J- Pop Sushi Lounge

Say what? $14.99 for a bento box lunch special? Ok.. I'll give it a try.

Was it worth it? Meh, not so much.

It took 5 days to get our food and the waitress just seemed to be in her own world. WTF?

My friend ordered a $5 cucumber salad and it was the smallest salad I've ever seen. It was the size of half a rice bowl and we both looked at it like WTF.

My bento box came with 4 pieces of california roll, 4 pieces of spicy tuna roll, 1 piece tuna sushi, 1 piece salmon sushi, 1 pice shrimp sushi, seaweed salad, 1 shrimp tempura, and edamame.



It was alright. I was stuffed. But, really, the wait made it just ridiculous.

And the $5 small ass cucumber salad was also insane. Blah.

J-Pop Sushi Lounge
Mandalay Bay Hotel
3950 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89119
(877) 632-7800

Mr. Tofu

Hungover and driving back to LA after a long weekend of partying, we hit up Mr. Tofu for some grub.

Service was extremely slow, since there was ONE waiter. He seemed to favor the Korean patrons and served them first. Whatever.

I just wanted my noodle soup. I had the anchovy handmade noodle soup and it was ginormous. Noodles were handmade for sure, but where the hell were the anchovies?!! I didn't see any, and it sure didn't look like the photo they posted on the wall.


The noodles were decent, but kinda bland. OH well, it hit the spot and got rid of the edginess.

My friend had the seafood tofu and she liked it alot.

Total for two people was $20. Not bad.

But, probably won't be coming back here. I'll hit up the Pho place next door over this.

Mr. Tofu
3889 Spring Mountain Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 388-7733

Market Street Cafe

OMG. I absolutely love oxtail soup! My Mom used to make it when we were kids and she rocked that dish!

So, after a long night of dancing at Tao, a bunch of us headed here for the famous oxtail soup!

There was a long ass line and it was 4 am. I think we waited about 30-40 minutes. I was tired and cranky already, so wasn't too happy for the wait.

But, when we sat down and ordered, the food came within 10 minutes.

It was so good! I loved the oxtail, perfectly cooked and huge, seasoned well and had good meat and some fat on it. There were about 6 oxtails per soup, but I was only able to finish 3 1/2 tails. I loved the minced ginger and cilantro on the side. It gave the soup a nice kick.



Sigh.. I wish I could have some now. $8 for a bowl of oxtail goodness!

Market Street Cafe
California Hotel
12 East Ogden Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 385-1222

California Vegan

We came here totally by chance, since we were actually going to Aroma Cafe across the street. However, I ended up parking in front of CA Vegan and had to go in to ask for change for the meter. Good thing for them, I saw the menu and decided to stay.

Service was spotty and I felt like they were more interested in having conversations with each other than really paying attention to the customers. But, whatevs. It's Asian run and you know Asians and service. :)

We sat at a booth and I ordered the yellow curry with tofu and a side of fried rice. The curry was delicious! It came with carrots, baby corn, cauliflower and broccoli. I was very impressed. Rice was fried brown rice and had some peas in it for good measure, but wasn't anything special. It was also $1 more to add tofu and $1 more for the fried rice. So, the curry ended up being $12. Sneaky sneaky.





I ain't complaining, the curry was good and there were lots leftover to take home.

They should work on service and maybe sprucing the place up a bit. It looks like a diner with the yellow booths. But, hey, maybe that is what they are going for.

California Vegan
7300 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 874-9079

Massimo

I'm very disappointed in the service we received last night.

For a restaurant that charges $24 for risotto, they better step it up.

At first, the waiter was nice and attentive, but after the main course was served, he disappeared. Like forever.

I had the scallop risotto and my boy had the risotto with artichokes. Both were decent, but not especially great. I didn't finish my entree, so my boy helped me out.



After we were done eating, the busboy came and cleared our table and asked us if we wanted any dessert or coffee. We declined.

20 minutes later during our conversation, we were like WTF. Where is the waiter with the check? He had vanished. We tried to peek inside the window to see if we could find him, but nope. So, my boy had to go inside and ask for the check. The waited of course said that he was "just coming out". RIGHT.

Dinner for 2 was $70. The bottled water that we shared was $8.50. Say what?! I'm suspicious that it was actually bottled water. It tasted like ass. But, I didn't want to be a drama queen.

Anyways, inconsistent service for an expensive restaurant is a no-no in my book. Next!

Massimo
9513 S Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 273-7588

Nijiya Market

This market rocks!

On a budget and don't want to shell out mucho moola for a meal? Come here!

I just went and got 4 items for $18! And this will last me a few days.

Salmon avocado roll with organic BROWN rice. Yep. Sushi with brown rice. Love it! $4.99 for 12 pieces.



Agedashi tofu!! My fave tofu ever! $3.49 for two huge honkin' pieces of fried goodness drenched with the special sauce and topped off with scallions. Yum.



Squid Salad, one of my latest obsessions. I love squid and had to buy this small appetizer dish for $3.99.



Eel Bowl- Rice topped with egg and a big piece of Unagi! $5.99. Can't beat that!



See? All this food would have cost at least $25 in a restaurant.

Due to the economic times, I'm cutting back and Nijiya is a savior.

Oooh!! All you winos out there must get the Choya plum wine. It comes in a cute pack of 5 so you can share with your wino friends. $10. And the best part about this wine is that there is an actual PLUM at the bottom of each bottle. That means, suck that plum to get all the wine goodness out!





See the plum? How cute is that?!


Nijiya Market
2130 Sawtelle Blvd
Ste 105
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 575-3300

Le Pain Quotidien

This place serves organic, healthy food but in a pared down fashion.

I felt like the service was amiss. The first waitress was good, but the second one was whatevs. She brought water for 2 people in the party cuz they asked, but didn't ask the other 2 if they wanted water. Umm.. usually, you just bring water for everyone.

Anyway, I had the smoked salmon tartine with avocado and scallions. It was delicious and only 390 calories. I like that they put the caloric info next to the food so you can forgo the 450 calorie cake.



I also had the chamomile mint iced tea which was quite refreshing. My DC ordered the butternut squash soup and it was scrumptious! Tasted so buttery, I couldn't stop. It had a bit of sweetness to it as well. Very good indeed.

Le Pain is good for the calorie counting, nutrition freak. Or for those who just want a wholesome meal. It's a bit pricey though. My tartine was $13.

Le Pain Quotidien
8607 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 854-3700