Pi Day

As you nerds may know, last Wednesday was 3/14 or Pi Day. I decided to honor the mathematical constant with a little pie for dinner. Instead of visiting my usual spot in North Hollywood, Republic of Pie, I stopped by the more renown Pie Hole in Downtown.

The first thing I noticed was the logo was jarringly similar to the Republic of Pie.

Which one is the evil one?

I asked the Pie Hole owner if they had anything to do with the NoHo store. He sucked his breath in through his teeth and muttered "Yeahhh the owners were coming in here a lot before they opened..." I glanced over the menu and was shocked by the similarities between the two. Both had sweet and savory options. Both had their own form of mac n cheese (Republic has it in a pie, Pie Hole in a turnover). I was quite disappointed to find my beloved pie cafe was just a a knock off.


That is until I tried the food itself.


Even though the Republic of Pie is a copycat in some aspects, they kicked the Pie Hole's ass in taste. From the Hole I tried the Mexican chocolate and maple custard cream.

Pie Hole's Maple Custard Cream pie

The maple custard was okay, just a tad too sweet and the crust had a gummy consistency to it. The Mexican chocolate was disappointing. I was expecting a rich chocolate complimented with a hint of spice. Instead I got a dark sticky mess consisting of overpowering espresso poorly mixed with cinnamon and too dark chocolate that left a bitter taste lingering in my mouth. On top of everything, they used a graham cracker crust that contrasted too sharply with the heaviness of the pie.

Republic of Pie's Mac n Cheese pie

On the other hand, everything I've tried from Republic of Pie has been wonderful. The mac n cheese pie is gooey and stringy, like a cartoon pizza. The lemon cream pie is wonderfully light in body and the perfect balance of tart and sweet, reminiscent of my Granny Finch's recipe.

The improvements don't stop there. The interior of the Pie Hole was stark and minimalist. But not the attractive kind of minimalist, just really...bare.

The environment at Republic of  Pie is warm and inviting, complete with skylights and soft antique leather furniture. There's even a frickin' TREE!

A safe haven for hopeful screenwriters in NoHo

Bringing it back to the mathematical roots of this hallowed Pi Day: Σ = RoP > PH

Adventures in Baking!

Hey kids! Are you ready for something exciting and new?!?!?! You better be.

This is entry #1 for my new blog subseries called "Adventures in [fill-in-the-blank]", where I will be discussing my experiments in cooking. You see, life as a working girl trying to make it in this crazy world riddled with inflation and a recession has rendered me unable to dump loads of cash on eating out. In other words, I'm broke. But to every stormy cloud there is a silver lining; mine comes in the form of pots and pans.

My first adventure will be in BAKING because:

1) I've been baking since I was 10.
2) I have a killer sweet tooth. His name is Gobzilla, and he has a hunger for chocolate.
2.5) I studied pastry arts in culinary school for about 3 weeks. Then I dropped out.

My recipes were inspired by Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. If you're looking for the ultimate baking recipes, BUY THIS BOOK. If you're looking for traditional recipes with a modern twist, BUY THIS BOOK. If you don't own a single baking book, BUY THIS BOOK. I promise you they're not paying me to tell you this; I'm saying this for free.


Their recipes are very thorough and detailed, but sometimes they are straight up science experiments. To ease the process I created a few short cuts for myself.

Sweet & Salty Cake


A moist dark chocolate cake layered with salted caramel and rich dark chocolate caramel frosting, then sprinkled with cocoa dusted sea salts. Ever since I got this book I had been wanting to try out this recipe. But it was too overwhelming. It is basically 3 difficult recipes mushed together to make 1 ultramegadelicious cake.

But as luck would have it, I received a jar of dark chocolate frosting from Williams Sonoma as a birthday present. I knew it would be PERFECT for this cake. For the cake itself, I used Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge mix (a trick I learned from Alton Brown; it's not about the cake, but the frosting). The only thing I made from scratch was the salted caramel, some of which I whipped with the jarred frosting. Et voila, semi-homemade Sweet & Salty cake! Tip: Nuke it for 5-10 seconds. Eat. Lick plate. Enjoy.

Root Beer Fudge Cake


I deviated from the original recipe by using root beer concentrate instead of soda. This resulted in a much more flavorful cake that melds beautifully with the deep fudge-y fudge. The cake also ages like fine wine; the longer it sits in the fridge, the root beer flavor grows and intensifies. Like a mold. But more delicious.

I actually met the baking geniuses Matt & Renato at Disney's Food & Wine Festival in California Adventure. I can't begin to tell you how starstruck I was; to me these guys are like the *NSYNC of baking. I told them about my substitution for the root beer cake and they fell in love with the idea. Next time I'm in NY I have to visit their bakery in Brooklyn (also called Baked). Who knows, maybe I can talk them into opening a store here in California...

Great Expectations (or Why I Will Always Hate Fusion Food)

As you can see, my blog got a sexy new makeover (thanks to the preset templates available on Blogger - no time to do my own designs). And with this new look, I have another new thing to bring to "Around the World in 3 Meals a Day"...my first negative review.

GASP!

The other day I came home to see a brown bag waiting for me on the counter. I quivered with anticipation as I pulled out something shaped like a toddler's thigh wrapped in deli paper. I peeled back the wrapper to find something that looked like a burrito but didn't smell like a burrito. The aroma had hints of soy and something pickled. My hands trembled with excitement as I realized what it was...a Kogi BBQ burrito! Despite my notoriety as a fatty, I've never had the opportunity to try the infamous Kogi BBQ truck. And thanks to my thoughtful sister, my day had come!!! I took my first bite...

How was it? Well, in order for you to understand my first impression, let's flashback to my senior prom. Thanks to all those damn John Hughes movies I had great expectations of it being the awesomest night of my life. I even got a dress custom-made by my mom's seamstress, a sapphire blue satin crepe evening gown with a sweetheart neckline and a mermaid silhouette. Hot but not slutty. I weighed 15 pounds less back then. I miss those days. Anyways, it all fell apart when my boyfriend asked another girl to the dance. I asked (or beg, it's all perspective) 10 guys to be my date until my dance partner in show choir (a sophomore) agreed to go with me. Then my ex ended up being in the same limo as me. Cue the avalanche. The whole time my ex's date was throwing daggers at me with her eyes the whole ride there. To top it all off, dinner was at Rainforest Cafe (a travesty in itself), and THEN my date ditched me 10 minutes in and I couldn't find him the rest of the night.

That is how my Kogi burrito tasted. Like my shitty prom night.

It wasn't terrible. At prom, I stuck it out through the whole thing, hoping that it would get better. I also had no choice, I rode in a limo with 9 other people. But I had the same attitude toward my Kogi burrito. I ate the whole thing, hoping that at some point my taste buds will realize yes, this IS the greatest burrito ever. But that never happened. Each bite was one disappointment after another. Just like prom. Over-hyped. Great expectations. Great disappointment.

Perhaps under the right circumstances, Kogi BBQ would be great. Like if you have the munchies. Or if you have been waiting in line for 3 hours to try this over-hyped concoction and you're rendered exhausted and starving. At that point even wasabi ice cream with anchovy sprinkles would taste good. But sweet Korean BBQ, kimchi, and cheese wrapped up in a tortilla? Call me old-fashioned, but I like my burritos Mexican.

Kogi's bizarre creations only served to confirm my theory: fusion food will never work. Sure, there are some exceptions to the rule, like tempura ice cream or jambalaya pasta. But when you clash two completely different flavors together, like cheese in Asian dishes or Sriracha-Tapatio cheesecake, you're just creating a recipe for disaster. Like my prom night.

Haters keep on hating.

Holy sssmokin' meat Batman!

Spring Street Smoke House
640 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-0535
www.sssmokehouse.com

Sorry, I know, I suck. I haven't written an entry in over a year. I'll blame it on the economy. This past year has rendered me penniless, forcing me to survive off Teddy Grahams and Nutella. Not that I'm complaining, I love Nutella. But now I'm all grown up and back on track with my life, so I can resume my culinary quest.

Let me start with Spring Street Smoke House, located right in the heart of Downtown LA, just blocks from Union Station. Oh my God. No. That's not right. OH MY GOD!!!!! Hang on, let me wipe the drool off my keyboard.

It all started a couple months ago, when my boyfriend and I went on an expedition of the concrete jungle formally known as El Pueblo de Nuestra Reina de Los Angeles (I swear to you that's LA's full legal name, look it up). Famished after a day full of subway rides, roaming the LA Public Library, and wandering around Koreatown trying to figure out how the frickin' hell we got there in the first place, we returned to Union Station in hopes of finding a good spot to fill up. We knew our chances were good; after all, we were right next to gastronomic landmarks like Olvera Street and Phillipe's. But we were tired of Mexican food (had a bomb ass quesadilla from Leo's Taco Truck the night before) and I wasn't feeling French Dips. We wanted to try something new. And we had technology on our side. Thanks to the Layars app (buy a Droid), we found barbecue heaven. And it was walking distance.

We walked into a small spot decked out with picnic tables and metal chairs reminiscent of a middle school assembly room. That was the first good sign - they didn't give a shit about the decor, so the food had to be good. Each table was stocked with a loaf of sliced bread and a roll of paper towels. Good sign #2 - they're prepared for a sloppy hot mess of sauce-orgy. And finally, the ultimate nod of approval: the patrons were blacks and fat white people. The ultimate authority on barbecue. It's not a stereotype; it's a fact.

We decided to go for variety to get the most of everything, so we split the Sampler Plate, a massive meat pile of 2 spare ribs, a hot link, pulled chicken, and smoked brisket. That alone was more than enough for 2 people, but we just had to indulge ourselves; we also got a 1/2 pound of pulled pork, a side of baked beans, collard greens, fries, and cornbread. On top of that, they also had beer samplers, only $12 for six 6 oz samples. Holy begeezus. We literally rolled out on our stomachs when we were done, and still had leftovers for days.

Not only was the feast bountiful, but delicious as well. The ribs were great, but where they really shined was the brisket and pulled pork. They smoke their meat for over 8 hours, resulting in tender, moist, juicy, succulent meat smothered in a sweet and tangy sauce (also available in spicy). Their sides paired perfectly with the entrees, only helping to enhance to flavor. It's always a good thing when you can take everything on your plate, swirl it all together into a soupy mess, and it still tastes good. In fact, it tastes even better. But the icing on the cake were the prices. The Sample Plate was $14, but was more than enough to feed two adults with trash compactors for stomachs.

So go buy a Droid, download the Layars app, and load up on pork and beef at Spring Street Smoke House. NOW.

A slice of the Big Apple

A few weeks ago I visited the world's unofficial capital, New York City. This was my second visit, and I had a mission: to find the best food NY had to offer. My first trip was a disappointment, due to lack of guidance and a small budget; my diet primarily consisted of hot dogs and pizza. This time was a different story. I was determined to seek out the gastronomic heart of NY cuisine. With a fat wallet and an empty stomach, I began my journey...

DAY 1 - A 6-hour long flight has rendered me starving for a hearty meal. I meet with my homeboy Kevin, a Parsons student that has shed his native Californian skin and molted a new East Village coat.
Dallas BBQ: Gigantic chicken wings in a delicious golden honey sauce that makes you want to lick the plate. Homemade cornbread. Texas-sized margaritas. Southern comfort has found a home in Manhattan.
Magnolia Bakery: Banana pudding. Wait, let me re-phrase that. BAHHNANAAAA POOODDIIIINNNG! Rich yet fluffy, creamy with Nilla wafer crunch, Magnolia's banana pudding is a sweet oxymoron.

DAY 2 - Dinner with my East Coast cousins. Let's see what the locals have to say...
Bread: New Italian in SoHo. Calamari, octopus salad, bruschetta, and mushroom ravioli in a marinara sauce that is to die for. It's my cousin Heather's favorite place, and I could see why.
Rice to Riches: If ColdStone and Pinkberry had a European cousin, it would be this trendy little rice pudding shop off Spring Street. Over 20 different flavors of creamy rice pudding (chocolate...tiramisu...pecan pie???) and various toppings that somehow blend together harmoniously.

DAY 3 - A long day full of tourist madness and shopping. The perfect ending to a day like this can only come in one form: DESSERT!
The Dessert Truck: The fairy Godmother of all food trucks. Crème brûlée, chocolate souffle, hazelnut donuts, quality for under $5. Our pick of the night: hot chocolate, so creamy and thick you'd swear they just melted a Hershey bar and poured it in a cup.

DAY 4 - Exhausted after another long day of fun, we decide to stay in and try another New York staple: ordering take-out. In NY, anything and everything can be delivered to your house at nearly time. We order bulgolgi and kimchi stew from a local Korean restaurant. Slight disappointment, overpriced and bland, but at least we had the luxury of resting our feet and having the food brought to us like kings.

DAY 5 - The St. Patrick's Day parade off 5th Ave leads us to another hot spot in New York's culinary world.
Greenberg's Bakery: Claimed by many to be the city's best black and white cookie. Covered in sweet, creamy icing and large enough to cover your face, this cookie takes the cake. Get it? Cookie? Cake? Nevermind.

There you have it, a few highlights from my trip. I highly recommend going there for yourself and creating your own culinary adventure. The city thrives on restaurants, so it's hard to find a bad meal out there. And if you can't find anything, there's bound to be 5 pizza joints in a one block radius of your location.

Shabu Shabu - so nice they named it twice

Kin Noki Fusion Pot
13788 Roswell Ave #188
Chino, CA 91710
(909) 464-0019

I've always had a bad experience with shabu shabu. Every place I've gone to has either been too bland, too expensive, or too little for my voracious appetite. So it took a lot of convincing on my sister's behalf to get me to go to her favorite shabu shabu joint, Fusion Pot. Thank goodness for annoying sisters.

Fusion Pot was my first truly enjoyable shabu shabu experience. What first impressed me (besides the mouth-watering scent of meat cooking when you walk in) is the variety available. Most shabu shabu places only offer the standard broth, which is basically water and seaweed. Fusion Pot's the Baskin Robbins of broths. Besides the standard fare, they also offer sukiyaki, miso, and kimchi bases. Being a food-pyromaniac, I went for the kimchi. The broth wasn't straight-up kimchi soup, so the meat tasted nice and spicy without the overwhelming pickled flavors of kimchi. My sister got sukiyaki, which added a salty but slightly sweet flavor to her meat. The meat they offered was high quality (your choice of rib-eye or kobe), and for the animal lovers they have a vegetarian and seafood platter available. Another perk: you're allowed to order seafood and vegetable items a la cart, allowing me to order a side of scallops to enjoy with my kimchi soaked beef. Your meal ends with coffee jello topped with cream, a surprisingly good palate post-dinner cleanser.

The service was top-notch, the owner is extremely friendly and invested in guest satisfaction. He seemed to know many of the patrons on a first-name basis, and even at once point was carrying around one of the guest's babies (maybe they were related, who knows, everyone in there was Asian). But this place is certainly not for broke asses: expect to spend at least $18 on a single meal. On the bright side, if you're free on a weekday before 2:30 they have lunch specials starting at $9. But if you're wanting to impress a special someone, I highly recommend Fusion Pot. And maybe a bed to nap on after for your food coma.

Top 5: Macaroni & Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is hands down one of my favorite dishes because it combines my two favorite things on the planet: cheese and pasta. It's a classic dish that has transcended the stigma of childhood (I don't know any kid that doesn't get excited when Mom brings out "the blue box" for dinner). Now the all-American mac 'n' cheese has a gourmet makeover brought on by the imaginations of culinary artists. These chefs attempt to go beyond the realm of elbow macaroni and cheddar cheese, introducing new pasta shapes, exotic cheeses like fontina and romano, and other foreign ingredients to create a unique flavor stamp like applewood bacon, red peppers, and jalepenos. Thanks to some readers' suggestions, I have gone around the greater Los Angeles/OC region to find the ultimate macaroni and cheese dish. My research has been highly enjoyable, but the critiquing has been more difficult.

The Top 5 Macaroni and Cheese of Southern California:

5. Mac & Cheese - Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles
Various locations in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Long Beach www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com
Suggested by Alex Iskander & Phil Lomboy
Roscoe's is known for their hearty soul food. Their mac & cheese is a prime example of that. Made with egg for a thicker texture and lots of buuuuhtter, this home-style recipe is sure to stick to the ribs and induce a 3 hour coma.

4. Uptown Mac & Cheese - Granville
Various locations in Burbank and Glendale
www.granvillecafe.com
Suggested by Kristine Songco
Granville is the next evolutionary step in cafes. They upscale the standard cafe menu items like sandwiches and pasta and turn them into mini gourmet masterpieces, as evidenced in their Uptown Mac & Cheese. Made with rich gruyere and aged cheddar, this version includes asparagus and sweet peas as a light counterbalance to a normally heavy dish.

3. Mac Daddy & Cheese Balls - Fred62
1850 N. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles
www.fred62.com
Suggested by Kevin Hwang
This funky Hollywood diner goes by the motto "dine now, eat later" and has a gigantic menu to prove it. Open 24 hours, this place is perfect for post-show snacks and drunk munchies. Their Mac Daddy & Cheese Balls is an interested take on the dish; they literally turn the mac n cheese into balls, coat them with cheese breadcrumbs, fry them, then sprinkle them with cilantro for a refreshing twist. Paired with good ol' Heinz ketchup, you can't go wrong with Fred's balls.

2. THE Mac 'n' Cheese - Slidebar Rock-n-Roll Cafe
122 E. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton
www.myspace.com/theslidebar
Suggested by Brad Doerges
Slidebar's known to Fullerton residents and college students as the local watering hole, but the regulars come back for their amazing mac 'n' cheese. It's so good it's THE mac 'n' cheese. Featuring a plethora of cheeses like the standard cheddar and jack, as well as more bold varieties like fontina and grana padano. But there's another ingredient that lends to its creamy texture that reminds me of the mac 'n' cheese of my youth: Velveeta. That's not all! It's topped with bread crumbs and broiled to make it like a cheesy gooey casserole.

1. (Mac+Cheese)2 - Yard House
Various locations through Southern California and the U.S.
www.yardhouse.com
Suggested by Leo Camacho
Yard House succeeds in the difficult task of adding a touch of elegance to bar food. Their mac 'n' cheese is no exception. Aptly named (Mac+Cheese)2, it's a delicate balance of castellane pasta, chicken, applewood bacon, wild mushrooms, cheddar, and parmesan cheese. Along with white truffle oil for a warm, buttery note, Yard House's version can be considered the champagne of mac 'n' cheese.

While visions of red bean buns danced in their heads...

85°C Bakery Cafe
2700 Alton Parkway, Suite # 123
Irvine, CA, 92606
(949) -553 -8585

Whenever I think of Asian pastries, I instantly conjure up an image from my childhood: a bland strawberry sponge cake frosted with "vanilla" whipped cream (vanilla=glue-flavored) and almond slivers, with the words "Happy Birthday" scrawled on top with bloody red gel. Thanks to my mother's unrefined palate, I now avoid any bakeries with an Eastern influence.

The other day I decided to let go of my prejudices and try out the hot new bakery that opened down the street from my work. There's always a line whenever I pass by, so I figured it was worth a shot.

85°C accomplishes what bakeries like Goldilocks and Red Ribbon try to mimic but fail to achieve: delicacy. The pastries are very light and airy in texture, and the flavors come in subtle notes like a sweet perfume. Their baked goods are more of an experience rather than just dessert. I first tried what appeared to be the simplest of the selection, milk bread. I was pleasantly surprised. The bread had a very soft texture, but wasn't doughy or chewy like pan de leche can be. The gentle sprinkle of powdered sugar on top was enough to enhance the bread's sweet milk flavor.

I was also amazed by the variety they offered: Dutch brioche buns, savory French bread with spinach, Italian tiramisu, an Austrian-inspired chocolate truffle cake, traditional Chinese red bean buns with a non-traditional twist of sweet cream. I froze in front of the display cases, gawking for what seemed like a century until a hostess/baker/tour guide offered me her aid. (Side note: the service is very warm and friendly, but a little slow when it comes to serving drinks.)

The 85°C cafe in Irvine is the first one to open in the U.S. The company hails from Taiwan, started by a group of business men and award winning pastry chefs dedicated to serving world class desserts at a 3rd world price. Whether you're a sugar junkie looking for a quick fix to your addiction, or a foodie in search for something pleasing to the palate, give 85°C a try and experience this Taiwanese sensation.

For the Animals

Tomorrow is election day, and I want to get the word out to Californians about a certain proposition concerning the safety of our food and our animal friends. Prop 2 is intended to increase the standard of living for confined farm animals, who live in unimaginably horrid conditions. Their wretched way of life often leads to an increase in disease and a high mortality rate, which takes a toll on the food we eat. My sister works at a certain popular restaurant which I will not name (but is known for their hot wings and female servers), and they often find bursted blood vessels and even tumors in the chicken they serve. This is a result of the unregulated conditions of the farms the livestock are raised on.

As a humanitarian, I ask you to vote yes on Prop 2 to give these creatures a decent life, as they provide us with food and sustenance. As a food connoisseur, I ask you to vote yes on Prop 2 to improve the standards of the food we eat. We have rights for domesticated pets; there MUST be regulated standards and rights for livestock. These critters are my neighbors (literally...I live in Chino, I'm surrounded by cows), so I would love to see their conditions improved. Yes, there is a possibility of the cost of food being raised, but I'm willing to pay that cost for better quality of my well-being and theirs. Are you? Vote.

I Love Lucy (and her restaurant too)

Lucy's El Adobe
5536 Melrose Avenue,
Hollywood, CA 90038
(323) 462-9421

Across the street from Paramount Studios, tucked away behind a curtain of vines and worn bricks lies Lucy's El Adobe, perhaps the best damn Mexican restaurant ever. This may be a bold statement, but many people would agree; Lucy's is the restaurant equivalent to Studio 54. Celebrities would flock to the little cafe for cocktails and dinner. It may be the restaurant's low key atmosphere, complete with dim lighting and small, private tables where it would be nearly impossible to be recognized. Or perhaps it's their delicious cheese enchiladas and rich hot chocolate, or their creamy, homemade flan that's always sold out by dinner time. Although this may sound like any other quaint L.A. restaurant, there is one thing El Adobe has that no one else does: their owner, Lucy.

Lucy is the sweetest lady you'll ever meet. She adds the extra warm touch that makes the food taste truly homemade by making you feel like you're eating out of her dining room. She's been the "earth mother" to many prominent people who frequent her restaurant, such as former California governor Jerry Brown. But her maternal instincts aren't just reserved for big wigs; she's been known to feed struggling musicians and actors, including my father in the '80s when he was a broke guitarist new to L.A.

Today Lucy's isn't quite the same as it was 30 years ago; the restaurant has increased considerably in size with addition of 2 patios and an outdoor bar. The prices of the former whole-in-wall's menu has gone up considerably with inflation. And unfortunately, Lucy is much older now and rarely works at the restaurant. Her son has taken over, and is responsible for many of the changes to beef up the restaurant, but the lack of Lucy's presence is certainly felt. But the service is still great; many of the waiters have been there for years, and if you go enough times, they'll remember what your "usual" is. And they still have the BEST enchiladas verdes I've ever had.

Vegetarian Rhapsody

Gypsy Den

125 N. Broadway Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92701
(714) 835-8840

2930 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 549-7012

I don't think spicy bean burgers and garden quiches are part of a gypsy's normal diet, but these items from the menu of this trendy-but-tries-to-not-be-restaurant is perfect for those folks on a vegetarian diet, which has made a resurgence in its popularity recently. Gypsy Den is a quaint cafe with 2 OC locations, one on in the Lab (which claims to be an "anti-mall" although it has the same things as a mall: expensive stores and crappy parking), and the other in the up-and-coming arts district in Santa Ana.

The setting is something taken straight from LA: trendy hipsters with sunglasses sitting out on a patio eating exotic salads and soups with unusual ingredients like summer squash (you won't see any Campbell's chicken noodle here), discussing the latest indie film that no one has seen. But unlike its cousins to the north, which tend to be overpriced and reek of snobbiness, Gypsy Den is actually good...and relatively cheap. I admit my reason for coming here was I attempted to ride the vegetarian wave (which I quickly fell off of after an brief affair with a beef taco). But whether or not you're a vegan or megan (meat eater), one can easily find a yummy and healthy meal here.

The menu items basically mirror ones you would find in a classic cafe (if your mirror was from a carnival funhouse): grilled ahi sandwiches, baked mac and cheese with bell peppers, vegetarian bean chili with cornbread. They also carry a plethora of homemade desserts (that are deliciously unhealthy, yet comforting) such as cookies, brownies, cakes, and even Rice Krispie treats. The prices are more than reasonable; the entrees all run under $10, and the desserts and drinks range from $2-$3. The Costa Mesa location (which I visited) has a huge patio that's even larger than their indoor dining room, and is perfect for catching some Orange County sun. The service is great, the servers are genuinely warm and helpful (surprising for a place that oozes coolness, and especially surprising for south OC). So moral of the story...try Gypsy Den! Recommendations: Any of their soups because it comes with scrumptious homemade bread.

A feast fit for a bum

Costco
Various locations across the U.S.

Yes, that's right, Costco, the discount warehouse club where you can buy a year supply of shampoo, cereal, gym socks, and car tires all in one trip. To quote the Village People, "...there's a place you can go...when you're short on the dough...you can get yourself clean, you can have a good meal..." and it's C-O-S-T-C-O.

Anyone can swing by Costco and with ease can get themselves a nice, filling lunch with dessert for under $5. Their plump, all-beef hot dogs are only $1.50, which includes a drink. The stands in New York run at about the same price, but are half the size (and flavor). There's chicken bakes and smoothies for those watching their figure, and for those who aren't there have ice cream. And it's all so cheap it makes my heart swell with happiness. In today's economy, it's impossible to find a meal for under $5...even in fast food joints! I find myself blowing over $7 at Wendy's and Carl's...and that's buying stuff off the value menu! Even though not everyone has a trash compactor stomach like me that requires more food than the average human, everyone does want some bang for their buck. Costco doubles that bang.

Word of advice: avoid the Costco stores that have indoor food courts, unless you have membership. Most of them now have outdoor courts, so you can stroll up there and not have to be a member of their elite club. But if you do run into one of those exclusive "members only" indoor spots, just tell the doorman you're there to buy a membership, then dash over to the food court when he's not looking. Or you can be a sheep and join.

Oh Manna, that's a lot of food!

Manna Korean BBQ
3377 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 733-8516

If you want all-you-can-eat that's actually good, Manna Korean BBQ is the place to go. We went a couple of weeks ago for my friend Kim's birthday and feasted on meat, kimchi, and soju till the cows came home (no pun intended).

The place is very simple, mainly long picnic tables out on a tent-covered patio (perfect for ridiculously large parties like ours), each with a fire pit in the center. The tables are adorned with spicy and sweet sauces and kimchi so you can create your own unique flavors for your food. The servers bring out gigantic platters of sliced raw meat to your tableside, which you cook yourself on the firepits. This isn't the kind of place to have a light, quick meal; it's more of a place for marathon eaters, who enjoy eating and taking breaks over the course of 2 to 3 hours. They offer both rice and rice sheets (kind of like fat noodles) to eat with your meat. All of this is for a flat rate of $17 a person (drinks not included).

To be quiet honest, the service is horrible unless someone in your party speaks Korean. And even then it's still slow as hell. But since you cook the meat yourself, you are less reliant on their service. I also HIGHLY recommend paying with cash and avoid any cards. Manna is possibly the worst place for a peaceful or romantic date. But for birthday parties, Manna is perfect. They serve soju and Korean beer by the bottle, and for birthdays they bring out a bottle of champagne, shake it, and pour it over the birthday celebrant's head. Since it is located in the heart of Koreatown, after dinner there are numerous karoake bars you can visit to sober up (or the opposite) and digest all that meat while singing old Celine Dion tunes.

Boba Loca

Tea Rush
2759 S. Diamond Bar Blvd.
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
(909) 598-5190

Boba and tea shops are everywhere. You can find them at nearly every shopping plaza in the greater Los Angeles area. They've become the Asian Starbucks, a hangout spot for local teenagers to text each other on their Sidekicks about crappy music and who's taking who to the prom. There's so many to choose from: Ten Ren's, Quickly's, Lollicup, Tea Zone, Tealicious, Tapioca Express. But despite all this variety in name, they all taste alike and offer the same menu of greasy pork chops and unpredictably spicy popcorn chicken (where "medium" could mean either bland or set your tongue on fire). I went on a quest to find a tea house that offered high quality drinks and a unique menu. This quest lasted less than a week, because I found said place in my own hometown of Diamond Bar.

Tea Rush is located in the brand spanking new Super H Mart plaza, right next to the hip yogurt store Cherry On Top. It's a short walking distance from the high school, so the normally dead hours of 3-5 pm in the restaurant world are the rush hours for Tea Rush. The atmosphere is different from your typical cold and brightly lit boba shop. When you enter, you feel surrounded by a comforting warmth complimented by the dark mahogany furniture and the scent of incense burning in the corner. They always leave the door open to allow a gentle breeze to brush by. The baristas and cooks are friendly and willing to help you find the perfect drink.

The drinks are carefully handcrafted and named after different birthstones like "Ruby" and "Sapphire". Many of their creations include soy creamer, which balances out the strong fruit taste in the drinks and goes perfectly with boba. My personal favorites are "Topaz" (green tea, peach, and soy creamer) and "Amethyst" (black tea, blueberry, and soy creamer). They also offer the option of creating your own drink from their variety of teas (green, black, rose vanilla, masala chai, or herb chai) and fruit flavors (strawberry, blueberry, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, honey, among many others).

What truly amazed me about Tea Rush was their food menu, which offered a great variety of delicious and healthy meals such as ginger chicken salad, shrimp rice bowls (with brown rice available as an option), miso soup, even dim sum! I just had to try one of the dim sum items, so I got shrimp potstickers. I was blown away: the dough was soft and fluffy, not at all greasy, and the filling was so full of flavor I barely used any chili sauce. No more popcorn chicken for me! (Although they do have that too.)

Everything at Tea Rush runs at the same price as any other boba shop, so you can easily get a great meal and drink for under $10. And for dessert, you can just stroll next door to the fabulous Cherry On Top...but I'll save that for another blog.

Hot off the griddle

Original Pancake House
18453 Yorba Linda Boulevard
Yorba Linda, California 92686
714-693-1390

1418 East Lincoln Avenue
Anaheim, California 92805
714-535-9815

1756 South Pacific Coast Hwy.
Redondo Beach, California 90277
310-543-9875

No, do NOT get this place confused with IHOP. It's the Original Pancake House, a small chain of restaurants that offer a wide variety of pancakes and other breakfast items with an emphasis on homestyle cooking. I'm not sure which location is the real OG (there are over 100 locations across the US, I just listed a few SoCal locations), but I'm sure all of them are as good as the one I frequent in Yorba Linda.

The place itself is nothing spectacular, a very simple dining room with an open kitchen in the corner. The servers don't try to veil their impatience with fake cheer, and at times borderline the "rude waitress" stereotype you see in movies. This is not an insult to their service, because I much prefer keepin' it real. But what really brings me back to the place is their pancakes.

At the Original Pancake House, pancakes taste like how they should taste. They don't try to lure people in with gigantic portions or mounds of sugary fruit-like toppings; their perfectly fluffy buttermilk pancakes do all the talking. Their menu is truly international, offering French crepes, Alaskan sourdough flap jacks, lacy Swedish pancakes with lingonberry sauce, Dutch babies, and of course, good ole fashioned American hotcakes in every variety you can think of. Everything tastes like it came from Ma's kitchen because it did; all of the recipes come from housewives of the nationality represented in the dish. So their Danish Kijafa crepes is the creation of a Danish housewife, their Dutch baby is the spawn of a German housewife, these are all authentic cultural dishes. Take that IHOP.

My taste preference gravitates towards sweet, so I usually order banana and chocolate chip pancakes (a half stack of each, I'm not a heffer). The combination of chocolate melting over bananas is perfect! Although I've tried a few others, I tend go back to my usual. However, I have made it a goal to try all of the varieties. This task has been very difficult for me because they're only open for breakfast (6am-2pm) and my biological alarm clock doesn't go off till noon.

Besides pancakes, OPH offers all your other typical breakfast items like eggs, bacon, and waffles. But who goes to a pancake house without getting pancakes? That's like going to Cheesecake Factory and not ordering cheesecake...it's just wrong.

I miss Saigon

Saigon Noodle House
1136 S Diamond Bar Blvd
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
(909) 861-5020

Picture one of those cozy Mom-n-Pop diners you would find in a small town in Kansas, where all the waiters have warm smiles and you would order the "usual".

Now picture that diner serves Vietnamese food.

Saigon is a local favorite for the natives of Diamond Bar, known for its delicious and filling meals that all cost under $10. The atmosphere is very casual, almost lackadaisical; perhaps this is due to the heavy coma induced by their food, or the fact that most of the clientele consists of regulars that frequent the place on a weekly (or even daily) basis. I myself am one of those regulars; my friends and I would eat there ritually every Saturday afternoon, followed by a wonderful nap. My sister even has a tab there!

The atmosphere is not the only comforting thing there. The food, although foreign to many non-Vietnamese, is wonderfully filling with a hint of nostalgia. My personal favorite, and their most popular dish, is the pho (pronounced "fuh", not "foe"). Pho is a beef broth based soup made with vermicelli (thin rice noodles) and slices of raw beef that's cooked by the heat of the soup. There are variations of the dish that include chicken, meatballs, tendon, or tripe. Don't be fooled by the "regular" and "large" options; the regular size is big enough to feed two! The dish is customizable too; you add the basil leaves, lime, bean sprouts, hoisin, and sriracha (spicy chili sauce) yourself, so you can make it as outrageously spicy (like how I do) or mild or tangy or sweet as you like.

Other recommended dishes are vermicelli (which is just rice noodles with your choice of meat on top), Vietnamese sandwiches (served on a French roll, one of the remaining influences from the French occupation of Vietnam - a little history lesson for you!), spring rolls, and eggrolls. And all of these, including the pho, range from $3-8 in price. The beverages are great compliments to the meal. They have bittersweet Vietnamese coffee, creamy Thai iced tea, and my absolute favorite, fresh squeezed lemonade (the sweet tartness compliments my spicy pho perfectly).

So if you're ever rolling through Diamond Bar, which is highly unlikely since most people have never even heard of DB...ok, if you're ever on the 60 where it meets the 57, hop off on Grand and make a stop by Saigon Noodle House. You can put it on my sister's tab.

Allow myself to introduce...myself

First off, let me state that I am not fat just because I am going by the pseudonym "McFatty". I am a fatty as I am so affectionately called by my friends and family, aka a "foodie". I love, I repeat, love to eat. But not the kind of love that would have you finding me at the local buffet, shoveling piles of mashed potatoes and biscuits down my throat (I save that for special occassions). I'm a food connoisseur, so I appreciate and enjoy all kinds of food in every form.

This blog will be dedicated to my passion for the culinary arts. I will be reviewing various local restaurants in the Southern California areas, focusing on places that offer something different from your run-of-the-mill corporate chains (although I'll have to give my occasional shout-outs to my favorites). Restaurants are great places for people to meet and mingle, find love, be entertained, bring back old memories, or make new ones. Food is more than just a necessity for survival; it's a cultural touchstone and a form of art. I hope that my blog will help you discover that...or find a really good meal.