SHHHH! The Secret is Out!

▲”Chicken Kabob Platter” Photo by Jin Ahn (K-Herald)  ⓒ2013 heraldk.com

Hookah Lounge is a family owned fusion restaurant located at the heart of Hollywood, in a cozy plaza called Jane’s House Square. Chef Sergio Lousinian, the main chef of Secret, was the co-owner and main chef of Hollywood’s Ay-Do-No Korean BBQ, a table top DIY grilling, fusion Korean restaurant. It has been less than a year since Chef Sergio has fully left Ay-Do-No Korean BBQ to help run his family owned restaurant, Secret.

The name of this family owned restaurant used to be a diner called Croissant Club. It was two years ago when Chef Sergio and his older brother, Albert L., had decided to transform their diner to more of a restaurant. They wanted to appeal to a wider range of customers, especially the young night crowd and to have more of the Hollywood feel. This meant remodeling to wooden and marble floors and colored lights which could be dimmed to accomodate the nightlife. With the renovations of their restaurant, the Louisians also felt that they needed to change the name. “We changed the name to Secret because, yeah, it is a secret,” said Chef Sergio.

His statement refers to the fact that a lot of people did not even know Secret existed. When dining at this restaurant, one will agree that it is harder to find this restaurant than most due to its location in the plaza.

This restaurant is a hidden jewel. But another reason behind the name Secret is because everyone who comes and dines at this restaurant, leaves with a desire to uncover the secrets to all their dishes, especially the rice that Nana (Chef Sergio and Albert’s mom) cooks. “Customers will come at night just for the fresh rice, because that is when [Nana] makes it. They evencome just to see her make it!” said Chef Sergio proudly. It is not just the renovations and the name change of the restaurant that is receiving a lot attention in Hollywood. All the dishes, the drinks and hookahs are attracting more new, international, and younger crowds. At Secret, you will find great breakfast, lunch and dinner options. The best selling dish is stated to be hands down the Chicken Kabob, which used to be the Chicken wrap in the original menu of Croissant Club. It is essentially the same thing but now everything is separated, which is great for sharing. And the best part of the meal is the aforementioned Nana’s rice. It is a good and healthy choice. The Mediterranean Burger is noted as the second Secret signature dish, with the hummus adding an interestingly delicious twist to the All American burger.

▲”Mediterranean Burger” Photo by Jin Ahn (K-Herald)  ⓒ2013 heraldk.com

But for those who are not a fan of hummus, the Classic Cheese Burger is still an amazing choice. The meat selection for the burgers is Angus beef and will always be fresh since they make their own patties and season with their own “secret” mix. For all the breakfast lovers, the French Toast Slam, complete with scrumptious roasted potatoes, is a great classic choice. Among menu, the one that catches everyone’s eyes is definitely Secret’s number one drink, Liquid Marijuana. K Herald asked, “Is there marijuana in the drink?” “I chose that name because the name is cool and apparently marijuana is popular in California,“ said Chef Sergio jokingly. All jokes aside, the bartender of Secret, Gabriel Jones, explained that the name is derived from the green color of the drink.

There has been an increase in the current trend in groups of friends to choose hookah as a social activity. At Secret, the Secret Mix is the first flavor on the menu for Hookah and also their most sought out flavor. It is a mix of two other favorite flavors on the menu, but Chef Sergio declined to tell us which ones they were. Instead he suggests that customers come and discover for themselves which of those two flavors are. Also, Chef Sergio assures that they only use the best products and that they use the better quality hookah than most hookah lounges which is the Starbuzz brand.

Even the equipments are the best quality. Secret prefers using the transparent plastic tube instead of the metal ones because it would help prevent any rusting that usually occurs with metal tubes and they will be able to guarantee that all tubes for hookah are clean.

So whether you come here for food, drinks, hookah or all of the above, you might even get a chance tosee celebrities! Some of the regular customers are said to be Danny McBride, Johnny Knoxville, and Bill Murray. Also, RSVP on Friday and Saturday nights are recommended or you might have to wait in a long line!