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A little place that I never would have heard of, but would certainly have been interested in seeing at least once, but luckily two of my friends took me there one night. This strange little wine bar is located on the southeast of 2nd, in a little mall with parking, though it will likely be full up, but there are various places to park in Little Tokyo.

Now for what makes this place special. It does have food, though we didn’t try it, but it is mostly a wine bar (though they have mixed drinks and beer) with a huge selection, including most that can be had by the glass, but what makes it really special, is that the Japanese waitresses all dress in French Maid outfits. Yes you heard that right, FRENCH MAID OUTFITS!

Yes this place is nuts. I have read about places like this in Japan, but honestly never thought I would see one, or go in, and never expected to see one in downtown Los Angeles. Of course I also saw a brand new Jaguar with the license plate Gundam X, so Little Toktyo is a little different!

Some waitresses were very Japanese, and were not very chatty with 2 white guys with a Chinese guy, but there was one who had obviously grown up in the US, and knew how to flirt. And that has got to be why people come here.

Of course the wine list is amazing, and as I said most can be had by the glass, though even a low end wine is about $20 a glass, so don’t expect a huge deal, but you can try some really good wine that would cost more than that for a bottle. And the wine I had, a glass of pinot noir was amazing.

This place is certainly worth seeing once, but expect to drop a mint, and there might be flirting, but I am sure there will not be anything more! Ha!

This place is a major trip!

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An excellent family style Italian restaurant with decent food and incredibly good service. After 7 PM you get free slices of their excellent Italian style pizza, and if you have to wait in line you can get cups of house wine for $1.50. They know how to make waiting kind, and they have a little store with Wine and Italian Sundries. The decor is homy, with a great painting on the wall, though the neon does make it not quite like home.

The portions are huge, and you can get half sized portions, or a full sized portion that will fill you and leave some for tomorrow, so unless you are really hungry, go for the half portion.

Now that I no longer have a pork allergy, I went for the spaghetti with meatballs, which is tasty and great. 2 Medium meatballs, which is enough to spread across all of the spaghetti. Quite tasty.

The Garlic bread is OK, but both times I have been, the bottom was a little too cripsy, but the rest is pretty decent, though not amazing.

Kelly, my lovely Fianceé had the eggplant parmesan which comes with a huge plate of spaghetti and another plate with the eggplant covered in cheese and tomato sauce. Also quite tasty.

We also had an excellent bottle of McWilliam’s Shiraz, it is a 2007 from South Eastern Australia. As Kelly said this wine is scary, because it is so easy to drink. Really this is one of the easiest bottles of wine I have ever drank. It is delicious and tasty, and so easy to drink. Wow this was good, and only $18 at the restaurant, so the wine must be cheaper than that. I need to get cases of this stuff.

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This place is very good, though not amazing. The service is top notch and they always are filling your water. The food is decent, but certainly not excellent, but worth it. We will certainly return.

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My girlfriend and I had seen this place when they bought it, and that it was opening as we left the Arclight theaters each time, and had been excited to see it open, and even tried it on the first day. In fact I have been meaning to blog about it for sometime, but just never got around to it (though I did post about some of the wine I got there). This place is fantastic, with a knowledgeable staff, a huge selection, really good prices, and inexpensive wine tastings. Hollywood has really needed someplace like this for sometime, and I am so happy it is here now. Not only that, but the place was recently listed as one of the 10 best online retailers in Food and Wine magazine (June 2007), and is known for it’s 2 excellent stores in Northern California, so you can’t go wrong shopping here.

There is ample free parking in the lot which is between it and the Kinko’s/FedEx that is right next door. And when you walk in you will be blown away by the huge store (almost 9000 square feet) filled with rows of wine, and beautifully arranged by region.

The staff is incredibly helpful, and they are very knowledgeable, so ask them if you have any questions.

The food and wine article had this to say: Serious wine lovers have been turning to this California retailer for more than 30 years. K&L’s wine buyers not only hunt down the best from nearly every region in the world, but also sell hundreds of direct-import wines at great prices. The Web site shows real-time inventory of just how many bottles of, say, 2004 Domaines Schlumberger Saering Grand Cru Riesling ($20) are still available. Tip: Direct-import sparkling wines include terrific bargains such as Tarlant Brut Zéro Champagne.

If you love wine an dlive in Hollywood, or the surrounding area, do yourself a favor and go check this place out, I can pretty much guarantee you will pick up a bottle or two.

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This place is at the corner of Franklin and Tamarind Ave, and has a liquor store that makes great (if expensive) sandwiches, and is also a restaurant next door with again delicious sandwiches, though the prices are way too high. You have to experience the food though, it is pretty damn good, and the sandwiches are huge (though they should be from $10 to $15).

I started going to this place many years ago as a PA, when my boss would let me get dinner and a bottle of wine at the Deli. I would always get a turkey sandwich with lettuce, avocado and Italian dressing and a Deli pickle. The sandwiches are huge with so much turkey it is hard to wrap your lips around it. And damn are they tasty.

What I had today was a Victor’s Reuben with Corned Beef, on rie with Russian dressing, sauerkraut and swiss cheese, and is fantastic. Sure it is messy, but damn is it tasty. In fact some of the best Corned Beef I have had in Los Angeles. The Sandwich is huge and delicious, and you will need extra napkins, because it is a mess, and will be allover yoru fingers and all over your plate (and your shirt if you are not careful.

For sides the sandwich only comes with Cole Slaw, but for an extra dollar you can get some decent big fat french fries, that go well with the sandwich, but just add the the cholestoral busting nature of the whole thing. Unless you regulary get your arteries cleaned, I suggest not having this too often.

This place is great and tasty, with huge portions, though is way too expensive. Still I do eat here quite a bit, and have always enjoyed it.

The liquor store and deli are also quite good. They have a good collection of wines, and are always very knowledgeable about the wines and what you should eat them with, so just ask then if you have any questions. The prices are a bit high, but not that bad.

This champagne is mostly Pinot Noir with some Pinot Meunuer and Chardonnay. It is quite fruity, but also pleasantly dry.

Luckily this can be purchased at Costco for $34.89 a bottle.

Next I really want to try their Rose which is supposed to be excellent, but seems to be more expensive and harder to find than the standard yellow label.