Cafe Marly- Beverly Hills

A few weeks ago, GameBoy’s roommate (Beta), his friend Enchanted Forest, and my friend M joined GameBoy and I on our usual Sunday brunch at Café Marly. Despite its location in the heart of Beverly Hills, it’s surprisingly charming and homey, and not too stuck up. In addition, parking at the meters is free on Sundays.

I ordered the Brie Sandwich, which comes with either a green salad or French fries (Additional charge). I chose the fries, which come sprinkled nicely with dill, and a cute container of mayonnaise. There's also ketchup, for those people that have not yet acquired the European taste for mayo with fries. Instead of my usual hot chocolate, I got coffee this time, having decided I needed an caffeine boost later.

GameBoy got his usual, two eggs over medium with white toast and extra-crispy bacon. The eggs come with yummy breakfast potatoes and a nice fruit selection of strawberries, kiwi, and pineapple. I especially like it when he orders this, since I get to eat his kiwi! GameBoy, of course, got his usual coffee black.

M ordered a combination of half a sandwich, green salad, and a cup of French onion soup. Even though they soup is recommended by a newspaper review on the wall, M pronounces it too salty, which reinforces my prior negative opinion of it. It may be authentic, but to me, it’s just not good. M enjoyed his half of a pan bagnat, which looked like a tuna sandwich to me. I’m not usually a big fan of anything with cooked tuna, preferring it as sashimi, but it is supposed to be authentic, so perhaps I’ll try it sometime soon. He washed this down with first an Orangina, then a mimosa.

Since Beta and Enchanted Forest arrived later, I forgot what they ordered, but they did seem to enjoy it. Another good dining experience!

Date of visit: 3/18/07

Cafe Marly

9669 Santa Monica Boulevard

Beverly Hills, CA 90210-4303

310-271-7274

Bay Cities Italian Deli- Santa Monica

It was a beautiful and sunny day, so GameBoy and I decided to skip our usual Sunday morning brunch spot, Café Marly in Beverly Hills, in favor of Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica. I first heard about this place from one of GameBoy’s friends, PonytailedGuy, whose tastes sometimes coincide with my own, so I was curious to try this “landmark” eatery down near the beach.

Unfortunately, the rest of LA decided to take advantage of the sunshine, and our ride down Santa Monica Boulevard was slow and frustrating. Bay Cities also turned out to be incredibly crowded, with families and 20-somethings fighting for parking, and then jockeying for a place to stand and wait. The small lot was full, so we found parking about a block down on the street and made our way inside. Pushing past the people milling about, we found the deli counter, took a number, and located a menu to study.

The neon green menus were laminated, and taped thoughtfully to the glass displaying the meats at the counter, at the perfect height for leisurely perusal. With my knowledge of Italian deli meats limited to a few charcuterie plates, I quickly narrowed it down to either GameBoy’s choice, the Godmother sandwich, which was a standard mix of proscuitto and capricola, or a soppressatta sandwich. I decided on a large Godmother, and communicated this to GameBoy. However, it turned out later that he had misunderstood me, and I ended up with the soppressatta. Luckily, we agreed to split our sandwiches, so we could both try the large Godmother ($7.65) and the regular soppressatta ($5.90).

The reason the wait for Bay Cities is so long on weekends is that they make each sandwich to order. Oddly, GameBoy noticed that the option of “The Works” actually wasn’t cheaper than getting each condiment individually. We thus determined that he would order each of our preferred condiments separately.

Having finalized our order, I then wandered around the rest of the market, which had a promising selection of Italian foodstuff, unsurprisingly. I took special note of the burrata, which was cheaper than Bristol Farms’ price, and the fact that they carried Cowgirl Creamery cheeses, a cheesemaker I am eager to try. Unfortunately, our plan at that point was to go the beach afterwards, so I was forced to put any cheese buying off to another day. I also noticed that they have a fax and online order area, which seemed to be much faster at producing sandwiches, and made a note to order before we drive down next time.

After a fairly long wait, especially for me with my cute but somewhat painful brown heels, we got our sandwiches, grabbed some drinks (Jones root beer, $1.29, for him, Le Village sparkling pink lemonade, $1.98, for me), paid for our sandwiches at the register, and headed outside. We found seating at a table on the side of the deli. The seating is a bit unusual there. You sit on narrow concrete ledges that have been placed as benches near the tables. This, I guess, functions to prevent homeless people from sleeping there at night, and to prevent chairs from getting stolen.

Anyway, all that waiting made GameBoy and I pretty hungry, so we eagerly dug in. Unfortunately, the bread, apparently a signature item, was hard, making it diffiuclt to bite into the sandwich. GameBoy and I agreed that the bread’s hardness forced the fillings out along the sides, making it more messy and less enjoyable. The sopressatta was nice and spicy, and the Godmother proved to be fair as well. GameBoy preferred the Godmother, and I the soppressatta, so after a few test bites of each other’s sandwiches, we went back to our initial orders. They were both good sandwiches, but we left thinking that they were a bit over-hyped for what they were. I am curious, however, to try the cheeses and other charcuterie they had available. I think I’d prefer to make my own sandwiches next time, though.

On a side note, GameBoy and I both felt slightly ill a few hours later, and the possibility that Bay Cities may be responsible for my stomach cramps has definitely made a return trip less of a priority.

Date of visit: 3/11/07

Bay Cities Italian Deli and Bakery

1517 Lincoln Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA 90401

(310) 395-8279

Fax (310) 395-1575

Tues-Sat 9-7, Sun 9-5, closed Mondays

HOURS:
Tues-Sat 9-7 Sunday 9-6 CLOSED MONDAYS

Honda-Ya, Tustin

GameBoy and I decided to head over to one of our Orange County favorites, Honda-Ya, which is located in Old Town Tustin. It's also notable because it's the first, and best, restaurant that I've discovered while surfing food blogs. We parked, then dashed to sign outselves up on the clipboard outside the front door. Though it was relatively late- around 9:30pm- the place was packed. The list gives you the option of sitting in the tatami room and at the bar, in addition to the tables. Since it was cold out, we checked everything, and huddled with the others out in the cold. Honda-Ya's clientele on this Friday night was young, Asian, and very hip. I felt a little out of place in my office attire, but was very glad for my black coat, especially when I saw GameBoy shivering in his gray sweatshirt. After about a 30 minute wait, we were seated, surprisingly, at a table for four.

Immediately, I grabbed the pencil on the table and filled out the yakitori menu. It lists a variety of items you can get grilled on wooden skewers, all for about $3 a skewer. GameBoy, a bit of a Jack Sprat, chose items without fat- chicken hearts, chicken wing, and quail eggs. I, on the other hand, have no such qualms, and went with chicken hearts, chicken gizzards, quail eggs, shitaki mushrooms, and pork belly.

Having made our selections, we handed the waiter our order, ordered some hot sake, and then turned to the regular menu, which features both Japanese pub (izakaya) small plates and larger Japanese dishes, such as ramen, sushi, and teriyaki. Having ordered more skewers, I went for broiled squid, while GameBoy chose the more substantial tempura dinner.

Though it sometimes takes a while for yakitori orders to show up, this time they appeared rapidly, and all at once. I eat the eggs first, since their flavor is the most mild. They really taste just like tiny hard-boiled eggs, except for the fact that grilling them gives them this nice, subtle smoky flavor.

I go for the pork belly first, which is a thin strip of meat threaded on a skewer. It tastes like bacon, only better, with each taste oozing with salty smoky flavor.

Next are the mushrooms, which, like the eggs, are fairly bland on their own, but yummy to eat in order to appreciate the flavor of the grilling process, and the special salt they shake on everything. Yum.

I go for the chicken hearts after that. The hearts were tiny but flavorful, and very different from the special hearts. GameBoy and I made the mistake of getting those one time, and to me the flavor is too, well, hearty. GameBoy and I stick with the regular hearts.

Finally, the last skewer is my favorite- chicken gizzards. GameBoy doesn't like the "Fatty" part of these, but I pop them in my mouth as one crunchy and chewy morsel. They are a bit bigger and chewier than the hearts, but with similar flavor.

I look up from the bliss of eating my yakitori sticks to find that GameBoy has already begun to dig into his miso soup, which comes with the meal. His tempura and my squid arrive. The squid is a whole, broiled squid that is cut horizontally into thin strips and drizzled with some sort of sauce that's a bit like unagi sauce. In any case, it tastes like how it sounds, and I munch it up happily.

GameBoy's tempura was not bad, but not spectacular, and the mountain of fried shrimp and veggies proves too much for him to eat. We leave, tummies full and happily toasty. Another Friday night ended early due to food coma, but it was worth it.

Date of visit: 3/9/07

Honda-Ya
556 El Camino Real
Tustin, CA
714-832-0081
Open 7 days, dinner only
5:30pm - 1am, last order at 12:30am

Metro Cafe- Costa Mesa

I met my new friend, OCBruinLawyer, at Metro Cafe for lunch, mostly because I only have an hour for lunch, and the Metro Cafe is located at the bottom of a mid-rise near where I work. It's a surprisingly small cafeteria-type place with sandwiches and burgers. OCBruinLawyer and I both get burgers (no onions) with fries. You pay at the register, then wait for your food to be finished. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be too good at letting you know when that is, as we ended up waiting for several minutes before he went up to the counter and asked, whereupon two styrofoam containers appeared with our food.

The burger was probably the worst I've had in a while, on the level of McDonald's in taste. The soggy bun was too big for the tiny patty, which appeared to be similar to the McDonald's QuarterPounder. It was drowning in mayo and some sauce, which dripped all over. Oddly, the fries were decent, and now that I think about it I can't figure out why I finished the burger and left the fries. I must have been distracted by the conversation.

In addition to the good conversation, I also had some bottled grapefruit juice by Langers, which was a nice change. Still, though, I'm not going back if I can help it.

Date of visit: 3/14/07

Metro Cafe
575 Anton Blvd , Costa Mesa 92626
714-957-3316

Orchid- Costa Mesa

My loyal dining companion, GameBoy, and I set off at 1 pm with one goal in mind: to eat lunch and return to work by 2 pm, sharp. We drove down Bristol, passing Paularino, searching for an Indian restaurant I thought I had read about. Instead, we found Orchid, a Persian restaurant with an $8.50 lunch buffet. With the clock ticking in the back of our minds, we quickly grabbed plates and hit the buffet.

It was a bit picked-over, which was not surprising given that it was a little past prime lunch hour and only partially-full. Nonetheless, there were still 3 types of rice (yellow, green, and white), something that looked like naan, something that looked liked a samosa, a chicken stew dish, an oxtail stew dish, something that looked like tandoori chicken, ground beef kabobs, hummus, and a parsley salad. I'm not sure why the food had a lot in common with Indian food, but I'm pretty sure it was a Persian place since it had Arabic writing.

In any event, I loaded up on a little of everything, then dug in. The tandoori chicken-like item was nice and juicy- better, in fact, than many versions of tandoori chicken I've had. The kebab was decent- not bad, but not spectacular. It may be that I just don't like ground beef kebabs. The oxtail stew was a surprising find for me, having only had oxtail stew as a Chinese dish. This oxtail was also cooked until juicy, but wasn't complimented with anything else, so while it was initally yummy to eat the tender meat, it got heavy and greasy-tasting on my second course. The chicken fared much better in this preparation, especially since it was given an extra kick by some sort of spicy sauce.

I've had parsley salad before, in a Persian restaurant on Westwood Boulevard up in LA, but the one offered by this buffet tasted particularly good. Its onions, tomatoes, and couscous were refreshing, especially given the heavy meat items I selected. Finally, I had the hummus, which was an overly-chilled and average version, but still good with the naan-like flatbread. I passed up the yogurt and salad offerings, but left with a full tummy and slight food coma. Mission accomplished.

Date of visit: 3/13/07

Orchid Jewel
3033 S Bristol St, Costa Mesa, CA
(714)557-8070

Inka Grill- Costa Mesa

My loyal dining companion, GameBoy, and I met up for dinner here on night that quite suddenly turned from sunny to foggy as I was driving down Bristol. As I got out of my car, I felt a fine layer of mist settle on my bare skin, and I grabbed my umbrella before heading inside to wait for GameBoy. Inside was warm and cozy, and minutes later I found myself sipping a fairly sweet Pisco Martini with Maracuya ($6.50) at a booth by the window. There was a bit too much maracuya juice, which is apparently a fruit found in the Amazon, and not enough liquor. However, I was pleased by the fact that it came with its own small pitcher of refill- enough to fill a whole additional martini glass!

After having a bit of difficulty finding the place (it's next to Del Taco on the southeast corner of Bristol and Red Hill), GameBoy parked and made his way in. Though I had already selected my entree, having scanned the menu as I waited, GameBoy, a bit of a slow and methodical reader, took several minutes to peruse the six or so pages of menu items. After our waitress had come and gone a few times, we were finally ready. I ordered the paella, while GameBoy went for the lamb stew, which the waitress pronounced as her favorite menu item.

The food came out quickly. My paella had more brown rice than the yellow that was depicted on the front of the menu. It contained one mussel, perfectly-cooked chunks of salmon and some white fish, lots of calamari rings, and two perfectly-cooked shrimp. I'm not that familiar with paella, but I liked this version, and certainly it's price ($14) was reasonable too. Not being a huge fan of calamari rings, I would have preferred more shrimp and mussels, but no big quibbles.

The big disappointment was GameBoy's lamb stew ($15), which to me tasted heavy and greasy. I should note, however, that I'm not a big fan of lamb other than lamp chops, so maybe it's just that I don't have a taste for it. GameBoy claimed he liked it, though he didn't finish it. In any event, though, I was glad I had gone with the paella, which was yummy. Service was a bit slow when we wanted to get the check, but other than that was fairly competent. It was my first time trying Peruvian, but I'll definitely come back.

Date of Visit: 3/13/07

Inka Grill
260 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone 714-444-4652
Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30am-9pm. Fri & Sat 11:30am-9:30pm. Sun 5pm-9pm

Introduction

Hi everyone!
I created this blog to remedy a possible flaw in the methodology of the food/ restaurant blog community. By taking photos, bloggers identify themselves to the wait staff as possible restaurant critics or snap-happy tourists, thus altering the level of service they may receive. My aim is to review Los Angeles and Orange County restaurants much like a Secret Shopper does- without any identifying actions, such as photos that could give my intentions away. In addition, I have a secondary goal of working on this blog entirely at work. My decision to go photo-less, at least at first, is to aid me in achieving this ambitious goal. Wish me luck in not getting caught!