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»
‘meat’
An Explosion of Flavor at C4
January 2nd, 2012 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditRemember playing Cowboys and Indians as a kid? Thankfully, there is a place in the world where that fantasyland still exists. It’s called Arizona, and while not everyone runs around with a gun or bow and arrow, there are places you could picture saddling up a horse just as easily as stopping by in a hybrid. One such place is the Cave Creek Coffee Company, affectionately known as C4 by locals. The facade is reminiscent of Tombstone, but the interior is pure class (not that Tombstone was lacking in class…). Continue Reading»
Meet Horse Meat
December 2nd, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditWhat’s your favorite type of meat? Is it beef, chicken or pork? Or maybe it’s something cool and exotic like venison or rattlesnake? What about horse? Didn’t think about that one, did you? Not exactly exotic, but also not exactly meat to most Americans. Now, though, thanks to a little slip of legislation, the slaughter of horses for meat has been legalized in the USA. Continue Reading»
Heading for Philly at South Street
November 18th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditWhile LA may not have a signature food (the closest it gets is either Asian fusion or burgers), it has a hell of a lot of options for immigrants who miss the signature food of their homeland, be it Chicago Pizza or Detroit Coney Dogs. The Philly Cheese Steak is no exception, with plenty of places offering their “authentic” version. I don’t claim to be an expert on the cheese steak (only been to Philly once, during a massive blizzard), but the sandwich has always been a dear friend of mine. After all, what can go wrong when meat and cheese mix? Don’t answer that if you’re one of them Kosher people. South Street in Burbank has been bringing Philly toLA for a few years, so I thought I would see how they measure up. Continue Reading»
Liam Hemsworth: Unvegan Hero
November 17th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditI’m going to be up front with: until I started browsing the internet for meat news today, I had no idea who Liam Hemsworth was. But now, with the beauty of research, I can proudly proclaim him as an Unvegan Hero. Continue Reading»
Digesting Your Vitamin B12 (and Other Goodies)
November 13th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditThere are more than a few things lacking from a vegetarian diet, many of which are more essential than tastiness. Needless to say, carnivores who enjoy a balanced diet not only benefit from all the pleasures only a medium rare rib-eye with all the trimmings can bring, but by proxy we don’t need to worry about the nutrition we could be missing out on by having selective diets.
Of course, the science behind it all is fairly fascinating. For instance, vegetarians are always taking pills to top up their vitamin B12 levels…but why do we need vitamin B12? What the heck is B12, anyway? Continue Reading»
Going Aussie-ish on Brats Brothers
November 4th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditIn a clear trend of awesome, Brats Brothers is one of the newest gourmet/exotic sausage/bratwurst places to hit LA (okay, they’ve been around since 2007, but just moved to a new location). Within 48 hours of learning of its existence, I made my way out to Sherman Oaks for lunch to see how it stacked up against its brethren. Made up to look all German-like and with a hostess/waitress that was also decidedly German (accent and all), Brats Brothers seemed a little more authentic than hipster-loving joints like Wurstkuche. Continue Reading»
Island Italian at Spaghetti House
October 24th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditFor some reason, despite being on a tropical island, Bina was craving Italian food. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that we had a 15% off coupon to Spaghetti House or perhaps it had something to do with taste buds. Whatever the case, I was happy to mix up our Rarotonga grubbing with something different, so we walked on over to Spaghetti House in Arorangi to see what sort of Italian the were serving. Continue Reading»
Breaking the Fast at Greenblatt’s
October 12th, 2011 Tweet Facebook Digg Stumble RedditAfter a long day of repenting and fasting, I needed a good Jewish meal to remind my body and mind what eating felt like. Since we were attending a comedy show later that night at The Laugh Factory, we decided to go to an ancient little deli next door called Greenblatt’s. And when I say ancient, I meant it’s been there since 1926. That means when my grandma was living in LA in the late ’40s, it was already old and she remembers its existence. To survive for 85 years anywhere, let a lone a big city where change is the only contant is quite impressive. I was eager to find out what kept Greenblatt’s ticking and to satiate my fully empty stomach. Continue Reading»
Rants and Raves
World Vegetarian Day
October 1st, 2009According to a bunch of crazy people, today is World Vegetarian Day. I’m not sure who came up with this mad idea, but it is extremely misleading. So few people in the world are actually vegetarians that designating a “World Vegetarian Day” is similar to having the World Series of baseball only include teams from North America. Ludicrous.
It’s not like it really matters anyway, the only people that will be celebrating are actual vegetarians, and no one really pays attention to what they’re doing unless they’re half-naked.
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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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