Restaurant input
 

I have recently finished planning my trip to LA. I wanted to get some feedback on my dining choices.
I have chosen to go to these following places for dining:
mastro's steakhouse
roscoe's chicken'n'waffles
el cholo
the counter
in'n'out burgers
pink's hot dogs

Any thoughts?

The Counter is a chain. We have one in our area. While you can order your burger any way you like, I thought it was really spendy for a burger.

I know everyone just loves In & Out, including my kids, but I don't get it. Does not appeal to me.

In N Out is fine, but it's still a fast food burger, better than McD, but still fast food. IMHO.

I chose In'n'Out because I always heard about their burgers. The same goes for pink's. I heard their hot dogs are really good.

lots of burger places with fans across LA - my husband loves In 'n' Out, I like Johnny Rockets, my favorite is still Pie and Burger in Pasadena, lots of west side friends love The Apple Pan. Pink's and Roscoe's are both LA institutions (along with Randy's Donuts) - can't say that I've tried them but they are very popular. El Cholo is terrific mexican (order the green corn tamales if they are in season) though you will probably find that everyone in LA has their favorite neighborhood mexican restaurant (for us it is Pepe's in Montrose or Mijares in Pasadena). I've also heard that the original downtown El Cholo is best.

There is a new Counter in our neighborhood. I tried it because the owner is the son of some good friends of ours. Thought it was really bad - including the fries (I won't tell our friends). Disappointed in In&Out also. How good can a hot dog be?? Go to Dodger Stadium, watch a game, and get a dog there - they always taste better at the Ball Park.

Stu Dudley

Er,... OK, what on earth were the criteria that led you to these choices? Location? Notoriety? Mentions in "celebrities seen at..." articles?

I can think of dozens of far better dining options in the greater LA area.

To examine one of your choices a bit: El Cholo on Western, near downtown LA, is at best OK gringo-ized Mexican. That location is the best of the chain, with the Santa Monica branch being-- sorry-- abysmal. I'm going to be a bit more assertive and say you can do so much better with places like La Guelaguetza or La Serenata de Garibaldi or even the godmother of Nouvelle Mexican, Border Grill.

I love In-'n'-Out for fast-food burgers. However, I can find far better ones at any number of eateries all over the map. The same for Pink's, which is an institution but hardly a potential culinary highlight of your visit.

Roscoe's Chicken 'n' Waffles? LA/Long Beach style soul food, and it does get some foot traffic. It could be fun.

Mastro's is a bit ostentatious, but I suppose you can do worse. It is conspicuous spending of the highest order-- on a level with Picasso in Las Vegas as far as the money, although Picasso operates at a quite lofty level Mastro's can't achieve. But if you want an old-school steakhouse, go for it.

Given several thousand dining choices in the greater LA area, and limited time and budget, I probably would choose differently. But, opinions are like belly buttons, right?

The restaurants that I chose were based on what I read in the fodor's guide book, how appealing the menu looked & how much time I would have to actually have for dining & from what I heard from people who have been to these restaurants.

I chose pink's and in'nout because they were convenient for my itinerary. My boyfriend has been to roscoe's & liked it alot. I read good reviews on el cholo & the menu seemed fine.

I thought the counter would be cool because you get to make your own type of burger & my boyfriend LOVES burgers. Then, I chose mastro's because i wanted to dine @ an upscale restaurant.

@StuDudley
I like finding out whether or not something is as good as people claim. Hence, why I chose pink's.

@rjw_lgb_ca
I'm a fan of some celebrities, but i didn't use that for my criteria.

I did look into some of the other mentioned restaurants, but theey didn't appeal to me. I guess i'm just a girl w/ different taste.

On Mastro's, check out my review. I've been there twice.

http://www.fodors.com/world/north-am...ew-148312.html

I'd opt for the Apple Pan in WLA over In N Out -- I've been going there for years, and old high school friends who've moved away, always come back to the "Pan" when in L.A.

El Cholo on Western is the first and the best -- good American Mexican party trough eating, and one of those places we go to when we just want to go out, have a little group party, and not spend a lot of money.

Pinks -- Well, if you haven't been, you surely must go! There are lines outside that place at all hours of the day and night. I usually wait to get one when I go to the Greek Theatre. It's not my personal favorite in terms of hot dogs, but only because I'm not fond of casing, but my husband loves them like that. I would love to hear what you have to say after you've gone and stood in line and had a bite. Be sure to report back!

Most definitely!!

Please come back and report after your trip. I think Pink's and Roscoes will both be big disappointments, the quality has faded over the years but the tourists still flock. In and Out is decent, very fresh fast food, and cheap. No reason to complain about that! How about Phillipes for the famous french dip beef sandwich? And a stroll around the Fairfax Farmer's Market to graze some of the interesting food? Loteria Grill at the Farmer's Market would be more interesting than El Cholo.

There are lots better places than those you've chosen, I'd agree 100% with rjw's take. But based on your response to his posting, I don't think I've anything to add.

You might consider posting this question on chowhound.chow.com under the Los Angeles board but be prepared for some even heavier flak.

@tracys2cents
I'm going to the Farmer's Market on the first day of my trip, so I already thought about checking out Loteria Grill.

@mlgb
The heavy flak doesn't bother me. Everyone has their own opinion. We also have different taste buds. I'm simply taking people's input, so I can be prepared for what my experience MAY be. I just didn't care for the approach that some people used to describe my choices. No hard feelings though.

In-n-out has ruined me sadly...there really isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about it at least once, last time I was in California for 4 days I had it 5 times... :( ...My wife (soon-to-be) are now looking to move to California...which is bad news for me, sorry I can't be any more help, I've always meant to try Pink's but every time I drive by it there is a HUGE line.

My grandkids seem to be addicted to Sonic. Ordering your food from your car and having it delivered by someone on roller skates is neat. Food seems to be on a par with in-n-out burger. They both beat McD and even BK.

Thanx for the feedback :)

If time is a concern, you did add in an hour for standing in a line at Pink's waiting to place your order, right?

yea, i just switched my schedule around to fit in the time.

How about the Original Tommy's? http://www.originaltommys.com/

How about Bob's Big Boy? http://www.bobs.net/

In-N-Out has a "secret" menu, in addition to their regular menu. Many online sources for this secret menu. Here's one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-N-Out_Burger_products