Chicken

Whiplash is one of the hazards of my job. I take unfamiliar streets when I drive around town with the express purpose of discovering new restaurants. Peacha's, a tiny place on south Victory near Alameda in Burbank, made me do a hard double-take, almost hitting the car in front of me. Luckily, I didn't. Instead, I got to enjoy the best chimichanga of my life. In all fairness, I don't normally do chimichangas, with the deep-frying and all, but I had to believe the nice guy behind the counter when he said they were really good.

Tep Thai has been a mainstay of Thai cuisine in Glendale since 1984. Owners Jimmy and Pat Tavornwattana strive to serve the best Thai food made with the freshest ingredients. The chef has over 20 years of cooking experience in Thailand. Tep Thai serves all the traditional dishes, like chicken Satay, Tom Kah Kai (hot and sour coconut chicken soup), Pad Thai (pan-fried noodles with chicken, shrimp, and egg garnished with crushed peanuts and bean sprouts), and succulent Thai barbecue pork, chicken, and beef.

Season Thai Cuisine is a small, unassuming Asian restaurant in downtown Burbank that boasts an extensive menu of Thai, Japanese and Chinese dishes. That menu comes with reasonable prices and a generous serving of flavor. The long list of starters includes fried wonton-wrapped shrimp served with a sweet sauce that has just a bit of heat. The good news about this appetizer is that it is all about the shrimp — plump and flavorful. The shrimp is not thickly breaded but is wrapped tightly and lightly in a paper-thin wonton that is quick-fried to a golden crisp.

Tucked in the corner of the new La Crescenta Pavilion, Cabo Grill is a fresh, fast way to get a tasty meal. It’s kind of hidden — most people will stop looking once they see the Starbucks. But when you find the place with three umbrella-covered tables outside, you’ll enjoy what you find inside. And not just the iron sconces, stylized photos of the ocean and lovely music. Everything is grilled right there. The marinade is very mild but keeps the meat moist and tender.

Sometimes you have to eat quick. But the "usual suspects" of the fast-food world can leave lots to be desired, with their drive-through trans-fat, calorie-packed offerings. Teriyaki Me! in Glendale, with its made-to-order fare, offers an alternative to the burger trap. Billed as a gourmet Asian grill, the menu offers skewers, stir-fries and yakisoba, with no steam tables or heat lamps in sight. Most of the kitchen is in view in this tiny place. As you place your order, you can see the saute guy hit the pan with a thin stream of oil to start cooking your meal.

Lola'sHaving never visited Peru, I claim no frame of reference for how authentically Peruvian Lola's cuisine might actually be. But within my frame of reference for affordable and tasty, Lola's fits the bill. The décor is eclectic, with the focus on an open kitchen in back, where the "All You Can Eat Lunch Buffet" takes center stage Monday through Friday. Cheerful cooks man the buffet line to describe and serve the dishes available. At $7.99, this lunch buffet is a bargain, featuring several salads (mixed green, Caesar and Russian potato salad)

Tep Thai in Glendale is a visual feast, as well as a treat for the palate. The stylish interior features polished concrete, high ceilings with teak beams and gleaming mirrors, making the small space feel bright and comfortable. Pendant lamps and retro upholstery fabrics add whimsical flair. Weighty cutlery and attractive porcelain dishes in varied shapes add to the upscale feel. While take-out is available, I prefer to dine in, taking advantage of the ambience. Service is very attentive (during one lunch visit, my beverage glass was topped up at least six times)

Pasta PreziosaThe first time we visited Pasta Preziosa, I was favorably impressed, but I worried that the new restaurant would struggle due to its out-of-the-way location, tucked as it is in a back corner of a strip mall, with little visibility from the street. Since that was back in 1992, and the place is bustling -- with a line out the door some evenings -- apparently it isn't all that hard to find! The dining room is cozy, with about a dozen tables, and can be convivially boisterous on a weekend evening, but it's the kind of place where you might strike up a conversation with the diners at the next table, and maybe glean a tip on what to order.

Don't blink when you're driving west on Foothill before Lauderdale or you'll miss T-House. And you would be very disappointed if you did. Just a tiny storefront, this wonderful little place holds some of the best Thai cuisine in the Crescenta Valley. Most of the business seems to be take-out or delivery (free within a 3-mile radius) because the restaurant space holds only about 20 people for dining, but the care to the interior, and the caring service, make it worth staying. The tablecloths, obviously homemade, since they match the curtain to the kitchen area, change with the seasons and holidays.

Whiplash is one of the hazards of my job. I take unfamiliar streets when I drive around town with the express purpose of discovering new restaurants. Peacha's, a tiny place on south Victory near Alameda in Burbank, made me do a hard double-take, almost hitting the car in front of me. Luckily, I didn't. Instead, I got to enjoy the best chimichanga of my life. In all fairness, I don't normally do chimichangas, with the deep-frying and all, but I had to believe the nice guy behind the counter when he said they were really good.

A Los Angeles woman who offered sexual favors in exchange for Chicken McNuggets at a McDonald's is homeless and has a history of run-ins with the law, police said. Khadijah Baseer, 31, was arrested on suspicion of prostitution Jan. 11 after she asked the manager of the McDonald's in the 1700 block of Olive Avenue for free Chicken McNuggets in exchange for sexual favors, Sgt. Darin Ryburn said. She had allegedly been opening the car doors of customers waiting in the late-night McDonald's drive-through.

Anyone living in La Crescenta or La Cañada Flintridge noticed the remarkable transformation that took place at the old Chor’s Chinese take-out place at the busy intersection of Ocean View and Foothill. Over the course of a few weeks, the exterior became a mini-Eden of colorful flowers, twinkle lights and a gurgling fountain. But what about the interior and the food? It took me a year, but I found out. While there are a few distinctive items I might go back for, overall, the Garden Grill is a mediocre Middle Eastern restaurant with high prices and only adequate service.

A bowling alley is not the first place you’d associate with food. Intermittent wafts of deodorizing foot spray? Yes. Discordant clanging and the likelihood of chipping your manicure? Yes. But as a viable suggestion for a refreshing repast, bowling alleys probably rate a notch above gas stations. Sure, nachos or chicken fingers are fine between frames, but I wondered if the food at Pickwick Bowl in Burbank or Glendale’s Jewel City Bowl could stand up to a sit-down meal.

As my Grandma used to say, it?s just ?good horse sense? to shun seafood in the desert. A more reasonable place in which to enjoy fresh fish would be any coastal community?s restaurant. Perhaps a bit myopic, Grandma?s logic precluded her from ordering chicken at a steakhouse. So if she knew I sought out churrascarias to compare salad bars, I suspect she?d gasp like the time I used a credit card to pay the rent. But now, unlike then, I got my money?s worth. The two churrascarias, Brazilian-style barbecue restaurants, in Glendale and Burbank are Gauchos Village and Picanha, respectively.