Lucky Boy Drive-In

Lucky Boy Drive-In
640 S Arroyo Pkwy
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-793-0120

Lucky Boy was listed by LA Eater as one of the best places to get a breakfast burrito.  Lucky Boy serves their breakfast burrito the entire day.

It's one of those greasy spoon type restaurants.  It's not really a diner, but then again it's not fast food.  There are some hidden gems in these types of restaurants.  Lucky Boy is cross the street from My Vegan. They have some outdoor seating on their covered patio.  There is the dining room inside.  You can order at the window outside or inside. 

Breakfast burrito-hash browns, eggs, cheese and choice of ham, bacon, sausage or chorizo, $7.58.  There is a ton of unseasoned hash browns, eggs, and cheese.  I know most people order with meat, and a salty bacon or sausage, may make up for the lack of seasoning on the hashbrowns, but they need to add seasoning!!  A very bland dish.  Another thing, I got this within a few minutes of ordering.  But, it wasn't hot!  As if the ingredients were sitting in a warmer and put together.  Maybe, they are cooked to order during breakfast hours. 

Service was good.

I wouldn't go back to Lucky Boy for their breakfast sandwiches.  Yes, the portion is huge, but very bland, and I doubt it was cooked to order.

Sake Sake Sushi

Sake Sake Sushi
289 S Mountain Ave
Upland, CA 91786
909-939-3400

Why are there two pictures of Sake Sake Sushi?  The first picture is their current location, which opened up in early November, 2018.  The second picture was their original location, that was closed down so this shopping center, could get an Aldi grocery store.  The original location was right next to Michael's, and on the south side of CVS.  Now, they are on the north side of CVS.

This shopping center has many restaurants that I reviewed, the now closed China Gate, San Biagio's Pizza, and Handel's Ice Cream- where Wednesday nights are $1.35 scoops!!

The lunch time all you can eat is $21.95.  The only rules are 90 minutes to order, you must eat the rice, and any leftover pieces are charged at $1.50 per piece.

Shrimp tempura-Crunchy outside, but mushy inside, a frozen shrimp tempura that needed more time cooking.

Calamari tempura- it seems they cooked this in two batches.  Some were burned or overcooked.  Others were cooked perfectly.  After eating one of the burned pieces, I stuck to the perfectly cooked pieces.

Seared tuna, shrimp, and tuna.  Good sized pieces, fresh

Rock N Roll- salmon, tuna, and albacore crabmeat, crabstick, avocado- Outside-cucumber and ponzu.  Outstanding roll, fresh and good flavor combinations!

Crunch roll-crabmeat and shrimp tempura inside, crunchy outside.  Most of the shrimp tempura they used in the rolls were small or not that fresh.  One piece has the tail with very little shrimp. 

Shrimp lover: Crabmeat and shrimp tempura inside. Outside- shrimp and avocado.  A very good roll!!

Shrimp Tempura hand roll- just a ton of crabmeat.  The shrimp tempura was ok.

Scallop Tempura roll- crabmeat, avocado, cucumber.  Outside-scallop tempura.  The scallop tempura was awesome!!  There are a ton of them, and all cooked perfectly!

Crunch Rainbow Roll-Salmon, tuna, albacore outside. Crabmeat, crabstick, shrimp tempura inside.  This had a bit too much sauce, but a good dish.

Service was pretty good.  One thing, they total came out to $23.65.  But, when I signed the credit card the card was charged $23.95.  Now, 30 cents isn't a big deal, I did take away that 30 cents from his tip.

Sake Sake Sushi was pretty good, but not as good as some other all you can eat sushi restaurants.  I won't go back.

by CHLOE. Silver Lake

by CHLOE. Silver Lake
2520 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
424-675-7617

by Chloe is a vegan restaurant that is attached to the Whole Foods 365 store in Silver Lake.  It's a fast casual restaurant with a few tables spread around the restaurant.  You can walk directly into the 365 store, without going outside again.  Chloe has a few locations, some in the northeast and in Europe.  I believe this is their only 

The Classic Burger, $9.95.TEMPEH-LENTIL-CHIA-WALNUT PATTY, LETTUCE, TOMATO, ONION, PICKLES, BEET KETCHUP, SPECIAL SAUCE, POTATO BUN.

I didn't mean to shout, but Chloe's website had the descriptions in all caps.  I'm too lazy to write type all that.  Anyways, a damn good burger.  Very good flavor, the potato bun held up well to the patty and toppings.  

Large Mac & Cheese, $8.95. SWEET POTATO-CASHEW CHEESE SAUCE, SHIITAKE BACON, ALMOND PARM.  The shiitake back threw me off, because it tasted like real bacon, a bit less smoke flavor, but still very good.  The cheese sauce was good and the huge shells, cooked perfectly, were coated with the liquid gold.

Service was good.

I would go back to Chloe again!

Corazon Urban Kitchen-Closed

Corazon Urban Kitchen
1637 N Garey Ave
Pomona, CA 91767
909-469-0012

Both, David Allen, and, Eating on Garey, reviewed Corazon Urban Kitchen. If you read those two reviews, you know the history of Corazon.  A quick recap; Corazon opened in downtown Pomona and closed within a few months due to a dispute with their landlord.  They opened up near the Pomona Valley Hospital.  I decided to give them a try, after a friend said we should go to lunch.  So, in a very raining day, we headed over to Corazon.

Parking is terrible, as mentioned in the two reviews.  We drove through the alley, just south of the building, and into a neighborhood.  The signs said only four hour parking, and a street sweeping sign, so we parked there.

Chips and salsa, very good, came out quickly after we were seated.  They had lunch specials and we got there during their taco specials!. 

Sopes lunch special- $7.99, with rice and beans.  They were kind enough to substitute veggies instead of meat.  There were spinach, radishes, red onions, tomatoes, celery, green bell peppers, and cilantro, topped with creama.  This was good, but the sopes were hard and dry, even with all the veggies on top!

Fish taco- $2 during taco special, which is Thursday from 2pm to about 6pm.   They used tilapia and it's fried.  But, this was a dry, bland fish taco.  They either forgot to put the crema and/or salsa.  The fish had a good crunch, the veggies were fresh.

Shrimp taco-$2.50 during taco special.  The shrimp are grilled and had a ton of flavor.  This was very good and much better than the fish taco.

Service is good.

I wasn't blown away with Corazon, but it's offers good portion lunch specials, at a good price.

Plant Power Fast Food

Plant Power Fast Food
450 W Stuart Ave Ste D 130
Redlands, CA 92374
909-406-1655

I had the vegan Big Mac from Doomie's Home Cookin', which was great, and Organix, which was only ok.  I heard about Plant Power Fast Food, a San Diego based plant based, fast food chain, that is just starting to expand.  There are a couple locations in San Diego and they will soon open in Long Beach.  This Redlands location opened in August of 2018. 

Vegan Big Mac-$8.95- two all vegan patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles on a sesame seed bun.  This was great!  The patties, I'm guessing a soy mix, was great-tasted just like beef.  The sauce, and cheese were spot on.  Good bun and fresh veggies.  Not only is this less expensive than the vegan Big Mac at Doomies-which does include fries, but at $18, it is much better tasting.

Service is good.

I would go back to Plant Power anytime!! I can't wait until they open in Long Beach, and hopefully they will open all over Los Angeles!

Happy Noodle

Happy Noodle
4815 El Monte Ave
Temple City, CA 91780
626-747-8143

I found out about Happy Noodle a few months ago, and finally got around to trying it.  Located next door to a liquor store and an apartment complex.  It's a small restaurant, that takes up two spaces in this strip mall.  You walk into the lobby, and the kitchen is to your left and the dining area is on your right.  There are about 10-12 tables, most of which were empty I got there, but packed within 30 minutes of being there.

Pan fried vegetable dumplings- $7.50.  This was terrible!  Visually, it doesn't look good with that black film  Inside the dumpling was chives, glass noodles, and eggs!  So, if you're a vegan, you can't have this dumpling!  But, this lacked flavor. 

Stir fried shrimp- $11.50.  As bad as the vegetable dumplings were, this stir fried shrimp was awesome!! Snap peas, red bell peppers, and fungus in a light sauce.  The shrimp was medium size and plentiful!  After a taking a couple spoonfuls, I counted the amount of shrimp and got 10!!  There must have been 12-15 shrimp in this dish.  Great flavor and well worth the price!

Shrimp chow mein, $7.95.There were a good number of shrimp, and the noodles were cooked perfectly.  Carrots, snap peas, mushrooms, and onions filled out this dish.  A very good example of shrimp chow mein!

Service was good.

I would go back to Happy Noodle. 

Pizzeria Luigi

Pizzeria Luigi
2121 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104
619-294-9417 

I heard about Pizzeria Luigi on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  Since I was in the San Diego area, I decided to try it.  Pizzeria Luigi has three locations, Golden Hill location being the original. The only other pizza I've tried in San Diego was Bronx Pizza.

It's a huge place, with some outdoor seating, a bar area; complete with games like fusball and shuffleboard, and the dining area on the right side of the building. 

18in pizza with spinach and mushrooms, $17 plus $1.50 per vegetable topping.The crust was amazing- very firm and great texture.  You could load the pizza up with a ton of toppings and the crust was still hold up.  The sauce was well balance, and full of flavor.  The toppings were fresh and plentiful.  I thought this pizza was great!! 

Service is good. 

If I was in San Diego, I would go back to Pizzeria Luigi any time!!

Delicious Pizza

Delicious Pizza
5419 W Adams Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90016
323-424-3014

Delicious Pizza was listed as one of the top 17 places in 2017 in Los Angeles to get a slice, by Eater.   I tried a few other places on that list; The Coop, Pie Life Pizza in Pasadena, Pizzanista, Pellicola, Joe's Pizza, and Prime Pizza.

Delicious Pizza is located in a barren part of Adams Blvd.  There isn't much around here.  It's almost like the oasis in the middle of the desert.  The front entrance has bar and some tables.  To the right is their dining room which is separated by a wall.  Interesting that they serve coffee drinks in addition to beer and wine!.

 Large, 16in, cheese pizza-$16.  The crust is very firm, great texture, and will hold up to any amount of toppings.  This was just a bit too well done, but a good tasting pizza.  Sauce has some nice flavor, and there were plenty of cheese.  If they had taken this pizza out maybe two minutes sooner, this would have been a great pizza. 

Service is good.

I would go back to Delicious Pizza again!

Sushi Roll Land-Closed

Sushi Roll Land
12959 Peyton Dr Ste B
Chino Hills, CA 91709
909-628-4700

Sushi Roll Land is located next door to 85C Bakery, which used to house City Broiler.  Before Sushi Roll Land this space used to be a tofu and a wraps restaurant.  Sushi Roll Land opened back in May of 2018.  There are about 20 tables spread throughout the restaurant.

It's and all you can eat pl;ace, $21.95 for lunch, and $25.95 for dinner.  There are some rules, 70 minutes from the time your first order is served.  They also limit the number or nigri sushi to 10 and two rolls in your first order. But, they didn't enforce those rules when I was there.  I ordered 3-4 rolls my first order. 

Overall I found the sushi to be good quality.  Many rolls are named after cities and stores in the area, there is a Wendy's, Chase, and a Pomona and Chino Hills rolls.  The portions, especially the nigri sushi are big, except for the shrimp.  Otherwise, the fish are about the size of sushi you order off the menu.  Nigri sushi is one piece.  This is much better than the other all you can eat sushi in Chino Hills-Kiku Sushi!  I was impressed, and I would go back. 

I posted pictures and if I wrote something if it really stood out or was bad.

Yellowtail, shrimp, and tuna nigri sushi.

Shrimp tempura- This was a premade frozen shrimp tempura that was fried.  The outside was crunchy, but the inside was very mushy.  That means the oil was too hot and the outside cooked faster than the inside.

Fried Calamari-An interesting dish.  I liked this, especially with the onions.  I think it was frozen, but the calamari wasn't rubbery.  Good crunch and flavor.  I know it's all you can eat, but they could make this a bigger portion.

Tiger roll- shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber, crunchy flakes.

Crab stick nigri sushi and halibut.

Spicy tuna roll and cucumber roll.

Vegetable roll-avocado, cucumber, deep fried asparagus, tufu, and lettuce.  I ate two pieces before I realized I didn't take a picture.

In N Out Shrimp- Shrimp tempura, crab, avocado, and cucumber.  Outside shrimp, avocado and eel sauce.  I loved this roll.  Very fresh shrimp on the outside!!

Mexican roll- spicy crab and avocado.

The Pizza Plant

The Pizza Plant
55 S Madison Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101
424-341-1969

The Pizza Plant is located in a space called Kitchen United.  It's like a food court, where are a bunch of restaurants that share the back of the house-the kitchen space, and the front of the house is a common dining area.  I noticed Canter's Deli, a Cuban restaurant, and Mama Musubi, sharing this space.  They do not accept cash, it's all plastic.  You order at a kiosk.  Then somebody calls out your order.  It takes some getting used to.

The Pizza Plant is a vegan pizza place- just like Cruzer Pizza, it seems like pizzas come in three sizes- a 10 in round, a 14 in thin pan, and a 24in that you can share.

The 36% • Everything But The Hog Classic House-made Pepperoni, Plant Craft Cashew Mozzarella, San Marzano Marinara, Oregano-Thin crust pan style-$14.  This was terrible!  A complete waste of money and calories.  The crust was too crispy, had no flavor, and was .  The sauce was too bland, no flavor.  The pepperoni was like eating rubbery, chewy, pieces of flavorless gum.  The cheese was the only thing that was half way good.

Service- The only service is some person calling your name, when your order is ready.  He was nice and he did answer some questions about what other restaurants were part of this Kitchen share.

No reason for me to go back to The Pizza Plant.

Corky’s Kitchen & Bakery

Corky’s Kitchen & Bakery
2051 Rancho Valley Dr
Pomona, CA 91766
909-620-9200

Corky’s Kitchen & Bakery is an area chain, that's open 24 hours a day.  Their breakfast and lunch menu is served all day, but the dinner menu goes from about 3pm to 10pm.

The Corky’s Kitchen & Bakery in Pomona is located in a fairly new shopping center, with almost every kind of food you want.  The center where Corky's has a Golden Corral, a  pizza place, a Dickey's BBQ, a couple fast food places.  Across the street is a Target, and yet more restaurants including Panda Express.

I actually went to Corky's twice.  One time for breakfast and the other time for dinner.

Mushroom and cheese omelette-$11.49  This is a huge portion, 5 eggs, a good amount of cheddar cheese and fresh mushrooms.  A good, solid dish.

The hash browns were cooked perfectly on one end-perfectly brown, but the other end could have used a few more minutes on the grill.  But, the hash browns were not seasoned at all.  What professional cook forgets to season their hashbrowns?

Service during breakfast was ok.  The server never smiled, wasn't the friendliest, but, I didn't lack for anything.

Shrimp and chips -$13.19.  Eight frozen butterflied shrimp, four pieces that stuck together, so one side wasn't browned.  But, I'm not expecting fresh shrimp from a diner.  The steak fries weren't seasoned, but cooked perfectly.

Service for dinner was ok.  I had two servers, one must have went on a break.  I realize I was eating at the counter, but I won't want to hear the servers complaining about their hours, or boss.  Do that away from me.

I think some people would find Corky's a bit pricey, but for the amount of food you get, I think it's worth it.  You won't leave hungry.  I would go back, but I still can't believe the cooks don't season the potatoes!!

Borreguitas BarExpress

Borreguitas BarExpress
977 S Garey Ave
Pomona, CA 91766
626-391-0700

David Allen wrote about Borreguitas BarExpress a few weeks ago. It's a small place, where you either order at the counter, if the order is to go, or you take seat if you're eating there.  I would say there are about 6-8 tables.

It's so new they do not have a sign installed yet.  Just a banner over the signage of the business they replaced.

Vegan burrito with asada soy meat, refried bean, onion, and cilantro-$6.99.  This tasted more like a bean burrito because there was a very small amount of asada soy meat.  The beans were fine, the tortilla tasted as though it was made fresh, the onions and cilantro were fine.  I just wish there was more soy meat.

Service was good.  But, if you pay with plastic, they charge you a $1 fee, which violates the agreements businesses have with the credit card companies.  They also don't tell you about the $1!

Borreguitas BarExpress is ok.  There aren't many vegan restaurants in Pomona, but I can get a bean burrito from many other places in Pomona.  I want a vegan option with actual a good amount of vegan meat. Not a tiny portion of vegan meat, and the rest something I can get at any Mexican place in the area.  Matter of fact, there is a Mexican restaurant right door.

Avocadamama

Avocadamama
Highland Park Vegan Night

When I had Cena Vegan, I wanted to try Avocadamama too.  But, they weren't set up that night, or at least I didn't see them. 

Avocadamama is vegan pasta, with some great sauces.

Og Mac-$8, original cheese over rigatoni pasta topped with bread crumbs. The rigatoni is a bit thicker and larger than the rigatoni I've eaten before.  But, the sauce is outstanding.  Good flavor and very smooth.  But, the bread crumbs were too much.  The crumbs were very hard and tough to chew.

I would get this next time, without the bread crumbs.

Service is good.

I would go back to Avocadamama to try some of their other vegan pasta dishes.