LAZY DOG

What could be better then a fun resturant with great decor, good food and wonderful prices? Well, how about all that AND you can bring your dog with you!

That's right, dogs are welcome at The Lazy Dog resturant. Just remember that if you do bring your dog though, you have to eat outside. CA laws won't allow dogs in any restaurants. Maybe someday though.

But sitting outside isn't that bad. In fact, it's rather nice. You will dine in a covered patio area, complete with an outdoor fireplace.

Many people, even without dogs, prefer to eat outside in the nice So. Cal weather.

This cute little guy was just waiting for people to come in so he could greet them.

The Lazy Dog resturant is decorated with dog items everywhere. Even the front door handle is in the shape of a big dog bone.

The indoor fireplace has family pictures on the mantle. The only little difference is, the family is all dogs.

So come on in. Sit down and enjoy a nice meal.

The menu has a little bit of everything. No matter who you bring they are sure to find something they love.

There is hamburgers, pizza, Chinese food, pasta dishes, salads, beef, chicken, pork and just about anything else you can think of.

The little children can order from the "Puppy" menu and the older children can order from the "Big Dogs" menu.

They even have a big bar area with several TVs where you can enjoy your favorite sports. It has that home town feel there. Almost like you stepped into the Cheers Bar and everyone knows your name.


I thought it was cute how they have "This Dogs New Tricks" drinks and "The Old Tricks".

The walls are lined with photos of dogs. You can even get the OK to put a photo of your own dog up, if you are lucky.

The after dinner mints are served in a dog dish and are in the shape of a bone. How cute is that!

You can even buy a tin of dog mints, tee shirts or hats.

Even when you look up you find a surprise. See how the ceiling is in the shape of a dog's paw print.

The kitchen is out in the open where you can see all the chefs preparing your meals.

I like this and think all restaurants should be this way. That way you can see for yourself how clean they are and there won't be any rumors of an unhappy chef spitting in your food.

More dog pictures on the wall. OK, I'm sure by now you are thinking "cute place but how is the food?". Well, I'll tell you.

I ordered a cheese, basil and tomato pizza. It was SO good. I couldn't get enough. Well, I got enough really. To much as a matter of fact, I was stuffed. But, I couldn't stop eating it.

My sister got the Grilled Pork Chops with a chutney on top, mashed potatoes and thinly shredded veggies that they call confetti veggies.


She said it was very tasty and loved every bite. There was way to much food for one person to eat. They give you two BIG pork chops. So, she took 1/2 home and had another whole meal.

My other sister ordered a hamburger and rather then fries she went for the fried zucchini. She said it was by far the best hamburger she has ever had.

I had a zucchini and have to say I can't wait to go back because I'm getting some of those.

None of us had room for any dessert though. We were way to full. Though they do have a great selection of sweet treats.

The Lazy Dog is becoming one of the most loved restaurants around. The first one opened up about 3 or 4 years ago in Huntington Beach CA. Now there are two more that are opened in Torrance CA and Orange CA. Several others are planned to be opened soon.

If you are ever near a Lazy Dog Restaurant you MUST stop by. I guarantee you will love it. I've never met a person who hasn't.

No, I didn't get a penny to say any of this. I just love this place and wanted to share it with the rest of you.

Hugs,
Joanne

LET'S DO A TASTE TEST!

RUBY'S

vs.

JOHNNY ROCKETS

I've always thought it would be fun to be a restaurant critic. You get to eat and then just tell people about what you had and rate the place.

So, I wanted to take you along with me while I did my own taste test and pretended I was a real restaurant critic. I hope you are hungry. Now come along.

For our taste tests we are going to go to two different local restaurant chains here in So. California, RUBY'S AND JOHNNY ROCKETS. I'm not sure if either of these are in other states or not.

Both places are known for their hamburgers and shakes. Both have a theme decor of 50's dinners. I wanted to keep this a fair taste tests.

Our first stop is going to be to RUBY'S. Now, I admit I do go to RUBY'S often and I already know I like their food a lot. But, it's the closest thing to JOHNNY ROCKETS, so let's go in and check it out.

Isn't the counter area cute? Just like back in the 50's. Can't you just see, the girls with their pony tails and the boys in their white t-shirts with rolled up sleeves, sitting there drinking a coke or sharring a shake.

Most people like to sit in booths or tables though. There are plenty of them for you pick from.

All the RUBY'S are pretty much the same decor but they each have a little something that is different from each other. They all have a little gift shop area where they sell t-shirts and vintage kitchen reproductions.

This RUBY'S is at the beach so you can see the skateboards parked here. Good for them for saving money on gas when they go out to eat.

I love the way the servers dress. Again, a look from the 50's. I don't think the girls wore their dresses that short back in the 50's though...did they?

Yeah! The food is served! Let's try it out and see how it tastes.

The shake is wonderful. It's nice and cold, thick but creamy and lots of real strawberries. Plus you get all the extra shake that wouldn't fit into your glass. They give you the whole cup they mixed it in. It's almost a full glass more. Just perfect for a nice hot day.

The fries are cooked to perfection and my veggie burger is the best I've ever had!

OK, I can hear you now. What! A veggie burger? YUCK! Well, I don't eat meat so I always get veggie burgers. But, when I did eat meat, I used to have real burgers and they were some of the best burgers I've ever had.

Well I didn't find anything about this stop that I didn't love. All in all, I would have to give RUBY'S a BIG A+ or 5 star rating.


Well, our next stop is JOHNNY ROCKETS. This place is always crowded but since I'm a big RUBY'S fan I have not been to JOHNNY ROCKETS in years. In fact, I think I've only been one time and I only got a diet coke. So this should be fun.

Let's go in!

See, like I said, it's always crowded. I'm sure the food has to be super.

They have the counter like RUBY'S. Very cute.

Look at all the cooks working hard to feed everyone fast. Boy, I'm hungry! How about you?

Oh no! I just got told I can't pictures. What? Why would they care? Oh well, I'm just going to have to be careful I don't get caught. Let's go sit down.

How cute is this! Each table has their own little jukebox. Plus, it's only a nickel to pick a song. Of course, we put some money in and picked out some songs. They are all from the 50's. Helps to put you in the mood.

Either these are just for show and really don't work (but it took the money) or there were to many people ahead of us because, our songs never did play the whole time we were there.


I think the menu is cute too. Look at the little hat they give kids. How darling!

So far everything is going great! I am really expecting the food is going to be yummy too!

In order to keep the taste test fair I got the same thing. A strawberry shake, fries and a veggie burger.


First they brought the shake out. I liked the way it was served. But hey, where is the rest of the shake? Remember at RUBY'S they give you all the shake. What doesn't fit in the glass you got in the silver cup they mix it in.


That's OK, let's give it a try. My first thought was "This is a shake but it's warm!" How could a shake be warm? It's also very runny. More like strawberry milk. I didn't like it at all. Everyone else at the table with me had different flavor shakes and they said the same thing. Thin and warm. That's a big strike and sure to take the rating down.


Then they brought the fries out. The waitress gave us each a little bowl and made a happy face with the ketchup. Very cute. But where is our burgers? Why bring the fries without the rest of the food.


Finally the burgers came out. I took a big bite and almost spit it out. It was the worst veggie burger I've ever had! So I went for the fries. By now, they were cold and taste like they were frozen and had freezer burn or something. Not good. Not good at all. I'm afraid this will lower the rating too.


The rest of the table agreed with me. This was the worst meal we have had in a long time. YUCK!

We didn't complain. I just hate to do that. But most of the time when the waitress sees you didn't eat much of your food they ask if anything was wrong and then I will tell them. No one asked us here.


So we paid the bill. Higher then RUBY'S but still not to bad in price. Well, thinking about it, since we couldn't eat the food it was a big waste of money. So the price was not good either.


I loved the decor and the little touches that JOHNNY ROCKETS has but the food was not good at all. So I give this place a D or 2 stars.

I think the reason JOHNNY ROCKETS is always crowed is because they are good at where they place their restaurants. They are always in tourist areas. People look in and think the place is cute so they go in.

I won't ever go back to JOHNNY ROCKETS unless it's for a diet coke. But RUBY'S, I will refer everyone I know to go there.

Final score is RUBY wins by a landslide!!!!

So what did you think? Was being a restaurant critic fun? Would you like to do it for a living? Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Hugs,
Joanne