The Griddle Cafe: Discovering Coconut

OH MY GAWD.

Why the F did it take me THIS LONG to order the scotch on the rocks flapjacks ($10.95)? Coconut, pecans, oats, butterscotch chips --> flapjacks. ‘Tis perfect. The flapjacks were the perfect sweetness and were oh-so-fluffy. It tasted like coconut ice cream almost. Amazing. Speechlessly amazing. And, of course, I never do the Griddle without their dark roast French pressed coffee ($3.35). Just a pot of that makes me a happy, functional person. Yes, their coffee makes me want to contribute to society.

But while I was living la vida loca with my flapjacks, I could tell mom wasn’t really blown away by the turkey and cranberry sandwich. Take my advice, stick to the griddle-cooked stuff or the eggs. Come on, I didn’t even KNOW they served sandwiches. Mom’s sandwich looked pretty I-can-make-that-at-home (ICMTAH) – the bread wasn’t even toasted (non-toasted bread pisses me off).

FOOD: 5/5
SERVICE: hit-or-miss
ATMOSPHERE: 4.5/5

The Griddle Cafe ($$)
7916 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046

[NYC '09: Dinner, day 2] Katz Delicatessen: When Dorothy met Deli

I have a soft spot for greasy Jewish-American diners and I have another soft spot for cheesy 90s chick-flicks. Put the two together and what do you get? Katz Delicatessen in N-Y-C!

Katz is definitely a New York institution. The ordering system can be super overwhelming for an out-of-towner – we were all really confused about the ticket vs. waiter system. It took three UCLA educations to finally crack the system and we eventually grabbed a table near the front. The self-serve counter is where most of the action is. It’s the epitome of NY speediness: you come in, put down your order, grab your sandwich and go. But we had been trekking around East Village and the Lower East Side the whole day and all we wanted to do was plop our asses down and have a meal.

(Welcome to a NY diner: pickles)

(Fries should be FAT. With Lox omelet)

(Debs' Pastrami Omelet)

Although I had planned on returning to a carnivorous diet during the NY trip, I didn’t want to overwhelm my palate with five inches worth of sliced pastrami on rye after over five months of meatless-ness so I opted for the lox and onion omelet ($13.40) instead. The omelet was huge and came with a generous portion of steak cut fries. The plate was greasy as hell but whadda’ expect? This is, after all, an American diner. The omelet was pretty good but I couldn’t find any onions at all in it :s the lox was also good but a little bit too salty for me. The omelet was too overwhelming for me halfway through – both in size and saltiness and I just couldn’t go through with the whole thing. I did pretty well though. The fries were the bomb though! Thick crunchy wedges with fluffy, piping hot innards – I finished all of them with no problem. I also got a bottle of their in-house lemonade ($2.50) which was the perfect washer-downer for the food.

(Trust me, skip the snapple)

I wouldn’t say that the food was amazing (but the fries were!) but Katz does have an absolutely fantastic atmosphere. It’s SO New York. The subway musician eats at the table next to the Wall Street financier just off from work; the waiter (yes, SINGULAR) has been working at the diner for years, stays for a chat, cracks jokes and asks if you want “caw-fee” at the end of your meal. Katz is not just a diner serving greasy sandwiches and omelets. It’s part of New York and there lies its charm ♥

FOOD: 3.75/5
SERVICE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 5/5

KATZ DELICATESSEN ($/$$)
205 East Houston St.
New York, NY 10002
http://www.katzdeli.com

Attari: The Middle Eastern Subway (06/05/2008)

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I've been sifting through some of my old writings and I realized that I have a whole bunch of food reviews that I never got round to posting on the blog. And because I REALLLLLY don't want to start studying, I'm going to do some more food blogging/procrastination. So here they are, reviews from yesteryear.

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Q: How do you know you're from Hong Kong?
A: You are instantly drawn to the words "tongue sandwich" on a restaurant menu.

Such was the case when I went to Attari Sandwich Shop for lunch.

Attari's beef tongue sandwich is AMAZING. It's a HUUUUGE sandwich and they do not skimp on the tongue. I LOVE beef tongue but I've never had it in a sandwich before so I'm really glad I tried it at Attari - it exposed me to the even greater potentials of this beautiful ingredient. The bread has a toasty crust which set off the tenderness of the tongue to a T (HA! Alliteration to the MAX! I am an English major after all...) And how could I not talk about the pickles? Little slivers of joy that: 1) added to the flavor like nothing else could and 2) helped prevent a potential over-dryness in the sandwich. Yes...who knew a sandwich could be so technical? But my absolute favorite sandwich from Attari's has got to be the kuku - a patty of potatoes, eggs and a whole slew of herbs and spices. Add a shiraz salad on top of that and I'm a happy camper.

The shop itself is also cute as hell. There's a giant outdoor courtyard - complete with a fountain and flowers. SO cute. The atmosphere is great...it's the type of place where the person at table A probably knows the gossip about the girlfriend of the son of the person at table B. And isn't that the type of stuff that makes the world go round??

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 3.5/5

ATTARI SANDWICH SHOP ($)
1388 Westwood Blvd.
West Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 441-5488