The Rack

When my friend and I were at the Westfield Mall in the San Fernando Valley, I saw a storefront that had a sign "Rack" and said to my friend, "Look there's a Rack here, let's go", thinking it was Nordstrom's Rack instead of The Rack restaurant. She told me it was a bar, so we were going to skip it, until we walked past and saw their menu with options ranging from burgers and sandwiches to ribs and fresh fish. Since we were both hungry and their menu included sides like collard greens and garlic fries, we figured it had to be better than the fast food inside the mall, so we sat down for lunch. Since they advertise that they serve the best Bloody Mary in the valley, I had to try one. It was not the best IMHO, but it was decent.

My friend ordered the cheese burger with guacamole and bacon (they forgot the bacon on the burger, but our waitress gave her an entire plateful once she told them). She ordered the collard greens and garlic fries as her two sides. The burger was huge and even though it was difficult to eat, she somehow managed to finish it. It was also nice to find that it was cooked to order exactly as she had specified (medium rare).

I chose the BLT with Turkey, (basically a club sandwich), also with collard greens and garlic fries. The collard greens tasted more like turnip greens, with a slightly bitter flavor, but they were nicely done with some spice and very tender. I loved the garlic fries which were crispy, and loaded with chopped garlic. The turkey was moist, and the tomatoes and lettuce were fresh, so this was a very good rendition of a club sandwich, even though it was so big I don't see how anyone could finish it unless they are a pro sports player!

Sometimes a mistaken identity can lead to a surprising find; we were happy to find The Rack was a restaurant that served very decent food at very moderate prices (our entire meal with drinks was only $40 for both of us). Service was very efficient and friendly, and if you come at night they have entertainment. We found out the reason the restaurant is named the Rack is because there are Pool Tables inside (we sat on the covered patio), so you can play a game of pool to work off your meal.