Tuesday's with Letty: BJ's Brewhouse

I should probably start with a little disclaimer, we go way back with BJ's. Back to when they were just a few little pizza joints along the beach cities of Orange County. Before they went public and became a big corporation.


I have a soft spot for them because they paid (indirectly) for my son's first year of college when I was able to get their stock cheap after their IPO and sold it for a profit healthy enough to pay for a year of private college. I may be a little biased...


If you follow this blog, or know me in other ways, you know I tend to avoid corporate restaurant and look more for mom 'n pops, independent restaurants, or even a small chain here and there. While we do eat in some of the big names once in awhile, I'm hard-pressed to find anything memorable about them so they don't get on our regular list.

BJ's is kind of heading in that direction but it's still good enough for us to visit once in awhile on a Tuesday night. When we first found them around a quarter century ago during our then weekly trip to the beach, they served a very good thick crust pizza (it's not Chicago style no matter what the menu tries to tell you, just a very thick crust), some excellent pastas, salads, and sandwiches including the most amazing roast beef sandwich I've every tasted.


Along the way, they bought a very large restaurant in Brea (the former Magnolia's Peach for you old timers) and built an onsite brewery, making them one of the pioneers of the local micro-brewery movement.  They make, and still do, some outstanding brews.


After going public, they expanded slowly.  Co-CEO's Paul Motenko and Jerry Hennessy were very picky about new locations and product quality being diluted by expanding too fast but some stockholders disagreed.  A hostile takeover attempt thwarted by a white-knight investor eventually led to these two being pushed out and now the company has expanded rapidy to 174 locations in 23 states.


While my beloved Stockyard roast beef sandwich is long gone, they still serve their signature pizzas, pastas, and salads. The menu has greatly expanded beyond that to include burgers, steaks, chicken, seafood and more.

On Tuesday's, we usually land during Happy Hour where we'll sit in the bar and have a couple of discounted brews.  I like the Piranha Pale Ale, Jeremiah's Red (named after Jerry Hennessy - there's also a PM Porter, named after Paul Motenko...now you know the rest of the story), and the BJ's blonde. Letty likes the Berry Burst Cider and BJ's blonde.

We get some of the cheap appetizers during this time like their wings or a cheap personal pizza.


It's all very good.


If we're really feeling like going all out, we might even have one of their famous pizookies...a fresh baked cookie, served in a little deep-dish pizza pan, topped with ice cream. 


Yeah, that last one's really good.


Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Tuesdays with Letty: Alex Di Peppe's, Arcadia, California

We've tried to eat at Alex Di Peppe's a few times over the years at their old place but could never find a place to park. Finally, they moved down the road a bit to a small strip mall next to a 3-par golf course over in the east end of Arcadia.

We're glad they did. It's a solid Italian family restaurant with a very loyal clientele and a caring staff.

Although we started eating their family specials...where I could pick up a pizza, some pasta, bread, and salad on the way home from work when we didn't feel like cooking...Letty and I started coming by for dinner from time to time.

You might say it's your typical red sauce restaurant, and to some extent that's true, they do serve up some very good entrees along with all the pizza and pasta.

I'm a sucker for their veal dishes cooked scallopini, marsala, and picata  

Letty goes for the seafood or maybe a vegetarian lasagna.

The pizza and pasta dishes are also very good and the prices reasonable

Alex Di Peppe's is at the corner of 6th and Live Oak in Arcadia about a mile or so west of the 605 freeway.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Tuesdays with Letty: Din Tai Fung, Arcadia, California

If you're in Taiwan, you know about Din Tai Fung. It's a huge chain there. A few years ago they started to make inroads into America and, now if you live in L.A., you've at least heard of it (if you haven't, get out a little more).


One of Jonathan Gold's favorites and one of the consistently top-rated restaurants in the area, Din Tai Fung is known for it's delicious soup dumplings.

Before the dumplings, however, Letty likes their Shanghai rice cake even better.  With slivers of pork, spinach, and shallots over slices of compressed rice cake, the flavors of this dish are just intense. Add with a little of their hot chili oil, and you've got a meal.


The dumpling, xao long bao, are filled with pork and broth.  I like to poke a little hole in them with the chopsticks, let marinate in a little mixture of rice vinegar and that delicious chili oil, pop the whole thing in my mouth and bite down for a hot, spicy, flavor explosion.

The dumplings are legendary and deservedly so.  They're also cheap, well under ten dollars for an order of ten.


To summarize, we get to have great food in one of the area's top restaurants, and get out for around twenty dollars in damage.  Not bad at all.


The location we go to is at 1108 S. Baldwin Ave., in Arcadia. There are five locations in California and two in Washington.


Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Tuesday's with Letty: California Grill Express, Azusa, California

This place has quickly worked it's way towards the top of our favorites. Formerly, California Burgers...a Greek burger stand that folded...California Grill Express (or CGX) has gutted the former burger joint, installed beer taps, and redid the menu.

Come in from the east entrance and it still looks like a burger stand pretty much but once you're asked "here or to go," upon answering "here" you're ushered over to the small but comfortable dining room or their very nice patio and you're waited on instead of ordering at the counter.

We're slowly working through the menu.  The burger is one of the best and just about a dollar more that a premium burger at Carl's Jr. gets you this very juicy and expertly prepared half pound patty.

For a couple of dollars more, you can make it a combo and add a side and a drink, such as this order of parmesan zucchini, fries, or one of the several very good craft brews on tap.

Letty likes this tuna salad to go with her hefeweizen.

It's all very good. Great food and service along with prices just a bit north of  the old burger stand it replaced puts it well up the list for our Tuesday night getaways.

California Grill Express is at 353 East Foothill Boulevard in Azusa.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Tuesdays with Letty: Avanti Bistro - Pasadena, California

With our son using a wheelchair, we have a need for adaptive equipment such as a lift for our van. That lift sometimes breaks down or needs maintenance. The closest service facility is MobilityWorks in Pasadena.

It's not in the part of Pasadena that's full of great restaurants and places to wander around, it's in a fairly industrial and residential part of East Pasadena on Altadena Drive...though the Rose Parade passes within about a hundred yards of it.

That means we don't have a lot of selection of places to eat while we wait for the lift to be serviced.  There's a subpar taco place and donut shop across the street, Wonder Burgers is a decent place for breakfast two blocks away, Super Burger on the other side of the 210 Freeway makes incredibly good burgers in a run-down shack, and the oldest existing and operating In 'n Out is about a half mile away.

Any will do for a quick bite but one time we wanted something a little more. Lucky for us, Avanti Cafe...known for it's wood-fired pizzas on Lake Avenue...opened another branch only a block away from MobilityWorks. This one is more upscale and called Avanti Bistro.

It serves very good pizza and Italian dishes at prices that will make you skip a breath or two but they do have a very fun and reasonably priced happy hour from 3-6 on weeknights.

Once in awhile, Letty and I will come here to take advantage on Tuesdays.  It's also the night a roving band of real estate professionals show up (they hit different happy hours each night after work). They're a fun and friendly group and we crowd into the little bar with them.

There's a drink of the day special plus discounts on wine and beer.  The happy hour dishes are very good and cheap, too.

We each get a personal pizza, which is only $8 and share a plate of calamari which will set you back $5.

It's a fun and easy place to get to but beware that outside of happy hour, the prices can give you a bit of sticker shock.

Avanti is at 187 N. Sierra Madre Boulevard at the corner of Foothill, just a bit south of the 210 Freeway.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Tuesdays with Letty: Osuna's Mexican Grill, Glendora, California

Back before Christmas, my doctor ordered me to take a Diabetes management class. It was a four-week regimen (cut down to 3 because the nurse instructor wanted to skip Christmas week) at our health plan's Glendora office.

Letty and Tim wanted to come with me (the 2 hours on Tuesday nights cured them of that and the last two classes I attended solo) so we went a little early so we could grab a bite to eat first.

The office is located in a small shopping center where the main tenant, Fresh and Easy Market, went under and the rest of the shops, if not empty, struggle to hold on.  Across the parking lot from the class were a couple of restaurants...Subway (not a favorite) and Osuna's.

We gave them a shot and were rewarded with delicious food that only raised my blood sugar by 40 points.

Fast forward to a couple of months later and my wife wants to pick up some items at Costco so I tell her we can do that on our Tuesday night out. On the way we're trying to decide where to eat first.  Driving along the 210 freeway, mentally mapping out what restaurants are at which exits, I remember that night at Osuna's at the Grand Avenue exit and say "why not there?"

Why not indeed? 

We have the place to ourselves, just the owner, the cook, and the owner's young son for company. When the boy comes up and asks us if we'd like to buy some cookies, I ask if he's selling them for school.

"I'm selling them for money!"

A young entreprenuer in the making.

It's an Ensenada themed place and since that Baja city is known for it's fish tacos, that's what Letty gets, along with a carne asada sope.  I opt for the Taco Tuesday special of two al pastor tacos along with a sope of my own.  They're all good and delicious, maybe an 8 out of 10 compared to the best we've had.

A solid place for a nice, casual dinner.

Osuna's is at 1311 S. Grand Avenue in Glendora, about two blocks south of the 210 freeway.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Tuesdays with Letty: 88 Noodle House, Arcadia

Home of the world famous Santa Anita Racetrack and the Arboretum, Arcadia has morphed into an upscale Asian neighborhood.  The San Gabriel Valley is famous for its Asian population and food stretching east from the epicenter of Monterey Park.  Those with money have gravitated over to San Marino and Arcadia. Fortunately, they've brought their food with them.

Across the street from the world famous Din Tai Fung dumpling house is our favorite place for Chinese soup, the 88 Noodle House.

While there is an extensive menu here, I come for one thing...beef tendon noodle soup.

These little bits of jellied cow floating in a spicy and savory broth are just irresistible. Imagine the best ribeye steak literally melting in your mouth and you get a hint of the taste.  Along with the noodles, spinach, and that tasty broth, it makes for a soup you'll remember to your grave.

Also, Letty likes to have the shrimp and pork dumplings that rival the famous ones people are lined up for across the street.

88 Noodle House is in a strip mall on Baldwin Avenue, just north of the corner of Baldwin and Duarte and about 4 blocks south of Santa Anita Mall.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Tuesdays with Letty: Old World Deli

Our home of the San Gabriel Valley is home to a few excellent Italian delis. Most people around here are familiar with Claro's, a small chain of Italian markets and delis.

There's more, and tonight we'll share one of our favorites with you, Old World Deli and Restaurant in Covina (there's also another outlet in Upland).

Old World has a different special each day, we come on Tuesday because it's pizza and salad bar day. The restaurant features one of the most extensive and fresh salad bars in the area. For around $12, you can eat your fill and more of this buffet of fresh vegetables, sweet ripe fruits, nuts, ham, eggs, cheese, bread, and more.  On top of that, you get two thick slices of Sicilian style pizza with your choice of two toppings.

This is Letty's dinner.  She creates a masterpiece of a salad, goes back for a fruit salad, and takes the pizza home.

I get the half sandwich and salad bar combo (available every day) with an excellent pastrami sandwich and my own trip or two through the salad bar.

It's an institution around here with friendly people, a great deli on the side, with great cookies for treats to take home.

Darryl

Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick

All Rights Reserved

Tuesdays with Letty: City Cafe - Azusa, California

Tuesday night is respite night for my wife and I. My mom comes over to sit with Tim for a couple of hours while we can get away and forget about caretaking and go out to dinner by ourselves...

While we have our tried and true Tuesday night favorites, we like to try new places once in awhile, too.  This week, it's the latest addition to the burgeoning restaurant row that is popping up around the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Azusa Avenue in Azusa, California.

City Cafe (not to be confused with the similarly themed and menued City Grill in nearby Covina) sits next to a weed-strewn vacant lot just a few doors down from Max's and Congregation Ale House.

The prices are reasonable for a very neat and plush little restaurant. There's also a very nice patio out back but we're sticking inside tonight.

My wife has the ahi tuna salad, an Asian tinged dish with very tasty fish along with the usual salad fixin's, beans, mandarins, and fried noodles.

I'm in the mood for a burger tonight so I go with a basic house cheeseburger with bleu cheese. It's very good, if messy, and the wonderful tomato bisque makes a nice substitute for the fries I'm avoiding.

Good place, good food, and reasonable prices. What more could you ask for?

This one will stay on our radar.

City Cafe is one block south of Foothill Boulevard at the corner of Azusa Avenue and 6th Street. Free parking in the back.

Darryl
Copyright 2015 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Tuesdays With Letty: Kara's Korner

Tuesday night is respite night for my wife and I. My mom comes over to sit with Tim for a couple of hours while we can get away and forget about caretaking and go out to dinner by ourselves.

This week, it's Kara's Korner, one of my favorites for comfort food.  It's a small Jewish deli in Glendora, California that's probably more of a diner.

When I have a cold, their matzoh ball soup is my favorite medicine.

Tonight, I am feeling fine so it's their wonderful rare roast beef sandwich for me.  While I've had better roast beef sandwiches in my life, right now this is the best I can get in the area.

On a soft, pillowy French roll with actual rare beef. Most other sandwich shops around here use well done beef, not nearly as good.  You have to remember to ask for the tomato which is not automatic on this sandwich.

My wife has this veggie omelete, which she described as delicious.

Kara's Korner is on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Glendora Avenue in downtown Glendora.

Darryl
Copyright 2015 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved