Joe’s Pizza

Joe’s Pizza
613 S Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
213-988-8848

So LA Eater's 16 places to get a killer slice of pizza in Los Angele, has been a hit with me.  I have tried three places; Pie Life Pizza in Pasadena, Pizzanista, and Pellicola and I loved all three places. Joe's Pizza was next up on my list.  When I saw Joe's Pizza on the list, I thought I had tried and really liked the Santa Monica location.  But, that location has nothing to do with this Joe's Pizza-which also has locations in West Hollywood, Hollywood, and Sherman Oaks.

Located in a very busy and gentrified part of downtown LA, Joe's Pizza is a small restaurant that caters to the late night crowd.  There are a few tables and a counter for people to eat in.  There are 10-12 pizzas sold by the slice, but I wanted a freshly baked pizza.

18in mushroom and jalapeno pizza, $23.98.  $18 for cheese pizza plus $2 per topping.  But, on their printed menu the prices for toppings are listed as $3 for the first topping and $2 for each additional.  First time I've ever heard of that.

This was a great pizza!  The crust was firm, with great texture!  The cheese was gooey and plenitful.  While there could be a few more mushrooms and jalapenos, there were fresh.  The jalapenos were huge too.  The sauce was mild but added a nice flavor to the pizza.  I really liked this pizza.

Service is good.  The people are nice and helpful.

I would go back to Joe's Pizza again!!  LA Eater is now 4 for 4!  All four places I've tried from their list have been great!

Tasty Noodle House

Tasty Noodle House
2947 Chino Ave
Chino Hills, CA 91709
909-628-7187

Tasty Noodle House is about 50 feet away from Noodle House, the last Chinese restaurant I reviewed in Chino Hills.  Tasty Noodle House is a good sized restaurant, with plenty of seating.  There were about ten tables being used when I went.

On Jan 12, 2017 David Allen reviewed Tasty Noodle House!

Shrimp fried rice-$8.50.  Good but not great.  A good sized portion, but mostly rice.  They could put more shrimp, I only counted eight small sized shrimp.  There were alos peas, eggs and carrots in the dish.  Not oily like some fried rice can be. 

Mixed vegetable chow mein-$8.99.  This has a unique flavor because there were fungus and shiitake mushrooms in additon to cabbage in this dish.  The noodles were well cooked and overall this dish was very good.

One complaint is that they have a limited menu.  There was only one shrimp dish and a couple veggie dishes.   

Service was good.  My order came out quickly. 

I prefer Noodle House over Tasty Noodle House because they have a larger menu and not only are their prices better, it's a better value!

Lobsta Shack-Closed

Lobsta Shack
701 W Cesar E Chavez Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
323-999-1797

Lobsta Shack is the brick and mortar version of the very popular Lobsta Truck.  Now, I've never chased the Lobsta Truck, but overwhelmingly they got great reviews.  So I was looking for to trying Lobsta Shack.  I wanted to compare it to Knuckle & Claw, a very good place to get a lobster roll!

Located next to the old WalMart Grocery store, that closed down after a few years, Lobsta Shack is a huge restaurant.  But, it was empty the day I went.

Fish and chips, $11.  The fish is cod.  The batter wasn't good- kind of soggy and not fresh.  Either the oil they used was old and dirty or the fish was in the fryer for too long because the color of the batter is awful.  The fries, while plentiful, was from the freezer.  Not impressed.

Lobster roll-$20.  Knuckle & Claw says their lobsters are shipped directly from Maine.  I doubt the lobster used at Lobsta Shack is from Maine.  The lobster roll is a good size and there is a good amount of lobster.  They offer with butter or spicy mayo,  I got the butter.  Stick with the original.  But, the lobster was only average.  Something was missing.  Yes, the price is cheaper at for the lobster roll at Lobsta Shack, but the value or quality isn't there!  Go to Knuckle and Claw for the lobster roll.

Service was good.

I was disappointed in Lobsta Shack.  I won't go back.  I'll pay a little more and get a better quality lobster roll!

Pellicola Pizzeria-Closed

Pellicola Pizzeria
421 W 8th St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
213-614-8000

I have already tried two of the places listed on LA Eater 16 places to get a killer slice of pizza in Los Angele Pie Life Pizza in Pasadena and Pizzanista.  Pellicola was next up on my list.

Located next door to the Golden Gopher bar, Pellicola is located in another part of downtown LA this is under going gentrification!  There is a Whole Paycheck about 50 yards up the street and the nasty overrated Dunkin Donuts on the corner.  Across 8th Street a building is being turned into more condos or high priced apartments!

Large mushrooms and jalapeno pizza-$19.62.  $16 for cheese pizza plus $1.50 per topping.  This was a very good pizza.  The crust was firm with a little crispiness that added to the good texture of the crust.  They put a decent amount of toppings, certainly not plentiful or overflowing, but the toppings were fresh.  The sauce was mild, nothing overpowering.  Cheese was great!  Everything worked well together and I was very impressed with their pizza.

Service was very good.  The woman who helped me was nice and friendly and the guy, who I believe is the manger, was very nice and helpful.  He happily explained their weekly movie nights.  After eating a few slices in the restaurant, I told him this was a very good pizza.  He thanked me for coming in.  More restaurants need to learn that bring nice and friendly can go a long way!

LA Eater has been 3 for 3!  The three pizza places that I have not been to, from their list of 16, have been very good!  Can they go for the cycle?

I would go back to Pellicola Pizza anytime!  Parking can be an issue, most of the major streets nearby like Olive and Main,  are no parking zones during weekday rush hour.  Either take public transportation or use one of the riding sharing apps.

Noodle House

Noodle House
2935 Chino Ave
Chino Hills, CA 91709
909-591-5800

Every June 5th, I go to a Chinese restaurant to honor Tankman- the Chinese man who, after the Chinese government killed thousands of it's own people during the Tiananmen Square Protests, stopped a row of tanks from entering his city!  Time Magazine named Tankman one of the Most Important People of the 20th Century!  Tankman symbolizes the beginning of the end of the communism in Russia and the eastern bloc countries!

I reviewed another Noodle House in Monterey Park, but this Noodle House in Chino Hills has nothing to do with the other Noodle House I reviewed.  Located in a very busy shopping center with a 99 Ranch Market and a ton of other restaurants, Noodle House is tucked into a small corner of the center.  The restaurant is small, maybe 12 tables, but they were very busy the night I went.

Shrimp chow mein-$7.95 with house noodles.  They offer a handmade noodles option for $1 more.  But, I wanted to try their house noodles.  This was very good.  The noodles were perfectly cooked with seasoned.  There was a good number of shrimp and the flavors all combined well.  A good dish at a very reasonable price.

Fish fillet with basil-$7.95.  I think the fish was talipia.  I was hoping the fish wasn't deep fired and I was happy to see it was browned and covered with their sauce.  There was a good amount of fish and I liked this dish. 

Service is pretty good. My order came out quickly.

I would go back to Noodle House and it certainly better than Happy Kitchen, the last Chinese restaurant I reviewed in Chino Hills.

Wei Wei Asian Express

Wei Wei Asian Express
6465 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92115
619-287-8888

So I'm in San Diego and I want something quick and good for dinner.  I'm near San Diego St. and find Wei Wei Asian Express.  Plenty of good reviews and pretty close to where I'm staying.  So I head over there.

Located in a shopping center with a Planet Fitness and next door to a barber shop, in a very diverse area, Wei Wei has about 10 tables, but it seems as though most of their business is take out.

Dinner portion of  shrimp and broccoli in garlic sauce, $9.55.  This was a very good dish.  Well worth the price.  They didn't cheat you out of the shrimp- about 12 to 14 pieces and plenty of fresh broccoli.  The garlic was very flavorful but not overwhelming.  I was very impressed.

Service is good.  The orders come out quickly and the guy taking my order was very nice. 

I was very impressed with Wei Wei Asian Express and would go back if I'm in San Diego.