El Torito has been around a long time. Our first date was an El Torito in Burbank, which is no longer there. The food use to be better from what I remember. It wasn’t very good this time. It presented well but not much flavor or the Mexican food spiciness. It just seemed flat. I had the chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce. Looked good but not really. Our friends had the chicken fajitas. They didn’t have much to say about it. As far as the restaurant it was closed for awhile and remodeled. The place is huge, almost too big. And our table was set at the bottom of a staircase , which was weird. I half expected some drunk to trip and end up on my plate. This is California with a huge Mexican population. There are many way better places to eat Mexican food. Even Jay Leno in his steamer car was driving to a more authentic Mexican restaurant, I think!

Islands is one of the places where I like their burgers. In & Out and The Habit are two others. I had the Pipeline, which is the chili burger. Pam had the tortilla soup. I like the atmosphere where there are tvs all over with sports on every other one and surf or ski videos on the others. Enjoyable evening for all.

This is a fairly new place built on the old Harman-Kardin campus where they made electronic components such as stereos and speakers. It has no street front presence. It’s located in the back. The restaurant itself was nice and clean but a bit small. They do have an outside patio. The usual beer pub with TVs on all the walls. They get their beer from the local craft breweries in the area. The food was good. I had the burger with a plate full of fries. My wife had the chicken nachos. The chicken was barbecued. Very tasty. It wasn’t real loud so you could have a pleasant conversation without shouting across the table. The prices were high as you would expect in California with their ridiculous minimum wage laws. Almost 20 bucks for a burger! I’ve seen several restaurants, such as Gordon Biersch, close in the last few months as it is harder to run a restaurant because of the high costs. Hopefully we can start electing people who will bring back so sanity to our economy. Now I will get off my soapbox.

This is the iconic Bob’s Big Boy in Toluca Lake, CA. Right down the street from Warner Bros studios it was the 2nd Bob’s to open, in 1949. In the 70’s and 80’s there were many Bob’s Big Boys throughout the Valley, But now there is only one other, in Northridge. This Bob’s does a great business. I believe it is on the California List of Historic Places. The Beatles ate here in 1964. There is a plaque at the table where they ate. Every Friday the local car club, the Burbank Road Kings, gather and show off all their classic cars. It is a very popular show with some great old cars. One that is pictured is a 1934 Packard, which is in mint condition. Oh, and by the way the food is great. Bob’s is credited with creating the first double burger. The fries are awesome and I always order a side of their great bleu cheese dressing to dip my fries in. The chocolate shake is thick and delicious. Whenever you are in Burbank this is a must stop.

I went to the world famous Philippe’s French Dip sandwich restaurant in Downtown L.A. We stopped before going to the Dodgers game. Philippe’s says they are the oldest restaurant in L.A. since 1908. Coles French dip on 6th St has also been around since 1908 and has been at the same location. Philippe’s moved to their current location in the 30’s. This restaurant is about 10 minutes from Dodger Stadium so it’s a popular stop before the game. As you can see from the picture they have a lot of Dodger paraphernalia. They also have a Roger Owens corner, honoring the local famous peanut man who has been selling peanuts at Dodger Stadium since it opened in 1962. And before that at the Coliseum when the Dodgers moved here in 1958. Walking up and down the stairs has been good for him cuz he looks great for someone in his 80s. But he was most famous for throwing the bags to fans from rows away and he never missed. Too bad the Dodgers made him stop throwing the bags. Lawyers ruin everything. Oh, and by the way, the sandwiches are great. You get in line and order cafeteria style. They make them right in front of you and put it on a tray. Then you go and find a table. This is a must stop if you come to visit Los Angeles.

This was our stop on the home from Spokane. This seems like a nice place. It’s basically a sports bar. TVs all over. Plenty of craft beer on tap. A good size menu. Pam had wings with Mac & cheese and I had the French dip sandwich with fries. It looked like a lot of regulars sitting at the bar at 2:30 on a Wednesday afternoon.

Typical buffet. The food was edible. The only thing that was really good was the carrot cake. You can put together a pretty decent salad. The food as presented didn’t do much for the appetite, as people scoop the food onto their plates and half of it spills on the counter. The woman who tended our table was very nice and attentive. The best thing about a buffet is you can go back as much as you want and grab more dessert.

Nice place next to a small lake with a fountain. You can eat on the patio with a nice breeze. The food was good and inside has a good atmosphere. I also got a t-shirt.

This is a breakfast and lunch place. It is family owned. The price was reasonable and the portions were huge! I had the tuna salad sandwich. Pam had oatmeal. Courtney had biscuits and gravy. The kids plate had way more food than a 3 year old can eat. There was some drama as the one year old choked on a piece of hot dog. Pam and Court immediately jumped up, turned her upside down, pounded on her back until the dog popped out. She was okay and continued to eat when she was put back in her seat. They made sure her pieces were cut real small. The food was very good and we definitely will be back.

This sports pub has a nice motif and atmosphere. There are big screens on every wall. One wall has all the NFL helmets on a shelf. There were various jerseys hung about. A very clean restaurant. The food presented well. I had the Philly cheesesteak with tots. Pam had a whiskey burger with fries. There were many local craft beers on tap. I highly recommend this place.

The Rusty Moose is on the road as you leave the Spokane Airport. Our grandson wanted to take us there. He’s three. The motif is log cabin. It is really nice and clean. Their menu consists of elk steak and bison burger. I just had a regular burger. I’m not ready to try the other animal meats. The food comes out and is presented real nice. However it just seemed the taste was flat. No real pop and not juicy. I wasn’t impressed with the food when it comes to the flavor. And it was expensive. We tried it, I don’t think we will come back.

This is our sister-in-law’s favorite breakfast place in Spokane. The German sausage omelette was really tasty, not too spicy. The French toast had a cinnamon flavor to it. The Belgian waffle was a little dry, even with extra syrup on it. The orange juice was warm, but maybe that’s the way they do it in Washington. It almost had a cafeteria feel to it. I’m sure we will eat there again but it won’t be my first choice.

I never really liked CPK. One of the worst pizzas I ever ate was a CPK pizza at Staples Center while at a Kings game. Nevertheless, we went there to meet friends before going to a movie. I had a pepperoni, sausage and mushroom pizza. All I can say is it was edible. At least better than the one I had at Staples. In fact, since Staples has turned into Crypto Arena they took CPK out. They seem to be doing decent business for a place that I consider to be below par food wise. Next time we go to the movies at this mall I will suggest another restaurant there.

This was a watch party at Dodger Stadium. It was for season seat holders. My friend Joe has season seats and he invited me along. This was held at the Stadium Club. The food and drinks were free. They also gave away prizes and of course I didn’t win anything. I had a couple of Dodger Dogs with fries and bottled water. They also had Cracker Jack and popcorn. You were given tickets for two beers and since I don’t drink I threw them in the table and let the other guys use them. It was a fun time and the Dodgers won.

This is a place near our friend’s house. The place we usually go to is closed for some reason. This is a nice clean place. I had the baked salmon roll which was very good. I also had the chicken teriyaki which wasn’t bad, but the other place was better. My friend had several sushi dishes which I can’t name but looked good. They enjoyed them. My one complaint was the chicken teriyaki, which was an appetizer, showed up last. I was already finished with my baked salmon. It was so late that my friend ordered another sushi which showed up at the same time. The service was good and the place was busy so it probably has a good reputation. We will be back I’m sure.

This particular Applebee’s has been here for years. It’s been closed a couple of times, once when the franchisee went bankrupt and then during the Covid shutdown. My parents ate here occasionally but I never did because I thought their food wouldn’t be any good. When Walker Hayes wrote a song about Applebees I figured it may be time to give it a try. I’ve driven by it 1000 times but never stopped in. It was time. I had the Swiss mushroom burger. Very good. My wife had the chicken Alfredo and she said it was very good. Our friend Lauren had the Bourbon Whiskey steak. She enjoyed it and said it wasn’t spicy and tasted good. We had the boneless chicken wings as appetizers and they were good with the dipping sauce. For dessert I had the brownie bite with a scoop of ice cream. This is a good choice if you are on a diet because it’s small and only 330 calories. Our friends split a butter pecan pie with ice cream. I must admit that it was better than I expected and we will be back again.

This restaurant serves southern bbq. Nice bar area with wide screen tv’s. It was very busy and loud. The waiter was nice and attentive. Since it was busy the food took a little longer than expected. But it was very good. There are several in the LA area so give it a try.

This place made one of the best impressions on me as I walked in. Even though I described it as Caribbean it’s more like Caribbean meets Mexican. The name of the place gives you a hint as to the motif, which is Gilligan’s Isle. The menu had names such as Professor’s Chicken Burger, Skipper Dipper, Corn on the Cabo, SS Minnow tacos, Shipwreck wings and Mary Ann’s cocoanuts. The bar had the thatch hut look. They have a nice selection of beer with frozen daiquiri and margarita machines. There is an outside beach area with tables, corn hole games and an area for kids that is built like a pirate’s ship. Also there is a boat slip on the canal where the restaurant backs up to. There is even a half sunk boat giving it the deserted island feel. I don’t think it was there willingly. So once you take this all in you just hope that the food is good. And it was delicious. Everything was great. Even the bathrooms were immaculate. If you’re ever in Slidell this is definite place to stop for lunch or the Friday live music night.

The Royal House is in the French Quarter. The building is over 100 years old and originally was a residence. The owners then turned it into an Italian restaurant. It stayed that way until hurricane Katrina flooded it and they closed. The new owners turned it into the restaurant with a French Louisiana flavor. All the pictures are of our breakfast. The French Toast had strawberries and whip cream on top. There was also a crawdad gumbo which was excellent. Also the Eggs Benedict was very good.

Rotolo’s Pizza is the local pizza place. The restaurant itself is nice and clean. A pleasant bar area and booths. It is almost anti-septic. We ordered for take out. We got home and the pizzas were ok. We had two different pizzas, pepperoni and BBQ chicken. The pepperoni pizza sauce was mild. The dough was thin and would sag when you pulled a slice. The BBQ chicken with the BBQ sauce was very tasty though. However I wasn’t a big fan of the dough. Too thin. They should add a few more ounces of dough. The price was high also. For the two pizzas and an order of cheesy bread it was $80. Thanks Sleepy Joe!

Smoothie King is big in Louisiana, like Jamba is in California. They even named the arena in New Orleans after it. I decided today to try it. The store is nice and clean. They have a bigger selection of food bars than Jamba. The menu is big with smoothies. And the cups are huge, with a choice of foam or plastic. Since I wasn’t familiar with the choices and didn’t want to hold up the line I asked the server if they had a green tea choice. She said they did and what flavor did I want and what fruit do I want. I picked chocolate and strawberries with a fiber supplement. I wasn’t sure what I was going to get and was a little apprehensive before my first sip. But it was really good! I got it in their medium (32oz) cup. It lasted me about 30 minutes. Since we will be here another 7 days I’ll stop in again before we leave.

This restaurant is in the French Quarter. These building are old and have a lot of character. It’s a block from the Basilica Cathedral. I had the Jambalaya omelette with potatoes. It was great. My wife had the Brunch Po’boy. She asked if I wanted a bite. I said sure. I bit right into the yoke, which squirted the yoke all over my sleeve. It was pretty funny. I also tried for the first time an alligator sausage. They brought it to me with honey mustard. It was pretty good. Similar to a regular Italian sausage. This is the second different sausage I’ve had this year. Earlier in Idaho my brother-in-law cooked sausages for dinner. After I ate it he told me it was the bear he had shot the week before. Instead of throwing up I actually enjoyed it. I had two more. So now I’m game to try another animal I haven’t eaten yet. I’ll have more from New Orleans soon. I’m here for another week.

We are here in New Orleans visiting the kids and grandkids. We had a fire pit going and roasting marshmallows when our grandson’s marshmallow caught on fire. I blew it out just as a gust of wind blew smoke in my face and some particulate matter got in my eye. We went to urgent care where I was diagnosed with a scratch cornea. The wait for my prescription was over an hour so since we were near the French Quarter we went to get lunch. We stopped at Willie’s Pizza on the corner of Canal St. and St. Charles, the same corner where in August of 1963 Lee Harvey Oswald was filmed passing out his Fair Play for Cuba flyers, just 3 months before he was accused of assassinating JFK. Enough of history. The pizza was ok. We just wanted something semi-light so one slice was enough. But the motif was pretty cool, gives you a taste of New Orleans. It is also a daiquiris bar with several different flavors. Since it was 1:40 in the afternoon I didn’t want any alcohol. They had the rap music playing to give the place a little more atmosphere. Check out the pix. From what I understand the area has had some crime issues. The Starbucks across the street closed because, as they say, they couldn’t guarantee the safety of their employees. I didn’t feel unsafe while we were there and there was a lot of people out at that time. So just for history sake you may want to visit the area.

Went to our local TGIFriday’s in Porter Ranch. It was rather quiet for a Friday night. I ordered the appetizers to start. It took some time to get our order. Surprising since they weren’t busy. When it came it wasn’t very good. The wings were over cooked and the loaded potatoes were dry. The main entrees were good though. I had the Sizzling chicken and cheese. Our friends had the burgers. My only concern was, even though our server was very nice he was also very slow. Restaurants are having a hard time finding good help and he may have had too many tables to serve. I’m sure the kitchen was short handed since it took a long time to get our food. Also prices are very high so that could account for the lack of business.

We went here for my wife’s birthday. We took one daughter and two grandkids with us. We originally ended up in Valencia because we thought Johnny Rockets was there. But it closed during the pandemic and it’s now a Chipotle. So we decided on BJ’s Brewery. Funny story, my brother got married to this awful woman and had his reception at the BJ’s in Woodland Hills. I had one beer. I was walking up to the bar to order another one when I slipped on some water on the step up to the bar. They thought I was drunk and cut me off! Bastards. My uncle ended up buying me beer that night. Anyway I digress. This store in Valencia is nice. TVs all over. Very clean. The server was very nice. The time is around noon. They are not busy. We order and then we waited a looong time for our food. When the food arrived it wasn’t very good. My pizza was bland and dry. Pam had the whiskey burger and only ate half of it. She didn’t want to take home the rest. She said it was tasteless. My grandson ordered the kids hot dog bits. He’s three. Just put ketchup on it and it’s fine. Now I know that restaurants are having a hard time finding good help and I’m sure that is why it takes longer for the food. I’m willing to wait. But the food still has to be good once it get there. This time it wasn’t. I hope they can straighten it out and be better.