Avila's El Ranchito

Avila's El Ranchito
182 S Orange St
Orange
714-516-1000

Avila's El Ranchito is an Orange County chain with about 12 locations.  Their Orange location, just east of the famous Orange Circle, is housed in an old Victorian Baptist Church, which was built in 1888.  The church closed in 1992 and a couple years later PJ Abbey's restaurant opened up.  About two years ago PJ Abbey's closed and Avila's El Ranchito opened.   If you believe in ghosts, there is suppose to be a ghost that haunts the restaurant. 

Avila's El Ranchito is a good sized restaurant.  There are two entrances; one of the restaurant and the other for the bar.  Being an old church the restaurant has high ceilings, wood floors, and stain glass windows.  The stain glass on the east side of the resturant still has PJ's on top. 

Grilled fiesta platter, $12.95, with chicken, black beans, red onions, green onions, tomatoes, zucchini, and mushrooms.

Normally when I go to a Mexican restaurant and it's filled with white people it's not a good sign.  I might as well go to the white washed Mexican chain restaurants like El Torito, or Don Jose, or Acapulco.  But, I know the Orange Circle isn't a place that many Latinos frequent.  You're more likely to see a flying Delorean than a large number of Latinos. But,  Avila's El Ranchito is a fairly authentic Mexican restaurant.  The flavors of the grilled fiesta platter were well balanced.  The chicken breast was well seasoned and grilled just right, not dry at all.  The veggies were grilled perfectly, though since I hate zucchini, I wish there wasn't any zucchini.  The black beans were money, perfectly cooked and seasoned.  Well seasoned and a huge portion made this a very good entree. 

Service was good.  The hostess and server were both very nice and friendly.

The setting is nice and makes for a nice quiet dining experience.  The food is good and reasonably price.  So, of course I would go back to Avila's El Ranchito anytime.

The Tulsa Rib Company

The Tulsa Rib Company
220 E Katella Ave
Orange
714- 633-3760

I went to the old The Tulsa Rib Company back in 2006. In March of 2013, Tulsa Rib moved to a new location on Katella Ave. The interesting part about this location is that Scottie's Smokehouse moved here a few years ago, but for whatever reasons, Scottie's didn't last too long at this address.

The new location gives the impression it is bigger but the parking lot in back is too small for the number of people the restaurant can hold. The interior has a western decor and was packed for a Saturday night.  The interesting thing I found was that all the TV's had the Dodger game on instead of the Angels game!  They did switch the TV's to the Angels' game after the Dodger game was over.

Spicy Baby back ribs with creamed corn and Tulsa potatoes, $17.50.  While Tulsa Ribs say they are a gourmet BBQ restaurant, they do NOT BBQ their ribs.  The ribs are boiled and them cooked in an oven and then BBQ sauce is poured on.  If you want or expect real BBQ, this isn't the place.  If you think Tulsa Ribs is an example of real BBQ, get a damn clue.

But, with that being said the ribs are well cooked, tender, meaty,  not much fat or gristle, and pretty damn good for what they are!  The portions are huge and you get your money's worth with each order.

The creamed corn is sweet and has more cream sauce than corn, but I like them  I wish they gave you a bigger portion.

The Tulsa potatoes are always good.  I forget to order them well done, which makes them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Service is was lacking.  They have what I call a community server system, where any server is helping you.  But, after being seated it took forever for somebody to come by and take our drink order.  They seated a couple a few tables away and while being seated they were asked what they would like to drink.  They were also got their food before us, both tables had ribs orders.  The people are nice, but service was off.

I haven't been to Tulsa Ribs in a long time and only found out about their new location when somebody told me they were moving.  The food is the same but the service wasn't as good as the old location.

Sorrento Italian Market

Sorrento Italian Market
5518 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City
310-391-7654

I have eaten at four; Vince's Market, Lanza Brothers Market, Tangs, and Sandwich Island, of five sandwich shops that were profiled in the LA Weekly. I know they listed six places, but I will never go to that overpriced soda shop ever again.

 Sorrento Italian Market, like the name implies, is an Italian market, that serves sandwiches.  This is strictly take out only.  But, they had a good selection of Italian staples and their deli counter was well stocked with quality meats.

Large combination sandwich, $3.95; salami, , capicola, mortadella, provolone  on Italian roll with red sauce, lettuce, and spicy mustard.  WOW, was this sandwich good and well worth the price!  The Italian roll is pillow soft, with a nice texture and chewiness.  The meats are good quality and the red sauce and spicy mustard adds the perfect kick.  While the LA Weekly story says they don't have lettuce, there was lettuce on my sandwich.  Either way, what a find and a steal!!

Service is very good.  The people working the deli greeted me once I walked up to the counter.  They were nice enough to show me the difference between the small and large roll.  Many stores won't bother.  While they were making the sandwich, which was done quickly, they told me to go to the other side to pay.  Since it was first time there, I didn't know the procedure and they were nice about telling their SOP- standard operating procedure.

Of the five sandwiches from the LA Weekly's list, which one is my favorite?  I would say Lanza, but Sorrento comes a close second.

I would go back to Sorrento any time.  A great sandwich, great service and a steal of a price. 

  

1 + 1 Dumpling House-Closed

1 + 1 Dumpling House
14720 Pipeline Ave Ste B
Chino Hills
909-606-8088

Dumplings in Chino Hills?  Most people expect to go to Rowland Heights for dumplings.  But, 1+1 Dumpling House in Chino Hills matches up to any dumpling restaurant in Rowland Heights.   Located next door to Roscoe's Famous Deli, 1+1 Dumpling House is a small restaurant, with the main dining area seating about 25 people and a private dining area that seats about 20.

David Allen gave 1 +1 Dumpling House a good review.

Beef wrap $4.95.  A crispy pancake that is flaky and has a nice crust, tender beef, a sweet hoisin sauce, and green onions.  This was ok, not great and a bit smaller than other beef wraps I've had.  The sweetness of the hoisin sauce is a bit overpowering.  

Fried hand made noodles with vegetables-bok choy, tomatoes, and onions- $5.95.  This was great.  The hand made noodles were very fresh.  You could tell be the texture these noodles didn't come from a box.  The veggies were all well cooked and seasoned.  Interesting that this dish had tomatoes, which you don't see much in Chinese cooking.  I liked this dish but the portion size is a bit small. 

Juicy pork steam dumpling, $6.95. Xiao long bao in Chinese. This is very good. The texture of the wrapper is perfect.  The pork was well seasoned and tender.  The soup inside the dumpling was so good.  Ten pieces for $6.95 is a steal.  1 + 1 Dumpling is running a special; order over $20 worth of food and you get a free order of xiao long bao!

Pan fried pork and celery dumplings, $7.95.  The majority of these dumplings didn't have that nice brown bottom.  They needed to be fried at least 2-3 minutes longer.  The inside seemed to be a bit unseasoned but a bit overpowering with the celery.

Service was good.  They are nice and friendly.  But, they did take forever to bring our check!

I would go back to 1 + 1 Dumpling House for the xiao long bao any time.  I think the pork dumplings, instead of pork and celery, would be better to order and they would need to leave the dumplings in the pan a lot longer.  I will return to try some of their other dishes.  The spicy shrimp looked great!

Etna Fish Market

Etna Fish Market
11175 S Vermont Ave
Los Angeles
323-755-3070

Etna Fish Market is your typical "you buy, we fry" fish market that are popular in areas of Los Angeles with a large African-American population.  It's a take out place with a good selection of fish; sole, talapia, catfish, and red snapper seem to be the most popular.  Etna is located a about two blocks from Jim Dandy Fried Chicken, which was rated the top fried chicken in Los Angeles by LA Weekly,  and not too far from Mom's Bar-B-Que.
 
The store is fairly large but there are no tables to sit and eat. You order at the counter and your items are cooked to order.  Yes, The New Diner has been to eight of the Top 10 fried chicken places listed. Mom’s Bar B Q House, Donahoo's Golden Chicken, Pann's Restaurant, Bertha's, Honey's Kettle, Flossie's Southern Cuisine, and Kyochon.

Etna Dinner Special, $11, 4 pieces of red snapper, 8 medium shrimp, 3 hush puppies, and fries.  The batter used is cornmeal but this was a bit too salty for my tastes.   But, it was nice crunchy texture, some places put too much batter, but Etna but the right amount.  The fish and shrimp were very fresh.  I was impressed with the quality and freshness of the seafood.  The hush puppies were standard, nothing special about them.  The fries were frozen, but the portion size is huge.  They had only packets of tartar sauce and no cocktail sauce for the fried shrimp.  They gave me packets of salsa!!  Come on now, I want cocktail sauce for the shrimp.

Service needs improvement.  If you walk in for the first time, you don't know the ordering system; first come, first served or take a number.  Well there were about ten people inside the store and they all were waiting for their orders.  When they finally came around to take my order, I wasn't greeted, they just looked at me and asked what I would like.  A simple "Hi, how can I help you?" would be more than enough.  When my order was ready, the guy, who I think is the owner's son was too busy talking on the phone to say Thank you.

While I thought the cornmeal batter was a bit too salty, I would have come back to Etna but with the bad service, I won't return.  There are many other fish markets with better service  and food, like Ann's Fish Market or The Fish House.

Sage Organic Vegan-Closed

Sage Organic Vegan
1700 W Sunset Blvd
213-989-1718

Sage Organic Vegan is a very popular vegan restaurant in Echo Park.  I've heard so many great things about Sage and finally had a chance to try their food.  Sage has an interesting set up, with a large main floor seating with lots of natural light and a loft seating area that has very little natural light.

Sage was only serving their brunch menu the day I went.  We got to Sage at the right time because it was packed by the time we were done with brunch. 

Kale Salad:Blanched kale, mango, quinoa, strawberries and shaved almonds tossed w/ maple tahini vinaigrette; $8.95.  This salad was just off.  Something about it didn't work.  The kale was a bit tough, the menu says blanched but it was pretty close to raw.  The quinoa was fine.  There were barely any mangos, but the strawberries were very fresh.  Portion size was fairly good for the price, but I wouldn't order this again.

Service from the server was very good.  She was nice and friendly and helpful. But, the service from the host just sucked.  He was a jerk.  If a restaurant doesn't want customers, I would be very happy to take my business elsewhere.  The restaurant was fairly slow when my group arrived.  The loft was completely empty when we got there.  I made reservations for 10 people,  but a larger group wanted to try Sage.  But the jerk host was making a big deal about my group being larger than I had said.  I mean if you don't want the extra 4-6 people when your restaurant was slow and where we sat was empty, well I won't bring a group back to this damn place.  I would have understood if it was packed and very busy, but it wasn't and the host still cops and attitude and is a jerk?  Screw this place.

The food I ordered was just ok, but there were other dishes that looked very good.  But the terrible attitude by the jerk host, means I'm not going back to Sage.

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.