A Soul Kitchen Without Any Soul
Written: Feb 27 '01 (Updated Feb 27 '01)
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Pros: They have soul food
Cons: Cabbage instead of greens!
The Bottom Line: No greens?! You're better off driving across the Valley to Les Sisters and eating there.
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| Dhano923's Full Review: Angel Lena's Soul Food Kitchen |
Angel Lena's Soul Food Kitchen is located on the corner of Sepulveda and Ventura, one of the busiest intersections in the Valley. But if you blink, you might miss it. This restaurant is one of those places you'll drive by if you didn't know it was there.
I've had Angel Lena's food several times at my work. Since Angel Lena's is nearby, we've had it on various occasions. I'm not that impressed. Most of my co-workers aren't, either.
Angel Lena's serves (surprise!) soul food. Fried chicken, pork chops, macaroni and cheese... artery cloggin' food. Usually when we get the food, we get a huge batch of fried chicken, a ton of fried pork chops, and a big tray each of macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, greens, peach cobbler and rolls.
First of all, my biggest complaint, and almost everyone else's complaint too is that they don't serve collard or turnip or mustard or spinach greens -- they serve cabbage. Personally, I think that every soul food place should serve dark greens, not cabbage. Their cabbage is very bland, and tastes like it's been boiled for 3 hours. Not very appetizing.
Meat wise, the fried chicken is ok. Could use more seasoning, but it'll do. The pork chops, on the other hand, are like hockey pucks. They are always dried out and rock hard. No one ever eats them. There's a running joke here that one of the guys took the leftover chops home for his dogs and even they wouldn't eat them!
The macaroni and cheese is pretty decent, as are the mashed potatoes. They're like the homemade, comes-with-the-lumps type potatoes. The gravy is ok, too, with chunks of tomato in it, southern style.
Stay away from the peach cobbler. It's always watery, and the crust usually tastes raw. Not too many people like this one either.
The rolls are fine, but I wish they would have biscuits instead. Personal preference I guess.
I've seen their menu and I find their prices to be a bit high for the food and portions. I've had several people tell me the same thing. Somehow, I can't picture myself spending $16 for a fried chicken dinner. Most of the choices are priced in the $15-20 range.
I guess if you are craving soul food, and are in the neighborhood, then Angel Lena's will do the job. But if you're craving collard greens, you'll be disappointed. You're better off driving across the Valley to Les Sisters and having some down home southern/cajun food, with prices that are a bit more reasonable.
Recommended:
No
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Best Suited For: Friends
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Dhano923
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Location: SoCal
Reviews written: 260
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About Me:
After a long hiatus from Epinions, I'm itching to write reviews again!
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