Scott's Pick - Engine Co. No. 28

Location: Downtown Los Angeles
Cuisine: Inspired by the Regional Cooking of Firehouses Around the Country
Price per person: $25-$65 (incl. drinks)
Website: http://www.engineco.com/

Scott's pick for May is an old pick of mine since I used to work in downtown L.A. Although I had been here 2 times over 5 years ago...coming back was like a brand new experience. Scott chose a place near his new home. He took a walk to get to know his surroundings, found the Engine Co. No. 28 and I must say...he made a FANTASTIC choice. We had a small group this time (you flakers are just horrid ;) ), but the small group was nice. It was intimate and to make things even better...the food was fantastic. Check out our entrees (you're damn right I tried everything!):

Braised Beef Short Ribs - this was mine...the beef just melted in your mouth

Creole Red Beans & Rice - Mark's entree - awesome andouille sausage

Fried Shrimp Po-Boy - Leilani's entree - tastey and filling

Pan-Fried Panko Crusted Basa Sole - Aaron's entree. The sole was fresh and with caper salsa...YUM!

Smoked Salmon - Danny had an appetizer for his entree...huge and delicious

Pan-Fried Louisiana Crab Cakes - Esther's entree - these crab cakes are so far the best I've had

Firehouse Chili - Sherice's entree...look at the pic...need I say more?

Chicken Fried Steak - Scott's entree...I wish I had some of those potatoes but everything else was awesome!

All of the entrees, appetizers and drinks were pretty awesome. The prices were reasonable and the company was great. What more could I ask for?

Next month is Leilani's pick...which she has already chosen! We're going to the newly opened Fraiche in Culver City. Capacity is 10, if I could persuade the owner to give us another table, I will. I'm also creating an extension to this club (Mark makes fun of me because I'm in so many clubs) which is called, "Try it, you might like it, you food snob" - the thing is...I love finding new restaurants and trying them. I see new places all the time, so this extension is to try other places that I choose with small groups, on any day for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Just let me know if you're interested and I when I find a place, I'll call you up and we'll have some food. There's no set date and time and also, no more than 5 people.

Anyway...don't forget to comment and keep eating!!!

Sherice's Pick - Genghis Cohen

Location: West Hollywood on Fairfax

Cuisine: New York Style Chinese

Price per person: $25-$45 (incl. drinks)

Website: http://genghiscohen.com/

Like it - but I'd never love it

I know this is a long time waiting, but forgive me, I was on vacation and I'm just getting back to reality now. Genghis Cohen was fun. It was great that a lot of people made it. I liked it...but it was definitely hard to have a conversation since there were so many people there. They have live music and the food is pretty tasty...but the service was ...meh. At the end of the meal, when we paid...the waiter made the mistake (or was it really?) of charging my card a $100 more than he should have. Did he think I wouldn't notice? Parking is just awwwwww-FUL. This place is pretty popular? Why don't they have valet? We had pretty much everything from noodles to tofu to duck to shrimp. Like I said...it was yummy and the drinks were...let's just say that New Yorkers really know how to pour. Victoria took some great pics!

All in all...I think we had a great time. Scott volunteered to do May and all I know is that it will be somewhere in downtown L.A. I had to postpone to May 18th, though. I hope you all can make it...till then...keep eating!