A Politically Incorrect Blog About Living in Woodland Hills, California

Kate Mantilini Woodland Hills Retools Happy Hour, Offering Discount Food & Drink Selections 4 to 7pm Weekdays

In keeping with the recent trend among just about all restaurants in Warner Center, Kate Mantilini in Woodland Hills has begun offering discounted food and drink selections in its bar area weekdays from 4 to 7pm.

In addition to $5 house drinks and $6 house martinis, wine selections include Pinot Noir, Cabernet, and Chardonnay by Smoking Loon.  Happy Hour beers priced at $3.75 include Fat Tire, Pyramid Hefeweizen, Sierra Nevada Summerfest.  Discount appetizers and tapas selections are served in the bar area and range from $4.50 to $7.00.  Selections include made to order Guacamole, Tapas Crab Cake, Tapas Ribs, Grilled Artichokes, and several others.

I saw the shiny new sidewalk sign for the happy hour yesterday and decided to call some friends over to check it out with me.  Foods and drinks were very good, and the place was pretty busy by about 6pm.  See images in the gallery below.

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Morton’s Power Hour Is A Great Place To Get Oysters At A Great Price

I’ve been to Morton’s in Woodland Hills quite a few times in the past couple of months.  Recently, I got a craving for oysters and I remembered that Morton’s has fresh oysters on their Power Hour happy hour menu for only $1.75 apiece.  Can you say done deal?  I called up some friends and we agreed to meet up there yet again.

As you can see the oysters look great, taste great, and come with the full assortment of necessary accoutrements.  I’ve actually been back there a couple of times since for more.  I’ve recently been shunning carbs and well, as far as I can tell, oysters are all protein.  Excellent!

On  this particular night there was also a celebrity in the house, D.L. Hughley.  He was there checking out the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.  He was among many disappointed bandwagon Butler fans in attendance in the bar area, including myself.  Hughley must live in the area, as I’ve seen him at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in the past as well.

I also had another one of Morton’s $15 Prime Burgers during the Power Hour, and it was great.  I avoided the bread and only had a tiny bit of the excellent mashed potatoes this time around.  Good stuff.  As always, I’m so impressed by the relaxed and cool vibe at Morton’s bar.  It’s a great place.

The Power Hour runs between 5pm to 6:30pm and 9pm to close daily.

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Doing Some Damage At the Roy’s Aloha Hour In Woodland Hills

Ever since I heard about the new Roy’s Aloha Hour happy hour that was introduced earlier this month, I’ve been looking for the right occasion to check it out.  A good friend of mine seemed unusually unsettled by the untimely death of the world’s smallest man He Pingping, so it seemed like a fitting occasion to knock down some drinks and celebrate the little man’s life.  Or something like that.

Everything on the Roy’s Aloha Hour menu is just $5, including and assortment of about 20 cocktails.  I arrived at Roy’s shortly before my friends, so I kicked things off by ordering the Mango Mojito.  Delicious!

After checking out the extensive menu of Roy’s Hawaiian Fresh Cocktails (pictured above) I decided to really amp things up and get my swerve on Hawaiian style with the delicious Basil Cucumber Collins.  I’m a big fan of the cucumber, it’s one hell of a fine vegetable.

After I polished off my Basil Cucumber Collins my friends arrived.  They kicked off their celebration of Pingping’s life with another Mango Mojito and a glass of Terra Noble Chile Sauvignon Blanc.

After getting ourselves sufficiently lubricated with delicious tropical drinks it was time to knock down some $5 appetizers.

Roy’s is doing some great Lobster appetizers for the Aloha Hour, including the Crunchy Golden Lobster Potstickers and Lobster California Rolls (both pictured above).  Additionally, we tried the awesome Tempura Crusted Ahi Roll and the over-the-top amazing Wagyu Beef Sliders, which are served on Hawaiian sweet rolls and accompanied by sweet potato fries.  Phenomenal!  My friends are vegetarians (they shun meat but they do eat fish), and Roy’s was kind enough to allow us to substitute the beef in one of our sliders orders to avocado.  Awesome!  See more pictures of these items as well as some other drinks in the full gallery below.

Overall, the Roy’s Aloha Hour is a winner and is available Monday thru Friday from 4:30pm to 6:30pm.

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Checking Out The Coffee And Breakfast Combo At Panini Cafe Woodland Hills

A couples weeks back, when it was raining nearly every day, I decided to stop by Panini Cafe in Woodland Hills again for another delicious breakfast.  A reader of one of my previous posts had made a comment that they were not a big fan of the coffee, so I figured it was my obligation to check it out.

As you might imagine, since Panini Cafe is “Mediterranean” themed, the coffee is quite strong.  I can see that this would not be for everyone.  Thankfully, I am the kind of person that can cream and sugar up any cup of coffee to my satisfaction, so I had no major issues with it.

For breakfast, I decided on the Breakfast Combo - 2 pieces of French Toast, 2 Eggs Any Style, 2 Pieces of Pepper Bacon or Apple Chicken Sausage with Roasted Potatoes or Fresh Fruit Cup – for $10.95.  I went with the bacon and scrambled eggs, and additionally threw caution to the wind and added Swiss cheese to the eggs for about a dollar more.

As far as I’m concerned it was a great breakfast.  I’m a sucker for French Toast, which I previously checked out at BJ’s, and they also cook up a mean slice at Panini Cafe.  The rest of the dish was great, including the bacon, and I’m a particular fan of the roasted potatoes.  It’s a great power breakfast for a busy blogger like myself!

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My First Meal At Panini Cafe In Woodland Hills

I was so excited about the grand opening of Panini Cafe in Woodland Hills that I stopped in for a meal the very first chance that I could.   And, thankfully I brought an appetite.  The manager, Israel, was an extremely friendly and gracious host and my server, Isabella, was excellent and super helpful!

For starters, I wanted to check out their soup offerings.  I ordered a cup of Mom’s Chicken Vegetable with Noodles (a cup is $2.95) and Israel also had me sample the vegetarian Home Made Lentil soup.  Typically I avoid vegetarian soups for fear of blandness, but honestly I was blown away with how flavorful the lentil soup was!  The chicken noodle soup was great, too.  Very hearty and savory.  I really don’t think you could go wrong with either.  What you can’t really see in the pictures is that the soups are also accompanied by a piece of il Fornaio’s delicious bread.  Good stuff!

Israel suggested for my first visit that I try out one of the most popular and most highly recommended dishes, the Charbroiled Chicken Shish Kabob.  I chose the Mediterranean Greek Salad as the salad option, and selected the Organic Bulgur Pilaf as the rice option (as opposed to the more traditional, and also available, Basmati Rice).  Now, this is a dish that is a staple of Mediterranean/Persian cuisine and I’ve had similar many times.  Panini Cafe definitely does a great job here, as the chicken was super moist and tender, and the kabob vegetables (onion, tomato, and bell peppers) were broiled to perfection.  The rice pilaf was also great and very healthy and the side salad quite substantial and also delicious.  Panini Cafe also has very good prices, as this dish is only $12.95.

I had a great meal and a great experience and was pleased to see how busy Panini Cafe is in even these early days of being open.  I can’t wait to try one of their paninis, which really look good.  Hopefully I’ll be able to stop in for breakfast one day this weekend.  I love breakfast!

Additional Images:

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Checking Out Dan’s Super Subs’ New #15 Spicy Italian Sub

A few weeks ago I noticed on Twitter that Dan’s Super Subs had launched a brand new sandwich, the #15 Spicy Italian Sub.  The delicious goodness heaped onto this great sandwich includes “capicola, deli pepperoni, hard Italian salami and provolone cheese.”  Check out this bad boy:

Honestly, nothing warms my heart like a nice spicy Italian sub.  And Dan’s has totally nailed it.  Man, every time I write about one of these subs I really start craving it.

Also, good news for football fans that want something special for the “big game” this weekend.  Dan’s is open Super Bowl Sunday!  Yep, there is a banner proudly displayed in the store window.  If you get catering from them for your Super Bowl party, please invite me!

Oh, and if you haven’t become a fan yet, check out Dan’s Super Subs’ new Facebook page.

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Checking Out Fleming’s “5 for $6 ’til 7″ Happy Hour, Prime Burger, and More

After watching a day worth of glutinous food programming on the Travel Channel I was really hungry for something big, delicious, and if at all possible, greasy.  I remember that I had a $20 gift card for Fleming’s that I acquired during the holidays.  I also remembered that they do a seven-days-a-week happy hour special in their bar area called 5 for $6 ’til 7.  That’s 5 cocktails, 5 appetizers, and five wines by the glass for $6 each.  They also offer their Prime Burger for $6.00.  That’s an amazing deal.  Check it out:

5 COCKTAILS
WHITE COSMO, Ketel One Vodka
APPLETINI, Grey Goose Vodka
FLEMING’S CLASSIC, Ketel One Vodka
MARGATINI, Gran Centenario Anejo Tequila
TROPICAL MARTINI, Malibu Coconut Rum

5 WINES BY THE GLASS*
PINOT GRIGIO, Redbank, Australia
CHARDONNAY, Glen Carlou, South Africa
PINOT NOIR, Mark West, California
PETITE SIRAH, Vinum, California
CABERNET SAUVIGNON, 14 Hands, Washington

5 APPETIZERS
TENDERLOIN CARPACCIO, Creole Mustard Sauce
SWEET CHILI CALAMARI
WICKED CAJUN BARBECUE SHRIMP
SEARED AHI TUNA, Spicy Mustard Sauce
JUMBO LUMP CRAB CAKES, Red Pepper Sauce

NEW FLEMING’S PRIME BURGER, Cheese and Bacon

Each Selection $6. Served Nightly Until 7PM.

Available 7 nights a week at all Fleming’s except where prohibited by law.
Hours and offerings subject to change in compliance with local or state liquor laws.

So, appetite in tow I headed over to Fleming’s (6373 Topanga Canyon Blvd.) at around 5pm.  Keep it mind that it’s a Sunday, however the place was surprisingly busy, but not packed.  I was however, easily able to get a seat at the bar.  It really picked up about 30 minutes after I got there and the bar got full.

I usually only drink when I plan to get fully obliterated, so I didn’t partake of any cocktail specials.  I did, however, order the Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes.  They were flavorful, huge, and contained lots of crab meat.  I will be back for more of these, that you can guarantee.

Next up, they delivered my Prime Burger – 8 oz. of prime beef (cooked rare and bleeding, by my command) with bacon, bleu cheese, “Served with a Mini Wedge and Fleming’s Signature Onion Rings.” Honestly, this burger was awesome.  It was juicy, and just greasy enough to really satisfy that urge that has been boiling inside me.  There are several cheeses you can get it with, but my selection of bleu cheese allowed me to evaluate it against the Bleu Cheeseburger at Gaucho Grill.  And, to be honest, it definitely gives Gaucho’s offering a run for it’s money.  And, hello, it’s $6.00 people.  That’s AMAZING.  Those onion rings were pretty good too, but after devouring the burger I only had room for one of them.

Simply put the 5 for $6 ’til 7 deal has to be one of the best happy hours in the West Valley. I had a few bucks left on my $20 gift card, and rather than letting it go to waste I picked up a delicious slice of Walnut Turtle Pie (homemade caramel, walnuts and chocolate baked in a chocolate pie crust) to take home.  I’m still buzzing from the sugar high.

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