Diners will delight in local eateries

  NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Antonio
Hernandez puts the final touches on his Mediterranean
salad at Falafel King in Westwood.

Falafel King Price Range: $2.95-$6.95 1059 Broxton
Avenue (310) 208-4444
Everything tastes kind of like chicken, and the crunchy,
McNugget-like falafels are no exception. The falafels are an
interesting delight, consisting of a conglomerated mass of minced
chickpeas, deep-fried in 100 percent light canola oil. Claiming to
be serving the finest and healthiest exotic Mediterranean food,
Falafel King showcases its namesake fried balls right here on
Broxton Avenue. The restaurant’s heftily apportioned combo
plate, at $6.95, provides a salad served with sesame-seed dressing,
a choice of lentil, dill or a Spanish-like tomato rice, another
choice of beef, lamb or chicken breast, two falafels, an option of
some mixed greens salad, deep fried potato chips, and pita bread.
There is hummus, which has been seen lurking in the residence hall
dining areas, several eggplant sides, a guacamole salad and the
item recommended by an employee ““ tabouli. Ah, tabouli.
It’s definitely interesting. Consisting of parsley, green
onion, tomato, mint, olive oil, pepper, lemon juice and bulgar
wheat, it tastes just like it sounds ““ a crunchy but wet mass
of vegetables that aren’t bad, but takes some getting used
to. The deep fried potato chips are similar to french fries, but
made with Falafel King’s own batter, and are rather tasty.
The pita bread is a great source of starch to balance out the
tastes of salad and lighten up the richness of meat, all in all,
wrapping up a good sized, well rounded meal. Other choices are the
sandwiches. There is the option of getting the vegetarian or meat,
known as “shawarma,” version. The vegetarian ones come
with falafel balls inside pita bread with mixed greens salad,
tahini dressing and hand dipped chips. The shawarma sandwiches come
with all the above with the choice of any of three meats (beef,
lamb, or chicken). The Falafel King is a dine-in restaurant in a
fine location, close to campus. The food is like most ethnic
restaurants ““ it should be checked out for the sake of
checking out. The meats are rather bland, but the deep-fried
falafels are tasty. The specialty salads are pretty decent, but the
tastes may take some acquiring. Basically, the restaurant is a nice
challenge for iffy fence-sitters, unsure of their likes and
dislikes.

Kenny Chang

Tomodachi Sushi Price Range: $3.00-$12.50 10975 Weyburn
Avenue (310) 824-8805

At first glance, Tomodachi Sushi comes across as a rather
ordinary, nondescript sushi restaurant. The food and service soon
betray appearances. Immediately upon entering, a barrage of
“hellos” greets the diner from the friendly waitresses,
who offer the choice of eating at the sushi bar or among typical
restaurant-style seats. The sushi bar is definitely where
it’s at; to fully appreciate what the chefs serve, it’s
important to see how they make it. Spread out behind a glass case
in front of the diner is an array of raw fish, as well as all of
the ingredients necessary to make the 50-odd varieties of sushi and
rolls. The greatest thing about Tomodachi Sushi is its service. The
employees regularly chat and joke with their customers, explaining
the intricacies of how a particular dish is made. The chefs even
hand out occasional samples of different dishes to offer a taste of
what else is out there. The atmosphere is so friendly and casual
that it gives the impression that a customer can stay there for
hours, ordering one dish at a time and enjoying the knowledge put
forth from the chefs. The food, though, is enough to keep customers
there by itself. The Westwood Rolls are incredible, mixing both
warm fish cake and cold rice with raw salmon, crab and avocado. The
Tempura rolls are also delicious, having a tasty combination of
soft and crunchy textures. Also recommended is the UCLA Roll, made
of the simple combination of avocado and raw fish. The Rainbow
Roll, which offers an assortment of raw tuna, albacore, red
snapper, shrimp and salmon, is a great way to sample different
kinds of fish. The food is impressive because of the quality of the
ingredients. For the sushi squeamish, there are choices from
Japanese soup, noodles, salads and grilled dishes. Sushi, though,
is definitely the forté of Tomodachi. The dark cloud over
Tomodachi Sushi’s great service and food is its prices, which
for some of the better rolls push $10. However, if the more
expensive fish are out of range, there are many rolls available in
the $4 area (such as California Rolls and Tuna Rolls). Overall,
Tomodachi Sushi has a great combination of awesome sushi,
personalized service and decent prices, and its proximity to UCLA
gives it extra points. Tomodachi is looking to move even closer, as
one of the chefs hinted of plans to expand onto the UCLA campus.
Look out, Tsunami.

Nick Rabinowitsh