ACC Chinese Fast Food - Alhambra

Have you ever seen a mom-and-pop more mom-and-pop than ACC? It literally looks like a food stall inside a small strip mall store. Mom takes your order (brush up on your Mandarin), yells it to pop, and goes to the back to help him. 

They whip it all up real quick, and if you're lucky, you'll catch a glimpse of the juices running down your duck as they one back to chop. Two orders of Duck Rice are more than two people need, but their duck game is strong and you won't want to share. The skin is crisp even after 40 minutes in my car, and the meat is tender with roasted fragrance all the way through. It's an inexpensive plate, and you get a nice quarter with a breast or a leg. 

She sold me on a stew, made with roast pork, silky-soft tofu, carrots and broccoli simmering in an orange-brown gravy with the slightest hint of sweet and sour. It seems like it's made from the pork they didn't sell, and this pork lives up to the hype. Even through the stew-sauce, the savor squeezes through.

The stir-fried Pork Kidney is one I had to try, but my mom makes it better. Thinly but too-largely sliced, the viscous brown sauce preserves the texture, though it's a bit over-fried and dry. 

A-choy cooks down considerably, and they had to add some tender veggie hearts to make up the volume, (with my permission).

Mom is sweet in that Chinese-mom way and gifts me some salt water duck wings and feet, to be eaten with my favorite TV show, and I know better than to not obey. A cold dish, not to be reheated, it's the perfect snack if you're not squeamish. 

It's called fast food for a reason; efficient, inexpensive, but really quite effective. I got all this for fifty dollars and it's been food for days. 

The menu is overwhelming so stick to the main meats. Made to be eaten immediately and fresh so don't delay and order your duck today. 

Chubby Rice UPDATE - Hawthorne

Some businesses stand out because their food is just that good, others because of character. Chubby Rice has both. 

I can't help but smile every time I hear their name, fondness from the lockdown days when every takeout order came with a couple of home-baked cookies and a handwritten post-it note, thanking us for supporting a local business. 

Humble and sweet, full-flavored but clean, most of the menu is deliciously straightforward, yet whimsical items like the Chubby Eggroll throw in the sass. This forearm-sized, deep-fried, crispy-crunch egg roll wrapper houses a medley of shredded veggies and perfectly seasoned meat. Anyone who says bigger isn't better never met this eggroll.  

Pan Fried Dumplings are just that. Gyoza with a chewy, crunchy wrapper and a juicy filling of pork. 

The Chubby Wings are another delightfully fried item, super crunchy, dipped in their sweet and sour sauce. 

I hate cream cheese, but I can't get enough of their Crab Rangoon. There's something about that sweet center and the texture of minced crab in cream. 

General Tso's Chicken is everyone's favorite dish and undoubtedly their best. Tender thigh meat goes in steaming hot, and each bite has a sweet n' sour tang with a little bit of bang and burn. The chow mein is so good - golden noodles without the extra grease. 

The kung pao chicken lacks the spicy pep I've become accustomed to, but the Mapo Tofu is kinda nice. This dish is sweet and soft with plump pork and firm cubes of tofu. Just spicy enough to give you a little kick. 

The Salt & Pepper Pork Chop is not my fave, but the seasoning is solid, and they make a great fried rice. 

Go for gold with the Pork Chop Sandwich instead. It's a giant telera roll, stuffed with a crispy pork chop, aioli, and slaw, and the fries are formidable. 

The pandemic brought out the worst in most people, but Chubby Rice only got better. When times got tough, they showed their resilience, and their clear sense of community may be the only good memory I have during that very dark time. They survived and I hope they thrive - if anyone deserves to do well, it's these awesome cooks at Chubby Rice!

King Mediterrano - Torrance

Think back to your 20s, the worst hangover you've ever had. Now think of the cure. 

If you lived in SoCal back then too, it would look exactly like the Chicken Shawarma Nachos. This Medi-Mex fusion creates unique concoctions like these crazy-good seasoned pita chips topped with chunks of chicken, rivers of sauce, and a handful of olives and tomato. It's a fun dish, perfect for watching a game but leaves you feeling a little less gross. 

The Falafel Plate is a bit more wholesome, 14 balls of falafel on a bed of white rice, invading both the baba and the hummus. The baba doesn't taste like eggplant and the hummus has too much lemon. Still, 14 falafels for under $14 was enough food for almost four days. 

Gotta get my Gyro Meat - they make theirs with beef and lamb. Even the side is so much, and I love how thinly sliced it is. 

They're a step above fast food and a smidge below fast-casual, but they're far from gourmet. Still, the food is fun, and the helpings are huge, especially at this price point, and in the days of inflation, it's pretty great to get multiple meals at this price. 

Aptos Trip Day 4 - Betty Burgers and The Penny Ice Creamery

An easy dinner outside this diner, a super-chill place with big burgers and plastic booths.

The Mad Mex is one mean burger, a thick and juicy patty topped with pretty good guac and a slice of pepper jack cheese. 

Their Fries are super crispy, 

And even the Chili has a nice kick to it, though they could replace that water with a little tomato purée. 

If you can get past all the sauces being called “lube” (GAG), the food is a bit better than alright. You can count on a solid diner-quality burger at a reasonable price, and some nights, that’s all you need. 

Jollibee - Torrance

Filipino fast food is fun, fun. fun!

Jollibee is drive-thru full of joy for containers of ChickenJoy. Fried chicken, sometimes fresh, thigh and drums, whites if you want, with gravy for dipping if you so desire. Sides like rice and mashed potatoes are meh, but they make a good meal on the run. 

Fried chicken comes in a sandwich if you so choose, the Original Chicken Sandwich is a fast food staple. The patty is decent meat, and the bun is a little nicer than what you'd get elsewhere. 

Have a holly Jolly Spaghetti, the pasta of your childhood dreams. The tomato sauce is all sweet and it's full of chunks of hot dogs a la Sheldon Cooper, sure to win over even the pickiest of kids. 

The chicken is joy, and the dessert is just bliss. A pudding-like purple filling in the Ube Pie, a little more sweet and tropical in the Peach Mango, gives McDonald's apple pies a run for their money. 

They were sold out of halo halo. CRY. Oh well, I could use another excuse to drive through again. 

Two Hands Corn Dogs - Torrance

Corn dogs in a box, try them all in the 5 pc Mega Box!

So many choices and all can be combined. 100% beef sausage is a standard. Put that in a Classic Dog if you want the corn dog staple. The batter is thick, and the fry is deep. Get the Two Hands Dog with signature seasoning if you want a little extra zing and dip it in sweet ranch. The Crispy Rice Dog is rolled in little pinball puffs for texture, and the Spicy Dog singes with smashed hot Cheetos. Potato Dog is my fave, like a small side of fries without the separate side. 

I like a good sausage, but mixing it up with half n' half is awesome. Or make it whole with an entire stick of melty mozzarella, cheddar, or both. There's even a vegan sausage coming that I'm very eager to try. 

Dig into some Dirty Fries if you dare, tater tots with Cheeto dust and a dippin' dirty sauce, which is like a chipotle mayo but more Asian. 

It's fancier fast food, well-made and fabulously fried. Irresistible if you're in the mood. I can't say no to a fried stick of sausage, and I'm even less likely to refuse a corn dog with cheese!

Raising Cane's - Torrance

 

"Why is it that every time a restaurant opens, the entire South Bay has to go get it?"

My husband has a way of summarizing a situation in a single sentence. His ability is directly proportional to the absurdity of the situation with a rate of exponential growth. He said this as we sat in a 5-block line for Raising Cane's weeks after they dropped their fried chicken boxes near Hawthorne and Lomita. 

They have every permutation of tenders and fries available, just try to gauge your hunger. Their tenders are breaded crisp, their chicken is clearly all white meat, and the flavors are pretty good. Fries are an afterthought, and so is the slaw, but the slaw helps break up the carbs. Whatever, I'm just here for the Texas Toast: big, fluffy, buttery bread, good with chicken drippings, just fine to stand alone.

Is it good? Oh, yeah. It's the In n' Out of chicken tenders. Fast food of acceptable quality, made fresh because they can barely keep up with the daily demand. Good enough to stop a lane of traffic on a major Torrance highway? Nope, not at all. I like, I want, I will return when I want, but I will never have a want for this stuff that goes 30 cars and 3 blocks deep. 

Y’Not Burgers - Torrance

A fast-food-diner mash-up with a drive-thru is high on convenience, impressive in speed. Food gets onto your table in a flash and into your car almost instantly. 

They have a wide range of offerings, and you can get almost anything between two slices of bread. The Double Cheeseburger is a classic with thick patties and toppings in so many iterations. 

They also have lighter offerings, like a deli-style Turkey Sandwich

And a pretty juicy Grilled Chicken. 

The Gyro is my personal favorite, a flashback from the carts that line the NYC streets. The meat isn’t roasted on a spit, but I do like how they heat the pita and slice the onions paper thin. 

Every item works with a side of fries, though I feel I need to try some others. Given the half-mile convenience of a drive-by, Y’Not has consistently outranked fast food chains in my need-something-to-eat-now repertoire. Why Y’Not? Why not Y’Not?

Yogi’s Teriyaki - Torrance

Think Flame Broiler but more Japanese. Think Yoshinoya but more homemade. 

I prefer the Teriyaki Chicken, but the Teriyaki Beef is fine as well. The chicken is in tender chunks, and the beef is in moist shaved sheets. None of it is dry, and it’s all sandwiched between a thick bed of rice with a solid though generic sauce on top. The steamed veggies are another option to add if you want a little more nutritional value to your lunch. They are bland and a little watery but no better or worse than anywhere else. 

I don’t know if this place is a chain but the taste is a mix of mass produced with a nice touch of mom n’ pop. It’s simple and it’s cheap, a decent bowl to scarf down, better to go. Good for picky eaters and those in a rush, even better for frugal yet reluctant cooks. 

Chubby Rice UPDATE - Hawthorne

We’ve always tried to support local businesses, buy we haven’t always done it as much as we should. If you’re waiting for the right time, know that the time is now. Order pick up or delivery from the places you’ve been curious about, splurge in the restaurants you’ve always wanted to try. Even n/naka is featuring an affordable bento at $40. 

One place that’s always worth supporting is Hawthorne’s Chubby Rice. Fantastic modern Chinese food is only a few clicks away on Ubereats.

I was afraid the quality wouldn’t survive a cross-city journey, and I was even more concerned that like many restaurants, Chubby Rice may have lost some steam since my last visit every years ago, but they remain infallible and formidable. The General Tso’s Chicken is such a juicy thigh in a just-right layer of fingernail-thick batter, never soggy in its sweet and clingy sauce. 

The Mongolian Beef has perfectly sautéed onions that turn sweet with the heat but maintain enough crunch for contrast. The beef itself melts in your mouth in marbly sheets. 

Sides are not to be neglected. The Hot n’ Sour Soup is a mildly viscous cup of comfort, made with fresh tofu and tender mushrooms. Less abrasively hot and less shockingly sour than your typical fast food iteration, this one has a more nuanced flavor profile that makes it easy to sip. 

The Chow Mein comes as a side but works just as well as a stand-alone. There’s a smoky wok-char to the curly egg noodles, and it fits like a glove with some steamed vegetables that are steamed only to the cooking point so they don’t lose their textural integrity. 

Our order came with a couple of brownies, a heartfelt thank you from a hardworking owner trying to keep their business alive in trying times. These words are their own rewards. I’ll leave you now with no more words - the food at Chubby Rice speaks for itself. 

Pinky's Hot Box - Torrance

Hi Pinky's, welcome to Torrance! 

The OG Sando really hits the spot when I'm looking for something quick and hot. The fry is good, the mild is plenty hot because I'm weak, and the burn is balanced by the comeback sauce and slaw. I'll always ask about the chef's special - someone got it last time, and it was fantastic. 

I'll go for the Tenders when I'm not feeling the bread. Same stuff, filling portion, and all the sides are strong. I love the seasoning on the fries, and the mac n' cheese is alright. 

Fried chicken hits the spot, and it comes out fast. Say what you will about Howlin' Ray's and their 2-hour line, but I'm just happy to have a fast and tasty lunch place to add to my working weekends!

Backyard BBQ Pit - Durham, NC

Backyard BBQ Pit really does look like a pit, bless its heart. A random, freestanding building channels a traditional south-of-the-border pit-stop like Waffle House, but sit down to some styrofoam-container barbecue and you won't be getting up anytime soon.

A straightforward-sounding Barbecue Plate is the way to go. Their pulled pork shoulder has enough flavor to stand alone, but NC vinegar makes it pop. You can taste the coal-pit cooking, and not a single shred is dry. Add Stewed White Potato as a side for a soupy alternative to mashed, and I have to say I'm impressed. They season it well, and it's pretty rare to be blown away by a pile of potatoes.

The Mac n' Cheese is all-American comfort, but really, I could come here just to eat Hush Puppies. These little cornbread balls are more southern than a Remington rifle, and they surprise you with how light they are, with a righteous hint of sweetness.

They do one hell of a Fried Catfish. Made to order, best batter I've ever had, right out of the fryer. Catfish isn't forgiving. It drowns in too much batter, it falls apart if you blacken it too hard and if it's not just the right amount of fresh, it tastes like Mississippi mud. This catfish tastes like it came straight from the fishing hole.

I imagine that exceptional side of Cabbage and the sweet, slushy stew of Candied Sweet Potato are derived from the same white-potato genius because both are definitely standouts. The best part is they all count as vegetables because that's what we call sides in the south. I'll be eating a lot more vegetables here.

They only have one dessert, and it's hard to imagine inhaling a piece of Chess Pie after giant cups of proper sweet tea, but it's harder to imagine missing out. The crispy crust has a moist interior, the custard is solid but pudding-soft, and it gets a little chewy in the most amazing sugary way. We usually get one to share, but this one is so good we each had our own.

This is stuff that feeds every country song and every southern-lovin' person ever lived. Food like this inspires. It's the stuff we sing about while picking banjos and strumming guitars. It's the stuff we burn off while riding horses and dancing in a line. It creates, it cultivates, and it solidifies an identity, an awesome existence; southern by the grace of god.