Sri Windsor Cafe in Glendale

This place is unique.

Sri Windsor Cafe
123 W Windsor Rd
Glendale, CA 91204
Neighborhood: Glendale
(818) 242-2789
www.sriwindsorcafe.com

I've ordered delivery a few times from my office... Great lunch specials for home cooked style Thai food. Green curry, Thai BBQ chicken, garlic pork, etc... I heard they have a food stand in Hollywood Farmers Market... so check em out! i promise good food.

What makes this a special establishment is not really the food... It's more about the location of this place.

The restaurant in located inside a institutionalized looking concrete building. Next to the entrance you will see a bulletin board filled with sobriety living listings. The building belongs to the Windsor Club (Alcoholism Treatment, Addiction Treatment)... Interesting right?



Inside, you will be greeted by a receptionist... then you walk through to the restaurant... sit and order your food. Occasionally during dining you will notice interesting characters passing through the center... It's kinda like people watching at the mall, but a little different.



I ordered the Thai BBQ Chicken with fried rice and egg roll lunch special... Beth ordered Pad See Ew (broccoli and wide rice noodle with brown sauce). As expected, it's got that home cooked Thai Food taste... very enjoyable!



You should definitely give this place a shot, its worth the experience :) BYOB

I am back!

It's been way too long since my last blog post... Sorry readers, work's been kill'n me!  Well, I'm back now with more EATS!  Let's start with some local LA's favorites... Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) and lobster tacos.  I will provide everyone the address of both local food spots!

First y'all gotta check out this little deli / market in Chinatown. It's like a little Chinese bodega in Los Angeles. They have Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich stuffed with Cantonese style bbq pork. It was a party in my mouth! Must go and check this place out!

Lien Hoa Deli & Seafood Market
721 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Cash Only

Here is a snap shot of the mouth-watering bbe pork Banh Mi.



Also, while we were waiting for the sandwich outside of the market, we saw the employee from the market buying fish from a dude in a truck load of fish... alive and fresh!



We continued riding through Downtown, K-town, Hollywood, then Los Feliz / Silverlake. John wanted to show me this fish taco spot called Ricky's Fish Tacos... which is located a few blocks south of the Best Fish Taco of Ensenada. Word on the street is that Ricky's Fish Tacos is BETTER than the Best Fish Taco of Ensenada. Well, this I gotta try!

Ricky's Fish Tacos
1400 N Virgil Ave, Hollywood, CA 90027
Cash Only



When John and I arrived at the doubled tented outdoor fish frying station I knew we were in for a treat. This place was packed with people waiting to get their hands on the fish, shrimp and lobster tacos. For about 6 bucks a taco you get a giant sized taco with a fried lobster tail.  The tail is perfectly seasoned and fried... topped with fresh cabbage and pico de gallo, I'd like to have one... now.







All I gotta say is, see you next time Ricky's Fish Tacos! maybe this weekend... ha!

After the taco break, John and I parted by the train station...end of bike ride.
Thanks Uncle John for this great biking experience! I'll call you up next weekend and let's go on another adventure :)

Sonic America's Drive-In

I was first introduced to Sonic when I lived in Phoenix, AZ.  For the longest time Sonic wasn't available in Southern California, now I believe there is one in O.C. by Disneyland and one closer to Pasadena... Duarte to be exact.  Check it out when you get a chance!

This fastfood establishment is definitely one of my guilty pleasures... but when I am feeling a little adventurous, I eat at Sonic.  Order an extra large cherry limeade, tater tots and Texas toast chicken sandwich... if you want to eat like Joe.

God bless Sonic burger :)

Mama Chang's Big Lunch

July has been a busy month for me... especially at work. This is the kind of month where I wish I can get some home cooking by Mama Chang, my mother.

Few weeks ago my mom cooked up a storm for my little brother Sean's return from college. Well, as the big brother and being a part of the family... Beth and I are of course invited to this fancy feast!

When we showed up Mama Chang was in the process of cooking her signature sticky rice... and it was delicious!





She also surprised us with my favorite, Drunken Chicken (cooked with a lot of rice wine, trust me)



We've got veggies, fish balls, tofu noodles, tofu and seaweed, fish, etc.



My dad prepared the beverages for us, including Taiwanese root beer and grass jelly.



NO! we don't eat dogs! Her name is Mickey and I love her.

Music Festival and Pizza

I figured I should post the images from Make Music Pasadena 2011 before I forget.

Check out this kid dancing in front of the dj booth. SICK!



Beth and I decided to walk to the festival from our house... Our first mission was to get something to eat when we get there :)... We walked around the festival and saw this little pizza stand. We picked up a slice of Margherita and a slice of the Mushroom Party! It was super yummy, especially the Mushroom Party!  Oh, we also scored a complimentary pizza card! #pizzabonus





Wife Approved



I took some photos of the festival by using this cool little app called TinyWorld, check them out.





It's a cool little app :) download it !

Astro Family Restaurant

Gosh, do I really have to write about this place? I mean, it wasn't a bad experience at all, but to me Astro Burger is just another American diner... just my opinion :)

That being said, the year Hilary Swank won the Oscar Awards, instead of going to the after party, she insisted on going to Astro Burger! (if you don't know who she is, she was in the Next Karate Kid 1994).

I went to their website and this is under their About section, pretty interesting stuff.

Two Restaurants, Two Names, Two Girls, Same Result!
Both Restaurants were named for the original owners’ daughters.

Jan’s Restaurant

Named for the original owner’s daughter which of course is Jan.

Astro Restaurant

Named for the present owner’s daughter which is Maria -Nick Name Astro.


The Result:

At both Restaurants we strive to make all our customers feel like home.

We provide excellent service in a clean and comfortable atmosphere.

We use nothing but the best products available.

We prepare all of our foods in our kitchens by our chefs and our daily specials are made with some recipes that are in our family and brought down from generation to generation.


Our Motto is:

“If it is not good enough to serve it to your mother,
do not serve it to our customers.”

We appreciate your business and we value your faith in us by patronizing our Restaurants.


We Thank You So Much!

Harry and his dedicated Staff


iphone / instagram / tinyworld (only one photo)

Bring Salad Bar to Work

Last Wednesday we had a small work potluck and I was assigned to bring salad. This is my opportunity to show y'all how to prepare a simple salad, that is both delicious and healthy!

Preparation is the key.
Topping

• a can of corn
• halfs of small cherry tomatoes
• carrot peels (I used the peeler and peeled the carrots to the core)
• pack an avocado (its better to cut up fresh avocado on the spot... black avocado is gross)
• pack fresh Parmesano Reggiano or you can bring regular Parmesan
• dressing (scroll down for recipe)

Lettuce

You can just chop up your own lettuce or get them in pre-chopped packs. I like to chop my own, it's crunchier and fresher.





The Dressing

Mix (whisk) the following ingredients in a bowl

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of mustard
• i/2 tablespoon of agave syrup

Chicken (optional)

I used two large chicken breasts, butterflied and marinated with lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper.  This is actually a perfect chance for you to develop your "eye-balling" skills... Trust me, you can't really mess up the seasoning on this one... just few pinches of salt and pepper... drizzle olive oil... squeeze one lemon... that's it!

My favorite marinating technique is zip-lock bag the meat and marinate... push out the air... zip and refrigerate... in this case, refrigerate minimum 3-5 hours or overnight.

When the marinating stage is done, pan grill the chicken in an oiled grill pan. 3-4 minutes on each side on high heat, cut into strips and serve.




There ya go, bring your own salad bar to work!

I Love Presents!

Sorry readers... It's been WAY too long since my last post.
Don't worry, I have lots of photos that are lining up to be posted in eatwithjoe.com!

Last week, I got two packages in the mail. One from my cousin Justine and one from my buddy Joey (JTI).



Cousin Justine thought that I need a glass mug in my life, so she mailed me one! She packaged it with handles, made it easier for the UPS guy to carry around the neighborhood.



Great gift! Thanks Couz!



My new official coffee mug! looks great with my highlighters!



Joey aka Joey the Intern, was the famous URB magazine intern... After Peace Corp, he moved to Northern California and then... he became Joey the Baker! Joey made a batch of chocolate chunk and walnut cookies and he wanted me to try some. So I ate some and it was surely delicious. Beth even said that the cookies taste like the cookies her mom would make! Good job Joey! We want MORE !!!





I love presents! feel free to mail me things so I can take photos and write about it! Maybe eat it too!

Thanks again, Justine and Joey!

My Lunch is Better Than Yours! Tamales and Pozole

This post is dedicated to two awesome Hispanic ladies that made this possible, Vanesa's Mom and Anna!!! BIG THANKS TO Y'ALL!!! for bringing out the Mexican in me.

Anna, our office cleaning staff brought us two bags of tamales from La Estrella (a well known Mexican restaurant in Pasadena). I gotta say, that was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done! She wouldn't even take our money... and the tamales were really damn good! Thanks Anna!



a little internet planking fun :)





smokey chipotle hot sauce is the bomb!



Also, thanks to Vanesa's mom, we got to try this ethnic version of homemade mexican soup! Pozole!





Pozole is a Mexican soup with spices, pork and corn harmony. Well, at least that's what was in my soup hah. It feels like eating menudo, except it was made with green sauce and it didn't have the intestines and tripes... but it was really good nonetheless.

Can we have Mexican food day everyday?

Curry Sloppy Turkey and Sweet Potato Chips

...is what's for dinner

Patrick P. Responded...

I guess its all about the rainbows and butterflies!

Indian With the Feather

Uncle Yu's Indian Themed Restaurant is probably one of my favorite Taiwanese restaurants here in the US of A. Basically it's a Taiwanese Hooters with Rainforest Cafe decor... Asian girls in short skirts and a feather head piece... beers on tap... fried bar food... sporting events on the telly... you name it! It is a FUN place!

Before I move on to the foods we ordered from our last visit... I'd like to point out this one specific Yelp reviewer. His name is Patrick P. and I find his review very inconsistent and stupid...



I have a few problems with this review.

1. why are you reviewing the parking lot?

2. excuse my French but, why in the fucking hell would you order a strawberry milk in a bar/restaurant? what are you, on your period or something?

3. Douche is spelled "d-o-u-c-h-e" not "doosh", i mean really?! really?

4. what's wrong with people taking pictures in the restaurant, if the restaurant staff doesn't have a problem with it, why should you?

5. Oh, so you have a problem with one of the customers? tell them in their face! last time I did that, the dude ended up filling up my beer glass.  True Story

6. There IS a security that hangs out in the parking lot... to keep you away from this town... my advice for you is GTFO of SGV you do not belong.

7. Patrick, don't you find it weird that you are the only one that gave the restaurant 2 stars? 

Its people like that messing up the star average of restaurants... I mean really? you call this a review? I am not sure why I am so upset with this reviewer, but if you've actually been to Uncle Yu's Indian Themed Restaurant you will know that this review is full of shit!

I will reply this list to his Yelp account... and post the response back to my dearest readers :) that's how I roll!

Just like Patrick P. would say... moving on...

First when you get seated, you have to order one of these... Taiwan Beer Gold Medal... I got introduce to the "Gold Medal" when I was in Taiwan with Beth... we are totally hooked!



Taiwan style popcorn chicken - I don't know if you can tell... it was hard for me to get a steady photo of this dish... only because once the dish was delivered... chopsticks were flying every where!!! no one gave me time to snap a good photo of this dish, they just couldn't wait... it was good... really good.



Just rice... white rice... white fluffy rice...



Cuttlefish with basil is a dish that Beth orders EVERY SINGLE TIME! It is her favorite!!!



Move aside Kung Pao... you got nothing on Taiwan's very own Three Cup Chicken! It is cooked with three main ingredients (sesame oil, Chinese rice wine, and soy sauce). I can eat this all week with rice... I want this NOW!



If you are interested in visiting this place... visit Uncle Yu's Indian Themed Restaurant Yelp Page for directions! Don't believe in Patrick P. he drinks strawberry milk at a bar.