For too long have I been subjected to people who believe the beginning and end of Japanese food is sushi. While living in Japan for half of a year, I believe I ate sushi once. This was not because I was avoiding sushi, but because sushi just wasn’t as prevalent as we are led to believe. Sure, you can find sushi if you are looking, but it is not as though every corner has a sushi place. Rather, it is much more common to find ramen. This isn’t your Cup O Noodle college hangover ramen, but a real, hearty bowl of broth with noodles, meat and more. Recently, some coworkers of mine were heading out to “that ramen place” in Gardena for lunch and I joined them, fingers crossed that this place would be the true Japanese food I’ve been waiting for. Continue Reading»
‘Custom’
The Real Custom Burger at Jake’s
June 22nd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditAfter a rigorous hike in the San Gabriel Mountains of Pasadena, I needed some protein. Driving through Old Pasadena, I spotted the perfect place, Jake’s.
Jake’s is similar to places like The Counter, where you can customize a burger for yourself, only they’ve been doing it since the 40s. With a base price of 5.99, they’re also cheaper than The Counter, albeit with less options. Even so, there was enough to make an unvegan like me happy. Before ordering, the waitress enlightened us to the fact that all day on Sunday was happy hour, so we ordered some beers to wet our appetites. Continue Reading»
Rants and Raves
Smile for Meat
March 30th, 2012We humans have a luxury of constantly trying to make ourselves happy. I say luxury, because we are pretty much the only species to do so. All those other suckers are busy trying to survive and reproduce. Fortunately, red meat is one of those things that makes us happy.
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Going Global at Plan Check
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.
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