Rate-A-Restaurant #191: Larchmont Grill

Restaurant: Larchmont Grill

Location: 5750 Melrose (Larchmont)

Type of restaurant: California

We stipulated: My friend Joe had been meaning to take me out for my birthday for months; we finally settled on a day. Larchmont was close to him and on the way home for me, and I’ve been curious to try it.

What we ordered: Mexico City jalapeno burger: raw red onion, cilantro, diced tomato, pepperjack cheese with a touch of cayenne & shredded lettuce on a sesame seed bun (with sweet potato fries); starter: homemade corn soup.

High point: Service was friendly, and that corn soup was excellent.

Low point: At the same time, I was told by the waiter that the Mexico jalapeno burger could be made with turkey meat. So I ordered it — but what I got was, well, just a turkey burger. Later, the waiter told me he’d been misinformed — the burger couldn’t be made with turkey, so I didn’t get the “Mexico City” recipe. He knocked $2 off the price, but I still wish ultimately I’d known beforehand, to order something else.

Overall impression: Unbeknownst to us, we had arrived on Larchmont’s Burger night (Wednesdays), when the restaurant offers up options such as Kobe beef burgers, salmon burgers, grilled tofu and portobello burgers, lamb burgers, pineapple teriyaki burgers, and more. Nice idea.. but the menu, which reads, “turkey burgers and butter lettuce wrapped protein burgers available,” made it vague — so did that mean turkey could be substituted, or just that you could get a plain turkey burger? That’s where the confusion set in.

Chance we’ll go back: You know, it was a pleasant enough experience, but I’m not sure there was a compelling reason to put the Larchmont on the “return” list.

For a complete list of our more than 190 restaurant reviews, check out our companion Rate-A-Restaurant site.

Marilyn/Spock Gets Prominent L.A. Times Display

On the front page of the LAT web site right now, a story about a recent string of robberies on Melrose over the past week. But look who pops up unannounced in their Melrose photo: That Marilyn Monroe/Spock lovechild!

Rate-A-Restaurant, #152 in a series

(Flickr photo by Freakpower.)

Restaurant: Mao’s Kitchen

Location: 7313 Melrose (Melrose/La Brea)

Type of restaurant: Chinese

We stipulated: Taking a break from all the strike news, looking for something on the way back to the office — and have been meaning to try Mao’s Kitchen for a while.

They stipulated: Parking — a rarity on Melrose — is available, particularly at lunch; Mao’s is also, handily, open until midnight. Strangely, entrees with tofu cost more than chicken or beef. Less strangely, entrees with shrimp or fish also cost more.

(Flickr pic by Cabayarea.)

What I ordered: Lunch $7.50 special: Sichuan eggplant (above, sweet & spicy wok-sauteed young eggplant, with choice of protein — in this case, chicken); also comes with sweet and sour soup (tofu, tomato, wod-ear mushrooms and delicate egg in spicy vegan broth) and Beijing spring roll (fried vegetarian roll filled with seasoned cabbage, celery and carrot)

High point: That lunch special is amazing. I had enough of the eggplant dish to eat as a second lunch the next day! The food was pretty good, particularly the eggplant (although it was a little too saucy). Decor was a cool, red-tinged minimalist take on post-revolution China.

Low point: Service was terribly slow, which was particularly frustrating because the restaurant was mostly empty. Also, the brown rice was crunchy, forcing us to switch to the white.

Overall impression: Glad we tried it; glad the Venice Beach restaurant has finally made it a bit east, so that we could finally try it ourselves.

Chance we will go back: Absolutely, it’s a new “where to go when we don’t know where to go” spot.

(For more than 150 restaurant reviews, visit Franklin Avenue’s companion Rate-A-Restaurant site.)

Rate-A-Restaurant, #152 in a series

(Flickr photo by Freakpower.)

Restaurant: Mao’s Kitchen

Location: 7313 Melrose (Melrose/La Brea)

Type of restaurant: Chinese

We stipulated: Taking a break from all the strike news, looking for something on the way back to the office — and have been meaning to try Mao’s Kitchen for a while.

They stipulated: Parking — a rarity on Melrose — is available, particularly at lunch; Mao’s is also, handily, open until midnight. Strangely, entrees with tofu cost more than chicken or beef. Less strangely, entrees with shrimp or fish also cost more.

(Flickr pic by Cabayarea.)

What I ordered: Lunch $7.50 special: Sichuan eggplant (above, sweet & spicy wok-sauteed young eggplant, with choice of protein — in this case, chicken); also comes with sweet and sour soup (tofu, tomato, wod-ear mushrooms and delicate egg in spicy vegan broth) and Beijing spring roll (fried vegetarian roll filled with seasoned cabbage, celery and carrot)

High point: That lunch special is amazing. I had enough of the eggplant dish to eat as a second lunch the next day! The food was pretty good, particularly the eggplant (although it was a little too saucy). Decor was a cool, red-tinged minimalist take on post-revolution China.

Low point: Service was terribly slow, which was particularly frustrating because the restaurant was mostly empty. Also, the brown rice was crunchy, forcing us to switch to the white.

Overall impression: Glad we tried it; glad the Venice Beach restaurant has finally made it a bit east, so that we could finally try it ourselves.

Chance we will go back: Absolutely, it’s a new “where to go when we don’t know where to go” spot.

(For more than 150 restaurant reviews, visit Franklin Avenue’s companion Rate-A-Restaurant site.)

Alexander, Ruler of the World, Keeper of Gaudy Apartment Buildings

I’ve been meaning to post this for several days, but Martini Revolution beat me to the punch. Oh well, it’s still worth another view.

Live from Van Ness and Melrose, I present… the beautifully gaudy “Alexander, Ruler of the World” apartment building. Crimson-colored, with gold swirls, the building seems like a throwback to L.A.’s golden age of over-the-top theme-inspired homes, apartments and restaurants.

It’s a bit louder than the “Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria” apartments on Hillhurst in Los Feliz, or the seven dwarves-style homes on Griffith Park, near Hyperion. But it’s definitely in the same realm. What are some of your favorite tacky L.A. residences (besides, of course, the infamous House of Davids, that is)?