Monday, June 28, 2010

Review of Better Life Cuisine

Update: This place has closed.  :(


I gave Better Life Cuisine an overall score of 4.4, or 4 stars, based on the following 7 categories:
number of visits4 of 5, I don't need a menu.
price range3 of 5, Let's splurge tonight; less than $35.
family friendly?3 of 5, No kids menu.
% menu vegan5 of 5, No worries.
quality of service4 of 5, Attentive and friendly.
quality of food5 of 5, Sorry Mom, but this place knows how to cook.
local mainstay?2 of 5, Fresh paint, but it's a good color.

Comments:
This place was a surprise to me. I ventured in a few years back and it was a yoga studio / wellness center that offered a small selection of clothing and an even smaller selection of quick eats for the yogaites as they ventured out for the rest of their day. However, when I returned recently, I noticed that they ixneyed a lot of the clothing racks in favor of more tables, and greatly expanded the menu. It now includes salads, wraps, fresh juices/smoothies, and some entrees like pizza and lasagna. And the best part about Better Life Cuisine is that all the food is raw/vegan and organic, so you can put down your guard.
The first and most apparent thing that struck me about this place was that they were not pretentious. You see, right up the street is Planet Raw which is the only other raw food place in the Mid City area, but Planet Raw is on the other end of the attitude and pretentiousness scale. Aside from the pleasant wait staff, the food was amazing. I haven’t tried a lot of their menu, but so far, everything’s been very tasty. The wraps and salads seem to be their specialty. For the wraps, you have a choice to have them wrapped in collard greens or tortilla. Be prepared if you order the tortilla because it is more like fruit leather than tortilla, so its sweetness may be better with, say, the Curry Wrap than the Tuna Wrap.
Overall, this is a solid vegan spot that is both healthy and fun to hang. If you like their food, grab some granola or one of their raved about desserts for a snack later.

Update: This place has closed.  :(


Additional Info
Address: 717 Broadway Ave, 90401
Area: Mid City
Reviewed Meal: Lunch
Ethnicity: American
Click for more info.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Review of Tacos Por Favor



I gave Tacos Por Favor and overall score of 4.0, or 4 stars, based on the following 7 categories:
number of visits4 of 5, I don't need a menu.
price range5 of 5, Pocket change, less than $10.
family friendly?3 of 5, No kids menu.
% menu vegan3 of 5, At least one good entrĂ©e.
quality of service3 of 5, Didn't notice.
quality of food4 of 5, Happy toung.
local mainstay?4 of 5, Sponsors local teams.

Comments:
Yes; I finally found a good cheap Mexican restaurant that I can trust. That’s what I exclaimed a year ago when I finally stopped by this hole-in-the-wall, industrial looking building. I probably saw their sign before, but never gave it a second thought because, “it couldn’t have vegan options, could it?” Well, it does, and I have made this place one of my regular weekend stops.
Tacos Por Favor is straight out of Rosarito, Mexico. It has a big, open dining area with cement floors that are lazily patched between the slightly different levels, screen doors that slam every time someone comes in or out, a worn and weathered counter, and a second-hand looking, particle board cabinet that holds salsas and, my favorite, hot, pickled carrots and peppers. And if you’re fortunate enough to come on a hot day, you get to experience their air conditioning system; two industrial fans that blow the hot air from the kitchen out the front door, pulling it across the dining area. Did I mention, right out of Rosarito.
I haven’t explored the menu much because the veggie tacos, potato tacos, and veggie burritos have kept me content. They use fresh ingredients, no lard, and, as far as I could tell, no special sauces with mysterious ingredients that always make me worry.
Overall, as far as Mexican food goes, it’s above average, but not as good as the greasy, disconcerting taco stand food that you might expect from a place like this; think more fresh. However, the prices are similar to those cheap taco stands, which is a rarity in Santa Monica! So, grab a couple tacos, handful of chips and salsa, some pickled carrots and peppers, and then cool your palate with a cold cerveza for a little over 5 bucks. Can’t beat the value; well, unless you are heading to Rosarito.


Additional Info
Address: 1406 Olympic Blvd, 90404
Area: Pico
Reviewed Meal: Lunch
Ethnicity: Mexican
Click for more info.

Friday, June 11, 2010

5 Pillars to Healthy Eating in Today's Age

I get a lot of questions from friends, relatives, and colleagues about how to eat healthfully, and usually, how to reduce bad cholesterol. I usually send them some sort of email that includes 5 pillars of eating healthy in today’s age. Here are my 5 pillars in no particular order:

1. No Trans Fats (Partially Hydrogenated Oils): Increases risk of heart disease by raising the bad cholesterol and increasing fat reserves. Several intensive studies showed that trans fats significantly increase the amount of visceral and other abdominal fat.
2. No Artificial Sugars (Saccharin, Aspartame, Sucralose, etc): We have no feedback mechanism for shutting off the intake of artificial sugars. If we eat too much real sugar, our body tells us to stop. This doesn’t happen with artificial sugars. And since most sweet things are high in saturated fat and other unhealthy constituents, we end up eating more of these unhealthy constituents than we would have otherwise.
3. No Red Meat: High in saturated fats which lead to high levels of LDL and obesity. You should intake a modest amount of omega 3 and polyunsaturated fats, lesser amounts of monounsaturated fats, and severely limit saturated fats. By eating red meat, you are doing the opposite. Moreover, you are flooding your body with the opposite which means that you have to eat obnoxiously large amounts of say monounsaturated fats to block the formation of LDL.
4. No High Fructose Corn Syrup: It is believed that HFCS is worse than regular sugar because higher levels of fructose increase triglyceride levels which ultimately lead to obesity. There are a lot of studies that correlate HFCS and obesity, but I think they are a little biased because, in general, cheap, bad foods contain both HFCS and other cheap, bad ingredients; they go hand in hand.
5. No Dairy: After all the journals and papers that I have read on dairy, I have come to the conclusion that it is one of the worst things that we can eat on a regular basis. Dairy blocks the absorption of zinc, iron, and calcium. In addition, it raises the body’s acidity which further drains these nutrients from the body; especially calcium. Also, dairy is very high in saturated fat; 2nd to red meat for the average American.