BLD

Like others who write for this blog (and maybe even people who don't), I have a hard time naming my favorite restaurant. There are too many factors-- are we talking about food only? or food and price? or food and ambience? There's no one answer.

Until yesterday. Even before my food arrived, I knew I had found my favorite restaurant in LA.

Opened just a week or two ago, BLD has it all-- food, environment, friendly servers, and fairly reasonable prices for the quality of food. A few items on the menu are over $20, but nothing is over $30-- we're talking Cheesecake Factory prices. Desserts are about $7.

The restaurant comes from the same team of chefs that brought us Grace. I ate at Grace, and I loved it, but it was pricey-- about $120 for two people.

BLD-- which stands for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner-- cost much much less when you don't include the booze. And about that, beware: I had a Long Island Iced Tea (I was with my parents, and that's apparently my dad's favorite drink) that set me back a whopping $11. For one drink! I can't stress the need for a pre-party enough, people.

I had the construct-your-own-dinner option: I chose the hangar steak with the garlic nage sauce, some fancy name for green beans, and 'taters (of the mashed variety, though they also had a fancy name).

The food, as I said before, was delicious. The service was attentive. The chef came out to meet people. All of that was great.

But I really enjoyed, apart from the food, the atmosphere. I'm a casual guy, but most places with great food require pants. No such requirement here. Come as you are-- the wait staff wears t-shirts and jeans, so you won't feel out of place.

And come early (and often). You probably won't regret it.

Ravi

Campanile

http://www.campanilerestaurant.com

Honestly, I was underwhelmed.

We went for our Campus Events Directors' Dinner, meaning that ASUCLA picked up the tab, but did I get my money's worth? I don't think so.

I had the fluke (puns abound) on a whim. Nothing fishy there (it was fantastic). Actually, all of the food met or exceeded my expectation, except for the dessert, which was mediocre at best. Sharing ownership with La Brea Bakery (at one point), the pre-meal bread was naturally the best I've ever had.

But the service killed the meal. I know we were a big group (9) but we sat there for over three hours-- essentially the duration of their entire dinner service. People came and went and came and went while we sat waiting for someone to take our order. And trust me, we earned the service-- we probably spent enough money to cover the salaries of the wait staff for the evening.

When our server did come, she was helpful and attentive.

If you know me, you know I hate/thrive on awkward moments (if only to talk about them later), so it should mean something to you that while we were tabulating out tip I said, consciously within earshot of the staff, that the service was disappointing and we should reflect that opinion in our gratuity. Oh, they heard. And they best recognize.

I don't know what else to write. This entry sucked.

(A note about the entry: I usually include pictures, and I was going to attach a photo here of a morbidly obese man-- someone that roughly resembles a very large man sitting at the table next to us that thoroughly entertained Aiko. But I couldn't bear the Google Image Search results, so you're spared.)

Ravi

24 Hour Dining: Canter's Deli

419 North Fairfax, LA

I'd been to Canter's once before, so I should have known to expect mediocrity.

24-hour joints like Canter's and Fred 62 are meant to be experienced only in the wee hours of the morning-- what passes for acceptable food at those hours become Dennysesque at best when the sun rears its bright head. And it was 2am.

I had a fruit bowl. Last time I had the hot open-faced turkey sandwich (also at around 2am-- a bad idea). The fruit bowl was decent and not outrageously priced, which is more than I can say for Swingers (and their $8 bowl), but the service was so-so and the environment shared frightful similarities with the dining hall of a retirement home (both in clientele and decor).

Their pickles put me in a bit of a sour mood. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe that when a restaurant publishes in their menu "Try our world famous _____," said food item should be amazing. And yet these pickles-- which were delivered to our table for free-- were the worst I've ever had. They were still 98% cucumber, which (coincidentally) makes them 98% bland.

I should've just sliced them, put them on my eyelids, and gone to bed.











-->Ravi

Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill

Last quarter, when I dragged my sister all the way to the Grove during rush hour to see an advanced screening of Match Point, only to discover that it was being played in Santa Monica (doh), I saw that there was a Wood Ranch Grill there. Whilst images of meat danced in my head, I promptly proposed a Zagat-Who trip which was enthusiastically received.

After a painfully long five week wait, we finally gathered a ravenous group to trek through Friday night traffic from Westwood to La Brea.

(oh what choices!)

For those of you who don't know (www.woodranchgrill.com), this establishment has epic tri-tip and bbq, even for those people who aren't normally that into red meat. Though they have other menu items, you will probably get the combo meal- 2, 3 or 4 bbq items with two sides. Their bbq items are glazed with their signature bbq sauce and roasted overnight, and include beef ribs, babyback ribs, bbq or fire-roasted chicken (breast or half-chicken) and the tri-tip. I would recommend the tri-tip because that is what they are famous for.

Their sides may cause a problem for the indecisive one, but otherwise are fun to choose from: mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, ranch fries, mac and cheese, corn on the cob, grilled vegetables, baked potato, baked beans, and coleslaw.

Our experience was pretty standard. Because the Grove is normally very crowded on Friday nights, we had to wait about half an hour for a 7-person table. Our food came in a timely manner (not too long but not a short wait), and we were presented with warm and fresh GARLIC BREAD ROLLS THAT MELT IN YOUR MOUTH.

(AHHH DELICIOUS GARLIC ROLLS!)


(Ravi's last moment pre-garlic roll consumption)

But our waitress gave Aiko a virgin raspberry Ranch lemonade (it was supposed to have rum) and they gave Eric the wrong meat (but he liked it, ZING!). But on the up side, they brought him his tri-tip and he got 4 meats for the price of 3. And that my friend, is beating the system.



(Top: Aiko and Cindy, a bit daunted by their entrees?; Bottom: Eric with his ranch fries, sweet potatoes and incorrect meat)


(Count 'em: all four meats)

We all ate and were merry and died of meat overload. This was all concurrent with listening to the worst EZ listening/reject pop (e.g., NSync "Bye Bye Bye"). Be prepared to drop about $30+ if you get the 2 bbq combo and a non-alcoholic drink, but they do validate for parking. Overall, it delivered what I expected it to, so it's an appropriate restaurant when you feel like having some high-quality meat. They have ample portions (my leftovers were a hearty lunch today), but this is definitely a once-in-a-while thing.

Overall: MEATASTIC.



















-k.


Wood Ranch BBQ and Grill
The Grove
189 The Grove Drive Y-80


(Aiko, Cindy and Nish- waiting for food)


(Erica and Eric- the calm before the storm)


(Cindy, Nish and Ravi with their entrees)