Rating / 2 out of 5 stars

Tam’s Burgers is one of those local curiosities — a chain of restaurants that don’t have any visibility outside a certain vicinity, but saturates a locality. We were actually looking for an In-N-Out burger, but it was early in the morning, so none were open. We ended up at Tam’s Burgers No. 27 in Huntington Park.

(Top to bottom: 1. I don’t know who Tam is, but this is his burger. 2. Crusty onion rings.)

This is what happens when you don’t plan your day properly. You end up in a shifty fast food joint that serves everything from Tex Mex to burgers. I ordered the breakfast burrito — nice and light, right? Case still had burger on her mind, so she went for that. We split some onion rings and a Coke.

(Above: Now that is a really, really big burrito.)

When our order finally arrived, we were dumbfounded. On our tray was a massive burger, a burrito the size of my arm, a bucket of coke, and an entire plate piled with a mountain of onion rings. The volume of food was ridiculous. The taste? Well, the burger and burrito were not bad — greasy — but nothing unexpected from a fast food joint. The onion rings, however, were dry  as cardboard and the breading ripped through the roof of our mouths.

We ended up abandoning half our meal — Tam’s was too much. Our entire meal came to just over $20, which we initially thought was pricey for a fast food restaurant. But, now we know why.

Perfect for: if you’re starving and have no place to go.

The Details

2850 East Slauson Avenue, Huntington Park
323.588.6400

Rating / 4 out of 5 stars

gr/eats is a casual dining spot with a pan Asian American menu that’s about as eclectic as the magazine that birthed it. As if the folks at Giant Robot weren’t busy enough putting out the magazine, opening art galleries, or running retail stores, they decided to add restaurants to their box of tricks.

(Clockwise: 1. Curry Udon 2. Asian Slaw 3. Slivers of pickled ginger.)

As big fans of Giant Robot magazine, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stop by gr/eats and sample their menu. Where else could you serve such a random assortment of dishes as shrimp fried rice, Oyako Don, fish tacos and Calpico — all with both intentional irony and authenticity at the same time?

(Top to bottom: 1. Mixed fries. 2. Teriyaki Burger.)

I started with their burger of the day, Teriyaki: a nice beef patty with greens and a gently seasoned Teriyaki sauce served on a roll. On the side, was a mix of fries: potato, banana and sweet potato in varying shapes and sizes. Case ordered the vegetarian curry udon, a hearty stew of udon noodles in a thick, Japanese curry broth generously topped with green onions.

Our meal wouldn’t be complete without dessert — and their Tempura ice cream was calling out to us. The beautiful tempura crust firmly cradles the ice cream treasure inside, a nice twist on the classic deep fried ice cream dish.

(Clockwise: 1. Tempura ice cream. 2. Wage, the patron-ugly doll of food bloggers presides over this table. 3. What it looks like when you break open Tempura ice cream.)

The decor at gr/eats is fitting of the magazine’s personality: vintage, forest green Eames seating in a bright and whimsically decorated (were those Ai Yamaguchi block painting on the walls?) school cafeteria-like space. Our meal came to just over $20, which makes this not only a tasty outing, but a surprisingly affordable one.

Perfect for: finding out how Giant Robot magazine would taste like… without eating the magazine.

The Details

2050 Sawtelle Boulevard, Los Angeles
310.478.3242
gr-eats.com

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Located on West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, Rocoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles have been holding it down old school dishing out their specialty classic — chicken and waffles.

(Above: Plate full of fried chicken. )

Chicken and waffles is not a only a unique combination, but it’s also probably a dietitian’s worst nightmare. How can something so wrong be so good at the same time? Well, Roscoe’s must be doing something right — still going strong since the 70s, Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles has the menu to keep their patrons happy: good old southern style fried chicken, waffles, deep fried chicken livers, mac and cheese, greens, corn bread and a whole lot more. It’s breakfast time. Time for some chicken and waffles.

(Above: A big ass waffle with a truckload of butter.)

Tre and I shared a Herb’s Special: 1/2 a chicken (chix) prepared southern style with two waffles and a slice of sweet potato pie, plus two cups of joe to cut through the grease. The order arrived quickly: the fried chicken was decent; the skin crispy and seasoned with Roscoe’s own mix. The meat was slightly tender, but a little dried out. The humungous waffles were on the thinner side and topped with whip cream and loads of butter.

I felt the winner out of our meal was the sweet potato pie: mashed sweet potatoes with spices baked into a pie crust. The pie was rich, yet light, and tasted similar to pumpkin pie. It was delicious, but felt very heavy after the big meal we had just polished off.

(Top to bottom: 1. The coffee was meh. 2. A slice of sweet, sweet potato pie.)

Our bill including taxes and tips came to just under $33. Surprisingly, not the best chicken and waffles we’ve had given Roscoe’s iconic status. However, we would definitely return and try the deep fried chicken livers that we saw flying by us as we ate. The atmosphere is a dive, but we wouldn’t want it any other way.

Perfect for: It’s Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. It’s a classic.

The Details

5006 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles
323.934.4405
roscoeschickenandwaffles.com

Layovers sucks. But, when that layover means spending a day in Los Angeles — well, that’s not too bad at all. We didn’t have a lot of time, and we were staying in West Los Angeles. Luckily for us there were a couple joints we really wanted to check out in that area. Unfortunately due to poor timing, we missed out on the famed Korean BBQ Truck. But our brief stint in LA has left us wanting to come back for more. In the mean time check out Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles.

Rating / 2 out of 5 stars

Stinger Ray’s Bar & Grill restaurant is your last chance stop in Kahului Airport before you board the plane and are subjected to airplane food. Not surprisingly, it’s a restaurant that serves mediocre food at ridiculous prices.

Tre and I avoid restaurants at the airport and we never order food on the plane. But when your plane is delayed and you haven’t eaten — you give in. Stinger Ray’s was a toss up between a bunch of uninteresting restaurants and tourist traps.

We stood at the front for what felt like forever before we were finally seated. Loud reggae beats was playing which seemed to draw in unsuspecting crowds.

(Above: Deep fried and heavily battered onion rings )

We chose to share a burger and upgrade our fries to onion rings. Tre also ordered a beer. The burger was okay: the beef patty appeared fresh and sort of reminded me of the burgers at Bon’s off Broadway — except Stinger Ray’s was triple the price and wasn’t quite as tasty. The bun was kind of limp, and the fixings dry. The onion rings were decently battered and seasoned, but it was definitely more batter then onions.

Our bill including taxes and tips came to just under $36 bucks, which is exceedingly expensive for what you get. Even though I wasn’t expecting much from airport restaurants, the service really blew, which helped us waste away an hour and a half — good for a plane delay, but would suck if you were in a hurry. Next time, we’ll just pay $5 for a tiny bag of almonds and munch on those to help get us through the flight.

Perfect for: When you’re desperate.

The Details

Kahului Aiport
Kahului, HI