The Unvegan

‘Asian’

Electing to Eat at Lukshon

February 2nd, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Delukshus!

A while back, Sang Yoon opened up a place called Lukshon in Culver City. For some, this was a time to rejoice, as this was the man behind the Father’s Office burger. But for me, it was a time to…well…consider trying out Lukshon. You see, if you know me, you know my disdain for the Father’s Office burger. So it took until dineLA’s Restaurant Week to get me out to Lukshon. I went with a sizable crowd, collectively known as the Suppah Club, and we had ourselves a seat at a massive table on Lukshon’s patio in Culver City. Continue Reading»

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Asian, Chinese, Culver City, dinela, father's office, Indian, Los Angeles, Lukshon, Malaysian, restaurant week, restaurants, Sang Yoon, sausage

The Thrill of Far Bar

November 11th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

These drinks could kill me softly.

A month or so ago, Thrillist Rewards made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. For $29, it included one half-pound burger, unlimited wasabi fries, unlimited wings and two flights of delicious beers at a place called Far Bar in Little Tokyo. A few of us capitalized on this deal and finally made our way there to indulge. But finding it wasn’t exactly easy, as it required a walk through a strange alley. In fact, I walked into the restaurant next door by accident, but a guy there walked me over to the actual bar. Upon arrival, my friends who had gotten there first thrust a basket of fries and wings in my face and I knew I was home. Continue Reading»

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Asian, Bar Food, Bars, Burgers, Chicken Wings, Downtown LA, far bar, hamburgers, Japanese, little tokyo, Los Angeles, thrillist

Thai. Seriously. At Summer Canteen

June 23rd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A real summer has no vegetables.

In the continuing story of trying to find new and interesting food in the Valley, a coworker suggested trying out a place called Summer Canteen. Not knowing what sort of food a place named Summer Canteen would have, I opened up the menu online to find that it served none other than Thai. Wait, Thai? Really? I thought the rule of Thai restaurant naming was that it had to have “Thai” in its name (Thai Boom, Thai Smile, Natalee Thai, etc.) or use words from the Thai language (Jitlada). Summer Canteen broke these two rules, and would go on to break one more. Continue Reading»

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Asian, Beef, Curry, meat, restaurants, summer canteen, Thai, toluca lake

Komodo Heads Indoors

May 9th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Some prep kitchen.

A long long time ago, I managed to get myself into the Komodo Truck launch party. It was a good time for all, and apparently the truck has been pretty successful. So successful, in fact, that they recently opened a storefront at Pico-Robertson. I wasn’t there for the debut of this one, which may be a good thing. While the debut of the truck was plagued with long lines, when I walked into the restaurant I found myself the only patron. The friendly cashier made sure to tell me that although things seemed pretty grim, the restaurant doubled as a prep kitchen for the truck. So although I was the only one giving money to the restaurant that night, the place was indirectly earning them some money wherever the truck may be. Continue Reading»

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Asian, Burritos, komodo, Mexican, restaurants

Getting Stuffed at Spice Market Buffet

January 13th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Not understanding the relation.

In my continuing quest to find the greatest buffet in Las Vegas (and eventually the world!), I may have found one to stand toe to toe with Rio’s Carnival World Buffet. Situated in Planet Hollywood, the Spice Market Buffet doesn’t fit into the Hollywood theme, at least in name. It also doesn’t bear any resemblance to a Spice Market. Nonetheless, it does use spices and the walls are adorned with food-related movie posters like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (two very similar movies). The lunch buffet cost 25 bucks, but as soon as I looked around, I knew it was going to be well worth the price. Continue Reading»

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American, Asian, Beef, Buffets, Chicken, Italian, Las Vegas, meat, Mexican, Middle-Eastern, nevada, Pizza, planet hollywood, restaurats, Seafood, spice market buffet, Travel

One Plate at Gobi Mongolian BBQ

June 16th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A beautiful painting or a pile of meat?

For a while now, I have been a devout member of Blackboard Eats, an email list that sends out some cool deals for restaurants like 30% off, a free dessert, a free bottle of wine, etc. One deal they sent out recently, though, caught my eye. It was 30% off for a place called Gobi Mongolian BBQ in Silver Lake. I’ve always loved me some Mongolian BBQ because you get to decide everything you want in your food, so if you don’t want any vegetables like a smart little unvegan, you don;t have to pick up any. Plus, they are all-you-can-eat; a big bonus for this guy. Or are they? Continue Reading»

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Asian, gobi mongolian bbq, Los Angeles, meat, mongolian bbq, restaurants, silver lake

The Hidden Treasure of Jasmine Market

March 23rd, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Biryani me!

I’m not totally sure how it happened, but at some point in the last year I heard about a place called Jasmine Market in Culver City. Unfortunately, life happened and it took me until recently to finally get to pay the place a visit. Jasmine Market is unique because it is both a market and a restaurant, but even more interesting than that is that they serve Burmese food. Never heard of a Burmese restaurant? Well neither had I. In general I’ve avoided things related to Burma (Myanmar) for fear that anything I did would seem like I support the military junta there. But you don’t find a Burmese restaurant too often, so I knew I had to try it out. Continue Reading»

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Asian, Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma, Burmese, California, Los Angeles, myanmar, restaurants

Wanting to Love the Crown Burger

March 19th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Such potential.

Down the street from my new office in North Hollywood sits a little chili burger stand called Crown Burger. I saw the place from a distance and wanted so badly for this to be a place to fall in love with. I walked five minutes to the place and walked right up to the counter to make my order. The place was run by a group of Asians (likely of the Korean variety), which was surprising since hamburgers aren’t ordinarily associated with people from the east, but I was still excited at the prospect of this burger. Continue Reading»

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Asian, Burgers, Chili, Crown Burger, hamburgers, Los Angeles, meat, north hollywood, restaurants, the valley

A Shiny Shiny Beacon

March 5th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A beacon of hope.

On a cold, wet afternoon, I was hankering for some lunch when I saw a beacon of hope in Culver City. No, not just any beacon, but a restaurant that was actually called Beacon. This name was just so similar to bacon that I had to try it out. Well, also I had heard some pretty good things about the place. The lunchtime crowd was pretty big, but my girlfriend and I still found a table pretty easily. Beacon was an interesting blend of Asian and American fusion, featuring dishes like “black” edamame (which sounds like an even scarier version than regular edamame) and Miso Braised Short Ribs. By far the most confusing part of the menu was figuring out which dishes were salads and which were sandwiches, since they both fell under the header of “Salads and Sandwiches.” Continue Reading»

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American, Asian, Beacon, Burgers, Culver City, hamburgers, Los Angeles, restaurants

Getting Fried at Asian Soul Kitchen

January 29th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

It's a sooouuuul truck.

Combining Asian Food and Soul Food is kind of an interesting concept, and in doing so the Asian Soul Kitchen truck was born in LA. I decided to follow them on Twitter because their twitter name of “itsbentobaby” sounded pretty awesome to me. I found them on Abbot Kinney and took a look at their menu. Although some of their specific Asian foods like yakisoba looked good, I needed something with a lot more meat to it. To get that fix, I turned to their Lollipop Chicken. Continue Reading»

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Abbot Kinney, Asian, Asian Soul Kitchen, food trucks, fried chicken, itsbentobaby, Los Angeles, meat, Mobile, soul food, twitter, Venice

Rants and Raves

Meat: It’s Good for the Baby Boomers

September 15th, 2009

A new study out of Japan brings good news to all those Baby Boomers hitting their middle-ages and wondering how to eat for the second half of their lives. According to the study, “eating meat at least every two days during middle age may help maintain independent daily activities when older.”

This is good news for anyone hoping to delay their entrance into nursing homes or for their children who would have to shoulder the responsibility of dependent parents if they didn’t go straight for the nursing home.

It’s bad news, though, if you are a vegan or vegetarian. The study also found that eating fish and eggs, as so many vegetarians do, had no positive effect on later independent functions.

Going Global at Plan Check

Fries of the world.

A couple of weeks ago, The Backyard Bite invited me to The Burger Culture Clash, sponsored by Stussy (which apparently still exists) and Plan Check. Plan Check, by the way, is a sort of new (since February) restaurant in West LA with Chef Ernesto Uchimura of Umami Burger fame. As my love of burgers, especially those of the umami variety, I jumped at the opportunity.

Although I arrived alone, I was not the only lone eater. Just next to where I was seated, I met e*star LA and we decided to share a meal called loneliness, because it’s better than eating alone. We made quick friends over our respective blogs and Midwestern roots, then got to work at dissecting the special menu, which Plan Check will be featuring for the next month if anything tickles your fancy.

‘Asian’

Electing to Eat at Lukshon

The Thrill of Far Bar

Thai. Seriously. At Summer Canteen

Komodo Heads Indoors

Getting Stuffed at Spice Market Buffet

One Plate at Gobi Mongolian BBQ

The Hidden Treasure of Jasmine Market

Wanting to Love the Crown Burger

A Shiny Shiny Beacon

Getting Fried at Asian Soul Kitchen

Rants and Raves

Meat: It’s Good for the Baby Boomers

Going Global at Plan Check

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