‘Koreatown’


Meet me at Meat

March 7th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

All to ourselves!

Once upon a time, Koreatown boasted an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ joint called Manna and long before I had my own meat blog, I made my way to Manna for a protein-fest. The memory of this visit stuck with me as I visited the inferior Manna outpost in the Fox Hills mall. Granted, I wasn’t too disappointed, because you can’t really be disappointed with so much meat, but I knew there was something better out there. By the time I made it back to Manna in Koreatown, it was no longer Manna, but had become Meat, which is a far more appropriate name. Continue Reading»


Beer Belly for My Fearless Belly

January 6th, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

There are peas in my cheese!

Two of the things I love most in this world are beer and my belly.  No, I don’t have a beer belly…much, but when a gastropub in Koreatown called Beer Belly opened up, I figured I had to try it out.  I was meeting a group of people, and arrived to find the place packed.  And this was not a big place.  Like about 8 tables and a few bar stools big, and all of them were loaded.  Plus, it was first come, first served, so we got to hang around the tables like vultures surrounded a wounded gazelle.  It was the tail end of happy hour, though, so I ordered a beer and hoped a table would clear out soon.  Fast forward thirty minutes and we’re still waiting when a woman working the place asks if we’re waiting for a table.  Uh, no, lady, we’re just standing here awkwardly for the hell of it.  She then proceeded to ask us if we wanted to be on the list.  This “list” was new to us, and apparently also new to her, as she told us she had just started it.  Well, at least we wouldn’t have to stand awkwardly any longer. Continue Reading»


Mmmmm is for M Grill

April 15th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

M, please!

Thanks to @DanJacobs81 for the guest blog.  Follow him today!

Meat is a religion, and M Grill in Koreatown is the reason I’m anti-Semitic against vegetarians.

A friend of mine had an e-mailed discount from Yelp.com, and with this firmly entrenched in his soon-to-smell-like-meat hands, I went with him and another friend to the aforementioned all-you-can-eat Brazilian churrascaria. Authentic Brazilian food in K-Town? This I had to see taste. Continue Reading»


Going Greek at Papa Cristo’s

September 24th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
Octopus for all

Octobabies!

I had wanted to go to Papa Cristo’s for a long time, but I just didn’t realize it.  You see, the outside of the restaurant/market really makes no major reference to the name of the place.  Instead, it just says “Greek Food.”  When my friend suggested trying it, I complied without realizing it was the place I had driven by so many times.

Inside, the place has a miniature Greek market, a counter to order food at and a big room that can double as a dining room or banquet room.  My first stop was the counter to place my order.  We ordered some of the Octapodakia appetizer, which is grilled baby octopus.  I also ordered the Kreatopita, deliciously described on the menu as a meat pie.  For my main course, I decided to get back to the Greek basics and ordered the Gyros sandwich.  This came with lettuce and tomatoes, so I ordered it without. Continue Reading»


Korean BBQ Festival and Cook-Off

August 12th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
The lines were long, but not endless.

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.

Tubs of meat roll by.

even knowing what it was.  Continue Reading»


Old Timey Mexican at El Cholo

June 10th, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit
The biggest burrito in the world.

The biggest burrito in the world.

El Cholo has been part of LA since Prohibition, which is no small feat in a city that flocks to trends like they cure cancer.

It took me a while, but I finally made it to the original El Cholo in Koreatown.

I had a difficult time deciding what to get from the menu.  The prices were a bit steep, but I figured it was worth it to try an LA classic.  In a cool little nod to their history, on each menu item they list the year that it became part of their menu,  I finally decided on the great barometer for Mexican food, the burrito.  At El Cholo, they call it the Burrito Dorado, which they began serving in 1977, making it seven years older than me.  According to the menu, it’s composed of chili con carne, beans, rice, cheddar cheese, tomato sauce, sour cream and guacamole.  I hoped none of these ingredients would be older than me. Continue Reading»


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.

Continue Reading»