Westside Tavern (Westside Pavilion Mall)

Well the parents were out of the town for the weekend, you and I both know what that means, party!!! No, but seriously, Saturday night was a brotherly bonding night. The night tipped off with a lovely dining experience at the Westide Tavern and then a movie. Once again, I am writing about one of the best burgers in Los Angeles. Many of the burger restaurants which I have gone to, try to get fancy with their burger and I love it, but the Westside Tavern does not put anything fancy on it, nor do they lather it up with butter, rather is was just a good burger. Inside the mouthwatering burger is tillamook melted cheese, carmelized onions, arugula, garlic aioli, and for those who are are health fanatics, it's on a wheat bun. The combination of those sweet carmelized onions and the melted cheese is a taste that cannot be described in words. Arugula, I do not know why, always makes a burger taste better. By itself argula tastes like I just pulled a leaf from a tree and said "Eat it", but when it is cooked, the crunchiness makes the burger all the merrier. The restaurant was packed, and I mean packed, as I was sitting at my table, I'm pretty sure I felt two things touch me and it wasn't my brother. The burger is sold for a reasonable price of $12, and the service was quite satisfactory in all regards. After the quick dinner, we went to see the new Joseph Gordon-Levitt film, Don Jon, which was a great film for those of all ages. The movie was perfect for a night out with the big brother, and I learned many things about women that I did not know before...

Conch Rating: 7.8/10

Major League Madness

For my annual summer adventure I decided to go on a program which kids and adults dream about doing their whole lives, but never end up actually doing it. Over a course of three weeks, from July 8th to July 29th, my friend Jack and I travelled through the midwest and east coast visiting a majority of the MLB stadiums. As one travels through the cities, one gets an idea of the popular foods at each stadium. Whether I'm in Chicago, Baltimore, or even Detroit, each stadium had a different identity. My journey began in the windy city of Chicago. The first of eleven total games during my trip was played at Wrigley Field home of the Chicago Cubs. Wrigley was known for their Chicago dog, which consists of a sausage, caramelized onion, some greens, and some mustard. The dog was scrumptious, it tasted like no hot dog I had ever had before. The combination of the flavor of the sausage and the onions were mouthwatering. The second stop on my trip was in the city of Detroit. The Detroit Tigers home field is Comerica Park, which sits right in the city, adjacent to Ford FIeld. One of the members on my trip was a Detroit native, and suggested that if I was looking to get a taste of what Detroit is made of, then I should go to Leo's Coney Island Chili Dog. Though the service at the restaurant was not top-notch, the meal completly turned my frown upside down. The chili dog was just an average ordinary bun, a crunchy hot dog, some spicy chili, and little mustard to top it off. While I did have many quality meals on my trip, I would have to say I was most pleased with what I had at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. Food Network set up a little booth at the stadium, which allowed baseball fans to create any combination of hot dogs that they can think off. I got a hot dog on a bread roll with chili, frito's chips, mustard, and grilled onions. I was concerned I was not going to enjoy the frito's chips on the dog, but it just made it all the merrier. I left each city knowing that I got a good sense of what the most renowned baseball park foods are.

Ivy at the Shore

Father's day as we know is the day for children to obey everything their father says without any hesitation. We usually go to Campanile for Father's day, but due to miscommunication with the landlord, the restaurant closed unexpectedly this past year. My father thought the " Ivy at the Shore" would be suffice for this annual occation. The restaurant is located on Ocean Ave with a lovely view of the ocean. Due to the occasion the restaurant had a special brunch for those fathers. While looking through the drink menu I noticed that they had quite a broad range of juices to choose from. I decided to order a glass of pineapple juice. I was waiting for my beverage for a bit until I asked the waitor where my drink was, he replies "it is being juiced as we speak." The pineapple juice was some of the best I had ever had the opportunity of trying. The juice was filled about three quarters of the glass, while the remaining fourth is was foam made from the juice. I woke up that morning with a sweet tooth, and the special for the day was their one of a kind french toast. The french toast was soft and had enough for flavor so that I did not need to top it off with a boatload of syrup. The side of fruit that came along side my dish was some of the most fresh fruit I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. The raspberries tasted like they had just picked these an hour ago. I had nothing to complain about at the end of the meal. I gave the restaurant a 9/10 on the conch scale due to the tastiness of the food and the flawless service we had.

Plan Check

Well school is out, and I do not know what to do now. You always says it is going to be so much better once you hear that final bell ring, but now that I have so much time, I do not know what to do. I always  am open into trying restaurants who claim they are home to the best burger in Los Angeles. I have been to Umami Burger, Marty's, and Houston's, which all meet my ridicolously high standards, but I am sick of the same places, I need a change. Located on Sawtelle Blvd roughly a block south of Santa Monica Blvd, there is a corner burger joint known to the plublic as Plan Check. The restaurant is suitable for all ages, as it has a strong barscene with flat screen televisions brodcasting sports, while the outside dining area is relaxing. I am so obsessed with their one of a kind burger, the "Plan Check Burger," which is the combination of americanized dashi chesse, ketchup leather, schmaltz onions, mixed pickles, and a crunch bun. I was a little hesitant to try the ketchup leather but it turned out to be quite tasty. It is a solid layer of their home made ketchup, which resembles a slice of cheese, but has the taste of what one would think is just normal ketchup. It only takes about ten to fifteen minutes from when you order your food for that hot sizzling burger to come out on a pan. After I took my first bite in that juicy burger, I knew it would be a taste I would never forget. The combination of the crunch bun with the juicy from the sizzling meat combines to form one hell of a burger. The burgers are not huge in size, but are quite rich due to the truffle oil. I gave Plan Check a 9/10 on the Conch Scale, which is quite high compared to the previous restaurants that I have reviewed. I was quite impressed with all aspects of my meal.

Barney's Burgers

Located in the heart of the city, in the infamous neighborhood of Brentwood, there is Barney's Burgers. It may be a little hard to find, but once you put your right foot through the door, you will not expect what you see. The restaurant is designed with news publicity that their chain has recieved throughout the country. While I was up north over Thanksgiving, I went to a different location near the University of California. Going back to my latest weekend dining experience, Byron, Taylor, and I arrived to the restaurant roughly thirty minutes before Allison, so to compensate for the time we ordered some fries and shakes. I am not normally one to nag to the waitor or waitress, but just to recieve our fries it took fifteen to twenty minutes. The fries came out so hot that I struggled with every fry I ate. I ordered an oreo milkshake which is hard to mess up with. The shake was thick and was just was I was looking for.  I do not know if I was just starving for my bacon cheeseburger or if I was actually disapointed with the service. As soon as Allison arrived we ordered the burgers and waited a reasonable fifteen minutes for them to come out steaming off the grill. My bacon cheeseburger was just what I was looking for as it had tons of bacon, a nice buttery bun, no tomatoes, and cheese that was dripping off of the patty. The overall food experience was quite pleasing, but I was not impressed with the service. The waitors and waitresses were working hard, but  I just feel as though they need more staff to better the experience of the customer. I gave Barney's Burgers a 7.25/10 on the Conch scale and I will revaluate the restaurant in the near distance so I can see if they have fixed the flaws that I have pointed out.

STK West Hollywood

Last week my grandmother, Shirley, was in town visiting us when we had a full house again. Shirley always has felt it is necessary to have a dinner without the parents and just the kids. We weere wondering where to go, until Taylor remembered he had gone to a restaurant in 'Vegas, STK. There was a West Hollywood location and we put on clothes on and left.  The restaurant is huge and modern, which caters to both the youth and older generations. There was a happening barscene and the restaurant was quite busy overall. I began the meal with a shrimp rice krispies which were covered in a bisque. The shrimp was not too fishy and it was drenched with my two favorite toppings, garlic and butter. The only problems with the dish were that it was quite filling and after eating the appetizer I felt as though I was about to explode. I knew I could break the theoretical food wall, and for my entrée I had a decadent filet mignon. I really enjoyed the steak because while placing the order, the waiter asks what kind of sauce you would like your steak to be topped with. I chose a red-wine sauce because I really enjoy the taste of steak cooked with red wine. The steak comes out on a plate at a whopping four hundred degrees and it is sizzling. The first bite is always the best, and oh boy was it. The chemistry between the red-wine sauce and the steak is unbreakable. The meal was quite satisfactory in all regards, and I would recommend it for those looking for an above average meal, but willing to pay a little extra for what they get. I gave STK an 8.25/10 on the conch scale, which as you may know is quite good for my strict standards.

Sotto (under)

 Roughly two weeks ago my fellow schoolmate, Michael and I, were looking for a nice meal for a price that is reasonable for two kids in the tenth grade. I always crave Italian food, but there are so many to choose from, but we decided on the decadent Sotto located on Pico Blvd directly across the street from the Ralph's. I have had Sotto before, but I have only taken it out, so it was in a way a new experience for both Michael and I. Mike and I looked to share most of the dishes because we were not looking to spend fifty dollars a person. Accordingly, we split our appetizer which was cooked octopus mixed in with a garbanzo bean purée. We also ordered their homemade bread with a side of burrata cheese. Though I enjoyed both of the appetizers, I felt as thought the chickpea purée was a bit bland for my tongue, but besides that minor infraction I felt as though the dishes were quite satisfactory. The service at Sotto was very quick and generous, but it was a little to quick, in the sense that we did not have enough time in between meals to digest and take a few moments to relax. Moving on to the main dishes, we began the second half of the dining experience with a one of a kind burrata pizza, which was cooked to perfection and also had a thick crust which I prefer. An Italian meal would not be complete without a pasta, so we ordered the house favorite, which was a Casarecce pasta topped with lamb ragu. I always say that dessert is a different stomach, but on this occasion I just could not eat anything else, so I simply ordered a cappuccino, which never seems to disappoint me. Though I enjoyed the meal as a whole, I subtracted points from my rating due to the rapid service and the lack of flavor in the chickpea purée. Accordingly, I gave Sotto a 7.1/10 on the Conch scale and I would highly recommend Sotto those who crave Italian.