Specializing in Pasadena, Glendale, Eagle Rock, Burbank, Downtown L.A., Hollywood, and the Valley - - Restaurants Rated and Reviewed

Read Reviews for:

Casa Bianca	El Arco Iris
The Capri Italian Restaurant	Ernie Jr. Taco House
Cafe Beaujolais French Bistro	Penny's Burgers
Colombo's Italian Steak House	Villa Sombrero

RATINGS KEY
• = A YummyEats.com Favorite
• 4 stars = Tops in Yummy!
• 3 stars = Good Stuff
• 2 stars = Fair
• 1 star = Yuk

Reviews

HE SAYS: On a recent visit to Villa Sombrero in Highland Park I noticed that things had changed a bit - some for the better; others, not so much. They used to make some decent seafood dishes here, and one of my longtime favorites is the Camarones a la Plancha - bacon-wrapped shrimp. While these used to be succulent and tender, the last couple of times I've been there they have been dry and overcooked. Next time, I'll probably just stick with a Number 1, Taco & Enchilada combo, which is pretty good. I should add that the bowl of soup served with the dinners is quite tasty. Along with our Chips and Salsa we had an order of Guacamole, which is very simple, chunky and fresh. Another change - and this time a very positive one - is the Margarita. The run-of-the-mill, mild restaurant margarita has been replaced by a spectacularly huge Grande-sized drink, served in an attractive goblet. (You can still get a small one, but the default seems to be the Grande). At the suggestion of the house, we got ours on the rocks; it looked as if many in the restaurant had gone with this recommendation. They seem to be justifiably proud of what is one of the best Margaritas in town. ( He's rating: 3.25 stars )

SHE SAYS: A very local restaurant for us, we arrived at Villa Sombrero around 6:30 PM and parked easily in the small lot next to the restaurant. Quickly seated at a table next to the window in the bar area, we started with some fab Villa Sombrero margaritas - grande, on the rocks, with salt (their standard margarita, I would guess) - oh boy! The downstairs area of the restaurant consists of a small dining room with booths along the walls, and a small bar area, where we were seated, which was tables along the windows, a jumbo refrigeration glass-doored cabinet stock full of beers and jugs of salsa, and a small five-stool bar at the end of the room. The walls are decorated with celebrity photos, the wood chairs have backs featuring carved sun gods, a TV set hangs above in one corner (not *on* on this occasion), and waitresses stroll by wearing traditional Mexican white blouses and flowing skirts colored in red, white, and green. There is also an upstairs dining area in this restaurant where we were seated only once - when we had a large group.

Starting with an order of guacamole, it quickly arrived at our table - served in a large molcajete and appearing to be freshly prepared, this was a good-sized portion of very, very fresh guacamole. It was simple (seemed like mainly just avocado and a little tomato) and very good. For dinner I ordered my standard Mexican restaurant #1 combination plate - beef taco, cheese enchilada, with rice and beans. The taco was small, in a crisp shell filled with a tasty shredded beef, some cheese, and a little shredded lettuce - pretty good. The enchilada was small and very tasty too. The rice and beans were good, though not out of the ordinary as Mexican restaurant fare goes. The dinner started with a small bowl of soup, which was very tasty as well. All in all, a very enjoyable meal - Villa Sombrero seems especiallly good for it's well done Margaritas and fresh guacamole. The service here was efficient, Villa Sombrero is family friendly. ( She's rating: 3.5 stars food; 3.5 stars decor/atmosphere; 3.75 stars service; 4 stars Margaritas )

HE SAYS: Saturday evening we had dinner at Colombo's Italian Steak House in Eagle Rock. The original establishment on this site was the Lord Boss, the remnants of which can still be seen on the restroom doors, where a painted "Lords" and "Ladies" is still partially visible beneath the modern blue "Men's" and "Women's" signs. After that, it became Jack Steele's Porterhouse, and finally Colombo's. Reservations are a good idea here, especially on the weekend, but we didn't have any, so we gave our name and were lucky to find a couple seats opening up at the crowded bar, where we enjoyed a brisk martini.

Seated in a comfortable booth, we enjoyed the musical stylings of singer/pianist Erik Ekstrand, who covers a vast range of material spanning many decades, from older standards through Elvis, the Beatles and beyond. Later in the evening a nice Jazz combo held sway.

I started with a Caesar Salad, which was very good, with plenty of tasty croutons. The Chicken Cacciatore was pleasant - quite juicy and tender - with a nice sauce. It lacked, perhaps, the deep, characteristic braised flavor I associate with this dish. I tasted some of SHE's lasagna, and I have to say that it may be the best I've had. It was full of a real home-style flavor and had the unique presentation of three cheese-topped cylinders on the plate. Excellent! The wine list is small - but the quality to price ratio is excellent. ( He's rating: 3.75 stars )

SHE SAYS: Tonight we decided to try Colombo's again - a local restaurant we haven't been to in several years. Arriving about 7:15 P.M., we found parking easily on the street in front. Columbo's was packed, so we waited in the bar for a table. We each had a martini in the crowded bar area, even managed to get a couple of seats after about fifteen minutes at the long wood bar, which seats about twenty. Behind the bar there hangs a prominent painting of a nude, reclining woman. We ended up having to wait about 45 minutes to get a table in the small dining room, but live music was playing nearby - a selection of jazz standards, with vocals and piano by talented pianist Eric Ekstrand. Colombo's dining area is basically a small rectangle with big, red booths along two sides, a row of tables down the center, white tableclothes, strings of little white lights, and a piano and stage spot at the front of the area for live performances. On the walls hang an assortment of paintings of the old-fashioned variety. A quite comfortable room to enjoy a pleasant, cozy dinner. We were seated in a large booth along one side, which was quite nice and roomy.
On the table they gave us a basket of warm slices of garlic toast, which happened to be very yummy. For dinner I ordered the "Sam's Recipe" Hand Rolled Lasagna, along with a dinner salad to start (not to mention we ordered a bottle of wine for the two of us). The salad was simple and excellent - a well chilled bowl of greens, topped with tomato and olives. The lasagna ended up being one of the best restaurant lasagna's I have ever had. Four rolled-up lasagnas, in a lovely tomato sauce, stuffed full with sausage and cheeses. Really, really yummy. Each rolled piece looked small, but was very rich - I had to take home some as I became very, very full. We sipped the rest of our wine and enjoyed a second act which started at 9:00 p.m., also very good. Colombo's is a great place to enjoy a nice, "comfort food" style dinner while enjoying live jazz - and, bonus, the prices are very, very reasonable. We will return! ( She's rating: 4 stars food; 3.75 stars decor/atmosphere; 3.75 stars service )

HE SAYS: Since it was Cinco de Mayo we decided to go out to a Mexican restaurant and decided on El Arco Iris as we wanted to stick to some place close to home - in Los Angeles, what we refer to as "geographic desirablilty" is always a major factor. Being about a two minute drive from our house, El Arco Iris in Highland Park fit the bill perfectly. It has a very good reputation going back years, yet neither of us had been there. It's a good thing we got there early, as the place was packed to overflowing by the time we left.

We started with margaritas, which were tasty, though not overly potent. The guacamole was creamy and delicious - I had to try hard not to fill up on chips, salsa, and guacamole before I even saw my entree. I ordered the Camarones Rancheros which came with plenty of shrimp. I liked the way they did it, i.e. the shell and tail were removed. That way I didn't have to interrupt my eating pleasure to discard such. Accompanied by rice and beans, this was a very nice meal. I would like to try EL Arco Iris again soon. ( He's rating: 3.75 stars )

SHE SAYS: Friday night and Cinco de Mayo, we decided to go out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and decided to try a local place, El Arco Iris. Arriving around 5:45 P.M., there was still one or two spots left in the fairly small parking lot along the right side of the restaurant. In we walked, and were taken straight to a nice, big booth along the left wall. El Arco Iris is a large, square-shaped space with a gurgling fountain in the center of the restaurant, big, retangular bar at one end, brown tiles, brown leather booths, and an array of paintings by what appears to be a variety of local, Mexican talent. Quite loud rock music plays throughout the room, adding to the festivities. On this night, the place filled up fast, and within half an hour there was a large crowd of people waiting for tables (perhaps because of the Cinco de Mayo holiday, though may always be this way, not sure).
We started with a half order of guacamole, which went well with the free bowl of tortilla chips and two salsas, one fresh, one hot and green. For dinner I ordered the fish tacos, and they were delicious - soft corn tortillas filled with a crispy-style fish filet, shredded cabbage, and a creamy chipotle sauce. Really excellent - they came with rice and beans on the side. I especially liked the beans, which came topped with melted cheese and were very good. Everything tasted especially fresh, I thought. I had two of their famed Margaritas to drink - I thought the flavor was especially good, but the Margaritas seemed very light of alcohol - no buzz at all, even after finishing the second one. Ah well. All in all, I highly recommend this restaurant for a fresh, flavorful Mexican meal in a simple, unpretentious area - family-friendly and relaxed. ( She's rating: 3.75 stars )

HE SAYS: We returned to Cafe Beaujolais in Eagle Rock for dinner on Wednesday. When this place first opened it featured country-style French fare. As its popularity increased, the menu became a bit more upscale. Now, perhaps in the interest of maintaining quality with a high volume of customers, the menu has been pared back a bit. There used to be a selection of several nice appetizers, but now, aside from soups and salads, there is only Escargot. As we were being entertained by a Jazz ensemble - with Dave Koonse, Putter Smith, V.R. Smith and Stacy Rowles - and enjoying the tasty, chewy bread, we took a look around to note how crowded the room was, in spite of them having removed the beautiful old sideboard, which decorated one wall, in order to make some more room in the dining area. For starters, I had the Belgium Endive Salad, a tasty delight with bleu cheese and walnut dressing. The beef Filet was small, but cooked to perfection, with a wonderful wine reduction sauce, and topped with bleu cheese. They offered a choice of fries or vegetables; I chose the latter, in this case potatoes, tomato gratin, and asparagus. Having room for dessert, I tried the Chocolate and Coffee Mousse, which actually had those layers of mousse over a cake base - rich, but not cloying. We shared a bottle of Pomerol, which was exquisitely dry. ( He's rating: 3.75 stars )

SHE SAYS: A local restaurant we have been to many times, but not in the last year or two - as we arrived for our 7:30 P.M. reservation, the joint was already jumping with a quartet performing for Beaujolais' Wednesday night jazz. Seated at a small table in the center of the busy room, the French waiters (mostly younger men) rushed around us with plates of food and glasses of wine. Cafe Beaujolais is decorated to look like an old-fashioned French bistro with orange-tinged wallpaper, cement-like tile floor, white tableclothes, and walls covered with vintage French advertising posters. Along the right side is a small bar, and there is a small window past the far end of the bar where you can see someone preparing food in the kitchen.
With a selection of French wines to choose from, the waiters at this restaurant seem to have a way of turning up their nose slightly at your choice of wine (unless, of course, you go with what they recommend) - nevertheless, we selected a bottle (yes, our waiter did seem oh so slightly put out) and it WAS good wine. For dinner I ordered the Pork Loin and a Caesar Salad to start. I LOVE the Caesar they do here - it hasn't changed much in the last several years (thank goodness) - extremely tasty dressing, served with large, crunchy croutons, tomatoes, and a slice of orange on top - so yummy. I love a Caesar salad with tomatoes - you don't find one served that way often. The only change on the salad from previous visits was that the tomatoes were cut in tiny pieces instead of large slices. Still tasted exactly the same - terrific.
The dinner included two reasonable sized pieces of pork loin topped with slices of cooked apple and smothered in a delicious cider and Calvados sauce. On the side were a few wedges of nicely cooked potato, tomato gratin, and asparagus. The sauce is the thing at Cafe Beaujolais - all the sauces they do here are great, and really make the dish. While the pork itself was, perhaps, slightly overcooked, the sauce over everything made all taste wonderful. I even enjoyed the cooked tomato, though I usually prefer my tomatoes raw. I was very stuffed, but we ordered a dessert to share - a delicious coffee and chocolate mousse cake.
All in all, a pleasant experience. Only one minor complaint I have - though I usually hate when a restaurant seems to give you the rush, the opposite occured here. They just were NOT bringing us our check, and finally managing to get them to bring it, we put out our credit card and they just wouldn't come back to pick it up so we could sign and leave. It was about 40 minutes after we finished our dessert to when we finally left. Oh well, it happens. ( She's rating: 3.75 stars )

HE SAYS: On Saturday, feeling like pizza, we decided to try the Capri, in Eagle Rock. It has been in operation for many years, but is small, and easy to miss if you're not paying attention. Inside, the room is very comfortable, complete with the requisite red-checked tablecloths and autographed celebrity pictures; a nice, pleasant atmosphere. I had a salad with Italian dressing, which had a bit too much vinegar for my taste. We went with a pepperoni and garlic pizza, which had a nice thin, but chewy crust. A nice carafe of house chablis helped to make the evening a merry one. The menu also includes a good selection of pastas and entrees. I would definitely like to return to sample some of these. ( He's rating: 3.25 stars )

SHE SAYS: Tonight we decided to try out a local pizza joint called The Capri. From the outside this restaurant looked quiet, with the shades drawn to block the 7:30 P.M. sun as we arrived - we weren't really sure what to expect. In we went to find an inviting room full of happy-looking patrons. So far, so good! The Capri is a rectangular-shaped room, with booths lining the two long walls and larger, family-sized tables grouped in the middle of the room, and tableclothes of the old-fashioned red-and-white-checked oilcloth variety. The walls are decorated with vintage memorabilia and signed celebrity photos - the window features a mini-blind colored to look like the Italian flag. We were seated at a nice, comfortable booth at the far end of the room, on one side. On this Saturday evening, the restaurant was just about completely full with casually dressed couples and families of all age groups.
We were greeted by a very friendly waitress, and ordered a liter of their house Chianti. For dinner we tried a large pizza with pepperoni and extra garlic on top. Also tried the house dinner salad with Italian dressing which was mainly a plate of greens and a few large sliced tomatoes. The dressing was quite vinegary, but good. The pizza arrived quickly and was a thin crust pizza with a small layer of tomato sauce and lots of cheese on top. Everything tasted pretty good, though nothing was out-of-the-ordinary as far as wine, salad, and pizza go.
All in all, I felt very comfortable in this restaurant, it is such a nice room to relax and enjoy a tasty, homestyle meal without any pretentions. The service is fast and friendly, the pizza, while not extraordinary, is simple and good. The Capri is kid friendly. A nice place to take your family for an evening out. ( She's rating: 3.25 stars )

HE SAYS: Penny's Burgers on the corner of York Blvd. and Figueroa St. has been serving up delicious hamburgers for over 30 years now. When I was in grammar school, this was the hot new place. I think we even had Penny's hamburgers for our sixth grade graduation party. It is the classic "corner-burger-joint" cheeseburger, with dressing, shredded lettuce, tomato and tasty pickle on toasted bun. The overall effect is a rich, almost buttery quality. The side of fries is generous in portion, and tastily crisp. ( He's rating: 3.5 stars )

SHE SAYS: Tonight we brought home takeout from Penny's - burger and fries. The burger was - how shall I put it - yum yum yum, delicious! Penny's burgers are big, with a large layer of shredded lettuce topped with a nice grilled burger, topped with a slice of tomato, pickles, and sauce. Extremely fresh and tasty - it really hit the spot as I had a real taste tonight for a good burger. They give a very large amount of fries here, so many I couldn't finish almost half of them. Probably two people could share one order of fries and still be satisfied. The fries, like the burger, are very good here. Medium thick slices, kind of the taste and style of a Bob's Big Boy fry, nicely fried and salted. Recommended for a great, tasty, fresh-tasting burger and fries. ( She's rating: 3.5 stars )

HE SAYS: Since I was not a big pizza fan when I was young, I never really went to Casa Bianca until I was almost 20. Even then, I would usually go for a salami sandwich, as theirs was always good. Once I started going for the pizza, I found I liked it just fine, though, for a local joint, I preferred the now defunct Julio's on Eagle Rock Blvd. Still, I would occasionally go to enjoy the changeless ambience of Casa Bianca. In recent years, however, I had only had their pizza via take-out. This was due to the tremendous throng of people which now seems to be gathered there every night. On Saturday, we decided to give it a try, knowing full well that there would be a long wait. We waited over an hour to be seated.

I had a salad, which was quite good; better than I remember. The pizza was good; pretty much the same as it always has been.

I just don't understand the crowd though. Like I said, the pizza was good, but it wasn't anything so special that would justify the enormity of the crowd (and of the wait). People apparently come from all over the city to try Casa Bianca, but I'll bet they probably have a pizza joint within a mile or two of their homes that makes pizzas just as good. ( He's rating: 3 stars )

SHE SAYS: We used to go to this restaurant years ago (as we live only a couple minutes drive from it) but stopped going when it suddenly being trendy and we noticed the large crowds that are always gathered outside waiting for tables. Well, tonight I felt like giving it a try again even though knew we would have a long wait for a table. We arrived about 5:30 P.M. or so, quite early really. Parking is hard as you have to find street parking and walk a ways. We put in our name at the counter and proceeded to wait in the little waiting area they have here - decorated with tons of signed photos of celebrities that have dined here. We managed to get seats at the end of the waiting room and waited and waited, while the room became more and more packed with people also waiting for tables. It took over an hour to finally be seated. I was getting a bit dizzy and claustrophobic actually near the end of our wait, as we were kind of crammed into one corner with such a mob of people around us! Luckily, soon after I was getting a bit dizzy -we were called. One thing that happened now, no biggie, but a minor annoyance anyway so thought I would mention it: just as our name was getting near the top of the waiting list a child apparently indicated to the hostess that her party was next on the list. When the hostess then called the next name and it was us, she became very confused since it wasn't the child's party. The hostess then proceeded to run back and forth a few times while leaving us standing in the hall waiting to be seated. She even came back at one point (and this is the really annoying part of the story) and accused US of possibly forgetting what name we gave! Well, finally she was able to straighten out the "confusion", came back to us, apologized, and led us to our table. Seems the child was wrong - and we were right. Oh brother. Well, enough of that and on to the more important issue - the food!

The dining room is simple style with red and white checkered vinyl table clothes and linoleum floor. We were seated in a booth at the back of the room, near the men's bathroom (it wasn't bothersome being near the bathroom though). The dining room is pretty roomy, tables are spaced fairly far apart, so it didn't seemed cramped or anything. We were given two large bread rolls to start - and we ordered a carafe of Chianti (which we really(!) needed after such a long wait). We ordered a large sausage pizza and small garden salad for each of us. We were told the wait for the pizza would be another 35 minutes, but that was fine with us since we were now enjoying our drink! The bread here is extremely fresh and good and they give you a whole bunch of butter packets. The salad was very good too - with lots of toppings like olives, pepperoncini, and more. The pizza finally came and it was pretty good - although for the long wait both before eating and after we ordered, I must say I have had better. It is a thin crust pizza with big hunks of sausage on top - good, but not what I would call great. Can I recommend Casa Bianca? Well, it is pretty good - but I would make a guess that there isn't a neighborhood in the city that doesn't have just as good a pizzeria right nearby, without the long wait and with just as good a pizza. It is a reasonably good pizza place, but nothing out of the ordinary. Even before Casa Bianca became such a hip spot, this was never my favorite local pizza place. For a taste of what IS my favorite pizza place - try Lido's Pizza on Victory Blvd. in Van Nuys (an old family favorite of mine for many years). ( She's rating: 2.75 stars )

	Ernie Jr's Taco House - Eagle Rock
2803 W. Broadway - - phone: (323) 256-1298

HE SAYS: Finally got back to Ernie Jr. Taco House on Saturday. It had been quite a while since I had eaten there; too long, in fact. This is comfort food. I don't come here for anything fancy - just a good old Number 1 combo - beef taco and cheese enchilada, rice & beans. Everything was just the way I like it - the taco crisp and tasty; the enchilada cheesy, and slathered with green onion. It is de rigeur to start off with a half- or full- order of guacamole - and Ernie's is my favorite - in which to dip chips. I didn't feel like a beer, or a margarita on this occasion, so I tried a glass of Cabernet, which was better than expected. The room is large, and seems to cater to an early-dining, family crowd. ( He's rating: 4 stars )

SHE SAYS: My husband and I arrived at Ernie's about 6:30 P.M. this last Saturday night. The large parking lot had quite a few cars - still, though, no problem parking. Quite a few people were eating at Ernies at this time - tho' when we went in we were seated immediately in the far room at the front window in a BIG corner booth. Within a short time the other tables started to clear out, I noticed, so obviously Ernies attracts a pretty early crowd (by the time we finished eating the place was getting close to empty and not even 8:00 P.M. yet on a Saturday night!) Lots of young families, kids, etc. The decor is basically 70's coffee shop decorated with typical Mexican restaurant style paintings and iron chandeliers. The booths are brown and I think the table tops are kind of a brown coffee shop style hard top. There is an odd colored fountain when you walk in towards the tables. We ordered the half order of guacamole, and both ordered the number 1 combination plate - beef taco and cheese enchilada (you get a choice of beef, chicken, or cheese - but we both wanted the cheese!). I got a Margarita - pretty tasty too. We were given chips and hot sauce as well. The food was very, very good - very traditional Mexican restaurant style combo plate. One of the best I've had for a basic plate of rice, yummy refried beans, taco (small and not overloaded with toppings) with the kind of beef I like in a taco (more mashed then shredded) and cheese enchilada (not too big, great flavor, just right!). I ate very quickly - it was SO good. Ernie's is not really the restaurant to go if you want a trendy place full of the cool and hip people eating trendy variations of Mexican dishes. Probably not the place to take a date if you are looking for a romantic atmosphere. BUT: I highly recommend Ernies for a traditional Mexican dinner with nothing fancy or trendy that tastes really great. Ernie's is family friendly. ( She's rating: 4 stars )