Favorite places to stuff our faces

Since everyone is doin' their favorite top such and such list of 2007, I decided to do a top list of restaurants/trucks/pit stops that we enjoyed eating at, and that you, our dedicated and loyal readers, should try too.

Happy eating!

(In no particular order):

Scoops

Forget the Pinkberries, Red Mangos, Crapberries out there, this place serves the awesomest selection of frozen yogurt everyone should try.

712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
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Monte Carlo Deli & Pinocchio's Restaurant

A hidden gem in Burbank, this place has been around for over 40 years, but I recently discovered the glory of their giant meatball subs that would put Subway's to shame. It's also worth a visit to check out cool ambiance.

3103 W Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA 91505
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Chabuya Tokyo Noodle Bar

The saltiest and most satisfying and tasty pork broth on Sawtelle. I usually get their Classic and leave happy! A little pricey compared to the other ramen joints, but worth it.

2002 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025

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The Colony Cafe

Must get the garlic fries! They also have yummy desserts and ice cream.

10937 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064

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The Original Rinaldis

The Sandwiches are awesome...Godfather is the one to get, also the Russell combo makes for a sweet lunch.

323 Main St
El Segundo, CA 90245

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Mao's Kitchen

The best chinese food outside of communist china. A shout of of favorite dishes: string bean chicken, yam and beef, and the green onion pancakes. Yum.

1512 Pacific Ave
Venice, CA 90291

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Pie 'n Burger

Good pie and burgers. They make their own soda, too!

913 E California Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91106

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Chano's Drive-In

Best hole-in-the-wall mexican food by SC. Their chili fries are the bomb. Everything on the menu is cheap!

3000 S Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Boner Jams '07

2007 was a good year for music (even though I say that every year was a good year for music)
In no particular order, here are the albums and tracks I was jamming to this past year:

Beirut - Flying Cup Club
Feist - The Reminder
Dri - Smoke Rings
New Pornographers - Challengers
The Pipettes - We are the Pipettes
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Yeah yeah yeah I know these selections are the usual end of the year mumbo jumbo on a bunch of other sites, but I haven't had time to explore the music blogosphere and search for new music.
My real musical picks from the past year are coming soon...

The Hipster Black Friday

If you were looking for your denizen hipsters today, chances are they were all at the first annual American Apparel flea market at their downtown factory. Not knowing what to except from this event, I should have camped out cuz by the time I got there around 12ish, the line already snaked around the parking lot with about 2000+ people all waiting their turn to score some stuff. Trying to find the end of the line was sort of a gauntlet of hipsters/scensters/what have you's eyeing you and and your choice of clothes for the day.

After waiting in line for about 4 hrs, finally got in and hoped that some of the good stuff was left. The place was a clusterf*ck inside. Besides the long lines, there were piles of clothes organized by $1, $7, and $10 dumped on tarp mats. People just sat in the middle of the pile of clothes and dug through the apparel (most were either xxl or xs, it was really hard to find a medium in any of the popular items like hoodies and shirts). Despite the craziness and mass confusion/chaoticness, I went home with about 5 shirts and 3 hoodies for less than 40 bucks.


Waiting in line...for the finding 'emo' ride...

Look at the stars see how they shine for you

'Twas my first day back from the country (AKA Dallas, TX) and I was ready to dive headfirst into some Los Angeles-style goodness. First up, was the world famous-I think I remember this place in that Paula Abdul music video with Keanu Reaves- Griffith Observatory. The place was pretty neat with exhibits about the planets (sorry Pluto), the sun, and space in general. Their food court menu could use a little more creativity however. My suggestions: Meatier-bites (meatballs), serve only Milky Way candy bars, or Hubble Yum bubble gum. I can do all day with these things. Anyway, the new and improved movie was awesome, even though Krystle fell asleep at some point between Copernicus' discover of a helio-centric galaxy and exploring Mars. The rest of the time thereafter was spent exploring exhibits, but most of the stuff I knew already. The sun is a star, an eclipse is when..., you weigh this much on...whatever. The best presentation is what I like to call the Armageddon Simulation. You basically enter mathematical factors about an asteroid hitting the planet and watch your results. Needless to say, everyone using the exhibit plotted the TOTAL DESTRUCTIONS of mankind. Nice.

Continuing with the stars theme of the day, later on that day we went to the Stars concert at the Orpheum. Merch was a scam (15 for a CD?? C'mon!) but the best part of the show was our seats. We were right up front for all the action which consists of Amy and the other dude rocking out. Despite said rockingness, the guy in front of me still managed to distract me with his spastic , hilarious dancing. Stars played all their slammin jams: Elevator Love Letter, Ageless Beauty, Reunion, One More Night, and stuff from their new CD. All in all, the show was epic and my ears are still ringing. In the end, Krystle scored a set list and one of the flowers the band was throwing to people from the stage.

A Chocolatier in My Hood

Yea, how many of you can say that there's a chocolatier in your neighborhood? I'm not talking about See's or Godiva chocolates, but someone like Willy Wonka on a much smaller scale. Ok, so maybe my chocolatier doesn't give out golden tickets for a once in a lifetime chance to visit her factory, but she does make awesome fresh chocolate. Usually, it's hard to find parking around the shop since the store is located in that weird intersection where Beverly, Commonwealth, and 1st Street mege, but lucky me found parking right in front! I asked Ms. Park (the French-trained chocolatier) what I should try since I love dark chocolate. She suggested I try her pave noir: dark ganache which is 72% cocoa (absolutely amazing...I learned to savor the taste of chocolate by not actually eating it, but rather letting it dissolve in your mouth...brings out other flavors you wouldn't have noticed in the first place!) I also tried her aztec which has habanero, caribbean, thai chili and apricot. That guy has bite! It was actually a little too spicy for me, but worth trying if you like a little bite. And since it was my first visit, she threw in a classic truffle...delish! Check out the pic here.

L' Artisan du Chocolat
3364 West First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90004

Stuff My Face: The Glendizzle Report

If you've checked out my food photo album, you'll notice that there are more pics of mexican and thai food than say italian and chinese. Not that I discriminate against other types of food, I just happen to love those two. Anyway, I checked out Kozy Korner Thai Cuisine in Glendale today cuz the last time I parked behind the restaurant, the garlicky aroma was tempting me. At first glance, the place looked small from the outside, as if it was for take-out only. Once you're in, you'll notice that the place is definitely "Kozy" with it's yellow and grey walls and rattan chairs. I can imagine this place getting cramped during lunch on the weekdays, but when I went, it was practically empty. The owner of the place is uber nice and delivers your food with a smile. No joke. I tried the fried wontons and the pad see ew. Compared to other pad see ew's I've had, this was very delicious, not too peppery, and not dry at all.



Pad See Ew...not eewww at all!

Kozy Korner:
213 W Wilson Ave
Glendale, CA 91203

Dallas Concert Series Part 1: Girl Talk

I've been to Dallas many times (especially over the weekend) for business travel and it never occurred to me to check out a show. Maybe some subconscious loyalty to the LA scene or plain laziness after a long workweek was keeping me from venturing what Dallas has to offer. It was a comment in passing by co-worker ("You're going to be here this weekend. You should check out who's in town.") that led me to the Dallas concert listings. Lo and behold, everyone's favorite mash-up artist was playing that very night and with tickets available no less. I didn't have no place to go, so I went to the mash-up show.

Opening up was an LA-based guy called Daedalus. Unfortunately, because the line to get in was surprisingly long, I missed most of his set. But it sounded like cool some banging dance/mash-up style music to me. Next up was Busdriver. He tore it up and I shouted a request for one of the few Busdriver songs I know, The First Black Astronaut. Some other dude in the audience, an apparent Busdriver fan acknowledged me and said something to the effect of "Yeah man, he should play more older stuff." I nodded agreeingly and got the hell out of there just in case homeboy might call me out on my lack of Busdriver knowledge. That being said, after watching his set, I'll probably revisit my Busdriver collection in greater detail.

I made my way to the right hand of the stage and figured since it's Friday night, I might as well try to get up front because I've heard that Girl Talk shows get nuts. So, when Greg takes the stage, a whole chunk of the audience follows suit, and I actually end up right up front. I expected a Girl Talk show to consist of Greg and his laptop and that's what I got. Regardless, he does put on a good show by jumping around and dancing with the audience. He doesn't play straight up tracks off his CDs but mixes them up a little bit. For example, instead of using Neutral Milk Hotel as background to some slammin jam, he would mash it up with the Carpenters.

Some noticeable samples last night were: Lil' Mama's Lip Gloss, Smashing Pumpkins' Zero, Toadies' Possum Kingdom, PB&J's Young Folks, Carpenters' Superstar, Sweet Child o' Mine,
and everyone's favorite Since U Been Gone. The highlight of the night was when the stage collapsed due to the amount of people dancing around. Moreover, the actual floorboards were bending and felt like they were going to burst at any moment. All in all, it was an awesome show, but if I catch them in LA, I think I'll hang in the back. My rocking out in the front days are numbered and now I have to do laundry.

Stuff my face day: Palms/Culver City edition

Part I

Yesterday, M and I discovered a neighborhood Indonesian cafe/market on National called Simpang Asia. This might be the new go-to spot for Indonesian food since the other one (I won't mention the name) has a creepy cook who gives me the shivers. Plus, the food is reasonably priced and service is fast! M had the Nasi Rames and and I tried the Satay Ayam with a side of rice cakes. To start, we split the risoles which is good with sambal.

The little grocery store had some dutch treats like hagel and cookies, but I spotted some other Asian goodies like pocky sticks and Hi-Chew!



Simpang Asia
10433 National Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 815-9075

Part II

For dinner we decided to check out Cinco de Mayo on Sepulveda. I love taco stands and this one happens to be open 24 hrs. Compared to Tito's Tacos (which is right next door and always has a line), this place was kinda empty..which was fine by me cuz I get turned off by long lines anyway. The place has well over 50 items to choose from including hamburgers and American or Mexican breakfast!




11204 Washington Pl
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 391-5354

The first ever Swerve Festival

Today M and I decided to check out Swerve festival at Barnsdall Art Park. To sum it up, Swerve festival is chock-full of music, art, and films happening around the Silver Lake/ Hollywood area. We got there just in time to watch the music videos at the theater. My personal music video favs were RJD2 "Work it Out" directed by Joel Garfield and The Whitest Boy Alive "Golden Cage" with animation by Geoff McFetridge. Turns out some of the directors were in the audience and talked about their work after the screening. We didn't stick around for the free concerts (Oh no! Oh my! was scheduled to play), but did end up eating at Electric Lotus for a late afternoon lunch. Yummy!



From left to right: Sage Vaugh & Syd garon (NASA "Way Down"), Stefan Nadelman (Menomena "Evil Bee"), Cheryl Dunn (Coconut Records "West Coast"), Joey Garfield (RJD2 "Work It Out"), and Festival Director Jonathan Wells.



Pinwheel by Geoff McFetridge



"Permanent" tattoo booth

welcome to the future

It being the first time in Los Angeles, we decided to check out the Wired NextFest.

I thought the event was going to be an all day thing, sort of like comic con (but without funky cheese smelling nerds). Really not much to say about this event, except that I hate the moon.

One lady got angry at the parking lots across the streets because after noticing that there weren't a lot of people attending this festival, they dropped the parking prices from 15 to 10. I guess she parked in one of those lots.



yep, welcome to the future, biatch!



Hey! Captain Rex escaped from Star Tours! Oh no! We're caught in a tractor beam!



Keepon!




This guy made a robot of himself. Can you tell which one is real?

Sunday Funday

Mark your calendars boys and girls because today September 9, 2007 will go down in M and K history as the day I first went to the world famous Rose Bowl Swap meet. When people (blogs, LA magazine, etc.) say this is the place to be, they aren't kidding. With list in hand we ventured from booth to booth. For the record, my list consisted of transformers, western shirts, records, flip clocks, kicks, posters, 80s cartoons bedsheets, and a retro desk chair. Unfortunately, I was only able to acquire two of those items. Nevertheless, we had a blast but were pretty much worn out by the time we made our way to the clothing area. I scored an empire strikes back bedsheet and a loose grimlock transformer. I came *this* close to purchasing a jumbo mazinger type toy (with body made of that shampoo bottle plastic). Krystle scored some sweet pyrex dishes but methinks fire king is now on her list. The selection is a pack rat's dream and I saw things that I remember from my youth. I wanted this kitschy go-bots poster but 25 was too much for a poster of some poor man's transformers.

Since were in pasadena, we decided to check out pie n' burger. First, the burgers were awesome, and they make their own soda there meaning they mix the syrup and soda water by hand. It being our first time there, we also ordered some pie (apple) ala mode. Twas damn tasty.
I can see the Swap Meet/Pie 'n Burger becoming a monthly tradition.

Get there early because stylish Japanese tourists take all the good stuff
(especially return of the jedi drinking glasses)

Pics:

Pressed Pennies

Whenever I went to Disneyland, Sea World, or Knott's Berry Farm as a kid, I always made sure to stop by at one of those smashed pennies machines...they were the cheapest souvenirs at only 51 cents! I have a small collection of random ones from Vegas, Pea Soup Anderson's in Solvang, and even one from Ripley's Believe It or Not. At my last trip to Disneyland, I chanced upon this ominous looking penny machine in New Orleans Square:




A coffin! How scary is that? I didn't actually get a pressed souvenir from this one because it was dying for quarters only. 0___o
Maybe next time.

They didn't invent the chicken

I love Chick-fil-A and their endless selection of sauces (c'mon, they have Polynesian sauce...a little taste of the pacific islands in your own mouth!). The closest one to me is in Torrance at the Del Amo mall which is really sad because they should open more of these chicken fast food places in the L.A. area. Did I mention they have waffle fries? That's like CrissCut fries from Carl's Jr., but better because you can dip it in ketchup. Then dip it in bbq sauce. Then mix it up and dip it in ranch. See, they have tons of sauces! I usually order the kid's Chik-fil-A nugget combo which usually comes with some educational toy/book which, I guess, is better than a beanie baby or minature barbie. Only thing that sucks for the chicken sandwich lover is that they're closed on Sundays (i.e. a day for rest).



clockwise from top left: buffalo, polynesian, honey mustard, bbq, ranch = YUM.

Africanitas Ricas and Carne Asada!!

SAY WHAT?

So coming home from work, not really looking forward to eating a Lean Cusine for dinner. I have a choice between french bread pizza or pasta, but I'm craving for something spicy...something fatty to tide me over from a long day's work, but decide that my taste buds will just have take it or leave it. But..what's this? I see what seems to be a makeshift taco stand in front of the next door apartment. I eagerly check it out and hope I don't look like some loser introuding on a party or a nosey neighbor trying to stage some investigation and call the police. Turns out this taco stand has moved from place to place around the hood, first next to the Ranch Mercado on Beverly and Reno...now here? In the middle of my street?!?!? Thank you carne asada and carnita gods for listening to my pleas for something spicy and fatty. For 2 bucks I got two carne asada tacos with cilantro and salsa. Delicious! I hope the taco stand comes back next week....



Yummy, yummy tacos



So a couple weeks ago, I picked up I Like Food, Food Tastes Good from Borders..basically a book about what rockers eat when they're not rocking out. I decided to make Devandra Banhart's dessert "Africanitas Ricas" because it seemed fairly simple to do and who doesn't like fried bananas? I tweaked the recipe a little bit (his reciped didnt have specific measurements) and used plantains instead of regular bananas and also substituted cinammon graham crackers for the boring one. It came out pretty tasty...except that the bananas weren't ripe, but sprinkle some sugar on it and it'll make your stomach smile!

Random rules 8/18

+ Saw Superbad today. Hands down funniest movie ever thanks to the most awesome Michael Cera, he of Arrested Development and Clark and Michael fame.

+ The more things I pack up for storage the more crap I see that I need to get. This week Simpsons toys at (fur)Burger King that make sounds. On another toy note, I was able to finally score a BK boba fett toy from that comic shop near the bakery mentioned in the previous post. Place is pretty swank once you go in.

+ My New Pornographers preorder arrived today. Thing is they give you three blank CDs on which you have to burn mp3s. What the hell kind of scam is that??? But the CD is jawesome.

+ Just got back from Virginia. Got my seafood on and learned that when eating softshell crab, they expect you to eat the whole damn thing sans eyes.

+ watching/listening to: the go! team, pavement, new pornographers, spoon, stars, aqua teen movie, DC Animated Universe, New Avengers, World War Hulk, computer networking, hannah montana

I'm in the mood for cupcakes

Yesterday, we decided to check out Hotcakes Bakes over on Washington Blvd in the Mar Vista area. I was hankering for something sweet and decided to try the chocolate with chocolate sprinkles and frosting while the bf got the butterscotch brownie. I was a little disappointed that for the price we paid for the desserts, they tended to be on the smaller side compared to rival dessert stores I've visited. Not to say the least, it was surprisingly good. Not sickening sweet, but just enought to wake me up from my afternoon coma. I tried a bite of the butterscotch brownie and tasted nuts. I like butterscotch, but kinda picky when nuts are in brownies. The cake selection looked yummy...






store is located at 4119 South Centinela (@ the corner of Washington Blvd) Los Angeles, CA 900066

Gnome sweet gnome

Ever since I visited F&S fabrics in July, I've been hungry for fabric. I don't even consider myself that crafty. . . I've only made two pillows so far. The colorful patterns and bold colors make me fabric crazy. It's like Pokemon, I "gotta catch 'em all." Going to Joanne's fabrics is like being a kid in a candy store. At work the other day, I found myself on etsy looking for fabrics and found some cute designs with owls and birds.

Anyway, I thought this pattern was cute because it has...GNOMES! Gnomes are awesome.

This fabric and other awesomely cool fabrics and patterns brought to you by Sew Mama Sew.

Comic-con 07 aka BO/Butt Smellfest 07 (with pop culture booths)

Pictures of Comic-Con 2007. We wanted to hit up Saturday per tradition, but for the first time ever Saturday sold out. So we braved another sold out crowd on Sunday.

Naruto was there in full force. There were also more people dressed in Naruto gear than last year. But Avatar is way better anyway.

Geico doesn't cover Optimus Prime's battle damage anymore. Homeboy had to improvise.
Also, he likes comic conventions.


This toy is just opening up the market for the baby Green Goblin and baby Gwen Stacy Brooklyn Bridge playset.


The cost of this Batman Lego Set was a 2 billion kajiggers.



I checked. Chim-chim was NOT in the trunk.


RRRRRAwawrararaarwarar*

*Mark's chewbacca noise. You know how it sounds.

More comic-con photos here

Don't have a cow, man.

Yesterday the boyfriend and I decided to check out the OC Fair Cowabunga because it's the quintessential summer activity to do. Walk in the sun amongst crowds and strollers, sweat profusely, smell like cows...what's not to love about it? I had hoped that when I entered the fair, it would be something like the Step by Step sitcom intro...I'd run through the turnstiles, then a barrage of balloons would intrude Patrick Duffy as my step-dad. Rather than just tell you a detailed journey of the day, here are some pictures. Enjoy.


Welcome to the fair! A lot of the workers had British accents. I wonder if this has something to do with Beckham coming to LA?


I wish I had this for lunch. Smelled so good.


Instead, we had this...which at 10.25 was a scam! Those don't look like steak fries to me. We could have ordered a bucket of chicken and a family meal from KFC. :(


Strange. Why are these two cows holding hamburgers and kebabs?



This lemonade stand is just so kitsch and cute. I wish I could have one at home.


This famiy is out to win every oversized stuffed animal there is! Note the kid's awesome rattail.


This is actually a stakeout for Chris Hansen and the To Catch a Predator crew.

A little pilaf with Edith Piaf

The other night a friend and I decided to watch La Vie En Rose at the Laemmle in Pasadena and wanted to grab a quick bite before the movie. We ate at Radhika's Restaurant and sampled their chicken tikka masala, plain naan, and a side order of basmati rice. The chicken was delicious and not too spicy, naan had a hint of garlic which was also yummy, the service was excellent (the waiters were quick to refill my water). The downside of this superb meal was a lady sitting behind us who was on her blackberry the entire time she ate. She texted while she drank her Merlot. Complained rather loudly to whomever she talked to that she had a rough day. A cute old couple next to us also noticed the lady's annoying cell phone behavior and piped in that diners sitting around her were starting to have a rough day listening to her ramble about nothing particularly important (old people are cool like that).

I'm pretty sure there are tons of reviews out there about La Vie en Rose, but Marion Cotillard is a superb actress and she deserves an Oscar nod for her role. Read the L.A. Times review here.

Jo Ann's fabric store in Glendale

After work today, I decided to check out Jo Ann's fabric store in Glendale. I hang out in Glendale a lot-mostly at the galleria and the fashion center (where nordstrom rack and michaels are located).

I've been doing some arts and crafts with fellow co-workers and after completing my very first sewing project aka a sweet pillow, I've been dying to go to fabric stores and check out some stuff. As much as I love Project Runway and Daniel Vosovic, I'm pretty sure kids are better than me at sewing. I've been to F&S fabrics on pico and looove their button selection. Not sure what I'd do with a whole button collection if I ever started one...maybe open up a button museum?

Although Joann has a decent aisle for buttons, I can't really compare it to F&S. But at least they have buttons...I was bummed when I went to Michaels and found no such button aisle there. I ended up picking up a couple sets of buttons at 90 cents each, some pinstripe fabric to make a pillow for my boyfriend, and this uber cool cherry blossom fabric! There's a lady named Rachel who was super cool and friendly and gave me a discount on the pinstripe fabric since there was less than a yard left. Sweet deal.

Anyone know where I can find fabric or button stores in the LA area?