Full Moon House

Full Moon House
960 North Hill St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-537-0792

Full Moon House used to be Golden City, and is across the street from Fullhouse Seafood Restaurant, and the now closed Master Chef!  I believe Full Moon House opened in March or April of 2017.  I find it very interesting that Chinatown has three non Chinese restaurants that opened up and seem to be doing really well; Howlin' Ray's, Burger Lords, and Little Jewel of New Orleans, but Chinese restaurants are closing like Golden City and Master Chef!

Anyways, I was recently in Chinatown and I was going to eat at Master Chef.  But, when I walked to their restaurant, it was closed!  Then I noticed Full Moon House and decided to give them a try.  Full Moon House is bright, well lit, big dining space.  From what I remember the decor is basically the same as Golden City.

Starting at 9:30pm they have a late night menu, where certain dishes are discounted a couple dollars.

Sauteed shrimp- $10.95 late night special.  Regular price-$13.95- celery, carrots, and snow peas.  This was good, if a bit greasy.  There were about 8 large sized shrimp that were well cooked.  The veggies were crispy and fresh.  I just think they just too much oil, everything was double covered with oil.

Shrimp chow mein $8.95 late night special. Regular price-$10.95-Pan fried mixed with skinny soft noodles with with onions and bean sprouts.  Other chow mein choices are crispy skinny noodles with gravy, and pan fried mixed with spaghetti lo mein.

The skinny soft noodles aren't my thing.  I much the spaghetti lo mein noodles more.  This dish was ok,  Many of the onions were raw which made for a weird taste.  Some of the noodles were burnt, and some were well cooked.  Weird!  The shrimp, smaller than the sauteed shrimp, weren't that plentiful.  I would order the spaghetti lo mein the next time.

Service is good.  The restaurant was busy when I was there.  But, the servers were nice, and the food came out quickly.

I would go back to Full Moon House to try some of the other dishes.  But, I still miss Master Chef!

Capital Seafood Restaurant

Capital Seafood Restaurant
755 W Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91754
626-282-3318

Capital Seafood Restaurant is the sit down restaurant that also owns Capital BBQ & Dim Sum Express, which is a few doors south.

While the outside of Capital Seafood Restaurant doesn't look great, inside it's a very nice place.  They put some time and money into the decor.  It's a big room with tables all over and a back room that had karaoke.

Spinach-$11.95. This was a good dish with a good amount of garlic and well cooked spinach.

House special lobster-$15.95 per pound- This was about a 5 pound lobster.  They cut up the lobster, add some seasonings and the put it all in a wok!  This was good, with tender pieces of lobster that were well seasoned and flavorful.

E-Fu noodles with shrimp-$15.99.  This was very bland, lacked flavor and there weren't that many shrimps in the dish.  This was basically all noddles, with a little mushrooms and a little veggies.  It also must have been loaded with MSG!  Not worth the price!

House special shrimp-$16.99.  I wasn't expecting the shrimp to be deep fried! What we got was a soggy outside but a good tender shrimp.  If they had fried this better or just sauteed the shrimp in the house special sauce it would have been a good dish.  This was below average, because the outside was too soggy and not crispy.  But, this would be worth the price, since the shrimp are huge and they give you a good portion.

Service was good, but they way they brought the dishes were screwed up!  They brought the spinach first, then the lobster, then the noddles, then the shrimp!  How about the lobster and spinach at the same time?

Overall I thought Capital Seafood was good, but some dishes I wouldn't order again.

Italia Deli & Bakery

Italia Deli & Bakery
5657 Kanan Rd
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
818-991-4838

I'm visiting a friend in Agoura Hills and she says Italia Deli & Bakery has great sandwiches.  So, I drop in and pick up a couple sandwiches.  There are a couple tables outside, but it's mostly people picking up sandwiches.  They were very busy and I was shocked at how many people were inside.

It's a decent sized space with the deli counter along the left wall and a few rows of grocery items.

A small assorted cheese sandwich, $8.99 with cheddar and havarti cheese, mayo, lettuce and tomatoes on a soft roll.  A large 12in assorted cheese is $15.49.  You can get a hard roll which is crispy instead.  All breads are baked in house and from scratch!  The items were all fresh and the roll was good-nice chewy texture.  But, this was an 8in roll for $8.99.  They also charge extra for pickles, 75 cents on a small and $1.50 on a large.  They use Boar's Head meats. 

Service is good.  My friend called in the order, and I picked it up.  The sandwiches were ready when I got there.  But, the cashier charged me for two large sandwiches, when we got one large and one small.  I didn't realize this until I was walking back to my car.  I went back and the cashier refunded my the price different. 

The sandwiches at Italia Deli & Bakery are good quality sandwiches, in a wealthy area, but I just don't think the quality justifies the high prices.  At Capri Deli, a large cheese sandwich is 12 inches, and $9.99.  A small 6in is about $7.  I get that we are talking about two different zip codes, but I just don't think the quality of this sandwich justifies the high prices.

Manohar’s Delhi Palace

Manohar’s Delhi Palace
581 S Azusa Way
La Puente, CA 91747
626-964-0343

 Manohar’s Delhi Palace is located in a very Latino strip mall.  But, they get a steady stream of diners coming into their restaurant for a their buffet lunch.  The buffet lunch is $15.95.  There is a good selection of meat items, but if you're vegetarian your choices are a bit limited.

Daal, samosa and veggie egg roll.  The daal was a bit too watery and didn't have that many lentils for me, but good flavor.  I'm betting the veggie egg rolls are frozen then dumped into a fryer. A below average item.  The samosa was very good, good flavor and seasonings, and a light outside, spicy too! But, they never refilled the samosas at the steam table, and once they were out, they put another item in it's place. 

The Indian version of fish and chips!  The fish-I got them at two different times- the first time the fish had clearly been on the steam table for too long.  Not cripsy, very soggy outside and kinda of dry on the inside.  But, the second time I got the fish they had just came out of the fryer and they were crispy, good flavor and moist fish!  Fries were seasoned frozened wedges.  Again it depends on when you get your order.  If you get it at the right time the fries are good.  Other times cold and just not good.

Service was OK.  There is one guy who is filling up water glasses all the time!  You will not be out of water for too long here.  But, after paying our bill in cash, we never brought back our change!  We didn't tell them keep the change.  Unless the customer tells you to keep the change, servers must give back change! 

Overall I thought Manohar’s Delhi Palace was below average! I've found other Indian buffets with larger selections of vegetarian items and better tasting food.

Freebirds World Burrito

Freebirds World Burrito
17947 W Chatsworth St
Granada Hills, CA 91344
818-368-8239

Freebirds World Burrito looks like a direct competitor to Chipotle, a fast casual burrito restaurant that uses fresh ingredients.  Freebirds has been in the LA area for a few years, but the location near USC closed and the other locations, I don't usually travel near the other locations.

This Freebirds is located in your standard suburban strip mall, that has other chain restaurants.  It's located near Porter Ranch, where that natural gas leak caused people to move out of their homes, and the gas company putting people's lives in danger just o make a profit!

Freebird size burrito, $8.49, black beans, chile lime rice, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions and peppers, roasted corn salsa, sour cream on a spinach tortilla!  Freebirds has three different sized burritos, with the freebird size being a good portion, but no overwhelming like Chipotle! You can put a wide variety of items in your burrito. I got the veggie burrito and I like the choices-spinach tortilla, grilled onions and peppers, roasted corn salsa and the chile lime rice.  Since I got there about 40 minutes before closing, most of the items had been sitting on the steam table for a long time  They were ok, but you could tell they had been there a bit too long.  This would be a good burrito if I went during the lunch or dinner rush.

Service was ok.  The girl who would eventually help me, was nice but when I walked in there were two customers who were taking forever to order.  She was standing behind the counter doing a couple things, until finally maybe 3-5 minutes after I arrived she asked what I wanted to order.  What she was doing wasn't an emergency, and something that could have been done later.  At the very least acknowledge that I'm there and you'll help me as soon as you're done. 

Overall Freebirds compares favorably to Chipolte.  I think Freebirds has a more reasonable sized burrito and they didn't have that e-coli scare like Chipotle.  Chipotle has more locations in LA, so far, and I don't think Freebirds is worth driving out of your way.  I won't rush back to Freebirds, but I would go back if I'm in the area.

Tomoya Sushi & Izakaya

Tomoya Sushi & Izakaya
6020 Canoga Ave Ste 100
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
818-703-0318

Tomoya Sushi & Izakaya is located on a busy section of Canoga Ave.  There are many homes, office buildings, and retail stores along this street.  The strip center is interesting in that the back is a storage building, there is a bank next door, and a chain Mexican restaurant across the parking lot.

Tomoya Sushi & Izakaya was busy for a lunch, with a steady stream of people coming in.  It's a dark restauran without much natural or artificial lighting!  There are bench and table seating on the right side, and the sushi bar takes up the left side.

 Tuna sushi-$5.95.  Good fresh, but a bit small. 

Stuffed cucumber roll- $15.75. Cucumber outside with salmon, tuna, albacore, imitation crab, avocado, and gobo with goma sauce.  This was an ok roll.  The main issue is that they cucumber roll is cut too thick, making for a weird texture combination.  If they would cut the cucumber thinner, it would have been better.   But, there was no goma sauce, unless it was mixed into the roll.  Overall good fresh fish.

Calamari tempura roll- $12.50. Calamari, imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber. This was interesting, part roll and part calamari!  The roll was fresh, but tasted too much like a shrimp tempura roll.  But, it was calamari.  The calamari on the side was ok with a few pieces that weren't crispy. 

Service was good.  Sushi came out quickly and our drinks were refilled.

I liked Tomoya Sushi & Izakaya, and while the prices are a bit high, I would go back here.

Mama Musubi

Mama Musubi
South Pasadena Farmer's Market-every Thursday

The South Pasadena Farmer's Market is open every Thursday.  The number of people at the market depends on the weather.  The better the weather, the more people.  During colder days, there aren't many people there.  There are many places to get a prepared food at the market, but one place, Mama Musubi, always has a line!  During the summer months, there will be lines 8-10 deep when the market first opens, and around 6pm, the line is 15-20 deep!
 

Spicy tuna-$3.75- This is basically a spicy tuna roll shaped into a ball.  It's good with a lot of fresh tuna, but it isn't spicy at all.  Everything is fresh and the portion size and quality make it worth the price.

Service is good.  People are nice and friendly.  The line does move quickly.

I don't always go to the South Pasadena Farmer's Market but when I do, I usually get something from Mama Musubi!

Shake Shack

Shake Shack
252 S Brand Blvd
Glendale, CA 91204
818-858-1612

Shake Shack is the the New York based burger chain, that has tried to make a dent into the stranglehold  In N Out has on burger lovers in Los Angeles.

The Glendale location is across the street from the ugly, fake Americana shopping complex.  It's a big restaurant with seating to the right as you walk in.  There are some tables outside too.

Shroom Burger, $6.99, Crisp-fried portobello mushroom filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheese, topped with lettuce, tomato, ShackSauce.

Crinkle cut fries-$2.99.

Since I don't eat meat, with the exception of the occasional fried chicken, I tried the shroom burger.  I wish it wasn't deep fried, because portobello mushroom burgers are great!! But, the portobello mushroom is stuffed with cheese and then deep fried.  It was good burger, but not great.  Certainly, not mind blowing.  Yes, I understand the pull for Shake Shack are the burgers with beef. I thought the ShackSauce was pretty good, a combination of ketchup and mayo.

The crinkle cut fries were very good. Nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Service was good.  But, the door you enter goes right into the line to order, and they have the lines sectioned off into two parts, but there are three cashiers.  Why not just have one line that is roped. I got into one section and the guy in front of me took forever to order.  The other section two or three people finished ordering before I even got to order.

I don't see what all the hype if about for Shake Shack.  It's ok, but I won't rush back!

Jasmine Mediterranean & Persian Cuisine

Jasmine Mediterranean & Persian Cuisine
21130 Golden Springs Dr
Walnut, CA 91789
909-594-3330

If this building looks familiar, it should, it used to be Ranch House, that lasted for a short time.  Jasmine has been open for about 2-3 years, and I finally made a trip.  One thing, stupid Yelp has this address in Walnut.  But, it is in Diamond Bar.  Walnut does not go south of Valley Blvd.

Jasmine is tastefully decorated, but interesting they do not have any signage as you enter the actual restaurant!   This a huge restaurant with their take out set up on the left side of the building as you enter, and the huge dining area to the right.

Salmon and shrimp combo, $16.99. Grilled salmon and shrimp with basmati rice, grilled peppers, tomatoes, and onions, and shrizit salad-cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes.

The salmon was a bit overcooked on the outside, but inside was amazingly moist!  It was fairly flavorful but it didn't burst with flavor.  The shrimp, four medium sized shrimp, was well cooked, slightly overdone.  The rice was great, lots of flavor.

Service was good.  It was surprisingly busy for a last lunch, with a good stream of people coming in. 

Since there aren't many good Mediterranean restaurants in the area, Jasmine is a welcomed addition.  But, it's not the best Mediterranean restaurant I've been to.  I won't rush back. 

Gracie’s Pizza-Closed

Gracie’s Pizza
4330 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323-663-1219

Gracie’s Pizza, is the owner a fan of Gracie Allen?  Anyways, Gracie’s Pizza is about a year old and has been getting good reviews, but I think it's been under the radar in LA's pizza scene.  I haven't found anything written about Gracie's on any foodie blogs or websites.  I found it on yelp, while searching for another restaurant.

A small corner building, Gracie has a few tables as you walk in, a counter along the wall, and the bar and kitchen at the back.  It's a dimly lit room, you wonder if this is a bar or a pizza place. 

Spinach and jalapeno pizza.  $21 plus $3 for first regular topping, $1 each additional topping.  Premium toppings are $6 for the first, $3 for each additional.  Mushrooms are considered premium toppings!? Total $27.45

This was a very good pizza, one that deserves to be on any must try list of pizza in LA!  It's a huge pie about 18 inches or so.  Very good, firm, New York pizza like crust.  Folds over well, holds up to the toppings, and good flavor.  The cheese and veggies are fresh.  But, for $4 total, I expected a bit more toppings on the pizza.  There weren't that much spinach at all.

Service is good. As I mentioned earlier, I found Gracie's through Yelp.  When I read the reviews, I take all reviews with a grain of salt, I saw one idiot yelper, isn't that an oxymoron, give Gracie's one star because of the high prices.  He wrote he bought a couple slices, and a couple beers and the total was $80!!  Well, a couple slices and a couple beers at most would be about $30.  While he could have made a mistake, it could have been a couple whole pies and a couple beers for $80, his review distorts the facts!  Nobody with the IQ above a lug nut would believe a couple slices of pizza and a couple beers would cost $80!

Anyways, I would go back to Gracie's Pizza anytime!  A damn good pizza!

Maki & Sushi Japanese

Maki & Sushi Japanese
302 E Huntington Dr
Arcadia, CA 91006
626-462-9600 

Maki & Sushi is in a strip mall next to a well known coffee shop, an Indian restaurant, a French restaurant, and along Arcadia's restaurant row.

It's a small restaurant where the kitchen and sushi bar take up most of the space.  It was packed in a Saturday night after Thanksgiving!

Mountain Hand Roll, $8.95-Shrimp tempura, crab, scallops, avocado.  This was an ok hand roll.  I thought the scallops weren't that fresh.  But, everything else was fresh.  A

Halibut sushi, Tuna sushi both $4.95.  Both nigri sushi were fresh and a decent portion of fish. 

Service is good.  The sushi came out very quickly and the servers were nice.

I wouldn't go back to Maki & Sushi Japanese.  It was fine, but nothing outstanding.

Pot Pizza Joint-Closed

Pot Pizza Joint
3515 Wilshire Blvd Fl 1
Los Angeles, CA 90010
213-368-3030

So Roy Choi- who brought the food truck craze to LA, with his Kogi food truck, has opened a couple restaurants in LA.  He recently decided to open up a pizza place to serve hungry customers at his Pot Lobby Bar.  There was a lot of fan fare about the opening.  The pizza is a square like Detroit, pan, but not deep dish and thin like New York.  Kinda of weird combo.

The name and the website, with a black and white picture of somebody smoke some pot is stupid.  I get he is trying to cater to the drunk idiots who got the bar, and then smoke some pot before or after partying.  But, give me a break. 

It's inside the Line Hotel on Wilshire.  It's really a small display case with what looks like toaster ovens reheating the pizza, which are already made.  I don't know where the pizzas are made.  Maybe in the kitchen of one of the restaurants he has at the hotel.

Cheese slice- $4.  They sell only slices and only three options-cheese, pepperoni, and a Koreatown Special with kimchi and some salad on top.  I got two cheese slices.  They were below average.  The crust is too crispy for my tastes, like a damn cracker.  They may have to turn down the temps on the ovens, since my slices were too well done.  The sauce is just there, no real flavor.  The cheese is plentiful.  Little Caesars is better pizza than this, and I'm not kidding!  On a side note-The person in front of me ordered some type of juice and that juice cost $10!!  What a rip off!  Hell, I would just buy a drink from the bar for that price!!

Service is good.  The line moves pretty fast and the people are nice.

This was a complete waste of time and money!  If you're a drunk, stoned idiot you may enjoy the pizza.  But, this is a terrible example of pizza!

Secret of Kitchen-Closed

 Secret of Kitchen
1247 N Grand Ave
Walnut, CA 91789
909-978-5080

 Secret of Kitchen is suppose to be about eight months old.  You can see this space used to be QQ Teabar, since their sign is still up and  Secret of Kitchen, just has vinyl signs.

A small restaurant with a few tables inside, I guess they must do a good take business or students from Mt. Sac, which is across the way.

Shrimp fried rice, $7.99, shrimp, carrots, eggs, green onions. A very small portion and only about six small sized shrimp.  Rice was well cooked, but this needs more flavor.  Simply more seasoning would be great! 

Service was good. 

I wouldn't go back to Secret of Kitchen.  I don't think the food is that good. 

Siam Palace Thai Cuisine-Closed

Siam Palace Thai Cuisine
992 E Alosta Ave
Azusa, CA 91702
626-334-0441

Siam Palace is located behind what used to be Country Chiken & Ribs, which is not only closed but the building has been torn down! It will be interesting to see what will be built on that property!

Siam Palace is a big restaurant, taking up two spaces in this strip mall.  One side is the front of the house and kitchen, while the other side is the dining room.

Shrimp fried rice-$9.95. Shrimp, eggs, tomatoes.  This was an ok dish.  It was a bit too greasy for my tastes.  There were about six shrimp for this dish.  The rice stuck together, which shouldn't happen with fried rice.  Portion size was a little small for the price.

Pad-Gar-prow- scallops, $9.95-small size scallops with chili, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic.  This was an ok dish.  Not that many scallops, which were pretty well cooked.  I didn't get any basil flavor, mostly I got some chili, onions and bell pepper flavors.

Service was good.  I was surprised we were the only people in the restaurant for most of our time.  There was another table but they left within 10 minutes of us sitting down.

I won't go back to Siam Palace.  I don't think the food is that good.

Ezze Sushi

Ezze Sushi
650 S Grand Ave
Glendora, CA 91740
626-335-8884

Ezze Sushi is just north of European Deli, and has been opened for a little over a year.  The area is redeveloping as a long time Ralph's store has been replaced by Sprouts Market and a Ross store!  Across Grand Ave is Ezze, a new complex with a cell phone store and a few other businesses.

Ezze has three rolls on special everyday for $7.95.  They also have a happy hour from 3-7pm.  And then an After Hour Happy Hour from 7-close, where all hand rolls are $2.95 and one piece of sushi-tuna, salmon, albacore, and yellowtail are $1.85.

My overall impressions of the sushi was they were pretty fresh, but on the small size.

Halibut sushi, $4.95 and Tuna sushi, $4.95- After happy hour special $1.85 for one piece.  In effect from 7pm until close.

 Cucumber roll, $3.95

Shrimp Tempura hand roll-$4.95 regular price. After happy hour special-$2.95,  In effect from 7pm until close.  I'm betting this hand roll at regular price has a bigger piece of shrimp tempura.  But, this was good.

Five- O Roll- Regular price $11.95.  Thursday special price, $7.95. Shrimp tempura, spicy crab, topped with mango.  This was too sweet for me.  The sweet sauce and the thinly cut mango just overpowered the spicy crab.  There was no spiciness in this roll.

Service was below average.  They were nice.  I sat at the sushi bar.  I never got a menu when I got seated.  A stack of menus were in front of me, so I grabbed one.  It took forever them to take my order.  The sushi did come out quickly.  But, I saw the sushi chefs drink beer and that I unprofessional!  I don't care if a customer bought you the beer.  You're there to work, not drink with customers.

I won't go back to Ezze Sushi.  While they have some good specials, the sushi is small and it's not the best quality sushi I've had!

Lamill Coffee

Lamill Coffee
1636 Silver Lake Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
323-663-4441

A snotty, douchy coffee shop in Silver Lake?  That's Lamill Coffee!! A very pretentious, over priced coffee shop.  Lamill is a big place with two areas of tables, separated by a wall, and their counter.  It's counter service for a price!  What do I mean?  I saw their Service Charge Policy, on the counter, which states a 11.5% service charge will be implemented on all orders.  The fairy tale is that it will help the workers make a living wage.  In reality it boosts the profits of the company.  Also, it is more like a 21% service charge as it's taxes at the roughly 9% rate in LA county!

Breakfast sandwich- scrambled eggs, white cheddar cheese and chives.  $9 menu price when you add their service charge and tax, it is $10.99!! 

This is a good sandwich with well cooked scrambled eggs, a good portion of white cheddar and some chives in the eggs.  The bun was well toasted.  It was worth the price tag since it was a good sized portion and it tasted good.

Service was OK.  The cashier was friendly but had his mind on something else!  He kept going from one tablet to another.  He rang up my order on one tablet and while I was getting money from my wallet, he went to another tablet and tried to do something, then finally noticed I was ready to pay.  What I think happened, was he was ready to clock out when I walked in.  Instead of quickly taking my order, he would have been done within 2 mins, he kept trying to get the tablet to work, so he can clock out.  I know this because within a few minutes after I sitting down, he walked out the door to go home!  The runner who delivered my food to my table, was very nice and friendly.  And my food came quickly, and it was hot and right off the grill! 

I won't go back to Lamill Coffee!  While my breakfast sandwich was good and worth the price, other menu items are too expensive and when you add their service charge, it's just too expensive for the quality of the food!