Tag Archives: hot sauce

Mama Rita’s Revenge

by Brian

So tonight, I was totally planning on doing a review on this Mexican restaurant that I went to last week.  But to be honest, it wasn’t that great and I was lacking the inspiration necessary to feign interest in the place.  Therefore, on a whim, I chose to make my triumphant return to Mama Rita’s in Newbury Park.

For those of you who haven’t read the Kitchen Nightmares debacle, check it out now before you jump into my post tonight.

mamas sign

So I wanted to originally go back to Mama Rita’s with the crew that we took to the Kitchen Nightmares shoot.  But conflicting schedules, plus the fact that Michelle had a baby in the interim (congrats, btw!), made it a luxury that I just couldn’t afford.  I walked into the place at around 7:45pm and was greeted warmly by the owner’s mother.  She offered me a table, but since I was all alone, I opted to saddle up to the bar. Continue reading

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Filed under Newbury Park, Ventura County

Willy’s Smokehouse – A New Favorite Emerges

by Brian

Hey, everybody!  Sorry for the lack of recent updates.  Mikey and I have been slackin’ on our pimpin’ over the past few days, livin’ it up and enjoying the good life.  But don’t you worry; we’ve also been eating some good stuff and will be writing all about it this week.

Coming up, we’ve got some fine Italian food, a new episode of The Catch, a pizza that might be our highest scoring ever and some authentic Mexican cuisine.  But for tonight’s post, I’ve got the latest and greatest BBQ in our area.

Willy’s Smokehouse – Just off the 101 at Chesebro, in Agoura Hills.

For those of you who don’t know, we’ve been doing quite a bit of BBQ lately.  We’ve had good experiences and bad, but I think Willy’s has emerged as my latest favorite.

Willy’s is a small place, right beside the freeway, and if you’re not looking for it you’ll drive right past.  That would be a huge mistake though, because the barbeque is as down-home and delicious as you’ll find anywhere in L.A.

I originally heard about this place through a friend who works there.  Usually I take these kinds of recommendations with a grain of salt because, as an employee, he or she has a vested interest in the restaurant doing well.  So I looked it up on a few of the rating sites and verified the legitimacy of Willy’s.  It checked out, so I decided to check it out.

Patio

My friend and I rolled up at around 7:30pm on a Tuesday night.  It wasn’t too crowded, which made me think that either a lot of people still don’t know about it, or they just can’t find it, call off the search and settle for the Wood Ranch down the street.  Fine by me.  It was a nice night, so we snagged a booth outside on the patio and started looking over the menu.  Continue reading

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Filed under Agoura Hills, Ventura County

Simi Cajun Festival ’09 – Gator Does Not Taste Like Chicken

by Brian

I’ve been looking forward to this day for quite a while.  The Oxnard Strawberry Festival was just a warm up.

The Simi Valley Cajun Festival is easily the best thing going on in Simi all year.  I love spicy food, I love peoplewatching, I love exotic meats served on sticks.  Therefore, this is as close as I’m ever going to get to heaven.  Plus it’s in Simi.

Simi Valley Cajun, Creole Music Festival – Rancho Santa Susana park near Sterns St. in Simi Valley

I’ve been to this festival before, but I never realized it was a music festival.  I guess the multiple stages should have tipped me off, but they didn’t.  I think what finally did the trick was this guy:

Jimi Hendrix cover bands are awesome!

Jimi Hendrix cover bands are awesome!

But for me, it’s always been about the food.  I am a fan of all things Cajun: hot links, jambalaya, crawfish, gumbo and after trying it for the first time, gator on a stick. Continue reading

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Filed under Simi Valley, Ventura County