Father's Office: 2.0...a most blessed day for Culver City

3229 Helms Ave
Culver City, CA 90232
(310)815-9820
Mon-Thu 5PM-1AM
Fri-Sat 12PM-2AM
Sun 12PM-12AM

I like to think I was on a sabbatical from writing on here until Sang Yoon was able to have everything aligned right to open the new location of Father's Office, which subsequently has been one of the most delayed AND most anticipated openings that we've been witness to in a long time in LA. Last night they opened and I was there on hand to witness the gloriousness of it all.

As many of you know, the one thing that the original suffers from is lack of space. Space for more tables, space at the bar, space to crawl passed someone without committing some sort of party foul.

The new location has a bar that is at least 3-4 times as big as the original with 72 taps on hand to satiate your thirst for fine beers. This alone helped with 1) getting your order in cause it was a ton easier to get the bartenders attention and 2) increased your odds of actually getting a spot at the bar (love the seats).

The new hit at the bar is the massive patio area with track heating. These seats I see as being THE coveted spots to grab. People were mixing it up and so light hearted even while eagerly waiting on these seats to open up. The gatekeeper (running the door) was telling me that people were sitting on the patio since the place opened at like 6:30...he told me this at like 8 o'clock. Indeed the mood of many of the people was that they would be there for a few hours more in fact.

While this does increase the chances of getting a seat right away, it by no means guarantees it. The first Father's Office suffered terribly in this aspect. While this does make things way more comfortable, it by no means solves the seat stalker syndrome that has always plagued them and is singularly the only thing wrong with this one. That being said, we waited for only 10 minutes to grab a seat once we were in.

The real question then boils down to what has made this restaurant and the one before it, a place that people will gladly wait in line for (which there was last night)? The killer Office burger that annihilates the senses. Rest assured that it is still gorgeous and complex in all it's magnificence like the original location's. I took a buddy of mine there last night and I told him he had to at least order the classic Office Burger with sweet potato fries and whatever beer he wanted. He got it and remarked "I don't like onions or bleu cheese and am just okay with arugula but I LOVE THIS BURGER! I don't get it". I do. Sang Yoon is a genius.

I can't say enough good things about this place but that I'm sure it will only continue to wow the crowds like he's been doing over in Santa Monica for quite some time now. Big plus is the abundant free parking! Sang, you know how to pick'em!

Free Refills: Of course not, it's a bar.
Average price: $26 for the Office Burger , sweet potato fries and beer combination but I know you'll want to stay and spend more!

Diner Week: Tokyo 7-7 Coffee Shop

3839 Main St
Ste B
Culver City, CA 90232
(310)204-5728
Mon-Fri 7AM-3PM
Sat 8:30AM-2PM
CASH ONLY

Having the current status of being not as rich as I used to and figured I'd do a special week on the diners in LA. I have a tremendous love for diners being that on the East Coast they are places that are often stuck in time with cheap prices that rarely go up and a staff that'll often stay working there for as long as they live. The food, while rarely being mind blowing, is always consistent and you can count on a certain standard of coffee. Los Angeles really doesn't have too many of these places. I remember one of the last one's, "Tiny Island" on Wilshire, was torn down a few years ago. My heart sank, especially considering that nothing has replaced the spot. I think it's just an empty lot now. I've already written on some diners in LA that I feel are pretty stand out, but I wanted to focus on places a little off the beaten path and or maybe places that you have heard of but never seen.

A prime example of all I have just talked about is Tokyo 7-7 Coffee Shop in the alleys of Culver City. You won't find this place unless someone has told you where to go specifically. My best advice is to get on Main Street in Culver City and look for Bottle Rock wine bar. There you'll see an alley. Walk through the alley till you are in the heart of the intersecting alleys and you'll find Tokyo 7-7.

Though it's a very secretive spot, you'll find that the place is pretty busy pretty often. Don't worry though, the service is fast and at worst you'll only be waiting for a few of minutes. There's a center counter with about 14 tables surrounding it. It's got a certain charm to it that has been all but lost in our city with the ever changing "impress me now" attitude prone to LA.

The French toast is always rocking. Light grilled and pretty classic.

American breakfast with Portuguese sausage for flair. Their eggs are what eggs should be with very "familiar" home potatoes.

The pancakes were fluffy and chewable (some mass to them), the texture uncompromised by the butter and maple syrup.

The prices for breakfast make you wonder how they're making any money! Notice the early bird special!!!

Lunch is insanely cheap too even with Asian dishes on the menu!

One thing that made me smile was the cashier lady who was knocking it down with the abacus! Each bill that came in was calculated super fast with this thing. It reminded me that in school they had taught us how you could do just about any computation on an abacus that you could do on a calculator, you only had to know how to work the computations. She is most definitely a master.

This place is hidden from prying eyes, but has all the clientele it could ever need. They don't take card which is pretty unfortunate, BUT it's cheap enough that you might even have enough in pocket for your meal without having to make a special bank stop. Parking is a actually a whiz with the parking structures right next door that give (if I remember right) 2 free hours. Next time you're on the west side and aching for some breakfast find this alley and pull up a spot on the counter.

Free Refills: No, but the price makes it about what you'd pay anywhere for a soda with a refill if you buy 2 servings of soda.
Entree Price ranges: Breakfast is $1.70 to $5!!! and lunch is $2.50 to $5!!!

Dolce Isola...even the simple things from The Ivy are to die for!

2869 S. Robertson Blvd
Culver City, CA 90034.
(310)776-7070
Mon-Sat 7:30AM-6PM
Sun closed

A recent addition to the Culver City empire of restaurants is the Ivy's Bakery store front by the name of Dolce Isola. Being that The Ivy is such a place of note and that just the mention of it conjures up pictures of celebrities hob nobbing on the front patio. It's no wonder that this place shouldn't become a hit amongst common folk such as myself, as well as the rich and famous.

The focus of Dolce Isola is first and foremost as a bakery so you'll find fresh breads and cakes to delight the eyes as well as your taste buds. But don't be fooled, their sandwich selection is something very special... and be sure to check if they have a special sandwich of the day!

Both our sandwiches are what I've always imagined the perfect picnic sandwiches to be. The Dolce club consisted of fresh roasted free range turkey, baby lettuce, tomato, avocado, bacon and their mayo must have infused with a HINT of horseradish. All items were very fresh and the bread was a firm, toasty crispness on the outside and soft on the inside. In short AMAZING. I would grab this in a heart beat if I ever couldn't decide what to get. It was simple, but even perfection can be simple.

Celeste enjoyed their caprese sandwich, made up of fresh tomato, fresh mozzarella di bufala(aka-REAL mozarella which is made from water buffalo milk), basil, light dijon mustard and a little olive oil. With the crunchy softness of the bread, the flavors of each item came together beautifully. Also, it was refreshing to taste fresh soft mozzarella from water buffalo milk, such a difference...if only more people knew.

Here are just SOME of their baked items, additionally there were several more platters out in the open to tempt you. Celeste got a Latte to go with our selections, and I wouldn't normally mention her coffee (sorry no picture) , but she and I found it to be pretty spactacular, and she LOVED the foam (which is really saying something, cause normally she finds it tasteless and an annoying barrier between her and her drink) .

We chose the carrot cake, which if I remember correctly was the Capri cupcake of the day, a dense, double cupcake sized bit of goodness. I myself am always hard pressed when it comes to cake as I'm not such a cake guy, but this was exceptional. The cream cheese frosting was SUUUPER creamy..."like buttah". As for Mitzi's Earthquake cookie, I barely have a clue about what's inside of it. I know that eartquake cookies are made from the same basic dry ingredients as Devil's food cake, and they have a sugar coating that when they're done cracks and reminds you of the ground after an earthquake. What Mitzi's recipe calls for I don't know, but these things were killer. It seemed like a little bit of toffee as well as walnuts were tossed in but don't quote me on it instead just buy one figure it out...they're only 75 cents a cookie.

Here's their array of gelato and sorbet which makes for a great finish for any meal here.

We got a small cup of their Pecan praline and while not the best in town it's most certainly up there for smoothness and creaminess. This was very nice in that it wasn't too rich and the pralines were crushed very small, and the base vanilla flavor it was mixed into was just perfect. Indeed a perfect way to cap off this great Saturday afternoon kick back meal.

With their hours, this is a great way to bring something special home to a loved one or yourself on a weeknight, a means to arrange a perfect picnic, or have a nice low key meal on location. A big plus is that you can order many baked goods including bread, cakes that can serve intimate or huge parties (this screams weddings) as well as their to-die-for jams, chutneys and sauces. My one sadness with them is that they're not open on Sundays and they close at 6PM on the other days. I mean Sundays would be ideal for this place as they'd make a killing. Other than that, I find this place to be a new hotspot for me whenever we can make it. And make sure to hop on in because, for many, this could be the closest you will ever get The Ivy!

Free Refills: No
Menu: I'll do better than give you a range. Here's the menu from the day we went.

Brasa Brasil Grill...stuffing our faces with some of the best meat in Culver City

10022 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
(310)558-3287
Lunch: Mon-Fri 11AM-3PM
Dinner Daily 5PM-10PM

First things first, sorry about the delay in posting. Sometimes you get a string of restaurants that suck and therefore can't be posted about. I had a sizable run of "wow...that was a waste of time and money and I feel tainted for going here". Some people may say, " but you can still write about other places?" My answer? Yes I can, but pictures convey so much in telling stories, and if I'm posting about some place I really like, I want to do it justice. So, when I have pauses from posting, you can be assured it's due to lack of pictures.

The second order of business is about this brand spanking new place (and that's "new" as of October) on Venice in Culver City called Brasa Brasil Grill. Bring your massive appetite to this spot! As many Brazilian eateries do, they concentrate heavily on meats. This has got some of the best meat going on in Culver City (which is saying a lot considering it's the mecca of mastication at the moment and shows no sign of stopping thanks to Sony).

The interior is pretty chill and please don't think it's messy cause the picture shows all the chairs wacked out, there was good size party there for a birthday party. The eating style is buffet and yes there is a buffet bar, and no I didn't grab a picture of it. Rest assured the buffet bar is not the main attraction here, though it sports all the sides you'd want for your meal such as garlic rice, beans, plantains, poached salmon, Brazilian potato salad, cucumber and tomato salad, black eyed pea salad, farofa, fresh greens and even boiled quail eggs. The place was spotless and the buffet bar was a reflection of that as well the fact that everything that we had from it was fresh.

Notice the object I took a picture of. This red and green wood dowel looking thing rules your meal. When you get there they tell you how it works, "When you want us to bring out more meat turn this so the green side is up. We'll bring out whatever you want from our meat menu and we'll keep on bringing out meat until you turn this so that the red is facing up". Sounds simple enough. It happened 3 times at least that we forgot to flip back over and they kept bringing meat (though you can decline it when it comes out...just made for a funny times is all). The best thing is that it's all you can eat and your choice of which meat or meats you want.

Salad (that's right...from the buffet) , as stated, was fresh and the boiled quail eggs were a pleasant surprise. Celeste topped her spring greens with the black eyed pea salad (firm but smooth) and the cucumber and tomato salad (crisp and almost sweet) as well.

Their garlic rice, black beans and plantains were superb. If you had nothing else from the buffet bar this would be more than excellent to accompany any of the meats. The beans were marinating in meat making their flavor more pronounced, the rice hinted at the garlic and the plantains were perfectly ripe and made to perfection (as you can see).

We tried ALL the meats they had which would be quite the feat for some people (and was actually for Celeste) . Did I mention that after having this we've realized we really need to lose some weight haha? Shown up above is a piece their bacon wrapped chicken and one Brazilian sausage. The bacon wrapped chicken was succulent and glistened with bacon juice. The sausage packed a huge flavor that was gentle on the salty side. As for the rest of the meats (except for the Spicy Chicken...sorry about that) take a look...

Tri Tip (not to be confused with their Picanha)...it tasted even better than it looked. Super moist and great marbling in the meat with an outstanding spice blend that complemented it well.

Their garlic beef was super tender and packed a wallop of spices, and oddly, it is called Garlic Beef but it's richness wasn't from the garlic.

Here's their Picanha which is their creme de la creme meat. Picanha is technically tri-tip (or sirloin), and is, to date, now in our top five for that cut of meat. The slight garlic char on the outside sealed in the wonderful juices inside. Just a mighty fine piece of meat.

Their lamb was almost perfect (Celeste's piece had a little bit of fat, but it's not hard to see). Slightly sweet on the outside with a perfectly done inside. And, if you do get a bit that has a good sized piece of fat, that's the beauty of the place...you just get another piece. I personally loved their lamb. It was nice having lamb a little nontraditional to me.

The only thing that wasn't all that happening, and unfortunately goes with the territory, was their pork. All their meats are on open fire on a spit and while all the other meats have a lot leniency when it comes to keeping them warm, the pork has to be very precise. Once you go passed that temperature you start to lose moisture inside the meat. While the outside of the pork was wonderful the inside was a bit on the tough side for lack for juice. That said, based on everything else, it might have just been an unlucky fluke.

The restaurant itself could seat about 50 or so and is in a small strip mall that has about 15 spaces and 4 other restaurants, but thankfully, street parking is abundant in that area. Pedro the owner is a totally sweet guy and was eager to please (no he didn't know who I was and from what I could tell never saw me taking a pic of anything) . This restaurant is definitely for those who can put it away, but make sure you sure you only eat what you can as they have a policy to charge additionally the full meal price if more than 1/2 a pound of edible food is left on your plate...though if you're like me, once you taste it, you'll totally stuff yourself.

PS: ON A BIG SIDE NOTE, KEEP YOUR EYES GLUED TO WHAT'S TO EAT LA AS I'LL BE GIVING AWAY MORE TIX VERY SOON!


Free refills: yes on Soda only
Entree Price ranges: Buffet and BBQ combo dinner is $23 for dinner and $15 for lunch (you can have the BBQ meats only for $16 or the buffet only for $15 but hey go for both and be happy).

Xotik Kitchen...a picnic in the park...or at The Bowl

6121 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
(310)280-3961
Mon-Sat 11AM-8PM

Today's entry is interesting in the way that I'm going to call it like it is, and maybe not how they want to be known as. Xotik Kitchen, located in the Arts District of Culver City, is a smallish shop that is as casual as you can make it. A couple of chairs and tables out front and a very small counter inside comprise the entire eating area. They describe their food as a natural organic fusion. I could agree with them on that, and heck I could even agree that it's pretty healthy and generally affordable. My view of this place is different on one thing really. The food and layout is more designed for takeout and imparticularly if you're feeling like having a bite out of the house but not in a restaurant like say a picnic. It makes sense that they do a good bit of catering.

We wandered over to Xotic one day on our way home from work, in the mood to hunt around a bit and spotted this place right after we passed the Helm's Bakery area. We hopped in and ordered one Sumatran Coconut Chicken with potatoes and rice(you have a choice of many different sides to choose from) and their Grilled Vegetable Salad. We sat down inside and waited for maybe 10 minutes, then the lady who took our order brought our food. As soon as the food arrived we noticed a dog outside who must have sensed the food in the air. He watched us eat the entire time. I so wanted to swing by and throw him one of my leftover bones.

As you'll notice, the food comes out in aluminum bowls. I grew up eating food like this from Puerto Rican places when I was a kid, so I wasn't too suprised. I must admit though, it was funny seeing it come out like that, especially cause they had little prepackaged plasticware as well. This is one of the main reasons also why I feel they're much better for take out and not so much a dine in spot, granted we came close to their close time so that may have been the reason. The chicken was surpisingly super moist and the slightly tangy coconut sauce that was drizzled on it gave it some zip. The potatoes and rice were not insanely over the top good, but I had no complaints about them. What's nice about this dish is the amount of chicken they give is a half free range chicken. Enough to satisfy even the heartiest of appetites.

Next up is a plate for rabbits with a discerning palate. I enjoyed my few bites, but Celeste loved this thing. Besides a whole mess of grilled vegetables of the season like different kinds of squash etc, feta cheese, maple crusted pecans with pesto were served over a bed of field greens with a citrus dijon dressing. YUM said my little rabbit.

They have other salads, fish plates, some ribs and even a skirt steak to choose from. While their offering is humble, it's all solidly good. The season and weather is very right for a picnic and the Hollywood Bowl is starting to have their picnic type nights and a meal from here would be perfect. Just one thing... make sure you bring extra napkins cause the food is fingerlicking good.



Free Drink Refills: No
Entree Price Range: $7 to $13

Johnnie's (aka. the other French Dip/ Pastrami place)

4017 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230
(310)397-6654
Sun-Thurs 10AM-2:30AM
Fri-Sat 10AM-3:30AM

A most debatable place is Johnnie's in Culver City. Let me back it up and say that I've been to great places where I've had amazing steaks before and have gone back and then the steak was so so. That being said pastrami is such an unusual meat. Ribbons of fat can taste good or they can be aggravating.

Johnnie's has been around for a crazy long time (1952) and is now a landmark (thank you LA). Original juke boxes:



On to what matters. We grabbed a hot pastrami and a cheeseburger this time around. A nice little bonus is both come with their amazing pickles (which you can get by the pound and one day we might). Let me apologize for not snapping a shot of the burger... I suck. It was a great tasting back yard hearty burger. I'd buy it again if I have $6.50 in cash floating around (kind of pricey but I think about Apple Pan and remember it's the exact same thing there). The pastrami was good. I'm not going to proclaim it as stellar cause it wasn't but here's the one thing that is weird. Some bites actually tasted significantly better than others. Only a couple of small bits of aggravating fat...all the rest was yummy. Let's examine:

And get really deep:

It was good and if I don't feel like making the schlepp to Philipe's in downtown I'll hit here for sure cause it's pretty good when it's right on. The verdict is very difficult when it comes to Johnnies cause it's an inconsistent meat. Just look at citysearch to see what I mean. You either love it or hate it.


In the end remember these things... cash only and they're open late! They've been around for a long time so they must be doing something right and everyone's taste buds are different. With those bits of sage advice I bid you adieu.

Free Drink Refills: Yup
Entree Price Range: about $7 to $10

(Oh so) Tender Greens

9523 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 842-8300
Tue-Sun 11:30AM-9PM
Monday Closed

I'm finally just realizing that in general, this small strip of land in Culver City just has good food. Just a whole slew of decent eats in such a small stretch. Tender Greens is located right next to (I'm the son of Harrison) Ford's Filling Station. So close you could have a food fight on a rowdy night. But I digress.

While I admit I am a strict carnivore and often will shy away from eating veggies, I think my body just sometimes revolts and dupes my brain into craving a huge freaking salad every once in a while. It's the LA thing to eat lots of salads but that's the part of me that's still hasn't fully turned Angeleno.

Last trip presented us with this:


Let's disect this a little bit. The top shows one of their "Big Salads" which was the chipotle bbq chicken salad. It was hearty but not too complex. Sometimes the chipotle in things can amount to smoke in each bite that just kills all the flavor. This was not the case. It was just right and with enough chicken in it so that my carnivore side was still satisfied. The second plate was their Angus Flatiron Steak served one their "Simple Salads" (Caesar) and some rather remarkable mashed potatoes. While the Caesar was nothing to write home about really it was good and fresh tasting. The mashed potatoes were thick and creamy with lots of flavor...I dug them quite a bit. The steak was wonderful as it had good marbling in it, but not so much to have to destroy each bite with 30 to 40 chews. In fact it was quite the opposite and was super tender. If they started a meat spot they could totally call it "Tender Meats". Flavorful, simple and tender is the best way to describe it and the overall meal in it's entirety.

On a special note I'd like to mention what we had to drink with the meal. I had the Pranqster beer and Celeste had the Brocke (?) 04 Sancerre. Not to ever encourage anyone to drink cause your own convictions are your own life but dang...that is darn good beer. Celeste, who doesn't even like beer, thought it was fantastic. In my opinion, worth the $20 for the pitcher (though I got it by the glass for $4 which was a healthy serving by the way). I must find where they have this beer. Anyone know where in LA I can score a it? Then the Sancerre was very forward flavor with a lot of fruit to it (light apple and honeysuckle) and was more full bodied almost slick to the taste. Both were fantastic with our plates and fantastic on their own.

Many a time you'll pass by Tender Greens and it's packed. I have never had the explicit pleasure of seeing how they handle in that typical high stress volume so I can't say how the dining experience is in that way. When I've gone the place was on the emptier side so I've lucked out. But they seem like they're a good staff and you feel like you're eating in a restaurant designed by Pier one imports...just light and airy with a hint of city. I like the prices as well. Some may say it's a lot for a salad, but for someone who doesn't eat them that often...I think they're pretty tender on my wallet.

Free Drink Refills: No
Entree Price Range: A normal plate is $10 (larger salad or a hot plate with the simple salad). To me this is a good price for a plate of good food. Don't be bothered with the fact it's a salad. I'm not.

George's Coffee Shop (For those early morning runs to LAX that I do so often)

5439 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 737-4238
Mon-Sat 6AM-3PM
Sun 6AM-2PM

As I hustle off from my desk I wanted to let you guys in a on little spot I hit when I have to head towards LAX. George's Coffee Shop has been at the same spot for about 30 years or so and the prices seem like they've barely changed.

It's owned by a cool older Korean couple that just serves up great breakfasts to the regulars who seem to have been going there for quite some time (most of the people chatted with them). Such a small thing to mention as well, but I loved the counter in the center of the room. Just cool.



What you are looking at above cost us $12 and some change and came out in record time (another plus for heading to the airport). Their 2+2+2 (shown above as well) was only $3.65 and was as close to home cooked as you could make it. My eggs and spam (I grew up on it... so sue me) was tasty and not too heavy either. Something about this place just makes me want to go back. Probably a culmination of price and homeyness. Possibly due to the fact that I grew up on the East Coast (Connecticut and New York) and places over there like this flourish so widely and are super affordable... just like this place. You can quote me as saying this place is a little "Nostalgic". My post wouldn't be complete without saying that they also bring some Korean plates to the menu that are very welcomed such as a Bulgogi Omelet and stir fried veggies. They also have a pretty darn good cup of coffee. Now, after all isn't that what should be pretty darn good at a coffee shop?

Free Drink Refills: No (unless of course you get the coffee)
Entree Price Range: Thinking off the top of my head I remember that nothing was over $6...how could I forget something like that?!