‘Los Angeles’
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.
EDIT: This location is closed, but miraculously Sorabol lives on elsewhere.
Since Korean BBQ has never let me down and the Century City food court has also never let me down, I decided to check out Sorabol, the Korean BBQ place in the Century City food court. At the time it seemed like a great idea. I walked up to their stand and saw a few different food items hanging out in heating trays, so I chose their beef short ribs. They looked a bit dry, but the woman behind the counter ladled some sort of Korean sauce over them. They came with noodles, rice and some vegetable sides. I dismissed the vegetable sides and paid my 10 bucks, which I thought was a pretty good deal. I was wrong.
The 8 oz. Burger Bar in Melrose has intrigued me for a long time. It combines two of my favorite things, burgers and bars, into one, so I knew eventually I would have to see how well that combination works. I recently got my chance and even went online to check their menu before going. On that menu I saw something that made me want to go even more: Fried Wisconsin Cheese Curds. Cheese curds are one of my favorite things in the world and although I prefer them un-fried, I will eat them anytime I see them offered. Excited about these curds, I stepped into 8 oz. Burger Bar.
Then I looked at their menu and almost cried.
If you’re getting tired of food truck writing, well, you are in luck. Today unvegan is jumping back into the brick and mortar world with a visit to Paul Martin’s American Bistro. Paul Martin’s is exactly the kind of restaurant a lot of Americans are looking for in the new decade. A creation of restaurateur Paul Fleming and Brian Bennett, it isn’t too expensive, but is definitely upscale. Perhaps more important than that is its supposed dedication to serving organic, sustainable and local foods. It’s a great concept that I can get behind, but pretty ineffective unless the food is good. Using my heightened unvegan senses, I checked them out for lunch to see if organic, local and sustainable translates into a good meal.
Last week I was invited to an event called TOAST N’ TASTE, presented by Urban Daddy. The event was by invitation only, so first off, thanks to Dana for the invite. Not only did I feel awesomely elitist for being invited, but the event was free and featured the launch of the Komodo Truck. This newest truck in LA has confirmed the trend that many food trucks have been leaning towards. Basically they make some good food and stick it in tacos (and burritos in Komodo’s case, although on this night they were only making tacos). I suppose the idea is to keep withe the concept of street food and to make it easy to eat. Fine by me, as long as it tastes good.
So, if you guessed that the second and last part of my meal was going to be from Baby’s Badass Burgers, you were correct. After the pastel from Bool BBQ whet my appetite, I moved from Brazilian to burgers.
Baby’s actually hit the streets a good while ago with a strong concept: Beautiful women bringing you burgers. With such a great concept, it is pretty remarkable that this truck has managed to evade the unvegan. Fortunately, this changed when I visited the modern food court at the Miracle Mile.
As a child, going to a food court to eat was just about the greatest thing to do. I could get fries with a taco, maybe throw a slice of pizza on there and top it all off with a root beer float. Sure, it wasn’t a healthy place, but I was a growing boy. Most food courts have lost their allure since then, but the new food truck craze has given my old love of food courts a grown-up spin. Apparently the Miracle Mile loads up with food trucks during lunch, so when I was finally able to get there, I wanted to take advantage. A few trucks that I had been to before were there, along with a regular taco truck that was either reaping the benefits of these newbies or losing a lot of business to shiny and newer trucks. For the first part of my modern food court meal, I decided to try out Bool BBQ.
I few months ago, one of the dirty old Taco Bells near me was knocked down. At first, I was upset, but considering the fact that this Taco Bell was only open ’til 11:00 pm (even on weekends!), it wasn’t a huge loss. Then, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, construction began on a new Taco Bell in the same place! For months I have waited with bated breath for the grand opening. Driving by it every day, there was no sign as to when it would open, other than the increasing amount of lights and paint. Finally, I passed the new Taco Bell last week and saw patrons inside! A grande opening indeed! I took this as a sign that I needed to stop in and test out their new Beefy 5-Layer Burrito.
A little birdie named my girlfriend told me Rush Street in Culver City had a swanky brunch, so we went on a grand Sunday morning to experience this middle meal with a friend of hers. Now you might think that Rush Street is named for the street it is on, but you would be wrong, since it lies on Washington Boulevard. Being a smart Midwesterner, though, I quickly realized that this restaurant must be named for Rush Street in Chicago, one of their big roads. I was right, as the owners are from Chicago. The place is supposed to give off a Chicago sort of vibe (but don’t tell my girlfriend that, since she loves Rush Street and somehow hates Chicago). Anyway, back to brunch.
For too long have I been subjected to people who believe the beginning and end of Japanese food is sushi. While living in Japan for half of a year, I believe I ate sushi once. This was not because I was avoiding sushi, but because sushi just wasn’t as prevalent as we are led to believe. Sure, you can find sushi if you are looking, but it is not as though every corner has a sushi place. Rather, it is much more common to find ramen. This isn’t your Cup O Noodle college hangover ramen, but a real, hearty bowl of broth with noodles, meat and more. Recently, some coworkers of mine were heading out to “that ramen place” in Gardena for lunch and I joined them, fingers crossed that this place would be the true Japanese food I’ve been waiting for.