Stray Cat Cafe

Nice petite cafe, with a nice selection for breakfast and dinner!!

Finding a nice place for breakfast in L.A. is very hit and miss. You might find a gem or you might find a landmine. Stray Cat Cafe, luckily was a gem. Although parking might be a hassle (street parking is $3 an hour), Stray Cat Cafe had a nice assortment of breakfast which included pancakes, omletes, and waffles.

Many of the dishes were not expensive at all ( around $6-$10), but still tasted very excellent .

I got the orange flavored french toast ($7.50)(there are more than just oranges on it such as : bananas, strawberry s and nuts). It was tasty, although I was expecting more orange than other fruits.

The service was great, and there are many more items on the menu to try. I would come back here anytime!

500 S Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 891-1144

menu

Inside

French Toast

Breakfast Burrito

King Of New York Pizzeria

Some pretty good thin crust pizza!

I came here looking for some new pizza places. King of New York Pizzeria, or KONY for short, came up on that list.

When we got in, they were out of chicken wings, but by looking at the Yelp reviews, the chicken wings didn't look like they were that good. We got FREE garlic knots for ordering a whole pizza though. The garlic knots were pretty decent.

I split a pizza with my friend. We got a half sausage/bacon, and half BBQ chicken pizza. The BBQ chicken, according to the waitress was the most popular pizza, and I could see why. The pizza had a nice balance to it, with not too much BBQ sauce, and enough chicken to be tasty.

Although I have had better pizza at other places, KONY's pizza was above average, and the price was decent ($18 for a large 18")

301 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90020
(213) 252-0082

Half BBQ chicken

Half sausage, bacon

Garlic Knots

Outside

The Far Bar

Nice chill bar in the heart of L.A.'s Little Tokyo!

Far bar is a little hard to find, granted that it's entry way is down some alley way, however once you go in, Far bar presents itself as a cool place to kick it and relax.

Ended up getting some Wasabi fries (has a nice kick to it), and some draft Belgium beers (anywhere from $5-$10). The group I came here with loved this place and came here weekly. This is a very good sign for a bar.

They offer all sorts of drinks here, and I'm looking forward to going back here!

347 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Neighborhoods: Downtown, Little Tokyo

(213) 617-9990

www.farbarla.com 

 

Inside

Azuma Japanese Restaurant

Hands down, Best Japanese Food in So. Cal.!!!

Azuma is not only the best Japanese Restaurant in So. Cal, it's one of my favorite restaurants ever. It's a hole in the wall place, and the service is wonderful.

The prices are decent ($10-$16), but the portions are huge, and the quality is unmatched.

Not only do they have good katsu good sashimi,and good noodles, their beef teriyaki is legendary. This is probably some of the most tender meat you will ever try. The beef is nice and charred, while still retaining its juiciness.

I don't like that many Japanese places....but Azuma is a far different place...it's simply the best....

16123 S Western Ave
Gardena, CA 90247
(310) 532-8623

Omelet with beef teriyaki

Katsu with beef teriyaki

Inside

Hana Ichimonme Restaurant

Ramen with corn? Sounds very interesting.....

I've been to many ramen places around the Southern California area. I believe each place has its own specialty. The ramen at Hana Ichimonme looked decent; however what caught my eye was they had ramen with CORN!

The ramen by itself was okay; however by adding corn to the dish, I have to admit, it had some weird kind of effect that made the ramen better! Anyways there are many different types of ramen to choose from if you're not feeling the corn thing.

The restaurant is in a mall and the menu is a little weird because most if it is in Japanese, and there are not pictures with every dish; but I would come back!

333 S Alameda St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 626-3514

Outside

 Menu??

Ramen with corn!!!!

Mr. Coffee

Yikes....$5-$7 for coffee!!!!

Coffee  to go is probably the only good deal here. They have a promotion for a $2 dollar coffee, but that's only to go and only in the morning.

There were a the typical selections of coffee, but they all looked about the same to me. My friend and I didn't even bother getting any coffee, since it was a little too over priced. We ended up sharing some shaved ice, which was average ( it had fruits and cereal!)

I guess if you really want to study, and grab a drink you could come here, but there are other places that are cheaper and are open late too...

537 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90020
Neighborhood: Koreatown

(213) 389-6767

Outside

Shaved Ice

Philippe The Original Restaurant

You can't call yourself an Angelino until you've tried Philippe The Original Restaurant!!!!!

There are several ways to go, but I got a
($6)Beef Sandwich double dipped (extra au jus in the bread)
($1.20) potato salad
($.79) glass of lemonade.

add some spicy mustard the sandwich for a extra sting!

The sandwich's are a bit small if you are really hungry, but at least I can call myself a real Angelino!

1001 N Alameda St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 628-3781

The Meal

Beef-Double Dipped

Corkbar

Nice, classy place to try some fine wines and beers.

Unfortunately, I came here late on a Monday night, so there wasn't any specials, and happy hour was over. The wines here are a bit pricey ($10-$20 per glass), but the selection is pretty exquisite.

Cork Bar is strictly a wine and beer bar, and it not a tasting room. It definitely is more of an up-scale type of place. I would of loved to pair some of the wine with food, but there's always next time. For this type of place, I really enjoyed the experience.

403 W 12th St
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 746-0050

Selection

cabernet sauvignon

Southland Bar (Bar Hop Stop #5)

Super Awesome bar in Torrance with $4 draft beers ($2 @Happy hour)..what more can you ask for!

Southland bar is a really cool place to hang out. The crowd is a bit younger, which made it all the more attractive. I was a bit hesitant to go, but after some convincing from my friend, we decided to go. The outside can look a bit intimidating, but once you get past a pretty chill bouncer, its really lively and vibrant.

There's a pool table and a semi-dance floor. It can get crowded on weekends, so come a little bit earlier. Drinks are cheap and the selection is decent. This has become my local spot to go!

23900 Crenshaw Blvd
Torrance, CA 90505
(310) 326-1400

Inside

The Horns

Donna's Cocktail (Bar Hop Stop# 4)

Pretty cool, laid back dive bar...

Donna's Cocktail is a proto-type dive bar. It's hard to find, it is dark and dingy inside, and it's mainly a locals joint. The bar-tender was very friendly and she even made us some experimental drinks that were pretty good. They have pool and darts, and the drinks aren't that expensive.

Good place to hang out, and have a good time.

15121 S Western Ave
Gardena, CA 90249
(310) 538-8216

R Bar (Bar Hop Stop #3)

Bar with a password?

I've only been here for happy hour, but R Bar turned out to be a pretty laid back experience. There's live music, and it doesn't seem to get that crowded because there's a password system (although if you go early enough I don't think they care too much about the PW!) Happy hour specials aren't that bad.

This place definitely has a more of an east coast vibe to it. People there are pretty cool, and aren't all stuck up like some other places I've been to. Good place to "chill-lax" and have a good time.

3331 W 8th St
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 387-7227

Menu

Blipsy Barcade (Bar Hop Stop #2)

Pretty cool place to hang out, drink some drinks and play some O-G games..if you like kicking it old school

The bar looks like that video arcade in the move Tron, but there is a bar there too. For people who say the games are too old....well then go to Gameworks or Dave and Busters!!! The whole point of this place to be wowed and awed by the games like ( Rampage, Paper boy, and knock out!) that captured your attention twenty years ago.

The drinks are okay, there's no beers on draft or anything like that, and the prices are a little above average.

Anyways, this place is a little bit different. It's not a place to really get drunk or anything. It's more of a place to check out because it's unique.

369 N Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 461-7067

Playboy pinball

Several Games

Its behind the tree

Biergarten (Bar Hop Stop#1)

Happy Hour + Drunken Chicken + Pitcher of Hite= Great!!!

Beirgarten is not your typical Asian Food/Drinking place. Most places just serve so-so food and offer maybe 4-5 different types of beers. Biergarten on the other hand offers very good food (we only ordered the Drunken Chicken, which was SUPER TENDER), and a very decent selection of craft/imported beers.

Happy hour is great because, you can basically order and share an entree which is about 13-17 dollars and get a FREE pitcher of Hite! This place might not be for everyone, but I thought it was well worth the visit

206 N Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 466-4860

Outside

Hite

Drunken Chicken

Earlez Grille

Some of the best chili in L.A.!

Wanted to try something different so my friend and I tried Earlez Grill. Usually when going to L.A., we just hit up Original Tommy's; however:

1) Tommy's chili taste good, but doesn't feel very good afterwards. Plus it's kind of oily.
2) Tommy's is a franchise, so we decided to change it up.

Earlez Grill offers hotdogs, and chili bowls as their main staple. I tried a hot-link with chili, along with some chili cheese fries. The fries were great ( the chili makes it great), but I would just recommend getting a regular hot dog instead of the more expensive one's because the chili is so good that it overwhelms the meat.

Anyways, good NON-EXPENSIVE place to go for chili!....coming back here to try different things!

3630 Crenshaw Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90008
(323) 299-2867

 Outside

 Playas Punch

 Food in Foil

 Food

Kalesa Grill

I am Filipino food newbie....

but I have to say that going to  Kalesa Grill was pleasant experience. I walked in with my family knowing not much about the food. I saw huge selection of items and then asked the lady what was the popular item, and she kindly recommended some items:

I ended up getting chicken kare-kare (peanut butter chicken), and some fish in white (cream sauce).

Both tasted different..but good. The chicken kare-kare was very tender, with the peanut butter being a very good compliment. The fish was fresh (there's a seafood city next door....hmm), and the sauce was not too overpowering.

Anyways for someone who wants to try out Filipino food, this place is a great place to start!

16150 Nordhoff St
North Hills, CA 91343
Neighborhood: North Hills

(818) 893-1188

Outside

Food

Two-item combo

Katsuhana

Probably some of the best Katsu in Torrance

Although this place is a bit pricey ($10) for a restaurant in a food court (Mitsuwa Marketplace). I have to say it has some of the best katsu in Torrance. The meat is not too dry, and the katsu is a satisfying crispy. Although it is a bit pricey, there are generous portions, and enough generally to fill you up,

If you can't decide where to eat, and are in the Mitsuwa Food court, this would be a safe bet to choose.

Sauces

Front

Pork Katsu

Yami Teahouse

Finally a place that serves milk and fruit teas in the Torrance-Palos Verdes area!

I've been to places like this many, many times before. It's a typical tea-house that serves Boba milk tea, and your usual assortments of fruit ice, shaved ice, popcorn chicken..etc. The drinks are on par with Tea-station, and Ten-Ren.

The service is pretty good, and although they don't open very late ( 10 P.M. on weekdays and 12 P.M. on weekends), it is still a good place to hang out.

The prices are again typical of these type of places ( around $5-6 dollars for a drink), but if you want to hang out, without driving too far ( if you live in Torrance-Palos Verdes), then it's not a bad place to go.

24705 Narbonne Ave
Lomita, CA 90717

Outside

(Forgot to take pictures)

Eagle Rock Brewery

A must-go for beer aficionado!

After developing my appreciation for beer, I can now say bye-bye to Budweiser and Coors. For good beer, one must to go to the source, and Eagle Rock Brewery has some good beer.

Had Solidarity, Manifesto, Revolution, and the Irish Red on the particular night that I came. The four-drink "flight" is a bargain for 7 dollars. Not be a fan of the "hoppy" beers, the Solidarity (coffee-chocolate beer) and Manifesto (wit-beer) were my favorites.

The actual tasting room is in some ware-house looking place,  there is NO SIGN on the DOOR, and the room doesn't have much seating nor space, but don't be deterred by this! Although they could have a larger selection of beers ( the beers over here aren't the best for people who aren't fans of beer already), this place is pretty cool.

Definitely coming back here to try more craft beers!

3056 Roswell St
Los Angeles, CA 90065

Four Drink Flight ($7)

Same as above

The Oinkster

Pastrami done right!!!

We got to The Oinkster a little bit early around 6; however within thirty minutes, the line was twenty minutes long (which is a good sign). My friend and I ordered an Oinkster Pastrami, and a House-cured Pastrami. Both were excellent in their own ways. The original Oinkster Pastrami was quite tender with juices flowing out of the sandwich from each bite. The House-cured Pastrami, although a bit drier, had a bit more of a "kick "to it.

The fries were excellent too. The Oinkster provides house made, and chipotle ketchup, which go along great with the fries. The also have craft beers (they have a decent selection), but the line was too long when we finally decided to get some.

Definitely coming back here for round two. There are always more things to try!

2005 Colorado Blvd
Eagle Rock, CA 90041
(323) 255-6465

Outside

 Inside

 Sign

House-cured Pastrami

The Oinkster Pastrami