EatMeCalifornia

by Brian | July 1, 2009 · 7:33 pm

The Ventura BBQ Wars Continue – JD’s Louisiana BBQ

As most of you know, I had an absolutely horrendous BBQ experience a short while back at CJ’s in Oxnard. Honestly, it had more to do with the service than the quality of the food. But still, who wants to give their hard earned cash to a bunch of jerks, right? Right.

Well another Ventura county BBQ-er managed to get wind of that post and comment on the site. Here’s a slightly edited version of what he wrote:

Hello Brian…

I checked out your review of CJ’s BBQ and I think that you are a guy that tells the truth… I want you to check out JD’s Louisiana BBQ and let me know what you think…. I will guarantee you that you will be treated well and fed the best BBQ in this town!!!! You don’t even have to tell me when you come… All I want is a honest and fair review… JD’S LOUISIANA BBQ CO.

Now, since I love BBQ and also the crushing of my enemies, I thought, what better way to get even with CJ’s than to review every barbeque restaurant in the area? Thus Ventura BBQ Wars was born. Of course, Mikey and I are sworn to remain fair, impartial and dedicated to bringing you the god’s honest BBQ truth. Here we go…

JD’s Louisiana BBQ – On the corner of Patterson Rd. and Wooley Rd. in Oxnard

I’m just gonna come out and say it. The only thing CJ’s has on JD’s is a larger selection. But I think there’s something to be said for doing less and doing it better. I mean seriously, since I got my iPhone, I’ve learned that I can twitter (@EatMeCalifornia), check the Dodgers score, adopt a Rwandan orphan and buy Mikey’s fossilized chest hair on Ebay, all from the comfort of my local starbucks. It’s almost too much to bear. Sometimes, simple is better. Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under Oxnard, Ventura County

Tagged as baby back ribs, barbeque, BBQ, BBQ Wars, beef ribs, chicken, chili, chili beans, family owned, JD's, JD's Louisiana BBQ, Pulled Pork, Ribs, tri-tip

by Mikey | June 30, 2009 · 10:51 pm

Deadliest Catch – A slap in the face or a kick in the pants

by Mikey

This week on the DC, we get one of the most interesting episode titles yet. If you miss it, I think Sig ends up saying it around 5 times. I once got in a fight with a midget who offered me the same choices. I went with slap in the face because I figured while he was getting a step ladder to climb up and slap me, I could sneak up behind him and beat him with my wiffle ball bat. Turned out this midget had hops and just gave me a knock across the jaw. You live and learn. On to the catch! Continue reading →

Sumo Japanese Restaurant

by Mikey

I finally hit up this Japanese place that I’d heard some good things about. Sumo is tucked away in the corner of the Ralph’s shopping center off of Victoria. I brought along my resident sushi expert for kids, my boy T. It was a good thing I brought him too, because he had to help me find the door. There is no signage and no arrows or lights to guide you. You just pick the closest blank door to the corner and there it is. Both T and I had I hopes that this Sumo would be tons better than the Sumo in Camarillo.

Sumo Japanese Restaurant – Ventura off of Victoria in Ralph’s shopping center.

P6280017

Sumo is more than just a sushi place. They have a pretty large menu and a lot of specials. I would say sushi is just a small piece to their business, but it is what T and I were interested in. I’ve never found much interest in the chicken and steak dishes unless they are cooking in front of you. I very rarely will order anything but sushi from a Japanese joint.

Sumo is a very nice restaurant. It provides sushi bar seats, full tables, and booths. It’s very clean and modern and the service is pretty good. One of the things I notice a lot of sushi places doing is bringing you a cup of ice and then a can of coke when you order a soda. I kinda, at least, like having the illusion I’m not at a block party. This place has the full on fountain drinks and gives you a hefty “man glass,” which beats the can and cup any day of the week. Continue reading →

How Not To Make A Monte Cristo.

by Brian

This isn’t a review of a restaurant. It’s more of a public service announcement for all the restaurants out there that serve monte cristos. My dad always used to tell me, “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” Actually, I think I got that from a movie. My dad was too busy yelling “Do you think I just fell off the back of a turnip truck?” at me. I still don’t know what that means, but now, thanks to the generous contributions of readers like you, I know what a turnip is. So regardless of where I got that first quote, here’s my point: If you can’t make a dish right, take it off your menu.

Nico’s Cafe – Kanan and Lindero Cyn in Oak Park (next to Starbucks)

First of all, let’s lay down some ground rules on what makes for a good monte cristo.

It’s fried and crispy on the outside.
It doesn’t fall apart while you’re eating it.
The jam is spreadable.

I could make more rules, but these three are the basics. For those of you who need a refresher on what the monte cristo is, see our posts on Jack’s Deli and The Blue Bayou. That will give you a good idea of what the sandwich is all about and if I’ve done a good job, you’ll probably want to eat one after reading.

My friend Melissa and I found out that Nico’s had a monte cristo on the menu and got all excited about going to try it. Unfortunately, it was not a real monte cristo that we were served. Yes, all the ingredients were there. But this impostor gave all other monte cristos a bad name. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under Oak Park, Ventura County

Tagged as Dessert, Fried foods, Lunch, Monte Cristo, Nico's Cafe, sandwiches

by Mikey | June 27, 2009 · 5:06 pm

Rookees – Sportsbar and Grill

by Mikey

Rookees is a sports bar and grill down on Main St. in Ventura. It’s an excellent spot to catch the game, get some food, and most importantly, drink like you did right before your doctor told you your liver is the size of an adult raccoon. They have plenty of beers on tap and we even managed to try a few of the dishes.

Rookees – Main St Ventura

I drank with this dude. He owns property in Silverstrand

Rookees is like your modern day sports bar. Just like the Espn Zone there are tons of TVs and they are all huge. You can watch a game from almost anywhere in the place. They have booth seating, tables and plenty of room at the bar. They even have a few themed nights. We happened to be there on Surf night, which meant the help dressed a bit more tropical. All the TVs were linked into surf video and they had a nightly drawing, giving away surf boards and various other beach gear. Since they were not giving away a whale carcass or a hat made from sea lion, I did not participate.

We ordered the appetizer sampler, chicken enchiladas, and the mini hamburgers. It’s way too dark in the place to really get a good picture of the food so you’re just gonna have to go see for yourself. Dark places can be good for bringing ugly dates, so if you’re dating someone you don’t want other people to see you with, I’d take them to Rookees. Get a corner booth. Your friends will never see you there. You can just sit back in the dark and watch them get more attractive with every round. Continue reading →

Greek at the Harbor – Get your Opa on!

by Brian

After my awesome time at the Ventura County Greek Festival, I was itching to try an authentic Greek restaurant. After careful consideration, I settled on the Greek at the Harbor, mainly because I enjoy spending time down by the beach, but also because there always seems to be a pretty good crowd eating their food.

I made Mikey come along with me on this grand adventure, so we met up after work and headed down to Ventura Harbor in search of a little Opa!

The Greek at The Harbor – Ventura Harbor in (you guessed it) Ventura, CA

We got to the restaurant about 10 minutes before our 7 o’clock reservation. Wednesday nights are “wine flight” nights at the greek and they have a special section all cordoned off just for the wine drinkers. Mikey and I faked them out though and got them to seat us in the wine patio, which is where I snapped this nice little picture of the harbor view.

Mikey and I didn’t end up drinking the wine, but basically, a wine “flight” is a 1/2 glass of 3 different wines. The have a red flight and a white one and accompany them with a nice little tapas menu for you to order from. Since Mike and I were looking for the quintessential Greek experience, we just ordered off the dinner menu. Just because we didn’t drink wine, doesn’t mean that we still don’t know how to party. We chose to start the night off right with a couple of Greek beers. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Ventura, Ventura County

Tagged as Aris, baklava, Beer, chicken, family restaurants, fresh produce, Fried Calamari, Garlic Pasta, Greek, hummus, kabob, lamb, Mythos, pita, Saganaki, Ventura Harbor

by Mikey | June 25, 2009 · 9:16 pm

Shamon to Anacapa Brewery!

by Mikey

First off – Raise your glass to the King of Pop. No matter how funky, odd, or down right strange you thought Michael Jackson was, you can not deny he put together some of the greatest music we’ve ever heard. I myself even had my own red leather jacket and glove back in the 80’s. Yeah that’s right, I did, and I’m proud of it. Anyone who doesn’t think Bad and Thriller contain some of the best beats in music history probably smells like cheese and shops at gas stations for groceries. Of all the Jacksons we could have lost I would have prefered Tito since he always looks like he’s up to no good. Right now you all need to head to your local karaoke joint and pick a song. If you pick Billy Jean you best do a leg snap and a crotch grab. Shamon!

Ventura has its own award winning micro brewery. The Anacapa Brewery recently won some major awards at the LA County Fair. Winning ribbons at this fair for beer is definitely something to boast about. Brian and I had already decided to get our drink on there before we knew about the awards, but after tipping back a few of their classics it was easy to see why they won.

Anacapa Brewing Company – Main St., Ventura

For this review we are going to concentrate on beer, beer, and then on some beer. Of course we will throw a little food in there but not too much because we don’t want to ruin your buzz. Plus, any night you’re going to be out drinking you need to lay a nice foundation before you drink, pizza, bread, burgers, burritos, you know, stuff that will soak up the tremendous amounts of liquid that are about to invade.

Drink it in Ventura, it always goes down smooth.

Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under Ventura

Tagged as Anacapa, Award Winning Beer, Beer, Beer Awards, Beer in Ventura, blonde, brewery, IPA, LA Fair, Michael Jackson, microbrews, Pizza and Beer, Places to drink in Ventura, Porter, Stout, Wheat Beer, Wings and Beer

JD’s Louisiana BBQ – On the corner of Patterson Rd. and Wooley Rd. in Oxnard

Sumo Japanese Restaurant – Ventura off of Victoria in Ralph’s shopping center.

Nico’s Cafe – Kanan and Lindero Cyn in Oak Park (next to Starbucks)

Rookees – Main St Ventura

The Greek at The Harbor – Ventura Harbor in (you guessed it) Ventura, CA

Anacapa Brewing Company – Main St., Ventura

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