Decent home cooking in a relaxed atmoshpere
Written: Aug 08 '00 (Updated Aug 19 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Decent-enough down-home cooking
Cons: Street-parking only
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| jerryla323's Full Review: Angel Lena's Soul Food Kitchen |
LOCATION
Angel Lena's is a small, casual soul-food restaurant located just off of Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, a street chock-full of trendy eateries. Angel Lena's is NOT trendy, mind you, it is ANTI-TRENDY. The food here is pretty much what you would expect to be served at your Southern best-friend's mother's house for Sunday dinner.
DECOR
The decor is spare, yet a bit stunning at the same time, consisting of oversized paintings of famous Rhythm and Blues stars. The lighting was bright without being overly so. The tables were covered in red checked vinyl tablecloths overlaid with clear acrylic toppers. Drinks are served in small Mason jars, and come with free refills. The plates are plain melamime. The restaurant is a bit on the loud side, with loud music on the CD player (incongrous Puerto Rican Salsa the night we came). I didn't see any children here, but I would imagine they would fit in well here. Most of the patrons were very casually dressed, in t-shirts, jeans, shorts, or tank-tops.
SERVICE
My companion and I were seated immediately. The place seemed half-full, at best. There was only one wait-person on duty, but she seemed to be doing fairly well, bringing out the plates as soon as they were put up by the kitchen. Drink refills were brought fairly quickly, with a new Mason jar glass each time. My only complaint with the service was that it took a long time for the complimentary cornbread and butter to be brought out.
MENU
The menu was a little bit more extensive than many soul-food menus I've read. There were no appetizers, but entrees all came with either rice and gravy or potato salad, plus two additional side dishes (starch or veggies), and were priced between $8 and $12. The options included the usual fried chicken, fried catfish or shrimp, braised short ribs, pork chops, or steak, all slowly cooked until tender and served with a brown onion gravy, or BBQ (chicken, baby back ribs, hot links, brisket), as well as cooked-to-order grilled steaks and chops, and meat loaf. Side dishes included macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, hush puppies, succotash, green beans, baked beans, cabbage, greens, black-eyed peas, plus a few others I can't remember. All meals are served with a generous portion of hot, fresh, tasty corn muffins (a bit too sweet for my dining companion, who is a born and raised Southerner)
ENTREES
We ordered the braised short ribs with white rice and gravy, collard greens, and black-eyed peas, as well as a medium-rare porterhouse steak with the rice and gravy, baked beans, and potato salad. The short ribs were extremely tender, cooked long enough that a knife was unnecessary, with a tasty gravy. For this classic comfort-food dish, I don't feel that a spicy kick is necessary, but for those of you who do, a dash of hot sauce might help (no bottles of hot sauce were on the table, as they are in most soul-food places, but I'm sure they are available for the asking). The black-eyed peas were a bit disappointing, not as creamy as I like, and a bit on the bland side. The greens were also a bit under-par. The collards were cut into big chunks instead of thin strips, like I prefer, and had a lot of the thick stems, which were cooked long enough, however, that they were not stringy. The collards were tasty enough, a bit more bitter than some versions I've had, but that's OK with me. My dining companion would have asked for some white vinegar to cover up some of the bitter taste. The rice was perfectly cooked, each grain separate, not mushy, and was served with a delicious brown gravy that I found myself mopping up with cornbread after the rice was finished.
The porterhouse steak was a decent cut, maybe 3/4 inch thick, and cooked perfectly medium-rare, as ordered, but ended up being a bit tasteless. My dining companion proclaimed it "OK", nothing special, but definitely edible. The baked beans were cooked in a sweet BBQ sauce, and seemed mediocre to me. The potato salad had WAY too much sugar in it. It seemed sweet enough to be a dessert. We hardly touched it.
Although a "vegetarian delight" menu option is available, consisting of nothing but your selection of five side-dishes, in my experience, this would be unacceptable for strict vegetarians, since most of the side dishes are prepared with pork fat (such as the collard greens, as well as all the beans).
DESSERTS
We were too full by that time to order dessert, but the selections looked tempting (peach or apple cobbler, bread pudding, or sweet-potato pie).
BEVERAGES
Domestic and imported beers are served by the bottle, as well as the usual fountain soft drinks, iced tea, and homemade lemonade, as well as coffee and hot tea.
RESERVATIONS/MISCELLANEOUS
I believe that reservations are accepted for large parties, but are not necessary for most occasions. Daily lunch specials consisting of selections off of the larger dinner menu are served with the same selection of side-dishes, for about $2-$3 less than dinner (same size portions).
Visa/Master Card accepted. Street-parking only, which can be a problem on weekends.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jerryla323
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Member: Jerry
Location: Chicago
Reviews written: 35
Trusted by: 27 members
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