WARSZAWA

I felt like one of those characters from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe upon entering this place. One moment Tyler and I were struggling to find parking on Broadway and the next - we were stepping into the elegance of antebellum Poland.

As it turned out we completely dug Warszawa. The staff was the best either of us has ever encountered both our hostess and waitress were completely sweet people. Not only was the decor a trip, but we were surrounded by seventy something Polish couples and a big group that resembled the Godfather's family with a patriarch who sported more bling and chest hair than I have spotted outside of Venice for a while.

We liked this place because of the food too. Despite my worry that everything would be related to the potato family, the food was exceptional. I ordered something I probably shouldn't have (white fish salad with creamy dressing, which was a little on the fishy side), but made up for it by ordering plum brandy. It came in this mini vase-like vestibule that proceeded to get me pretty warm and fuzzy inside.

Tyler's dish (pictured above) was more traditional, and well tasty too, which is why I say the food was exceptional. He ordered the nights' special, which was pork loin baked with plums and apricots. It came with a few sides, but the one that I liked the most was this carrot puree (a probable puree recipe here) that tasted to me like carrot cake.

Anyway, highly recommended and a fun place to experience.

Warzsawa Fork Rating:

Accessibility: 3 Forks

Ambiance: 3.5 Forks

Authenticity: 5 Forks

Service: 5 Forks

Taste Factor: 4 Forks

Tara's Himalayan Cuisine

I had a friend visiting from Portland that I wanted to get out and introduce to some of my Los Angelino friends. We wanted to meet somewhere between Culver City and Santa Monica. Thus - Tara's surfaced on Yelp and acclaimed by one of my friends for having good beer - we settled. I had Karma beer (a two-row barley), another friend had Lhasa beer (my favorite) and Tyler had some sort of crazy Monk beer that had super high alcohol content.

Food wise, I had the lamb skewers... they came out sizzling and were delicious. I really enjoyed this place, a good one to go with friends! Good luck finding parking - we were lucky, but there are a lot of apartments near by so just be aware it might be a small issue. Oh and next time I will go for the Eggplant curry - it looked really good!

Tara's Fork Rating

Accessibility: 3 Forks

Authenticity: 3.5 Forks

Ambiance: 3 Forks

Service: 3 Forks

Taste Factor: 4 Forks

Sushi Roku

"We can seat you now, but the table is reserved for another party in an hour and a half, is that enough time for you guys?"

~Sushi Roku hostess

And what I heard: "Though your party also has a reservation, the group coming after you is more important."

Boom, I know, I know, quite possibly an over reaction on my part, but maybe you just had to have been there.

We settled on Sushi Roku because it seemed to be the ultimate LA experience for my friends visiting from Bean Town. Sushi, beach, Santa Monica - that was our thinking. Only this place fit all of the other parts of LA's bill a little too well. We even left a little hungry because our waitress kept forgetting we were one of her tables.

All that aside, the food was pretty good and the company rocked. We ordered edamame ($4.50) and seaweed salad ($7) as appetizers. Actually, they both were really good. My girlfriend and I loved the seaweed salad and both agreed that without sushi we would be pretty happy with just another order of seaweed. Oddly enough we are both Kombucha-holics and the seaweed for some reason fed.

Tyler and my friend's boyfriend felt differently so we did of course order and everything that showed up (and probably would have liked the Crab Dynamite, if the waitress had not forgotten to bring it, x 2) was good. My only qualm specifically food related, was how small the sushi menu was, but again the sushi we did consume was all delicious. In fact, I haven't had sushi this good since eating at Saburos in Portland, OR.

Sushi Roku Fork Rating:

Accessibility: 3 Forks

Ambiance: 3 Forks

Authenticity: 2.5 Forks

Service: 0 Forks

Taste Factor: 3.5 Forks

Jitlada: a restaurant that is packing

A serving of Poh Tok

Tyler and I had been dying to go here for over a month. Our plans kept getting foiled, but last night (Saturday) we made it happen. And what an experience! The several recommendations leading up to our journey out to Sunset Blvd., profusely warned of the heat Jitlada packed per dish, but amidst my dying of hunger, I guess I forgot to adequately warn Tyler - or maybe at all.

We didn’t arrive until pushing 10PM and as I just mentioned we were both famished. Beforehand, we found ourselves having a great time at a friends’ birthday gathering downtown at Takami Sushi and Robata Lounge.

Quick Sidenote: The lounge’s view was fabulous – located on the 21st floor it overlooked all of downtown, including The Standard (without that annoying 20 bone cover) and my house special cocktail x 2, a lychee sake with fresh lychee juice and two juicy lychee fruits, was absolutely divine.

Parking at Jitlada could have been bad, but after driving around for a few minutes, Tyler spotted a spot across the street from the sunburnt strip mall where Jitlada hides. The wait could have been bad too, but we arrived just as several big parties were packing up. What a relief, we were seated moderately quick, despite the crowding and two parties waiting ahead of us.

I was feeling pretty wan after two sweet cocktails on an empty stomach. Tyler looked decidedly less pouty, but equally as hungry. We skipped the appetizers and drinks so as to close our menus and increase our luck of attaining our main dishes at optimal speed. Ordering this fast was tricky though because the menu has over 300 main courses to choose from. There was also a Southern Thai section with chef specialties which have only recently been translated into English (see here). The story goes that in 2006, when the restaurant changed hands to Sarintip “Jazz” Singsanong and her brother Suthiporn “Tui” Sungkamee, they kept the old menu and added on some spicy family favorites (the portion that was just recently translated). Coincidentally, both menu's adhere to the same Southern Thai flavors as both owners were from the ancient province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, near the Malaysian border.

In the end, I ordered from a photo. I believe it was called the "Poh Tok", a moderately spicy chili, tomato and lemon grass based soup - containing fresh assorted seafood, including mussels, scallops, some type of unidentifiable fish, crab and shrimp

The flavor of the fresh mussels was especially amazing, but I could have handled a little more heat. Next time I will order the Green Curry Mussels.

Tyler, as I mentioned at the beginning, felt otherwise. Despite onset starvation, he could not eat his dish slow enough. He had ordered a barbequed spicy beef with “Thai spices”. Tyler’s face just became redder and redder as he took bit after bite – all the while chasing with generous portions of white rice. I would generally say Tyler was being a baby, but I must say that results from my taste test revealed Tyler's beef dish was indeed insatiably hot.

He defended his order today by telling me “thai spices” had made him think of spices like cardamom and cinnamon rather than hot chiles, hot chiles, hot chiles. I would continue to roll my eyes at his spice logic, but I am confident he won’t forget the punch of “thai spices” anytime soon.

Too bad we crammed down so much food because I couldn’t help, but overhear the happy murmurs of the party next to us as they consumed sweet mango sticky rice. I am now planning my own time to make this with the recipe I found here.

I am so excited to come back here with a group so we can all eat family style. Look here to see more photos of Jitlada’s Southern Thai dishes! Also, Jitlada has quite a few foodies crazy about them. Follow Jitlada on Twitter here.

Jitlada's Fork Rating:

Accessibility: 2 Forks

Ambiance: 3 Forks

Authenticity: 5 Forks

Service: 2.5 Forks

Taste Factor: 4 Forks

Nyala

Tyler, my mom, who was visiting from Portland, and I went to Nyala in Little Ethiopia after hiking around Griffith Park. We didn’t descend until dark and were pretty hungry upon finally arriving. For a Saturday night the place wasn’t packed, but we did have a hard time finding parking in the area. Thus, bare in mind the time you would have spent waiting for a table may very well be spent parallel parking.

Yelp is not a clear indicator on which Little Ethiopian restaurant is best – but I did recall general acclaim for Nyala (I did some research for some possible Tyler birthday plans a while back), so we labored past also highly rated Mesob and Merkato, until reaching Nyala.

My mom and Tyler each ordered beer and I decided that by not ordering my own I could just steal drinks from theirs. Your choices are these: Harrar, Hakim and Tusker. My Mom, Celia, ordered the Harrar, my favorite of the two. It was bitter with honey undertones and like nothing I have ever tried before or have had since. Really interested in beer? I found a great review of the Harrar on Beeradvocate.com (thanks dkachur) that I wanted to share for those into trying international beers

“Pale amber color with a thin head. The last pour from the bottle was brown and murky... odd for a pale lager. Aroma is strong honey notes with some raw barley notes. Taste is grain, honey, light bitterness and something stale and musty in the finish. Thin-medium bodied.”

I thought Tusker was a bit more mainstay, but also good. Click here for reviews.

Now for the food! Along with the beers came a breadbasket full of spongy sourdough crepe (aka Injera) cuts. The basket is mostly for scooping purposes (hopefully you go with mostly clean handed friends), but is also excellent to munch on – keep in mind that the food also comes on top of the crepe (kind of like separated toppings on a pizza), so hopefully you like sourdough!

We ordered the Meat Combination Plate and the Vegetarian Combination Plate; a brilliant plan for all hungry/adventurous eaters. There wasn’t really a dish that I didn’t like, the vegetable dishes are mainly different types of beans/lentils, but my favorite was the Yabesha Gommen Collard greens which were balanced with hints of ginger and garlic (see the other 5 samplers that came with the vegetarian combination plate here). On the meat dish front, there was lamb, beef and chicken. My favorite was the Yebeg or Yebere Wot (we ordered this as lamb, but you have your choice of lamb or beef - see other two sampler meat dishes here) because it was more on the spicy side and oh so good.

Towards the end, the crepes became so saturated with the juices that we had to give up on our scooping - which was good because the crepe kind of expands in your stomach and by the end of the meal we were really feeling it! A great adventure, I can’t wait until my plans take me back to Little Ethiopia!

For Next Time: I will have to try the honey wine – but I will certainly get the sampler plates again, that is the way to go!

Nyala Fork Rating:

Accessibility: 1 Fork

Ambiance: 2 Forks

Authenticity: 3.5 Forks

Service: 3 Forks

Taste Factor: 4 Forks

Juquila Taco Truck!

A couple Sundays ago (reports of eating promised in a more timely fashion soon), Tyler and I went on a low speed chase after a Juquila look alike. You can imagine our heartbreak when the truck turned out to be a highly questionable produce-mobile. We were pretty bummed, but decided to stick to our guns and return for dinner Monday – after all it would be my first real taco truck experience and according to Tyler’s best friend, Juquila was the taco truck of all taco trucks.

We were able to walk to the truck from our apartment - which added to the experience. We didn’t know if it would be parked on Bundy (location of truck) or in front of Stoner Park, but around 7PM we spotted it in front of Stoner Park. Excellent. The tacos were just a dollar and you had your choice of carne asada, cabeza, lengua, pollo or carnitas. I ordered three, two with just beans (they were out of pollo) and one with lengua in an effort to be adventurous

The two kids working there looked to be about twelve, but they sure did make a mean taco (and actually an accidental fourth in my case)! And for a dollar each, with no added cost for guac – the experience was really never in danger of being a bad situation. We sat in the shade at a picnic table and there I scarfed down three of my four tacos. The cilantro and onions gave the tacos a very fresh flavor and the tasty corn tortillas, which were two thick reminded me of ones that I have had homemade. I was going to go for my second lengua, when the picture of someone sautéing baby cow tongue made me reconsider my full-ometer. (That’s just me thinking too much and had nothing to do with the actual taste). The whole mini event was a load of fun. I would certainly make the trek back to Stoner Park again – but next time further along in the summer with a couple Coronas, your tacos come with the limes!)

Lastly, because it was an interesting point for me, Tyler on top of his tacos, ordered a mandarin orange pop (aka Jarritos Mandarina). At first we both thought it tasted funny, but upon reading the label we realized that was just because the drink actually had real sugar in it. There are a bunch of different flavors to try and perhaps next time, on top of my Corona, I will go for the mango or watermelon.

Fork Rating for Juquila Taco Truck

Accessibility: 4 Forks (nearby our apartment … walkable!)

Ambiance: 2 Forks (the ambiance came more from the feel of the park)

Authenticity: 5 Forks (the taco makers didn’t even speak much English

Taste Factor: 4 Forks (fresh, fresh, fresh!)

Ramayani

This place is the epitome of an Indonesian Mom and Pops. You walk in and one medium size room constitutes as the dining room. The right wall exhibits for sale Indonesian imports and the kitchen encroaches on the dining room’s back wall. The owners, a wizened Indonesian couple, are the servers and probably, at times, the cooks. We settled on this place for a triple date after yelping all the restaurants near Century City’s AMC Theater (by the way - Iron Man II rocked!). The place was pretty quiet for a Friday night, but for the six of us, it fit the bill perfectly.

After some painstake and the patient help of Tyler (they have a very small kitchen for so many menu options) I chose the Tumis Kangkung, Hawaiian Watercress (not to be mistaken for water chestnuts) sautéed with onions, spicy shrimp paste, chili, and tomatoes ($9.50). I ordered the dish mostly because it looked good in the menu photo and there was a chili pepper by it’s description – thus when the waiter/owner asked if I wanted it spicy, I gave the thumbs up.

Tyler ordered the evening’s special, Nasi Goreng, Indonesian style fried rice with egg and chicken satay ($8.95). Too much fried goodness for me, but from the beginning I was really only interested in his beverage choice. To drink he ordered, Tiger, an Indonesian lager, that I liked okay despite my preference for stronger flavored beers and aversion to light, mass-market beers. For the beer connoisseurs this is a good review of the stuff: Link to Tiger Beer Review.

When our food came, I was happy with my pick and after peering at everyone else’s order, I got the sense that I had done well for myself as nothing else particularly appealed to me. Visuals aside, the taste was a little too bland for me – though I did enjoy the subtle Indonesian base blend of spices (see Indonesia "Spice Island"), I would have also preferred each bite to have been a little spicier on impact. Yet, with the extra order of rice and a little added house hot sauce (also available for sale at the wall market), I was happy as a clam and very much enjoyed the warmth of the restaurant and my company.

Pizzicotto

My sister, Alexis, Tyler and I went to Pizzicotto on a Sunday night for a 7:30PM reservation. The place was packed with an Italian birthday party. On the one hand, we were stoked to have found such an authentic spot. On the other hand, we had to wait outside until past 8PM to be seated.

If you go to Pizzicotto at a non-peak hour and have your choice of where to sit, go for the upstairs. The loft is definitely the coveted dining area. However, the whole little restaurant is very cozy and charming; cured Italian meats hang from the ceiling and racks of wine line the vaulted ceiling. Our waitress/hostess was this lovely little Italian woman who wore giant black-rimmed glasses and delivered the complicated specials like she had made them herself.

Prior to bringing out our meals, she served us house bread with a dipping sauce that contained olive oil, pesto and red chili flakes. So good! Our meals definitely took some time to come out (30 minutes or so), but we all agreed they were well worth the wait. I ordered the Salmon Balsalmico, grilled filet of salmon, served on a bed of steamed spinach, with aged balsalmic vinegar sauce ($14.95). The result was phenomenal: the fish melted in my mouth and the balsalmic sauce had a rich flavor that I only wish my Trader Joes balsalmic could deliver.

Also, noteworthy was my sister’s Tortelloni di Zucca, tortelloni stuffed with pumpkin in a creamy tomato, pesto and Parmigiano sauce ($13.95). An entrée as rich as this doesn’t generally appeal to me; however, I had the pleasure of finishing off her leftovers the next day and possibly preferred her dish over my salmon. It’s a toss up though - both are highly recommended!

FOR NEXT TIME: I probably would not go on a Saturday or Sunday night, but I would like to go back because it is such a kitch little restaurant! Also, I want to try the Fregola con Arselle, pan-roasted manila clams with toasted pasta grains, lemon, spices, tomato-white wine sauce; served with garlic bread ($12.95), appetizer. I bet their hazelnut gelato is good too!

Fork Rating for Pizzicotto:

Accessibility: 1 Fork (parking was tricky on top of the wait)

Ambiance: 4 Forks (it was a bit loud)

Authenticity: 4.5 Forks

Service: 3.5 Forks (mostly just because of the wait – I loved our server)

Taste Factor: 4.5 Forks

All India Cafe

The All India Café (from here on out to be referred to as: AIC) is extremely unassuming. Wedged into a strip mall on Santa Monica Blvd., the place is just a fail at impressiveness. Tyler and I agreed to go inside with a pact to check out the menu before being seated. Yet, once inside I was surprised to find that it was indeed a bona fide restaurant and not just a takeout front.

We had our pick of seating as there was only one other couple there. Usually this would bother me, but the lack of hullabaloo after a long Monday was actually quite soothing. Our waiter was super pleasant and the décor was warm and simple.

The best part of my meal was the Nimbu Pani, an Indian-style lemonade with ginger and lime juice ($3.00). It wasn’t too sweet and had a nice twang. I slurped it down and still have plans for recreation with the recipe in the link above.

I LOVE eggplant everything so I ordered the Baingan Bharta, a puree of Tandoor baked eggplant sautéed with onions, fresh tomatoes, ginger, green chiles and herbs ($7.95). When it arrived I was quite skeptical because it looked more like a sadly colored soup than anything else. It didn’t come with any rice so once I ordered the rice (Basmati side $2.50), I was a much happier camper. The puree had a nice spicyness to it and thus I finished happy and full.

I am a texture person and so next time I will try the Eggplant Salad, sautéed Japanese eggplant topped with seasoned tomoato sauce and ginger yogurt ($6.95).

The low down on AIC? Good, but not great. Tyler and I agreed to come back as it is so convenient and simply pleasant; a great weekday spot. I would advocate for their lunch buffet, but honestly if you want an incredible lunch buffet-like experience, go for the Daily Special at the Samosa House ($7.99). And make sure to include the spicy jackfruit; it is orgasmic!

Fork Rating for All India Cafe:

Accessibility: 5 Forks (we walked and didn't have to wait for a table!)

Ambiance: 3 Forks (once inside the place was nice)

Authenticity: 3 Forks

Service: 3.5 Forks

Taste Factor: 3 Forks

Lala's Argentine Grill

Entraña al Ajo

To set the stage for the awesomeness of this place, before pulling up, I admit to being past borderline hangry. A problem easily solved at a restaurant (and possibly a contribution to higher final reviews), but an absolute roadblock to a good first impression. Yet, the moment we walked in, I stopped pouting and began to enjoy myself – a feat only previously achieved by some sort of foodstuff. This place just radiated a good time! I imagined celebrating something there without even tasting Lala’s food.

Though the outdoor seating encapsulates optimum ambiance (flush with heat lamps), to avoid the said 30-minute wait, Tyler and I were happy to sit near the action of the open face kitchen (Lala's does not offer reservations). However, even if your not extremely hungry, I would still recommend valet as parking spots are tricky to come by and the cost is only $5 with hostess validation.

Okay now to the meat of the review (a pun possibly not appreciated by those less fond of meat, but there it is), the hustle and bustle of this place just added the restaurant’s atmosphere. Our cheery, hipster waiter (a surprisingly pleasant combination) appeared a little over his head with shear tasks, but always seemed to offer perfect advice and make sure we had everything we needed, just as we didn’t. And even better, within 10 minutes of being seated we were enjoying a pitcher of Lala’s signature Clerico, assorted fruits soaked in white wine $18.95, and fresh bread with Chimichuri dipping sauce.

The Chimichurri was such spicy-deliciousness that I went to the farmers market the next day for means of recreation. The chimichurri link above is a good recipe, but I recommend dicing the fresh cayenne peppers instead of using pepper flakes. Lala’s chimichurri is a little oily, but how bad can olive oil be? I am an absolute lightweight and the Clerico went down maybe a little too easy. Upon further research, I learned it was not that chimichurri enhanced my drinking powers, it was that Lala’s almost certainly cut the wine with something like club soda. No matter, it was a great hangover/driving saver and proved super fun to share.

The food also came without much waiting. When ordering, I followed Tyler’s lead (I think to his surprise, as our pallets are generally quite polar), as I am not too schooled in steak eating. We ordered the Entraña al Ajo, grilled Angus Beef skirt steak piled high with sautéed parsley and garlic. The meal also comes with a choice of greens, french fries, rice or mashed potatoes. And to my surprise, we both opted for the greens – which was a good decision on both fronts as portion sizes are hearty. I ordered my steak medium and was thoroughly happy with the result. The only complaint I can think of was that like the chimichurri, the meat was a bit oily.

Overall, this place rocked, I have never seen Tyler so excited about food and admittedly it was damn good (even if I had not started out hangry). The only down side was that we had so much fun and ate so much that, once home, all we could do was take a nap on the floor.

Fork Rating for Lala’s Argentine Grill:

Accessibility: 1 Fork

Ambiance: 4 Forks

Authenticity: 3.5 Forks

Service: 4 Forks

Taste Factor: 3.5 Forks

Why eat at Ethnic Restaurants through Los Angeles?

My boyfriend Tyler and I want to travel and experience more than our jobs/budgets currently allow. Thus, we have haphazardly constructed an odyssey to ethnauthentically eat our way through Los Angeles.

In an effort to "hash" each experience over in an organized fashion, we have also designed a rating method which I like to call, The Fork System. Under this system there are 5 categories that we have deemed - all important - to our overall "worldy" experience. And finally for a sense of accomplishment, we have also nailed a map to my wall with pins telling us which countries have been successfully eaten from.

The Fork Rating System:

1 to 5 forks will be given in the following areas: Accessibility (an important one here in LA), Ambiance, Authenticity, Service, and the all Important Taste Factor. I realize that two judges from Portland, OR and San Luis Obispo, CA have no business rating the "authenticity" of our experiences with food and ambiance of proceeding ethnic restaurants. However, the best we can do is acknowledge our limitations/self righteousness as judges and explain our scores within reviews.

Fork Scale:

1 Fork = Bad Experience

2 Forks = Moderately Unpleasant

3 Forks = Run of the Mill

4 Forks = Pretty Excellent

5 Forks = Euphorically Awesome