A Politically Incorrect Blog About Living in Woodland Hills, California

Spaghetti and Meat Balls at Pomodoro In Woodland Hills

For some reason people look at you funny when you are crying while eating Spaghetti and Meat Balls.  Actually, I had this delicious meal (Spaghetti Polpette, as their menu calls it)  at Pomodoro in Warner Center back on November 23rd, before I learned of their imminent doom.

Spaghetti and meat balls are an absolute Italian classic.  When I was growing up we had them for dinner every Wednesday night.  Ah, the memories.  I recently decided that I’d check out the local offerings of this classic dish, and Pomodoro was my first stop.

I found the dish to be flavorful and authentic, for under $10.  Their meat balls are made from beef and pork, with just the right amount of seasoning, which mixes nicely with the slightly spicy sauce.  Kick it up with some crushed red pepper, and you’re in Heaven!  Sadly, since the Woodland Hills Pomodoro is closing this Sunday (December 13th) there are only 4 more days left to enjoy it.

Watch for more spaghetti and meat balls reviews coming up soon!

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Pomodoro Cucina Italiana In Woodland Hills Closing December 13th

As I approached the door to Pomodoro today, I came upon a disturbing sight.  Posted right at the entrance is a notice of ownership change, relating to their beer and wine license.

I had hoped that perhaps Pomodoro is a franchise based company, so the change in ownership would only be to a new franchisee.  Sadly, this is not the case.  Written on the chalk board above the bar/waiting area was “WE WISH TO THANK YOU ALL FOR MANY YEARS OF LOYALTY.  LAST DAY OF BUSINESS – SUN 12.13.09.”

Brutal.  I have been coming to Pomodoro for many years.  It is a good, convenient, and affordable Italian eatery here in Woodland Hills where I have had lunch many, many times.  I will be very sad to see it go.

I got to speak to the General Manager, Jimmy Stevens (on Facebook), while I was there having lunch.  He explained to me that the corporate office has been under pressure from investors to cut loose under performing stores.  Stevens noted that the company had expanded rapidly since its inception in 1994, and had made several poor choices for locations along the way.

Yielding to investor pressure, Pomodoro has begun a process of getting rid of these locations.  Interestingly, the Woodland Hills location was not a money loser for Pomodoro, but was added as a deal sweetener so the company could unload two other poorly performing locations in Orange County.

These three stores were sold to Irvine based Panini Cafe – a rapidly expanding “Italian & Mediteranian” restaurant chain of which I was previously unaware – who also purchased Pomodoro’s Sherman Oaks location (which closed last month) in a separate deal.  Jimmy said in his estimation the Panini Cafe will open in the Pomodoro Woodland Hills’ former location in early 2010, perhaps even January.

I will be sad to see Pomodoro go, although they do still have other locations in Los Angeles, should I feel nostalgic.  Many people have remarked to me the noticably few places offering a nice breakfast in Woodland Hills, and at the very least from what I can see on their website, Panini Cafe has a sizable breakfast menu.  The rest of the cuisine seems Corner Bakery-esque will heavy Mediterranean influence.  Jimmy referred to it as a “kabob place,” but hopefully for our sake it will prove to be more than just that.

We will miss you Pomodoro.  Good luck to future employees on their pursuit of new employment.  Any restaurant owners reading this blog should feel free to drop in on Pomodoro’s to poach their staff.

Oh, I almost forgot.  The Penne Salsiccia lunch special that I had for $8.95 (which included Minestrone soup) was delicious, but I was too sad to enjoy it.

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Black Friday Lunch At Curry Up Cafe In Woodland Hills

It had been about a month since I last stopped by the Curry Up Cafe, so on Black Friday after I braved a couple of retail outlets (which of course were out of stock on all of the amazing deals) I decided to pop in for lunch.

This time around I tried a different taco, the Teriyaki Beef Asada Taco ($2.49), and the Yakisoba Chow Mein w/Chicken ($7.99).  I love sampling this different dishes at this place, and both the taco and the chow mein were great.  I loved the texture of the noodles and I thought the mushrooms were particularly good.

Chris also brought out, compliments of the house, a 7 Layer Jello treat that he told me his mom has been making at home on holidays for years.  He is just now learning the technique needed to master this fun and tasty treat that he says literally ‘took all day’ to make.  Thanks Chris!

I’m a big Curry Up Cafe fan, can’t wait to go back.

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Saturday Lunch At The Weenie Shack In Woodland Hills

I had a hunger for a hot dog this holiday weekend, so I ended up stopping into The Weenie Shack again on Saturday.  Last time I was here I had the Chicago Dog, and this time I decided to have the special of the day, the BBQ Bacon Ranch Dog with the natural casing all beef hot dog.

Today Robert was at the register, he is the brother of the owners – and he’s also the son of the owners of Pickwick’s Pub next door.  I ended up having a great conversation with him about the hot dog business, and Woodland Hills cuisine in general.  Robert was cool, very knowledgeable, and gave me several great suggestions of places to try.

The BBQ Bacon Ranch Dog was great, and Robert told me it was the brainchild of his sister who has been ‘experimenting’ with bacon lately.  It’s a great experiment.  And once again, I thoroughly enjoyed the snap of the natural casing dog.  It’s definitely the way to go, as any hot dog lover will tell you.

The Weenie Shack is a great lunch favorite here in Woodland Hills! I hope you guys will check it out if you haven’t already!  Hopefully I’ll make it to Pickwick’s soon too, Robert says the Fish and Chips are great.

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Chicken Piccata At The Cheesecake Factory, How I Love You So

I talked about Chicken Piccata before on this blog, and people that know me know that it’s one of my all time favorites.  One of my little mini quests for this blog, is to review as many Chicken Piccata dishes in and around Woodland Hills that I can find.

Other establishments will be hard pressed, though, to beat out the consistently amazing Chicken Piccata at The Cheescake Factory.  This week I had the urge, so some friends and I went to TCF here in Woodland Hills (Warner Center) to get our chow on.  Really, to me this is the Perfect Chicken Piccata.  The meat is so tender and juicy, the lemony wine sauce so flavorful and delcious, the capers blending in just right.

And it can’t be understated how perfect The Cheesecakes Factory’s choice of spectacular angel hair pasta is to accompany to deliciously perfect portion of chicken.  It is a rich, wonderful combination of flavors that definitely rank highly on my list of all time bests.

To cap off our meal, we also had another slice of Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake.  Dazzling.  If  you are a desert lover you must check it out!  I’ve had it twice now, and it makes reviewing other pieces of cheesecake difficult because Stefanie is a seductive temptress that keeps drawing you back for more.

I will keep checking out other places in Woodland Hills and the near vicinity, and a few have been suggested to me, so check back soon for more reviews!  Other Chicken Piccata lovers are strongly urged to leave comments and suggestions on this post!

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Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory

Last week, a friend sent me a text message:

if you have the means i highly recommend the new red velvet cheesecake at cheesecake factory

Naturally, my ears perk up at the mention of new discoveries and advancements in cheesecake technology.  The new dessert delight is officially known as Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake and was unveiled by the company on July 30th (National Cheesecake Day, how’d I miss this one?).

I had actually forgotten about this recommendation, but on a recent visit to The Cheesecake Factory (in Woodland Hills, of course) to indulge in one of my favorite entree items (the Chicken Piccata) my waitress recommended that I try out this tempting new addition to TCF’s repertoire.

Before getting into how great this slice of cheesecake was, I’d like to point out that The Cheesecake Factory has been doing quite a bit in recent years with regards to feeding the hungry, the homeless, and low income families and individuals.  This includes food drives, charitable contributions, providing Thanksgiving day meals at shelters across the country.  This trend continues with this particular menu item:

And for every slice of Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake™ sold over the next 12 months, we’ll donate $.25 to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief charity.

And now, to the cheesecake!  Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake brings together “Moist layers of Red Velvet Cake and our Original Cheesecake covered with our special Cheesecake Factory cream cheese frosting.”  First, I’d like to say you should probably bring a friend or three when you head out to try this new item.  It’s a serious piece of cheesecake, best tackled by a team of confectionery devotees.  It is so sweet, and rich that it will blow your mind.  I was extremely impressed with with how moist the red velvet cake layers were.  This is always a major make-or-break feature for any piece of cake, and here TCF definitely hits the mark.

The frosting is probably one of the sweetest that I’ve ever had.  Man, this is definitely on indulgent slice of Heaven!  That Stephanie must be an amazing woman.  I wonder if she’s single?

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My First Burger at The Stand in Woodland Hills

I have been to The Stand’s location in Woodland Hills (5780 Canoga Ave) before, but it was over a year ago and I barely remember it.  So, with a fresh mind I headed in to try it again for the first time.  I figured I’d try a burger there to see if their offerings are up to par.

On my list of burgers to eventually try is the “Double Char Burger with Avocado” at The Habit, which I am told is awesome (and probably 1500 calories).  In honor of that eventually taste test, I decided to get The Stand’s ABC Burger (Avocado, Bacon & Cheddar Cheese with Ranch Dressing) for $8.75.  I upgraded my side item to fries for an additional $1.00.

This time around I got the burger medium rare, just to be a little more conservative than normal.  Thankfully, it still came out pretty rare.  And very delicious.  This burger actually exceeded my expectations and was delicious bite after bite.  It was super juicy and I’d definitely have it again.  Man, I’m getting hungry for another one of these again just writing the review.  and the fries were also very good.  And, I wouldn’t lie about that because some fries (for instance at In-N-Out) suck.

I have been told, however, that I will receive a severe beating if I don’t get a whole wheat bun next time.

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