Studio Café

Studio Café, also known to me as Jinky’s East, has one of the same problems as the original Jinky’s – lack of parking. That didn’t bother me when I lived in Sherman Oaks because we always walked there. After we moved, one of our many moves during that time, we found ourselves rarely going there because of parking. We would park in Ralphs parking lot and hope nobody would notice. Studio Café is closer to our home but it isn’t within my walking distance. They have a parking lot which is taken over for valet parking and cost $2 even during off hours. This is another of my pet peeves – restaurants with large parking lots that still have a valet. I then refuse to park there and find parking on the street. Today we were lucky as we found a space right around the corner. By the way, the parking lot had maybe 4 cars in it.

We were immediately seated and received our usual Diet Cokes while we looked over the menu. We decided to get a hamburger with sweet potato fries and a bowl of chicken vegetable soup. Since the hamburger was ½ pound, we decided to split it but I wanted sweet potato fries and B doesn’t care for them. She ordered the bowl of soup. The waiter brought everything at the same time which was fine with B and he also brought two plates without us having to ask. I did have to request a refill on my soda. The soup was excellent with many vegetables and chicken in what looked like fat free broth. There was also garlic toast as a side with the soup. The hamburger was served on a fresh wheat bun and was perfectly done as we had asked – medium. It comes plain with purple onion, a slice of tomato, lettuce, jalapeño, and pickles on the side. I like tomato and pickle on my half and Bonnie asked for and received Dijon mustard and pickles on her half. Both of us declared that this was again a wonderful hamburger. The sweet potato fries were excellent, not at all greasy.

I wonder if others have noticed that hamburgers seem to be much better than they used to be. Is that because they are making them so much bigger? Is it because they are using better meat? There was a Kobe burger but we chose the plain burger. I can’t remember exactly what the burger cost but it wasn’t cheap. Again, wouldn’t it be nice if they had a ¼ pound burger at half the price? Our bill came to something over $24 without the tip, a little high I think for soup, a hamburger, fries and two sodas. I did, however, bring home about half the fries.

I think I have been going to some very good restaurants and had some very good meals lately. I like that. Studio Café is on the corner of Colfax and Ventura in Studio City.

Daily Grill

On Sunday evening, after a very interesting lecture, B and I and two friends went for dinner to Daily Grill in Studio City in a mini-mall at the corner of Laurel Canyon and Ventura Boulevard. We were there a bit early (5:00 PM) and were immediately seated. We ordered our drinks (3 Diet Cokes and 1 iced tea) and then perused the menu. This is also a restaurant that I have been to many times so I knew their menu. I had been thinking about having fish. They had a parmesan crusted Alaskan halibut on their special menu that appealed to me. However, I became turned off to having any fish when I went to the rest room, passed the kitchen and the odor of fish was overwhelming. I am not a great fish eater and fishy smell or bones in my fish stop me in my tracks. One of my friends suggested that the smell came because they filet their fish and this was probably the stuff they threw away that smelled but that made no difference to me.

One of my companions and I chose a chicken quesadilla, hold the sour cream. It was delicious. There was plenty of cheese but not so much that the tortilla got soggy. All the chicken, and there was a lot of chicken, was entirely white meat and tender. The guacamole and salsa were very good. The only problem was that it was so big. Actually, we could have shared one but I, true to form, cleaned my plate – except for the lettuce. B had fish and chips which she said was delicious. B was unphased by the fishy odor. It was fried tilapia, fried golden brown and not at all greasy. There were three large pieces, one of which she brought home for Monday night dinner along with some of the fries which she also was unable to finish. I have had the fries at Daily Grill in the past and I also have always found them to be wonderful. Our fourth companion ordered the cheeseburger and fries. This is a 12 oz burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato and I can’t remember what else. She ordered it medium rare and that is exactly how it was served. She also was unable to finish the huge meal.

If I have any complaint at all, it would be that the portions are too large. I would like it if they, as well as other restaurants, would offer smaller portions at lower prices. Daily Grill is a bit pricey but they serve these enormous portions. Almost everyone leaves with a “doggy” bag. The Cheesecake Factory has the same problem – extra large portions and moderately high prices but they have started to have a menu of “small bites,” if I remember the name correctly, but the menu was limited. The Cheesecake Factory also has lunch size portions, which are still large but are a bit better, up until 5:00. The only thing that makes these large portions worthwhile is if they can be divided between two people or if half can be taken home for a meal the next day. But for people like me, it makes eating less much more difficult.

Having said that, I am still sure I will return to the Daily Grill because everything I have ever eaten there has been very good. By the way, they sometimes have specials and do send out a free, I think, birthday meal if you sign up for their club. Look online and check it out. http://www.dailygrill.com/