Ambala Dhaba Homestyle Indian

1718 Westwood Blvd. 310-966-1772

This would be about the 5th time I've been to this restaurant. Westwood sister to Artesia restaurant with surprisingly good Punjabi style fare. Highly recommended is the Dhaba chicken, Paneer tikka (Indian cheese dish) along with garlic naan and the mango lassi, which is the best I've tried anywhere. Try the dishes with the tamarind sauce. For $9, the downside is that the portions are pretty small, but all of them are packed with flavor.

Take a look at a page of their menu.

Details:

Cuisine -- Punjabi Indian

Rating-- Three stars

Ambience -- Dim-lighted interior with booths. Heated patio with tables.

Best dishes -- Dhaba chicken

Prices -- Entrees about $8-$10

Service -- The food comes out kind of slow, but the service is pleasantly casual.

Parking --Street parking on Westwood Blvd.

Bossa Nova Brazilian Cuisine

7181 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA
685 N Robertson Blvd West Hollywood, CA

Right across from The Abbey on Robertson Blvd., and open until 4am, this is the main scene for after club-goers, daters, and regulars alike.

I highly recommend getting the combo platter that comes with your choice of meat or fish, mashed potatoes or plantains, and rice and black beans with yucca flour. Desserts include caramelized plaintains with ice cream, a 4" tall cheese cake, and fudgecake.

Pros: Fast service, great value and variety, delicious food.
Cons: Parking (Street parking is usually reserved for valet and valet is $8 and up in the area). Small interior dining space, dining outdoors consists of sitting on plastic chairs on asphalt.

Cuisine--Brazilian
Rating-- Five stars
Ambience--Small interior dining space, engaging storefront restaurant with plastic tables and heat lamps.
Best dishes--Platters, salads, and pastas.
Parking -- Street parking (beware of valet only meters). Valet is $8 and up in the area
Service-- Attentive and fast.

101 Coffee Shop

6145 Franklin Ave, Hollywood, CA 90028 (323) 467-1175
7am-3am

With stylish early-1960s decor, red-and-brown booths and a jukebox filled with everything from the Allman Brothers to Marvin Gaye, the 101 has an ambience that appeals to both neighborhood hepcats and motel guests. A large menu features the usual diner staples--burgers, grilled cheese, pancakes and eggs--along with twists such as fried-green tomato salad and "No Huevos" rancheros, a spicy vegetarian scramble of tofu, soy chorizo, corn and peppers.

-Citysearch

Think Swinger’s. There's tons of people here on weekend late nights. A 50's/60s era coffee shop with rock walls, funky colored tiles, comfy booths and cool light fixtures.

Our hot fudge sundae came out super quick, almost too quick, that we wondered if they had them pre-made in the back. The breakfast burritos are supposedly excellent. And they have sweet potato fries as side orders! Mmm...

Cuisine: American diner
Rating: 2 stars
Atmosphere: Noisy
Service: "Hurry up and order" attitude when they're busy.
Parking: Street, motel's underground lot.

Joe's

1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd Venice, CA 90291-3386 (310) 399-5811
Tue-Thu 12pm-2:30pm, 6pm-10pm
Fri 12pm-2:30pm, 6pm-11pm
Sat 11am-2:30pm, 6pm-11pm
Sun 11am-2:30pm, 6pm-10pm

Website

We decided here on a Sunday afternoon for brunch, after being disappointed at the menu choices of a nearby eatery. I've heard about this place a couple times from my friends who are locals to Santa Monica and Venice, but the name was so vague and default, "Joe's", that I couldn't tell anything about the restaurant by only the name.

We walked in we were immediately seated --right next to the loud, bustling kitchen; I could practically feel the flames off their grill. We requested a table in the back where it seemed more quiet and serene, but they said it was only for guests with reservations, which meant only 1/3 of the restaurant, the booths near the doorway, and a couple of tables next to the kitchen were available. Looking around we saw that the booths in the front seemed kind of nice, so we sat there and hungrily stared at the short menu. My eyes immediately turned to the Prix fixe brunch special for 14.00, and everything sounded tasty. My friend decided on a breakfast burrito. I'd have to say, for 11.00, that's the most expensive breakfast burrito I've seen!

Prix fixe Lunch special

Cauliflower soup. Who knew cauliflower could taste so good?

Some sort of fish that was undercooked and I had to send back to be cooked through. It was definitely too bland.

Fig ricotta tart with chocolate. Mmm..

and my friend's breakfast burrito...

Green chili and turkey chorizo breakfast burrito, ranchero sauce, guacomole, sour cream.

Cuisine
Californian
Ambience
Warm, inviting California-French restaurant with a loyal local following. Joe's encompasses the original tiny space (which is now the bar) plus an adjoining high-ceilinged dining room and outdoor pocket patio.
Best dishes
Poached eggs with roasted asparagus and English pea sauce, rösti potato with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, porcini mushroom ravioli, beet risotto with asiago cheese, kurobuta pork loin, grilled quail.
Best table
One of the two corner booths in the bar.
Desserts
Frozen crème fraîche soufflé, pistachio lemon trifle.
Of Note
Outdoor patio. Full bar. Valet parking, $5.
Prices
Dinner appetizers, $8-$17; main courses, $23-$27; desserts, $7; lunch, $10-$15; brunch items, $9-$14. Chef's prix fixe menus, $55 and $68.
Service
Professional and attentive, though the pacing can be slow.
Wine list
California-centric with some older bottles and interesting choices from smaller producers. Corkage, $20.

Library Alehouse

2911 Main St Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-4855

My first time at a microbrewery. I am not a big fan of beer, although Fat Tire beer, a dark Belgium brew, is good on occasion but until recently Fat Tire was only available in Sacramento. At Library Alehouse Fat Tire is now available on tap. Located on Main St., this place is pleasantly casual and non-intimidating for a brewery. The menu has a good variety of options, including many vegetarian dishes to accomodate non-meat eaters. By 7pm the people started pouring in, many heading for the candlelit and heated outdoor patio in the back.

What we ordered:

Ahi tuna burger w/ sweet potato fries -- $11.95 --The first thing I noticed was the bread: soft, warm, and fluffy. Instead of one thick cut of ahi tuna steak, the patty was made of chopped up pieces of ahi tuna and seared which made it easier to bite into. The only other ingredients were coleslaw, wasabi mayo, and daikon sprouts. It was good as it was, but I was thinking it would've been tastier with avocado and caramelized onions. The sweet potato fries were delicioso, baked, not fried -- just like I like them...


Pumpkin ravioli -- $13.00 -- Overall a very light dish, the creaminess of mascarpone cream sauce and the sweetness of the pumpkin filling went together nicely. However, pumpkin ravioli in general is a little bland to my taste, but it was good with the rest of our meal. I think it should normally be accompanied with some sort of salad.




Shrimp fajitas -- $14.25 -- Good, but there were only about 5 pieces of shrimp total and by the first 10 minutes of the meal there was only bell peppers and onions left. Plus, it didn't come out sizzling such as fajita platters should! But then again, I had to remind myself this is a brewery, not El Torito.





Beer sampler --$7.00-- We got to choose/have the waitress choose for us, any five 4oz. beer samples. Lined up from light to dark, our selection included Pale Ale and Spaten.






Details:

Cuisine -- Microbrewery

Rating-- Two Stars

Ambience --Long, narrow indoor with a bar on one side, a row of candlelit high tables with bar stools on the right, 2 flat screens playing sports channels, and a heated outdoor patio in the back.

Best dishes -- Fat Tire beer, Alehouse burgers

Prices -- Beers, $3-$6. Entrees $10-$22

Service -- Good. Since the indoor dining space is fairly narrow, and the waiters pace up and down, it's very easy to catch a waiter in their stride. They also remind you if you're not satisfied w/ your meal you can return it and get something else, or if you want, they can "spruce it up".

Parking --Street parking, spacious metered lot on Ashland west of Main St.

When to go --During the week, 4pm to 6pm, pints are $3, 32-ounce drafts are $4. Assorted tacos cost $2, while papaya quesadillas and buffalo wings are $4 each. Tuesdays, pints are $5, including a free glass, which can be refilled any Tuesday for only $3.00 (excluding Belgian beers).

Library Alehouse
2911 Main St
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-4855

I'm going to my favorite restaurant, Sona tommorow with one of my hardcore foodie friends who's been wanting to go. Going for the 6-course Découverte again. ! It's about time I write a review about that one.

Eat for a good cause. Has anyone gone to any of the restaurants participating in the 4th Annual S. Pellegrino Dine Out Los Angeles? For a limited time some of the finest restaurants in your area are offering a special three-course prix fixe gourmet menu for just $20 at lunch and $35 at dinner. For each Dine Out meal served during that time (Aug. 15th-19th, and 22nd-26th), S.Pellegrino will donate $1 to Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit organization that is committed to building the first hunger-free generation in America. I'm probably going to go to Ciudad for lunch, Tengu for dinner, and Vert a Brasserie for dinner. I'll let you know how it goes.