Slanted Doors

• Restaurant: Slanted Doors
  
• Location: 1 Ferry Building #3. San Francisco, CA 94111
• Atmosphere: Trendy
  
• Bathroom: Clean!
• Date of visit: 2004, 2005, and 2006
  
• Website: http://www.slanteddoor.com/

Slanted Doors. What can I say, but go somewhere else. If you’re going to drop 60 bucks a head on a meal, you’re better off at Le Colonial. If you are hurting for V-Food and feeling like Tony Bourdain, Tu Lan’s is the place for you. I have been there three times and there’s just something I don’t like about the place. (Don’t even get me started on “out the door.”) Maybe it’s the transformation from the elegance of the old slanted doors to the new chic and trendy location. Maybe it’s the fact that I can get the same quality of food for a quarter of the price on Larkin. There just not anything special about the food or dinning experience.

So what’s good about Slanted Doors?

• Easy to get to, it’s right at the ferry building.
• Nice area. You can walk in the ferry building and along the embarcadero. Nice view of the water and bridge.
• It's one of those "they have better meat" places and organic greens.

The food is solid. It's not crap on a plate, but it's not unique. The Oysters and Crème brûlée are of the quality you would expect, but pedestrian. The crispy imperial rolls were, again, solid but not anything that you can't get at a moderately priced v-place. Frankly, you go more for the atmosphere, location, and experience than the food.

I wouldn't go back, but somehow people always drag me there. I would try it out once because it's very San Francisco and many people adore it. I still scratch my head when I read the great reviews it gets in the chronicle...go figure.

L & L Hawaiian Barbecue

• Restaurant: L & L Hawaiian barbecue
• Location: 2400 Foothill, Laverne, CA 91750
• Atmosphere: Typical fast food, Clean.
• Bathroom: Clean!
• Date of visit: 4:09 P.M., 8/26/07
  
• Website: http://www.hawaiianbarbecue.com

L & L Hawaiian Barbecue is Hawaiian fast food. They offer a variety of meats including chicken and pork katsu, fried shrimp, and thinly sliced grilled short ribs. On my trip, I went for the “mini” chicken katsu plate. The “mini” plate is $4.59 and the “regular” plate is $6.69 at this location. The mini plate comes with a side of steamed rice and macaroni salad. The “mini” plate is plenty of food, I recommend the “mini” especially since their food is so heavy.

I was the only person in L & L and it took them about 10 minutes for them to prepare the food. Having watched them put the chicken in the fryer, I appreciate the fact that the food is cooked to order.

The chicken katsu is good. It was nicely fried and crispy. They use dark meat for their katsu, as a result the katsu is juicy and moist on the inside. One thing I didn’t like is that the meat did seem a bit greasy. There seemed to be a layer of grease oozing in between the meat and the panko breading. But, hey, it’s fried chicken.

Is this the best chicken katsu I ever had? Probably not. But it’s a solid piece of chicken and I would go back.