La Calle - Mexico City

Guy Fiere has never been to La Calle but, he should visit there.  This review marks a new chapter in Bill's Triple-D restaurant review.  This was the first non-diners, drive-inns and dives restaurant review and the first international review.  DD&D is still my inspiration in terms of exploring no-star restaurants with great food and drink in sometimes unusual places, but I'm not going to limit my reviews to just restaurants that have been on tv anymore.  In fact, I'm not going to limit the blog just to restaurants anymore.  Stay tuned.

La Calle is in the Santa Fe section of Mexico City. Most of what I saw of Mexico City would qualify as a super dive but, Santa Fe was not.  It is the shiny upscale area; a phoenix of a development built on what was a landfill several years earlier.  There are high-end department stores and expensive high-rise apartment buildings. 

The atmosphere was pretty cool. It was trying to be an old Mexican restaurant.  As a Gringo, to me it seemed like a Mexican restaurant trying to be a Mexican restaurant.   There were only Mexicans here besides my mixed-nationality group, so I don't think that they were trying to impress anyone by hamming-up their Mexican-ness like you sometimes find in the states.


The first thing that they served us was  soup in a little shot glass.  I had never seen soup presented that way.  It was dark brown in color and someone joked that it was a water glass.  It was actually shrimp soup.  It was really tasty but, rather salty which probably helps with beer sales.   The Pacifico Cerveza went down exceptionally smoothly as a chaser.

I ordered the avocado fish. I couldn't tell exactly what kind of dish it was from the Spanish description on the menu but, it was a white fish.  It could have maybe been sea bass.  The fish itself was okay but, the avocado sauce was the star of this show.

The fish was served hidden under a blanket of vegetables.  The fish and veggies were really only there as a vehicle to pick the sauce up with, in my opinion.  I'm kind of a recent convert to avocado.  I used to be turned off by the green color that caused me to never try it.

I'm glad that I got over it in time to sample La Calle's avocado sauce.  It was good enough for me to break with Triple-D tradition.   It was creamy and savory if a little heavy on the salt as well.  La Calle had their own bakery (panadería) which kept us supplied with lots of fresh bread.  That was a good thing because I just wanted to sop up every drop of the green goodness.

One of my compadres at my table ordered something that basically consisted of a caldron of meat, vegetables and potatoes. I didn't try it but, it looked pretty darned good.

I'd give La Calle a 9.6.  It might not have been unique for a Mexican but, it was for me.  The food was really good and the atmosphere unique for me.



La Calle
Av. Vasco de Quiroga #3800
Centro Comercial Santa fe
Colonia Santa fe
Mexico District federal
05109

tel. 5257 0885
http://www.restaurantelacalle.com.mx

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Baby Blues B B Q - Venice, CA

The atmosphere at Baby Blues BBQ is kind of hippie cowboy. There are steer horns on the wall, lots of squirter bottles of pepper-sauce everywhere, guitars and pictures of Bob Marley on the wall.

It is my kind of place but, it is a dive for sure.  I could see how the LA Board of Health might have a field day in here. There were hot peppers floating around in old whiskey bottles.  I didn't quite understand that.  I don't know if they put those away when the health inspectors come by or what.

The barbecue food was really good, even by the Texas standards that I'm used to.  They have a whole smorgasbord of barbecue sauces on each table which were fun to experiment with.  I feared the really hot varieties but the milder ones were pretty good.

They advertise themselves as Memphis-style BBQ.  I had the "The Cherokee Spike" which was pulled pork, brisket and a hot link.  It came with a slab of cornbread.  This was a meat eater's delight.  We also ordered a Blues Cob.  The blues cob was roasted corn on the cob with some kind of spices and parmesian cheese on top. I don't think that there was any butter on the corn. The cheese took the place of the butter. The sharpness of the parmesan was a nice contrast withe the sweet corn.  The star of the show was easily the Blues Cob.

They are not light on the portions. This is not the skinny side of LA.
I'd give baby blues a 9 out of 10 on the triple d scale of divey delight.

Baby Blues BBQ
444 Lincoln Blvd.
Venice California 90291
310-396-7675
www.babybluesvenice.com

Prince Lebanese Grill - Arlington, TX

The blue collar section of Arlington, Texas seemed an unlikely location for a true middle eastern restaurant. This area of town is dominated by BBQ, burger and fast food restaurants.

Prince Lebanese is in what looks like it might have been an old Sonic restaurant from the 1970's. So, it clearly qualified under the "dive" heading. I'm home.

The middle eastern food was as good or better than anything that I've had in Detroit, the US capital of middle eastern food.

The humus and high quality beef for me is what defines a middle eastern restaurant. Prince didn't disappoint.

I had the need shwarma which was like a beef wrap but in a thicker, softer bread.

My photos got lost somehow so, you'll just have to try it for yourself to see.  I rated Prince Lebanese Grill a very respectable 8.5.

Prince Lebanese Grill
502 W Randol Mill Road
Arlington, TX
(817) 469-1811
www.princelebanesegrill.com

Brat's Brothers Gourmet Sausage Grill - Sherman Oaks, CA

When I saw kaesespaetzle on the menu on Brat's Brothers web site then I knew that it would be worth checking out.   Kaesespaetzle are potato based noodles usually served with cheese. It is a classic Swabian dish.  When I got there, they actually had what I would characterize as Jaegerspaetzle or "hunters spaetzle" which is the spaetzle with a mushroom gravy sauce instead of cheese. So, that's what I went for.... But, not before ordering a bier.

I found it charming when the very nice Mexican-American chick wearing a dirndle with tatoos and Toms sneakers brought over a refreshing beverage in a genuine brewery supplied glass. 

They have quite impressive selection of German biers on tap.  I had an Erdinger Weissbier.  It really hit the spot.  It had been ten years almost exactly since I moved back to the states from Germany.  The German bier gartens were one of those things that I really miss.  It wasn't just the bier, it was the whole atmosphere.   Wow, how I miss that.

They had Erdinger, Hoffbrau, Spaten and. Franziskaner brand beer on tap. These are all the national brands which to the Germans are very ordinary but, for us "Ami's" are not at all ordinary.  It was definitely a treat.  A normal $6 genuine German bier on tap is $4 during happy hour.  

When I visited Brat's Brothers, they had just moved locations, which explains how they might have gotten on Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives in the first place because this restaurant was none of those.
It is a nice place with outdoor seating to enjoy Southern California weather. Inside in the center of the restaurant is a 30 foot single slab of wood of a table that people are supposed to sit around European style, only this one is 3 feet across versus the real deal foot and a half width.


I almost want to withhold a triple-d rating because they really no longer qualify under any of the three "d's."   But, I think that just like what they did for the homerun king baseball player that is later found to have taken steroids, I'll issue a grade with an asterisk.

I'm giving Brat Brothers a 7*.   Here's why. The food was good but, probably not as good as any mediocre German restaurant that it was trying to be.   The menu was trying to be a straight copy of a Bavarian restaurant.   My opinion is that Triple-d restaurants have to be something unique and noteworthy unto themselves.   Although I really enjoyed Brats Brothers and would go there again, it wasn't unique.

I found the atmosphere to be artificially produced. For example, there were two sets of lederhosen under glass cases on the wall.  That's like hanging your underwear up in a restaurant.  There is just something wrong about that.

So, check out Brat's Brothers if you want some good food and good bier but, don't go there looking for a triple-d experience.

Brat's Brothers Gourmet Sausage Grill
13456 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(818) 986-4020
www.bratsbrothers.com

Silk City Diner & Lounge - Philadelphia

The Silk City Diner & Lounge was all about atmosphere.  It was part diner with good comfort food and friendly service, part bar because you could belly up to a bar inside and order whatever alcoholic drink that you wanted and part night club because it was dimly lit with red lights and from the looks of the posters downstairs, they must have live music there sometimes. 

I was there in the early evening during the week.  The neighborhood was definitely a little on the rough side.  There was evidence of the local businesses hardened against night time raids with graffiti inscribed riot gates held in place with heavy chains.  So, the restaurant might not have been a dive but the location definitely was.

The food was really good.  It was surprisingly refined for such a rough neighborhood.  I had the fish and chips.  The fish was tempura fried.  The oil was fresh and the tempura frying was executed by someone who knew what they were doing.  It also came with some really good coleslaw and a chunk of cornbread.  The cornbread was actually a jalapeno cornbread that they called a "corn muffin."  I didn't expect cornbread this far north of the Mason-Dixon line but, theirs was very good.

I'd rank Silk City a 9.2 out of 10 on the DDD scale.  The whole place just had its own vibe that appealed to me. 

Silk City Diner & Lounge
435 Spring Garden St
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 592-8838
www.silkcityphilly.com

Patricks Road House - L.A.

Patrick's was so nice that we didn't want to leave. It sits right across the street from L.A.'s Santa Monica beach. You can get a table outside in the cool California air blocked from the direct sun by a tall hedge of trees.  The restaurant is decorated like someone's Grandma's house with lots of old eclectic stuff everywhere.

I would characterize the food as healthy comfort food.  It is pretty much normal American food but some of it was cooked in a healthy California way.   Some of it was just straight up comfort food.

I had the fish tacos and a salad to begin with.   Both were what I've come to expect from California cuisine; not too big portion sizes and really fresh vegetables and sea food.

My lunch partner had an omelet that must have had every ingredient that the farmers market had for sale that day. He was really happy with it and it looked pretty good.

We found ourselves ordering coffee and banana cream pie afterwards.  We loved the food and the place and really didn't want to leave.   The bananas and the cream were both pretty good but, the pie crust was downright decadent. It was really flakey and buttery. Well worth the empty calories.

I'd give Patricks an 9 on my triple-d scale of enjoyment. They get big points just on location alone. Most triple-d restraunts are located in kind of sketchy areas. Not this one.  It does have a walk-up window which, I suppose qualifies it as a drive-in.  It is kind of divey and kind of like a diner but, not really.  Well worth checking out at any rate.

Patrick's Roadhouse
106 Entrada Drive
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 459-4544

Gloria's Cafe - L.A.

The correct answer to the question "do you want plantains with that?" is a resounding YES!  The plaintains at Glorias are wonderful.

I have never had plantains like these before.  They are cooked to make some kind of sweet glaze over the tasty little bannana-ettes.  The outside has a very thin almost candy coating while the inside is a sweet, gooey, slightly fibrous goodness.

If you order the appetizer plate of plantains then they come with re-fried beans and sour cream.   The sweet plantains mixed with the creamy sour cream and sticky re-ried beans comes together in a heavenly concert of flavors and textures.

What Bolero is to music, Gloria's plaintains is to mexican food.  Just as the bolero music starts off slowly with a simple one-piece rhythm which builds up and up as other musical instruments are added, the culinary experience is similar.

First, you go straight for the fruit and kind of only recognize the very sweet and unique flavor of the plantains themselves.  Probably because in the US it is kind of an exotic food still.  The American palette isn't used to it.  After you are over the sweetness then you recognize the fact that they didn't serve the fruit alone and decide to explore the options.  So, you dip a fork-full of plantain into the sourcream to give it a go.

The creamy-sweet mixture reminds you of milk and cookies.  A fleeting thought about the triple-digit number of calories you're inhaling in this indulgence runs though your head.  "I'll try it with the beans.  Beans have protein and that's good."  The rationalization worked.  You try the 3-ingrediant mixture.  "Ay Carumba, that's good!"

Gloria's gets a solid 8.5 on the triple-d scale of awesomeness.  The plantains were obviously the star of the show in my opinion.  The rest of the meal was pretty darned good, too.  I had the Bistec Encebollado which was steak strips with onions.  Very tasty indeed.  Not, enough to make me want to tear up my return ticket back to Texas but, pretty darned good.  Definitely worth checking out.
 

Gloria's Cafe
10227 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 838-0963
www.gloriascafela.com