Quick Bites: Island Hut (Lomita, CA)

Right before I had to report for my courier shift, I stopped at this local eat to try out this restaurant's take on Hawaiian BBQ. Needless to say, if you're looking for a bang-for-your-buck, filling meal this is the place to go.

The location is right on the corner of Pennsylvania and Lomita Blvd. It's hard to miss and its exterior is quite welcoming.

During my quick stop there, I ordered their California Rolls and a main dish consisting of half chicken katsu and BBQ chicken. The rolls were quite big and actually required a couple bites to get through each one. The crab in them was fresh and flavorful, and I enjoyed the generous chunk of avocado in each one of them. These could be a meal in themselves!

The main course of chicken and rice was filling to say the least. It could easily feed two people with the amount of food on here. I found the teriyaki sauce to be a little strong so I didn't need the additional side of sauce that came with the plate. The katsu was fried properly and was tender and moist.

I'd like to return to try their other dishes and perhaps their Hawaiian-style shaved ice for dessert. Island Hut is located at 2387 Lomita Blvd. in Lomita (intersects with Pennsylvania Ave.) and is right at the corner. You can check out their whole menu at http://www.islandhut.net/. Support local business and gives these guys a try!

Quick Bites: Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ (Torrance, CA)

Anyone up for a quick bite of Japanese BBQ? The catch: you have to cook [most of] the meat yourself. However, that's the fun part and part of what makes this place entertaining...and you don't get the charcoal smell when you're all done!

In this place, you're seated around a gas-powered grill and given specially-prepared food that is designed to be cooked on the spot. You have the ability to cook that food as long or as short as you'd like (the servers give you a recommended time depending on the entree), and it's not just meat or seafood! All sorts of vegetables wrapped in convenient packages can be thrown onto the grill as well. And yes, they use tons of garlic.

But before I get into what goes on the fire, here are some appetizers and sides that they've already prepared for you.

Quick Bites: 山 Mountain (Gardena, CA)

It's another round of foodie "catch-up" here in the South Bay. Here is a quick preview of 山 (Cafe) Mountain in Gardena during a regular lunch.

For this quick lunch, I had one of their specialties, galbi (Korean BBQ short ribs), in a "bento box" style meal complete with fried shrimp, kimchi, wild rice, and two sides of vegetables. This was a very flavorful and filling amount of food for just under $10 for the lunch special, and you could request a sweet ginger iced tea to finish off the meal at the end. Looking at the crowd that was in here, it's a favorite of many people who work within a few blocks of this place (Gardena Memorial Hospital is just down the street.)

Decor was quite simple here, no frills and no thrills, just good food. This delicious hole-in-the-wall restaurant is located at 15460 S. Western Ave. in Gardena, inside the Tozai Plaza. Lunch was pretty busy but service was pretty efficient. I hope to return here pretty soon.

Monroe Part 2: Quick Review - Podnuh's BBQ

For lunch on Day 2 of our stay here in Monroe, we tried our luck at a popular BBQ chain in this area. It's your standard BBQ place but is great for a quick stop for lunch or dinner.

Front view of the Monroe location (810 Splane Drive)

Sides galore! My favorites were the candied yams and the corn on the cob. Very sweet and tasty.

I tried their "three meat" plate that gave me a sampling of their BBQ chicken, sausage, and a couple pork ribs. The chicken was fall-off-the-bone and so were the ribs. I found the sausage to be flavorful but the casing was a bit tough as if it had stayed on the grill a bit too long. The nice thing is that their homemade BBQ sauce is served on the side so you can put as little or as much sauce as you wish; I didn't need too much of the sauce to complement the meat. This entree also came with Texas toast and two sides (I added the corn on the cob to make it three).

Podnuh's Monroe is located at For more information about this food chain, please visit http://www.podnuhs.com/. It's quick BBQ but pretty good stuff for the price, at least for this outsider.