queen pig

first of all, i'm sad to say that i received ravi's message about the dessert outing after i ran into the lucky five that actually got to go. i damn my poor luck of having class and finding out too late, but i look forward to the post.

i did want to establish in this food blog that i officially declare myself the heavy-weight title of queen pig:
i ate at not one, not two, not three, but four westwood establishments for lunch today. it was all gut-sticking food and completely gratuitous, but i justify it by saying my generous boss likes to dabble in a variety of culinary treats (and paid). however, i was able to drive a gigantic vehicle in lunchtime traffic to four restaurants in under half an hour. a feat for someone who admittedly, can't really drive. i shall rank by fatty's:

chili's: we ordered a chicken ranch sandwich (my personal favorite) and the ground peppercorn burger. the chicken ranch sandwich this time was a bit smooshed, but they had a huge piece of chicken, which is a plus. the peppercorn burger is a tasty selection (but i couldn't eat it as i've given up hamburgers a year ago minus that relapse that we shall not speak of)- it sounds weird because it's supposed to have bleu cheese on it, but i don't think it does. both sandwiches are sans cheese- which is why i usually order them. the fries could've been a bit saltier, but overall- chili's is fattyfatty, but delicious.

ono hawaiian bbq: ok, before today i'd really only ordered ono once before per my roommate's roommate's indirect suggestion. i don't really like their food. in one word, it's too heavy. we ordered the ono family plate which consisted of white rice, macaroni salad, chicken katsu, bbq beef, teriyaki chicken and heart disease. i heard the macaroni salad was good (but it was just too mayonaissey for me). i had some chicken katsu which made me lethargic (as fried food tends to do) and chicken teriyaki (which was surprisingly tender). the bbq beef looked a bit sketchy and i don't really like franchised hawaiian restaurants' takes on korean bbq. overall- fattyfattyfatty and so-so.

california pizza chicken: my boss is a really picky eater and says she only eats those "crazy pizzas" on special occassions. personally, i think 24 dollars for two tiny pizzas is a bit outrageous (dominos 5-5-5 deal!). we ordered some goat cheese (sick) pizza and some chipotle chicken pizza. i didn't try the goat cheese one, but the chipotle one was very spicy. i don't really know how ravi would feel about this one. overall- fatty-lite and too pricey.

tomodachi: i think they overcharge at tomodachi because they're really the only place in westwood to get decent sushi (r.i.p. cowboy sushi, you weren't even a contender). since my boss is a bit picky, we ordered "fake" sushi: tempera salmon roll, tempera tuna roll and some other salmon roll. i ate much of this and the belly was quite filled and content. i wish we got the unagi (mmmmm unagi). overall- fatty-lite and just right.

we also had some noah's bagels for breakfast- i had the cinnamon bagel which was alright but cold. but why is it that no matter which noah's franchise you go to, EVERYONE IS ALWAYS A HUGE DICK? apologies if you work there, but you're probably a jerk.

my boss also made brownies and red velvet cake.
i'm leaving ucla a huge cow.
good thing i'm on a food blog.

cheers,
kathy

Thank you!

Thank you Ravi for inviting me to this food blog. I promise I will
a) Not talk shit about Chipotle because I too, am a large fan. I remember the first time I found the sweet bountiful harvest of Chipotle's burritos in high school and immediately I knew, it was mex-cali non pareil.
b) Eat at a lot of restaurants
c) Cover what culinary specialties the San Fernando Valley has to offer me

Qdoba in Pictures

overall, i'd have to agree with ravi in saying that qdoba didn't wow me off my feet. the food was good but not worth the drive. it was too reminiscent of chipotle without the free soda, more ample servings and enthusiastic servers. chipotle servers dressed up as burritos for halloween. qdoba servers don't give a hoot.

my naked burrito (aka burrito bol) was tasty, but i felt like i didn't get as much food as i would at chipotle. for $7, i should be so full, i'm hurtin'. however, their chicken was delectably tender and their tortillas were warm and welcoming. if there were a qdoba nearby, i would eat there again.


mindy's salad (aka tostada)


mindy pre-salad consumption


concerned eric


poor wrap job


still 'ungry


naked burrito


chipotle rip-off


ravi & the pesto poblano


ericarawrrrrrr!

RAVI'S OVERALL IMPRESSION

disappointed

my rating: relatively swell


cheers,
kathy

Qdoba, Part 1

(Qdoba was the first restaurant simultaneously visited for the first time by all of the charter ZagatWho? members, so there very well may be multiple takes on our visit this afternoon. At the very least, Kathy-- our principal photographer-- will kindly provide images to go along with my text, and Mindy-- our principal webmaster-- will provide a scanned menu that you may peruse at your leisure very shortly.)
Qdoba (Mexican Food)
655 S. Hope St., Los Angeles (Downtown)

Those who know me know that I love Chipotle. Chipotle is a fresh mex chain that began in 1993 in Denver, CO. Now it's owned by McDonald's, though they don't get involved with the day-to-day. Qdoba is a fresh mex chain that began in 1995 in Denver, CO. Now it's owned by Jack in the Box, though they don't get involved with the day-to-day.

I had to try Chipotle's doppel-ganger.

I ordered a Poblano Pesto Burrito.

THE FOOD:
Rice: Infected with LIME disease (too much citrus!)
Guac: Too watery (it has that cheap feel that might mean too much lemon/lime juice was used). And lordy, they put lettuce in it (you know what I always say: "let us not put lettuce in our guac").
Fajita mix: they wanted to charge me extra for it! Potle gives you beans AND peppers for free.

They also mixed the 'rito really sloppily, and the salsa fell to the bottom. I got the hottest and barely felt it, whereas Chipotle's sauce always makes the snot drip outta my nose.

The pesto sauce (or maybe it was the salsa?) was far, far colder than it needed to be. It made my whole burrito cold, and that's not appetizing.

The pie pans they put under the burritos are pretty cute, though, I guess.
THE SANITATION:
LA County Public Health Grade: NOT VISIBLE
I went ahead and assumed that they got an A because the other area Qdoba's did.
The bathroom was clean-- probably cleaner than Chipotle's, but without a mirror.

BUT EW.
The preparation counter was a cross-contamination nightmare. The girl making my burrito used the guacamole spoon to scoop in some pesto sauce, and there was brown-to-black bean liquid transference when she scooped those in, too.

CONCLUSION
A mi no me gusta Qdoba. Stupid name aside, the food was at best ok-- a reasonable facsimile for Chipotle if I ever found myself working across the street from Qdoba and more than an hour away from the nearest Potle. I would like to try their breakfast menu, though.
Disappointed.

(until Erica is able to make us our ratings graphics, please accept this random clip art in its place, which also fulfills our Affirmative Action quota for the day)

-->ravi

filet o' crap

yesterday i ate a mcdonalds filet o' fish for the first time. this is a surprising fact because i have been a loyal patron of mcdonalds since i was a wee babe. i could be one of those nutty oddballs from super size me. anyways, i wasn't very impressed because i paid $4+ for a subpar fish stick and i still feel it in my gut. i don't know if it was the establishment (westlake, ca) or if the growing apathy of mcdonalds with time has created this lesser than sandwich- but i'm sad to say that i cannot follow the many who have only praises for this meal.

also- the french fries were warm instead of piping hot/super salty. sad times.

happy thanksgiving.

cheers,
kathy