Pizza Pi (Long Beach)

Hello once again from inside the mind of your Flogger (Food-Blogger)! I like that, sounds very cruel. I’m going to force these food ratings down upon you with poetic style! Well, maybe not so much, but I hope you enjoy them anyway.

Anyways, I feel like I should apologize for all the Long Beach Restaurants. It’s not that I only eat in Long Beach, but since Natalie and I have just moved in to the neighborhood we have been experimenting with the local cuisine!

After eating at Le Creperie, my dad said he wanted to eat somewhere cheap, where they had pitchers of beer and most importantly the Oregon-Stanford football game. So, I jumped on the ol’ i-phone to find a good pizza place to walk to. I knew about Broadway Pizza on Broadway, but that seems more like a to-go place or a lunch place so I stumbled upon Pizza Pi, which to be honest, I’ve passed a hundred times and never seen. We walked two whole blocks to get there. It was nestled into some Ivy with a nice covering of trees. When we entered it was nearly empty, it was only five pm, and we were very early for dinner. We sat and ordered some beers. They had a good selection and everything was available in pitchers. We first got a pitcher of Allagash White ,which was another Witbier and I was not impressed. It seemed to have a chalky residual taste. I drank my pint and was not happy with that choice at all. While we drank our beer our appetizer came out, the infamous Pizza Skin, which was a pizza with garlic sauce and cheese. It was awesome! So good I could have ordered three more. We finished that and were ready for another picture, but my dad, the number one lover of cheap tasteless beer, wanted a cheap tasteless beer! I suggested Pabst Blue Ribbon and he said that it was too bad to drink. He really confuses me sometimes, so he ordered a pitcher of Bud and I ordered a pint of Stone Brewery’s IPA. Generally I’m not that much of an IPA drinker, but I wanted to try it. For an IPA I found it less biting than some others with a much cleaner taste than say Sierra Nevada. It came out with our pizza, an XL Roasted Garlic with grilled chicken breast, sun dried tomatoes and sage. It was a choice that everyone at the table could enjoy.

We dug in and were soon too full to move. It feed everyone no problem. The game came on and we were all content just to sit and watch for a while. My dad said we could leave and he would stay, but he is directionally challenged and we stayed for a while longer. The service was great.

Give Us Some Ratings Already!

Value: Great value, cheap pizza for huge portions! The beer can get pricey, but they did have $8 pitchers of Bud. If you like Bud you really can’t complain. The atmosphere was a little dingy, but that is kind of what I like about a good pizza joint. Great food and beer selection. 5 Stars!

Food Quality: The food was good. I think if Natalie and I went there alone it would have been much better! When you are trying to compromise between five people who all have very different eating habits it makes it so that no one really enjoys the pie, but we made a great discovery with the Garlic Pizza Skin! Let’s give it a 7 seconds out of 10 with a side note, if we ate there with just the two of us, it would probably be higher than that. I’ll leave room for potential.

Category: Pizza Joint. Checkered table cloths, concrete floors, one big TV, lots of beer selections, kind of dingy. . . 10 out of 10. This is what I want in my pizza joint!

Take us to the Finale!

Value: 5 Stars!

FQ: 7 Seconds (out of 10)

Category: 10 (out of 10)!

Reminds me of my College Days in Baton Rouge! Yummy Pizza for a great price!

Cheers!

Troy@BonVivant

Pizza Pi

649 E. Broadway

Long Beach, CA 90802

562-437-0555

Le Creperie (Pine Ave Long Beach)

           Hello my dear friends and fellow foodies! Today I will let you into the mind of your second favorite food critic. I’m not sure who your first favorite is, but its best to be safe and humble. What is important to me is that you go to these places, try the food and then tell them you heard about their restaurant on my blog!

            So in that spirit, I am going to review the restaurant that started it all. You see, we were eating at Le Creperie on Pine street when the most amazing desert came out. I ate and died! It was so good. I took a photo and sent it out over Facebook. Not but a few days later Natalie was having a conversation with some of her co-workers and one of them suggested I create a blog about the places we ate and that I would be a good food critic. So, here we are, back at Le Creperie for a second round, just to make sure it lived up to the memories!

            One of the best things about living downtown in a large city is the close proximity to places. We walked one block to the $1 a night parking lot (5p-7a) to meet Nick and Lisa, Natalie’s brother and mom. From there we walked the three blocks to Le Creperie. Not knowing how crowded the Restaurant would be on a Friday night I had called ahead and made reservations. We were promptly greeted and seated and our waiter came out to take our drink order. She was on it. I delayed my selection so I could pick out the perfect beer to compliment my dinner. Last time around I ordered a “course”, which is four 4oz. bears for $11. It is a great value, but I ended up ordering beers that were not complimentary to what I ate. I was determined to order something that made my dinner even better. Our waitress brought out the drinks. Le Creperie has an amazing selection of beers from all over the world, plus a full service bar and a great wine selection. They really took their time in selecting the best choices in each category. My dad was disappointed that they did not have Natural Light, I’m being completely serious, but he settled for a Budweiser and was happy.

Depollo! Mmmmm Good!

            Everyone was so intent on getting their crepes that we did not order an appetizer. Three people ordered the Carbonara, a delicious grilled chicken breast in a light garlic parmesan cream sauce with pesto and bacon. This was the dish I ordered the first visit so I wanted to try something new, but I knew they were in for a treat. Two ordered the French Riviera (chicken breast, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with a sherry cream sauce) and my mom and I ordered the Dipollo. Being that we live in SoCal, I believe they pronounce it De-Poyyo like it would be in Spanish, but in France I have a feeling it would be De-Polo. Either way, the crepe is a blend of fresh wild mushrooms and herbs in a sherry cream sauce. You can chose chicken, ham or turkey and I went with the chicken. I also had selected my beer. I decided on an Eclipse. For those of you who are not beer snobs, an Eclipse is a Blue Moon (a Belgian Wit) topped with half a pint of Guinness (Irish Stout). The combination is not as heavy as a dark beer and has the fresh crispness of the Belgian Wit. It was the perfect beer for the Depollo. I tell you, we were not disappointed. Those crepes were gone by the time I looked up from my plate.

            For our final course we ordered some Sweet Crepes. Most of us were pretty full so we decided to only order three for the table. Natalie swore by the Chocolate Chocolate (chocolate crepe with Nutella, strawberries, vanilla ice-cream and whip cream), Lisa wanted the Nepoleon (strawberries, vanilla crème brulee custard and a carmelized crust, vanilla ice-cream and whip cream) and the final selection was put in by Courtney who ordered the Latin lover (nutella, lots of bananas, vanilla ice-cream and whip cream). We all dug in. Here’s where I experienced my first issue of the evening. I ended up eating mostly the one I didn’t like. It had nothing to do with the crepe, I’m just not a huge fan of bananas on or in my deserts. My Mom monopolized the Chocolate Chocolate, which I should have known was going to happen, she loves her chocolate. It was not a big deal, as everyone enjoyed their evening and Natalie and I were championed for how good Le Creperie was.

Le Ratings:

Value: Portion to price is very comparable and I’ve always left feeling very full. The restaurant is the spitting image of cleanliness and the ambiance and décor are awesome. I was a little disappointed by the live music. The performers were singing out of key and they were sorely educated on how to use their Bose sound system. If you are going to spend $3000 on music equipment, please learn how to use it in every room. The service is very friendly, although at one point in our meal someone at our table (who will remain unmentioned) asked if all the male waiters were homosexual. I said it was possible, but asked why they thought so. They responded with, all their shirts have sparkles and are tight. Thought that was a funny tid-bit. To top it all off, Le Creperie has some of the nicest restrooms I have ever been in and they were spotless! Let’s give Le Creperie 5 Stars!

Food Quality: Yummy! I have yet to be disappointed. The food is delicious and worth the money. It comes out super fast and doesn’t stay on the plate long. It’s not inexpensive, but worth the price. . . 9 seconds.

Category: They call themselves a Bohemian Café, which is all well and good until you notice all the TV’s throughout. It is truly sad that everyone feels that there must be a TV in every corner of every restaurant. It is the rare case that we go anywhere that doesn’t have TV’s everywhere. I will comment on the awesome arch near the back of the building. It is lit from within and the blue glass marbles light up so wonderfully. I really enjoyed sitting near it. Bohemian Café or not I give Le Creperie a 7 out of 10.

Le Summary (Sorry about all the bad French!)

Value: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

FQ: 9 Seconds (out of 10)

Category: 7 (out of 10)

P.S. They also have locations on Second Street in Belmont Shores and a location in Chino Hills!

Cheers!

Troy@BonVivant

Le Creperie Café

130 Pine Ave

Long Beach, CA 90802

562-437-8648

Changes. . .

Well, it has come to my attention that the font I was using was a little hard to read, so I have changed it. If you would like me to repost all of the old posts in a new font, forget it, I'll do it without asking because I love you guys! Thank you for making this so fun! Over 100 hits already and its only been live for like barely over a week.


I've got two new places to try soon so there should be some fun reviews coming! Check out the two new reviews going up tonight!


Much love for all my foodie Friends!


Cheers!
Troy@BonVivant

Advertising!

Hi everybody! I don't mean to be an ad whore, but well I'm an ad whore! There are adds on my page. If you like what I'm doing, please go to these ads. It doesn't take long, but they help me support this blog. If it does well I can keep this up and supplement my expenditures on the dinners:) So, if you can, and if you love me, please visit the adds!


Cheers!
Troy@BonVivant

Rockin' Baja Lobster (Huntington Beach Bella Terra)

Hello my foodie friends! I hope this "flog" finds you all in good spirits getting ready for the Thanksgiving Holiday which is quickly approaching. I have to write this one quickly, because I'm going to try a Long Beach staple tonight with Natalie. We're going to Nino's in Bixby Knolls for date night. I will write more about that later!

So, for those of you that know me, I am a lobster and shrimp lover. It is a taste that I have grown into and I just can't seem to get enough. I first went to Rockin' Baja Lobster at the Oceanside Location and I have been coming back ever since. Well, it was an awesome discovery when my wife told me that we had our own Rockin' Baja Lobster right in the Bella Terra. So, needless to say I have been quite a few times since it has come to Huntington Beach.

I picked Courtney up from the airport (she had just flown in from Australia) and she requested some Rockin' Baja! Courtney and I jumped into the car and met Natalie there. We sat in the main dining area and ordered a round of water. I got a Sprite and we ordered the Queso Fundido for our appetizer. One of the perks of Rockin' Baja is the chips and salsa bar. I love the salsa verde, but they also have a great mango salsa. Really all of their salsas are good, so try them all. As I looked over the menu I noticed they had taken one of my favorite items off the menu. . . The Lobster Bucket! Arrrrrgghhh! I had to order the Shrimp and Lobster bucket instead. Not a huge sacrifice, but you hate to go to one of your favorite places and find your favorite item gone. It reminds me of when Islands used to have Moku Sticks, the memories!

Our food came out quick. We had barely finished the queso fundido before the buckets were on the table. I am very particular about how I eat. Before I eat anything I peel my shrimp and lobster tails (slipper lobster tails are small) and then I enjoy with clean hands. So I peeled all my shrimp and lobster and was a little disappointed to find some of the smallest slipper tail lobsters I have ever seen. The bucket is served with beans and rice, three corn or flour tortillas and butter sauce. I gobbled up all my food and was rewarded by my sister with some of her shrimp that she was not going to eat! We cleared the table and Natalie got half of her burger boxed up and we left really full.

Rating Time. . .
Value: I like Rockin' Baja and enjoy the service, food and atmosphere. The Bella Terra location is a little more hoppin' but it is still a laid back feeling. The restaurant is clean and spacious with a dinning area, a separate bar area and a nice heated patio for those crisp HB nights. The cost of the food is reasonable but not a place for a budget meal. 4 Stars.
Food Quality: Normally I can say that Rockin' Baja is always tops, but the small slipper tail lobsters this trip bummed me out big time! I might have had the last of the lobster tails, but seriously I just paid $30 for that bucket give me some good ones! All the other food was awesome and the Salsa Verde was particularly spot on this evening! This trip gets a 8 Second Rating.
Category: This is a newer category in food, the Contemporary Mexican Seafood Restaurant. Rockin' Baja pulls it off better than most. Surfboards on the walls, and bright vibrant colors makes this dinning experience a memorable one:) 8 out of 10.

Round Up!
Value: 4 Stars (out of 5)
FQ: 8 Seconds (Out of 10)
Category: 8 (out of 10)

Go and reap the shrimp and lobstery goodness. . .

Cheers!
Troy@BonVivant

Rockin' Baja Lobster
7811 Edinger Ave., Suite 100
Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Hole Mole (Long Beach) on 4th and Almond

Hello Everybody! I'm back again with another food blog or Flog if you're one of those word combining people! Today I am reviewing Hole Mole in Long Beach on 4th and Almond. Now I have been to all the Hole Mole's with exception to the one in Whittier, but this location is the best for many reasons. It is the largest location with an outdoor patio and large indoor dinning area. The Parking is sufficient, but if the lot is full then you can always find a spot right on 4th to park.

I ordered a shrimp burrito and a bean and cheese burrito. Now most of you are going, "Damn Troy! How can you eat so much?" To answer you, yes I do eat a lot of food which is why I have to work out so much, but I just don't get full on the shrimp burrito alone. The bean and cheese is cheap and a great addition to fill me up. Unless you specifically order a combo everything at Hole Mole is a la carte. So don't expect chips and salsa with every order, you have to order your chips and salsa separately.

Super Duper Positives about Hole Mole:
1. Huge Vegetarian Menu! If you are vegetarian then Hole Mole is the place to eat!
2. Super Cheap Menu! From $.50 cent potato tacos to a bean and cheese burrito for $2.29 everything is a great value at Hole Mole.
3. Tastes Pretty Good! The food here tastes good. Enough Said.

Some Things I Wish They Would Change:
1. Styrofoam Drinking Cups! Come on, seriously? Who uses styrofoam drinking cups for all of their cups? What happened here? Great Vegetarian Menu and Environmental Murderers at the same time.
2. Weird Bathroom at this location. The storage room is in the same room the bathroom is in. When my father in-law asked for Salt, the girl at the counter had to go into the restroom to get the salt. So not appetizing, luckily he didn't care!
3. Salsa is not very good in my Opinion. Yep, great food, weak salsa. . .

The Ratings:
Value: Good Value here. Lots of food for a little money. Clean for the most part and friendly service. 4 Stars.
Food Quality: I really like the food, but the salsa is not very good. 6 seconds.
Category: Fast Casual Mexican 8 out of 10. Really fits it's category. I just wish that they wouldn't store food stuffs in the bathroom closet!

Recap:
Value: 4 Stars (out of 5)
FQ: 6 Seconds (Out of 10)
Category: 8 (out of 10)

I say it's worth trying, just for the awesome retro video games at this location. (Tetris and Ms. Pacman)

Cheers,
Troy@BonVivant

Hole Mole
1327 East 4th StreetLong Beach 
(562) 437-0878

Ohana Bread Crumb Cafe (Huntington Beach)

Ohana or just "Bread Crumb" to the Locals

Hello Everyone! So I am taking a break from looking for gainful employment to write this food blog! I recently went to the Ohana Bread Crumb Cafe with my sister Courtney. This is a place I have been going to for years and I just recently went back and now I get to write about it. For the record this is a HB Local favorite and can sometimes get bogged down with customers. If you decide to go on a Saturday or Sunday morning expect a minimum thirty minute wait. Luckily for Courtney and myself we went on a Thursday mid morning and found plenty of empty tables. We were seated promptly by the guy that is always there. If you've been there you know exactly who I mean. He is the friendly gentleman that calls everyone "buddy", as in "OK Buddy?" or my personal favorite "Here you go Buddy".

We sat at a table by the cash register wall. One of the things I love about Ohana is that they are family owned and you know the people working there. Most restaurants have such a high turnover, but Ohana has had the same people working there for years. Feels like home which is why Ohana is such an appropriate name (Ohana means Family in Hawaiian).

Now to be honest I did not venture to try anything new on this trip. I ordered my favorite, the Hawaiian omelet with hash browns and toast.

The Hawaiian is an amazing blend of eggs, ham, pineapple, brown sugar and maple syrup, topped with a healthy dollop of sour cream. I'm also a big fan of the sourdough toast. The food comes out so fast that it feels like that have it ready for you, even on busy days. The menu is simple and easy to prepare which means you almost never wait for food at Ohana. All the drinks are served in mason jars and the refills are bottomless for that thirsty person in the group. You can sit inside or outside on the patio and there is always plenty of parking.

The food was awesome (as usual) and both my sister and I were glad we drove for breakfast (hour round trip). Our total bill was $24 with tip (18%). Great cost for the quantity and quality of food.

A couple of tid-bits. For some reason people have a hard time finding Ohana. It is on the Southwest corner of Beach blvd and Garfield, in the corner of the strip mall on the Stein Mart Side. Also, the bathrooms are a bit weird since they are located in the back through the kitchen. To access them you have to go outside and enter through the back of the kitchen. They are always clean and well maintained, but it feels weird to go in the back door of a restaurant. Just another way it feels like home!

The Ratings!
Value: Ohana has some of the best value for a breakfast place that I've been too. The food portions are huge (as you can see by my photo) and the service is awesome. The restaurant is clean and always hopping! I am proud to give Ohana Bread Crumb Cafe my first 5 Star for Value!
Food Quality: The food here always tastes amazing, which is why I keep coming back. I've never been disappointed with any of their breakfast items. Killer portions and great beverage service (I love the mason jars!) I think Ohana gets a rating of 10 Seconds!
Category: Although it is called a Cafe, Ohana is really only a breakfast restaurant. They are open from 7 am to 3 pm everyday, but their main items are breakfast foods (although they do serve some lunch items). They have a fun, surf/hawaiian motif with a little edge, on of the family members is a big MMA guy and he has some advertising up for a training gym in HB. I give Ohana 8 out of 10 for breakfast category. The MMA stuff is a little out of place, but don't let it deter you from this amazing eating experience!

The Wrap Up!
Value: 5 Stars! (Out of Five)
FQ: 10 Seconds (No Better Breakfast Food Out There)
Category: Breakfast Cafe 8 out of 10

Go Eat at Ohana and tell them you read that they were amazing on this blog!

Cheers!
Troy@BonVivant

Ohana Bread Crumb Cafe

19079 Beach Blvd
Huntington Beach, CA 92648

(714) 960-5051