Smoke City Market

When it comes to BBQ in Los Angeles there are only a few places that really matter. Smoke City Market in Sherman Oaks is one of them. SCM is pure indulgent Texas BBQ, very beef centric, to tell you the truth I have only ate beef there, I haven't even tried any of there sides. SCM has a road house vibe that even includes old Coke machines and a paper towel machine on the wall instead of napkins. All meat is by the pound and is served to you on a piece of wax paper. There are two kinds of brisket, lean & moist, with the 3rd option of cutters choice. I go with moist and you can count on a few pieces of white bread to accompany the meat. The beef has a pink smoke line thru it that you have never seen before. Another great option is the rib, the giant 1 pound rib still has the prime rib attached too it. The homemade sausages are to die for also, pick regular or spicy cheddar. The meat will literally melt in your mouth, it's that amazing! The only other BBQ joint in the city with any thing even close is Bludsoes in Compton. Go to Sherman Oaks and get some of this amazing BBQ and a pint of Shiner Bach, Texas favorite beer.

Wurstkuche, I'm sorry how do you pronounce that?

I have some problems with Wurstkuche. Number 1 it would be great if everyone who works at the place could agree how to pronounce the name. Number 2, don't go on a weekend there is no parking and the line is insane. The plus about the line is you can run across the street to Pie hole & get some pie while you wait. Number 3 the prices are way too high for sausage on a bun and their specialty sauces. My friends love the truffle fries but I think they taste like feet and not worth the couple bucks extra. There are of course things that I like about Wurstkuche.  The exotic meats menu has a duck & bacon wurst, it is a must order every time I go. I love the long communal tables in the back where they serve a large variety of import beers. Enjoy the dogs and make sure you get some pie across the street.

Dave's Chillin-N-Grillin

If you live in Eagle Rock then you know Dave's Chillin-N-Grillin! Dave's is a phenomenal east coast style sandwich shop. Dave is from Mass and is a die hard Patriots & Sox fan, this is obvious from the posters and hats everywhere. Dave has an infectious energy about him and will always take a few minutes to talk about sports or some other wild thing going on at the moment. The real reason your reading this is because of the food. Dave's is not one of those places where you go to eat that one thing you really like, Dave's has a dozen things you will LOVE! I have allot of favorites, the first is the french dip melt. The beef is cooked in au jus while two cheeses are grilled on some amazing fresh baked bread. When the meat is ready it's thrown on the bread with a few slices of tomato and a homemade horseradish mayo. Speaking of homemade, Dave's makes a back east style Peppa spread(the Hotts) that goes great on everything. Dave's started bottling the Hotts and now it can be taken home and put on anything your heart desires. Dave also has weekly specials,  Thursday is the Pilgrim(turkey, stuffing, gravy & cranberry) Wednesday is the pulled pork with a Bourbon BBQ sauce. The tuna melt at Dave's pops up on Google if you search "best tuna melt in LA", so that's one more to try. Other favorites include the pastrami, rosemary turkey, meatball sausage combo & the hot hippy.
Check out Dave's you will not be disappointed.

The Oinkster

Oinkster seems to have started the slow fast food craze in Los Angeles.  Their fresh ingredients are defiantly the highlight at Oinkster.  I use to go about twice a week during happy hour for their 3.99 burger and fry combo.  That all ended when Guy Fieri and triple D showed up in June of 09. This created burger hysteria in Eagle Rock, 60 people in line became the norm. It's only been recently that I started eating at Oinsters on a regular basis. The burgers still taste great(don't expect Umami, this is classic American backyard grill style) but the garlic aioli for the Belgian fries is defiantly still the best thing.  The purple UBU shake(UBU is a yam) tastes so so and seems like more of a novelty to me. The grilled chicken, plantains & in house cured pastrami all taste great also.  Most of the condiments are made in house, including a Carolina BBQ sauce that tastes like straight vinegar. Oinkster's now has a monthly specialty burger that comes as is. I would avoid Oinksters during the weekends unless you have some time to kill.

Kansas City BBQ in North Hollywood

There are allot of things I love about Kansas City BBQ, a NOHO favorite of mine for the last 6 years. The first is the sliced beef brisket, I suggest the sandwich, it's a ton of meat packed between three slices of white bread. For a side I suggest the steak fries and the beans(the beans also have brisket in them).  They have two sauces a mild and a spicy, both have an amazing flavor that I never get tired of and pour on everything.  Another great thing about Kansas City is the price.  It shouldn't cost you 20 dollars to eat well, 14 bucks fills me and a friend up every time.  They also have a bar that's a great place to grab a beer with some NOHO locals and watch the Lakers play. When it comes to LA BBQ, I put KC around 3rd or 4th, but that's still pretty good. Check out Smoke City Market or Bludsoes for the next level stuff.

Masa monster pizza & bakery

Masa of Echo Park Bakey & Cafe and I have a strange relationship. The first part of our strained relationship comes from my first and only visit in spring of 09. I came in search of the legendary Chicago deep dish pizza. I loved the place right away for the funky grandmother's house vibe. A small bar stands like a wall to the entrance to a bustling kitchen. Surrounding the bar are small and large tables and even couches where meals are served on coffee tables. I love this down home vibe, this is why some staff have been working close to a decade at Masa. I sat down and after a few minutes ordered my pepperoni and sausage pizza. The wait is 45 minutes that I thought I was prepared for. It was a tough wait but I've waited at restaurants much longer for much less. When the hot pie arrived I couldn't believe the monster that was sitting in front of me. The sausage wasn't slices, it was giant triangles of meat, one for each slice. Forget all other pizzas, they can't compare to this, this is a steak dinner. I left two slices for the next day and left very happy. The next morning I was not so happy. Maybe 45 minutes wasn't long enough to cook it. I'll spare my few readers the gory details, let's just say things became explosive(okay I still shared allot). The worst part of the story was having to throw those last 2 slices away :((. I knew that some day I would return to Masa though. Every time I walk to the Echo or Two Boots I always think about the pizza that I really want. Well last week I decided to try Masa again. I ordered a large pepperoni and pineapple pizza with a Carmel bread pudding so that I would have something to eat while I was waiting. The bread pudding came out very fast and I was impressed with all the amazing flavors it had. Then it came for the pizza. The pizza was twice as large as I had remembered it. THIS THING IS A MONSTER!!!! It was the best thing I ate that day. Unfortunately the bread pudding had made it difficult for me to eat more than two slices. This was not a bad thing since the rest of the pie fed my friends for the next two days. So I didn't get sick this time and I now have one more place in this town where I can get amazing food!




I don't own these photos, I don't want to be the A hole ruining every ones meal by taking photos.