Red O West Hollywood

Update: Sadly, Red O no longer serves Brunch in West Hollywood. We hear the Santa Monica location may start serving brunch one day soon.

Although Cheebo is our go-to for any weekend breakfast or lunch, Red O is our Sunday brunch must-have.  Rick Bayless’ West Hollywood haunt has “the best guacamole EVER” according to our son.  That’s a pretty serious endorsement since up until that moment in time, he was conviced Tere’s guacamole was the best.  It put him in quite the predicament on the day he switched teams.  If only Rick Bayless knew!  

If we have nothing to do on a Sunday around 10a, Red O is the first words out of the kids’ mouths.  Again, I happily drive across town to experience that “world renowned” guacamole along with the Huevos a la Mexicana and the Huevos Rancheros Verdes.  It’s all scrumptious.

Tere likes the Steak & Heirloom Tomato Salad (I do too) and we’ve had the Dungeness Crab Cakes multiple times.  We all love the Churros with chocolate-Kahlua dipping sauce.    

There really isn’t a bad dish on the menu but the one thing I jones for is the margarita.  I go for the Market Margarita otherwise known as the “Spa” margarita.  It has cucumbers and feels very refreshing which is another way of saying I can drink MANY of them!  Tere likes a little spice so she prefers the Alacran Cabo Wabo which has a red color and looks incredibly fire-y to me.

Red O also has a $100 margarita available on Fridays and Saturdays called The Benjamin, and rightfully so.  If you’re uber-knowledgable about tequila, here is the recipe…amazing. 

Extra anejo tequilas; Patron Burdelos, Herradura Selection Suprema, & Partida Elegante, Gran Marnier Cuvee du Cent Cinquentanaire. with fresh Mexican lime & 100% Organic Agave syrup, shaken & poured over homemade lime sorbet ice cubes & Louix XIII cognac float. Finished with Blood Orange caviar & edible gold & kosher salt rim, served on a silver platter with a stainless steel straw.

I’ve always wondered if Red O was going to make it because the crowd for Sunday Brunch always seemed to be a little on the light side but I hear the evening dinner scene is a madhouse.  Tons of people enjoying the amazing food and out of this world margaritas.  I really need to get over there one evening to check it out but for now, I’m pretty happy with my lazy Sundays and a Market Margarita.

Heather’s Rating: Worth Going Back Over and Over

Red O

8155 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles 90046

(323)655-5009

Open: Sat & Sun Brunch 10:30a-3:00p, Daily Dinner starting at 6:00p

Reservations

Cheebo

We used to live right up the hill from Cheebo in Hollywood a number of years ago.  It was my absolute go-to for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I love it so much that if I’m not cycling on a weekend morning, I will drive the kids all the way across town for their fried bread, cheeburrito, chopped salad and pizza.

The LA Times reviewed Cheebo back in 2003 and I decided I had to check it out. The pizza sold by the foot is the big draw and you should definitely have it but it’s everything else that makes Cheebo worth coming back over and over.

For breakfast, the kids (and I) love the Chee-Begniers N Honey - and yes, that’s how they spell it on their menu so don’t give me any grief over it.  For the rest of us, it’s otherwise known as fried bread and honey.  These little pillows of fried dough come out steaming hot and make every bad thing that happened to you melt away.  After you satiate your sweet tooth, move on to the Cheeborito.  I go for the Original but add in Avocado.  One Cheeborito is more than a normal person can handle without feeling like you’ll lose a full day to the “sleepies” after you’ve consumed this massive beast.  I also love the Huevos Rancheros, classic SoCal breakfast.

If you’re headed to Cheebo for lunch, order the pizza and a Cheebo Chop.  This is by far my favorite chop salad.  They have a vegetarian version but I don’t understand the point of that.  Get it with all the cheese and meat they will put in. It’s delish.  

To make Cheebo even more interesting than the food is that once in awhile a relaxed, chilled out celebrity will be eating right next to you.  It’s Hollywood so everyone’s cool like that.

Heather’s Rating: Worth Going Back Over and Over

Cheebo

7533 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles 90046

(323)850-7070

Hours: 8:00a-11:00p Every Day

Reservations: Call

BOA Santa Monica

Although our Christmas holiday involved more food than anyone could ever consume, we found ourselves watching the Food Network non-stop this past Saturday.  If you recall, the morning started out cold but dry and quickly devolved into a rainy, soggy mess.  I was out on my bike and got caught in the rain - fun.  So once I got home, all I wanted to do was sink into our bed and watch tv.  And watch tv we did.  In the early afternoon we were starting to get very hungry as we watched a series of restaurant shows on The Travel Channel.  One in particular, Food Paradise, was all about steakhouses.  We learned about dry-aging beef, wet-aging beef and how to get the best cuts of meat from a cow.

We were all dying for a steak and started calling around town to secure an early reservation with the kids.  Mastro’s was booked, Lawry’s was going to be too touristy but BOA was reasonably close and could seat us at 5:30p.  Perfect!  

We threw on slightly nicer clothes, slicked down the kids’ hair and took off for Santa Monica.  As we walked in, our son asked where the pictures were on the walls - unfortunately, he thought we were going to The Palm which he saw on that show.  Now I’m forced to take him there one day soon.  Only WE would have kids that think going to The Palm is normal.

I’ve eaten at BOA many times and this trip didn’t disappoint.  We started off with a special bruschetta appetizer with ricotta cheese, cherry tomatoes and truffle oil that was heavenly and a picture perfect chop salad.  The steaks were wonderful although my gigantic Porterhouse (to share with the kids - hello!) was much more rare than the “medium to medium well” I asked for.  I also really loved the wine menu with a number of unique, hard to find wines but mostly the half-bottles that allowed the two of us to try two different wines without spending a small fortune.

The coup de grace of the evening though was the perfectly square mound of blue cotton candy they made for the kids.  They went nuts.  Everyone around us was in awe of it and it was awe worthy.  For a last minute trip out for “cow” as my daughter said, it was a pretty great night.

Heather’s Rating: Worth Going Back Again 

BOA

101 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica 90401

(310)899-4466

Reservations