The Tackle Box Southern Seafood & More-Closed

The Tackle Box Southern Seafood & More
17620 Bellflower Blvd
Unit B108
Bellflower, CA 90706
562-804-0736

I found out about The Tackle Box Southern Seafood & More when LA Eater published a story about them opening a store, after having a food truck for many years! It's a small galley style restaurant with the counter and the kitchen on the left and the dining room on the right side of the building.  It's dark with the only lights, the daylight from the windows.

Fish and Shrimp tackle box-$15 plus $10 for lobster, with mac and cheese.  You have your choice of fried or grilled seafood. I got the grilled lobster and the fried shrimp.  The shrimp was very good! Good flavor, and huge pieces of shrimp! The batter was very good, not as hard as other cornmeal batter.  This could have been great if this was made to order.  The shrimp was maybe warm, not hot.  But, fresh out of the fryer, this would be great!!

The lobster was good.  A bit on the small side, but tender and flavorful.  It was grilled with lemon butter.

Service is ok.  The lady taking the order is just going through the motions.  She isn't mean or unfriendly, but you know she doesn't want to be there!  They also charge extra, I think 45 cents if you use debit or credit cards!

I would go back for the shrimp and to try the fish, but I won't rush back. 

Szechwan Kitchen-Closed

Szechwan Kitchen
625 S Barranca Ave
Covina, CA 91723
626-598-4202

I've driven back the intersection of Barranca Ave. and Rowland St. many times.  I've noticed a few restaurants just south of the southwest corner, which has a gas station, but never ate at any of the restaurants- one Mexican restaurant and three other Chinese restaurants.  Szechwan Kitchen is a big restaurant with the front section the dining room.  There are booths along the windows, and tables in the middle of the restaurant.

Shrimp and broccoli- $13.99.  One of the very few restaurants that cuts the broccoli into smaller pieces!  They actually could add more broccoli to this dish.  There were a ton of shrimp.  This was a bit under seasoned. 

Shrimp chow mein, $8.99.  While the shrimp and broccoli was under seasoned, the shrimp chow mein was very salty!  A good amount of shrimp with the shrimp larger than the shrimp in the shrimp and broccoli. This could have been a good dish, if it wasn't so salty.

Service is slow.  While the food came quickly, they took a while to come back to the table, to check on things.  It must have been five minutes before we tracked down a server to get our check.  They were also slow to clear tables. 

I wouldn't go back to Szechwan Kitchen.  The food wasn't that good and service was slow.

Qdoba-Closed

Qdoba
1430 Mountain Ave, Ste 101
Duarte, CA 91010
626-305-0812

Qdoba Mexican Grill is a chain that started in San Diego.  There are only five locations in the LA area, and two are on college campuses!!  They are a competitor to Chipotle, and I think they are better!

Located in a strip mall with a huge electronics store and a bunch of car dealerships across the street, Qdoba is set up like all fast casual restaurants! You order at the counter and then find a seat in the large dining area.

Taco salad, $7.70- romaine lettuce, black beans, corn salsa, mango salsa, guacamole-which is free, and sour cream.  They make everything fresh and in house-well at least the salsa, meats, and beans.  I'm sure the taco shell bowl was made elsewhere.  But, overall a very good item.  Everything was fresh and well seasoned.  They actually drain the black beans, so they don't soak through the shell. 

Service is good.

I would go back to Qdoba, if I was in the area.  They should open more locations in the LA area.  Their food is better than Chipotle, by a mile!

Eat Love

Eat Love

Eat Love was at the Long Beach Vegan District at The Pike when I tried them.  But, I've also seen them at the North Hollywood Vegan Fest- where Lettuce Feast and Veggietize Me both set up!  I've been meaning to try their fried chicken and finally had a chance in Long Beach.

Self Love Bucket, $16- three pieces of chicken and fries, with one sauce- I picked honey mustard.  The chicken is house made with a wheat product.  You get three good sized pieces!  I bet the three pieces were close to 12 oz or more!  The outside is a nice crunchy flavorful batter.  If you used their batter with regular fried chicken, everybody would like it.  Now, inside, texture wise it's very much like chicken.  But, taste wise a bit too salty, and that's the chicken part, not the batter.  It resembles the taste of chicken but, you know it isn't real chicken.  The fries are nothing more than frozen fries from a bag.  While the honey mustard sauce was pretty good, it was only half filled.  They charge $1 for two sauces.

Service.  While friendly, way too slow.  People were waiting 20-30 minutes for their orders! 

I wouldn't go back to Eat Love. 

Broad Street Oyster Co

Broad Street Oyster Co sets up a Smorgasburg, which is near the Arts District.  Smorgasburg is a huge food court area, set into what used to be the produce warehouse.  They are open every Sunday from 10-4pm.  It can get very crowded!

Two places that had lobster rolls are now closed- Lobsta Shack and Knuckle & Claw.

Their lobster roll is very popular.  $20 served hot with melted butter, or served cold with mayo.  This was an outstanding lobster roll.  Tons of lobster meat, claw meat.  The roll was light and soft, but held up well to everything loaded onto the roll.  Maybe one of the best lobster rolls I've had!

Service is good.  The lady who took my order was nice.  One small thing, after I ordered, I was waiting for her to say the total, but she never did.  I had a $20 bill in one hand and my other hand had my wallet.  I was figuring there is tax.  I told her I thought there was tax.  This is my first time there.  Most people would figure there is tax added.  She shouldn't assume everybody knows the $20 menu price is what you pay, especially since the menu doesn't say tax included.  It's not that big of a deal, but they should just say that will be $20.

I would go back to Broad Street Oyster Co.!

Elios Wood Fire Pizza

Elios Wood Fire Pizza
Sunset Blvd between Coronado and Benton Way
Silver Lake
Find them on Instagram- @elios.wood.fire.pizza

I found out about Elios Wood Fire Pizza, after watch a You Tube video about them!  Elios sets up everyday, in Silver Lake, on Sunset Blvd. between Coronado and Benton Way.  They are in the parking lot of a liquor store- ideal to get something to drink while waiting for pizza.  While the parking lot, in general, is huge; Elios only gets to the far half.  There is meter parking on Sunset.  They usually set up at 6pm until the dough runs out or 10pm, whichever comes first.

They are a wood fire pizza, with their wood fire pizza over sitting on the back of a pickup truck. It's Neapolitan style pizza.

All pizzas start at $10 for cheese, then $1 for each topping.  I just got a cheese pizza.  It's a personal size, about what you get at Pizza Rev, Pieology, Project Pie, and Blaze.

The crust was great; good flavor, good texture with a nice char, and chewy soft texture.  They put a ton of cheese on the pizza.  The sauce was mild, not too tangy or sweet.  One thing I noticed, some pizza were burnt or charred too much.  That's because they only had one person working the pizza oven and the prep area.   So he may have been busy and didn't check the pizzas in the oven.  While I was eating, another person came and helped prep the pizza, so the pizza were more consistent.

Service is good.  They are nice, hard work, and the girl who took orders, let everybody know the pizza would take 15-20 minutes to be ready.

I would go back to Elios Wood Fire Pizza anytime.  This is great pizza!

Fat Burrito

Fat Burrito
9608 Baseline Rd
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
909-527-3588

Just when I thought the only places in the Los Angeles area for a puffy taco was at Arturo's Puffy Tacos and BAR Ama- which is a terrible, overpriced version of a puffy taco, David Allen wrote about Fat Burrito in Rancho Cucamonga.

So, I head out to Fat Burrito for lunch.  It's a small restaurant, on the corner of a strip mall.  You walk right into the counter where you order.  There are tables to the right of the counter.  It's a nice cozy atmosphere.

$3.55- Vegetarian puffy taco- Beans, rice, guacamole, lettuce, onions, cilantro, cotija cheese and sour cream.  The puffy tacos are fried to order.  My tortilla came out hot and flavorful.  The beans and rice were cooked well and seasoned perfectly.  All the other toppings were fresh!  A great example of a puffy taco.

Service was good.

If I had to choice between Arturo's and Fat Burrito, I think Arturo's is slightly better, but both are great choices for a puffy taco!