The Unvegan

‘kung pao’

Cultural Devolution at Mao’s Kitchen

August 27th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Will this improve my vision?

After what feels like years of hearing about the deliciousness that dwells within Mao’s Kitchen in Venice, I finally found myself an opportunity to try the place out. A big perk of the place was that it was BYO, so I grabbed a sixer of tasty beer and brought it along to see if Mao’s could really be good Chinese food. Before delving into the meal itself, let’s take a moment to consider the name of Mao’s Kitchen. Honestly, I’m not so sure I would want to eat whatever Mao would have served. Most likely it would have involved mass atrocities and a side of untimely death. Cultural faux pas aside, I was still drawn in by their reputation for culinary goodness. Continue Reading»

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Chicken, Chinese, kung pao, Los Angeles, mao's kitchen, meat, restaurants, Venice

Overly Nutty at Lotus Chinese Restaurant

April 14th, 2010 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Any chicken in there?

For a little dinner break on the way back from Arizona, we stopped in Rancho Mirage to hit up the grandparents for a meal. They thought Chinese food sounded good, so we headed to Lotus Chinese Restaurant to see what they had to offer. The place was pretty full when we arrived, so I assumed it must be pretty good despite being in the middle of a desert. We grabbed our seats and got a look at the menu, which was pretty typical American Chinese fare. Continue Reading»

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Chicken, Chinese, Coachella Valley, kung pao, meat, Rancho Mirage, restaurants, Travel

Not Quite Sichuan at Szechwan

September 3rd, 2009 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble Reddit

Just gotta avoid the green onions in the Kung Pao.

For a little Chinese lunch, I headed to Szechwan in Manhattan Beach. It had come highly recommended, so I went expecting something pretty good. When we arrived, the restaurant was only about half-full, but we were still told to wait for a table. This seemed strange, especially when were standing around for five minutes looking like fools. Nonetheless we eventually took our seats and got the chance to check out the menu. The first thing I noticed that seemed off was that the food wasn’t quite Sichuan style (Sichuan being the way Szechwan is actually supposed to be spelled). Sichuan style is usually really spicy food and different from what we usually think of as “Chinese” food. Instead, the menu looked like any other Chinese restaurant. Continue Reading»

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California, Chinese, food, kung pao, Los Angeles, lunch, Manhattan Beach, meat, restaurants, Reviews, sichuan, szechwan

Rants and Raves

Another Reason to Love Steak

June 11th, 2009

The Daily Mail in the UK just released information about the affect of steaks and other red meats on male semen (as opposed to female semen, ewwww). The conclusion is that it decreases the quality of the semen and makes them slower. It actually makes it much more difficult for men to conceive. It’s funny, because the article makes this information out to be a bad thing. Well, I’m not planning on becoming a father anytime soon, which means it’s time for me to eat all the steak I can get my hands on. Talk about a natural contraceptive. This is the best news I’ve gotten since studies showed Mountain Dew decreases the sperm count.

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.