Ford’s Filling Station

closed… i’m so sad now :(
…but Wait…
I happened upon the newly located Fords Filling Station a few weekends ago at The Bonaventure Hotel downtown!
WOOHoo!!!

I know this place is closed, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t give credit where it’s due.
For starters, I could have been happy with just the starters. The Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps were amazing because it was good and you really can’t mess up pork belly. The Smoked Brisket Taquitos were full of soft, flavorfully shredded beef continued to impress.
The Octopus Tostadas is a mouthful of fresh air. You can’t go wrong with the balance of soft cephalopod on a crunchy chip with a kick of jalapeño.
The Garlic Shrimp were just shrimp in garlic and butter, but they definitely took my breath away… mainly because I couldn’t really breathe in polite company afterward…
The special of the day was a Goat Cheese Gnocchi. The gnocchi was tasty, especially with the goat cheese, but it wasn’t really changing my life.
The Flattened Chicken is probably the best chicken I’ve ever had. The meat is so tender and juicy it literally melts in your mouth! A definite must-try…too bad you can’t try it anymore…

Reviews… I get tired of reading all these reviews. People complaining about little things. Special orders, old onion rings, rich whiners getting kicked out etc…
I’ll sum this place up:
A tiny handful of vegetarian options (I didn’t say vegan)
* and that goes beyond ordering a $ 12 dollar salad… looking at you Public School.
Décor is nice, vintage inspired quaintness. Very sufficient for a lunch or brunch.
Service was pretty good on my visit. No real complaints… but nothing stood out.
Food was okay. Not terrible… not am pm level of atrociousness. But not mind blowing.
I got the smoked mozzarella flatbread. It was decent, not 11 bucks decent but decent. I’d say the food overall from our party seemed to be 3 – 4 stars. I’d give a 3 for the food and +1 for the service and décor. I didn’t special order anything, I didn’t expect some Michelin starred joint. It’s a gastropub.

It’s a shame because I had really hoped this place would be good. I heard it once was really good.
The food is just okay, and definitely not worth the price. It’s decently crowded so again, I had hoped the food would be good. I ordered the pulled pork grilled cheese that comes with a side of salad or fries. The salad was just greens smothered in a really plain lemon dressing. So you’re basically just eating sharp lemon flavored lettuce and spinach.
The pulled pork grilled cheese wasn’t a grilled cheese at all — there was barely any cheese and I expect my grilled cheeses to by oozing in melty cheese! So disappointed. The pulled pork was also really dry.
Coworker ordered the fish tacos which were okay, but to not order it, especially if you’re hungry.
I would recommended going somewhere else to eat.

After banging my knee on the table when sitting down, you’d think this restaurant would be at my beckon call and do as I wished. Meh, not so much.
I asked for two sides of chicken (the chicken that could be added to salads) when ordering my meal… but the women serving my friend and I looked at me like I just yelled a racial slur in Japanese. Alas, I did not get two sides of chicken by themselves. I had to ALSO order the $ 9 salad that was really just a tiny bunch of leafy greens I could have purchased at Trader Joe’s across the street for $ 1.99. So my brunch/​lunch turned into a $ 20 meal (before tax)… When really it could have just been $ 10, if they simply served me two sides of chicken.
Sure the chicken was fine, but it wasn’t worth the price, that’s for sure.
The reason for my request? I cannot tolerate many vegetables. Thank goodness I didn’t come here for dinner, they probably would have no idea how to handle my requests for no dairy (butter, etc), gluten, soy, sugar, etc. I am sorry that I have a lot of food allergies and intolerances… But I do, and if I am a paying customer, restaurants should be willing to accommodate.

I haven’t tried anything else on the menu since I came to only try the Pub Burger (with cheddar, bacon and caramelized onions) — medium rare.
There is nice outdoor seating. Unfortunately dogs cannot enter the area so we had to tie our dog to the fence and she had to stay around the perimeter. They were really accommodating though! They provided a dog bowl of water. Also it works out since we were at a corner seat and many people gave her so much attention. The service, overall, was great. Our waiter came by a few times to make sure we were doing fine and made sure our glasses were never empty.
Now for the food. The burger was alright. The extra toppings (lettuce, pickle, onion, tomato) of the burger are put to the side. The pickle was delicious and the tomato (not the sliced kinds, but something else…) was juicy. I, however, thought the burger itself was somewhat «dry». The meat was good, but with the bun and the cheese and the onions, there weren’t enough juice to offset the «dryness”/saltiness. I guess what I wanted was a matching aioli for the burger. I tried spreading the ketchup on the bun, but it didn’t help much.
I was pleasantly surprised that the burger came with fries though!

Really like this place. Every time I’ve been, I haven’t had a bad meal.
The fish and chips are good, but not the best I’ve ever had.
I recently had the mushroom linguini and it was good, but not amazing. I wish there was more truffle in it. My fiancé had the porkchop and I had a bite. Guys, I hate hate hate pork chops. Ever since I was little. But let me tell you, this was really good. Like, I could see myself ordering it. Maybe I’ve just been having bad pork chops whenever I’ve tried them. I highly recommend this dish. Also, the brussel sprout slaw with it was delicious!
Love the beet salad on butter lettuce with goat cheese. Dressing was not too overwhelming and complimented the rest of the salad nicely.
For dessert, crumble blueberry pie —- YESS!!! Order this. So good.
Parking is the typical culver city parking… there is a lot nearby.

I brought my Mom here for a Mother’s Day brunch and had a really nice experience. It wasn’t crazy busy and they offered her a complimentary mimosa, which was a nice touch. I had the Blue Maxx and while I’m not a huge fan of eggs benedict, this slight spin on the breakfast staple was really nice. Savory and rich, it was a great way to start Mother’s Day.
Parking was okay (it can be a pain on weekend evenings), service was good and the food was tasty. Overall while I enjoyed brunch, nothing especially blew me away. Therefore, I think 3 stars is appropriate.

Girlfriend and I stopped in here after walking around Dtown Culver City.
Great wine selection– bacon wrapped dates were so good!
Staff was very friendly. Manager was there and spoke with us for a long time.
Will definitely be back soon

This place was fine. They’ve got some decent outdoor seating, but I ended up sitting at the bar. The waitress recommended the pulled pork sandwich, which was pretty tasty, nothing special, smokey with a nice piece of cheese.
I’d come back.

Happened to be in Culver City a couple is weeks ago with the wife and decided to swing by Ford’s for a late lunch on a Monday. The place was empty, which was nice. The wife had been several times in the past, but this was my first time.
We started with the Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps. Crispy pork belly with pickled watermelon and Serrano chilis. The pork belly was extra crispy and seasoned just right. The watermelon was perfect to cool down the spice of the serranos. Overall, the wraps were pretty great.
I had the special: Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese. There were peppers and Gouda cheese along with the smoked pork. Not a bad sandwich. Not great though. I didn’t dig the fact that the bread was toasted with no butter. No butter on a grilled cheese? Argh! I’m not sure if this was intentional. How could you not use butter? I like butter.
As a side note, the beer battered onion rings were pretty awesome.

Oooh Poutine on the menu Hell yes! Received a bowl of french fries drenched in gravy but no freakin cheese curds. They gave me gravy fries (which was good, but it’s not poutine dammit!) $ 12 dolla for gravy fries Strike 1
Got the pub burger… ordered it medium rare was told medium well. fine whatever i’ll take it not a big deal… Was feeling a bit wild so I got blue cheese with it for an extra three bucks (living large!). Get my burger and the bun was so dense it was like a hockey puck and my patty was completely cooked all the way thru, it was completely well done. So basically I got a super dry and dense burger for $ 15, it surely sucked. Strike 2
I ordered the Dudes brew co Coconut Porter for $ 8, this beer tastes like Chinese Herbal medicine, so this beer sucked. There was no coconut flavor, just a really thick heavy brew with crappy herbal medicine flavors. I picked this so this one is my bad, but still somebody at this restaurant decided that this brew belonged on the menu and it sucked. So Strike 3
I liked the ambiance, service was ok, food is overpriced and underwhelming.

It’s been many years since I tried Ford’s Filling Station. Last weekend, Hubby and I were theater bound and parked behind the establishment. It was close, it was pretty empty, we were hungry and thirsty. The stars aligned and I decided to try it out again.
This time was much better than the last time I darkened their doorstep. They have happy hour every day which is a wonderful thing to find out on a Sunday! It’s only «happy» in the bar and patio so we grab seats at the bar and ordered beers.
Hubs tried the namesake IPA and he enjoyed it. He is a beer snob, so that says something. I had an Allaghash White. We ordered off the happy hour menu… the brisket taquitos were really wonderful. Crunchy, meaty, with a little guac, they were quite tasty. The burger, we split. It was standard, nothing outstanding.
The bartender was super nice… the other bartender did not tell us that the Allagash and the Racer 5 were not part of the happy hour prices and when we inquired, the other guy gave us the happy hour prices. That is GREAT service. It was nice.
I would have given 4 stars, but I really think that if you are buying an $ 11 happy hour burger, you should get onions or cheese at no additional cost.

Bartender/​Staff: awesome! Very helpful and attentive. Gave us samples on whatever whiskey I was trying to decide between. I want to give this place a higher rating because of the super service we received by the two women behind the bar, but that couldn’t make up for everything else that followed with the food.
Food: very disappointing especially for the price they charge. Bacon Wrapped Dates — it was a pretty nice size, but I wish the bacon was crispier. It was all too soft with no variation in texture. White Shrimp Flatbread — flatbread was too thin and flimsy. Mac n Cheese — the worst item we ordered. The cheese tasted like fake powder cheese and not «cheesy» at all. We were told it’s got a spicy kick, but because of the lack of flavor and the terrible powder cheese taste, I added my own hot sauce to try to mask it all.

Son of Indy. I could give you 42 good reasons to eat here, but I could also as easily give you 42 reasons to temper your expectations. Now I never worked Hollywood Homicide but their Pub Burger is killer good and the sides of fries and onion rings are the Devil’s Own. The weekend brunch could be your Morning Glory. I hear the Roasted Trout and Flat Iron Steak is for Patriots, but at $ 24 prices I’m not quite ready to play those Games — not until I Witness it on somebody else’s plate and go, «Ooh, I got to have some of that.» Signed, Regarding Henry.
Now on my last visit, we had just missed the cutoff hours for their Dine L.A. lunch hour items by ten minutes and I was as devastated as John Book when he learned his boss was crooked — that meant no Shrimp Po’ Boy, goddammit. No reason to get Frantic, I still found some delicious Beef Brisket Taquitos and Hot Wings in small bites.
We were hoodwinked into buying the Cappuccino Sundae which was delicious but alarmingly small and, Clear and Present Danger, was too skimpy on the ice cream to really share between two — was such a tease that I would have preferred going down the street for a massive sundae somewhere else, being as nuts as Cowboys & Aliens when it comes to my ice cream. I am often Presumed Innocent, but my wife Sabrina (not her real name, but her bedroom name) caught me stealing the last bite of that ice cream.
Service was very nice but far from Extraordinary Measures. Still, I’d rather eat here than the Mosquito Coast. Actually, I think I’d eat here on my Sex Days, Seven Nights.
Honey St. Smash is so devastatingly good (Bourbon, St. Germain, Honey, Lemon, Mint), it’s practically a Widowmaker. I like piano nights like I like American Grafitti. #movielove and #obscurereferences and #sillypuns and #whiteguytooeasilydevastated

Since I heard that they source their pigs from the same place as Lindy & Grundy, I knew the Bacon in the BLTA with roasted tomato, arugula and garlic aioli for $ 12 would be good. The bacon was great, unfortunately the aioli was basically just mayonnaise and the rest of the sandwich was not noteworthy with an excess of bun to filling ratio.
Two of us ordered the special of the day, the Grilled Steak Salad for $ 14. It arrived in a big wooden «trough» with butter lettuce, avocado (which seems to be a signature ingredient here), parmesan, and radishes. The steak was only offered medium rare and it was marinated in a chimichurri sauce, but it lacked flavor and seasoning and I found the entire salad rather bland.
The drinks we had were great, one of us even got a shot of jalapeño infused tequila which she enjoyed, so if you are looking for a great place to have drinks and maybe a snack, like fried chick peas, taquitos, or bacon wrapped dates, this would be a good choice.

As flexible as Olympic gymnast, Nadia Comaneci. A gastropub with brunch. A brunch with a gastropub. So many combinations! Common feature: cocktails! Inside, a woodsy everyday place, but also features a covered side patio, and a front/​sidewalk open patio.
For a Saturday afternoon, a Bloody Mary (4.5, Randy likes it spicy. but not so pricey at $ 11), and blueberry pancakes (3.5, good but not special,
). But two other items I had are really worth diving into with extra commentary: Fried chickpeas (see pic) and flat-​bread pizza with squash blossoms.
BEST OF DAY: Fried Chickpeas (
): what stole the day for me was the chickpeas served in the pod with sea salt and lemon. I’ve never seen these in any markets, and like edamame, you don’t eat the outside so you just chomp down and squish out the inside. Mmmm… and the flavor of the salt and lemon. OMG LOVE. I must find them and make them 24/​7, or for $ 4, just come here for a fix. Yeah, the latter.
VEGGIE OPTION: The Squash blossom flatbread pizza was really tasty. I love squash blossoms, anyhow, but with fontina cheese, a leek cream for the sauce, onions, and green harissa dolloped on… delish. What’s green harissa? Typically, spinach, parsley, paprika, cumin, cardamon, coriander, jalapeños, garlic, lemon zest, orange zest, lemon juice, orange juice, oil, salt and pepper. Yum.
Overall, it was a good place… not to necessarily to run back to. But, it’s certainly a good option, and I’m gonna have to come back to try the happy hour and/​or evening menu. The burgers have been tagged… they look fantastic (and, this Berger knows).

I joined my friends for the Dine LA lunch thing — but there was an Eggs Florentine dish on the Brunch menu, so I could not resist. My favoritie breakfast is Eggs Florentine — and Fords Filing Stations makes them so good !
It was difficult not to change my order, because some of the other food looked so good. Deviled Eggs? What other restaurant makes Deviled Eggs — I saw them, an dI wanted them. I will have to go back.
Also they make amazing pancakes ! A friend ordered pancakes, and I tried some and they were amazing.
Now that I have tried Fords Filling station for Brunch, I will definately have to head back there for dinner.

After seeing this place featured on Food Network and learning that the chef is the son of one of my favorite Hollywood superstars, I have been wanting to give this place a try.
They were featuring a Lamb burger on their specials menu; it sounded so good! Unfortunately, they were out! BUMMER!
The waitress was pretty friendly and she recommended the burger. I trusted her recommendation and ordered the burger (medium rare) with blue cheese and caramelized onions.
Meh. The burger was a little too well done for my liking. The patty was dry and tough. The caramelized onions were awesome and the blue cheese added great flavor to the burger. The fries were ok. I’ve had better fries; maybe the onion rings would have been a better choice. OH! and they don’t have Ranch Dressing! How odd!
My friend and I each ordered Arnold Palmers… but they refilled our drinks with just Iced tea. Which would have been just fine… if the iced tea was better. I’ve never really had issues with Iced Tea at a restaurant. Seems pretty tough to mess up, but the tea here is flavorless and watery. Not good at all!
I might give this place another shot. The flatbreads sounded good, but I definitely won’t be having the burger here again. I’m sticking to the burgers at Fathers Office when I’m in Culver City.

Why does this place only have 3 stars? This will forever remain a mystery to me. Maybe the food mafia got jealous and spammed them with low-​star reviews? Ford’s Filling Station was so good that I want to drop all my Unilocal reviews one star down! Yeah, this place is THAT good.
Here’s what I inhaled delightfully:
BLAZING SOMBRERO
This cocktail has layers of flavors. Starts off sweet, transitions into spicy, and ends with a jalapeño kick. Definitely something I’d drink again and again.
HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD
The heirloom salad was delicious, but when is ripened heirloom tomato never tasty? The burrata was the highlight of the dish.
OVER ROASTED OCTUPUS
Eye-​poppingly, jaw-​droppingly, wowingly scrumptious! My friend said it tasted like chicken. If so, then it’s the best chicken I’ve ever had. The octopus had the perfect amount of chewiness to it.
HALIBUT
The halibut was a bit dry, but the Yukon potato risotto made up with its slight creaminess. Not too rich, just the way it should be.
***The SERVICE was 6 stars. Our waiter David was very attentive and is skilled with time management. Likeable character that man.
***PARKING was easy. If driving east, turn left onto Cardiff and you will see a parking structure there. You can’t miss it. First 2 hours free. Every additional hour is $ 1.
***CONCLUSION: Food is definitely worth the price.