Ugo, Downtown Culver City

I don't really think it's hard to make good spaghetti. I'll be the first kid to let everyone know her mama made the best spaghetti she's ever tasted. AND my mama is Chinese.

Anyways, Ugo. "A-" to the calamari. The boyfriend really got me into calamari, and now I have a few key points to judge calamari by: crunch, taste, amount of batter, size, and dipping sauce. Everything about it was good. You don't even need the marinara sauce, it was so tasty.

The pasta was a C-. I think even I could make better pasta. I had the Lasagne and boyfriend had the Rigatoni with meat sauce. Both were kinda tasteless and the portions were very small for the price of a dish (avg about $13-14 for pasta.) Atleast for my Lasagne, it was almost too sour for me. My salad also had hardly any vinegarette.

They did have some interesting cafe-like dishes and drinks that would probably be more authentic than the actual meals. They even have a wide variety of gelato ice cream (but don't come here for gelato! Sales pitch to come...) Anyways, it is what it is, an Italian cafe.

P.S. Angelato in Santa Monica (3rd St Promenade) has literally over 100 flavors, ALL delicious. My uncle owns the place, so help out his business!

The Shack, Santa Monica

Let's be honest, there's not much to distinguish one burger from another except the things you put inside of it. Apart from in-and-out, which by far is the best-tasting classic burger, most burgers are either too expensive or not tasty enough.

I visited the Shack last night, and of course, had the Shack Burger. I've been there once before, and just ordered the Turkey Burger, which my co-workers swore was better than most, but it wasn't. So this time, I ordered the Shack Burger with grilled onions. It was good, but only because they put a hotlink in it. Yes, a hot link. The best of junk food combined into one.

I didn't notice anything else on the menu that really struck me as special, so I'd say the only reason to go is for happy hour and for the Shack Burger. I don't know that I'd bother with any of the other food items on the menu.

Non-food related: We went for a late dinner on Friday (about 8:15/8:30) and of course, the place is packed. The one waiter and one waitress that worked there were super nice, but of course, I'm going to have to say service is slow because there's just not enough hands to help.

http://www.shacksm.com/

La Frite, Woodland Hills

I don't have that much experience with French food. I am, however, familiar with what escargot is. And after getting over the initial fear of eating a bug covered in garlic, it's actually not that bad. Really garlicy, and sorta chewy like a squid.

I had the Sunday night special, which was Swordfish and Salmon on a skewer, some veggies, and a really good pilaf. I usually don't like Salmon, but it was very well cooked, not too dry, and not too heavily seasoned. The Swordfish, (which I think was prepared slightly raw?) was so moist that it was like eating huge chunks of Spam. Ray ordered the mussels. We're not talking like 10-12 pieces..it was an entire pho-sized bowl of mussels in a tasty soup for less than $20. I will try that next time. The prices of the entrees in general are reasonable (Sunday night special was $18.50) and the portions are definitely not skimpy.

Save room for dessert! Like the few French restaurants that I've been to, the dessert selection at La Frite was plentiful, ranging from the typical carrot cakes to the liquor souffles (takes 20 mins to prepare.) I opted for the original Chocolate Souffle, which isn't quite as I remember, but still 100% better than any American dessert.

Vegas's best buffets

Even without the influence from the boyfriend, I rate Bellagio's buffet #1. Variety is enough so that it's not overwhelming, and there never seems to a crowd once you get inside. The flow of the place is amazing and there's never really a line except to get inside the restaurant (Which can sometimes be upward of 2 hours. Thumbs down). Also, service is amazing and you'll rarely have an empty drink or too many trashed plates. Make sure to tip your waitress!

Prime Rib? CHECK. Crab legs? CHECK, and already sawed in half for easy meat, and thus, no worries of stabbing one's self with nasty claws and spines. Then there's always the shrimp cocktail, pizza, small sushi bar (they had urchin?!), and other grilled meats (I've seen buffalo and lamb, to name a few.) All very decent, and surprisingly good for a buffet. Desserts are always tasty, but the fruit tarts are the best if they decide to make an appearance. Also can't discount bananas foster and bread pudding.

Brunch is also offered on the weekends, and for extra dollars, you can get the Champagne. Definitely worth it if you're not Alice who passes out on the table from too much drinking.

Stay away from...

1. Circus Circus buffet. Now, I haven't actually been there since I was in my early teens, maybe even younger than that, but it's got to be the nastiest food available. And PLEASE stay away from the fake Chinese food.
   
2. Planet Hollywood buffet (used to be Aladdin). It's still called something like "5 Spices from Around the World" and has 5 different stations (Asian, Mid-Eastern, American, Mexican, and Italian). It's a heck of a lot of food, too much if you ask me, and it's all not very good. They should've just concentrated their efforts to make one really good spice. Also, waitresses liked to cop an attitude. Thumbs down.
3. Wynn's buffet. This is arguable. I've actually never been, but I hear it's the same as Bellagio but more expensive. If I ever have the money to fork up for the dinner, I'll compare it again Bellagio and repost.
   

If the Bellagio buffet line is too long, I suggest Treasure Island's buffet, which is not bad, and much, much cheaper than Bellagio. They have an amazing dessert selection, which, to my sweet tooth, is heaven. To prevent customers from shutting them down, they use the line system to serve you food. Thus, you could be waiting for a few minutes to get a new plate of food (good for the restaurant, horrible for the eater). But a good second choice if the Bellagio line is out of control.

Food Reflections 2007

Top Pick: Furaibo

Location: West LA

Necessities: Extra Spicy Chicken Wings

Pros: The food, obviously. I don't think I've ever had better-tasting chicken wings with $9 pitchers of beer.  Anyways, you can never turn down the food.  It's that good.

Cons: There's way too much stuff on the menu to try all of it, and get your fill of the necessities.

Runner-up: Northwoods Inn. Known for their meat, they also have an addictive cheese toast, cabbage and blue cheese salad, and rice pilaf.  Support small steakhouses!!

Best New Restaurants (aka Too Expensive to Revisit frequently, but totally tasty)

1.  Yamashiro (Best view, and best raw foods.)

2.  Porterhouse Bistro (Best pre-fixe menu for $40. Steak, wine, sides, dessert.  Amen!)

4.  CraftSteak (This was the first time I've ever had REAL kobe beef, and wow.)

5.  The Lobster (There's 2 months out of the year where Spiny Lobster is in season. I recommend going when they have the Spiny and can grill it. Also recommend- the French Fries with Truffles.)

Best Hole-in-the-wall: Ramenya

Get the Tan Tan Men (Spicy, Pork & Egg Drop Soup and Ramen) to cure a hangover or just experience really good soup and noodles.

Best Burger: Father's Office

Some people don't even consider the Office Burger a burger, since it looks more like a sandwich, but compared to the other $13 burgers from those other fancy restaurants, you'll definitely understand why Father's Office is worth the freakish waiting line. Also consider the ample beers, ales, and cidars all on tap, as well as the yam fries & garlic dip.  But be warned, definitely causes smelly burps.

Runner-up: Apple Pan (Try the smoked burger for a different flavor)