Shelley "I go out too much" H.'s Profile

This place has that old Hollywood feel.  The centerpiece is the live band that plays everything from Neil Diamond to The Killers.  When I went, it was these old people singing so tongue in cheek that I thought I was in a Geico commercial.  

Bartenders are old guys so maybe they can make a mean drink?  Not sure since I didn't order anything challenging.

Nice laid back spot to enjoy some music and friends, I'd say!

Seemed alright.  Nice outdoorsy area with pool and cabanas.  Kinda crowded on a Fri night with people that I'd probably find at The Wilshire.   Drinks are on the pricey side, as expected for a hotel bar.   Parking's a b*tch if you don't wanna do valet.

Man oh man, I love Russian food.  And their "restaurant" culture.

This place is huge on the inside and it has a beautiful view of the bay during daylight hours.  On a Wed nite, they prob had 3 tables of guests total for the whole night, but apparently the weekends are where it's at for this place.  Banquet buffet dinner and dancing and probably a cheesey live band, just the way we like it :)  Food was nice too, even according to my Ukrainian dining mate who said it was comparable to his mom's... ha!

Here's what we had:
Warm poufy bread that kinda reminded me of pita with chive butter
Borscht - love the fennel and beets!
Olivia(?) salad - it's like a potato and egg salad with ham and peas also
Smoked salmon with olives and lemon
Pickled veg plate - pickle spears, marinated mixed shrooms, and a light vinegary cole slaw

And that's just for starters.  To be honest, i was kinda full after the soup and bread, but everything was so yummy, I couldn't stop!

Then on to the entrees!
Lamb skewer served with chunky fried potatoes and sauteed mushrooms.

I thought the prices were very reasonable too.

I can't wait to come back here again to try the stroganoff... mmm....

Some ppl are accused of being asiaphiles.  I think I'm an Eastern Europe-phile.  and i aint ashamed!!

I am SO glad I found this place.  I'm a really picky shopper, esp with my NYC fashion snobbery and all and this place has been the best I've seen so far in the LA area for a great combination of price (most pieces are $10-100), design (casual to dressy without being over casual or over the top), and service (not too crowded and friendly sales gals).

Lots of high end designer brands at significant discounts and the styles aren't the nasty Marshalls castoffs either.

It's right across from Helms bakery so you can get a beer at the new Fathers Office after you finish your shopping too :)

I will definitely be back again for my next shopping pilgrimage.

I'm so glad I finally checked this place out.

Pros:
Roaring fire pit in the outdoor patio area that you can sit around which is probably nice on a chilly night
Laid back vibe with lots of different sakes and japanese tapas
the waiter offered us several tastes of other sakes gratis
walking distance to my apt! :D

Cons:
Closes 11pm fri/sat and a bit earlier than that on mon-thurs.  

Conclusion:
great place to start off the night with yummy nibbles and sake with friends.

Man, I haven't eaten this much food since I was a high school student!  But the food here was awesome! Usually buffets conjure up images of dried up fried shrimp and day old fried chicken.  But not the wynn, cuz they're all highbrow like that.  Their choices are things like "greens with fennel, grapfruit and blood orange sections, tossed in champagne vinaigrette" and "blacken salmon with capers and olives" and delicious shit like that.  And don't even get me started on the desserts.  all i have to say about that is CHOCOLATE BANANA CAKE!!!

it's a bit pricey... after tax, dinner was a little over $40.  but SO worth it, esp considering how overpriced everything on the strip is already....

and if you need a little entertainment while you walk up to get your 10th portion of king crab legs, just look at the delusional faces of diners in a state of sheer unadulterated gluttony.  priceless...

I came here for lunch with the coworkers and had a great experience.  Got a lovely corner table where you could look down rosecrans bl and see the ocean!  We had many yummy wonderfully prepared rolls and appetizer items, but the highlights for me were:

crispy tuna roll:  grilled patty of rice topped w/ spicy tuna, avocado, and masago, cut into 6 "slices" to share, almost like a sushi pizza and SO GOOD!

lobster cassoulet (or did they call it casserole?  dont remember the name).  anyways, it was a creamy stew of zucchini, lobster chunks and coconut milk stuffed into a cored papaya and baked.  i know it sounds weird, but the taste was awesome!  esp mixed with a little white rice... yum!!

chocolate souffle:  it's not really a souffle, but more like a very tender chocolate cake.  It's served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and strawberry slices, all arranged rather artfully which you wouldn't expect from a place that looks like a divey japanese joint from the outside.

kinda hard to find b/c there's no clear signage outside, so make sure you know their address.

i didn't get to try their bento boxes, but everything seemed reasonably priced around the $10 mark.

i hope i get to come here again soon! :d

My mom's never had fondue before so I wanted to share that experience with her.  We shared the traditional swiss fondue for $16 which serves 1-2ppl.  The service was freakin slow... maybe because our waiter realized we wouldn't order a lot of stuff, hence small tip?  During my silent angry rampage, all I could think was "I'm so yelping this".  :P

Anyways, our fondue came with french/squaw/rye bread dippers, granny smith apple chunks, and small bits of baby carrot/ celery/ cauliflower.  The dippers are unlimited, but we finished our cheese with a lot of dippers to spare.  It's pretty dark inside, so I guess if you're having a bad hair/makeup day or something, it'd be a good date spot on such occasions.

WIsh I could give them more stars, but the speed of service just blew...

The first part of this hike is pretty challenging as it's a steep incline for about .5 - .75 miles.  I thought I wanted to die.  But once you get closer to the peak, you get some great views and you can see all the way to downtown LA and the mountains on a clear day.  There's also a little waterfall/creek area that's a nice respite from the blazing hot socal sun.  I went last Saturday and lots of wildflowers were in bloom.  Saw lots of people with picnic baskets just lounging around and they have park benches too... would love to do a wine/cheese picnic here someday.

Park down the street in the residential parts to avoid paying the parking fee.

Food = good and fresh
Portions = on the small side considering their price.  One little gyro sandwich is around $7.
Parking = ok
Service = fast, of course
Ambience = i can see why ppl say this place is claustrophobia inducing.  They have tons of customers w/ hardly any space to eat or order.  But we at at one of their tables and it worked out ok.

Would I be back?  Probably, but only for take out.  And preferably if my office is paying for it :)