Returning to the Old: Campanile

Campanile is a big old restaurant that was very popular next to La Brea Bakery. Even now they seem to be doing good business and I went to try it out for brunch one day.
I was surprised at how big the restaurant is, and I really like the decor inside. The middle section is decorated to make it seem like you are sitting outside on a street in Europe. As you make your way to the bathrooms though you see how old the place is - the carpet on the stairways and the hallways upstairs is not very well-kept.

The service I thought was terrible. We were in a corner and our waiter kept just passing us by - even when we kept raising our hands to ask for more water etc. The busboy would actually come by and give us what we want quickly - but he was very curt :< The poached egg was great. The brisket was also good, tender, but I thought the broth was too salty, which made it a little hard to finish.

Apple Crisp, with oat and brown sugar streusel
This apple crisp was excellent. The sauteed apple was done just right and not too sweet. The oat and brown sugar streusel had a great crunchyness and texture.

All in all I thought the food was good, and the dessert excellent. But with the bad service and how far it is from where I live, I don't think I would come that often ... I do like stopping by at the La Brea Bakery on the way out though, to get my cherry chocolate bread and my cheeses :)

Campanile
624 S La Brea Av
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Good Eats Under $5: Golden Deli

I'm starting a series of posts of cheap eats in LA. These will be good meals for under $5 (not including tax and tips - hey this is LA!).

First post is the Golden Deli Vietnamese restaurant in San Gabriel! I come here a lot since Caltech is pretty close. The standard dish I get is the 'bun thit nuong':Rice noodles with bbq pork, served with fish paste in the small bowl (just dump it all into your noodle bowl!). $4.75
****UPDATE! The current price is now $5.25 :( ****

They are really generous with their portions and also how much meat they give, especially considering the price! I guess it is not that uncommon being in the San Gabriel area :)
There usually is always a line, but if you're only a party of two you get seated pretty quickly.

I also got a cherimoya drink, which was $1.75. If you get a drink your meal won't be under $5 anymore though :P
Golden Deli

815 W. Las Tunas Dr.
San Gabriel, CA

Ita-Cho: Standard Japanese, Unusual Dessert

This was a long overdue post - this dinner was on the same night as my first visit to Milk. I couldn't decide where to go one night and decided to try out Ita-Cho, an izakaya type restaurant on Beverly. The plus for me is that it was across the street from Milk :)

Ita-Cho was relatively empty, but they did have quite a few tables filled. They actually have quite a few interesting items on the menu. I ordered the octopus karaage:
The octopus was pretty tough and the batter falls apart whenever I try to take a bite. It was a little bit greasy but pretty tasty nonetheless. Nothing particularly memorable, but good.

We also got the broiled hamachi kama (yellowtail collar). I mean, don't we all lo~ve yellowtail collar?
This was my favorite dish of the night. A solid and well-done dish! The hamachi kama was so tender and flavorful.

For dessert, I was surprised to find that they serve fresh cherimoya fruit. It was $3 for one fruit, though, which is expensive compared to grocery store price but I guess this was "one dessert dish".
It was a good cherimoya - the ripeness is just right. They sure did pick a good one.

All in all, I thought Ita-Cho was nothing particularly special, but they do a solid job and have interesting items on the menu. The prices are also reasonable. If it was close to where I live I would go there frequently. As it is, it's a bit far for me to come back frequently, but I may just come back there when I want some more Milk ice cream :)

Ita-Cho
7311 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036-2534
Phone: (323) 938-9009