Specializing in Pasadena, Glendale, Eagle Rock, Burbank, Downtown L.A., Hollywood, and the Valley - - Restaurants Rated and Reviewed
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Cafe Bizou - Sherman Oaks	Palazzo Italian Restaurant - Northridge
Lido Pizza - Van Nuys	P.F. Chang's - Sherman Oaks

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

Reviews

HE SAYS: We had dinner at P.F. Chang's at the Sherman Oaks Galleria the other day. When we arrived, we headed straight for the bar to try a Martini. There were two large pillars that seemed to take up about a third of the bar, and also to block the bartenders view of the customers. Hence, it took a while to get his attention. The Martini, however, was ample and good. Behind the bar, one can see the cooks working in the kitchen, which is fine - though I might have preferred a mirror in order to see my fellow drinkers, the view of whom was otherwise blocked by the aforementioned pillars.

Once seated in the restaurant we had a little trouble finding a willing waiter, but one finally stepped up. We tried several items, all of which were good. It was more Chinese-style than Chinese, but the quality could be described as chain-fancy. Especially good were the Garlic Noodles, Sweet and Sour Pork and the Mongolian Beef. For a not-too-expensive, decent quality meal, you could do a lot worse. ( He's rating: 3.75 stars )

SHE SAYS: Meeting my mom, dad, and a friend of my mom's for 6:00 P.M. reservations at the Sherman Oaks branch of this Chinese eatery/chain restaurant - my husband and I arrived early, about 5:15 P.M., and got ourselves a Gin Martini each at the long, curved wide wood bar. Seated at barstools (uncomfortably high, leaving my feet dangling) next to a big granite pillar, we waited quite a few minutes before being waited on my one of the bartenders. I don't know if we weren't noticed, or the bartender was just slow (he seemed more absorbed with flirting, and hugging over and over again, one of the female bartenders) - the guy was nice enough, just not really into being a bartender, I guess. Anyway, the Martini's were very large and quite good.
For dinner, we were seated at a round, wood table in about the middle of the restaurant. P.F. Chang's is decorated in what I could only describe as bland, modern, trendyish - the whole place basically one color - sort of light brown, with kind of goldish colored lighting - but pretty spartan and sterile, I didn't find the room inviting or comforting. A group of waiters were chit-chatting nearby while we waited and waited to be served, finally having to ask one of them if we could have a waiter, they went to find "our" waiter who apparently hadn't even been informed he had a table. Our personal waiter was just fine after that, but in general, the whole wait staff and bartender group in this restaurant seemed pretty indifferent, much more interested in their social life here than performing their jobs. Ah well. Enough said about that and on to the food.
The food here ended up being quite good. We ordered a number of dishes to share between the five of us - - Sweet and Sour Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Mu Shu Pork, Garlic Noodles, Fried Rice, and a Shrimp dish, which I am not sure what was called. Everything was excellent, fresh-tasting, and flavorful, if not exactly authentic Chinese. The service, at least on this occasion, was certainly a bit shaky (to say the least) but I recommend this restaurant for the food, which is very tasty and comes across as very freshly prepared. ( She's rating: 3.75 stars for the food, 2 stars for the service)

	Lido Pizza - Van Nuys
15232 Victory Blvd - - phone: (818) 781-2551

HE SAYS: SHE picked me up at work and drove us out to meet her mother for lunch at Lido's pizza joint in the Valley. Located near a busy intersection, Lido's is a place that has been in business a long time, and has a large, loyal following of current and former locals. The long room was buzzing with customers on this weekday. Typical of this type of place, the product is very good - they wouldn't have hung around all these years if it weren't. The salad is also quite good. I don't know if it's the best pizza in town, but it is certainly worth the occasional drive to the Valley. ( He's rating: 3.5 stars )

SHE SAYS: Today was my mom's birthday and my husband and I met her for her b-day lunch at Lido's in Van Nuys. An old-time favorite of our family for over forty years, this small pizza joint hasn't changed either in the atmosphere or the flavor of the food in all these years - and that's a real good thing! Lido's is part of a small strip mall along Victory Blvd. Only a few parking places in front, a few in back, parking is tight - on this day full up, so we parked along the side street next to the restaurant with no problem.
Arriving at 12:15 P.M., Lido's was already crowded today with the Friday lunch crowd, we were seated in a nice booth along the wall. The inside of the restaurant has red old-fashioned booths all the way along the left wall, a few tables in the middle and along the right. In the front, on the right side is a long window looking into the kitchen where you can see them making the pizzas as you eat. Lido's retains it's old-fashioned atmosphere, still keeping the old paintings and tiffany-style lighting I seem to remember from long ago - I really don't think it has changed much in decor all these years (if it has it isn't noticable).
I shared the large sausage pizza with my husband, and also got an Italian salad and 1/2 carafe of burgundy to split. The salad hasn't changed over the years much either - large bowl of greens topped with tomato slices, sliced white onion, garbanzo beans (this is the restaurant where I first got garbanzo beans as a kid, and liked them ever since), and a hot pepper, all covered with a tangy Italian dressing. Delicious. The pizza is also just as I remember, same taste for years and years, with just the right mix of cheese, tomato sauce, and sausage pieces on top of a thin-style pizza to make for a really tasty treat. I'm full! We took some home as we couldn't finish - Lido's leftover pizza is, if anything, even better than in the restaurant. Fab! A great joint to get pizza or pasta in a very comfortable atmosphere. Lido's is family friendly. One of my long-time favorite restaurants. ( She's rating: 4 stars )

HE SAYS: We went to Cafe Bizou in Sherman Oaks on Saturday, and it turned out to be quite good. I had read some mixed reviews of the place, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

We had reservations at 5:45 - everything later was booked - and arrived about 5:15 so we could have a drink at the bar. A decent Martini served to ease us into the dinner hour.

This restaurant is quite popular, and, being seated so early, we expected to get rather rapid service. We did, which was fine with us. I started with the Lobster Bisque, which was superb, and not overly creamy either. The Potato Encrusted Salmon, served on a bed of Spinach, was also very good - moist and tender. We tried two desserts. The Tiramisu was sweet and smooth. The Flourless Chocolate Cake was exquisitely balanced. ( He's rating: 3.75 stars )

SHE SAYS: Tonight we drove to the Valley and met my mom and dad at Cafe Bizou in Sherman Oaks. My mom has been raving about this restaurant - and tonight offered to treat us all. The only reservation we could get was quite early - 5:45 P.M. My husband and I arrived about 5:15 P.M. - parking here is only by valet, but we managed to find street parking down the block as it was still so early. Since we had a half-hour before our dinner reservation, we both ordered Martini's at the nice old-fashioned wood bar they have. My Martini really hit the spot.
My dad is always exactly on time for things - so in the door they came, exactly at 5:45 P.M., and we were seated at a table in the middle of the rectangular dining room. This restaurant has a nice old-fashioned cafe/bistro look to it - with straw chairs, white table clothes, and fancily dressed waiters. The bar runs parallel along the left side of the dining room, and there is also a small front part of the restaurant with a sort of windowed patio dining area. It was quite crowded even this early, and really, really filling up fast (in fact, by the time we left - about 7:30 P.M. - there was a huge mob waiting for tables in the bar area).
For dinner I ordered the Pork Tenderloin and the house salad. I also had a glass of their house Merlot (quite good). The Pork came with a really creamy and yummy garlic mashed potato and some broccoli. Now I am not much of a broccoli fan, but the sauce that was poured over everything - meat and veggies - was so so good that even the broccoli was yummy. Everyone in our group seemed to like what they ordered. I loved the food I got! This place has a great atmosphere and the food was delicious. Highly recommended. (By the way - flash to the past. My husband and I both thought we recognized this restaurant as being in the former location of Shain's, which I ate at only once sometime in the early Eighties. The interior looked similiar - some changes, but the layout of the rooms looked the same. I still have an old matchbook from Shain's and found out it was, in fact, in the same location!) ( She's rating: 4 stars )

HE SAYS: He missed this event. Poor He.

SHE SAYS: Went here last Sunday with my mom, dad, and a large group of senior citizens on a Sunday afternoon/evening after seeing an onstage version of Cabaret at a local theatre matinee. We arrived at the restaurant around 4:45 P.M. and there was someone waiting at the door to greet our large group, plus our table was ready and waiting! Palazzo is a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant - kind of hidden away in a corner mini-mall complex. Inside it is small with a few rows of white table-clothed tables. Our table for sixteen took up the whole middle part of the small area, with a few tables on either side left for other diners. The service here was very attentive and good, without being overbearing. The waitress took all our orders, offered separate checks without being asked, and remembered everything correctly as far as I could see. Really, I thought, excellent service here.
Now onto the food: The food at Palazzo is Italian - upscale pasta, meat, and seafood dishes, as well as a few family-style items. We brought in wine and our servers happily helped chill some of our bottles that had been sitting in the hot car during the play. After being seated, we were immediately served plates of garlic bread, which they quickly replaced as each plate was completed. This garlic bread was just about the yummiest I have had in a restaurant in a long while and unusual too. Small, round rolls absolutely slathered in a delicious garlic butter sauce - super! Loved, loved, loved. I ordered the Spaghetti and Meatballs and a small salad with Caesar dressing. The salad and the spaghetti were both very, very tasty - and I had enough spaghetti to take home for a lunch the next day (which tasted great reheated, by the way). I ordered the Spumoni ice cream for my dessert and it was possibly the best Spumoni I have had. Yummy! Everyone else in our group seemed to like their food too and it all looked really good to me. My total bill was around $12 for all this - a really great bargain. This restaurant is a little hidden jewel - I highly recommend giving it a try for the great food, great service, and super, super value. ( She's rating: 4 stars )