FUEGO BISTRO & PIZZERIA

Fuego Bistro & Pizzeria was not on my "Places to Eat" list....think Pomodoro, a slightly better version of the Olive Garden.

I met up with a few people for dinner last Thursday; they picked FB&P because it's walking distance from the Marriott Park City, and the food is reasonably priced.

We started off with an artichoke side dish (ok, greasy) and pizza. The pizza was mediocre -Digiorno Pizza is better.

I shared the Chicken Pasta Fresca with my colleague; it was ok --nothing to rave about.
I tried my friend's Baked Rigatoni with Meatballs, and ditto, it's quite boring.
Another person in our group tried the Pasta Frittata and um...let's just say he barely touched it. They wanted to make the hippo sleep.

Nonetheless, Fuego Bistro & Pizzeria is good for big groups (space is like a warehouse -high ceilings) and inexpensive (I think we (party of 6) spent $130 not including tip).

Address: 2001 Sidewinder Dr Park City, UT 84068
Phone#: (435) 645-8646
Rating: 3 out of 5

Share

GOOD KARMA

I'm scared to write a negative review on Good Karma, not that Hippos are prone to believing into superstitions.

A local recommended us to have breakfast at Good Karma as Park City hates brunch (it's very tough finding a restaurant offering breakfast). Good Karma is a cute, cozy Persian/ Indian restaurant that also serves the All-American breakfast..

I ordered the Good Karma Frittata
...and as you can see it's not a Frittata but an Omelet. I was disappointed that there were only (3) sausage pieces in the Frittata.. Their homemade scone was spongy. Their Chai Latte is pretty good.

If you're craving breakfast and near the Marriot Park City Hotel area, dine here.

Address: 1782 Prospector Ave Park City, UT 84060
Phone#: (435) 658-0958
Rating: 3 out of 5
Share

EASY STREET BRASSERIE

We had an event at Easy Street Brasserie last week and the staff did an excellent job making sure the buffet was replenished and the guests were taken care of.

Right before we opened the doors to the guests, my colleague and I split the $17 Cheeseburger w/ Garlic Fries.

Their Garlic Fries are damn good! The Cheeseburger was juicy and good too, but wow, their Garlic Fries are a must!

The restaurant itself is cute with low ceilings and red walls creating an intimate or claustaphobic environment. The restaurant is split into (2) rooms separated by French window doors.

I'm very happy to know that there's another great restaurant on Main Street.

Address: 201 Heber Ave Park City, UT 84060
Phone#: (435) 658-2500
Rating: 5 out of 5
Share

WINDY RIDGE CAFE

Park City hates brunch.

I came to Windy Ridge Café last Thursday because I had read that they serve eggs Benedict just to be disappointed; WRC only serves brunch during the summer. Argh.

I decided to try WRC for lunch the next day as they were highly praised by other hippos. Their "famous" Corn Chowder soup was delicious but too spicy for me. The waiter was kind enough to allow me to sample the soup before committing to it. I had their Cream of Mushroom Soup instead, which was amazing!

As you can see, the soup was served in a cute pot. I wished they offered cup servings. It had the perfect weight distribution--it was a light-heavy soup. I know, it doesn't make sense, but if you try it, you'll know what I mean.

For my main meal, I decided to try something new, the Tilapia Sandwich, which was tasty but a little too fishy for me.

Lunch came out to $25 including tip.

In a nutshell, WRC serves flavorful, comfort food that will make your tummy happy.

Address: 1250 Iron Horse Dr Park City, UT 84060
Phone: (435) 647-0880
Rating: 4 out of 5
Share

EATING ESTABLISHMENT

I should rate Eating Establishment higher as it's the ONLY restaurant (not hotel restaurant) that serves breakfast until 4PM, but the food is just average. Since it's the only breakfast joint (I don't know why there aren't more restaurants serving brunch during Sundance... Sundance = parties = late nights = drinking = waking up late = eggs @ 1PM = :D ) wait time is usually 30 minutes.

The eggs at Eating Establishment are basted; I prefer my Eggs Benedict to be 100% poached. I also prefer to have the lemon juice already in the Hollandaise sauce (had a slice of lemon on side).

The Home Fries were boring. Their Fresh Strawberries Waffle looks better than what it tasted.
The side of Chorizo links was good. With coffee and juice, the total was around $30 not including tax.

So, if you're craving eggs in the afternoon, you are screwed and need to eat the Eating Establishment.

Address: 317 Main Park City, UT 84060
Phone: (435) 649-8284
Rating: 3 out of 5

Photo credit: Phil H. (top photo only)
Share

MANDARIN NOODLE DELI

Today was my 2nd attempt to try Luscious Dumpling's dumplings and I failed! What is up with LD? Sigh. Double Sigh. Growl.

There was a long line when I arrived at Mandarin Noodle Deli, and to my luck I was seated immediately. Wow! Was it my terrible Mandarin that got me such good service? Oh...wait, not so fast...it took the waiter (I believe she was the owner...I heard a customer said "lao bong" = boss) 15 minutes to take my order. They really need to get more help and have a system (i.e. assigned busser, waiter, host, etc.). I saw 2 employees and the owner in the dining section, which is crazy for the amount of customers there.

Oh swell, I read the reviews as I waited and knew I was going to order the beef scallion pancakes, fried meat dumplings, boiled meat dumplings and the beef stew noodle. I know, I know, my eyes were bigger than my stomach; well at least there's no need to go out for dinner, and I'll save the noodles for my friend tomorrow.

The beef scallion pancakes rolls are a must!
I'll admit some beef parts were fatty, and it was my 1st bspr, but they're pretty good--especially with the hoisin sauce. The beef stew noodle was good albeit 35% of the beef was fat...supposedly Kingburg's beef is not fatty.

The fried dumplings were ok, but oh man, the boiled meat dumplings are a must!
Sorry no photos, I ate 'em up really fast. I will definitely order their boiled meat dumplings again. Total spent: $26 (not including tip).

Mandarin Noodle Deli was a good last meal before I start my 7-day cleanse!

Address: 9537 Las Tunas Drive Temple City, CA 91780
Phone#: (626) 309-4318
Rating: 4 out of 5

Photo credit: Mike L. (top photo only)
Share

BLOOM CAFE

Need a light, healthy brunch place to take your health freak friends to? Bloom Cafe is the place!

Continuing giving food to my family and friends...the following are actual text messages between my dear friend Shaz and I:

Me: "take u out 4 pizza as ur xmas gift?"
Shaz: "...but pizza is a tough sell for me - with our without cheese..."

I forgot that she couldn't do dairy...

Me: "ok, we can do sushi"
Shaz: "??? serious? i'd take pizza with cheese over sushi...dontcha know? didn't you see my blog sunday?"
Me: "No...let me check..."

Shaz discussed about an article in the LA Times on how the eels raised in China are contaminated.

Me: "Just don't eat the eel?"
Shaz: "or the tuna or the farm raised salmon...or the rice. Let's do brunch."

Hmmm...ok, I guess I need to take her to an organic, grass fed cow and cage free birds restaurant. I plugged in the key search words and wa-lah Blossom Café came out. I remembered reading Anh T's review and suddenly started to dream about their Mac 'n cheese, but funny enough I didn't order it, as there's no fun eating it in front of Shaz.

We entered the sleek, modern cafeteria split into 2 sections; to the left you have the "café" and to-go side and to the right we have the dine-in restaurant side.

I started with the mint lemonade & the green chai latte. I was disappointed with the both drinks. They should crush the mint in the lemonade and the green chai latté? It was like drinking sand. They use powder that's not um...not refined well? It was so unbearable I had to switch to a different drink. Shaz stuck to coffee and water (w/ cucumber). Smart.

I ordered the 2x2x2 and Shaz ordered the poached eggs w/ tomato basil & goat cheese.

Shaz enjoyed her meal. I like the goat cheese with the egg. and as Shaz mentioned, the eggs were perfectly poached.

My 2x2x2 was perfect. The pancakes were light and fluffy; I actually ate the entire thing, and I usually don't if I'm having eggs and meat. I like how they give you (1) bacon and (1) sausage, so at the end of the mean you don't feel like you overate. Btw, skip the bacon and have (2) sausages instead and dip the sausage in the syrup instead (yum...I guess it's a good thing that the busboy didn't give me ketchup). I opted for fruits instead of potatoes -good selection (watermelon, pineapple, grapes and mangos).

As Shaz pointed out, service would be better if there were (2) servers. There was only (1) server, (1) barista, and (1) busboy.

Overall, I would come back here because they offer fresh & healthy food, cage-free eggs, grass fed cows, and fresh juices. Oh yeah, I need to try their Mac n' cheese next time.

Address: 5544 Pico Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90019
Phone#: (323) 934-6900
Rating: 4 out of 5
Share

KINGBURG KITCHEN

The waitress tried to kill the hippo.

I went to Luscious Dumplings last Friday at 7pm just to find out that they were out of dumplings! People weren't kidding about getting there early. Hmm...maybe I need to overnight it, right outside of LD's to try their Deluscious Luscious Dumplings?

Well...at least there was Kingburg Kitchen across the street. The interior looks like it could have once been a Hotdog On A Stick place or some fast food joint w/ its red/white tiles and its red booths. The circle ceiling part is painted baby blue with glow-in the-dark star stickers...trippy.

I really wanted to try their noodles, but I just stuck to my mission: dumplings. I ordered the boiled pork dumplings, cabbage & pork fried buns, and scallion pancakes. Free hot tea. The scallion pancakes came out 1st. As Pete S pointed out, they are "dry, like cardboard dry," but I would take them over Dumpling Master's greasy scallion pancakes any day. And then I waited 20 minutes...for the poisonous dumplings.

After one dumpling, I thought it was ok, but then there was a tingling sensation in my throat and my stomach started to feel sick and then I cut the 2nd dumpling in half and knew why...the waitress was trying to kill me. The dumplings had shrimp in it!

She knew that I was allergic to shrimp! As you can see from their menu, there are only (4) kinds of Fried Buns. I told her I was allergic to shrimp and needed option #1 to be substituted with a pork fried bun. I didn't realized that the ingredients were mixed together, so she told me to get the Cabbage and Pork Fried Buns as the Vegetarian buns were sold out...and I guess they didn't have the Pork w/ Leeks...? She lied and pretended that she didn't know that I was allergic to shrimp. I DESPISE LIARS. She was like, well you order the pork dumplings. Again from their menu shot, you can see that there are 6 different pork dumplings! It's her fault for not asking me which ones; she works there and is familiar with the menu. Now, one may say it's partially my fault for not telling her which one, but I did instruct her that I was allergic to shrimp. Fuck, any dumplings without shrimp would have made me happy...and safe.

Now had she admitted that she fucked up because she was starring at the sky ceiling, spacing out I would have given Kingburg Kitchen 3 stars. Had my order been right (w/out shrimp), I would have given 'em 4 stars.
Once I got my boiled pork/leek dumplings (another 20 minute wait) I can see why people like Kingburg Kitchen's dumplings. They're 100x's better than Dumplings Master.

I am curious to try their beef noodles...I know that doesn't have shrimp, maybe next time--maybe...

The service was slow because there was only (1) cook and (1) waiter/busser. Prior to the waitress' plot of killing me, we got along; it was ashamed that it got ugly. Total was around $16 (not including tip) and a scratchy throat.

To all restaurant owners, please instruct your waiters to get the orders right--especially when dealing with food allergies!

Address: 715 W Las Tunas Dr San Gabriel, CA 91776
Phone#: (626) 282-2386
Rating: 2 out of 5

Photo credits: Mike L (top and 3rd photo) and Spencer Y (menu photos)
Share

ASANEBO

The key to celibacy is Asanebo's Toro Sushi.

Thanks to my friend who treated me to Asanebo's sushi! We had reservations and were seated immediately.

The waiter accidentally left his tray on our chair and the table was dirty. GASP. I can't believe a 1-star Michelin restaurant seated us before the table was cleaned! Shortly after we were seated the waitress noticed the soy sauce puddle and cleaned the table and removed the tray; had excellent service from there.

Oh-my-gosh, Asanebo's Toro Sushi is a must! They're pretty orgasmic! Runner up was the Kanpachi sashimi with miso and pepper. The sushi rice was very good, but Echigo's is better.

Unfortunately they didn't have any Spanish mackerel because the Japanese fish market was closed that day...hmm...which made me wondered if that's why I wasn't impressed with the Albacore sashimi and White Alaskan Salmon sashimi...they were very soft...

Their agedashi tofu is incredibly silky and cream. I had not idea that tofu could be made like that! The miso soup was miso soup with more tofu.

I am embarrassed to admit that we ordered (cough) rolls here...the spicy tuna roll and the eel avocado roll...it's just when you're ordering sashimi you get nervous whether or not if you're going to get hungry an hour later... Do yourself a favor, like everyone said, "don't order any rolls!" When you're getting close to filling up, just kill your hunger with a dessert. Trust me, you'll be disappointed with the rolls.

Valet parking is $3.50 -one good reason for having it in the valley.

I know what I'm going to order next time: (2) orders of Toro sushi, (1) order of Spanish Mackerel, the Kanpachi sashimi, the Agedashi Tofu, and the Kagoshima beef. I'll be back....

Address: 11941 Ventura Blvd Studio City, CA 91604
Phone#: (818) 760-3348
Rating: 5 out of 5

Photo credit: Helen Y.
Share

DUMPLING MASTER RESTAURANT

Oh master you have failed me!

What restaurants are open on New Year's Day? Chinese. So I ventured off to a bookmarked dumpling restaurant --Dumpling Master.

I actually got great service, but the food was disappointing! You get free hot tea and spicy beansprout. The scallion pancakes are thin and are REALLY OILY. The steamed pork dumplings were a little too pink for me...

and they were bland and had no juice. I tried drowning the dumplings in soy sauce ..sorry...it didn't help. I also ordered the Smoked Salmon Fried Rice to go.

It was surprisingly not oily but VERY fishy. Order this only if you like fishy salmon. Total was $16 (not including tip).

What a way to start the new year...

Address: 423 N Atlantic Blvd Monterey Park, CA 91754
Phone#: (626) 458-8689
Rating: 1 out of 5
Share