The Unvegan

A Great Decision at Ana Maria’s

March 8th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Long line=good

While thousands of fools were waiting in the long lines of the LA Street Food Festival to get the same food they could get any night from those Twittering food trucks, my buddy and I made a great decision to head for a different part of downtown LA. This was the Grand Central Market, a glorious collection of restaurant stalls, produce vendors, butchers and more. Almost dead center in this gem of a market was a Mexican place called Ana Maria’s. We took a page out of my Asian handbook and decided that since this place had the longest line, it had to be the best. Continue Reading»

3 Comments

Ana Maria's, Downtown LA, grand central market, grand central square, Los Angeles, meat, Mexican, restaurants

A Classy Lunch at Bottega Louie

January 19th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

An open kitchen, always in motion.

Walking into Bottega Louie in downtown for lunch, I really had no idea what to expect. My girlfriend had told me it was some sort of market, but I found that it was also a bustling restaurant. And this was no ordinary bustling restaurant. There wasn’t just one kitchen, but multiple kitchen-esque stations that were in plain view for everyone. There was movement everywhere and a waiting list to get a table. For lunch! I knew this place had to be good. Continue Reading»

8 Comments

Bottega Louie, Downtown LA, hummus, Italian, Los Angeles, meat, meatballs, restaurants, Sandwiches

The Best Wurst at Wurstkuche

December 1st, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A fest of sausage.

I had been hearing about a glorious and semi-new restaurant in downtown LA for months and finally I gathered up the strength to make the trek down the 10 and check it out. This new restaurant is called Wurstkuche and although there are multiple fun and interesting pronunciations for such a place, the one thing that is certain is that it means “sausage kitchen” in some Germanic language.

Arriving on a Sunday night, I expected the place to be packed, but was happy to find a relatively short line at the counter that gave me just enough time to decide what I wanted. The menu is limited to a wide variety of sausages and french fries. Although this seems kind of limiting, there is a sausage in their extensive list for everyone (even those dastardly vegetarians and vegans). The most intriguing part for me was the exotic sausages. Continue Reading»

One Comment

Buffalo, Downtown LA, little tokyo, Los Angeles, meat, rabbit, rattlesnake, restaurants, sausage kitchen, strange meat, wurstkuche

Korean BBQ Festival and Cook-Off

August 12th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The lines were long, but not endless.

On Saturday, my friends and I headed down to Koreatown for the Korean BBQ Festival and Cook-Off. Korean BBQ is known to be heavy in meat, so I felt this would be a great opportunity to tackle my daily meat intake.

The festival ran from 12:00-5:00 and although we arrived around 1:00, the lines were already getting pretty long. I wasn’t too surprised by the long lines since the event was free, plus $10 per plate.

Assuming the longest lines had the best food, I jumped into one of the lines without

Tubs of meat roll by.

even knowing what it was. Continue Reading»

2 Comments

Beef, Beverly Tofu House, Downtown LA, Events, korean bbq, korean bbq festival and cook-off, Koreatown, Los Angeles, meat, ribs, short ribs, so hyang

Doing Dim Sum at the Empress Pavillion

April 22nd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

The shrimp potstickers are a must.

In the old Chinatown of downtown LA, there is a massive restaurant called the Empress Pavillion. The restaurant consists of a giant ballroom filled with chairs and tables.

In the mornings, the room becomes packed with hundreds of Chinese and westerners alike, all clamoring for a taste of the dim sum. Chinese women (whose command of the English language varies from non-existent to mediocre) push carts of plates around with varying dishes. If something on the cart looks good, you stop the lady, point to the food and she sets it on your table. Afterward, she takes out a stamp and presses it somewhere on the card on your table. You look to see where she stamped, but can’t really tell what anything means because it is all written in Chinese. Luckily, I can read some Chinese, and

Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf

determined that the stamps go in different sections, meaning small, medium and large. There are more complex symbols, but at least those make some sense to me. Through this mysterious stamping system, they are able to determine how much you owe. Continue Reading»

3 Comments

Chinese, Downtown LA, food, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants

Cole’s

December 6th, 2008 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

A menagerie of French dips.

A friend told me that a restaurant called Cole’s was having a Grand Re-Opening in downtown LA. The restaurant has been around for 100 years, so to celebrate, they were offering 100 cent ($1) sandwiches, pecan pies and beers.

There was a line outside and red, white and blue balloons along the banister outside to greet friendly real Americans (meat-eaters). Signs outside Cole’s claimed that it was the “Originator of the French Dip.” Are we sure that France wasn’t the originator of the French dip? It stands to reason that it should be. It made me wonder if anything “French” was actually French. French fries certainly aren’t, neither is French’s mustard. Also, what does it mean to be the “originator“? Is that the same as the inventor or creator? Is it possible that Cole’s is the originator of the French dip, but someone else might be the inventor? It was a curious claim, and one that I almost forgot about when I finally made it through the line and entered the restaurant. Continue Reading»

One Comment

Downtown LA, Events, food, Los Angeles, meat, restaurants, Sandwiches

Rants and Raves

Vegans Keep Killing Babies

September 19th, 2011

How could you kill a thing like this?

It’s happened before, and once again the vegans have used their love of vegetables to kill a baby. Last time, it was the French, but now the vegans have brought baby killing into America. Now, the baby-killing may have occurred in 2004, but just last week the killers were convicted of their heinous crime.

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.