Hungry Pocket

Hungry Pocket
1715 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Or the Happy Pocket as I always incorrectly refer to it. This was Jessica's dinner favorite during her stint at Santa Monica College, and it's the best greek cheap eats I've had, including my stint in Syracuse and perennial drive to Vegas standby the Mad Greek.

My gyro was excellent, Jessica swears by the falafel. I've never been super keen on falafel, but I had a couple of falafel balls and may have changed my ways. Stuffed grape leaves were also a new and tasty twist. And Baba Ganoush has been my obsessive snack of choice for the past year and didn't disappoint.

Dinner:
-Chicken Gyro
-Falafel Sandwich
-Stuffed Grape Leaves
-Baba Ganoush

Drinks:
-Iced Tea
-Fresh Squeezed Carrot Juice

Dessert:
-Baklava (mmmmm...)


Details

Border Grill

Border Grill
1445 4th St
Santa Monica, CA 90401

We're running behind. Review coming soon...

Dinner:
-Carnitas Norteñas
-?????

Drinks:
-Añejo Margaritas


Details

Fassica

Fassica
10401 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232

Jessica was going to take me to Nyala, but thought that was cheating since we've been there before (though not for a SFR) so we ended up at this tiny Ethiopian place across from Sony instead. We had noticed it a few weeks before, and decided it was worth a shot since it was Ethiopian, close, new, and had a name that rhymed with Jessica. Very unassuming when we walked in, with a friendly staff showing off their "best cheap eats" review in a magazine while promptly attending to our every need. I sort of felt like I was in that Seinfeld episode where he goes to the new Indian place that nobody else goes to and ends up making a suggestion that puts them out of business. "You very bad man!"

That feeling was unfounded, as a few other diners entered shortly after our arrival, and the food was excellent with no need for suggestions from the likes of us. We ordered the full shared dinner platter with a little bit of everything on it. The injera was the best I've ever had, with an almost sourdough taste to it.

I can't quite remember everything on the plate, but I'll try: Spicy doro wot chicken, suprisingly good collared greens (gomen), fresh made cottage cheese (not my thing, but Jessica liked it), yellow peas (yum), lentils, lamb, and various other vegetables. We licked the platter clean, including the leftover injera that gains flavor after soaking up the juices from everything else over the course of the meal.

Only downside was at the very end, when we hoped for the fancy Ethiopian coffee but instead got regular old percalated joe. But it wasn't bad, and how much can you really complain of a place that encourages you to eat with your hands? I'm sure this will hit the weekend lunch rotation in the near future.


Dinner:
-Dinner Platter with Everything On It (the best way to have Ethiopian food)

Drinks:
-Bottle of Red Wine
-Regular Coffee


Details

Pizano's

Pizano's Pizza and Pasta
3466 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60657

First let's get this out of the way: Wrigley Field was awesome, except for the whooping the Sox got in game one. Polish style dogs from the upper deck stand behind home plate are recommended; regular dogs sold by vendors not so much. And Old Style beer is not as bad as one might think.

On to the SFR. Not really following the traditional rules. It was the day after Jessica's birthday and we took the redeye Thurs to get here, so I asked a friend in Chicago to pick a non-chain Chicago style pizza place for dinner after the game. She's lived in Chicago for about 9 months and had only been to a few, with Pizano's being her fave.

There were 6 of us; we had a deep dish and a thin crust. Lots of food, good but not great, but at least it wasn't Unos.

Appetizer:
-Cheesy Garlic Bread

Dinner:
-Thin Crust Veggie
-Deep Dish Meat

Drinks: (apologies for the lack of specificity; it was a long day)
-Water
-Beer
-Soda

EXTRA: Breaking from the "rules" of the SFR blog, here are a couple of shoutouts of other Chicago locales:

Kinzie Chophouse was amazing! On the other hand, The Artist's Cafe had horrible service (including the owner publicly barking orders and disrespecting patrons waiting to eat) to go with mediocre food.

Pizano's Details

Bombay Cafe

Bombay Cafe
12021 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064

(Warning: Restaurant Rocks, but their website sucks)

Unsuspecting little place we've probably driven by a million times. Jessica scored well on this pick. Nearby, cozy, and some great indian food. Samosas were amongst the best we've ever had. She went for the dosa after hearing great things about it on KCRW's "Good Food" and it didn't disappoint. I wavered on a few choices, and ended on a tomato stew style Tikka that was also excellent.

This review has been delayed so long due to a busy week that I can't think of much more to say here. I suppose this makes it the proper time to acknowledge that I usually fudge the timestamps on the SFR blog posts to reflect the time we were at the restaurant rather than the time we got around to writing about it.

Next weekend we're off to Chicago to take in the Red Sox/Cubs series at Wrigley; Jessica has made me promise that we won't be writing about hot dogs on SFR. (Or at least something else in addition to hot dogs...)

Appetizer:
-Samosas (The Best!)
-Garlic Naan

Dinner:
-Masala Dosa (deceivingly large, but very good)
-Makhni Tikka

Drinks:
-Glass of Cabernet
-Big Bottle of Taj Mahal Beer

Details

Madeo

Madeo
8897 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Although it felt a bit out of our league, comfort level, and price range upon arrival, we can't say enough good things about this place. Expensive without being overpriced, attentive service, a comfortable feel once you warm to it, and remarkable food that's among the best we've ever had.

The only drawback (more of a personal pet peeve than anything actually bad) was that the tables were on top of each other, so you're essentially eating with the people around you whether you want to or not. Some of the clientele near us were a bit pretentious with a conversation about "lovers," but that's just LA for you. Unbeknownst to me, this edition of the SFR doubled as the SBR (Secret Birthday Restaurant) as Jessica caught me off guard 4 days early. After overhearing this the couple to our right chimed in with a pleasant exchange, really sealing the deal on the friendly vibe.

Happy (early) Birthday to me...


Appetizer:
-Caprese Salad (Superb mozzarella)
-Panzanella (Devine!)

Dinner:
-Artichoke Risotto (Very good; Jessica was unsure of the protocol for a doggy bag due to the classiness of the place...)
-Tagliata alle Erbe Aromatiche (melt in your mouth steak)

Dessert:
-Apple Tart

Drinks:
(We mixed and matched, both having one of each from the "by the glass" list)
-Cabernet
-Malbec

Details

Ayara Thai Cuisine

Ayara Thai Cuisine
6245 W 87th St
Los Angeles, CA 90045

This week's choice for Friday the 13th revolved around an unnecessary airport run. On our way back from Hawaii, we volunteered to get bumped from our flight in exchange for $500 vouchers on a future flight. It turns out that these vouchers: A) Can only be used if you purchase the ticket at the airport, and B) purchasing a ticket at the airport results in an additional $10 fee per ticket. Long story short, we had to go to the airport on Friday night to use our $480 vouchers for two future trips, and thus I decided to check out the LAX culinary scene with my SFR pick.

The look on Jessica's face when we pulled up to this place indicated that it was not the best choice. I'll admit I was surprised by the low key dive-ness of it, but it had an A in the window and the reviews were off the charts. She wasn't just skeptical of the location, as she also reminded me that after a Thai stop in Hawaii she decided she didn't really like Thai food anymore. I assumed it was just from our frequent partaking in it rather than a major revelation.

Anyways, in the end Ayara impressed us both. Great flavor, authentic dishes, and a spice factor that was off the charts. We even had some unintentional comedy from a family at a nearby table. The dad's meal was so spicy he was turning red and sweating as he sucked down beer after beer, while the son and mother practiced a warped form of lemaze breathing to cool off their mouths.

A few days later Jessica was raving about her leftovers, so it seems to be a winner, though probably reserved for our next airport trip.

Appetizer:
-Vegetable Rolls (best ever!)

Dinner:
-Jungle Curry with Beef
-Rice Dish with Tofu and Chilis (can't remember the exact name and no online menu)

Drinks:
-Sing Tao Beer

Details