He was the one who recommended the diet. I have been mostly keeping up with it, though have broken down a few times, and eaten at Brent’s, and had lovely steak and noodles and artichokes for my anniversary dinner last night.

Still have to lose weight, but looking forward to being able to have more stamina so I can exercise more, which will help with the weight loss.

Now I am still eating salads every day for lunch and either egg white omelet or low sugar, low fat yogurt (or near yogurt), no bread, and trying to do only 2 pieces of fruit a day (though sometimes I have a smoothie and go over). And have been eating egg whites for snacks, though probably too many nuts. And my chiropractor told me I should eat some whole eggs and not just egg whites, as the benefits outways the bad with eggs, though I am still eating mostly egg whites, though I am so sick of the omlets it is nuts. I really only like poached eggs, but they also need bread!

Hopefully I will have a better time losing weight after my recovery.

I have heart surgery coming up and the cardio surgeon has me on a pretty serious diet.

The diet consists of the following:

• Almost no carbs, sugar or fat. Mostly green leafy vegetables (which I can have all I want) like lettuce, spinach and broccoli, with some chicken or fish the size of your palm but half as thick for dinner and half of that for lunch.

• Hardboiled egg yolks for snacks a couple of times a day.

Should lose 3 pounds a week, and I basically have been. Maybe a little less, but almost half a pound a day. The problem is that I am hungry all the time!

It also doesn’t help that I get off work at 5 PM and my wife gets off at about 8:45 PM, so I am starved by the time she gets home. So I have been having a smoothie with a banana and some berries with protein powder and soy milk, which helps to tide me over, though it means I am having more fruit than I should.

Also been having 25 calorie sugar free popsicles, as I would usually have more fruit, but can’t, and need something sweet.

I have already lost about 8 pounds in less than 3 weeks, after losing 5 pounds in 3 months of eating vegan. Amazing how cutting out carbs and sugar does really help.

This diet is torture, but he wants me on it for the rest of my life because of my heart condition and my families histories of heart trouble, but I can cheat a little once I lost all my stomach fat and am around 175 pounds. So 47 more pounds to go. At least losing as much as I have been makes it easier, because I can see the results in the mirror. Doesn’t make it easier though, can’t wait until my stomach starts shrinking!!!!

Fun, fun, fun!

I had heard some things about this place online, so was interested in trying it, but we always just order pizza online, or pick it up at Food for Less and cook it ourselves (theres is pretty decent), but we never should have waited because this is easily one of the best pies I have ever had, and I am biased since I used to be a pizza cook! Now it is not cheap, but it is certainly worth giving this place a try.

I went in to place an order, and an old Italian guy took my order. We got two 16″ 2 topping pizzas, one with Pepperoni and Onion and one with Sausage and Black Olive. These are huge and delicious pizzas. And we got a litter of Soda for a buck with the order.

The crust is on the thin side, but not super thin, just right. And the sauce is where it excels. Not sweat at all, just a perfect compliment. And for the toppings, they were great, and put under the cheese, to infuse the pie with flavor. And boy was the sausage delicious. Wow.

Not cheap as the pie’s were $13 each, but so well worth the price! And they were huge and filling.

This is literally one of the best pizzas I have ever had the privelidge of eating. I loved it, and can’t wait to try them out again.

And we picked up, and the pies were ready in 20 minutes, have to try delivery next time, and they claim to deliver beer, wine and cigarettes and do take credit card.

Try out Arri’s Pizza, you won’t be disappointed.

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And a new location in Santa Monica.

100 W. Channel Road (@PCH)

Santa Monica, CA 90402

(310) 459-3337

This is easily my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles, and by extension anywhere!

The Seafood is absolutely sublime. Perfect flavor combinations. And the menu seems to change up at least a few times a year to keep it fresh. The service is great, and they have reasonably priced bottles of wine, as well as incredible (if expensive) mixed drinks.

Food ranges in price from $17-$30 and then there are incredible fresh oysters, uni, lobster and other seafood that can be gotten in reasonably priced platters (especially for parties). If you like oysters don’t miss out, as they are always delicious here!

My wife and I also love to go to their price fix valentines day dinners with feature incredible fixed menus with a few choices, as well as tasty tidbits from the chef that are always mind-blowingly good.

Honestly this is my go to restaurant for my birthday, because I always want to eat here!

I am born and raised on Marthas Vineyard Island off the coast of Massachusetts and I have to say we get the best swordfish, as it is harpooned, and you get it fresh that day, instead of long-lined where it drowns. Well the hungry cat swordfish I have had blew it out of the water. All the fish is amazing though! They have lobster rolls that are the first I have had to come close to the Vineyard as well!

The Hollywood Location is tiny and hidden on Vine, across from what used to be Borders, and has very few seats, a bar and a raw bar. You park in the structure on the other side that is also for Bed Bath and Beyond.

The Santa Monica location is larger, with a big bar, but even though it is right across from the ocean is pretty enclosed (as it is right on the PCH), though I hear they might be using the upstairs as a dining room as well which should have a good view. Here there is only Valet parking.

The service is always great and very helpful.

For years we heard about the Pug Burger, with blue cheese, bacon and avocados, but never had it because of the amazing seafood, but this year we decided to try it and we were blown away. I can’t believe how amazing it was. EASILY THE BEST BURGER I HAVE EVER HAD! Every bite is a flavor explosion! This is an amazing burger! Wow! WOW WOW!!!!!

I can’t recommend this restaurant any more. It is my favorite restaurant in the world. You will not be disappointed!

(OriginallY Publish on March 16th, 2007)

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Kelly and I found this place not too long after buying our house in North Hills, and have become regulars since then, to the point where one of the waitresses knows exactly what we order! Got to love that. This is a very good Korean owned Pho and Frozen Yogurt place in a little shopping center with a teriyaki place, a Korean video store, a bakery and a Korean grocery store (and remember the parking behind the grocery store as the front parking fills up fast). The Pho is good, not Noodle City good, but still tasty and sure hits the spot when we have a pho craving.

We both order Little Tai with rare flank steak, that is usually a bit well by the time it hits the table, but still tastes quite good. I like that in addition to sprouts and jalapenos, lime and thai basil they also give additional onion to put in your Pho. A really nice addition that adds to our like of this place.

Another high point is the service. It is fast and friendly, and always a pleasure to eat there.

I am also a big fan of their Boba. It is delicious, very chewy and fresh, and I absolutely love the Kiwi flavor, which is a bit sour, perfect for me!

And their Frozen Yogurt is excellent. Very much like pinkberry with various fresh fruit (I love black berries, pomegranate and pineapple personally, they go so well with the sour yogurt flavor). Excellent.

•••

Sure the Pho is not the best I have had, but it is very good, and with the excellent service, the boba and the Frozen Yogurt, this place is well worth checking out, and if you do, you will probably become a regular like my wife and I.

Yummy!

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I am so behind on both my blogs, but I have especially been neglecting my Food Blog of late, but I just got a new computer and finally decided it is time to update you on what could be the best Delicatessen I have ever been too. Now I am a regular reader at the Chowhound boards, and read a ton of food magazines, so I have of course heard of Brent’s. It did after all win the award from Los Angeles Magazine for best Deli, but it always seemed so far away. Well my lovely wife Kelly and I recently bought a house in North Hills, so we are close, and we finally decided to try it, and we were both completely blown away. The food is spectacular, and I can say we had the 2 best Reuben’s I have ever had! Wow, I was blown away! And such great service as well. We will be returning, and often (baring the diet I need to go on very soon). IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN HERE, RUN DON’T WALK HERE, BECAUSE YOU WILL BE BLOWN AWAY!

Now I am normally not a Pastrami fan, I like my reuben’s made out of Corned Beef, but I decided to try the house special Black Pastrami Reuben served with Grilled Rye Bread, melted swiss cheese, a ton of Sauerkraut, a big thing of russian dressing, and some delicious fat french fries as well as some very sweet cole slaw.

The Reuben was a thing of beauty, and tasted better than it looked. Wow, I never liked Pastrami so well. It melted in my mouth, though by the end it was a bit much pastrami for me, but it was still amazing, easily the second best Reuben of my life. About the size (and price) of those at Victor’s (my previous favorite, now pushed to number 3), but better in some indescribable way. Just delicious!

My wife went for the corned beef, which was love at first site, my favorite corned beef of all time! Amazing. And she was able to get Sweet potato fries, which she loves (blech) and I think you can also get onion rings! Ha! So much selection. This corned beef reuben was sublime! Amazing!

These are easily the 2 best Reuben’s I have ever had!

Here is Kelly enjoying hers!

The service was to die for, and there was a huge amount of people there, and waiting, because this place is just that good. I got my iced tea refilled constantly, which I love (not sure why I can drink so much iced tea), and the staff was friendly.

This is easily our favorite restaurant in the area, and the best deli in Los Angeles!

This place is amazing, and gets my highest recommendation! You should not miss it!

Truly my only complaint is that I will never get to try all the other amazing thing on the menu, because the Reuben is so damn good that I have yet to be able to order anything else! And it all looks so good, but I will just keep getting their sublime Corned Beef Reuben!

AMAZING!

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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!

I can’t believe I had not heard of this place before, especially since it is on the floor above the Curry House in Little Tokyo (and so it has the same parking underneath with validation). I didn’t hear about this place until it was on MAN VS. FOOD, where I learned of the spiciest Ramen in Los Angeles, and I had to go. Then my friends took me out to Little Tokyo, and since every place was packed we decided to go to Orochon since I wanted to go, and one of my friends wanted the spicy ramen (my other friend wanted another ramen place he thinks is better, and I must try).  

Orochon has pork Ramen in different levels of spiciness. Their are the 7 normal levels, 7 being the least spicy, and 1 the most, except the 2 specials, Special 1 and the hottest Special 2 which has a contest if you can eat it and finish in 30 minute you get a photo taken and are put on the wall.

I love spicy, but I decided I wanted to enjoy my meal so I got the number 1. The number 1 was tasty and delicious, thought not as spicy as I thought it would be, in fact I could have taken more. It did taste pretty damn good, though not as amazingly tasty as say Noodle City’s Pho, which isn’t even spicy, but has such layers of spice. This was good, but not as amazing as I expected actually. Worth trying, but not something I would necessarily eat every day.

Still have to take Kelly here some time so she can try it. She could do number 1 so easily she would be amazed!

Certainly worth checking out, maybe even a must try, but I still am on the lookout for tastier Ramen.

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Kelly and I were really hungry one day, and this was close to her house, so we decided to try it, and we were quickly sorry we did. Now we did not try the ribs or pizza, but the sandwiches were atrocious!

This place is on the Northwest corner of Hollywood Way and Verdugo, and has ample parking, and is basically a covered stand with no bathroom (so go before you go, or you will be sorry).

We decided to each try one of the sandwiches, we got an Italian Beef with Green Peppers and hot giardiniera and a Grilled Italian Sausage with sauteed onions and sweet green peppers. Both had bread soggy with juice, and were a little too sweet without much great flavor. The beef looked grey and awful, and was just not good at all, and even the sausage was a let down. I would never try these again. What a waste.

Really I would never go back here, and I have no idea how this place has possibly kept open, because it is just not very good at all.

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We went here with Chelsea, Kelly’s sister, and it was Kelly’s treat. She had been there, and thought it was an Italian restaurant, and while there were some Italian Dishes, in fact this is really a steak house, and a not too expensive one. The three of us were able to eat and have a bottle of wine for under $125 with another $5 for the mandatory valet parking. A pretty good deal. And the decor is great, it looks like it has not changed an iota since it opened in 1946! You can picture Frank Sinatra eating there, and he does have a dish named after him, so I am sure he did go at some point.

We started the meal with their Garlic Bread, which costs $5.95 (or you can get a half order for $3.95), which I have to admit was tasty, and I scarfed down a couple of pieces. It is heaped with cheese and garlic, and while a little crispy for my taste was good enough for me to have 3 pieces!

When I realized it was a steak house, I decided to go for the house Specialty, which is the Prime Rib. You can get it in 8 oz ($21.95) 12oz ($25.95) and 16oz ($29.95) and I opted for the 12oz and got it medium rare, and it was nice and bloody, perfectly cooked, and a huge slab of delicious and tasty meat. It came with some horse radish sauce, but it was a bit creamy for me, but honestly the meat didn’t need it, it was excellent! The meals also come with 2 sides, which you get from an extensive list, and I got sauteed green breans and mashed potatoes and both were cooked to perfection and quite tasty. This is a deal, and quite good!

Kelly went for Beef Stroganoff, which was a special on the menu, and she seemed quite pleased with it, since she claims to have not liked egg noodles until I made them for her.

Chelsea went for the Chicken Picatta and was quite pleased as well.

We got a bottle of Zinfandel wine, which strangely tasted like Cabernet, and not like a Zinf at all. It was OK, but not what was expected or wanted

••••

This was a very good meal, and not cheap, but not super expensive either. A fun night out, but the place was packed, so the wait service was slower than I would liked, but we could see them running around, so we were not bothered. The only bad thing was sitting next to the fire, which was way too hot for me!