Rate-A-Restaurant #388: Gino's East (Sherman Oaks)

Restaurant: Gino's East

Location: 12924 Riverside Dr (Sherman Oaks)

Type of restaurant: Chicago-style deep dish pizza

We stipulated: We've been eager to try Gino's East since they arrived in Los Angeles, in order to get a taste of Chicago without having to order a frozen pizza. The lines have been too long, however, and then the restaurant shut down entirely at the start of the pandemic. Now that they've instituted carry out, we were ready to try it.

They stipulated: Pizzas take around 45 minutes to bake. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, they are offering carryout and delivery from 12pm-9pm every day. Call (818) 788-5050!

What we ordered: Deep dish 12" build your own pizza ($24) with pepperoni (+$3.25); Deep dish 12" supreme pizza -- Italian sausage with onions, green peppers, mushrooms ($33). Bonus pizza: We bought during a buy two large, get a small 9" pizza for free special, and we chose Spinach Margherita -- spinach, cherry tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella, basil (normally $26).

High point:   Loved that free pizza deal. Also, with no traffic, we got to Sherman Oaks in 11 minutes! Pizzas were ready and it was easy to pick up.

Overall impression: Here's an important point: Even that short trip home, followed by a bit of a wait before eating, cooled off the pizzas a bit. Chicago style pizzas are best when they're hot, and the cheese is melting. And the crust needs to be crunchy. When you get home, stick the pizza in the oven at 400 degrees for another 15 minutes. You'll be glad you did. Otherwise, you may be disappointed -- initially I had a "ugh, this isn't as good as Chicago" taste. But when I heated the pizzas up, it improved dramatically. Also, with all that pizza, we managed three meals out of it! Buy more. You won't be disappointed with the leftovers.

Will we return:  Absolutely. Yes, the price appears steep, but don't forget, these are deep dish slices. You'll make more than one meal out of it. Probably.

Rate-A-Restaurant #188: Max

Restaurant: Max

Location: 13355 Ventura Blvd. (Sherman Oaks)

Type of restaurant: Cal-Asian



We stipulated: For our sixth anniversary dinner, Maria and I were looking forward to finally trying Palate. But they're closed on Sundays. Then we inquired about downtown's Church & State. Also closed. Since we were going to be in the Valley during the day, we turned our attention to Sherman Oaks. We'd been wanting to try Max for years, and we regularly pig out at chef Andre Guerrero's Eagle Rock-based "slow fast food" joint, The Oinkster. So Max it would be.


Ahi towers

What we ordered: Appetizer: Ahi towers (wasabi toiko, seaweed, pickled ginger), $9.50. Main: Miso-marinated black cod (baby bok choy, water chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms sugar snap peas), $24; Beef short ribs 2-ways (grilled with dry sautéed green beans; served with risotto), $22.


Beef shortribs

High point: Easy to get a reservation, nice environment and appreciated that they were open on a Sunday. We particularly enjoyed the ahi appetizer, with the crispy rice bank.

Low point: The after-dinner coffee was surprisingly weak and not worth the $3.50. Also, was disappointed that we weren't told of the night's wine specials. I didn't see them until I passed by the bar (where they were written on a chalkboard) on the way to the restroom.


Miso-marinated black cod

Overall impression: Guerrero has adjusted the Max menu to add several touches first seen at the Oinkster -- and as big Oinkster fans, we approve. We never visited Max in its original incarnation, but the current version nicely melds casual elements with more upscale elements. The bistro vibe is nice, and the place was packed on a Sunday night.

Chance we'll go back: We're not in the habit of spending that much on regular dinners, but if we're looking to go slightly more upscale -- but not too upscale, and still casual -- Max is a nice middle ground.

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