the 909.
walking in socal.
riding buses.
bedroom communities.
food + drink.
angry letters.
japanese stuff.
japanese american what-have-yous.
random things.
crafty thingamahoozies.
photos.
fancy pants.
I'm not much into costuming myself, but I often find myself in the company of people who take this sort of thing very seriously. I get it—obviously, not as a participant—it takes a certain kind of personality to go for this kind of pastime. Here are a few photos from Halloween. Yes, that is a real Rucksters scooter. Yes, she rode it, in costume, to the office. I suggested she speak with a Christian Bale/Dark Knight voice because I thought that would be amusing. She stayed in character more or less the entire day. Didn't even take the cowl off to eat during the party. And here is some art directing I did on a rooftop in DTLA. Real quick and dirty. I had less than 30 minutes and only a smartphone equipped with a camera. We had a chuckle with a friend who had a Romney mask. If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen these.
Peddler's Creamery produces high quality artisan bicycle-churned organic dairy and non-dairy ice cream and frozen desserts for Los Angeles. Peddler's was started to be a different business that features local products, highlights where our food is grown, and promotes local causes.
Bicycle-churned!
I recently had the opportunity to try some of their 'spicy chocolate' flavor and here's the scoop: IT'S VERY GOOD. No, I'm understating it. IT'S REALLY EFFING GOOD. My friend and myself were in heaven. Big thank yous to the kind man at Xlixe for letting us sample it. Tip: Xlixe will be putting it on the menu in the very near future. Lookout, DTLA, tasty times ahead.
Camp out on Peddler's Twitter to find out when and where you can get a taste.
The latest pie offering is this one: Thai Tea Pie.
Introduced for Pi(e) Day, 3/14. It will be around a bit longer. I hear the next limited edition pie will be a doozy, though Lindsey over at Pie Hole is keeping tight-lipped on the details. The executive chef over there must be a mad genius. Just when I'm about to gripe about the $5+ pricetag on a slice, I shout emphatically between forkfuls, "But who else would think to make Thai ice tea into a pie?!"
My very small but very loyal fanbase has been clamoring for a fresh post on this here blog. A real one and not just a snippet of interoffice IMs or a video. How about a food review, kids?
I think back on some delicious noms I've had recently and the one sparkling culinary experience I can pick out from the lot is the Spice Table. Self-described as Southeast Asian cuisine inspired by Singapore and Vietnam. Yowza. It was good.
Located in Little Tokyo/Downtown L.A., next to Weiland, across the street from JANM and MOCA Geffen, the Spice Table occupies the spot the Cuban place used to be. The exterior looks about the same. The decor is minimal but very cute. Birdcage hanging lamps and fresh cut flowers on every table. The entire dining space is fragrant from the spices and seasonings. The lunch service is still new, but it's working out well. We went last Thursday. The line moved very quickly considering the size of the crowd, there was still seating so we took a table and sipped water. We looked at the wine list—looks pretty good, though pricey. Not in the mood for a prosecco or albarino with your meal? They have a pretty good assortment of bottled sodas and juices.
We both ordered the same meal exactly: Chicken sandwich and spicy sweet-potato chips.
The sandwich features lemongrass, pickled shallots, watercress, garlic mayo, scallions, peanut sauce. It was DELICIOUS. Day after day of boring cold sandwiches, this was an amazing sensory experience. Spicy, piquant, saucy, messy. The chips were way salty but the crispy texture were the perfect complement. Other sandwich choices include meatball, cold cut, curried eggplant, fried catfish. If it sounds too much, the salad sounds great—gem lettuce, shrimp, spicy candied walnuts. Something I want to try next time: curry fried chicken wings! Or the slaw instead of chips, which has a pepper lime dressing.
Considering the portion size and quality of the food, the price was fair, but simply too much for me to go very often. This is definitely a special treat. Sandwich and chips, with no beverage, worked out to just under $10. Dinner menu has a lot more to choose from. Check them out after your visit to MOCA for Art in the Streets. I took a peek and it looks interesting. Full visit and writeup coming soon. This is a really exciting time for J-Town--we are finally getting some big names and interesting foods coming to the neighborhood.
the Spice Table 114 S. Central Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 620-1840 thespicetable.com
I ate this. It had no name but it was crispy on the outside and light and filled with random stuff like cheesy sauce, onions, corn, boiled egg, herbs, other prizes.
Cafe Dulce in Japanese Village Plaza (Little Tokyo, DTLA) is pumping out a few treats and still setting up shop in what was once my precious Cefiore. While cruising through, a friend and I noticed that they were trying to get credit card transactions off the ground, decor not set up, guys scrambling, totally soft open. The food looked good so we went in. Just one glass case filled with a sampling of what's to come in the next month. The unnamed treat above was described to me as "like a baked korokke with pizza sauce and corn." Not accurate, but pleasing. Just ask, if you get the youngish Korean American guy, he's very helpful. Other guys, less so--too busy handling other business. My friend picked up a fried(?) mochi thing with mystery filling. Other ones had beef or tuna. Curious to try the sweet stuff. The cookies looked crispy. They had baguettes. Shop is right across from Yamazaki Bakery. Interesting.
I was introduced to macarons a few years ago. A friend had a beautiful gift box of Paulette cookies. To be honest, I didn't care for them. Gave them another try today and was absolutely delighted. Better than Bottega Louie? Maybe. These were a slightly different style. A little poofier, chewier and more flavors to choose from. I thought the gold leaf on Louie's Earl Grey was a nicer touch, but Paulette's variety and decorations are tough to beat overall.
At $1.60 each, these are an expensive treat, but how often to do I buy such things aside from these past few days. A coworker came with me to the Little Tokyo Paulette shop and was horrified that my final cost was nearly $10 for 6 cookies. I was embarrassed, when he said that he probably didn't spend as much on all his cookies for the entire 2010 year. I believe it. Though I seem to remember he spent some cash on Girl Scout cookies last month. And so did I. Is this madness?
My favorite snack lately is 2-3 spoonfuls of Greek yogurt with granola.
Any Greek yogurt, though I've been enjoying plain Voskos brand (I found 8 oz containers for $0.99 and bought multiples). I also bought some Chobani blueberry which is not quite as good.
The granola is any kind of freshly made mix, preferably with some interesting dried fruits in it. I've been buying from small, independently owned companies.
I mix small amounts of each into a small coffee cup and have it in the evening. It's perfect.
Tonight I will try this pricey granola I splurged on yesterday at Bottega Louie. $9.50/lb.
Okay, this isn't much of a "preview." It was actually more like I went to go visit my friend Eric, but he is working on some cool things here with JANM's Clement Hanami and Len Higa of Onimotorworks. Here are a few photos I took. The show opens TOMORROW NIGHT!
So many cameras to choose from, but I only brought my mobile phone with me.
You wouldn't believe how long it took for me to realize this doesn't say "Walking Walking."
If you were curious about what it's like to take the train in Los Angeles, here you go. Obviously, you're not missing much. Btw, they raised the fare to $1.50.
A Famima!! opened at Union Station (Downtown Los Angeles). A tiny one that just sells onigiri and a few odds and ends. I'm just glad they didn't put Union Bagel out of business (yet).
They are finally going to open up that Siqueiros mural at Olvera St. to the public. I was reading the plans and inspecting the composites for it and while it seems lame (it involves a "viewing platform") I'm mostly excited that we will soon be able to see it in person. Had the storefront for this building not been boarded up, I might have gone a lot longer without seeing this statue on the neighboring wall. It was a nice discovery.
Downtown Los Angeles--as well as a small section of Hollywood and Boyle Heights--is shutting down some streets today. The city's first CicLAvia is in full swing.
The point of this exercise as I see it is to give some cars a break (ideally) and let Angelenos run free safe from cars. Walk your dogs (on a leash, please), stroll, ride a bicycle, and use the open space as a park. Anything but cars. Mayor Villaraigosa Tweeted about tennis games and dodge ball recently, so look out for that.
This sort of thing is normally Empirical's cup of tea. I love everything that is specifically not about cars. I mean, come on! I'm a Southern California native and I don't drive. So why am I not covering this event firsthand? I did consider it. Believe me. But there are some weekends where downtown Los Angeles is the last place I want to be after a whole workweek of commuting by bus. I need a break.
But it does sound fun. I will say that. Take the Gold or Red and enjoy the day without a car--like I usually do!
Nisei Week, the grand tradition for Japanese Americans living in the greater Los Angeles area, is in full swing.
Since 1934, (except during years of Internment) Japanese Americans have made their way to "Little Tokyo" (Lil' Tokyo; J-Town; Japanese Town) in Downtown Los Angeles, in the month of August to give the area businesses support and to enjoy a variety of cultural celebrations. These celebrations include things Japanese, American, and Japanese American. Nisei Week has only expanded over the years to include more and more events that reflect the growing interests of the community; tea ceremonies, ikebana, ondo, a [beauty] pageant, a parade are now flanked by karaoke contests, car shows, anime exhibitions, the off-and-on gyoza-eating contest, hip-hop gatherings, youth-oriented taiko group performances, films, etc.
How do all these events fit within the span of a week? It doesn't. Nisei Week is now FOUR WEEKS LONG, but "Nisei Month" doesn't have the same ring to it. Nor is it organized or geared toward actual Nisei who probably quietly shake their heads at the very inclusion of scantily clad women and even the existence of a car show during Nisei Week.
To me, one of the funniest aspects of the Nisei Week of today--besides the fact that it's actually a month--is the inclusion of other festivals within a festival. Nisei Week, a festival in itself, is also host to: JANM Summer Festival, Plaza Festival, a Film Festival, until recently the Tofu Festival, Nebuta Festival, and the Tanabata Festival.
The nebuta and tanabata are recent adoptions by our community from Japanese festivals in Aomoriand Sendai, respectively. I have been to both in Japan and can say our Los Angeles fests are as one would expect, watered down. However, the inclusion of these traditions has been overwhelmingly successful in bringing back a younger generation by giving them something new (to us) and collaborative to work on.
After work and before heading home yesterday, I walked by the Tanabata celebration taking place in the JANM courtyard. It was lovely. Many handmade tanabata kazari hung overhead--each worked on by individuals and community organizations. A taiko group played as people began to gather. A stage was set up and LAPD Deputy Chief Terry Hara was on the mic introducing emcee actress, Tamlyn Tomita--both are very active in the community. I saw a lot of people I know from working in the area for years.
