49849 Thu Apr 04 17:26:17 -0800 2002 23 2 Los Angeles Area 0 251433 If you were to draw a culinary map of the greater LA area, it would likely have a color code ranging from blue (for nowhere to eat) to red (for lots of good places). On such a map would be the fine township of Westchester. And the color of Westchester would definitely be blue. Okay okay, I know, there's In-n-Out and Alejo's and Pacos, and some other places, but overall I think you'd agree that Westchester is not a destination for chowhounds. And so it was that I found myself in Westchester last night (Wednesday), wondering where I could eat. Before leaving work, I considered asking the hound family for suggestions, but alas, I ran out of time before I had to meet my dad for dinner. As he was traveling from Santa Monica to Orange County, we decided on the Buggy Whip on La Tijera just west of the 405. I arrived at about 6pm, and saddled up to the bar. There was just one guy sitting there. I ordered the usual… a cold Corona and a shot of Patron. A little time passed, and dad showed up, so we were seated. On this particular evening they were only seating in the extended bar area, as there weren’t many patrons. At 38 years old, I was easily the youngest person in the restaurant, including the wait staff; and of the 12 or so tables that were filled, 3 were occupied solely by people roughly double my age. The booths in both this extended bar area, as well as the large dining room are red leather, and you can smell roasting prime rib throughout the place. The menu has a wide selection of meat, fish and chicken. The prices range from about $18 to about $28 per entrée. I had the Napolean of sea bass with a tomato coulis, while my dad had the rack of lamb. Napolean sea bass, I learned by asking the waitress, is sliced sea bass stacked in an offset fashion on top of itself. Each entrée came with a salad, some steamed cabbage and choice of potato or rice. The salads came with WAY too much dressing. I think there are two camps when it comes to dressing. Those that get a salad because it’s something they can put their dressing onto, and those that get some dressing because it’s something they can put on their salad. I fall into the latter category, so this was not a good thing for me. The green goddess dressing was good, but I would have settled for roughly half of what they gave me. There was a nice basket of warm bread and muffins that was provided along with the salads. It was very good. The entrees were good, but nothing really outstanding. The fish tasted fresh, and the tomato coulis had some nice spicing in it. The rack of lamb was well presented, and my dad seemed to like it. About half way through dinner, a guy sat down at the piano, and started playing and singing. I think he’s the regular entertainment there, but I don’t know which nights he works in addition to Wednesday. There was a certain coziness to the whole evening, what with the red leather, the guy serenading the old people and the comfort food. While it’s not really what I consider a Chowhound destination, it may be worth a visit if you’re ever in the blue zone they call Westchester. Thu Apr 04 17:26:17 -0800 2002 0 lil mikey 1 251436 The Buggy Whip used to be a place to stop for a quick meal/drinks before heading to a Laker or Kings game. Thu Apr 04 18:09:08 -0800 2002 251433 0 mc michael 1 251437 The Buggy Whip Restaurant 7420 La Tijera Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90045 (310) 645-7131 Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. If you go to Switchboard and do a search for "The Buggy Whip," you come upon their contact information and (I'm assuming) a link to their Switchboard-created, one-page Web site, which states "10% off with mention of this ad." Thu Apr 04 18:17:53 -0800 2002 251433 0 wow i'm a dog 1 251440 I like it simply because there aren't that many places which still serve green goddess salad. Thu Apr 04 18:33:45 -0800 2002 251433 0 Jerome 1 251457 Nice report. Its nice that there are still some of the old "retro" places around. Its kinda fun to visit them sometimes. Smokehouse in Toulca Lake is another that I took Mrs. Chino Wayne to on the ocassion of her birthday last year. Thu Apr 04 20:37:29 -0800 2002 251433 0 Chino Wayne 2 251463 Gotta love the Smoke House - the garlic bread - mmmmm yum. Love the people watching as well..old Toluca Lake money... Thu Apr 04 21:42:22 -0800 2002 251457 0 johanna 3 251489 Is this Smoke House in Toluca Lake any different than the one in Burbank? Fri Apr 05 12:01:16 -0800 2002 251463 0 HomeChef 4 251494 Sorry...it's one in the same...on the border of Burbank/Toluca Lake. Lakeside Country Club is at the end of the street that The Smoke House is on... Fri Apr 05 12:41:34 -0800 2002 251489 0 johanna 5 251495 Ah thanks for the geography. This westsider (who is enroute to Valley-living) has a lot to learn! Fri Apr 05 12:51:28 -0800 2002 251494 0 HomeChef 6 251496 ANYTIME...always available for directions. Fri Apr 05 12:54:31 -0800 2002 251495 0 johanna 2 251464 There's another blast of the past steak house down on 2nd Street in Belmont Shores (Long Beach), Kelly's, complete with red naughahyde booths. Good steaks, and if memory serves, a complimentary "appetizer tray" ala 50's is rought to the table (I seem to recall some kind of paté, but I could be mistaken). Good bar. Thu Apr 04 21:59:24 -0800 2002 251457 0 LBQT 1 251470 I am glad that you both were happy with your entrees. If you return, by all means get the Prime Rib. It is what they are famous for and it is very good. When you order you salad next time get it as I do with dressing on the side. If you are aware of the pit-falls and navigate around them, this can be a very pleasant place to eat a nice meal. Thu Apr 04 22:39:23 -0800 2002 251433 0 Just Larry 1 251479 Several branches of the Grub family tree have borne their fruit in Westchester, so the Grubs Major have had the extraordinary experience of dining at the Buggy Whip on many occasions, both normal dining and banquet style. IMHO, the Buggy Whip is the singularly worst dining experience in any guise that the Grubs have ever endured. The food is abysmal. Even the vaunted prime rib, while huge, is virtually flavorless. The steaks are mediocre & the more flavorful on-the-bone cuts have a tendency to be unchewable. No fish dish was ever even close to being properly prepared. As for the green goddess dressing--yes, it's kind of a kick to see it on a menu, but when you actually try it, you are reminded as to why the Buggy Whip may be the only restaurant in America to still offer it. Further, in a devious twist to the "you get what you pay for" adage, this culinary malfeasance is quite expensive. The service is reminiscent in every respect of that great tea service scene in the late, great Dudley Moore's "10." You mostly hope that your server, not your food, will arrive in a still-warm state. And then there is the entertainment. If you don't arrive early enough to dine with the bluehairs & flee, a pianist will play with his instrument smack-dab in the middle of the dining room &, as luck would have it, he will loudly sing & play either out of tune or off-key, or most likely, both. I do believe that every dog from the ocean to Watts howls along in sheer delight. As a result of our experiences, the Grubs now fondly refer to the Buggy Whip as the Burning Horse. Why, then, would we keep returning to this disaster in dining? Well, there were familial command engagements, then we actually tried it "real-time" to test whether it was truly as bad as it seemed. It was -- & then some. Compared to the Burning Horse, the Cheesecake Factory is a Michelin 3-star. In sum, to riff on a classic Chris Rock bit.... If you break down in front of the Burning Horse, "get out the car & RUN." Even across the street to the Circle K for a cello donut or to Marie Callendar's for a slice of pie. Your stomach will thank you & you can use your savings to repair the car. Fri Apr 05 06:03:45 -0800 2002 251433 0 Mr Grub 2 251481 Every year when we got our Entertainment Book, we would look at the page for the Buggy Whip and laugh. The name cracked us up as did the picture. So after years of ridicule, we tried it (about 5 years ago) and have never been back, even though we could essentially get an entire free meal because of their participation in the Entertainment Book, and it's less than a 10 minute drive from where we live. I think just the fear of being with in earshot of bad live music is enough to keep us away. The food, well all I remember is the gobs of green goddess dressing and an udderly flavorless steak. However, I think George Petrelli's Steakhouse in the same area is worse. Fri Apr 05 08:38:39 -0800 2002 251479 0 Filmfreaketta 3 251487 If you had an "udderly flavorless" steak it is probably because your steak came from a girl cow instead of a boy cow. Any cowpoke can tell you that Catholic boy cows (alter boys) are for making steak, and girl cows are for making ice cream. -Knee Deep In Bull Shit Fri Apr 05 11:48:46 -0800 2002 251481 0 Chino Wayne 2 251482 In Zoe's halcyon student days many many moons ago she had a spectacular dinner at the Burning Wagon - snapper Vera Cruz and divine Green Goddess dressing. However, wanting to repeat the HSDays experience, Zoe and Zoelana went to the BW for a repeat experience - it was truly awful (this was about 1982) and we have never returned - but we have (ONCE) had a good steak at George Petrocellis but since we go to Montana with some infrequency (or have visitors who bring the steak in) we have great steak at home - I couldn't bring myself to spend another evening at George Petrols. Its funny the nostalgia of lounge singers - its better in the movies and really ear grating most of the time in person. Fri Apr 05 09:15:37 -0800 2002 251479 0 Zoe 2 251483 In Zoe's halcyon student days many many moons ago she had a spectacular dinner at the Burning Wagon - snapper Vera Cruz and divine Green Goddess dressing. However, wanting to repeat the HSDays experience, Zoe and Zoelana went to the BW for a repeat experience - it was truly awful (this was about 1982) and we have never returned - but we have (ONCE) had a good steak at George Petrocellis but since we go to Montana with some infrequency (or have visitors who bring the steak in) we have great steak at home - I couldn't bring myself to spend another evening at George Petrols. Its funny the nostalgia of lounge singers - its better in the movies and really ear grating most of the time in person. Fri Apr 05 09:15:40 -0800 2002 251479 0 Zoe 3 251484 Next you'll be knocking Marty & Elaine. Fri Apr 05 10:51:39 -0800 2002 251483 0 mc michael 4 251517 Step away from Marty & Elaine, i saw them back in 69 or so with my grandparents. Fri Apr 05 15:30:26 -0800 2002 251484 0 Burger Boy 3 251516 Isn't it interesting that no one has ever mentioned Geore Petrelli's or what ever it is called (in Culver City) for a greta steak, or even a good steak. Makes one go hhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Fri Apr 05 15:29:02 -0800 2002 251483 0 Burger Boy 4 251522 See Filmfreaketta's post from this morning. She mentioned it unfavorably. Fri Apr 05 16:14:31 -0800 2002 251516 0 HomeChef 1 251521 I agree that Westchester is not a great food area by itself, but what is nice (besides the fact I live there) is that it is so close to many places to eat on the west side. I agree with your post about the Buggy Whip and find some of the posts below way off the mark. As you said, the Buggy Whip is a good restaurant (i.e. not a great one). I really enjoy going there - atmosphere is good (solid old fashioned restaurant), food is decent, and the early bird menus are a good deal. Would I go out of my way to go there? - No. But, I do go somewhat regularly and normally come out quite satisfied. Couple of notes: My wife and I like the green goddess dressing and the pianist is in the bar area and not in the middle of the main dining room as suggested below. Fri Apr 05 16:07:05 -0800 2002 251433 0 Ray 2 251565 After reading the crap below, we went again tonite. Nothing wrong. We had a good time, were not rushed, and enjoyed our food. My wife's steak was tender and cooked exactly as ordered (medium-rare), my fish was not over cooked by any measure (common problem in bad restaurants), and my son's pork chop was larger than he expected and was good. Again, this is not avant-garde food and anyone who goes to a traditional (in this case 50 years old) restaurant and expects that must live in never-never land. We enjoyed ourselves! Fri Apr 05 22:33:45 -0800 2002 251521 0 Ray 2 252986 They have a decent prime rib. The rest of the menu fairly week. Fri Apr 26 07:35:19 -0700 2002 251521 0 tommy