Hail Mary Pizza

Hail Mary Pizza
3219 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323-284-8879

After going to PoeWow Pizza , after seeing it on LA Eater's list of the 22 Essential Pizza in LA, I decided to go to another pizza restaurant on the list- Hail Mary Pizza, this is number 12 on the list.  Pizza of Venice, Triple Beam, Grimaldi's, Prime Pizza, DeSano Pizza Bakery, Settebello Pizzeria, Vito's, Pizzeria Mozza,  Casa Bianca, and my favorite pizza in LA- Village Pizzeria!  Only ten more places to go!!

Margherita pizza $12- This was a 13in pizza. If some of this pizza wasn't burnt, this would have been a very good pizza.  But, the burnt pieces and a little too much olive oil ruined it for me.  Fresh ingredients, good crust- the parts that weren't brunt.  But, if you're going to be on the 22 Essential list, you can't make this mistake.  I would much rather go to Elios Wood Fire Pizza!

Service is good.

Like I said, if they didn't burn some of the crust, this was be a good pizza.  But, they got only one chance, and I won't return.

Update August 31, 2019

Ok, I know I said I won't return.  But, Hail Mary has $2 slices of their square pizza from open to 2:30pm.  So, I got two slices, and since I was in the area, I gave them a try.  No, no, and NO!

Again, that same burnt crust, and a weird tangy taste that just ruined this pizza.  You can get a better and bigger slice of pizza at Costco!!

I will not be going back to Hail Mary Pizza again!

India Sweets & Spices

India Sweets & Spices
3126 Los Feliz Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323-345-0360

India Sweets & Spices is a combination Indian grocery store and a steam table of food.  They have plenty of seating to dine in. It's a huge place and is usually busy.

Samosa- $1 each. My standard for samosa is Samosa House.  The samosa here is just ok.  Nothing great.  It is spicy.  The samosa are sitting on the steam table but they are not kept warm.  They are kept at room temp.  They are potatoes,  spices, and peas.  It's ok, a bit some spicy than Samosa House, but not nearly as good.  One huge factor is that Samosa House fries the samosa to order.  They are not sitting unheated on a steam tray!

Service is bad.  I got to the counter and two ladies are talking and while we make eye contact, they never bother to stop and come help me.  This must have continued for a few minutes.  Then one lady finally gets up but then a man, maybe the owner, has her do something.  So the other lazy lady comes up to help me.  

I won't go back to India Sweets & Spices.  Bad service and mediocre food are a bad combination!

The Morrison

The Morrison
3179 Los Feliz Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323-667-1839

The Morrison is across the street from Giamela's, an ok pizza place with terrible service the last time I went.  It's a huge gastropub with an L-shaped bar on the left and booths along the back wall.  There is a long community table that is as high as a bar, right in the middle of the room when you walk in.

It's a dark place with black paint normally.  The day I went they had Halloween decorations up, which made it even darker. 

Veggie sliders, $6, with grilled onions and tomatoes.  While the menu says it comes with home made BBQ sauce, there were no condiments on the burger. They give you a four condiment tray with ketchup, BBQ sauce, mustard and mayo.  So, you can out what you want, and as much as you want!

The veggie slider was just ok.  The patty is made with corn, beans, rice, cilantro, carrots, panko, oatmeal.  A good size and filling.  But, nothing great.  The veggie burger is regularly $13. I would not have been happy paying $13 for full veggie burger.  They have a portobello mushroom burger, also for $13, on their regular menu.  If I come back, I may give that a try!

Mac n cheese, $6, happy hour price, $9 regular price.  Macaroni, cream cheese, whole milk, butter, flour, Tapatio, jalapenos, garlic, shallots, and bread crumbs.

This was a huge dish, well worth the $6 happy hour price.  I didn't taste any of the Tapatio or jalapenos.  But, this was a great mac n cheese.  A very creamy cheese sauce, while a bit underseasoned, it was very good.  The mac n cheese was cooked perfectly.  I like spicy food but didn't taste any spice in this mac and cheese.  But, I really liked this mac and cheese.

Service was below average but friendly.  While everybody from the hostess to the server was nice, it was too slow.  I was seated quickly by the hostess.  A couple minutes later a host took my drink order.  Why they have 2-3 host/hostess is beyond me!  But, they were fine.  Then I wait, then wait, then wait, and wait some more.  Finally I see a third hostess and ask who is my server.  She goes gets the server and I place my order.  He comes back with my sliders and refills my drink.  A runner came by with the mac n cheese a few minutes later.  The server comes back once again to ask how everything was.  Then I ask for my check.  I must have waited another 5 minutes for the check.  Most of the tables were filled in the restaurant, but there were plenty of other servers.  I don't know why the service was so slow.  My entire time there would have been about 20 minutes less, if service wasn't so slow.

The mac n cheese was the highlight for me.  A great example of mac n cheese.  But, service was slow and the burgers, which they are known for, was just ok.  It maybe awhile before I go back!

Ocie's Texas BBQ at The Crossing-Closed

Ocie's Texas BBQ at The Crossing
3245 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles
323-522-3488

The Crossing is actually an industrial park split into artist studios, the Atwater Village Performing Arts Center, and the dining options.

I really don't know how to describe dining options at The Crossing; a neighborhood meeting spot with a few dining options?  Two separate restaurants?  Anyways, The Crossing has Ocie's Texas BBQ, a pizza restaurant, and a coffee place.  There are plenty of tables inside and outside. 

Spare ribs plate, $12, with double mac and cheese.  Texas BBQ means mesquite wood is used to smoke the meats.  The smokers are right next to the patio, so they do smoke their meats.  But, they haven't perfected their meat.  The ribs were tough, chewy and needed to be in the smoker for another two hours, at least one more hour.  The rub is heavy on the paprika with slight hints of cumin.  I wasn't impressed.

The mac and cheese needed more cheese sauce, though the macaroni was well cooked.

Service left a lot to be desired.  While the server was friendly, she didn't come around often.  We lacked for refills and somebody at the table had to ask three times for coffee before finally getting it.

I wouldn't come back to Ocie's Texas BBQ again.  Poor food and service.

Giamela's-Updated Review

Giamela's Submarine Sandwiches
3178 Los Feliz Blvd
Los Angeles
323-661-9444

Located just down the road from Griffith Park, Giamela's starts what I call Atwater Village's Bar Row.  Starting at Giamela's and going east on Los Feliz, you have Big Foot Lodge, The Roost-a dive bar, and The Griffin all within about a quarter mile.

I was meeting friends for a drink at Big Foot Lodge and didn't want to drink on an empty stomach.  I asked the bartender at Big Foot Lodge if they served food.  He said no, but I was welcomed to bring in any food I wanted.  Since Giamela's is a couple stores down, I went for it.

Giamela's is a small restaurant with seating for about 12 people.  But, it was very uncomfortable inside because there is no air conditioning inside the restaurant and on a hot day it is hot as hell inside, especially in the afternoon when the sun is blazing down onto the restaurant.  

Small Italian cold cut sandwich, $6.54, salami and mortadella, provolone cheese, mayo, lettuce, and tomatoes.  The best part of this sandwich was the sesame seed roll, which was soft and chewy and a good texture.  The meats were very generic and plain.  If people want to call Boar's Head the Oscar Meyer of cold cuts, fine, but Giamela's doesn't even use Boar's House but some off brand cold cuts.

Service was good.  The lady was nice and helpful. 

I would not go back to Giamela's again.  Somebody in our group ordered a slice of pizza and while I didn't taste the pizza, it didn't look appetizing at all.

Update October 31, 2016

I was at a get together in Atwater Village and they had pizza for everybody.  I tried it and thought the pizza was very good.  I asked the host where they got the pizza and they told me Giamela's.  So, I figured I should go back to Giamela's and give them a try.

Large vegetarian, $12.45.  Normally with mushrooms, onions, olives, bell peppers, I asked for no olives or bell peppers and jalapenos.

The crust is very good-firm holding the toppings well, sauce has a mild flavor, and toppings were plentiful, especially the cheese.  Pizza was pretty good but not as good as the pizza I had at the get together. Not sure why the inconsistency.

Service was TERRIBLE!  The young girl with major attitude should not be working in customer service.  Most pizza places I have been to are more than willing to substitute items on their vegetarian pizza.  Not Giamela's and girl with the attitude.  I was originally charge the price for three toppings, even though I deleted a topping from the regular vegetarian pizza.  When I brought it to her attention she said there are not substitutions.  I told her there is nothing on the menu that says no substitutions.  She cooped her attitude and said here's your dollar.  She should have told me that there are no substitutions when I placed my order, or she could have given good customer service and not worry about the money, especially when they are saving money by not including a topping!  Again I have substituted jalapenos for olives on a vegetarian pizza at many other places and got the vegetarian pizza price.  Now here is the kicker!!  Giamela's has three other locations and I called one of their Burbank locations and asked about substitutions on the vegetarian pizza.  She said it would be the same price as the vegetarian pizza!!

I would like the owner of a pizza place to answer this question; why not just say up to 4 veggie toppings for a vegetarian pizza?  Especially if the price of the toppings are the same!  Why not let the customer decide what kind of veggie pizza they want?

I will not go back to Giamela's again.  What terrible service! 

Link N Hops

Link N Hops
3111 N Glendale Blvd Ste C
Los Angeles
323-426-9049

Link N Hops is a gourmet sausage and craft beer restaurant in the Atwater Village section of Los Angeles.  I've gone to Wurstküche, which also has a good selection of gourmet sausage and craft beer.  So people in the Silver Lake and Atwater Village area can go Link N Hops instead of going to Arts District/Little Tokyo for Wurstkuche.

Link N Hops has a nice covered front porch seating.  Since Link N Hops faces east, the covered porch is much needed and welcomed on a sunny day.  Inside you have a communal feeling with the long table in the middle a few other booths.

Vegan Kielbasa-Organic Tofu, Onions, Garlic, Black Pepper, $6.75 with sauerkraut, raw onions, and dijon mustard.   I was very impressed with the vegan kielbasa.  Grilled nicely with a lot of flavor and wasn't dry or mushy.  I had a vegan sausage, when I went back to Wurstkuche, sorry I didn't write an updated review, and it was just terrible, mushy, no flavor at all and a total waste of money.  The vegan kielbasa was so much better.

The sauerkraut was nice and tangy and they give you a nice portion.  Onions were very fresh.  The bun was a bit too big for the kielbasa but was grilled nicely and held up to all the toppings.  But, with that said, not worth the $6.75 price tag.

Service is good.  The people here are nice and friendly.

Link N Hops is a hipster hangout, but don't let that stop you from enjoying their gourmet sausage and craft beer.  But, expect to pay, maybe overpay, for your sausage.  I wouldn't be against coming back here but I wouldn't rush back.

Vince's Market

Vince's Market
3250 Silver Lake Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 664-4798

After reading the LA Weekly Story about 6 Tasty Cold Cut Subs for $5 I had to give two of them a try. So I went to Lanza Brothers Market and Vince's Market.  Vince's Market is located in Atwater Village and is the definition of a neighborhood market.

Much like Lanza, Vince's opened when the ethnic makeup of the neighborhood was mostly Italians.  There are no tables at Vince's, so everything is take out.  

Super Italian combo, $3.50, salame, mortadella, bolgona, head cheese, provolone and American cheese, mayo and lettuce.  The sandwiches are smaller, I would say about a 5 inch Italian roll.  But they meats are piled high and well worth the low price.

The roll is soft and chewy.  The lettuce was fresh.  The meats were good quality meats that are cut into thick slices.  I loved the richness of the head cheese.  The mortadella is great.

For a dollar less, you can get the Italian combo which doesn't have the head cheese.  But, spend the extra dollar, the head cheese is well worth it.  One thing that isn't worth it is the 40 cents charge for tomatoes.  I love tomatoes on my sandwiches, but 40 cents for about 2-3 slices of tomatoes just isn't worth it.

Ham sandwich, $1.50, ham, American cheese, mayo, lettuce and pickles. 

The ham and cheese sandwich was the reason LA Weekly put Vince's Market on their list.  And it's a steal.   Thick slices of ham, a good chewy Italian roll, fresh lettuce and mayo. this is one of the best bargains in LA.

Service at the deli counter and cashier are both very good.

I prefer the Italian combo sandwich at Lanza but wouldn't have any problem coming back to Vince's.