Uncle John’s Cafe-Moved

Uncle John’s Cafe
834 S Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-623-3555

I found out about Uncle John's Cafe on You Tube!  Uncle John's, located inside the Stillwell Hotell,  is part diner and part Chinese restaurant.  You can get both menus from open to close, which is 3pm.  At 5pm, they became Downtown LA's answer to Boiling Crab, it becomes a Cajun seafood place.  I knew this would be Americanized Chinese food.

The restaurant is a small galley-like setup- with tables in the front, a counter at the back, and the kitchen in the far back.  It's got an updated decor.

Spicy Shrimp lunch special- $13.50. This was terrible.  I originally order kung pao shrimp, but got this spicy shrimp instead.  I wasn't going to wait and said it's fine.  This is just an orange chicken sauce with shrimp.  The sauce was bland with little flavor.  The shrimp was deep fried and I'm betting it was frozen.  The rice was the best part of this dish. 

Shrimp fried rice- $10. As you can see, they put a ton of soy sauce into the rice.  There are green onions, and eggs in this.  A bit salty, but overall average.  I've had better, I've had worse.

Shrimp chow mein-$11.  Large pieces of onion, some cabbage, and about six medium sized shrimp were in this dish.  It was too greasy for me. I would rate this average, again.

Service was good.

I wouldn't go back to Uncle John's Cafe, for the Chinese food.  I am going to go back for their seafood. 

Update August 31, 2019

Butterfly fried shrimp, with lemon pepper fries, $12. This was frozen butterflied shrimp.  Some pieces looked as though they stuck together while frying.  Nothing special, but there were about 8-10 pieces of shrimp.  The fries were bland and flavorless! 

Shrimp with mild house sauce- mixture of Cajun, lemon pepper, and garlic butter sauces- $15/lb. The shrimp were fine, the sauce was pretty good, the garlic butter stood out the most. 

Service is good.

I was surprised when I walked in, there was nobody in the restaurant.  A group of three people came in about a minute after me.  Then two people came in about 10 minutes later.  Maybe people haven't gotten the word that Uncle John's Cafe has a seafood boil at night.  Or, since this was Labor Day weekend, everybody was going out of town!  I would go back for the seafood boil.  I thought the shrimp was fine.  I wouldn't touch the fried shrimp again.

FryMadness-Closed

FryMadness
555 S Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-797-2847

Jerk Spiced Shrimp/ Mango Pico/ House Made Caribbean Nectar- $14.  The fries are made from fresh  potatoes, but they aren't cooked to order.  They are cooked and sitting under heat lamps.  The fries would have been good, if they were hot and right out of the fryer.

The two medium sized shrimp in the picture were the biggest pieces in this dish.  There were smaller bay shrimp throughout the dish.  They shrimp had the Caribbean nectar-which was basically a sweet bar-b-que sauce.  The mango pico would have been good, if the mangoes were ripe, but they were bitter because they weren't ripe.  The jack cheese was fine. Overall, it was ok.  Not worth the $14 price tag.

Service was pretty good, after a bad first impression.  I walked in.  The lady told me to pick a table.  I then asked if they had a restroom, so I can wash my hands.  She said restrooms are for customers only.  I then told her, I am going to eat here.  I just want to wash my hands.  She gave me the key to the restrooms.  She was nice and helpful while I ordered and ate.

I wouldn't go back to FryMadness.  The fries are mediocre and it's overpriced!

Lettuce Feast

Lettuce Feast

When I went to the North Hollywood Vegan Fair to try Veggietize Me, I saw Lettuce Feast.  Everybody talked about their great Nashville fried chicken.   I was too full from the V-Mac from Veggietize Me, I told myself I'll come back another time.

On May 4, 2019 they were celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Union Station.  They had about eight food trucks, and Lettuce Feast was one of them!!  So, I went by to give them a try!

Lettuce Feast got a new truck, so there wasn't any signage on the truck.  The lady who worked the 80th Anniversary event told me that Veggie Feast was the truck with no signage. 

Nashville Hot Chik'n Sammy Combo with regular fries, $16,-vegan fried chick'n with apple slaw on a brioche bun.  This was very good.  Maybe not as great as the hype, but a damn good sandwich.  The texture on the chicken pattie was spot on.  It was just like biting into a real chicken pattie.  Good flavor.  But, they could put more sauce, I got the mild, but there wasn't any heat, like none.  I expect mild to have some heat.  The slaw was a bit dry, but good and fresh.  I liked the sandwich, didn't love the sandwich so much that I would rush back.  The fries with sea salt and rosemary were good, but could have been more crisp.

Service is good.

While Lettuce Feast is good.  For me, it just didn't live up to all their hype!  I would go back, it's a ton of a food for a good price.  I just wouldn't rush back!

Update July 7, 2019

I went back to Lettuce Feast, this time at the Sunday Vegan Street Fair in North Hollywood.  I also included a picture of their truck with all the details.  It's one of the most popular food trucks, with line stretching down the sidewalk.  I waited one hour in line to order.

I wanted to try their chicken tenders and got four pieces, $14, with hot and hot honey as the two flavors, and regular fries.  The tenders have a hard crunchy outside, but inside it's mostly a small piece of veggie chicken.  There isn't much flavor with the veggie chicken, but the outside was very flavorful!  The hot was pretty mild, but the hot honey was very spicy!

Service is ok.  Like I said before, I waited an hour in line.  Part of it was there are tons of people in line.  The other part is the cashier is doing many things.  One thing she did was take a dish to one of the vendors next door!  I saw that while I was waiting in line.  When I got up the window to order, she just disappeared, nowhere to be found.  I think she was helping inside the truck.  I couldn't see inside.  But, at the very least she could tell me, I will be back.  They really need to get their act together and hire more people inside the truck and have only the cashier take orders.

Lettuce Feast is popular, but I don't see the appeal.  Their chicken tenders are below average, and while their sandwich is good, it's not the best in the thing I've ever ate.

RiceBox-Closed

RiceBox
541 S Spring St Ste 131
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-988-7395

RiceBox came to my attention while I was walking around while waiting for a friend at Bar Ama.  Then I read this LA Eater story about restaurants using the Impossible Burger meat in other ways.  RiceBox uses the impossible burger as a filling for their dumplings.  It's not on their menu, but you can order it.  $8.50 for six dumplings.

RiceBox is located in an old theater and you can go from Broadway to Spring St, by walking through this food court-like space.  There are tons of other restaurants, including a gelato place that LA Magazine ranks as the best in LA.

RiceBox is a small restaurant with some counter seating along the window and the left side of the restaurant.  Most of the space is the kitchen and the cashier.  There are some tables outside. 

The dumplings are pan fried, with glass noodles, mushrooms, and the impossible burger meat.  It's good, but not outstanding.  There isn't that much impossible meat, and the dough is a bit tough.

Service is good.

I wouldn't go back to RiceBox for the impossible meat dumplings. 

BAR Ama

BAR Ama
118 W 4th St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-687-8002

Bar Ama came onto my radar after reading LA Eater's 38 Essential Tacos in Los Angeles! I had puffy tacos at Arturo's Puffy Tacos, and when I heard that Bar Ama serves them, I made a trip to downtown LA.  I'm glad I did, because right behind Bar Ama, is a location of Vito's Pizza- a damn good pizza place!

Located just down around the corner from Orleans & York,  Bar Ama is one of the many bars that have opened up in downtown LA. As you walk into you're basically in the bar area.  To the left is their fairly big dining area.

The puffy tacos are on their secret menu.  You have to ask about them.  The puffy tacos are $7.  But, $4 at the bar on Sunday nights.  There are six different fillings the day I went; ground beef, pulled pork, shrimp, potato, and two others I forget.  I got the shrimp and potato.

Shrimp puffy taco-  The puffy taco was so oily.  The shrimp, cabbage, and crema were fine, but it was too heavy because of the oil.  The tacos were warm, so I'm guessing they were fried before and all the oil just soaked in. 

Potato- same oily puffy taco.  A very small amount of potato, no real flavor.

Service was good.

The lists LA Eater comes up with do contain some good restaurants.  But, they also contain some bad restaurants.  Bar Ama, at least for the puffy tacos, falls into the second category!  Not going back.
If you want puffy tacos, just go to Arturo's Puffy Tacos.

Wexler’s Deli

Wexler’s Deli
317 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-620-0633

Wexler's Deli is a stand at the Grand Central Market.  I've been to other stands at the Grand Central Market like; Kismet Falafel,  Prawn, and Horse Thieves BBQ- which has a very large and loyal following!

There was a huge line when I go there, but the line was for the ice cream stand across the way.  When that line was redirected to another aisle, there were only 2-3 people ahead of me.  There are about ten seats along the v-shaped counter.  There are other seating throughout Grand Central Market.

Ruskie-$11 egg salad, pickle, and a kaiser roll.  The egg salad was great.  Well seasoned, with some green onions, and mustard and mayo.  But, the kaiser roll left a lot to be desired.  Not good at all.  A bit undercooked, and the onions on top didn't work well with the egg salad.  Cole slaw, you got a choice along with potato salad, was very good.  Not much mayo, which I really like, and just a light refreshing cole slaw!

Service was good.  We got our sandwiches quickly.

I would go back to Wexler's but I may ask for a different bun.  Maybe, even on a bagel!

Modern Times-Closed

Modern Times
832 S Olive St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
213-878-7008

Modern Times is one of the newer bars/breweries in the downtown LA area.  A few people have told me the food is very good at Modern Times, so I decided to check them out.

The building has a dining room right as you walk in, and the bar in the back, at the very front there is a seating area with a counter and a couple tables.  On your first visit you're not sure if you need to check in with the host or if you can walk to the bar.  The need better signage, instead of people wasting time while waiting for the host.

Double burger-$16 with $2 for the fries.  A "double" beyond burger with smoked mushrooms, shallot jam, roasted tomato spread, American coconut cheese, and lettuce.  If you bought a package of the Beyond Burger at any grocery store, you know it's a thick patty.  Here, they cut one patty in half and then pretend it's a "double burger." After one bite, the burger patty just fell apart.  It was ok,  nothing special and certainly not a double burger.  The fries were good, worth the extra $2.

Service was ok.  You order at the bar, and they only had one bartender working.  With a good crowd, he was very busy.  Oh, I saw at a table, left me stuff on the table and went to the restroom.  When I came back a group of entitled millennials girls came in, took my stuff off the table and then sat down.  Good thing I'm a nice guy, after telling them they took my table, I found a place along the counter.  Memo to you entitled millennail twits, when you see something left on a table, don't take that table.  It belongs to somebody else.

I won't go back to Modern Times. 

Kismet Falafel-Closed

Kismet Falafel
317 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-357-2412

The last time I was at Grand Central Market, I went to a seafood place, Prawn.  I wasn't in the mood for something heavy, and found Kismet Falafel.  So I decided to give them a try.

They are located to the Hill entrance of Grand Central, and they are on the west side of the market.  They have a few seats at the counter, or you can find some tables that are spread around the market.

Classic falafel sandwich-$11. Tomato, tahini, cabbage, pickles, onion and basil.  This is stuffed with a ton of cabbage, pickles and onions.  Maybe two or three small sized falafel.  I would like to see more falafel-either bigger sized falafel, or another one inside the sandwich.  The falafel was fine.  Nothing special.  For what you get, it's a bit overpriced.

Service was good.

Kismet was ok. I won't return

Prawn- Closed

Prawn Grand Central Market
317 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013

After the disaster trying to go to Seasalt Fish Grill for fish and chips, I was at Grand Central Market and decided to give Prawn a try.  The only place I reviewed at Grand Central Market was the Grand Central Market Mongolian BBQ, which is now closed.  Grand Central Market has undergone a tremendous amount of change since 2007.  More high end places have opened, pushing long time markets and food stands out.  It is much different going to Grand Central Market today!!

Prawn is located towards the southern part of Grand Central Market.  They have a few chairs at the counter, otherwise, you'll have to find a place to sit nearby.

Fish and chips-$12- They use cod, which was very bland.  This lacked any type of seasoning.  It's also not fried to order, just sitting under heat lamps.  The batter was ok, not too thick, so there were good ratio of fish to batter.  But, since the batter was luke warm at best, it wasn't crunchy at all.

The chips are terrible.  Cold, bland, and flavorless.

Service was good.

I wouldn't go back to Prawn.  They need to cook items to order and season their food.  Who cares about the wait! 

Seasalt Fish Grill

Seasalt Fish Grill
812 W 7th St,
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-243-5700

LA Eater recently released their 18 best places to get fish and chips in LA.   I was looking forward to trying Seasalt Fish Grill.  I looked at their website and from this screenshot, taken July 29, 2018, they list their hours on Sunday from 11am-3pm.  I took a screenshot, because they could finally get a clue and update their damn website!

So, I'm near 7th St. and I call at 11:30am, just to make sure they are opened.  Nobody answers.  I call back 30 minutes later, samething, no answer.  Then I checked their yelp page, which lists their hours as closed on Sundays.

Why does the Seasalt Fish Grill yelp page have a more updated hours, than their official site?  Needless to say, I didn't go, since they are closed on Sundays.  I did call on Monday to tell them to update their website.  They have not responded to the email I sent.

Of course, Seasalt Fish Grill will be filed under terrible service!  They should have updated their website as soon as they changed their weekend hours.  It appears they have been closed on weekends at their 7th St. location for a while.  Yet, they never bothered to update their website!

TERRIBLE SERVICE!!!!

UPDATE

At about 4pm on Monday July 30th, the owner of Seasalt Fish Grill replied to my email.  I read the email about 7:30pm.  He apologized for not updating their hours.  He offered to make up for wasting my time going there on Sunday!  He said that they are working to correct as he wrote the email.

Well, I checked their website and the hours STILL had not been updated, as this screenshot shows!!  And as I am writing this update, about 1:30pm on July 31st, I checked their website again and the hours STILL have NOT been updated!!

While I appreciate the owner trying to make up for his company's mistakes, there is something wrong with that company, if they continue to make mistakes.  Attention to details!  Updating the website with the current hours, isn't hard to do.  I have no idea when they changed the hours, but for them to still not have the hours updated, after the owner emailed me and said they would update their website, just shows me this restaurant doesn't pay enough attention to details!!  Sorry, but I'm not going to give this restaurant anymore chances!

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!

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.

Badmaash

Badmaash
108 W 2nd St
Ste 104
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-221-7466

Badmaash is a weird sounding name for an Indian restaurant.  Located a couple doors from Pitfire Pizza, my friend and I were drawn in by the smell of Indian spices.

A small sized restaurant with more seating upstairs.  It's dark and gives off a nightclub atmosphere.  

Salmon "Boti" Kabaab, $19, marinated in yogurt with fresh dill, lime, and serrano chilies, in a smoked tomato chutney.  The farm raised salmon was very moist and tender, with a wonderful flavor  The chutney was ok, I wasn't a fan, but I would have been very happy with the salmon without the chutney.  It's a decent sized portion, but I think it is overpriced.

Traditional samosa, $4 each, potato, peas, coriander seeds, cumin, and ginger. This came right out of the fryer and was very good.  The light, flaky, wrapper was perfect fried.  The inside was soft, tender flavorful potatoes with the right amount of spices.  Now, $4 is a steep price to pay.  They are good, and a good size, but not worth $4.

Service was good.  Nice, friendly, and quick service.

I understand that downtown LA is changing and the rent for commercial space are also increasing.  While the food at Badmaash was good, it wasn't worth the high price tags.

Clifton's Cafeteria

Clifton's Cafeteria
648 South Broadway
LA
213-627-1673

I reviewed Clifton's Cafeteria back in 2007.  It was simple comfort food at good prices.  It wasn't gourmet, far from it, but it was a good value.  Later Clifton's started to use canned foods and the quality went down.  So, the Clinton family sold the restaurant to Andrew Meieran, who has renovated other buildings in downtown Los Angeles and turned them into nightclubs like The Edison.  Meieran planned a major renovation starting in 2011.

The orginal plan was to keep the restaurant open during the first phrase of renovations, but when you're renovating a building that first opened in 1935, there are many surprises.  So he soon closed down the restaurant and went full steam ahead for the renovation.  While renovations continued you never heard a word from the new owner.  It was always the standard response, the restaurant is going through renovations.  With the explosion of social media, not a good way to do business.

Finally in October 2015, they opened.  Long lines on the weekend, up to 2 hours, during the first two weeks of reopening awaited long time customers.  The best thing the new owner did was tear down the ugly aluminum facade that ruined the original front of the building. 

I went on a very warm Sunday, and the wait to get inside was about 15-20 minutes.  Once inside you get a tray and then the cluster of food stations are in front of you.  The first station is salad, followed by the "grill" breakfast items, a burger and fries station, then the pizza station.  Right after the grill section is the sandwich sectin, followed by the dessert section.  Behind you is the carvery- sliced roast beef, ham and turkey along with mac and cheese and stuffing is served at this station.  Then you go pay.  Then you find a table on any of the three levels of the restaurant that are currently open. 

Mac and cheese, $4.95.  This was disgusting!  First it was cold, not because it took a long time to pay and find a table, that actually went pretty quickly.  It was also very dry, very little cheese and it was bland as hell.  A rip off at that price!

Tuna salad, $2.50.  This was good, well seasoned, not drowned in mayo, but the portion size was very small and the value is debatable.

Jello, 35 cents.  It's blueberry jello with rapsberry inside.  It was fine.

Brownie bites, $3.  Pretty damn good and the best value of the items I ordered.  Flavorful, moist, and not too sweet.

Service is good overall.  But, the busboys are very slow to clear tables and offer refills.

Clifton's was not worth the long wait!  The food is overpriced, lacks flavor and portions are small.  The food line would move faster if they boards actually listed what items were being served.  For example, the signs above the grill section didn't list fries.  I only saw the fries because a person at the table next to me had ordered a burger and fries.  I skipped the burger section because I didn't want a burger.  Also, prices aren't listed for some items.  There was no price listed for the stuffing which was next to the $6 list price for the mac and cheese.  Why they charged me $4.95, I'm not sure.

To be fair, there is somebody at the front of the carvery telling people both sides serve the samething, but there as you walk out, people in the grill section can enter the carvery.  They need to either put an exit only sign or have somebody there to direct people!

As for seating some tables, especially near the second floor bar area are too small for dining.  The busboys need to come by more often to take the trays, which take up too much room on the small tables!  There were trays on the floor and chairs!  The third floor has seating for larger parties.

The basement, which will become a bar, and the fourth and fifth floors-will eventually become a steakhouse and another bar, are still being renovated.

The interior is filled with glass displays of wild animals that seem real.  Not sure how well this goes over with animal rights activists!!

I won't go back to Clifton's for the food.  I did like how they restored the building, but the food just plain sucks!

Update January 21, 2016

Two friends wanted to go and try Clifton's.  So, being the great guy I am, I said we'll go.  This time we went for dinner on a weeknight.   There was a much smaller crowd than before.  But, same confusing food sections.  My friend made a great point, even though she had never been to Clifton's, they do not serve any hot vegetables!  The old Clifton's had a wide variety of hot veggies.  So, they were from a can, but at least you had a choice. 

One change for the better is that they put the mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and stuffing in a chafing dish to keep them warm.  Before they were just on the counter!!

 Cheese pizza slice, $2.75.  Pretty good crust, but the sauce is way too tangy for my tastes.  They need to add some sweetness to the sauce.  Also, there was a wait for the slices because either there was a run on pizza slices-very unlikely, or the pizza chef was behind-I think that's the most likely reason.

 I had to try the mac and cheese again.  Same price, $4.95.  Same crappy no cheese sauce mac and cheese.  Terrible!  What a damn joke!

Small salad, $5, half romaine lettuce and half spinach.  They couldn't screw this up!  The lettuce and spinach were very fresh.  I got a citrus dressing that was pretty good.  Maybe a bit overpriced for what you get.

I'm not a fan of the new Clifton's and don't expect to return anytime soon!

Orleans & York Deli

Orleans & York Deli
333 S Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-687-0400

Orleans & York Deli has been on my bucketlist of places to try, but I found Little Jewel, and since I was nearby, I went there first to try their shrimp po boy- very good!!  So I finally went to Orleans and York, their downtown LA location.  I understand they also have locations in Inglewood, Windsors Hills-on Slauson, and they are opening one in Carson soon.

Orleans & York tries to combine New Orleans style sandwiches with New York style sandwiches.  Their downtown location is on Spring-a one way street, there is street parking and paid lots nearby.  Orleans & York is a small restaurant with a long refrigerated section- stocked with drinks, salads, and other items.  There is counter to sit, and tables outside, in a breezeway between the restaurant and a bank. 

Shrimp po boy, $11.49, mayo, lettuce, and tomato.  The shrimp is huge, they must use jumbo sized shrimp!  It's lightly fried in a well seasoned battered.  Very good and filling.  The roll is soft with a very good texture!  The lettuce and tomatoes are very fresh.  A great sandwich and worth the price!!  I do wish they would put pickles like Little Jewel and how most po boys in New Orleans are served!

Service is below average.  When I arrived there were two people taking orders, a young lady and a guy.  The guy was helping a group of young women.  Then he went out and sat with the young women.  Is this a pick up joint or a restaurant?  Who leaves the register to hit on a group of women?  So, that left the young lady and she was ok- she did her job like a robot.

If you can put up with ok service, Orleans & York has the better po boy than Little Jewel, and about $2 less, with bigger pieces of shrimp.  I would go back despite the below average service.