The Road Warrior: Luau tips for the student body.

Contents:

Contests:

Newsletter:

Members:

About Us:

Members log in here with your user name and password to access the your admin page and other special features.

|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2002-10-21

The Road Warrior: Luau tips for the student body.
By Mongo Johnson

Eat, Drink, and be Merry in Manhattan Beach.

It has been brought to Mongo's attention that some of youse attending the Luau are NOT SportsShooter.com members (for shame) and therefore do NOT have access to "The GUIDE."

So for the greater good of the student body, I present:

MONGO'S GUIDE TO EATS ON CAMPUS
(Or "dude I don't have a car, where can I go?")

***Walk out the front door of the Marriott and look to the right. (east)***

See the cluster of buildings with the green terracotta tile roofs, about 150 meters away?

That's your dining destination.

BRISTOL FARMS
$5.00 to $10.00
- An upscale yuppie supermarket for the wealthy, healthy, bronzed bodies of the beach. Besides the regular market fare of fresh fruits and vegetables, this place has the most amazing deli / restaurant, serving everything from Beef Wellington, to Sushi, Brie stuffed strawberries to Southwestern duck quesadillas. If you're a wine or beer snob, they have over 30 different beers and a wine selection to bust anybody's wallet.
This is one of the few places you could take the entire student contingent of WKU and find something for everybody, veg heads and meatheads alike. If you have a big group, this is the place to go, because there's a nice outdoor deck next the market where you can all break bread together. (hint, hint, this would be a cool place to hang out after the luau ends Sat evening)
[MONGO's FAVORITE - Panini sandwiches.]

THE BANYAN
$5.00 to $10.00
- Indonesian food (read curry) the best in town, and that's saying a lot in a city with the ethnic diversity of L.A. If you've never had Indonesian food before, this is a MUST TRY kind of restaurant. Really now, you can eat a steak or get a subway sandwich anywhere, but when or where the hell are you ever going to get a chance to eat something exotic like "Mie Goreng" or "Soto Ayam"
[MONGO's FAVORITE - Sampler plate.]

SAMURAI SAMS
$4.00 to $6.00
- This is a fast food teriyaki grill. It's pretty run of the mill and the white rice is nothing to write home about. If you're on a diet, try the skinless chicken teriyaki bowl.
[MONGO's FAVORITE - Yakisoba noodles.]

PACHANGA
$4.00 to $6.00
- Guppie Mexican food, kinda like a Baja fresh but without the chain restaurant stigma. Still it's a lot better than most strip mall taco joints.
[MONGO's FAVORITE - Black bean burrito.]

SUBWAY
$3.00 to $5.00
- In a hurry? On a budget? Work for those cheap bastards at the AP? Guess you'll be eating here.

JAMBA JUICE
$3.00 to $5.00
- Can't bring yourself to ingest a coffee and Danish for breakfast? Get healthy and stop into Jamba Juice.
[MONGO's FAVORITE - Orange dreamsicle.]

LIDO
$10.00 to $20.00
- Chic, Chic, Italian food. If you're looking for the quintessential California / Italian dining experience, this is the place to go. Featuring an excellent selection of salads, pastas, pizzas and sandwiches, this is a favorite haunt of the studio execs from the neighboring Raleigh studios.
[MONGO's FAVORITE - homemade chicken sausage with sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, pine nuts and mascarpone cheese, sautéed in olive oil and garlic, tossed with Cajun penne.]

HOUSTON'S
$10.00 to $25.00
- Red meat eaters rejoice! You have found your home! Savory steaks & prime rib, and spare ribs so tender that the meat falls off the bone. Don't miss the spinach dip!!!! BEWARE, they don't take reservations and the wait can be an hour long on FRI or SAT nights.
[MONGO's FAVORITE - prime rib (rare).]

JOHNNY ROCKETS
$4.00 to $7.00
- A blast from the past. Ever hear your parents talk about the good old days? Well this is the kind of place and food they were reminiscing about. Killer hamburgers, chilli fries, and shakes.
[MONGO's FAVORITE - St. Louis burger.]

***Out the front door of the Marriott, look straight ahead, 200 meters across the street. And you'll find***

COZYMEL'S
$6.00 to $12.00
- South of the border food transplanted to south of the airport. If you were a Mexican national eating here, you'd bitch about the bad translation of you're country's food. Think of a fancy taco bell that serves tequila and you kind of get the picture.

PF CHANGS
$7.00 to $15.00
- Expensive yuppie Chinese food for white people. Don't get me wrong, the food is EXCELLENT and some of the dishes are almost imaginative. But it's a chain, so a Chang's in Salt Lake City is just like a Chang's in Manhattan Beach. (gee and you wonder why all Orientals look alike?)
[MONGO's FAVORITE - Beef ala Sichuan.]

MCORMICK & SCHMICK'S
$10.00 to $25.00
- Seafood, Seafood, and more Seafood. On an average night this place has over 30 different varieties of fresh fish on hand. Broiled, baked, grilled, seared, steamed, or deep-fried. If you're on a budget, get over here during happy hour (3:30 to 6:30pm FRI ONLY) to chow down on the special $1.95 menu, featuring chicken satay, beer batter fish nuggets & chips, New York cheeseburgers and Two cheese quesadilla's.
Yes it's a chain like Chang's BUT it's consistently GOOD.

TAIKO
$8.00 to $20.00
- The Real deal in Japanese cuisine, served in a ultra hip and trendy atmosphere. Soba or Udon noodles, bento box style lunches, donburi and sushi, it's all here. This is jap food even Hanashiro likes.
[MONGO's FAVORITE - Chilean seabass kasuzuke.]

QUIZNO'S
$5.00 to $6.00
- Hands down the BEST fast food subs on the planet. Once you have a Quizno's you'll NEVER set foot in another Subway. Good salads and soups too.
[MONGO's FAVORITE - Honey bacon club.]

So that's MONGO's report on where to eat during the fabulous Sports Shooter Workshop & Luau 2002. If I have time ... I am currently working as a stand-in for "The Thing" in the new Fantastic Four movie being filmed in Canada... I'll check in with more great places to eat around the Workshop & Luau site and places to party if you guys don't try to tag along with El Hefe Hanashiro and his pose.

Mahalo!