Outdoor Grill ~ Culver City
Outdoor Grill ~ 12630 1/2 Washington Place, Culver City ~ Taco Map
Carwash-adjacent dining experiences have the potential to rise to the top of the heap when it comes to “only in LA” but sadly most of the options are pretty mediocre. New hope was breathed into the genre when the great Bandini reported on of the city’s best taco trucks operating in a car wash lot, but it was further revealed that the truck only operates when the car wash is closed. Benito’s and their awful-yet-satisfying taquitos rule the carwash scene, and you can get a good Espresso at the Lincoln Car Wash near the 10 in Santa Monica.
But the king of carwash food has got to be Culver City’s Outdoor Grill…
This is the view from the top patio at the Outdoor Grill– you are perched directly above the lot and can watch to see when your car is done. Unlike most carwash-adjacent restaurants, you don’t need to either get your food to go or keep craning your neck to see if your car might be done. Sit up here and relax– although the Speedy J Hand Wash promises swiftness right in their name, you’ll be waiting the normal amount of time.
Outdoor grill isn’t just a name. This is where the grillmaster and his assistant grill up chicken and tri-tip over an open flame. Both are tasty, but the tri-tip sandwich, a simple but satisfying meat-bomb, is the thing to get here. It’s not quite Santa Maria parking-lot worthy, but it’s definitely got all the right tri-tip flavors– burnt, spicy and meaty.
Bread, tri-tip, and a small amount of BBQ sauce (the less the better, really). It’s best eaten with large amounts of Tapatio instead, which the Grill happily supplies on most tables up top. It takes about as long to eat as it does for the Speedy J to handwash your car, so keep an eye out when you’re done for someone holding up a towel next to your ride.
Do you know of some good carwash-adjacent eats? Let us know in the comments…
Mario wrote:
Don’t dis on Benitos! That’s my carwash spot for life.
Posted on 18-Oct-06 at 11:43 am | Permalink
Suzanne wrote:
I get my car washed at Wilshire West, at 23rd and Wilshire in SM.
Across the street you have either Cal Chicken Cafe if you’re feeling healthy, or the Zweiburger at Snug Harbor if you’re not. I think from the counter at Snug Harbor you can see if your car is ready across the street!
Posted on 18-Oct-06 at 3:09 pm | Permalink
jeff wrote:
Shortly after they opened (was it 96 or 97???) i was standing near the broom and trash can (visible in your second picture) waiting for my car.
preceeding my car by a couple of vehicles was a brand new mercedes coupe; it still had temp tags on it. a handy-j guy hopped in the benz and started it up to drive over to the dry line. i heard the benz start and then go straight to redline, it was a stange sound – kinda muffled by high pitch. i had just enough time to glance up and notice that the handy-j guy didn’t realize what was going on and put the car in drive. The benz too-off like a friggin rocket and embedded itself a couple of feet into the wall of the outdoor grill, almost directly under where that picture was taken. the force of the impact raised the rear of the car about a foot and deployed the airbag. the car was still redlining with the rear wheels doing a sweet burn-out when the guy opened the door and stumbled/crawled out. another handy-j guy came running over and managed to shut-off the motor. handy-j guy was ok – just understandably dazed.
the benz owner came out of the cashier area looking for his car – i’ll never forget the bewildered look on his face once he realized what the commotion was about.
Years later the stucco patch was still visible if you knew what to look for.
Posted on 31-Oct-06 at 10:05 am | Permalink
CITY wrote:
i agree with the whole not putting too much bbq sauce in it. i get the cornbread too.
Posted on 10-Mar-08 at 3:24 pm | Permalink