Uzbekistan Restaurant

Imagine a fusion of Russia and the Middle East, and you get Uzbekistan!

Perhaps that's an oversimplification, but it's true. At least that's what I learned from our journey to Uzbekistan Restaurant on 7077 West Sunset Blvd (and La Brea, in a strip mall, of course!).

The menu not only offered a variety of treats, it also provided a socio-political history of Uzbekistan. I learned that as part of the former Soviet Union, Uzbekistan borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south... which explains the influence of Eastern Europe and the Middle East in Uzbekistani culture. I felt educated and hungry at the same time! Learn more about Uzbekistan here.

It's quite a scene. I knew right away that the restaurant would be good when I saw that the patrons were also Uzbekistani. On the night that Divine Styler and I paid a visit, there was a birthday party for an older gentlemen. It seemed like his entire family was there -- wife, brothers, sisters, children, nieces and nephews... you know, like a very traditional immigrant family setting. It was sweet. The restaurant also provided a DJ who sang and played Uzbekistani songs. He was hot in a Phil Collins way. In fact, I believe he sang a Phil Collins song that Joe and I sang along to. The rest of the patrons there were odd folks like us (who probably read the Jonathan Gold review) and members of the Russian mafia (so we like to think).

Okay... to the food! I was very impressed. As a fan of both Middle Eastern and Eastern European food, this restaurant was really great... and the dishes were hugh! So Joe and I split several appetizers and one main dish.

Prior to receiving our orders, they served us bread that was essentially an enormous bagel, warmed perfectly and served along with flavored cream cheese (tasted like dill). We didn't want to be full on a mutant bagel, so we brought the gigantic bagel home (I finally managed to finish the humugous bagel on two separate occasions!) Dude, it was a dense bagel!

Bahor
Boiled beef, fresh cucumbers, tomato, feta cheese & cilantro in a yogurt-herb dressing.
I really liked this dish. It was very unique and bursting with flavors. Joe didn't like it so much, but then again, he doesn't like dairy. Although he denies it, I think he's a lactose-intolerant bee-otch. So, essentially, his opinion does not really count in this matter. Sorry, Divine.

Homemade Bugenina
Slow-roasted pork loin served with horseradish

This was excellent. Real excellent.

Samsa
Puff pastry with tender, juicy lamb
Sort of like a samosa, but better because it contained lamb.

Kaurma Lagman
Handmade noodles with vegetables and lamb
This was good, but the flavor reminded of a similar Chinese dish, but not as good as the Chinese dish so there you have it.

All in all, I would come back. I liked the ambiance -- sort of dark and glittery (as a disco ball hung from the ceiling), with tables that surrounded the dance floor. We ate our food on a couch and watched patrons dance. That was neat. The manager and waiters are really really nice (but super slow, so don't eat there if you're in a rush!)
The dinner prices are a little high, but they give tons of food. We were really full that night, so full we felt sick... and we had leftovers too! We spent about $22 each, so it's not too bad but not super affordable either. HOWEVER, I just discovered that they have a weekday lunch special that includes the soup of the day; a combo of 3 salads; samsa with cabbage or potato, chicken or lula kabob; vegetable rice or potato; ice cream; their famous bread and spread (that's the big bagel and dill cream cheese) FOR $7.95! Now that's a bargain! I'm returning there for lunch for sure!

4 reals, lucilles....

as i pop my grub club cherry, i thought i'd blog about a meal surrounding my favorite food group: meat. for all those not yet acquainted with me, i am the grub club thug and part time street magician, divine styler. deez nutz, biatch! but enough about me, let's get to the delectable sin of gluttony. after all, this is THE grub club.

dr fong, a homie from the windy "go go" city of chicago, invited the mermaid and myself to celebrate our birthdays to any restaurant that suited our fancy. i of course offered up lucilles smokehouse bbq (http://www.lucillesbbq.com), a restaurant that a girl i used to date introduced me to. albeit a chain restaurant, it is everything you can ever want from a chain restaurant... themed décor matching all my preconceived notions of the south. apparently ‘lucille” is from greenville, and while i don’t know where that is, i don’t really care because the food is simply amazing.

we started with an order of the fried green tomatoes and the spinach and cheese dip, which was peppered with artichoke. both were excellent choices, which went tastefully well with the complimentary corn bread served with an apple syrup butter, which was also amazing. i had to caution myself and both my companions that we shouldn’t eat too much bread, because the main course was yet to be served and i recalled that every dish’s portion was huge.



for the main course, we ordered the lucille’s bbq combo platter with the beef brisket and the baby back pork ribs, which was dreamy. as i sit and reminisce today’s lunch, my mouth is salivating from the succulent and tender meat. we also ordered a smoked bbq half chicken, which was divine – smoked to perfection; soft and juicy, with a seasoned skin that was bbq’ed to ensure the subtle flare that it demanded. for the sides, we had the iron skillet bbq baked beans, the roasted garlic mashed potatoes, the southern sweet potatoes, and the honey roasted peanut slaw. here’s my tip: the southern sweet potatoes is not to be missed.

since there is such an extensive menu, i would definitely recommend getting a combo platter so that you can sample the different meats. i haven’t tried the steaks yet, but the ribs are delectable and the chicken is superb. honestly, i think there are better things to sample than getting a hot link and when i had it last, the tri-tip was a bit dry, but that could’ve been that one time. the service was friendly, the price very worth it for the portions and quality. and most importantly, the food is excellent. all in all, while it was located in a huge suburban strip mall and is a chain restaurant - lucille’s gets the divine styler seal of divineness.

Carl's Jr - Pastrami Burger

Being a sucker for all fast food commercials I had to try the pastrami burger.

Construction:
Charbroiled all-beef patty, pastrami, lettuce, tomato, sliced red onion, pickles, mustard all on a sesame seed bun. Come in a single patty and a double patty version.

Overall a solid burger. The pastrami is not quite on par with the Hat or Hi-Life as expected, but not bad although it could have been jucier. I usually add mayo on my pastrami and this burger could have used a bit of best foods. I like how they had a double layer of mustard on the top and bottom bun. Other than that, it was pretty much like a famous star with pastrami on it.

On a scale between a Western Bacon Cheeseburger and the sad sad side salad, I would put it above the famous star and below the oreo cookie shake.

High class dining

Stay tuned for another special Greg Lew food review.

Carl's Jr. hooked me with their pastrami burger commercials. I'm not expecting anything like Hi-Life or The Hat, but I need to try it at least once.

What's up with that?

Freakin' bread.

This article just annoys me.

Dietary restrictions can complicate social dining

I have a solution on how to deal with this issue, don't invite these people to your party.

Universal Hilton -Part 2

This past Sunday we went back to the Universal Hilton for their champangne brunch. If you recall the last time we went was for Father's day and the place was a zoo. This time it was much less crowded. The volume of food was less however I think the selection was only marginally smaller. Pretty much everything was still there with the exception of the outdoor grill that had the delicious lamb chops, hamburgers, ribs and sausages. There was no roast pig, but I had the leg of lamb which was most delicious. I guess i really like lamb. If I recall, the last time I went the lamb was on the rare side with not much flavor, this time the lamb was like the equivalent of the top part of the rib eye steak or the prime rib and part brisket like what we have on Christmas. The champange service was much better. I think between the two drinkers, they had to have finished off at least a dozen glasses between them.

I think the last time I gave it a 5 out of 10 rating. I was correct, with far less crowds and noise the place rates a 7 out of 10.

Spitz - Home of the Doner Kebab

Short review. Pretty good. Sort of like Greek food in sandwich form made by college kids from Occidental.

Pro:
Great pita chips. Some may say greasy, but is that really a bad thing?
Sweet potato fries really good.
Regular fries with tzatziki and spicy sauce all over it, fantastic.
Falalfel, nice because it had flavor and was hot out of the fryer.
Hummus, not your typical Glendale hummus.
Gelato, haven't had bad gelato yet.

Cons:
Horrible parking. Don't even bother trying to find parking in their 2 space lot. Go straight for street parking.
Price to volume ratio - approx $8 for sandwich and drink and side. I guess that's about right, but that's 8 Filet-o-Fishes on Friday.
Mint flavor gelato. Good flavor but odd grainy texture.

Address:
2506 Colorado Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
323-257-5600 phone

Just east of the Eagle Rock plaza on the south side of the street right next to the Sizzler.

Hours:
Tues-Sat 11am - 10 pm
Sunday 11am - 8pm
Closed Monday

The second best taco truck in los scandelous

On the corner of La Brea and Olympic. During the evenings and late hours. The proprietors are super nice and the eats are cheap ($1 tacos!). Yum.

Taco Zone is still the best, but this one is pretty damn good and, more importantly, close to my house!