Zankou Chicken

What's so special about this place?

The prices are expensive for what you get, and the food is just mediocre at best. 

I got a lule plate for $11.99 and my DC got the try-tip shawerma wrap for $6.99. 

We had to wait 15 minuted for my plate to be done, and then we headed home. 

Um, the lule meat was overcooked and dry and so not worth the $11.99. Also, the onions had a weird, old, stanky flavor to them. Disgusting. The hummus was decent though. 

Lule plate

My DC liked his wrap and ate it pretty fast, however for $7, it was pretty pricey. 

Overall, I would not go back. The food at Panini Cafe is better and is a tad bit less expensive.

Zankou Chicken
1716 S Sepulveda Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 444-0550

Hot Pot on Sawtelle: Morinoya

With the current chilly weather that LA is enduring, it's quite fitting that this review is for hot pot. 

Hot pot is usually associated with Chinese restaurants, but Morinoya serves up individual hot pots that hit the spot. 

You wouldn't know this restaurant exists since it's pretty much hidden on the second level of the Olympic Collection plaza, but if you're up for trying a new place, get yourself there asap.

They used to be open for lunch, but unfortunately have now made themselves strictly a dinner establishment. (boo)

On every occasion that I've been here, I always order the hot pot, either kimchi or the soy milk. Both are delicious, yet very different in taste.

Opt for the kimchi hot pot if you want more flavor and a bit of spice. There are small pieces of pork as well, so this would be good for meat lovers. 

kimchi hot pot

The soy milk hot pot is one-of-a-kind and I highly recommend it for fish lovers or those who prefer a milder flavor. It's more of a savory soy milk, so don't be scared off by the soy. It comes with bits of fish, mushrooms, and napa cabbage. 

soy milk hot pot

veggie tempura

Both hot pots come with a small salad, rice, and an appetizer of your choice. 

salmon + yellowtail sushi

I've tried the sushi here, but it's just okay. If you're here, take advantage of the hot pots and forgo the sushi.

Service ranges from good to just okay. I guess it depends on how busy they are, but the only complaint is having to wait for long periods of time if you are more than a group of 2.

They provide free parking validation for 1.5 hours, so feel free to park underground.

Morinoya
11301 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 473-3960

New Valley Ramen Joint: Tamashii Ramen House

tonkotsu shoya ramen

I was so excited to see a new ramen joint in the valley, but alas, it wasn't that good. 

Let's start with the positives of this place.

#1: Free parking the back lot. It's tiny though, so you might have to end up parking on Ventura Blvd which isn't that easy.

#2: Service was friendly

#3: Cute decor

Now, on to the negatives.

#1: Ramen wasn't very flavorful. I ordered the tonkotsu shoyu ramen which came with bamboo shoots, green onions, 1/2 of a hard boiled egg, crispy onions, and "succulent" pork. 

The pork was not succulent at all. It was quite chewy and hard to eat. The noodles are huge and curly. I'm more a fan of the thin, straight noodles. I felt the noodles were comparable to the ones in Top Ramen

#2: They charge you $.50 for garlic. Really? It's just a side of garlic! Throw it in for free, like most other ramen places do.

#3: The huge wooden spoon provided does not make it easy for you to drink your soup or put your noodles in. We had to ask for a regular soup spoon. 

#4: Portions are on the smaller side for ramen.

All in all, the place wasn't horrible, but I won't be coming back. There's way better ramen places in the area.

Tamashii Ramen House
14531 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
(818) 990-1268

Tatsu Ramen: Sawtelle

The only good thing about this place is their iPad ordering system. 

Other than that, this ramen joint falls short on everything. 

The ramen runs around $10 per bowl, which is more expensive than other ramen restaurants in the area. 

Jinya down the street runs about $9 and tastes 100 times better. 

The ramen was salty, yet lacked real flavor. How is that even possible? The broth was this weird cloudy color, so not appetizing. 

Old Skool Ramen

The pork was inedible and tasted and looked like rubber. 

Noodles were like the ones you could buy at the supermarket for $0.35 each. 

Epic fail all around. 

Service was fine, but they didn't have to do much except bring the food, water and the bill. 

Pass!

Tatsu Ramen

2123 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025

FIG Restaurant at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel

Located at the swanky Fairmont hotel in Santa Monica, FIG serves up seasonal ingredients on daily basis. 

If you can, ask to be seated in the sunny indoor patio area, with a nice view of the pool. 

Also, keep in mind that the menu is seasonal so if you see something you like, you should order it!

With that being said, the pork banh mi sandwich was quite delicious and juicy. It also came with a huge pile of grilled shishito peppers that were awesome. I love how they didn't skimp on the peppers. 

The steak and fries were just ok. Hanger steak isn't my favorite cut, but it's decent enough for what it is. The fries were mediocre as well. I would probably pass on this dish and go for one of the more eclectic entrees. 

It took a while to get our food, so we asked for some bread. The waiter said they only had rolls which were $5 for 3. Kinda disappointing that they charge for bread, but to fair, the rolls were really yummy! And, they even brought us fancy butter in a jar. 

I would recommend this place if you're in the mood for some fresh, seasonal ingredients.

FIG

101 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 319-3111

CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice - Boba in West LA

Finally, a good boba place in West LA!

Located in the Olympic Collection plaza, next to Pinkberry, Coco delivers fresh teas and juices with good boba. You know, boba that isn't all hard and nasty. *ahem Volcano Tea*

We happened upon this place after dining at Morinoya upstairs in the same plaza. 

The guys who work at night are way better than the girls who work the daytime shift. As in they know what they're doing and they pay attention. 

Good items to try: Vanilla milk tea with pearl and chocolate with pearl. You can also specify how much ice or sugar you want in your drink.

Drinks run about $4 - $4.50 on average. 

Wait time can go up to 15 minutes if the place is busy. 

Music could be turned down a few notches. 

The pudding is just okay, I prefer the boba..

And yes, they do take credit cards!

CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice

11301 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064

Fatburger - Westwood

The attitude of the cashier girl is beyond apprehensible. I'm not sure what she's so pissed about, but she should be grateful she at least has a job!

Whatever. 

Moving on to the food. Well, for $2.99 I got a small burger, 2.5 oz and boy was it tiny! My bf got the large burger and it was huge, but cost over $5. 

I also got an order of skinny fries, and he got an order of chili cheese fries. For all this fatness, we spent around $22. 

Was it worth the price? I think not. Sure, the burger was decent enough, but for less than $2.99, I could have gone to In-N-Out down the street and had a a regular burger served with a side of smile. 

I do have to say the fries here are better than In-N-Out. Chili fries were okay, nothing special. 

Bleh.. we know better. We just wanted to try something different, but this is what happens when you stray. 

Also, this location has a weird vibe. The clientele there is kinda ghetto, and after dining there, we slathered on Purell. 

Enter at your own risk.

Fatburger
10955 Kinross Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 208-7365