• The Rib Ranch

• Uncle Ernie's Pizza 4U

• Judy's La Petite

• Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch

• Holdren's Steak & Seafood

The Rib Ranch

The Rib Ranch has the best ribs as far as I know. I have been to many restaurants, and they are my gold standard. Reasonably priced, and friendly service. Two locations, one in Woodland Hills at 923 Topanga Canyon Bl. and one in Thousand Oaks at 1712 E Avenida De Los Arboles CA.

Uncle Ernie's Pizza 4U

Uncle Ernie's Pizza 4U is the best pizza restaurant as far as I know. The food is also reasonably priced. One location in 9841 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Chatsworth CA, at Lassen.

Judy's La Petite

This is a kosher restaurant in the Fairfax area. I have been there before and I have been unimpressed. My folks decided to go there for Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't really want to go, but it was a family thing. I have been disappointed by the service as well as the food before, especially their 'Chinese' food. I was not looking forward to the experience. Imagine my surprise when I found that they had a 1/2 rack as well as a full rack of beef ribs on their menu. Being a lover of ribs, I decided to give it a try. I ordered the full rack of ribs for $17. It turned out to come with some kind of potatoes on the side. I wish the menu said something about that, so I could have gotten french frys or something else. But that was a minor nit.

Now it is cow anatomy time. Generally a 'full rack' of ribs denotes 1/2 of the ribcage of the animal in question. I called my buddies at The Rib Ranch to check out a few things. Cows have 7, that is *S*E*V*E*N* ribs on a side. At The Rib Ranch, a rack of beef ribs costs $16, and comes with 7 ribs (also with rolls and two side orders). So guess how many ribs comes on a 'full rack' at Judy's? Three. I don't know where they get their cows from; but not from this planet. I was too shocked to say anything while I was there, but I called up the next day, and they were pretty nasty, and would not admit that more than 3 ribs should come with a 'full rack'. I think that I would rather go to McDonalds or Pizza Hut rather than this place. There is no worse restaurant that I can recall in the Los Angeles area. In fact, I can recall no worse restaurant. There are actually a few good kosher restaurants around, but In My Not So Humble Opinion this is not one of them. One location in Los Angeles at 129 N La Brea Ave CA.

Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch

I recently had brunch at Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch at 4325 Glencoe Avenue, Marina Del Rey, CA Brunch was all-you-can-eat, and around $15. I got beef ribs and macaroni and cheese. They had a bread basket at the table. There was corn bread as well as other fresh baked bread.

The beef ribs were wonderful. Tender, not too much fat, and the BBQ sause was wonderful. The macaroni and cheese was good but not spectacular. The corn bread was also wonderful. I did feel like a minority, as there were far more black people than white people. Highly recommended.

Holdren's Steak & Seafood

I recently had dinner at Holdren's Steak & Seafood at 512 State St. Santa Barbara CA I ordered the full rack of Baby Back Ribs ($25). Dinner came with soup or salad. It also came with a choice of several potato things, and I ordered french fries. The baby back ribs came with a fair amount of meat on above the surface of the ribs. They were cooked so the meat was tender, and was mostly falling off of the bones. The BBQ sause was superior. Very good service (which I expected from a expensive resturant). Highly recommended.