justin "Co-Founder of Menuism - always ready to eat!"

Casuelita’s is easy to miss when you’re driving by so be vigilent for the small door at the corner. The parking during happy hour (4-6) was pretty good, just make sure to pay the meter. Once you walk in the first thing you see is a smallish bar but there’s a much larger second floor that has a very spacious back room that you can use for private events.

The food was good and varied, but not as flavorful as I thought it would be…maybe false expectations? The standouts here are the rum-based drinks – they really don’t skimp on the rum. They have all kinds of rum flavors and plenty of mixed drinks that are truly tasty and potent. Next time I come here I’m getting the rum flight (which isn’t discounted during happy hour). If you like rum, you gotta check it out.

Since being introduced to Blue Marlin, I’ve only ordered one kind of dish here: the omrice.

What is an omrice?
Think omelet + rice. First they take a special kind of rice and cook it in some broth along with some chicken (so it’s moist and tasty). Then they use some special eggs and make a huge omelet with the rice as filling. The eggs are light and fluffy and it’s always perfectly formed. Every bite has egg and rice in it. It’s got a creamy, almost cheesy texture.

As a bonus, the omrice can come with a number of toppings: chicken or pork katsu, sliced beef, sea urchin, shrimp, or whatever they have as a special.

This is one of my favorite foods now. I love omrice!

As for the rest of the restaurant, the cuisine is basically home-style japanese. There’s a bunch of odd pastas (risotto, spaghetti) and lots of sea urchin dishes. I’ve heard the risotto is pretty good. The parking lot is valet, but I’ve never had trouble parking either on Sawtelle or on a side street.

I wouldn’t exactly call King’s Hawaiian a nice restaurant, but it definitely feels nicer than a normal American diner. The front has a bakery that sells the breads and cakes they’re known for (if you’re not familiar, go to a supermarket and look for King’s Hawaiian dinner rolls) and the back has a diner that makes you feel like you’re in a diner in Hawaii (maybe a bit nicer, but the Hawaiian feel is there).

The cuisine is distinctly Hawaiian – a blend of Korean bbq, Japanese home cooking, and potato/macaroni salad (yum). The food is on par with my expectations and price range. The best part is getting some guava/passion fruit cake and breads to go.

I was never a huge fan of the cupcake craze. The ones I had before were just topped with a bunch of nasty frosting. But after trying Sprinkles and Susies, I think I’m a convert now. A good cupcake basically taste like a mini-wedding cake. The cake is moist and the frosting is just the right balance of extra sweetness. Sprinkles might still be the best I’ve had, but the inconvenience of driving to Bev Hills and waiting in those crazy lines make it hard to justify. Susie Cakes is a 5 min walk from my place and there’s never any lines. Plus it feels a bit less pretentious.

I’ve been told by multiple people to check out Umami Burger, so I’ll admit my expectations were pretty high. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the food wasn’t as fantastic as I thought it would be (I think Father’s Office does a much better burger).

The surrounding area is a bit sketchy, so don’t worry if you think you’re lost – you’re in the right place. The lot has valet parking but we found ample parking on the nearby residential streets. The inside itself is pretty nice. Typical trendy casual LA look and there’s a nice big patio in the back for special groups. There’s a few chairs outside for waiting, but not nearly enough. Everyone seems to wait by standing in the parking lot.

Wait for us was 30 min, which sucked since I was on crutches at the time. I guess it gives you ample time to stare at everyone else that’s eating and decide what you want.

When we finally sat down, we asked our waiter for a few recommendations on things, but he wasn’t very helpful at all. We asked about the special dipping sauces and he said the standard Umami ketchup was good enough (which it wasn’t – thought it tasted like watery tomato juice).

When it came time to eat our food, I found it was lacking those special punches I’d expect from such a trendy burger place. Side dishes were bland and the burgers generally weren’t as good as Father’s Office. To top it off at the end, our waiter tried to get us to order more burgers after we finished – that felt unclassy and even desparate.

All in all, I think it’s a fun experience with gourmet burgers and I would take other guests who are interested in trying it, but I wouldn’t come back here on my own. I’d head to Father’s Office if I want an excellent burger.

Ever since I moved to west LA I’ve been looking for a close chinese restaurant so that I wouldn’t have to drive all the way to monterey park. Hu’s is my latest attempt, and while it doesn’t match anything you’ll find on the east-side, it’ll satisfy some basic cravings.

The clientele here is strictly non-asian – or at least it was when we went. The interior is sort of 70s/80s style decor and it’s not the nicest or cleanest looking place (but what chinese restaurant is clean?).

Service was pretty friendly and it looked to be BYOB from others bringing in their own wine. The chinese waiter was kind enough to warn us that the mushu pork was made with mexican tortillas instead of the chinese wrapping.

Overall, it’s serviceable and I may be back if I don’t find anything better in the area.

This was an unexpected find for us. We were strolling along the block looking for something that looked interesting amongst all the different restaurants here and Jaipur sort of stood out as looking pretty nice but not too pricey. At first we were a bit hesitant since there weren’t many people dining inside, but by the time we left the place was packed and we knew we made a pretty good decision.

The cuisine is Northern Indian and they have all the standard chicken, seafood, lamb and veggie selections. Service was very attentive and the food quality was above average. We were in a veggie mode today so didn’t try the meat dishes – maybe next time. The portions were a larger than other Indian places I’ve been so that’s a plus.

Only annoying thing around here is parking though. Valet is $4.50, but you can probably find something on the street.

When choosing a ramen place it’s always good to choose one that’s really crowded and Asahi definitely gets crowded. Luckily we went a bit early to beat the dinner crowd and got a table pretty quickly.

It’s got the standard ramen selections and you can add extra noodles if you’re hungry, but the sizes was already pretty adequate. The ramen is pretty good – up there with some of the better ones, but probably not the best.

Parking can be a bit annoying around here, but doable if you circle the street a few times. Also it’s cash only so make sure you drop by the ATM (there’s a tomato bank about a block down) before coming here.

I was pretty excited when we walked by this crepe house. In fact, I’d been anticipating eating there for days before we finally made it. Maybe I built it up too much in my head or I ordered the wrong crepe, but I was a bit disappointed.

First of all, the service wasn’t great. It seemed disorganized and it was extremely slow to order and even get some water.

Second, I was disappointed by the plainness of the crepes. The few bites that had the toppings had flavor, but I felt like most of it was just eating bland crepe. Sure they look huge, but it’s just a big thin crepe without much substance.

If I’m even in London again, I might give it a try again. But only if there’s no other options.

Nestled amidst all the other chain restaurants (rubio’s, fatburger, etc), Fish Grill is a somewhat healthier option. It’s basically semi-fast fish. You order at the counter, pick it up then sit wherever. There’s a pretty good selection of fish and they have entrees, sandwiches and also fish and chips. Each one comes with 2 sides – coleslaw and your choice of starch (baked potato, rice, fries). It’s similar to the California Fish Grill that I went to in Irvine.

The fish tastes pretty fresh and it won’t kill your wallet with most things being around $10-12 or less. Nice option if you want to have something better than filet-o-fish from across the street.