What The Fish

What The Fish
2804 Hyperion Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323-284-8442

WTF?  What the Fish Sushi is a fairly new sushi restaurant in Silver Lake!  Silver Lake isn't known for their Asian restaurants, but I've heard good things about What the Fish!.   It's a very small restaurant with a sushi bar that seats about 6 people and 2-3 tables that seat four, and 3 other tables that seat two.  Surprisingly it wasn't crowded at all on a Friday night about 7:30pm.  But, when we left, there were people waiting in line.

Tuna Sushi- $4.95

Griffith Park Roll $4.50- Salmon, shrimp, avocado and cucumber.

Vegetable Roll $3.95-Cucumber, avocado, asparagus, yamagobo.

Shrimp tempura, spicy tuna roll, $4.50

All the rolls and sushi was fresh and tasted fine.  The prices were very reasonable.  But, the portion is is very small.  This is like diet sushi.

Service is annoying!  WTF??  While our server was nice, she must have come by six times, SIX times in a space of 5-7 minutes to see if we were ready to order.  Can you give us more than 15 seconds before you come by?  The sushi came out quickly.  While she kept asking if we were ready to order over and over, she never bothered to ask how everything was!

I wouldn't go back to What the Fish!  There are plenty of other sushi restaurants that have the same quality and prices, and less annoying servers!

Burgerim-Closed

Burgerim
9359 Central Ave
Montclair, CA 91763
909-399-0009

David Allen recently reviewed Burgerim, and new burger chain based in Israel, that opened in Montclair about a month ago.  Burgerim, is Hebrew for “many burgers” and thus, you get at least two burgers in each order.  The burgers are slightly bigger than a slider, they say 2.8 ounces per burger.  You can choose from a wide variety of patties; a few kinds of beef, chicken, turkey, veggie, and salmon.  You also can choose the type of bun.

The duo is two burgers with fries and a drink for $9.95, while a trio is three burgers with fries and a drink $12.95.

I got the duo, $10.77, with a veggie patty-green onions, carrots, tofu and lentils and salmon patty both with a wheat bun.  The burgers come with lettuce, tomato, onions, and house sauce which is a no relish thousand island. 

The veggie patty was very good.  Many restaurants should copy this recipe!  But, the burger was very dry.  They should put the house sauce on both buns and apply a bigger amount!  The veggies were fresh, but the bun was a bit too well toasted. 

The salmon burger was also very dry and the salmon had a weird smell.  I wasn't impressed.

Service needs improvement.  Management needs to train their employees much better.  The young lady who helped me was very nice but she wasn't much help to a first time customer.  Since Burgerim is a new concept, it's not like going to In N Out.  They need to help first time customers!

She didn't tell me I had a choice of bun.  I only found out when the guy next to me was asked by a different employee what kind of bun.  She also got confused about the choose of fries.  She said I had a choice between regular fries, sweet potato, onion rings for $1.50 more, or home fries.  When I picked home fries, she ask her co-worker how to ring that in.  The co-worker told me home fries aren't an option and can only be ordered on their own.  Home fries are cubed potatoes in a sweet chili sauce topped with sesame seeds.  Not a big deal, but it shows the lack of training management is providing their employees.  But, I want to make sure people understand the employees are very nice and willing to help.  They just need to be trained better to know the menu!

Burgerim is in the fast-casual price range and overall I think it is worth it.  You only save $1 ordering al carte, so might as well get the fries and soda.  If I do return I will make sure to order extra sauce on the burgers. 

5 Star Pizza

5 Star Pizza
951 N Haven Ave Ste C & D
Ontario, CA 91764
909-466-0808

I'm trying pizza places nearby and Ontario was next up on my list.  I did some search and found 5 Star Pizza.  I think I told David Allen about 5 Star and he actually went there before I did!  Here is David Allen's review of 5 Star Pizza.  Located in a small shopping center next to a coffee house, 5 Star Pizza takes up two spaces.  One space is the kitchen and counter a few tables, the other is a huge dining room, filled with sports items on the wall.  The owner must have gone to Cal Poly Pomona, because there was a Cal Poly Pomona pennant and jersey on the wall, not something you see, even in Pomona!

Medium mushrooms and jalapenos, $12.65. The crust was on the thin side, much thicker than New York style but not as thick as some other pizza places.  A good texture, slightly chewy but not tough.  The sauce was pretty bland.  The jalapenos were plentiful and huge!!  While there could have been a bit more mushrooms, the mushrooms were fresh.  This pizza is pretty much run of the mill pizza.  But, Ontario isn't exactly filled with lots of pizza options.

Service is poor! I walked in and wasn't greeted and stood at the counter for about 2-3 minutes before they acknowledged I was there.  Not much interaction other than the norm.  Not friendly or welcoming.  There were maybe 10 people, who filled 3-4 tables, so not busy with dine in customers and I didn't see one person come in to pick up an order the entire time I was there, maybe 25 minutes.

I wouldn't go back to 5 Star Pizza.  If I had to give them stars it would be 2.5 stars.  Other than a few places, Sal's Pizza in Alta Loma, Fratello’s Pizza and Pasta, and San Biagio's Pizza, it's a pizza wasteland once you get east of La Verne!

Wok Star Express

Wok Star Express
1787 Landess Ave
Milpitas, CA 95035
408-956-8800

I'm in Milpitas, which is near San Jose, and I want some Chinese food.  I know there is an area in Milpitas that has a ton of Chinese restaurants, including one Chinese restaurant where I had their take out and that was very good.  But don't recall where the restaurant is located or the name of the restaurant.  So instead I do a quick search and find Wok Star Express.

Wok Star Express is located in an area that has limited Chinese or Asian restaurants.  But, I was already there and figured I should give them a try.  It's a small restaurant and it was empty when I was there, about 5:30 on a Sat.  But, they did get 2-3 people who came in to pick up their orders.

Shrimp Chow Mein, $8.95.  The first thing you'll notice is the noodles is very thin, much thinner than the noodles most Chinese restaurants use for chow mein.  But, the noodles were cooked perfectly.  But, the dish lacked flavor!  There wasn't much in terms of veggies, a few bean sprouts, maybe a few pieces of cabbage, but basically just about 8 shrimps and noodles.  An acceptable dish, lots of food for the price but something I wouldn't order again.

Service is good.

I need to find the name of that that very good Chinese restaurant in Milpitas where I had some great food!