My Restaurant Tips

Du-par’s
6333 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90036
USA

+1 (323) 933-8446
www.dupars.com

Diner

Restaurant: 2/5

Du-par’s is located in the very popular farmer’s market of West Hollywood, at the corner of Third and Fairfax. The restaurant, renovated in 2006, has a typical diner decor and is relatively comfortable. The patio is very nice and I highly recommend to get a table there if the weather is clement enough. Du-par’s is conveniently open 24 hours a day.

Service: 2/5

Service was good but definitely slow. It’s a very popular and crowded place. They definitely could do with a bit more staff.

Food: 2.5/5

I had a very typical diner dish: the meat-loaf sandwich. The meat-loaf sandwich is served as an open sandwich with mash potatoes and mushroom gravy. The both the meat-loaf and the mash potatoes were very good. The mushroom gravy works very well with the meat-loaf. One regret, the meat-loaf was a bit cold.

Value for money:2/5

Around $20, including drinks (orange juice and coffee) and tip. Du-par’s is a bit expensive considering the quality of the food and the service but it’s a Los Angeles institution with a good location and a nice atmosphere, so I will certainly come back.

The Ivy
113 N Robertson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
USA

+1 (310) 274-8303

New American cuisine

Restaurant: 3/5

The Ivy is located in the heart of West Hollywood. The restaurant is comfortable and has a nice shabby chic decor. The patio is very nice and definitely the place to be. If you can get a table on the patio (I had to push), you will rubbing shoulder with the Hollywood crowd. It’s the place for power lunches and paparazzi. Because of the celebrity clientele, I didn’t take pictures of the food as I usually do. Parking in the area is difficult. Think about using the valet parking if you have a nice car or as default use the public parking structure a bit lower on Robertson.

Service: 4/5

Passed the maître d’hôtel who tried to put us in the back of the restaurant, the service was fantastic, prompt and professional.

Food: 3.5/5

I started with the daily special, the italian seafood soup. Served in a small bowl, the soup made with salmon, cod, squid, muscles and clams in broth was terrific. Simple but delicious.

As main course, I ordered the spinach and ricotta raviolis, served with a basil and tomato sauce. Obviously homemade, the raviolis were very good. I would have preferred a bit more ricotta in the raviolis but it’s a minor detail on a very well executed dish.

As desert, I had the tarte tatin. The tart was terrific. Certainly one of the best I had. The apples were perfectly cooked and really flavorful.

Value for money:2.5/5

Around $90, including drinks (champagne cocktail, still water, capucino and espresso) and tip. The Ivy is an expensive place but considering the food (simple but perfectly executed), the location and the beautiful people crowd, I will certainly come back.

Firebirds
Suite 910
8030 Renaissance Parkway
Durham, NC 27713
USA

+1 (323) 933-8446
www.firebirdsrockymountaingrill.com

Grill

Restaurant: 2.5/5

Du-par’s is located at the very nice Southpoint mall in Durham. The restaurant is pretty comfortable and has a western decor.

Service: 2/5

Service was good but unremarkable and a bit slow. They could do with a bit more staff.

Food: 0.5/5

I had buffalo meat-loaf. The meat-loaf was served with parmesan mash potatoes and pecan green beans. While the mash potatoes were good, the meat-loaf was too salty and had too much pepper in it. I couldn’t taste the meat… Additionnally the green beans were cold and the gravy was far too salty. It’s pretty hard for a restaurant to mess up meat-loaf but they successfully did it. In one word: a disaster.

Value for money: 1/5

Around $20, including drinks (beer) and tip. Considering the food, Firebirds can’t be a good value for money. It’s a place that I will definitely avoid.

Kyochon Chicken
3833 West 6th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90006
USA

+1 (213) 739-9292

Fast food

Restaurant: 1.5/5

Kyochon Chicken is located in the heart of Koreatown. As you can expect from a fast food, there is no real decor and the comfort is minimum. Additionally, parking in the area may be difficult.

Service: 3/5

Service was very good for a fast food: we were served quickly at our table.

Food: 2.5/5

First, we were served radishes in cold water. It’s a nice attention that kept us busy while we were waiting for our diner and later helped to alleviate the amount of chili use on the chicken.

We started sharing a chicken and rice cake combo. The broiled chicken was served with long round rice cakes, peppers, onions and carrots. All of that in a tomato chili sauce, topped with sesame seeds. It was very tasty but very hot.

After the chicken and rice cake combo, we shared a hot combo. The combo comprised chicken wings and drumstick, served with cabbage. The cabbage was topped with mayonnaise and ketchup sauces. It was really good but really really hot. Finishing the dish, my lips were burning while my tongue was hurting.

At the end of the meal, we were served vanilla ice cream. It’s another really nice attention that really help me to recover after eating food that hot.

Value for money:4.5/5

Around $15, including drinks (orange juice and coffee) and tip. Considering the food and the service, Kyochon Chicken offers excellent value for money. I will definitely come back.

The Belvedere
Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel
9882 Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
USA

+1 (310) 551-2888
beverlyhills.peninsula.com

Modern American Cuisine

Restaurant: 4.5/5

The Belvedere is located at the Peninsula Hotel, in the heart of Beverly Hills. The restaurant, with it’s traditional decor, is really comfortable. The patio at the back of the restaurant is really nice. I highly advise to get a table there is the weather is nice.

Service: 5/5

from the beginning to the end, the service was perfect. They really pay attention to every detail.

Food: 4.5/5

For brunch, you only have to select your main course. You get a selection of starters, served family style, and access to the desert buffet. The selection of started comprised their very famous macaronis and cheese, the organic beet salad, the sauteed prawns, the smoked salmon, the peking duck (carved in front of you in the dining room) and the fruit salad. The macaronis and cheese were absolutely spectacular. Definitely the best I had so far.

The organic beet salad was served with tomato, arugula, nuts and a well balanced sauce.

The sauteed prawns, served with crispy noodles on the top of cabbage, were excellent.

The smoked salmon with it’s mustard sauce was very good.

The peking duck, served ready to eat in pancakes with spring onions and sauce is definitely one of the best.

The fruit salad had nothing remarkable but was pretty good.

As main course, I had the potato crusted chilean sea bass. The sea bass was perfectly cooked with the potato bater being crusty and the fish being juicy and flavorful. it was served with orange quarters on the top of vegetables.

The desert buffet is pretty extensive and should satisfy about everybody. The plum clafouti and the warm bread pudding were truly excellent. Unfortunately, I found the rest of the deserts overly sweet.

Value for money: 4.5/5

Around $100, including drinks (orange juice, water and espresso) and tip. Considering the restaurant, the service, the food and the location, The Belvedere is a excellent value for money. I will definitely come back.

The Dining Room
Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel
Amager Blvd. 70
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
Denmark

+45 3396 5858
www.thediningroom.dk

Danish Cuisine

Restaurant: 4/5

The Dining Room is located in Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel near the center of Copenhagen. The restaurant has a nice modern decor and is very comfortable. You should reserve a table near the window as the The Dining Room has a fantastic view on center of Copenhagen.

Service: 2/5

Service was good but very slow. As the restaurant was not full, that was quite surprising. They could do with a bit more staff.

Food: 3.5/5

First, I was served bread with olive oil and humus. The humus was very good.

The following appetizer was an artichoke puree. Pretty good but not remarkable.

As starter, I had the smoked salmon. The presentation of the salmon was very modern. The salmon was served with mayonaise, carrot puree and pink grapefruit. Pretty strange at first but it works. That was very good.

As main course, I had veal. The veal was served crusted with sweet potatoes, turnip mash and roasted green plums. That was truly excellent. The combination of flavor works really well.

As desert, I had roasted plums. The plums were served with a caramel ice cream and buisquit. Again, that was truly excellent.

Value for money: 3/5

Around $100, including drinks (sparkling water and espresso) and tip. Considering the restaurant, the food and the current strength of the Danish krone, The Dining Room is a good value for money. I will come back.

Nyhavns Færgekro
Nyhavn 5
1051 København K
Denmark

+45 33 15 15 88
www.nyhavnsfaergekro.dk

Danish Cuisine

Restaurant: 3/5

Nyhavns Færgekro is located in New Hafen, in the heart of Copenhagen. The restaurant has a traditional decor and is relatively comfortable. I highly recommend the very nice terrace, a good place for “flirt and skirts”.

Service: 2/5

Service was good but very slow. As the restaurant was packed, they could have done with a bit more staff.

Food: 2.5/5

As main course, I had the frokoststeak. The steak was served with a very good mustard sauce and on the side a kind of wedges. The meat was tender and tasty. One regret, the wedges were a bit too oily.

As desert, I had the apple pie. The apple pie was served with vanilla flavored whipped cream, mint leafs and tropical fruits. The pie, with it very soft biscuit was very good.

Value for money: 3/5

Around $55, including drinks (beer and coffee) and tip. Considering the location, the current strength of the Danish krone and food quality, Nyhavns Færgekro is a very good value for money. I will come back.

Blue Elephant
Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel
Amager Blvd. 70
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
Denmark

+45 33 96 59 70
www.blueelephant.dk

Contemporary Thai cuisine

Restaurant: 3.5/5

Blue Elephant is located in Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel near the center of Copenhagen. The restaurant is very comfortable and has a beautiful Thai themed decor.

Service: 1.5/5

The service was very mechanical and the burned menu didn’t add to the experience. On the upside, an orchid is offered to womens when leaving the restaurant.

Food: 2.5/5

I started with a very traditional tom kha gai, a chicken and lemon grass soup. The soup was very flavorful but could have been a bit more spicy.

As main course, I had kai himmapan, a dish of chicken with cashew, green peppers, red peppers, baby corn, pineapple and onion served in an half pineapple. It was good but, again, a bit bland for Indian food.

Value for money: 2/5

Around $80, including drinks (mai tai, still water and espresso) and tip. Considering the food, the location and the current strength of the Danish Kroner, Blue Elephant offers just a fair value for money. I probably won’t come back.

Jensen’s Bøfhus
Södra Förstadsgatan 1
211 43 Malmö
Sweden

+46 (0) 40 97 96 97
www.jensens.se

Steak house

Restaurant: 2/5

Jensen’s Bøfhus is a casual restaurant located in the center of Malmö. The restaurant is relatively comfortable and has a simple pub decor.

Service: 2.5/5

The service was good but a bit slow. Our waitress made genuine efforts to please us.

Food: 2/5

As starter, I had the snack basket that comprise onion rings, mozzarella sticks, potato waffles and cheese and jalapeño nuggets served with spicy tomato sauce and white sauce. While a bit heavy (all deep fried), everything was good.

As main course, I had the favorite steak. The steak, tender and juice was excellent. It was served with a tomato, potatoes and a paprika sauce that was both a surprising and perfect complement to the steak.

As desert, I had the queen’s delight. The queen’s delight is a soft vanilla ice cream topping a waffle and served with chocolate sauce, nuts and strawberry jam. The ice cream was very good but the waffle was a bit too sweet to my taste. The jam, overly sweet, was unnecessary.

Value for money: 3/5

Around $50, including drinks (pear cider) and tip. Considering the food, the location and the current strength of the Swedish Kronor, Jensen’s Bøfhus offers good value for money. I’ll come back.

Thai Edge
7 Oozells Square
Brindleyplace
Birmingham, B1 2HL
UK

+44 (0) 121 643 3993
www.thaiedge.co.uk

Contemporary Thai cuisine

Restaurant: 3.5/5

Thai Edge is located in Brindleyplace, in the heart of Birmingham. The decor is very nice, both modern and Thai. The restaurant is very comfortable. The music was a bit loud and repetitive. While the tiles on the floor are practical, they make the place feel a bit cold.

Service: 3.5/5

The service was very good. Our waitress made genuine efforts to please us. All the staff wears very nice Thai uniforms.

Food: 3.5/5

I shared a “Royal Orchid” menu as it offered a wide diversity of dishes. As starter, the menu offered chicken satay, golden bags, spring rolls, prawn rolls and chicken in pandanus leaves. The golden bags are a kind of fried shrimp dumpling. Everything was good but the chicken satay and the chicken in pandanus leaves were above the rest offering more subtle flavors.

As main course, the menu offered chicken green curry, stir-fried beef with chili and basil, pork with garlic and pepper, stir-fried mixed vegetables and egg fried rice. The egg fried rice was more Chinese than Thai but again everything was good. The stir-fried beef with chili and basil was above the rest being hot and very flavorful. The chicken green curry was very good too.

Value for money: 3.5/5

Around $70, including drinks (still water, beer and espresso) and tip. Considering the food, the location and the current strength of the British pound, Thai Edge offers very good value for money. I’ll come back.