Zinque : Melrose Cafe

This is where the cool kids go to eat. Upon entering the cute courtyard, you'll notice all the hip couples with their equally hip dogs. There's a fireplace to the right where you can lounge with some friends while drinking wine. 

The interior entrance is to your left and there's a counter for you to order food as well as tables, counters and some sofas in the back for lounging with friends. 

The ordering process is quite confusing as no one greets you, no one is at the counter to take your order and busboys pass you by without offering any assistance. 

We stood at the counter for a while before the guy took notice and asked us if we were ordering food to-go or dining in. I said we were dining in and he told us to have a seat anywhere. We went to sit at a table and 5 minutes later, a busboy appeared with a carafe of water and some glasses. It took another 10 minutes for the waitress to acknowledge us and ask us if we were ready to order. I mean, really? The place wasn't that busy and she had walked by our table a few times already!

I asked for the brown rice bowl with rotisserie chicken but she said they were out of brown rice! She offered up quinoa as a replacement and informed me there would be a $2 extra charge for that. I declined the offer since them being out of brown rice does not constitute me having to pay an extra $2 for something that be offered gratis. 

I opted for the rotisserie chicken salad instead. My child got the pork banh mi and my bf got the zucchini quiche with a side of fries. Well, he wanted fries, but she told him that they were out of fries as well!!! So, he reluctantly got the salad. 

At this point, I was thinking WTF, why do people rave about this place? Out of brown rice and fries?! And these are two of your most popular items!

Anyway, 5 minutes later she returns and tells us that the fryer has resumed working so he could indeed get his fries. Well, hallelujah!

The food arrives shortly after and we all dig in. My salad was pretty generous and I liked the arugula and dressing. I wish the chicken was only white meat as I did get some pieces of tendon that I could have done without. 

The pork banh mi was tasty, but tiny for $12. Bread was also a tad bit hard and cut my mouth a bit. 

Quiche and fries were good as well, although kinda small for $12. 

Overall, the experience was nothing special, and the service could use some improvement. I spent $45 for this meal and we were all still hungry.

3/5***

Riesling. This was a separate visit, but really good.

Zinque
8684 Melrose
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Nong La Cafe Video Review

I'm a regular here now and they know my name. It's kinda like Cheers. 

My go-to staples are still the pho tai, crispy egg rolls, and the steak banh mi. 

This westside Vietnamese joint is still the best, way better than that other place on Wilshire Blvd. 

Nong La Cafe
2055 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-268-1881

Nong La Cafe - Best Vietnamese On the Westside

If you're looking for some good Vietnamese food on the westside and don't want to sit in traffic for hours headed towards the SGV, you should try Nong La Cafe. 

This newish restaurant on the bustling Sawtelle strip serves up fresh Vietnamese fare with friendly service. 

I've come here 3 times in the past month and can't stop raving about the pho and the steak banh mi!

The first time we came here was on a weeknight around 7:30 pm. We had to wait a good 30-40 minutes for a table for 4. 

We ordered pho tai bo vien, bun bo hue, and spring rolls. 

The spring rolls were small and not that good. I would pass on these. 

spring rolls

The pho tai bo vien (pho with rare steak and beef ball was delicious! I've never had pho so fresh! Usually when I eat pho, I have to drink a gallon of water to offset the MSG. 

My friends said the bun bo hue was okay. One of them liked it, the other one didn't. The bun bo hue here does not contain blood, so yay for that!

bun bo hue

My next visit was during lunch on a weekday around 1:30 pm. Considering this was kinda late for lunch, we were surprised we had to wait. But, that's mainly because this one table decided to sit and talk FOREVER even after they were done eating! How rude! The girl actually went outside to put more money in the meter. Some people are so inconsiderate. She saw us waiting too!

Ugh.. at least the host was apologetic about the whole thing. 

I ordered pho tai and it was so tasty! I love how tender the beef is. 

pho tai

Since I read so much about the banh mi, I decided to get one to go. 

DAMN. The steak banh mi is amazing! It's loaded with jalapenos so make sure you pick some out if you can't stand the heat. No pate though, FYI. 

steak banh mi

bun with lemongraass and sesame steak

In fact, the banh mi was so good, I actually went back the same day to get another to go. The host actually remembered me and was like, "I told you it was good!". 

A couple days later, we went back again. My BF got the bun sesame steak and I got the pho tai again. What? I'm addicted. 

He said the bun was good, but not his favorite. The noodles are thicker than traditional bun, so that could be why. 

I do like the noodles in the pho here. Thick, flat noodles that don't stick together. Good stuff.

Highly recommended for pho and banh mi cravings! 

Closed on Mondays.



Nong La Cafe
2055 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, ca 90025

Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa- Authentic Vietnamese Food

Located in a strip mall in Alhambra, this Vietnamese restaurant is a hidden gem. With low prices and tasty food, the owners know how to please an audience.

We ordered Pho Tai, Bun Bo Hue and Nem Nuong along with three fresh coconuts. Yes, coconuts cut out at the top so you can just sip the juice! Nothing in the can beats that.

The Pho Tai was okay, kinda flavorless, but my kid wanted it badly. I think Pho 999 is still the best in terms of pho.

Bun Bo Hue was very good, albeit not that spicy. I liked that she asked us if we wanted blood and other funky items in there. We said no thanks. I'm prefer my beef noodle soup sans the red stuff. It came with a dish of veggies to add into the broth. One thing I like about Vietnamese food is the abundance of fresh veggies. Makes me feel healthier as I stuff my face.

The Nem Nuong was good and it was my first time trying it. Basically, you get a plate of veggies, a plate of meat and shrimp and rice paper to wrap your own spring rolls. I liked the variety veggies especially the mint and perilla. The dipping sauce was kinda blah though, just a weird flavor and not spicy at all.

Total bill was $42 for our party of four. Not a bad deal for all this food! I would come back and try the other dishes. Make sure you get the Nem Nuong, it's their specialty.    

4****

Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa
1700 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803
(626) 943-7645

Pho 88- NYC

After a night of endless drinks, we were hankering for some pho.

I looked on Yelp and found Pho 88 within walking distance of our hotel. On the trek there, we came across a few other pho restaurants that were closer, but kept going because I read that the pho here had less sodium than other places.

The restaurant is relatively new and pretty clean.

We sat down at a small table for two and ordered 2 orders of pho tai, 1 order of banh beo and 1 order of summer rolls.

I liked the summer rolls a lot and found them very fresh and tasty. The shrimp, noodles and veggies inside were all good. Some places give you some questionable rolls, but 88 did well.

Banh beo was okay, but not what I'm used to. It came with some potato salad like topping which I'm not sure I was down with.



Pho tai was good, but the broth was lacking in flavor! I had to add a ton of hot sauce and jalapenos to give it some depth.



But, at around $6 a bowl, can you really complain?

Service was good for an Asian place.

Cash only.

3.5***

Pho 88
51 Bayard St
(between Bowery & Elizabeth St)
Manhattan, NY 10013
Neighborhood: Chinatown

Dip's Grill

Dip's Grill really has it going on. My friends and I made the trek here from the westside the other day for lunch because we've been hearing such rave reviews for it.

The place is modern and clean and service is spot on. We sat a booth and started perusing the menu.

Since we were starving we ended up ordering more than we could eat. But, hey, better to have more food than not enough food.

Steamed rice cakes (banh beo)- I've never had these in my life and they were delish! A huge portion of rice cakes arrived each sprinkled with scallions, dried shrimp and fried garlic. Pretty damn tasty! Eat them individually and top off with some fish sauce and you've got an addiction in the making.



Fried crepe with seafood and bean sprouts- Another solid dish. Never had these either, but when you eat them wrapped inside a lettuce leaf along with mint and other veggies, it's really flavorful and well-balanced. Of course, don't forget to dip in the special sauce.



Fried shrimp rolls- These were okay. Kinda lacking in shrimp and forgettable.



Vermicelli plate with egg rolls, beef and pork - Tasty mix of vermicelli noodles, beef, fried egg rolls and veggies. I liked it quite a bit. My other dining companions weren't too gung ho about it. Oh wells, more for me!



Spicy beef noodle soup (bun bo hue)- Oh hells yea! This came last and was worth the wait. Rice noodles in a spicy red broth along with big chunks of beef. Man, what more can you ask for? The noodles were alright, but we all loved the broth. Beef was substantial and they didn't skimp on the pieces. It was very flavorful with just the right amount of spiciness. I highly recommend this dish.


We ate till we reached an unanimous food coma. Total cost of lunch - $45.

Not a bad deal. Oh, if you check in on Yelp, you get 10% off your bill. We checked in and were supposed to get 10%, but I guess the waiter forgot. We didn't realize it till we left anyway. So, hopefully next time!

I'm still thinking of that spicy broth. Yum-o.

4****

Dip's Grill
1412 E Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 284-3477