Dough Box Pizza & Bread-Moved

Dough Box Pizza & Bread
2734 N Eastern Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90032
323-346-6811

Back in 2016 I went to Dough Box Pizza & Bread, when they were a take out only business, using a commercial kitchen.  They would open up a brick and motor restaurant a few miles away.  Recently I read on LA Eater, they were going to close by the end of the year. 

I always take these closing notices with a grain of salt.  In late 2017 to early 2018 they wrote that Twoheys would going to close.  Then they wrote they are going to move to South Pasadena.  Yet, here we are in 2019 and they are still at that same location.  The South Pasadena building, the last time I went by, looks at least 2-3 months away from being able to serve the public.

Anyways,  Dough Box Pizza & Bread is really, still a take out place.  There is one small counter with no seats, for people to eat.

On their Instagram page, Dough Box had a large cheese pizza for $20, to celebrate National Cheese Pizza Day!  This pizza is called the Soto on their menu.  I liked the crust, well balanced, flaky, and held up to the toppings.  There was plenty of cheese.  But, the sauce is still too tangy for me tastes.  They need to balance the sauce with some sweetness!

Sicilian slice special $5- mushrooms, garlic, and red onions.

One thing I didn't know, was that Dough Box Pizza & Bread had Sicilian slices!  I decided to give a slice a try.  This was terrible.  The trust was too hard and the sauce was so tangy.  The toppings were fine.

Service was ok.  They told me after I ordered, it would take 1 hour and 10 minutes for the pizza to be ready.

I won't go back to Dough Box.  I only went to see their brick and mortar location.  But, the pizza isn't good. 

Fish King

Fish King
722 N Glendale Ave
Glendale, CA 91206
818-244-2161

A friend told me about Fish King in Glendale. She liked the grilled fish she got.  So, I decided to give them a try!  Fish King has three sections to the store/restaurant.  You walk into the fish market- you can get fresh seafood- to the left is their sushi department.  They make fresh sushi and rolls.  To the right is the galley- where you can get fried or grilled seafood.

There are tables at the sushi and galley.  It's a casual setup, with the food served in paper boats, and paper plates.

Calm chowder bowl- $5.95- Very thin and runny.  A decent amount of clams and potatoes.  There is no bacon in this clam chowder.  They could thicken the chowder and add a bit more seasoning.  A small portion for a bowl!

Crunch Jumbo shrimp- $3.25.  The thick batter is the same as the fish and crab cakes.  This was about 75% shrimp and 25% batter. Along with the other fried items I ordered, they weren't fried to order.  They were cooked and sitting under heat lamps. 

Crunch fried fish-$3.95- The fish used is cod.  But, this also lacked seasoning and the batter was too thick for the amount of cod.  I'm guessing 65% fish and 35% batter. 

Half order crab cakes- $5.50- I've never had deep fried,  I was expecting all batter, but there was a good amount of crab mixture.  This wasn't all crab, but a good amount of crab, not jumbo lump but claw meat.

Service was very unfriendly!  The lady who took my order never smiled and had a mean look on her face the entire time.  Not very welcoming.  I was shocked when she politely answered my questions. The food arrived in a good amount of time.

I may go back to King Fish to try their grilled fish and sushi. I wasn't impressed with any of their fried seafood items.

Munchies Vegan Diner-Moved

Munchies Vegan Diner
515 N Main St
Santa Ana, CA 92701
657-699-3076

Yes, another Vegan Big Mac review!  I heard about Munchies Vegan Diner on Instagram.  I decided to give them a try during the Labor Day Weekend, after reading parking is hard to find at times.

It's located in McFadden's Public Market, along with four other food stands, and an arcade/bar upstairs.  Parking wasn't bad, paid street parking, but on a regular weekend, it would be tough to find.

Big Much, $17 with fries.

Munchies Vegan Diner calls their Big Mac the Big Munch.  They use the Beyond Burger patties.  This was a huge burger, good flavor, the pickles stood out the most, but their sauce was kind of bland.  Fries were ok.

Service is good.

I gotta say that the Vegan Big Mac at Doomies is still my favorite vegan Big Mac, with Plant Power being second! Munchies Vegan Diner is only the second place I've tried the Vegan Big Mac, where they use a plant based burger-either the Beyond or Impossible, Veggietize Me- Impossible, is the other. 

Uncle John’s Cafe

Uncle John’s Cafe
834 S Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-623-3555

I found out about Uncle John's Cafe on You Tube!  Uncle John's, located inside the Stillwell Hotell,  is part diner and part Chinese restaurant.  You can get both menus from open to close, which is 3pm.  At 5pm, they became Downtown LA's answer to Boiling Crab, it becomes a Cajun seafood place.  I knew this would be Americanized Chinese food.

The restaurant is a small galley-like setup- with tables in the front, a counter at the back, and the kitchen in the far back.  It's got an updated decor.

Spicy Shrimp lunch special- $13.50. This was terrible.  I originally order kung pao shrimp, but got this spicy shrimp instead.  I wasn't going to wait and said it's fine.  This is just an orange chicken sauce with shrimp.  The sauce was bland with little flavor.  The shrimp was deep fried and I'm betting it was frozen.  The rice was the best part of this dish. 

Shrimp fried rice- $10. As you can see, they put a ton of soy sauce into the rice.  There are green onions, and eggs in this.  A bit salty, but overall average.  I've had better, I've had worse.

Shrimp chow mein-$11.  Large pieces of onion, some cabbage, and about six medium sized shrimp were in this dish.  It was too greasy for me. I would rate this average, again.

Service was good.

I wouldn't go back to Uncle John's Cafe, for the Chinese food.  I am going to go back for their seafood. 

Update August 31, 2019

Butterfly fried shrimp, with lemon pepper fries, $12. This was frozen butterflied shrimp.  Some pieces looked as though they stuck together while frying.  Nothing special, but there were about 8-10 pieces of shrimp.  The fries were bland and flavorless! 

Shrimp with mild house sauce- mixture of Cajun, lemon pepper, and garlic butter sauces- $15/lb. The shrimp were fine, the sauce was pretty good, the garlic butter stood out the most. 

Service is good.

I was surprised when I walked in, there was nobody in the restaurant.  A group of three people came in about a minute after me.  Then two people came in about 10 minutes later.  Maybe people haven't gotten the word that Uncle John's Cafe has a seafood boil at night.  Or, since this was Labor Day weekend, everybody was going out of town!  I would go back for the seafood boil.  I thought the shrimp was fine.  I wouldn't touch the fried shrimp again.

Hail Mary Pizza

Hail Mary Pizza
3219 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323-284-8879

After going to PoeWow Pizza , after seeing it on LA Eater's list of the 22 Essential Pizza in LA, I decided to go to another pizza restaurant on the list- Hail Mary Pizza, this is number 12 on the list.  Pizza of Venice, Triple Beam, Grimaldi's, Prime Pizza, DeSano Pizza Bakery, Settebello Pizzeria, Vito's, Pizzeria Mozza,  Casa Bianca, and my favorite pizza in LA- Village Pizzeria!  Only ten more places to go!!

Margherita pizza $12- This was a 13in pizza. If some of this pizza wasn't burnt, this would have been a very good pizza.  But, the burnt pieces and a little too much olive oil ruined it for me.  Fresh ingredients, good crust- the parts that weren't brunt.  But, if you're going to be on the 22 Essential list, you can't make this mistake.  I would much rather go to Elios Wood Fire Pizza!

Service is good.

Like I said, if they didn't burn some of the crust, this was be a good pizza.  But, they got only one chance, and I won't return.

Update August 31, 2019

Ok, I know I said I won't return.  But, Hail Mary has $2 slices of their square pizza from open to 2:30pm.  So, I got two slices, and since I was in the area, I gave them a try.  No, no, and NO!

Again, that same burnt crust, and a weird tangy taste that just ruined this pizza.  You can get a better and bigger slice of pizza at Costco!!

I will not be going back to Hail Mary Pizza again!

Superior Wok

Superior Wok
165 S Hacienda Blvd
City of Industry, CA 91745
626-435-3097

I was going to Kim Tar, but then I noticed that the Teddy's Tacos building has been torn down.  As I walked over I noticed Superior Wok, which is near Superior Grocery store.  So, I decided to give them a try. The interesting thing is that Kim Tar and Superior Wok both have City of Industry addresses, but Teddy's Tacos has a Hacienda Heights address-all three are within a 25 yard radius of each other!

Anyways, Superior Wok is your regular steam table Chinese restaurant.  They have more seafood choices than other steam table Chinese restaurants.  The steam table is in the back, with tables in the front part of the restaurant.  

One item combo ($5.39) with chow mein and fried rice with shrimp and vegetables ($1.75 up charge) The chow mein was good, with cabbage and soy sauce.  The fried rice was clumpy, they need to use day old fried rice. 

The veggies were good, with a nice crunch and good sauce.  The shrimp, you get six medium sized shrimp, was ok.  Not as fresh, and they were mushy. 

Service is good.

I wouldn't go back to Superior Wok.  If I'm going to pay an upcharge, the seafood better be damn good.  This came up short.

IKEA

IKEA Food Court
848 S Barranca Ave
Covina, CA 91723
626-732-4532

While I was looking at You Tube videos that reviewed the Impossible Whopper at Burger King, I noticed a video review of the IKEA food court!  So, I decided to give them a visit. Before I continue, I can't believe there are 15-20 minute reviews of the Impossible Whopper on You Tube.  Some people just love to hear themselves talk!  About 90% of those videos are BS and really have nothing to do with the Impossible Whopper.

Anyways, I went to the IKEA food court, where they have hot dogs, soda, pizza, and some other treats.  IKEA also has a dining room where they serve salmon, meatballs- both vegan and with meat, and other items.  I didn't go there. 

Veggie hot dogs- 75 cents each. They come with mustard and some cabbage, but I asked for mustard only.  This was shocking good!  Good flavor and texture on the veggie dogs.  I'm not sure if they are vegan, but man a good veggie hot dog.

Cheese pizza slice, $1.75.  Ok I actually saw the worker take a whole pizza out of the freezer, take off the wrapping and put it into the oven!  The one in the oven already, he actually forgot to take off the cardboard, so he had to put the pizza back into the oven!  Anyways, I waited maybe five minutes for the pizza.  It was fine.  Look, I'm not expecting a great pizza.  It was certainly better than that chain papa john's, owned by that racist idiot.  But, IKEA's pizza isn't as good as Costco pizza.

Service is good.

I would go back to IKEA for the hot dogs, and will try their dining room items. But, I'll pass on the pizza.

PowWow Pizza-Closed

PowWow Pizza
4085 Atlantic Ave Ste B
Long Beach, CA 90807
562-283-0152

After going to Pizza of Venice, after seeing it on LA Eater's list of the 22 Essential Pizza in LA, I decided to go to another pizza restaurant on the list- PowWow Pizza, in Long Beach.  PowWow makes 11 of the 22 place on that list, that I have gone to!

Apparently the own of PowWow is from Cambodia, and some of the pizza has Cambodian influences.  There is also a Korean, Indian, and a Filipino influenced pizzas on the menu.

PowWow is in corner unit, with a semi circular front counter-where you place your order.  There are regular and high top tables inside, and four tables outside.  They have a pizza oven that is blasting like crazy!  It's a few blocks north of the still open, and apparently thriving Bake and Broil!

One topping medium pizza-$10, with mushrooms.  This was a great pizza!  Plenty of gooey cheese, nice rich flavorful sauce, and a decent amount of mushrooms.  The crust with dense, chewy, and had good flavor.  It held up to all the toppings like a champ!

Service was good. I could see they were busy, not only with customers in the restaurant, but online and phone orders!  The pizza oven was firing the entire time I was there.  The two people working were going non stop filling the orders.  While the guy who took my order didn't give me a time when my pizza was going to be ready- he did apologize for the wait when he brought my pizza to my table.

I would go back to PowWow Pizza any time!

Pizza Of Venice

Pizza Of Venice
2545 N Fair Oaks Ave
Altadena, CA 91001
626-765-9636

LA Eater had a list of the 22 Essential Pizza in LA.  I have been to nine of the places listed.  Triple Beam, Grimaldi's, Prime Pizza, DeSano Pizza Bakery, Settebello Pizzeria, Vito's, Pizzeria Mozza,  Casa Bianca, and my favorite pizza in LA- Village Pizzeria!  So, I decided to make it an even ten and go to Pizza of Venice! 

Located in a small strip mall with a liquor store and a beauty salon.  It's a small place, and I'm betting it was a bar before.  The kitchen is in the back room, and there is a counter in front of the kitchen.  There is counter seating throughout the front dining area.

Cheese pizza- $6.  The pizza comes in a 10in size.

As the LA Eater story mentioned, the pizza aren't a perfect square.  But, they are damn good!  Nice thin crust.  The sauce is flavorful and they use a good quality cheese.  A very good pizza and I'm shocked I never heard of Pizza of Venice until now.  They have been open since at least 2013!

Service is good!

I would go back to Pizza of Venice anytime!

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

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!

Seasons Cafe-Closed

Seasons Cafe
23415 Golden Springs Dr
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
909-860-8646

Seasons Cafe opened up where Thai Diamond Bar BQ used to be.   I believe at least two other restaurants opened in this space before Seasons Cafe came in.

It's a small restaurant with booths on the left side and tables seating on the right.  They also serve sushi, which is half priced and if you bought two, you got one free!

It wasn't that crowded when I got there around 1pm.  Maybe I missed the lunch rush?

Shrimp chow mein- $7.35.  Maybe six pieces of shrimp throughout this dish.  Good flavor, the noodles were cooked perfectly. 

Shrimp fried rice- $6.99.  Made with shrimp, carrots, and peas this was good, if a bit under seasoned dish.  Just a touch more salt would have been perfect.  Again a small number of shrimp, only 6, but everything was well cooked.

Service is good.

Seasons Cafe is pretty good.  I may try their sushi, but with all the specials, I have a feeling the sushi isn't selling well.  But, the Chinese food is good!