One of the best traditions at work is taking colleagues out for lunch on their birthdays. I am fortunate to work alongside food obsessives in a food paradise (626, represent!), so these outings are as gustatory as they are celebratory.
For my 36th birthday, I forwent our usual Sichuan spots and hotpot haunts in favor of an unlikely neighborhood institution: The Venice Room in Monterey Park. What can I say—as a certifiable old person, I like to dine in old places.
Family-owned and operated since 1955, The Venice Room was truly unique in ambiance and in format. The Venetian-themed interior was dusty, dated, and dingy, but truth be told, quite charming too.
The specialty here is cook-your-own steak. For just $8.95, my colleagues and I were treated to a cornucopia of delights including an all-you-can-eat salad bar, a baked potato, a stale-ish French roll, and a raw slab of New York Strip steak.
