The Mikado Japanese Restaurant

My daughter is coming to visit and wants to go to a sushi restaurant for her birthday.  We wanted to stay in the San Fernando Valley since we are going to a play in Burbank after dinner.  A friend had suggested The Mikado saying that it serves the best sushi she has ever tasted. It is attached to the Best Western on Riverside Drive in Studio City and my experience with restaurants attached to motels has never been very great because of that, even though it is in my neighborhood, I have never been there. After scratching my head for many days trying to where to go when W is here, BK suggested we go to The Mikado today for lunch.  I agreed.  So after seeing a wonderful movie, we drove to the Best Western’s restaurant.

My first surprise was the very nice interior.  The restaurant sparkled.  We were greeted in the usual Japanese way.  We were seated at a very nice white tableclothed booth that had a fresh flower and a very cute soy sauce container (all low sodium). Then we were given warm towels to wash our hands which we did.  They had some fragrance and was really nice.  And now to the most important part – the food. Right after we were given the towles we were given a little cucumber appetizer that was so good, we hoped this was just a taste of what was to cme  I was only going to order sushi, which I did.  They had a sushi combo but I decided to get the rainbow roll ($15) and a tuna roll ($5.25) and I wasn’t disappointed.  There were 6 pieces of tuna roll and a very large rainbow roll with salmon, albacore, shrimp and tuna over an excellent California roll.

BA ordered a special lunch box.  She picked teriyaki chicken and California roll.  With that meal came a side salad, which BK said was delicious, a small fried potato, an egg roll, a small carrot and tiny broccoli with something on it that BK liked, white rice and a strawberry and orange ($12).  She cleaned her plate, declaring everything delicious. after cleaning our table, we were both given some orange which was just perfect.

This was the lunch menu so I asked to see the dinner menu.  There are fewer combinations and some things are more expensive.  They also have other dishes.  I enjoyed this so much that I made a reservation for next Friday to celebrate W’s birthday.  I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.

The Mikado has been in business since 1963, the first sushi restaurant in the Valley.  There are many more now and maybe some are better but we were both very happy with this choice.  The Mikado is  at 12800 Riverside Dr. – (818)-763-1963.  They are open for lunch (11:30 – 2:00) and for dinner (5:30 - ?).

Chi Dynasty and more

Labor Day Weekend, 2010, and we decided it was time to eat out rather than have BK’s delicious cooking. One day we went to Chevy’s Mexican restaurant in Burbank and had a very good meal. I am not writing up a review of Chevy’s but almost everything I have ever had there has been good. On Sunday they have $3 guacamole made at the table which was quite tasty.

On Monday, we decided to go to a new Chinese restaurant that we hadn’t tried – Chi Dynasty. A few years ago, a new building was erected and it was designed in a Russian motif. It housed a more elegant Russian restaurant upstairs and a café on the first level. They went out of business and recently this Chinese restaurant opened in this Russian looking building. We received a menu in the mail and thought it was a good time to try it out.

The interior is very nicely Chinese with a lot of red and black. The music that was playing sounded like Chinese pop music and was quite nice. We started out with a Chinese chicken salad since it had been voted the best in town. The waiter (all are Chinese and dressed in black Chinese outfits) brought a large bowl and the ingredients for the salad were all in the bowl. He mixed it at the table and then split it into two dishes for us. It was all white meat in small strips tossed with ginger, scallions, ground peanuts, sesame seeds, crispy rice noodles, lettuce and dressing. It was delicious, as good as the best I have had. My only complaint is that there was a little too much dressing but I am one who likes very little dressing on my salads. When I go again, I will tell them when I order that I want light on the dressing. The salad was $7.25 and plenty for two people.

We also ordered the dim sum sampler. This is made up three types of dim sum depending on what the cook decides. The waiter told us what was in the sampler today. We got two pork, two shrimp and two vegetable. Interestingly, the wrappers of each type were different. This was served in the traditional wooden dish and were all steamed, not fried as we see at some restaurants. I really liked the pork and the vegetable. I found the shrimp to be a bit tough. This sampler was $6.25.

As if that wasn’t enough to eat, we also ordered sesame chicken. We were asked if we wanted rice so I rightly suspected that there was an extra charge. I got brown rice and BK got white rice and we were charged for each. Since both of us had a lot left over, next time we could only order one. The sesame chicken ($8.75) was a bit disappointing because it was more like sweet and sour than other sesame chicken we have had in the past. Also, some of the chicken was so small that after frying, it was a bit tough. Other pieces were very tender. We ate all of this as well and it was quite a large amount. We arrived there at 3:15 and found out we could have the lunch menu until 4:00 which was very nice.

I had jasmine tea which was surprisingly served with just a cup of water and a tea bag. It was very tasty but I had to ask for more hot water which cooled rather quickly. Serving a closed pot of water would have been better. BK had diet Coke and was charged for a refill even though it was presented as if there would be no extra charge.

We left there very full and satisfied. I would definitely return, again for lunch because it can be quite pricey for dinner. We had very good service. They deliver with a $3 delivery charge and I am sure we will do that in the future. Chi Dynasty is at 12229 Ventura Blvd. in Studio City. They also have a restaurant in Los Feliz.

After enjoying the Labor Day eating-fest, today we went to the gym. When we came back, BK cooked a wonderful, healthy lunch – angel hair pasta with grape tomatoes, garlic and parmesan cheese, garlic bread made with olive bread and cantaloupe. All I can say about our lunch today was that it was fantastic and I am so lucky to have my personal chef.

Zach’s Café

Wanting to go to a restaurant that I had never been to in the Valley, we picked Zach’s Café. We had received numerous coupons and I had always nixed going there because it is Italian, not one of my favorite foods. However, on this particular day I looked at the menu and decided it was time to use the coupon.

Zach’s is on Ventura between Vineland and Lankersheim in Studio City. It is sort of hidden away from the road with its parking lot in front of the restaurant. Although it was a beautiful day, we decided to eat indoors. The restaurant is rustic looking with wood slat floors. We were immediately seated and, although I had difficulty understand the guy who was going to serve our drinks and he had difficulty understanding me as well, we did get our drinks quickly and correctly and they were refilled at the proper times. I was happily surprised at the menu which is very extensive. What really surprised me was the very reasonably priced lunch menu, the dinner menu which had smaller sizes of their regular dishes at smaller prices and the rather extensive vegetarian menu.

I had already decided I wanted lasagna with meat. They have one with only vegetables as well. First we were served six hot cheese garlic rolls that were just wonderful. I had to be careful not to eat more than one so I would have room for my food (I did eat another one for dessert). The luncheon came with a choice of various soups or salad. If you have been reading my reviews, you will know that I picked soup – minestrone this time. Minestrone is not usually a soup I would pick as they also had the house specialty, chicken vegetable, but it sounded so good. It is vegetarian blend of beans and veggies with a touch of pasta and not much, if any, oregano. It was delicious, thick like Mom used to make. A bowl of this would be a meal. My lasagna was in its own casserole type dish. It is correctly described as layers of noodles with ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese covered with a ground beef meat sauce. I finished every last bit.

BK had trouble deciding what she wanted. Originally, she was going to rely on her old stand-by, spaghetti and meatballs, but, after perusing the menu, she decided on their specialty, chicken parmigiana. All their chicken dishes are made with skinless, boneless chicken breasts. Her dish had a very nice size breaded chicken breast (this can also be grilled), melted cheeses and marinara sauce with a side of spaghetti. I tasted the chicken and found it to be crisp, moist and extremely tasty. BK also had a clean plate when she finished.

My lasagna cost $8.00 and the chicken parmigiana cost $9.00. We showed the waiter the coupon we had brought in before we ordered and he pointed out that we had not read it correctly because it was only good for dinner. However, he said he would honor the coupon anyway. That was nice. At the dinner hour, most meals come in two sizes and I must say that both of us had plenty to eat with the smaller size. If you like Italian food, I highly recommend Zach’s Café at 10820 Ventura Blvd.

Spark Woodfire Grill and My Little Cupcake

Spark Woodfire Grill

This week is restaurant week where you can get bargains at certain restaurants for specific lunches and dinners in LA. I know they also do this in Milwaukee. BK looked at the restaurants that were listed and mentioned Spark which is close to our house and we have never been there. However, they did not have a special for lunch but we decided to go there anyway.

Spark is a rather small, white tablecloth restaurant on Ventura Blvd. near the CBS Studios. It was fairly busy when we arrived which was close to 2:00. There was a large table of young people who obviously worked at CBS. There is a special lunch menu – 10 items which are $10 or less each. Although I wasn’t terribly excited about going there, my mind changed drastically. Our attentive busboy brought and refilled our Diet Cokes regularly. He also gave us wonderful, crusty bread with an olive tapenade which was good but we both felt the Gaucho Grill has one that is better. Too bad that restaurant is no longer in Studio City.

I chose ½ turkey panini with a cup of their special soup - Ribollita Soup which is described as a hearty vegetable based soup made with borlotti beans, kale, prosciutto and parmigiano cheese. I asked for the soup before the sandwich since I like to have my soup first. I didn’t think I would like it because I don’t care for Italian spices but this thick soup didn’t have any of those flavors. It was delicious. The half sandwich had turkey, watercress, tomato, roasted tomato pesto and asiago cheese on their crusty bread. I really liked this sandwich with my only complaint being that one of the pieces of bread was turned the wrong way and kept falling off the sandwich. Then I realized that it was probably an end piece put on incorrectly when melting the cheese. I didn’t mind but some may.

BK chose one of their lunch specials of the day – a BBQ chicken pizza. The pizza is cooked in a wood fired oven. It is a very thin crust but the crust is not crispy. It is soft and when we ate it, we folded it like you would a tortilla and the taste was wonderful. It had plenty of chicken, onion, excellent cheese and a good BBQ sauce. She was very happy with her choice and I enjoyed a piece as well. I definitely will return and next time, maybe have the $10 eggplant parmigiana. There were many choices and Spark is now on my list of very good places to go.

My Little Cupcake

As far as good places to go, My Little Cupcake is NOT one of them. After lunch, we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond. Then we drove back to this cupcake place that we had passed when we were too full to think about eating anything. However, give us an hour and we are ready again. My first impression was not favorable. The interior was not appealing to me. I looked at the cupcakes and saw very few choices, like 6, although there are many listed on the board. Also, the cupcakes were not nearly as attractive as many other places except for one. This one looked like a mountain of chocolate. We asked about it and were told it was a chocolate cupcake with a mound of homemade marshmallow covered in a hard chocolate. This was for me. BK couldn’t pass that one up either and so we got two of those, one peanut butter and one white cupcake with white frosting (definitely not for me).

When we got home, I took out my chocolate delight which I had to eat with a fork. The first thing I noticed was what looked like grease on the inside of the paper cupcake holder. Not a good sign. The outer chocolate was quite good and sweet. The mound of marshmallow was excellent. The chocolate cake was dry and tasted stale. After we threw away the cake part, Bonnie tried the white one. That one didn’t have grease inside the cupcake holder, had frosting that was OK but again the white cake was dry and tasted stale. She hasn’t tasted the peanut butter one but we do not hold out high hopes for that either. If you can’t make and serve moist, fresh cake, whatever is on the top is irrelevant to me. There are many excellent cupcake places. My Little Cupcake is not one of them.

Cafe Aldente

As we were going to lunch today, one of our neighbors asked where we were going. When we said we were going to lunch, he strongly suggested we try Café Aldente which is located in the same mini-mall as Chin Chin on Ventura but way in the back. We asked about the type of food and he told us they make the best lentil soup and Greek salad he has ever had. He also said their pastas are delicious. I am not the biggest fan of Italian food, especially when I am watching carb intake, but I am a fan of going to new places and I like lentil soup so we took his advice.

I really wonder how anybody finds this restaurant. It is truly hidden behind escalators. We walked in and saw a menu on the wall. There were no other patrons there but it was after 3:00, a little late for lunch and too early for dinner. They had some lunch specials but we were too late for them. The menu is definitely eclectic – skewers, pizza, pasta, sandwiches and paninis, chopped salads of all kinds. The walls had movie posters in Italian but we ended up choosing Mediterranean which is surprising for me. We each ordered lentil soup and then shared chicken skewers.

First we were served 4 small garlic rolls that were really good. Then they brought the very large bowl of lentil soup. This soup has no animal fat or dairy products and it is pureed. My mother-in-law used to puree all her soups and this was thick as were hers. It is probably made from yellow lentils and had a light Mediterranean flavor. Both of us really liked the soup and I was looking forward to the skewers. Much to my surprise, we were served a chopped salad that was quite full of small cubes of fresh vegetables. The problem with the salad was that it had a dressing which to me tasted mostly of vinegar. I hated it and did not eat the salad at all and actually B ate a little and did agree with me about the dressing. One plus was that they divided our meal for us which was great. We each got a skewer with chicken, onion and green and red peppers which we asked him to leave off and he didn’t. The skewer was atop some good rice which was very buttery. There was also a roasted tomato which I didn’t taste. We also got some nice pita bread and a small but sufficient amount of good tasting hummus.

I didn’t care for the taste of the chicken. I can’t really explain why but there was some flavoring that I didn’t care for. I do eat Mediterranean food but I didn’t like this. It was all white meat and there was plenty of it. I felt some was dry but B did not find hers to be like that. We had too much food and brought some home which B can eat since I will pass.

The food was OK. The service was iffy. I had to ask to have our table washed. I was not offered a refill for my iced tea until we had finished eating. We told him that we wanted to take the remainder of our food home and he forgot to give it to us. When B went to the register to charge the bill rather than wait for him to come, after signed the receipt, she had to ask him for our take-home which he had for us. I see no reason to go back there. However, they have some nice specials. On Tuesday night, kids eat free with one adult meal. The specials on Tuesday are pasta dinners for $7.95. Since I didn’t eat a pasta meal and I know the garlic rolls are delicious, I can’t really say whether or not this is a good deal.

Shiki Sushi

If you like sushi and you are in the valley – Studio City to be exact – during the lunch hour, make sure you go to Shiki Sushi which is hidden in the back of mini-mall off Ventura Boulevard, east of Coldwater Canyon just past Sportsman’s Lodge. They have a sushi lunch that ranges in price from $7.95 and I think the highest one was $14.95. Come hungry and be prepared to eat some of the best sushi I have eaten.

As usual BK and I (I now use the initials BK because there are many people who have name starting with B) ordered Diet Coke. This time we were given a 12 oz. can that cost $1.50. Sure beats the one we had last week which was smaller and more expensive. I would still prefer the glass that can be refilled. BK ordered that $7.95 lunch (main dish being a shrimp tempura roll) and I ordered the $10.95 lunch (main dish being rainbow roll).

We started out with a bean sprout salad of sorts and miso soup. For the first time that I can remember, BK finished the soup. It was salty but that is what miso soup is. There was no tofu in it but there were a few rice noodles, some spinach and a little onion. There seemed to be something wrong with the way they served our food. After the soup and bean sprouts, we got a salad consisting of lettuce and one tomato soaked in French dressing. That we didn’t care for. It would have been fine if there was less dressing. Then I got my next course, three pieces of sushi – one piece of tuna, one piece of yellowtail and one piece of salmon. It was terrific. The fish that they put on top of the rice was huge, well over the ends of the rice, and it melted in my mouth. BK watched me eat. We waited for some time when our waitress came with BK’s second course and her entrée. Her second course, a California roll – 8 pieces, and her entrée, shrimp tempura roll of 6 extra large pieces was brought all at the same time. And I sat with nothing. And I waited as BK was thoroughly enjoying her meal. Finally, the waitress came over and told me that my rainbow roll would be out soon. It wasn’t too long before I had it and it was wonderful. If you don’t know, a rainbow roll is a California roll with strips of tuna, yellowtail and salmon on the top. It was huge and just wonderful. I ate every bit as did BK.

This food is a bargain and it is excellent sushi. I am not a connoisseur never having been to the really expensive sushi restaurant. I am comparing this to the medium priced sushi and this beats every one coming and going. The service left something to be desired but the food did not. The place was very crowded which may be one reason for the way we were served. I don’t think they have specials like this in the evening. If you just ordered the rainbow roll by itself, the cost is $10.95. Go for lunch and enjoy.

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/

Coffee Fix

As you can see from my first blog, I have been searching for a topic to write about. This morning, while in the shower (the place where all my good ideas come from), I decided to, in my own way, follow Julia Child's idea. Write what you like to do the most. As I said before, I like to eat and I like to travel. So, for now, I am not traveling but I continue to eat and I really enjoy it. This will not be a Julia Child type of review because I have none of that kind of knowledge. I will just review what I feel about a restaurant I have been to. There might be some other asides as I tend to have flittering thoughts. So - here goes.

Yesterday morning B and I woke rather late. We were out of yogurt, a must for my usual in house breakfast of Cherrios mixed with yogurt. I had a library book that I wanted to return. (Here comes the aside.) After I retired, I decided that I wouldn't buy any more books. I have a household full of books which I refuse to ever give up. One reason for the library is that I really have no room for any more books. I also wanted to cut expenses which was really the least of my reasons. The biggest reason was that I am a procrastinator. I have at least three books at home that are partially read. The library gives me a time limit, something which I am obviously unable to give myself. All this leads up to my breakfast yesterday.

I wanted to return my book to the library and also get a walk in as well. The library is a little less than half a mile so B and I decided to walk to the library and stop at this little coffee place which is across the street from the library, Coffee Fix. The first thing I noticed was that there were a lot of people there -good sign. What I didn't notice was that there were no tables for us. They have about 7 tables, maybe 6 stools and a counter facing out the window, and maybe 4 chairs with 2 small tables outside which are not conducive to eating but are nice if you are just drinking coffee or one of the many other concoctions that they have. We stood in a short line and then ordered our breakfast: Bagel, lox and cream cheese for me; Scrambled eggs and ham sandwich on wheat toast for B. For regular coffee, they offer, mild, medium and dark blends. Both of us took the medium and were very happy with the coffee. We were not so happy when we turned around and realized there were no tables available. One of us could have taken a table when we came in but we were not that resourceful. We unhappily went outside and sat on the surprisingly comfortable chairs but the tables were too low and too small for comfortable eating. Luckily, just before our food came, a family started to leave so we were able to get a table indoors and that was fine. My breakfast consisted of a nice warm, sesame seed bagel with just the right amount of cream cheese and plenty of lox. Too often bagel places put a whole glob of cream cheese on the bagel and so I usually order it on the side. In fact, most often B and I can share one order of the cream cheese but here it was perfect. It also came with some onion, tomato and cucumber. I prefer my sandwich without the vegetables on it. I do like capers with the lox but that wasn't an option which was fine. The lox was extremely tender and delicious. The only minor complaint that I might have was that the tomato wasn't really ripe and had little or no flavor as I would have eaten it on the side. B said her sandwich was delicious, nothing at all that she would change. The waitstaff were extremely friendly. They have a few English items there and one was a pot of PG. Sitting in the restaurant, I came up with all sorts of obnoxious things that could be but when I asked, I found out it was the name of a British tea.

I am not going to rate any of the restaurants on a scale. What I will say is that this is one that I will definitely return to. To pay $5.95 for bagel, lox and cream cheese, I think is a real bargain these days, especially for one that was as good as this. The Coffee Fix is on Moorpark near Whitsett, across from the Studio City Library. If you are in the neighborhood and want some coffee, I highly recommend this little coffee shop.