.00):

... which were good, but became a little "one note" despite a nudge of garlic.

The Brussels sprouts ($8.00):

... would have been improved with a lighter touch of vinegar but all this didn't matter when we had the stellar fries ($7.00):

... which had a crispy shell and a starchy belly - yum. Garlic and parsley gilded the lily of these tasty spuds.

After finding that the best bet on the entree menu was the "signature" preparation, we decided to share Jar's signature chocolate pudding ($9.00):

... which was pleasantly lighter than the anticipated tongue spackle that this sort of thing can aspire to. A snowcap of whipped cream offered a bit of lactose toterance to this chocolaty dessert.

The service was friendly and efficient in this unstuffy eatery.

The most jarring thing here is the acoustics. It's not a good spot for a quiet conversation about top secret operations, but it is a good place to get together over pot roast and fries.

Jar
8225 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
323.655.6566

 

From the bunrab email bag, Steven writes:

Gutenberg,

We are enjoying the travelogue. If you ever feel the urge we would love to see pics of hotels and rooms. We loved the shot of the standard bed with the king size headboard (Paris ?) that had the phone on the night stand about two feet away!!

Steven

P.S.
Love the movie reviews, short and sweet. I hate reviews that take 10K words to say less.


Gutenberg replies:

Dear Steven,

Glad you are enjoying our postings from the road. We’ll be sure to photograph any noteworthy rooms that await us.

Thanks also for your encouragement on Cinema Digest, our latest addition to the bunrab site.

-G

 

 

 


 

 

 

Monday, March 5, 2007
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When we entered Xiomara at 9 o'clock for dinner, we were the only diners and we maintained this status for the rest of the evening.

I always wonder if a high staff to customer ratio will translate into a lethargic "why bother?" 'tude or a seamless and attentive experience.

A martini glass filled with ceviche ($11.50):

... with a small dice of shrimp, scallops and ripe avocado didn't shake or stir me. The marinated seafood didn't have the textural interest of flavor contrasts that normally draw me to this preparation. Two crispy plaintain strips were a nice adorment to this mer-tini.

Chubby got the duck breast ($22.50):

... which had a nice fowl flavor. Although it was slightly more cooked than bunrabs prefer, it was tasty alongside a haystack of veg,

I specified "rare" when ordering my salmon ($24.50):

When this rectangle of petrified fish arrived, I cut it open and found it to be so done that the proper utensils to serve with this dish would have been a chisel and hammer...okay, I exaggerate, but it was seriously overcooked.

I asked the waiter if he could send it back to the kitchen and he came back with a perfectly cooked piece of pink fish. It was absolutely delish on its bed of spinach with a green onion mash and a crunchy, breaded, black bean croquette.

The service was friendly and I was delighted that they handled the fish redo without any bother, but it felt strange to be the only table of diners in this Cuban eatery.

Xiomara
6101 West Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
323.461.0601

 

 


 

 

 

Sunday, March 4, 2007
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The Hollywood Farmers' Market:

... may not hold a candle to the San Francisco Ferry Building version, but there are some good offerings to be found just off Vine.

The Los Angeles Marathon closed off a bunch of streets, but that didn't keep the crowds from this Sunday outdoor market.

Our friend clued us into to the pupusa stand:

... (which was easy to find due to its queue of fans.) We forked over two bucks for a hot off the griddle pocket with chicken, cheese and hot peppers:

It was mighty tasty with it's sliver of avocado and crunchy, shredded cabbage salad accenting this Salvadorean treat.

If I ever find myself in the vicinity on market day, I will come back for more of these crisp on the outside, flavorful on the inside, filled masa cakes.

The multitude of Marathon street closures inspired alternative forms of travel, but I think this guy:

... forgot his lawn chair and bb gun.

Pupusas Delmy
Hollywood Farmers' Market
Ivar and Selma Ave.
Hollywood, CA
323.463.3171

 

 


 

 

 

Saturday, March 3, 2007
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The Alcove Cafe and Bakery:

... had a queue out the door during the mid-day, weekend stampede.

You order at the counter, pay and take your numbered stand to your table and your food and drinks tractor beam over.

We had brunch with our friend B and also ran into some other pals. D got a trippy looking ornamented moon pie:

... (he ended up eating less than a third of it.)

We stayed away from anything that looked like an apres-pot snack and went with some salads during this sunny afternoon.

I asked for my fish rare on my salmon salad ($12.95):

... and they grilled it to my desired level of underdoneness. There was a massive amount of mesclun, as well as some thick cut raw red onions, tomatoes and capers. Although I enjoyed my lunch, the red onion was a dominant flavor and threw things out of balance. I would have left out about 3/4 of the lettuces because I began to feel like a full mower bag by the end of the meal.

Chubby got the cobb ($11.95):

... which worshiped at the alter of size but was pretty good and contained all the usual suspects.

A side of veggies ($5.95):

... contained asparagus and brocoli tossed in pesto. I would order this again not only for the nutrition factor, but it was pretty tasty in Chubby's garlicy opinion.

We liked this Los Feliz spot to sit outdoors and and catch up with our pals.

After our meal we spotted this vehicle:

I guess you will never lose your keys if you glue them to the outside of your car.

I'm not certain, but I think that you can drive in the computer lane with this type of car.

The Alcove
1929 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA

 


 

 

 

Friday, March 2, 2007
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We were starving and stumbled into this faux Western town:

... on Sunset Boulevard at 9:45 for dinner. The place was abandoned in that way that causes you to back out slowly but we were caught by the smiling hostess and decided to sit down.

The worn, laminated menus listed Thai and Japanese food. We decided to stay away from raw fish and went with udon:

... and chicken teriyaki:

The one thing that we can say for these dishes is that they were plentiful. It seemed like patrons were more interested in karaoke than filling their pad thai holes.

This David Lynchian room with red vinyl cushioned booths and a million mini-disco balls floating overhead:

... may not be a dining destination, but it certainly puts you in a blue velvet state of mind.

Amagi
6114 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 464-7497

 


 

 

 

Thursday, March 1, 2007
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Canter's got my tongue

The majority of my Canter's consumption has taken place over delivered deli plates during meetings. It is much better to forgo the delivery (and the meeting) and go to this no-frills 24/7 eatery.

We headed to this canterteen for a late lunch of soup and sandwiches.

Matzo ball soup ($5.75):

... had the required cracker orb plunked in the middle of its brothy bowl. The soup verged, but did not cross the line of sodium excess. The edible carbo ball was tender and sunk into my center pocket on cue.

Chubby got the Bronx special ($11.75):

Thinly sliced pastrami and a thick layer of chopped liver made for a rich and meaty baseball of protein in a rye catcher mitt. Although it was good, it didn't make me salinger-vate enough for a repeat order.

I selected hot tongue for my half sandwich special ($10.50):

This stuck out as an undepressing bite. I loved this succulent, tender and flavorful tastebud treat and would order this again. If you love this sandwich enough to marry it, you can grab some of the same chow in the elopement captial of the world, Las Vegas where they have their other branch at Treasure Island. Perhaps this chow isn't airfare worthy, but it is a good quick stop for a tasty sandwich.

 

Canter's Deli
419 North Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
323.651.2030

 

 


 

 

 


back to last week - February 22-28, 2007

 




 

 
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