The Fix Burger

The Fix Burger
2520 Hyperion Ave
Los Angeles
323-661-8494

I have passed by The Fix Burger in Silver Lake so many times, but never stopped in until a warm Friday night. The Fix Burger is between two restaurants that I have reviewed before, Tomato Pie Pizza Joint and Cafe Ravo.

I'll be direct and to the point, The Fix Burger is the best burger in LA. Nobody comes close. Don't believe the hype of the other gourmet burger places in LA like Umami Burger in Hollywood or Umami Burger on La Brea or Father's Office, the burgers at The Fix Burgers are the best in LA.

Onion rings, $4.99. These onions rings could have been good, but they were a bit too greasy. The batter, which has some parsley, is wonderful!! Nice, light, and crunchy. The onion were fresh. This isn't some frozen onions. They are made by fresh. But, either the oil wasn't hot enough or they were sitting under heat lamps too long, because these onion rings were too greasy.



Silver Lake Burger, $9.69, lettuce, tomato, bacon, mayo, and 1000 island dressing with a turkey pattie.

But who cares about side orders in a burger place!! I want to see how The Fix Burgers' stand up. Well, they are awesome! The best in LA. The turkey patty was juicy, flavorful and had a nice crust. The huge strips of bacon were perfectly cooked and the toppings were so fresh. The 1000 island dressing had a mild flavor and not much relish as other 1000 island dressing, but added a great flavor to the burger.

Service is good. The young lady who took my order was nice, though not super friendly. The onion rings came first, though I would have preferred to have them served with the burger. But, that's nitpicking. The burgers are great and I will be back to The Fix Burgers and try a beef pattie.

Cafe Cola-Closed

Cafe Cola
180 W Sierra Madre Ave
Azusa
626-969-5500

I've read a lot of glowing reviews about Cafe Cola and wanted to give them a try. Cafe Cola are known for their fresh food, no freezers or microwaves, and the burgers. So I head up to Azusa and find Cafe Cola in a small strip mall. It's a small place with about six tables and a counter with about 3-4 seats. It is very busy and crowded the day I went, which is always a good sign.




After my trip to the East Coast, I was craving a cheesesteak. So I got that instead of their burger, $6.95 with provolone cheese, onions, and mushrooms. While waiting in line I saw them prepare other cheesesteaks, and they were slicing a fresh rib eye into thin pieces. A very good start. I also heard the owner say they use Porto's Bakery rolls, another good thing. So my cheesesteak comes out, and I take a bite. It's very greasy, and some pieces of rib eye are charred. Not what I was expecting. The provolone cheese, onions and mushrooms were fine, but I couldn't get past the greasiness of the cheesesteak. The rolls, which has a nice firm texture, did hold up very well to the greasiness, soaking up a lot of that grease.

Service is very good. The owner is nice and friendly. But, the wait for the food seems a bit long. I think we waited about 15-20 minutes for our food. I wasn't in a hurry but I thought the food could come out quicker.

Cafe Cola for the cheesesteak didn't meet my expectations, I think Philly's Best is better, but I will come back and try the burgers.

Moscow Deli

Moscow Deli
3015 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa
714-546-3354

Growing up during the Cold War era, I hated the damn Russians. One of the greatest moments in history, was the Miracle on Ice, when the United States hockey team beat the Russians on January 22, 1980!! And to correct some misinformation, that game did NOT clinch the gold medal for the US. The US had to beat Finland to win the gold medal. Which of course, they did!!! USA!! USA!! USA!!

But now the Cold War is over and the commies, I mean the Russians are more US allies than enemies. I found out about a Russian deli in Costa Mesa and since I was in the area and it was close to lunch time, I decided to give their sandwiches a try.

Moscow Deli is located across the street from Wing Nuts, and it may as well be across an ocean. The owner is Russian, many of the customers are Russian and they are speaking Russian. The store is small store with the deli counter at the back. There are two tables inside and one table outside if you want to eat there.

Kiev sandwich, Russian bread, assorted salami, salad leafs, tomatoes, cheese and Russian sauce, $5.99. This was a great sandwich. I have no idea what kind of salami they used, but there were at least three varieties, but there were all great. The cheese is kinda of like a provolone cheese, with a mild flavor and texture. The bread was firm, I reminded me of a cross between rye bread and pumpernickel bread. The veggies were fresh. My favorite part of the Kiev sandwich was the Russian sauce. It's close to Russian dressing but not as much kick as some Russian dressings I've had.

Service is good. The ladies are nice and friendly people. They are all Russian and have a heavy Russian accent. The interesting part is they gave me the sandwich before I paid for it. I actually finished the sandwich and walked to the register and paid.

I would go back to Moscow Deli anytime. I really enjoyed the sandwiches. Next time I may order some sausages to grill!!!

Update June 23, 2012




I ordered another Kiev sandwich and it was great as the first time. I just wanted to post a better picture, where you can see a better picture of the meats in the sandwich.




I got the Odessa sandwich, Russian bread, Odessa kielbasa, salad leafs, tomatoes, Odessa sauce, and onions. The Odessa sauce has garlic, onions, bell peppers, and spices. I thought it was good, but not for me. The Odessa kielbasa tasted too much like baloney, which I had. The bread is the same bread they use for the Kiev, so it's great. Overall, I didn't like the Odessa sandwich.

Service is good. The ladies are nice, hard working people. I never knew Orange County had so many Russian immigrants.

Next time I go to Moscow Deli, I will stick to the Kiev sandwich, but may try other sandwiches, besides the Odessa. I will try some of their cakes, which look awesome.

Legal Sea Foods

Legal Sea Foods
255 State St
Boston, MA 02109
617-742-5300

Boston, a racist city filled with the biggest bunch of whining loser sports fans. A perfect combination for a city that I hate. But, I'm stuck in this hellhole city and figure to make the best out of it. So, I figure I'll try some of what Boston is famous for, lobster and clam chowder. I found that Legal Seafoods is a popular, long time restaurant and decide to give them a try.

Bowl of clam chowder, $6.95. This chowder was very good. Served hot and filled with clams and a decent amount of potatoes. I hate restaurants that use potatoes as fillers for clam chowder. Luckily Legal Seafoods uses the potatoes to enhance their chowder. The hearty broth, fresh clams, and well seasoned chowder made this the highlight of my meal.


Small steamed lobster, with two sides, broccoli and cheese and potato strings, $29.95. So I'm looking forward to the lobster, and when it arrived it was steamed perfectly and the meat was tender and flavorful. But, while it was good, it's not overwhelming or special. Maybe my expectations were higher but the lobster in Boston didn't overwhelm me.

What did underwhelm me was the side dishes. The broccoli and cheese could have been good, if the broccoli wasn't almost raw. I bet the broccoli had been in the steamer for about a minute. Come on leave the broccoli in the steamer for five minutes and make the broccoli tender. The onion strings were luke warm and greasy. They may have been good if I got a fresh batch, instead of a batch that had been sitting under heatlamps for too long.

Service is good, but one thing I'd like to point out. Their menu says certain items were not served after 4pm, like their lobster roll. The server told me, they will make lobster rolls after 4pm. Maybe they should change their menu to reflect that? I would have ordered a lobster roll as an appetizer, if I would have known lobster rolls are served after 4pm.

If I ever had the displeasure of going back to the hellhole city of Boston, I would not go back to Legal Seafoods again. I was expecting more and they didn't deliver.

Bova's Bakery

Bova's Bakery
134 Salem St
Boston
617-523-5601

So I'm visiting Boston, a city I hate because of it's racist past and the lowlife fans of all their teams. I'm in the North End, which is the Italian part of the city. I wanted a sandwich and found Bova's Bakery after visiting the Old North Church; one if by land, two if by sea!!

Anyways, I asked some people who were at a the laundermat where I could get an Italain sub and they pointed me to Bova's.

Italian sub, pepperoni, salami, hot capicola, and provolone cheese, $7.25. The meats were just regular deli counter meat. There was nothing special about the meats. But, the bread was AMAZING. A chewing crust with a soft wonderful inside, made this bread awesome!! The entire sandwich was made because of the great quality of this bread. The bread is made daily, in house and I bet this bread would be that much more awesome right out of the oven.

Service is good, if a bit slow. The girl who made my sandwich was nice and friendly but she took a long time to make the sandwich.

If I'm ever back in this hellhole city, I would go back to Bova's just for the bread!!

Quickie Dog & Taco Quickie

Quickie Dog & Taco Quickie
7716 Eastern Ave
Bell Gardens
562-927-1670

I thought about stopping in at Pioneer Chicken, but I missed the turn to Florence and drove past Quickie Dog & Taco Quickie and decided to stop in.

What an interesting concept tacos and hot dogs in one place. The building looks old and I'm guessing this has been a neighborhood staple.

I got a kraut dog, $1.65. After I placed my order, the girl placed a hot dog on the grill and I figured I was going to get a hot dog that was hot. Well, after she made my taco, which took about 30 seconds, she took the hot dog off the grill and added kraut and mustard. So, I got a cold hot dog. Terrible!!! The hot dog itself was actually pretty good, good snap and quality meat. The kraut was cold and had a slight tang, but nowhere near what is should be. This hot dog could be good but they missed the mark with how it's prepared. Leave that hot dog on the grill for five minutes, not less than a minute.



At least the taco-$1.09, was better. The taco is a ginkgo taco, like the tacos served at Taco Lita and Taco Treat. The ground beef was well seasoned and cooked perfectly. The cheese and lettuce were fresh. The taco shell was light and crispy. I liked how all the flavors blended together. The taco is cheaper than the Taco Lita and Taco Treat and is better than both in my opinion. It would have been better with some hot sauce, which the girl never bothered giving me.

Service was ok. The girl was nice and pleasant enough but just a bit off. If it's SOP at Quickie Dog & Taco Quickie to quickly grill their hot dogs, then that needs to be changed. But, if she was lazy and not following SOP and leaving the hot dog on the grill for longer, then she needs to get more training or fired.

I wouldn't go back to Quickie Dog & Taco Quickie again. While the taco is good, it's not really worth the long drive.

New Dragon Seafood Restaurant

New Dragon Seafood Restaurant 

936 N Hill St 

Los Angeles 

213-626-6050 

 There is a myth going around that you can't get good Chinese food in Chinatown. Well, I've tried a few restaurants in Chinatown and I've found them to be quite good. As good as some places in Arcadia or Rowland Heights? Maybe not, but certainly good enough not to make the drive eastward. I wanted to try New Dragon Seafood Restaurant for awhile and finally made it there on a nice Friday night. New Dragon Seafood Restaurant is literally across Hill St. from Master Chef, one of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown. House Special Chow Mein, $7.75,-beef, pork, chicken, shrimp with celery, and carrots. This was my favorite dish. The noodles were cooked perfectly. Everything was seasoned well. The meats were very good, all tender and flavorful. All the flavors worked well together, but the amount of meat can overwhelm this dish. There maybe too much meat in this dish. But, I really liked this dish and would order it again. Cod Fillet with twin mushrooms, $9.75. This was a very salty dish. The fish, I'm not sure if it was really cod, was mushy and overcooked. The mushrooms were canned but the over veggies-celery, carrots, and green onions were fresh. They must love celery because there was celery in all three dishes!! The chili sauce/gravy was mildly spicy, not overwhelming but you can feel the heat. But, I couldn't get over the saltiest of this dish. Scallops with straw mushrooms, $13.75. Again the mushrooms were canned and celery filled this dish. But, some well cooked snap peas added some texture to this dish. The scallops were plentiful and pretty fresh. The sauce was leaning towards the salty side, but pretty good overall. Service is good. There was only one guy working and he took care of me, another two tables, and a couple to go orders. I was disappointed in New Dragon Seafood Restaurant. I found most of the dishes salty and I'm not impressed with any restaurant using canned mushrooms. I wouldn't go back to New Dragon Seafood Restaurant and it would rank as one of my least favorite restaurants in Chinatown.