I Love Forking

Restaurant: Small with a few tables in the front of the restaurant and outside. You stand in line, order, pick a table, and have your food delivered to you. Don’t come here for the atmosphere; there are few (if any) decorations reminiscent of Greece.

Food: The chicken wrap was good but could be larger. It also seemed premade–wrapped in paper, its contents were compacted, when I expected the pita bread to be a little fluffier. You get a complimentary side of fried pita chips, and those were very crisp and fat-flavored. Baklava was worth the $1.50, as it had generous amounts of honey.

Restaurant: Small and informal. This is definitely like any other hole-in-the-wall. The waitstaff were very down-to-earth and welcoming, however. They did mess up my order, but I had no trouble getting it fixed, and it came to me at a reasonable time.

Food: The slow-smoked chicken was really juicy and, most importantly of all, not burnt. Grilled catfish was good and tender but not the most compelling thing at a barbecue place. The pulled pork was good with the apple vinegar that they provide on the side. Brisket was good but definitely better with the barbecue sauce. For sides, the cornbread was delicious, corn-on-the-cob was decadent–it had cheese and butter all over it–if you’re into that kind of stuff. The place is best known for its sauces: BBQ and PORNOXXX. You can’t go wrong with those.

Restaurant: Hole-in-the-wall but very open and spacious. Parking is provided in a backlot. There is a restaurant, as well as a store and bakery with delicious baklava.

Food: The lamb gyro was very tender and flavorful–and only $5.99! Make sure you put plenty of their yogurt sauce in there. The Turkish delight or lokum was also noteworthy; we purchased the one with pistachios and had a hint of rose water.

Restaurant: Cramped and busy during an early Sunday afternoon, but we were seated promptly. It was casual, and the food came quickly. Waitstaff was nice and attentive.

Food: The chicken in my chicken and swiss cheese crepe was dry. For a sweet crepe, we ordered their chef’s crepe, which consisted of bananas, applesauce, and ground cinnamon; this was nice but more tart than sweet, unfortunately.

Restaurant: Tourist style theme restaurant (One is in Hollywood, the other is literally 10 feet from the entrance to Universal Studios Theme Park). Lots of mannequins dressed like they needed somewhere to put all the costumes now that Clint Eastwood directs movies. Loud and rambunctious, it’s a good place to bring the kid who has a Woody doll or to get large fruity drinks out of a carafe, but not exactly the kind of place you would take a date. Late night the place tries to turn itself into a bar, highlighted by drunken people trying to ride mechanical bulls (yes, it’s plural). The bar was used (or probably advertised) in an episode of Sex and the City as a.) an example of an LA bar (other LA landmarks in the same episode: the Hustler store) and b.) a place for a middle aged sex crazed woman to show off her assets at the weekly bull riding contest. Obviously, that’s how an LA cowboy bar and restaurant operates.

Food: Decent greasy chop house fare. Greasy buffalo wings, every other thing is deep fried, and the steaks could use a little love. Still, it gives some nice southern options (mostly the sides) and does breakfast at dinner. Large fruity drinks are served in small and large (in single person carafes) and, if you want to add an extra buck, ”smokin’ ” (I always hoped that that I could condense more than one bad thing for my body into one action). Say it’s your birthday, and if you’re lucky, the waitress will walk out with a huge metal tray of brownies and cookies topped with a 10-serving metal martini glass full of a foot and a half of cotton candy. That’s just enough sugar to make someone want to get on a mechanical bull.

–IHeartAttack

Restaurant: Old fashioned pretentiousness is the word. Lots of beautiful, expensive dark wood mixed with dark lighting and an air of money and good old wine. Come dressed to the nines and ready to spend a dime. The downtown location is popular at lunchtime with the business suit crowd and gets fairly busy. Try the bar for less of a wait and, as with most Downtown restaurants, a nice happy hour.

Food: Perfect steaks, amazing burgers, and delicious accoutrements. The only bad side I’ve had there is mashed potatoes which were a little lumpy. The baked potato (seemingly always available) more than makes up for this shortcoming. Going at lunch is a great deal with great lunch specials. Monday leads to a delicious Kobe beef meatloaf while Thursday leads to a popular (and well priced) prime rib. Go early if you want the prime rib on Thursday, at a mere twenty dollars, the beef sells out fast.

–IHeartAttack