Son of a Gun

Son of a Gun
8370 W 3rd St
Los Angeles
323-782-9033

Son of a Gun is an interesting name for a restaurant.  It is owned by the owners of Animal restaurant. 
Across busy 3rd St. from  D'Amore's Pizza Son of a Gun is a small plates seafood restaurant, though one of it's most popular dishes is a fried chicken sandwich.  The interesting thing for me is the only sign for Son of a Gun is the sign you see on the door, in the above picture.  There is no sign on the face of the building.  I understand they have been opened for about two years, so why isn't there a sign?

Son of a Gun is very small restaurant with a big community picnic table as it's centerpiece.  It's a popular restaurant that is very busy.  Our wait time was 30 minutes and they said we could go to the bar called The Churchill a few doors down, while waiting for our table.  It is a good suggestion because the bar inside Son of a Gun is very small and all the chairs were taken.

Curly kale, caesar dressing, walnut, parmesan $11.  This is really a kale caesar salad.  Normally I hate kale, but when the kale is covered with caesar dressing and parmesan cheese, it hides the bitter flavor of kale.  In fact, there was too much dressing and parmesan, they drowned out the kale. 

Shrimp toast sandwich, herbs, sriracha mayo $12.  This is one of their most popular items.  It was good, a perfectly toasted crust and a good shrimp flavor.  But, this was a small dish and not worth the $12 price tag.  Yeah, I know it's about location, location, location.  But, I wouldn't order this again.

Fried chicken sandwich, spicy b&b pickle slaw, rooster aioli $14.  A perfect fried chicken breast-juicy, moist, tender, and all those fresh toppings made this a great sandwich!!  The bun was perfectly toasted and held up to all the toppings.  This is well worth the price tag!

Service is very good.  Our server was very nice, helpful, and friendly.  As a matter of policy they recommend two people splitting five dishes, which I thought is a bit much.  If we didn't order the fried chicken sandwich or the sandwich was smaller, I would agree with the five dish recommendation.

I was impressed with Son of a Gun and would return but it would be for a special occasion instead of a regular dinner. 

Updates

May 29, 2013

Sadly, The Great Taco Hunt blog has thrown in the tortilla and will not longer be taco blogging about all the great taco trucks in LA.  While I haven't reviewed any of the taco trucks he went to, I always read his blog.  As a tribute to him I will do a review of one of his top five favorites.
 
May 15, 2013

Closed Restaurants:

Over the weekend I searched almost all the restaurants that I reviewed on The New Diner.  I added about 40, yes 40, restaurants to the Closed Restaurants section of The New Diner!  The total number of closed restaurants is currently at 235!!

Included in those closed restaurants were;

Some long time restaurants like Cassell's Hamburgers.

The first Korean BBQ restaurant I went to, Feedable BBQ.

Some restaurants because of bad food or service, like Crossroads BBQ,  Porky's BBQ, and Holy Smokes Bar-B-Que, I was not surprised they had closed.

While others like, Willy's Smokehouse BBQ & Grill and Otis Jackon Soul Dogs I was very surprised.

Some restaurants have been closed for more than 2 or 3 years, like BBQ Co, and I just found out about it.

While I try to keep the closed restaurant list as current as possible, if The New Diner or The New Diner 2 readers find out about closed restaurants, please let me know.

June 23, 2012:

I went back to Moscow Deli and tried the Odessa sandwich and included better pictures of the Kiev sandwich.

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! 

New York Pizzeria

New York Pizzeria
12431 Central Ave
Chino
909-627-8883

I've always passed by New York Pizzeria but have never stopped in.   But, after reading David Allen's Review of New York Pizzeria, I decided to give them a try.  Located in the Superior Market shopping center, New York Pizzeria is a huge restaurant.  You enter and place your order at the long counter, while trying to ignore all the yankee SCUM memorabilia, like the seats from The House that George Renovated that are pictured in David Allen's review.  The dining area is in back has picnic tables with red and white checker table clothes, and a huge screen TV.  They were showing ESPN the time I went.

I got one of their everyday special; two medium two topping pizzas for $18.99, $21.27 if you use a credit card and you pay the 75 cent service fee-which I believe isn't allowed by the credit card companies.   Anyways, David gave a good review about the toppings but felt the crust was too thin to support the toppings.  New York Pizzeria must read David's reviews because the crust I had, on both pizzas, held up very well.

Pepperoni and sausage.  The pepperoni and sausage were very good.  The sausage was huge and well seasoned.  They were the size of meatballs, hell, they were bigger than some meatballs I've had.  The cheese is good quality and there is a lot of it on the pizza.  I thought the sauce was bland and barely noticed it was on the pizza.  

Salami and mushrooms.  I think the mushrooms are fresh, not canned, and were spread throughout the pizza.  I didn't care for the salami, which was too bland and generic.

Service was good.  The people are nice and friendly.  The guy who brought us the pizzas to the table, was very nice.  When he came out earlier to take pizza to another table, he hold me my pizzas would be out in a few minutes.  This is very good customer service and something that is lacking at many restaurants!  They could take notes from New York Pizzeria.

Overall, I liked the pizza, though the sauce could be better and I wouldn't get the salami, and service is good.   I would go back to New York Pizzeria if I was in the area.

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.