<![CDATA[ - Reviews]]>Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:45:00 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Salt Creek Grille]]>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:41:59 -0800http://www.thisiswhyimfat.com/1/post/2010/07/salt-creek-grille.html My company recently relocated to El Segundo which left many an employee with a burning question; “Where do we now go for Happy Hour?!!!”  Luckily that issue was taken care of right away – Salt Creek Grille.

Salt Creek is a very nice restaurant that (according to their website) appears to be in California and New Jersey.  Luckily for me and my co-workers they have a very nice Happy Hour too.
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We first order our cocktails (which were half off thank you very much).  I ordered the Chateau St. Jean chardonnay.  Light, refreshing, crisp with just a hint of oak.  One coworker ordered the old faithful vodka and cranberry, but the drink that topped all was the Black Cherry Lemon Drop!  It contains Effen Black Cherry vodka, simple syrup, Muddled Lemon and grenadine with a sugar rim.  This drink was dangerous!  It tasted liked Kool-Aid and went down just as easily.
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Then came the food (thank goodness since we were ready for another round of drinks).  We started off with the Kobe Beef sliders, and what a way to begin!  Grilled Kobe beef, with blue cheese aioli and arugula served on King’s sweet Hawaiian bread.  You will think you have died and gone to burger heaven!
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Next was the Stuffed Jumbo Shrimp.  The garlic stuffed shrimp would have been excellent all alone, but they decided to kick it up a notch by wrapping them is applewood smoked bacon!  Now in my book, wrapping anything in bacon makes it better (bacon wrapped dates, bacon wrapped asparagus, bacon wrapped bacon, etc…), but when you take shrimp as good as this and add bacon, LORDY you have just made my night!  And they came with a chipotle honey sauce for dipping (although it did lean more to the honey side then chipotle, but the shrimp were so good you didn’t even need the sauce).
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Our last item was the “Whole Foods Market” cheese plate.  Now I know what you’re thinking, “You went from Kobe beef and bacon wrapped shrimp to a cheese plate?  You must have been sauced!”  But hear me out.  It was the perfect way to end the night.  The plate comes with 3 specialty cheeses picked out daily by Whole Foods Market (which is just on the other side of the parking lot from Salt Creek).  It also has dried fruit, candied nuts and cured meat.  Each cheese was better than the last and the cured meat added the needed salty flavor.  Being a dried fruit fan I really enjoyed their selection and the candied nuts were a bonus.  It was like dessert!  But with CHEESE!
Now we just have to figure when our next visit is going to be so we can try the other appetizers they offer (and sample a few more of their specialty cocktails).

Salt Creek Grille
www.saltcreekgrille.com
760 S Sepulveda Blvd
El Segundo, CA 90245
310-335-9288
]]><![CDATA[La Fiesta Grill]]>Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:55:34 -0800http://www.thisiswhyimfat.com/1/post/2010/03/la-fiesta-grill.html
One of the greatest joys of living in Southern California is the authentic Mexican food.  A friend of mine had left her wallet at Mexican restaurant near my work and asked me to pick it up for her.  Boy am I glad she did.  La Fiesta Grill is a small restaurant tucked away in a strip mall on Santa Monica Blvd.  You might not notice it surrounded by a dry cleaner, 7-11 and book store.  But it shouldn’t be missed.
 
One of their best items are their tacos.  These are authentic Mexican tacos made from two soft corn tortillas with your choice of chicken or grilled steak and topped with onion and cilantro.  They are a decent size, but I would highly recommend getting two.
 
One of my favorites is the Steak Picado plate. Shredded steak that is marinated in a Mexican sauce and smothered with tomatoes, onions and bell peppers.  It also comes with refried beans, Spanish rice, guacamole and salsa.  Also your choice of flour or corn tortillas which are perfect for creating your own mini burritos.  The sauce that they use is so good you almost want to ask for a cup of it to pour over all your meals.
 
So if you’re looking for good Mexican food, I would highly recommend this “hole-in-the-wall”. (No can openers, no freezers, no lard, no MSG)
 
La Fiesta Grill
10712 Santa Monica Blvd
West Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-234-1086

]]><![CDATA[Farm Stand]]>Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:02:07 -0800http://www.thisiswhyimfat.com/1/post/2010/03/first-post.html
A couple of coworkers and I ventured out to downtown El Segundo for lunch and decided to try Farm Stand “Urban Country Food” on Main Street.

Their lunch menu had lots to order and many dishes allowed for “Half” portions for lunch.  The day we went they were offering ‘samples’ of their new ginger lemonade.  As you can see the sample was a full glass!  The ginger really stood out in the drink but the lemonade was not overpowered by it.  A very refreshing way to start the meal.
While looking over the menu, we were treated with a small basket of bread and butter.  The kalamata olive bread was the hands down winner, but the other bread was a close second.  It had the texture of cornbread but the lightness of flour.
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I ordered the half portion Farmstand Grilled Salmon Salad.  It came with three nicely sized portions of grilled salmon, avocado, green beans over mixed greens and tossed with a very light Caesar dressing (it also comes with Roma tomatoes but I’m not a fan).  The salad was delicious and the salmon pieces were large enough for me to end up taking one home for dinner that night.
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My coworker ordered the half portion Chinese Chicken Salad.  It had chicken (of course), fried wontons, Chinese green peas, red and yellow peppers, sesame seeds, mandarin oranges, cilantro and a tangy Asian dressing over romaine lettuce.  To quote my coworker “This is the best Chinese Chicken Salad I’ve ever eaten.”  Needless to say this plate went back to the kitchen empty.
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My other coworker had the half portion Nonna Rina’s Homestyle Lasagna.  When the plate arrived you would have thought it was the full portion.  The lasagna is made with a traditional Bolognese meat sauce, béchamel (I had to Google this – it’s a white sauce used as the base for other sauces) and parmesan cheese with a mixed greens salad. 

“That lasagna was soooo delicious!!!! And it was the perfect size too!” was heard after the meal.  No doggie bag needed here either.

Although they had a nice selection of desserts, we had to forgo them this time around.

Farm Stand
422 Main Street
El Segundo, CA 90245
(P) 310-640-3276
(F) 310-640-7826

www.farmstand.us
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