CF Food Kitchen, American, French, Cajun/Creole, Granada Hills, CA

CF FOOD KITCHEN
16205 Devonshire Blvd.
Granada Hills, CA 91344
(818) 363-5781



My wife and I had been meaning to try this place for a while, especially with all the great reviews and the fact that it is so close to us in the Valley, but were sorely disappointed in just how long it took. Now it was Valentines day and a special Price Fixe menu.

It is in a little strip mall with a very small parking lot, though we did get a spot easily.

My wife made our Valentines day reservation very early, in fact they said we were the first reservation that anyone had made, and we made it for 8 PM. On the night we went and got their by 7:45 to see a bunch of people outside and waiting, which was not a good sign. The place was nuts, and we waiting a little over an hour from when we got there until we were seated. We had thought that people were just not leaving, but it turns out that was not the issue.

Once we got seated the waiter was awesome, and the food was great, but it took so long! It was a special Price Fixe menu, though similar to their multi course menu, and they had either 4 or 5 items, 2 or 3 appetizers a main dish and dessert, with many choices for each 3 or 4 apps for each choice and about 5 dinners and 5 desserts. The problem is that getting the food just took so long!

We didn't get out of there until 11:30 and the table next to us had been seated when we got there and only left a little before us, not because of waiting, but because it took so long for the food to come! They obviously did not factor in the time it would take to cook in the reservations they took! And obviously the Chef needed more help for the amount of reservations that they had. The food just took so incredibly long!

The food was great! I had the crab cake with remoulade and fruit , and it was awesome (the remoulade was good, but with the fruit it was amazing), as was the Duck confit, which was perfect and the Beef Wellington was some of the best I have ever had. And the Key Lime Pie and Cheese Cake were both great.

The food was awesome! My only complaint about the food was that bread was only OK, and my wife liked her seafood pasta, but didn't love it like I loved the Beef Wellington. Still it was all very good, but the Chef took so long! I think they just took too many reservations for the time it took to cook all those meals. Maybe with the Price Fixe menu they should have had less choices so it would take less time?

And the waiter though incredibly busy was great! He had a great personality and did a great job! I had constant refills on my water (I do drink allot of water).

The wine was decent and not too expensive, and they had a good selection and some beers you can get as well, though we didn't.

Honestly I would like to try some of the more creole dishes some time, but after the wait for the food it left a sour taste in my mouth and I am just not sure if we will be returning.

Horseless Carriage Restaurant @ Galpin, Diner, American, Breakfast, North Hills, CA

Horseless Carriage Restaurant
15505 Roscoe Blvd.
North Hills, CA 91343
(818) 892-3707
7am - 9 PM




Kelly and I had wanted to try this place for a long time, as we had heard good things, and we had tried before, but the parking is pretty limited, but we finally made our way here.

The place is tiny, with a counter and a row of booths and some seats outside, where we sat, as we didn't want to wait for a booth.

The service was good, and so was the food. Decent diner food.

I had a very decent diner hamburger, the Galpinburger which was a large 1/2 pound burger with fries, coleslaw, lettuce, tomato and pickles. A bit pricy at $10.95, but as I said a decent diner burger.

Kelly had some sort of crab eggs benedict, which was delicious and huge, and quite tasty.

And we got a hot fudge sunday for desert and they split it into 2 dishes for us, and it was heaped with fudge above and below the ice cream.

Enjoyable, though a pain to park with decent food and a huge menu.

Kountry Folks Restaurant, Breakfast, American, North HIlls, CA

8501 Sepulveda Blvd.
North Hills, CA 91343
(818) 895-2385
6:30 AM - 9:00 PM





My wife Kelly and I had passed this place many times, and since she loves breakfast we thought we should give it a try, and honestly I wish we had passed. The best thing I can say is it is really inexpensive, but the food was mediocre at best and so was the service.

Not only that, but the place is kind of dark and dingy. And we while the waitresses were very busy, we really waited a while to even have someone come by and take our orders.

As I said the best thing was price, as Kelly got a 2+2+2+2 special for $4.99 with 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon and 2 sausage links. She wasn't too hot on the pancakes which were not very fluffy and the eggs weren't too special.

I went for a hamburger with fried and a salad. The salad was basically iceberg lettuce with Italian dressing. The fries seemed previously frozen, and burger though a decent size was nothing special at all.

Overall I would skip this place completely, unless you really need a cheap breakfast and that is the only criteria.

Lee's Sandwiches, Vietnamese Bahn Min Fast Food, Various Locations

Lee's Sandwiches

55 Locations, including many in Southern California

 

When my lovely wife and I went to get our new puppy east off the 60, we stoppee in a mall for lunch and decided to go with Lee's Sandwiches. This was a large and clean chain restaurant, with inexpensive Vietnamese Bahn Mi, as well as American sandwiches on fresh baked 10 inch French Bread. And did I mention cheap? Now the prices seem different between stores, but still run between $3 and $4 for the average sandwich!

Even better the sandwiches are delicious! So far we have tried the Grilled Pork and the Special with Jambon, headcheese and pate. Both are fantastic, with great crunch from the veggies, but the grilled pork is just fantastic! And seems to be the same between different stores!

Different stores have various different appetizers and foods. And they have delicious smoothies, and I recomend the passion fruit!

At the first store we looked up the place online, and were delighted to find there is a branch right near us in North Hills, as well as one in Lake Balboa. The prices are slightly higher in North Hills, but the same quality food with more appetizers, and various asian candies. And it looks like it is doing great! We could not be more delighted.

It may not be the best bahn mi in the world, but the quality is great and consistent, the taste is good and the prices are great! Why would I ever eat at Subway when I can have this?

Currant American Brasserie, French American Cuisine, San Diego, CA

Currant American Brasserie
at the Sofia Hotel
140 W Broadway,
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 702-6309

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My lovely Wife and I went to San Diego for our 5th Wedding anniversary, and were kind of playing it by ear as to were we would go, and ended up at the Currant in the Sofia Hotel. This is a stylish little French Brasserie and bar, and we have to say we were quite pleased.

We went early, and they have happy hour specials from 4:00 PM till 7 PM and 9 PM till close, including many items on the menu, and $5 wine glasses (red, white and sparkling), they had $5 mint juleps for the Kentucky derby as well.

The place was pretty empty, but still the service as exceptional with very friendly wait staff and buss boys. They even recommended bars to go to afterwards to see the sunset.

To star we had drinks and Popcorn of the Moment which changes every day. We had feta and basil and it was hot and delicious. Going to have to try and make this at home.

I had traditional Moules Frites in white wine with tomatoes and shallots and it was fantastic. Kelly had Moules Frites Basserie, which was in a bear sauce with bacon, leaks, chili and thyme. It was quite good, but not as good as the traditional. and they were only $8.95 instead of $14.95 because of happy hour!

Kelly also had an excellent French Onion soup.

For desert Kelly had a Butterscotch Gooey Butter Cake with Walnut chocolate praline ice cream, which she loved, and I had a very good blueberry hand made sorbet.

We also had a glass of absinthe, with the whole burning the sugar and then bringing a water decanter to pour in water. Very fun, though I am sure Kelly won't try it again (not liking black licorice, not that I do either).

Good food, great deals for Happy Hour and great service. If this was in Los Angles, we would certainly be back!

Freebirds World Burrito, Mexican American, Granada Hills, CA

Freebirds World Burrito 17947 W Chatsworth St Granada Hills, CA 91344 (818) 368-8239 My wife and I had walked by this place many times on the way to the sublime Zankou Chicken, and since I love burritos, we finally decided it was time to give it a try. Looking inside I was very excited. Another Subway for Burritos like Chipotle. And the 4 sizes seemed even more exciting, as I can usually eat a lot (especially now on the warrior diet). I was excited by the cayenne tortilla (but wasn't impressed by it) and had a monster sized steak burrito with spanish rice, black beans, onions and roasted peppers along with various of the hot sauces, including the hot tomatillo sauce and the habanero sauce (none of which were too impressive to me, though I did like the little salsa bar). Honestly I just wasn't too impressed with the flavor. Sure I might give it one more try, but really I can make my own burritos that are much better than what I had, and it isn't that hard. And with Zankou next door, and Pieology as well, this place is pretty down on a list of places to try again.

Charcoal, Hamburger and Steak, Hollywood, CA

Charcoal
6372 Sunset Blvd
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323)-465-8500
Sun-Thu 11am-Midnight
Fri-Sat 11am-1:30am
Brunch Saturdary and Sunday 10:30am-3:30pm

GOOGLE MAP

••••THE HORROR!! IT SEEMS CHARCOAL IS GONE! CLOSED FOR GOOD! SO SAD, THE BEST BURGER IN LOS ANGELES GONE AFTER SUCH A SHORT TIME!!!!!••••

Located at the South East Corner of Sunset and Ivar, with parking in the Arclight parking garage (remember to validate) for some reason I had a much different impression of this place than what it was really like. And with the quality of the food, I am so surprised that there weren't more people there at 7:30 on a friday night, because the food is damn good, like maybe better than Houston's good. And the menu is very reminiscent of Houstons. This burger and steak place is well worth checking out. ••• Not only that but right now they have a 1/2 price deal, Monday through Saturday, 3 PM to 6 PM, and it is about half the menu. What a great deal! •••

Babalu, Latin American Cafe, Santa Monica, CA

1002 Montana Ave,
Santa Monica, CA 90403

GOOGLE MAP

My dad and I went here for lunch when he was in town off the recommendation of my uncle (something about cute waitresses is what I think he told my dad), and I have to say I am glad we went because the food is actually quite good, and has quite an eclectic menu. They also have some interesting looking drink concoctions, but we stayed away from those as it was lunch time. This is a delicious Montana eatery, just watch for parking enforcement.

Edendale Grill, American Restaurant, Los Feliz, CA

2838 Rowena Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039

(323) 666-2000
Mon-Thurs 5:30 PM-10PM Sun 10A-3PM, 5:30 PM - 10pm, Bar Sun-Wed 5 PM-12am, Thu-Sat 5pm-2AM

Google Map

Kelly and I wouldn't even have known this place if we didn't go with Tara and Rick. It is a cool looking place, built in the old 1920's firehouse for the era, with hardwood floors, and craftsman light fixtures, and covered in photos celebrating the old history of Hollywood. Parking is non-existant, so pay for the parking, which is just North of it on Rowena. Their is a cool outside patio with heaters, and a huge bar, which is where the firetruck used to park, and is quite loud. And their is a smoking patio in the back, where the restrooms are. The main entrance is huge, and has a couple of chairs to wait, and check out all the old photos, they are very cool. The food and service was decent, but not great for the price. I have certainly had better, though the atmosphere was nice.

Harper's Express, American Deli and Food, Century City, CA

Harper's Express

Westfield Century City

10250 Santa Monica Blvd.

Century City, CA

(310) 553-1300

GOOGLE MAP

Located in the amazing new food court at the South End of Century City, located next to the new AMC Theater. This is easily the nicest food court I have ever seen. This is an excellent little restaurant, which isn't cheap, but has some damn tasty salads. I would certainly have a bite here again, and try the normal version of this restaurant which is also located in Century City. They have breakfast, salads, sandwiches, panninis, pastas and entrees as well as soup and flatbread.

Daily Grill, American Restaurant, Burbank, CA

Daily Grill

2500 Hollywood Way

Burbank, CA 91505

(818) 840-6464

GOOGLE MAP

At the Marriott Hotel near the Burbank Airport, this place is fairly expensive, and has OK food, though actually they have pretty incredible hamburgers. I used to love the Daily Grill, when we used to pick up Nicoise salad's with rare Ahi Tuna, and it was fantastic. Unfortunately the menu seems to have changed, and everything on it is incredibly expensive. The service is decent, and fast, but the menu is pretty pricey, and there was not too much I wanted on it.

Father's Office, Pub and Restaurant, Santa Monica, CA

Father's Office

1018 Montana Ave.

Santa Monica, CA 90403

(310) 393-BEER

GOOGLE MAP

I have been reading about this place like crazy, with a huge write up in both Los Angeles Magazine and also FOOD AND WINE magazine, and had been dying to try out this bastion of beer and burgers, which has won tons of award and accolades all over the place. This is one of the hippest places in town, and the line outside, and lack of parking add to that image. The place has a ton of beers on tap, with many obscure beers, as the owner/chef is trying to make beer the new wine. The place is tiny too, and you literally have to wait like a hawk to try and get a seat as soon as people get up, and then sneak in, and then you must order from the bar, and they will bring the food to your (though you get your drinks at the bar).

Now I really wanted to love this place, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed.

Hot Wings Cafe, Chicken Wings and Beer, Glendale, CA

314 N. Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203-2304
(818) 247-4445

GOOGLE MAP

These are some of the best Hot Wings in Los Angeles, coming in 4 flavors, up to quite spicy, and the prices aren't bad either. My only complaint is the service could be better, but what can you do when the wings are this good?

Topz, Hamburger Restaurant, Toluca Lake, CA

Topz
10119 Riverside Dr.
Toluca Lake, CA 91602
(818) 766-9066

GOOGLE MAP

I had been looking forward to this place, which bills itself as having the LEANEST BURGERS IN AMERICA for a while, since one of the producers I have been working with mentioned it to me. And I have to say I was very disappointed. I was not too impressed at all, though I did like the syrups and formulas you can add to your soda, though they can't be good for you, and don't make up for the unimpressive and borring hamburgers and fries this place serves.

Gordon Biersch, American Food and Brewery, Burbank, CA

Gordon Biersch

145 S. San Fernando Blvd,

Burbank, CA 91502

Sun-Thurs: 11:30 AAm-Midnight Fri-Sat 11:20 AM-1:00AM

GOOGLE MAP

Right in the heart of downtown Burbank, I have been to this restaurant a few times, and wasn't too impressed the first few times, but I must say I really enjoyed my meal this last time. This place is medium priced, and has a decent bar and beer selection, and the service is pretty decent. Not a bad chain restaurant.

South Street, Philadelphia Style Cheese Steaks, Burbank, CA

South Street

117 North Victory Blvd.

Burbank, CA 91502

(8180 563-2211

GOOGLE MAP

A quite large restaurant in what was obviously a strip mall at the North West corner of Victory Blvd and Clark Ave, this place has some great food, and is well worth checking out. In fact I can guarantee I will be going here again. Not only is this the best Philly Cheese Steak that I have had in Los Angeles, but the Pizza is pretty damn good thin crust New York style pizza. My only complaint is they seem to have forgotten my order, and so it took way too long, but I will give them a second chance.

California Pizza Kitchen, California Quisine mixed with Pizza, Glendale CA and all over

CPK

101 N. Brand Ave

Glendale, CA 91203

(818) 507-1558

Monday - Thursday: 11:30 AM - 10:00 PM, Friday, Saturday: 11:30 AM - 11:00 PM, Sunday: 11:30 AM - 10:00 PM

A decent enough mishmash of a restaurant. Really not a pizza place, but a Fusion restaurant, will all sorts of different Pizza like products. Reasonable priced with huge portions, though not the best food. Decent enough for a chain, but not too impressive, but certainly good enough for a quick bite.

Outback Steak House, American Steak House, Burbank, CA

Outback Steak House

1761 N. Victory Place

Burbank, CA

(818) 567-2717

Monday - Thursday: 4-10, Friday: 4-11, Saturday: 12-11, Sunday: 12-9:30

I had never been here, and went for dinner after work with my girlfriend, and must say I was actually fairly impressed. The steak was quite tasty and cooked exactly as I asked. Sure I was too stuffed afterwards, but this place is worth a try, because for steak it is pretty reasonably priced.

Dave and Busters, American Restaurant, Arcadia, CA

Dave and Busters

400 S. Baldwin Ave. Ste 930-U

Arcadia, CA 91007

(626) 802-6115

Mon - Wed: 11:00 am - 12:00 am, Thur: 11:00 am - 1:00 am ,Fri - Sat: 11:00 am - 2:00 am, Sun: 11:00 am - 12:00 am

GOOGLE MAP

This arcade and restaurant is in the Santa Anita mall in Arcadia, and is quite fun, but the restaurant is not worth eating at. The menu for both food and all the mixed drinks seemed great, and sounded tasty, but that did not prove to be the case. The service was awful, having to repeat things to the waiter repeatedly, and it took way too damn long. Not only that, but the food was absolutely horrible, and it seemed to have sat out for way too long. In fact this was the least I have ever tipped for dinner because the service and food were so bad.

Roscoe's Chicken' N Waffles, American Restaurant, Hollywood, CA

Roscoe's Chicken' N Waffles

1518 North Gower Street

Hollywood, CA 90028-6422

(323) 962-0276

9A-4P 7 Days a Week

Who would ever have thought Chicken and waffles could be so good. This is the ultimate southern food place in Los Angeles. The line outside is always insanely long for this predominately African American restaurant which also have other locations in LA. The food is not exactly healthy, but it is certainly good, though the orange juice is way too small for the price.