King of Thai Cuisine

King of Thai Cuisine
6171 Mission Gorge Rd Ste 115
San Diego, CA 92120
619-640-9688

In the same strip mall as Kawaii Sushi, is King of Thai Cuisine.  It's a small restaurant with about 10 tables.  It was pretty empty when I went on a Saturday, about 5pm.  

Tofu fried rice, $8.95 onions, carrots peas, and cucumbers.  The tofu was well cooked outside and soft on the inside.  The rice and veggies were all well cooked.  But, this lack seasoning and flavor.  It was pretty bland.

Service was ok. 

I wouldn't go back to King of Thai Cuisine.  I'm sure there are much better Thai places in San Diego!

Mr. Spicy

Mr. Spicy
6618 Mission Gorge Rd
San Diego, CA 92120
619-546-6686

I was in San Diego over the weekend and found Mr. Spicy.  It's a small restaurant in a small strip mall.  There was no customers in the restaurant on a Saturday during the peak lunch time!  That's usually a good sign the food isn't that good.  I decided to give them a try and see if that theory holds.

Shrimp chow mein, $7.99.  There weren't that many shrimp in the chow mein, maybe 6 small sized shrimp.  You can only see one small piece of shrimp in the picture.  The noodles were cook perfectly.  The veggies, broccoli and carrots were well cooked.  I really liked the fact the broccoli was cut into small bite sized pieces.  But, this wasn't seasoned very well.  Simply more salt or soy sauce would have made this dish very good.  It was just ok.  A good amount of food for the price too.

Service is good.  Interesting at the host stand there is a sign-This restaurant has only one waitress.  Her English is not very good. Thanks for your understanding.  Apparently that waitress was off because the lady who took my order was nice and while her English was fine.

If I'm back in San Diego, I would give Mr. Spicy another try and I would order something spicy.  Hopefully that dish is well seasoned!

Mariscos El Puerto

Mariscos El Puerto
5599 Riverside Dr
Chino, CA 91710
909-628-2903

Today, David Allen review Mariscos El Puerto in Chino.  Last night I was craving fish tacos but didn't have time to go for a fish taco.  So, when I saw David's review I figured I should go to Mariscos El Puerto.

As you can see Mariscos El Puerto used to be a gas station in it's past life.  It's counter service and they have a bar, if you want to wash down your fish tacos with a beer.  I was surprised that the dining area was pretty large.  There are about 15-20 tables. 

Fish taco-$1.75 and Shrimp taco-$2.29

The first thing about these tacos is that the tortilla is made from corn.  I actually like corn tortillas better because they are firmer and hold up the toppings better than flour tortilla.  When I asked what the fish tacos were made from, I was give the answer a "white fish, sea bass." I'm pretty sure this is swai fish.  It was well cooked,  crunchy,  but there is a bit too much batter.  The shrimp didn't have as much batter as the fish, and there were about 3-4 medium sized shrimp in this taco.  All the toppings were fresh.  Overall I like the fish taco, really like the shrimp taco. 

I understand the fish tacos are $1 on Tuesdays.

Service is friendly and pretty good.  BUT, there was a group of three women in front of me when I arrived.  The must have taken 10 minutes to order their damn food!  I mean, how do they handle what I assume is a busy $1 fish taco lunch rush?  The lady taking the order was nice and friendly, but she didn't have a clue about what fish they use or didn't want to tell me!  She also took forever taking the orders of the 3 ladies in front of me.  The tacos came out quickly. 

I would go back to Mariscos El Puerto, I like the nostalgia of an old gas station turned into a restaurant.  I will go back on a Tuesday and see how busy they are and how quickly they get through the line!

Angelina’s Famous Pizza

Angelina’s Famous Pizza
12553 Alondra Blvd
Norwalk, CA 90650
562-921-6619

Angelina’s Famous Pizza  has been on my bucketlist of places to try since 2011.  So, I was near Norwalk and figured I should finally check this off my bucketlist.

Angelina’s Famous Pizza is a small restaurant with 4-6 tables in the front.  It was very busy when I was there, with many people calling in orders.  On their window is a sign that says they finished in 2nd place in 2014 at an International Pizza Competition, in the traditional category.  So a promising sign.

Small 2 topping pizza-mushrooms and jalapenos, $12.52 with tax.  The sauce was great!  Very well balance, nothing overpowering, and there was plenty of sauce on this pizza.  The toppings were fresh.  The crust was slightly too well done for my tastes.  If they had pulled the pizza from the oven a couple minutes earlier, this would be one great pizza.  It was still very good.  Now some people may complain about the high prices, but it is a good quality pizza. 

Service is pretty good.

I thought the pizza at Angelina’s Famous Pizza was very good and I would go back, and I would make a special trip for it.

Aji Limon

Aji Limon
7035 Lincoln Ave
Buena Park, CA 90620
714-229-1500

Aji Limon is a Peruvian restaurant in Buena Park.  Across Lincoln Ave. is China King, a fast Chinese restaurant I reviewed back in 2008, that is in the city of Anaheim!  Weird how city boundaries are set up!

I assume Ali Limon once housed a fast food restaurant.  Now, it is a very nice sit down restaurant that was pretty busy on a Saturday night.

Tallarin Saltado de Camaron, $15.95, Spaghetti sauteed with shrimp, onions and tomatoes.  While this dish was very good, the spaghetti was cooked perfectly, there were a lot of shrimp that were a bit overcooked, and had a very nice flavor.  I just don't think it is worth the price.  You can get shrimp chow mein from a Chinese restaurant from anywhere from $9-$12.  Ok, most shrimp chow mein doesn't have tomatoes, but come on, this is overpriced!

Service, I got this dish to go, was good.  The guy who took my order was nice and helpful.  My order came quickly.

While there is nothing wrong with Aji Limon, you will get a very good meal, I just don't think it is worth the price!

The Good Pizza-Closed

The Good Pizza
7929 Emerson Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90045
(310)-215-1883

The Good Pizza has been on my list of places to try since 2010.  I was nearby The Good and decided to finally drop in.  Located in a very dark strip mall that has a liquor store, cleaners, beauty salon, and a dance studio and across the street from a Vons. The Good Pizza has two tables inside and about four more outside.  I'm guessing they do a lot of delivery and take out.

18in with 5 toppings of your choice minus some prime toppings like steak; $23.  I got jalapenos, mushrooms, red onions, and spinach. 

The crust is awesome!  Very flavorful, great texture, soft yet chewy.  The cheese they use has a lot of moisture, so the pizza got a bit soggy.  The toppings were plentiful and fresh.  But, there wasn't that much sauce-which was pretty good, well balanced flavor. 

Service is good.  Nice friendly people.

Some people may complain about the high prices, but this is a larger pizza than most pizza places, and the quality is much better than any damn chain pizza, and blows some mom and pop pizza places away!

Mambo’s Cafe

Mambo’s Cafe
1701 Victory Blvd
Glendale, CA 91201
818-545-8613

I first heard of Mambo’s Cafe on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and it has been on my bucketlist of places to try since 2010.  Finally, I made it to Mambo's!

While their location is Glendale,  it's not the part of Glendale most people know.  It's on the order of Burbank and just south of the 5 freeway.  It has to be a former gas station in a former life, but a nice restaurant now.  A nice counter with about eight seats and a good sized dining room.  They have live jazz every Tuesday.

Camarones Al Ajillo (with Vegetable Rice & Sm. Salad) Shrimp Grilled, topped with Special Garlic Sauce, $16.95.  

While this was a very good dish- the vegetable rice had onions, corn, peas, and cooked in a broth that made it very flavorful, the seven medium sized shrimp were well cooked and the garlic sauce had a nice flavor, the portion size is terrible!  I mean even when ordering shrimp fried rice you get about a dozen shrimp and most places it's around $10.  Yes, I know I am comparing a Chinese dish with a Cuban dish.  But, I could do the same with a Peruvian dish-shrimp with noodles.

Service is pretty good.  While they came around often, were friendly, they never once asked how everything was!!

I wouldn't go back to Mambo's Cafe.  While the food was good, the portion size and price do not make this a good value.