The Unvegan

‘Downtown LA’

Opening the Expo with The Lazy Ox Canteen

May 10th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Egg and pasta as one.

Sometimes a restaurant sounds incredible, but is in a difficult part of town to get to. It lingers on your to-eat list for what seems like ages until a golden opportunity comes around to seize it. For me, this restaurant was The Lazy Ox Canteen and the opportunity was twofold. First, the Expo Line from Culver City to Downtown LA was finally opening opening and second, Blackboard Eats sent me a 30% off coupon for the place. It was the perfect storm and I rode the newly opened Metro train to Little Tokyo for a piece of The Lazy Ox. Continue Reading»

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American, Brunch, Burgers, Downtown LA, hamburgers, little tokyo, Los Angeles, restaurants, The Lazy Ox Canteen

Chipotle x 8 at Ocho Mexican Grill

January 19th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The S stands for stubby.

Chipotle is kind of the gold standard of Mexican fast food (I mean, unless we’re talking Taco Bell). You can find it pretty much anywhere, the prices are pretty good and there is no doubt that it’s fast. But it is not alone…all over there are copycats and similar joints that may or may not have existed before the rise of Chipotle. Ocho Mexican Grill in downtown LA is one of those copycats…sort of. A combination of my buddy Joel and a 50% Scoutmob discount convinced me to visit this downtown twist on Mexican fast food fare and I entered with high expectations. Continue Reading»

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Burritos, Chipotle, Downtown LA, Fast Food, Los Angeles, Mexican, Ocho Mexican Grill, restaurants, steak

Feeding on Curry at Fat Spoon

December 12th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Just keep swimming...

Apparently some place called The Lazy Ox downtown is a big deal or something. I wouldn’t know because I haven’t been, but supposedly the guy behind it, Michael Cardenas, is also a big deal. Such a big deal, in fact, that he took it upon himself to open another restaurant, called Fat Spoon. The new place is down in Little Tokyo and is conceptually a Japanese curry house. As a man with a fair amount of Japanese curry experience, I definitely wanted to check the place out, and it didn’t hurt that I had one of those Blackboard Eats 30% off printouts either. Continue Reading»

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Beef, Curry, Downtown LA, fat spoon, Japanese, little tokyo, Los Angeles, restaurants

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

A Taboo Jew at The Gorbals

November 7th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Yes, please ruin Kosher forever.

A couple of years ago, some dude named Ilan Hall from Top Chef opened a restaurant in downtown LA called The Gorbals. The food scene of LA was pretty excited, and so was I, but downtown is a bitch to get to. So I waited. And waited. Until finally, a 30% off deal came to me from Blackboard Eats and I realized I had a golden opportunity to brave the nighttime downtown traffic. Continue Reading»

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Downtown LA, ilan hall, Jewish, Los Angeles, marrow, restaurants, the gorbals

By Joel Danto

Parking at Garage Pizza

September 1st, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Where happy hour becomes meaty hour.

What’s the first thing you think about when someone tells you you’re going to a place called Garage Pizza? Flying unicorns with laser beam eyes? Doing the backstroke through a sea of sour patch gummy worms? No, you think of pizza found down a shady back alley with a haggard old man selling you a grimy looking slice of pizza out of a homemade oven built from used industrial parts. Thankfully none of those are true (despite the fact that flying unicorns with laser beam eyes are pretty sweet and totally real) and I can happily say that Garage Pizza is a legitimate, mostly haggard-free, pizza establishment.
Continue Reading»

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Downtown LA, garage pizza, happy hour, Italian, Los Angeles, new york-style pizza, Pizza, restaurants

The Best Pupusa I Ever Ate at Sarita’s Pupuseria?

March 8th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Love the people at Grand Central Market.

While down at the Grand Central Market, my girlfriend (that’s for you, Joel) remembered she had seen one of the stalls on The Best Thing I Ever Ate on The Food Network. This stall was Sarita’s Pupuseria, which specializes in…wait for it…pupusas! You know, everyone’s favorite Salvadoran food. I am a huge fan of pupusas and while I may not know what Salvadorans look for in terms of a good pupusa, I know what this unvegan likes. The pupusa featured on that show was the basic bean and cheese, so we ordered one to split just to find out if it could hit the list of the best things we ever ate. Continue Reading»

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Best Thing I Ever Ate, Downtown LA, food network, grand central market, Los Angeles, pupusas, Salvadoran, sarita's pupuseria

Tacos…Tumbras a Tomas

March 7th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

What a special name.

After my first time at Grand Central Market in Downtown LA, I knew I had to go back. Fortune smiled on me over the weekend and brought me back to that special place that makes you feel like you just entered a market in Mexico. Honestly, I’ve never been to a market in Mexico, but in my mind, this is what it’s like. Although I enjoyed my food from Ana Maria’s, this time I once again went for a stall that looked crowded. I found Tacos…Tumbras a Tomas. Continue Reading»

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Burritos, Downtown LA, grand central market, grand central square, Los Angeles, meat, Mexican, tacos...tumbras a tomas

Turning Japanese with Blosom Bento

December 27th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A few more veggies than I bargained for.

In the heart of LA’s Fashion District is a relatively new, yet relatively hidden food court. It is here that you can find a nice variety of foods and kind of escape after eating at one too many taco trucks. The food court itself is outdoors and feels like a world away from the fashion peddlers below. You can find Korean, Mexican and sandwiches up here, but I was pretty much drawn to a Japanese place called Blosom Bento. Sure, they served sushi, but they also had my favorite Japanese dish of all time on their menu: Yaki Soba. Continue Reading»

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Blosom Bento, Downtown LA, fashion district, food courts, Japanese, Los Angeles, restaurants

King Taco, Not Nacho

August 19th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Red means hot.

In the mood for some authentic Los Angeles tacos, my buddies and I set off for King Taco near downtown in the McArthur Park area. Although this wasn’t the original location, we figured they still served up some pretty good tacos. I could tell it was pretty authentic because it was mostly filled with Hispanic people and everyone seemed to speak Spanish at the counter. By the time I figured out what I wanted, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to order in English, but luckily the cashiers turned out to be bilingual. Continue Reading»

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Chains, Downtown LA, king taco, Los Angeles, mcarthur park, meat, Mexican, restaurants

Rants and Raves

Cheers to Beer for Beef!

January 6th, 2010

Top me off!

Everyone knows about wine pairings. It is a mostly pretentious way for restaurants to sell their expensive wines in conjunction with their dishes. Even for those who avoid those pairings, any good eater or drinker knows to match red wine with red meats and white wine with white meats and fish. But enough about wine, where has beer ended up in this alcoholic conversation? Fusion Brewing in Australia has tried to answer this question with a beer made specifically for drinking with red meat.

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.

‘Downtown LA’

Opening the Expo with The Lazy Ox Canteen

Chipotle x 8 at Ocho Mexican Grill

Feeding on Curry at Fat Spoon

The Thrill of Far Bar

A Taboo Jew at The Gorbals

Parking at Garage Pizza

The Best Pupusa I Ever Ate at Sarita’s Pupuseria?

Tacos…Tumbras a Tomas

Turning Japanese with Blosom Bento

King Taco, Not Nacho

Rants and Raves

Cheers to Beer for Beef!

Going Global at Plan Check

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