Green Field Churrascaria

Great company, as I went with K. and T. and we closed the place down. However, the restaurant itself left a bad taste in my mouth. I mean that almost literally. It's located on Azusa Ave. in West Covina and three years ago, it was quite good. Brazilian barbeque The meat selection was big, the roasting done well, and the side dishes quite tasty. Unfortunately, they must have new management, because the meats were either incredibly overcooked (dry, chalky) or so undercooked that the meat was raw, not rare. Sirloins were extremely raw whereas lamb was cooked to hell. It wasn't pleasant. The choices were basic beef cuts, chicken, sausage, lamb, duck, pork ribs, and bacon.



The buffet was weird. It was mostly salad and horrific attempts at Italian food. They called basmati rice, "risotto". There were no sauce names, so there were dishes like "Salmon in pink sauce" and "spaghetti in red sauce". Wha...?! This was my plate from the buffet with some meat added to it:



The cheese rolls (top left) were really good. We'll work clockwise... the chicken is next to it, which was fine. Next to that was tabbouleh. It was ok... tabbouleh's major ingredient is parsley, so the taste is pungent and distinctive. It's also Middle Eastern and the last time I checked, Brazil wasn't in the Middle East. Nor is it anywhere near Italy, although I can understand the Italian influence more. I believe Brazil has a large Italian immigrant population.

Next up was the rice, which they called "risotto". It was basmati and quite flavorless basmati, at that. After that was collard greens and according to Wikipedia, they're typically present at churrascarias. However, collard greens should never be served lightly cooked. It's a vegetable that needs to be cooked down to wilting. Otherwise, the taste is incredibly bitter and reminiscent of dirt. The salmon tasted fine, but was on the dry side. The tri-tip, on the first pass, was cooked past well-done. Ew.

The most puzzling thing was the fried banana. It's above the tri-tip in the photo. Now, my experience with "fried banana" in Latin America involved plantain slices that have been caramelized on a hot pan. These fried bananas were literally battered bananas that were fried. I felt like I was at the frickin' county fair.

It was a mediocre, but edible, meal. Expensive and certainly not worth the money. However, I was ok with all of it until I received the check. The service was adaquate, but not outrageously fantastic or anything. Keep in mind that this is a buffet, so there isn't a ton of table service. There are the guys who bring the meat around, but they're quick and brusque. They also don't take orders or requests, so it's not like they have to deal with annoying customers. Still, with the amount of servers involved, I figured 15% tip was called for.

Then the bill arrived...

It was a typical bill, but at the bottom was:

-TIP NOT INCLUDED-

Suggested tip (15%): $13.00 (highlighted by hand)

Thank you very much! (highlighted by hand)

I was appalled. Regardless of all views on tipping, it should never, ever be requested, suggested, demanded, whatever. That's as tacky as tipping poorly for good service. Considering the whole experience was horrifically mediocre, including the service, it was insulting to have it pointed out to me that I should tip them 15%. I was going to, anyway, but this really made me want to stiff them. However, since tips are probably pooled and one person decided to be a tacky fool, I wasn't going to be an ass to the rest of the staff. So yeah, I tipped them 15%.

Needless to say, there will be no future trips to this place.

Tasty Garden

This is my latest favorite LA restaurant. It's only a couple of blocks from home, so that makes even more fabulous. Tasty Garden is located at 1212 Baldwin Ave. in Arcadia. Arcadia's Asian population has exploded in the last decade or so, resulting in excellent Asian eateries. There wouldn't be a community here if the food was crap. It's a Hong Kong-style cafe, serving up Cantonese entrees and Western-influenced dishes (one good example is baked pasta, which is omnipresent in this type of cafe).



One of the things they're known for here are rice cooked in clay pots. It's rice, a clay pot, and a bunch of types of meat and/or veggies, then cooked in the pot. The rice crusts along the pot, forming a crunchy layer, and the additions flavor the rice. It's quite excellent, but we didn't order it this time. It's a bit much for lunch. We did order the shredded brined chicken. Cooked dark meat is shredded and marinaded in oil, white pepper, and salt. It's served cold and it's fantastic. Lots of flavor. White pepper is much more subtle and has none of the spicy bite of regular pepper.



Another specialty is the wonton noodle soup, which I wanted to try this time around. Holy cow, it was fantastic. The noodles were a little overdone, but the wontons... wow. They were huge, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Filled with shrimp, pork, and spices, it was a little bite of happy. The flavors melded together perfectly and pretty much "popped" as you bit into it. The soup was fantastic and there was crunchy bok choy with it.



We had to order my favorite Peking-style pork spareribs. I've been having them really frequently lately, but it was a multi-year drought before that. Thank goodness China Max does them well or else I'd never eat anything else in LA.



Mom and Dad seem to know every restaurateur in the area. Dad, having been in the industry for decades, likes to chat with the owners and see what they're doing with their restaurants. They've known the owner of Tasty Garden since he was a partner in another Hong Kong-style cafe in the Monterey Park area. So, he comped us a Hong Kong-style "waffle".



It's made the exact same way as a waffle, with the batter being poured between two hot iron plates. However, that's where the similarities end. The plates on this waffle maker have big bubbles in them, which results in the bubbles being cakey and the pastry in-between being crunchy. The batter is much sweeter and cake-esque than a waffle. An American (or Belgian) waffle is pretty bland and the toppings make the dish. This waffle, however, is eaten alone. It's quite good, although Mom and Dad said there's a place in Monterey Park that does it better. If that's so, then I definitely have to meander out there to try it out.

Tasty Garden is absolutely fabulous and there will be plenty of visits in the future.

Cheesecake Factory

This place kind of speaks for itself. It's a somewhat-upscale chain that does defy the tendency of chains to veer towards mass-produced and mediocre food. The food is still mass-produced and not especially noteworthy in terms of ingenuity, but the quality and quantity are above-average.

I tend to be a one-note customer and always order the same thing here. The menu is actually full of dishes worth trying, but I stick to my Thai chicken pasta. Sub the linguine with angel hair (capellini). The only issue I have with this dish is the chicken itself, which is chunks breast meat and tends to be overly dry. Depending on the line cook who makes it, it can be fairly moist and tasty or chalky and dry. The sauce, which has a peanut/soy sauce base, is awesome. It's paired with julienned carrots and fresh bean sprouts, which compliment it well.

However, I'd say that the best thing Cheesecake Factory has to offer is its house bread. Fresh sourdough and an amazing honey wheat bread that I'm still trying to figure out how to make. I found a recipe for Outback's honey wheat bread (which is very, very similar) that I'm definitely trying next weekend.

The second best would be the desserts. Their cheesecakes are drier, but I don't mind it at all. It's not terribly dry, just not incredibly creamy, which isn't something that everyone likes anyway. They have a new cake called the Lemoncello Cream Torte.



First... it's LImoncello. Oy vay. The cake is:

Layers of Vanilla Cake and Lemon Mascarpone Cream Topped with Streusel and Served with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

(Picture and description from the Cheesecake Factory website)

It equals YUM. The cake is very light, almost like an angel food cake. The cream isn't too heavy and it's both sweet and tart. The streusel is dry and crumbly and contrasts beautifully with the fluffy cake and filling. I can't express enough my love for it.

My favorite cheesecake is Adam's Peanut Butter Fudge Ripple. The description: Creamy Cheesecake Swirled with Caramel, Peanut Butter, Butterfingers® and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups®. I have no words. Crunchy butterscotch mixed with peanut butter. I couldn't love it more.

Here's the menu. Other cheesecakes I enjoy are the original with strawberries, dulce de leche, and Godiva chocolate (it's insane... the ultimate chocolate fix).

Chain, yes, but this place is leaps and bounds over crap like Applebee's.