Marketing, PR and Advertising - X'otik Kitchen, Culver City

X'otik Kitchen
6121 Washington Boulevard (just east of La Cienega)
Culver City, CA 90232
310.280.3961
www.xotikkitchen.com

Final Elimination Week, no. 7

I don't like marketing, which is funny, since that's what I do. No, wait. Technically, I don't do marketing, since I don't have a job anymore! Get over it, Sarah. Let it go. You are unemployed. I don't do marketing, so I guess it's okay to not like marketing. Hm, maybe it's all starting to make scary co-inky-dental sense now...

Actually, it's not marketing that I don't like; it's advertising. Cripes, that's not true either. I actually do like advertising - when it comes to television commercials for luxury cars and Mastercard. BMW and the MC commercials with Peyton Manning are brilliant. Absolutely f**king brilliant. "Way to go insurance adjustors, way to go!" If I had a steady income, I'd sign up for a Mastercard and buy every model of BMW right now. LOL!

So what it truly is that I don't like is false advertising. I’m not talking about hidden-truth advertising, in which you don’t reveal everything. You can’t tell everyone everything all the time – that would be boring and take way too long. I mean for fox ache, I don’t even show my entire face in my picture up there in the upper right hand corner. But I don’t like false advertising in which it’s an outright lie. It would be different if I had put up a photo of a gorgeous blue-eyed blonde with an impossible Barbie-doll body. That’s just not accurate...or is it?!?!?! You’ll never know. ;)

No, clever advertising that heightens interest, keeps attention, compels to action, is good. False advertising with straight-up lies is straight-up bad. X’otik Kitchen has got some serious false advertising in its name. First of all, they can’t spell. Neather can I (that was on purpose, Mr. Spellcheck McFreakstein). Spelling has nothing to do with false advertising, but it’s late right now, and the point is, X’otik Kitchen is not exotic.

X'otik Kitchen is a small joint on Washington Boulevard near La Cienega. I didn't know that Culver City extended that far east! If being at the furthest reaches of a region is considered exotic though, well then, I stand corrected. Hell, if there is such a thing as being "x'otik," then again, I take back everything I just said about X'otik Kitchen. But x'otik is not in the dictionary. I checked. Look for yourself.

(As an aside, I should stay away from blogging after midnight, amped on something that I hate to admit, but if you must know, it comes in a small half-silver, half-blue can and rhymes with "Bed Pull." And since we're on the subject of marketing, I don't like their commercials, but somehow, they certainly have done an excellent job of marketing their God-awful product.)

baby bok choy is as xotik as it gets

plain ol' penne pasta

X’otik Kitchen’s claim to semi-fame is that they serve healthy, organic food at affordable prices. The restaurant space is tiny and is only open until 8 pm, because presumably, most people take-out from X’otik Kitchen. Their menu is fairly simple. Most of the entrees are some variation on roast chicken, and I will give them credit for having some exotic flavors here – coconut, citrus, and Indian spiced. Entrees come with pita bread (this could be exotic to some) and two sides, which include things like steamed vegetables and roasted potatoes. Now there is no way you can tell me steamed veggies and roasted potatoes are exotic. The two things that do look exotic are Indonesian rice and grilled plantains. Other entrees like sandwiches, steaks, and pasta are all plain and simple. Fresh fish of the day and shrimp get a little exotic with coconut and lemongrass.

tender/bland vs. dry/flavorful?

Though they may not be as exotic as they advertise, the food is not bad. The roast chicken was tender and the rosemary potatoes were also tender and not too dried out as they can become (though missing some of that crunch on the exterior). The vegetables were cooked properly to a tender crisp, but for some reason, the baby bok choy was a little soggy, even for cabbage. They had almost no added flavor, so I had to douse them fairly liberally with salt and *ahem* sriracha. Grilled vegetable penne had more flavor than the plain vegetables with some added herbs and spices, but again, I had to add some more of my own heat.

The food may not be bad, but at the same time, it wasn’t outstanding. It tasted no different than what I could get from the prepared food counter at Ralph’s. X’otik Kitchen is organic, so I will at least give them credit for being in the league of Whole Foods. However, being so far east in Culver City and for prices that actually are somewhat higher than I would be willing to pay, I’d rather walk to the Whole Foods Market in my neighborhood and get the exact same thing. And at least I know they are "whole" and that it's "food."