MOE Deli. Noshing On Eggrolls

We’ve talked about MOE (Montreal Open Ended) Eggrolls on the LA Foodie Podcast before. They’re so good, they’re worth mentioning again. Yep, it’s a food truck. So track them around the city via their website or Twitter.

Before you scoff at the $10 price tag (which is a bit jarring), know that these monsters are BIG. We got 2 eggrolls, and it was plenty of food for 3 people — we had leftovers.

When we visited, we got the Big MOE (pictured at the top right) and the seasonal Holiday (bottom right). Both are highly recommended.

There’s more to the menu than just eggrolls, but I’m not sure why you would bother with anything else. Since the eggrolls are fried open ended (they don’t crimp them shut before putting them in the fryer), the edges get crispy and dark brown. Mmmm…

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From their website: “Combine equal parts seasonal and local ingredients, wrap in a fine eggroll skin and lightly fry to crispy crunchy deliciousness and you have a M.O.Eggroll.”

Tops - Pasadena

The pastrami burger was really good; it is definitely the best thing on the menu. The chili cheese fries: also tasty. They used shredded cheese and there weren’t pools of grease like some of the other places we’ve tried.

Tops burger pic

It’s another neighborhood-type joint; the building doesn’t really have anything unique about it. However, this one merits a bit further of a drive as it’s really pretty tasty here! It’s pretty sloppy, though, so you may not want to eat it until you get home.

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Tops


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The Hat - Temple City

Yum, you guys. Yum. This place has some real tasty eats. Probably one of our faves so far. We got some chili cheese pastrami fries that were seriously off the hook.

pastrami fries

Their signature pastrami dip was also really tasty. You really can’t go wrong with anything here! This is our leader so far for L.A.’s best drive thru!

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The Hat


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Smoke City Market BBQ - Sherman Oaks, 30:SECONDmendations (ep 008)

Read our full blog post review of Smoke City Market here.

Here is LA Foodie’s review of Smoke City Market (Authentic Texas BBQ) in Sherman Oaks in less than 30 seconds. Ben dives into a pile of meat and likes what he finds. Brisket is served several ways here and is the star of the show.

What we recommend: Barbecued pastrami. It’s sublime. For other dishes, ask what is best that day. Get plenty of yummy side dishes. And don’t skip dessert!

Pros: Good (not great) barbecue near Los Angeles

Cons: Not everything here is worth writing home about

Smoke City Market - Sherman Oaks

Smoke City Market gets the 30:SECONDmendations treatment. Watch the entire review in 30 seconds or less!

Before you give up on finding great BBQ in Los Angeles, check out Smoke City Market in Sherman Oaks. This Texas-Style BBQ smokes it right, all over natural oak. With juicy fall-off-the-bone meat and sides that aim to please, this place is a winner in my mouth. Slow-smoked meat is the key to greatness and you can taste it in their moist melt-in-your-mouth brisket. My favorite is their Pastrami—it’s tender, full of flavor, and peppered to perfection. Wash it all down with a few beers and it’s pretty out-of-this-world.

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Johnnie’s Pastrami Restaurant

The Details:

4017 Sepulveda Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230
Phone: (310) 397-6654
Sunday – Thursday 10am – 2:30am
Friday – Saturday 10am – 3:30am

The Los Angeles Foodie Rating:

Five out of five

The Summary:

Johnnie’s Pastrami Restaurant might want you to believe that the french dip pastrami is the best item on the menu, and it’s good. But the real star is the taco, which is more of a salad than a taco. It’s also the best value, by far, on the menu. Don’t skip the cheese fries (the cheese is grated but not melted atop crinkle-cut fries), and remember that you can buy some of the pickles to-go.

The Place:

Johnnie’s is one of those places that you’ve probably driven by a dozen times and never thought twice about. And even though the building is obviously old (and not “fake” old like Johnny Rockets), it doesn’t seem out-of-place in its West Side neighborhood. The main building is glass on three sides with its open kitchen in the center. The sort-of-Airstream design gives it a definite retro look, but everything is so well-maintained that, at first, it doesn’t seem like it’s actually old.

Johnnie's sign

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