Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ - Long Beach, California

Address: 4828 E 2nd St, Long Beach, CA 90803

Items Ordered (lunch menu):

• Southern fried dill pickles, 1/2 order
  
• Southern fried chicken with gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, & vegetables
  
• Ribs and hot link with macaroni & cheese

There are many-a-days when I sure do miss Texas friends, family and food, and while I can't materialize the former two, I can continue my search for scrumptious Southern food in California. I always find the plating a little too fancy compared to some of the really home style restaurants in Texas, but nevertheless, Lucille's BBQ was pretty decent. The ribs actually fell off of the bone and had a nice smoky flavor, and my favorite, the fried chicken (which was actually chicken fried steak) had a nice crispy skin and savory seasoning. I prefer fried pickle chips so the appetizer was just okay, and the macaroni and cheese was too dry for my taste. Lucille's is not my favorite BBQ joint on the West Coast, but it suffices for a quick, reminiscent lunch, and I would return for the fried chicken.

--y

Beijing Noodle No. 9 - Las Vegas, Nevada

Address: Inside Caesar's Palace at 3570 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109

Items Ordered:

• Beef noodle soup with hand-pulled noodles (L) & knife cut noodles (R)
• Dry pork noodle
• Wonton noodle soup
  
• Soup dumplings (xiao long bao) and steamed buns

I never expected to find decent Chinese food in a Roman-themed hotel in Las Vegas, but Beijing Noodle No. 9 was a nice surprise. After spotting a sign for hand-pulled noodles inside the casino, we were hooked. The restaurant was actually quite difficult to locate, and after stopping 3-4 times to ask for directions, we finally found this lavishly (but nicely) decorated restaurant near the entrance. Everyone who worked here spoke Chinese and the food/menu was pretty authentic, but we were still the only Asian people inside the restaurant. The favorite was the beef noodle soup with hand-pulled noodles, which were springy and had a nice bite. The steamed buns and dumplings were also delicious. Overall, the restaurant gave us a good semblance of Chinese New Year celebrations to come.

--y

Pizza & Chicken Love Letter - Los Angeles, California

Address: 3377 Wilshire Blvd. #110, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Items Ordered:

• Fried Chicken, with sweet and spicy sauce on the side
• Sweet Potato Chicken Pizza
• Bulgogi Pizza

Interesting pizza toppings, Korean fried chicken...sounds like a great match to me! My favorite pizza was the sweet potato pizza. It was like nothing I ever had on a pizza before, but it definitely worked. The fried chicken was nice and crispy and I liked that we got the sauce on the side to keep it that way. And the restaurant name - cheesy...but oddly appealing. Fried chicken and pizza...what an epic love story. Haha ok I'll stop right there...

--v

Go Burger - Hollywood, California

Address: 6290 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90028

Items Ordered:

• "UltiMELT" the ultimelt patty melt! our burger topped with caramelized onions bacon is sandwich between two slender rye & gruyere grilled cheese sandwiches yes we went there
• Smashed Burgers: griddled hand smashed burger studded with onions and topped with american cheese
• Miso Hungry Burger - Burger of the Day
• Duck Fat Fries
• Fried Dill Pickles
• Spiked Milkshake: The Nut Job frangelico, pistachio ice cream, nutella
• Adult Floats: Keith's Quencher guinness stoul, coffee ice cream

Go Burger is located is located in the heart of Hollywood and was opened for less than one week. From the creators of BLT Burger in Vegas and New York, comes a similar style of burgers and spiked milkshakes. Mmmm! I had the UltiMELT and it did not disappoint. I didn't think I'd like the rye bread, but it was surprisingly very good. I tried the other burgers and they were decent too. Our sides were the duck fat fries (yum!) and the fried dill pickles. I basically hate pickles, but the breading on them was good enough for me to want to eat it on it's own. My drink was the Nut Job and even though I could barely taste the alcohol, was a nice alternative to traditional diner cafe milkshakes. Overall, I enjoyed my experience there!

--v