Hugo's (West Hollywood)

After a couple of days on the road with Liz, we came to the city of Los Angeles.  I hadn't been down this way since February, and Liz had just never been to the city.   I knew exactly where we had to go, though.  Remember how I said that I deleted a backlog of old entries a little while back?  Well, it just so happens that one of those places was in West Hollywood, and it was good enough for me to want to return.  With that, I introduce you to Hugo's (West Hollywood).  Located at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Kings Rd, Hugo's has been around since the 80's.  Originally opened in an old butcher shop (which had been run by a guy named Hugo, thus the name), Hugo's now sports a few locations in the Greater LA Area.  The West Hollywood location has always been the one that I'm close to, so it's the one that gets the review.  As I said, I was here in February with my girlfriend, Eliza, so I already had a bit of an opinion on Hugo's.  I remember having an egg-white omelette and being fairly disappointed with the lack of flavour and whatnot.  That said, I wanted to give it another chance, since we all know my history with omelettes.  Plus, I remembered the service, coffee, atmosphere and other parts of my plate being great.

On this fine day, Liz and I rolled into town around 10am and were hungry campers.  We parked the car and headed into Hugo's.  We were immediately greeted and given a spot on the outdoor patio, since the sun was shining and we wanted some sunlight.  The overall atmosphere was as I remembered it; bustling and busy, with people of all walks eating and conversing.  There was only one other group of people on the patio, so we were treated to peace and quiet.  We were brought coffees and waters to drink while we looked over the menu.  Liz was stoked on being at a place that had a multitude of vegan options.  I hadn't seen her eat much of anything on the road, minus a veggie sub from a Subway in the middle of nowhere, so I can imagine how exciting this menu must have been.  I decided that I was going to go for a protein scramble (broccoli and asparagus in a scramble?  Sure!) while Liz made the decision of vegan Huevos Rancheros.  For the next 10 minutes or so, we drank coffee, figured out our day and awaited our food.  We weren't disappointed...

Protein Scramble!

Huevos Rancheros!

Look at that food!  Seriously!  These people are not messing around with portions, that's for sure.  I have to say, I was very pleased with the tastes that I experienced with my dish.  The vegetables were cooked just right, the chicken was flavourful and juicy, and the eggs were also great.  The fresh fruit was a bit bland, but nothing to really scoff at.  Liz dug right in and consumed more than enough food to keep her going for another few days.  She was also very pleased with her food.  The service was also great, and realistically, the price point wasn't all that bad either, especially for the amount/quality of food.  The only thing keeping me from giving 5 Bacons is my previous omelette experience.  That said, most places have their ups and downs in terms of dishes, and Hugo's is no exception.  That said, I would recommend it to anyone and everyone that happens to be in the area!

Stay sharp, kids

Jesse