turtley "Eating my way to enlightenment =D"

Looking for a vegetarian place since meat just makes you sick? Try out Veggie Grill. Although I wouldn’t answer that question as “yes”, i ended finding out about this place from a friend. The restaurant format is order and take a seat and put your number up.

I didn’t get to quite taste their full menu (had wisdom teeth taken out the day before), but the chili that I got was pretty good. They have flavored sandwiches made of wheat, soy, and other non-meat ingredients in lieu of the normal beef and chicken. I definitely want to go back and try those sometime. Seems like a great place to go in between classes if you go to UCI.

Macaroni Grill gives you what you expect from an American restaurant serving Italian food. It has a nice atmosphere suitable for families, but not does not overwhelm you. The food is usually pretty average and is kind of expensive. Not a bad choice for a meal if you feel like going out.

We went here for friend’s birthday, based purely on name and look. Dunno why he chose this place (there were like 5 korean places on the street, some nicer looking), but we did. Fortunately, it was pretty good, though very empty since it was Tuesday evening. We ended up sharing a daeji bulgogi, which was very good. I ordered a pajeon (seafood pancake) for myself, much to the surprise of the hostess (since most people order it to share). My friends seemed content with their food too.

This place has 3.5-4 star food. 3 star service: there were not many people, and somehow the service still was very slow. I ended up paying a lot since me and the non-birthday friend paid for the birthday guy, and the food was kinda expensive.

Wandering around Ocean Beach, we were trying to decide where to eat when we came upon Hodad’s. I remembered reading something about it on Menuism (and a friend on Citysearch…boo!); we decided to dine at this loud and lively place. You seat yourselves, or you can be lazy and wait for someone to tell you where to sit. The atmosphere is… awesome: license plates from everywhere fill up the walls, often with amusing names; there is a car with a table inside it; a wooden bicycle; a baby doll in a wetsuit; and just cool decor. Rock music brings an energetic feel to the place, but it doesn’t seem to overpower your ability to hold a conversation. The service is also super good; our server offered samples of their 3 microdraft beers to my friends, the food came out quickly, and it was just very good.

Anyways, to the food. My friends absolutely loved their microdraft dark beer. I got a strawberry malt which completely obliterated me; it was wayyy to big. The burgers, though, compete among the best. Greasy, large, and oh so tasty. Beats out In n Out and other burger joints in my opinion. You can get them with bacon, veggy patty, or no patty at all (called the Unburger). Be sure to get it with fries, they are very good! The dark beer also apparently goes well with the burgers.

Bottom line: Great atmosphere and service, Great food.

First of all, I’d go during lunch, since its cheaper than dinner; the view is also great during the day (especially from the top floor bistro). Its one of the nicer places if you want to eat near the ocean. Naturally, there was a 30 minute wait, which isn’t bad since you can just wander around Prospect or stare at the ocean (and the people snorkeling/kayaking).

Despite this good review, I wasn’t a huge fan of the food. The albacore tuna from my dad’s dish was average; the shrimp salad/skewer thing my mom got was kind of weird since the “salad” was this strange ground of medley of veggies that didn’t taste particularly good; my steak sandwich was also just average (my friend definitely could cook a meaner steak). The desserts did look reallllly good, though I resisted that temptation.

Now that i’ve caught your attention with my astounding title, I’d like to say that Panera bread is really quite good. The interior is clean and nice, and it doesn’t seem as compact as its rival, Corner Bakery. There obviously is a large array of breads and pastries, but also has sandwiches, pizzas, and salads. I felt my panini was a winner (turkey artichoke), and my friends’ dishes looked good to. The regular sandwiches don’t look at as the paninis though. Good alternative to eating at a more expensive restaurant.

The main food, a mini burgers (sliders i believe they’re called), are small, moist burgers with some trace amount of vegetables in it. Five of them equal about the filling-ness of a normal burger. The chicken rings (yes chicken RINGS) can be substituted for fries. They are chicken nuggets, but ring shaped, just in case the concept seems to ridiculous. Both things were okay tasting. The burger at least doesn’t feel super greasy. The building itself earns points for being a ghetto looking white castle with a drive thru.

The apples and oranges analogy (the analogy where they don’t compare at all) does not apply here at all. This place takes orange, and fruit to a new level. Their atmosphere is orange everywhere, complete with orange trees, giant orange signs, and well you get the point. The main point is that their dishes and drinks have a strong inclination towards fruitiness. You can order drinks with whatever fruit you want and however you would like to combo em (I got Mango, Peach, Pineapple. I may be remembering wrong though.)

The specialty of this place is Frushi, an eclectice combination of sweet rice and fruit (in sushi form). There are all types of frushi they offer, so just get whatever special they have for the day; you’ll be pleased (unless your just HATE fruit). The entrees were delicious. If you like French toast, then the Chai Tea French Toast is the way to go. It’s unique, in a bowl, and just wonderful.

So if you can never decide on apples or oranges, well pick Orange, because it has both! … but really likes orange.

My indian food experiences are limited at best, but this place was the best place I’ve had Indian food. This may not make me an expert, but i really liked the food. The atmosphere has soothing indian music, and it is very nice inside.

The food is also very good, and luckily we ordered a lot (and finished all of it! =P). I’ll just let you read about the food below. Tip: don’t eat the seed stuff if waiting for a table or leaving (next to the toothpicks). I didn’t like it and it gets stuck in your teeth.

This is a great place to eat at in La Jolla, especially on nice sunny days (which we’ve been having a lot recently! =D). Their is nice outdoor seating, where you can kind of see the ocean (other nearby restaurants might have better views). The beach and cove is just down the road. There was absolutely nobody eating indoors.

I felt the service was better than average here. Our waitress was super nice and genuinely seemed to care how we were doing. It was also nifty that I could pick what i wanted in my fruit smoothie (i picked strawberry, banana, and blueberries), which i think our waitress actually made. The food itself was good, although I was disappointed the meal i wanted (Moussaka – which is minced lamb, eggplant and some other stuff) was out. I made do with Chicken Shawerma (14 spice chicken with hummus, salad, and pita!). It tasted good, if the some chicken bits were slightly more succulent i’d give it 5 stars. Overall a good experience.