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Spicy BBQ (Thai Town/Hollywood)
It's probably best if you just skip over the first 60-70% of the menu. It's possible the dishes on these pages are completely unforgettable but, from appearances, they look pretty forgettable.
What to eat at Spicy Thai: Khao Soi (above), a moderately spiced bowl of chicken and egg noodles cooked in coconut milk and red and yellow curries; the Grilled Serrano Dressing (below), which amounts to a small bowl of blended chiles that erupt with flavor on the way in and on the way down; and the Spicy Jackfruit, cooked with just enough lime leaves, a dish that supposedly tastes even better as a leftover the day after your visit. (A)


Nem Nuong Ninh Hua (Rosemead)
Chances are, when you visit this tastefully lit spot in the San Gabriel Valley, the restaurant will be full with families and couples, most of them frantically grabbing rice paper, leaves of lettuce, small skewers of sausage, basil, and cilantro en route to constructing their own versions of the signature dish, the nem nuong. A first timer might get the feeling there's no real reason to order anything else. The lemongrass scented chicken with broken rice, one of my favorite dishes in LA, simple as it is, is such a reason. (A)

Langer's (McArthur Park)
If you plan on getting anything other than a Pastrami on rye, I can't really help you. I guess it's ok if you add sauerkraut, but nothing beyond that. Plan on spending more than you usually spend on a sandwich and fries. It's completely worth it though. (A)

Escape from LA: Japan

Tokyo-My favorite aspect of Tokyo may be the many closet-sized to bedroom-sized, low-key, calm and inviting restaurants that dot the cityscape. Most of my favorite experiences were in such places, with some of my favorites to be found in the relatively sleepy sub-city of Ebisu, a section of Tokyo that seems to whisper rather than shout, and one that seems quite comfortable with the fact it doesn't always end up in the guidebooks. One of the best meals I had was a simple set meal, with a group of Japanese 30-somethings we met, served in what seemed to be someone's living room, though it was a working restaurant.


Of course there are other things to do than hanging out in tiny restaurants...

Tsukiji Market (pictured above) is the largest fish market in the world, featuring rows and rows of fresh catch, and long rows of tiny restaurants (outside the main warehouse) selling fresh fish.



Sushi Dai (pictured above) is the restaurant I always come back to. The wait (at 8 AM) can be upwards of two hours. Once you make it past the coveted position of being pressed against the doorway you are escorted into a small dining room that seats about twelve, with minimal room for a post breakfast stretch. There are no plates, just a clean bar on which ridiculously fresh fish, with seemingly little in common with whatever you've had before, is laid before you upwards of 15 times in the course of your meal. The chef picks the majority of the meal for you, packing the fish atop the rice as you watch, and then politely instructing the audience, fish by fish, regarding the amount of soy sauce, if any, to add. Listen to him. The only downside is that you'll never really enjoy sushi again...until you come back.

The little restaurant across from Rappongi station marked only with kanji characters and a narrow door that goes down a spiral staircase to a glowing cavern of beer and udon-I know that my title has an inverse relationship with the concept of specificity, but if you find this place, and try the udon, you'll never be able to repay me for the recommendation. ALL udon I've ever had and, I suppose, will ever have, bears little resemblance to the sweating cauldrons of perfectly toned noodles and decidedly minimal broth at this udon spot of all udon spots. I only wish I had kept my receipt.

The tuna with fresh wasabi at Jackpot in Ebisu: The first time you have really fresh wasabi might be like the first time one hears Black Oak Arkansas after years of the Kings of Leon. Paired with good, red tuna, the effect is even more invigorating.

Piss Alley: Piss Alley, which may or may not be bulldozed by the time you read this, or make it to Tokyo, is as much a treasure as I've found anywhere in the country. If you go by the guidebooks, it's basically as close as one gets to Occupation-era Tokyo in the radically different city of today. What you find, off the north exit of Shinjuku Station, is a long, relatively narrow alley, with tiny, smoky, sit-down yakitori counters filled with drunk and half-drunk sararimen. I've been greeted somewhat coldly on one occasion, and like a respected emissary on another.



Department Store Food Halls: One of the greatest pleasures of Tokyo, besides the bearably cheesy onsen-theme park in Odaiba (a veritable Japanese Medieval Times), are the food halls that exist in the basements of the multi-level department stores of the city. Glass cases, top-soaked with drool I suppose, hold everything from perfectly sculpted donuts to jamon iberico to packaged mochi. I spent every meal of my last day in Tokyo at the Isetaan Food Hall in Shinjuku, with much of the time spent just dreaming, and obsessing over an inability to make a decision with the sheer mass of choices.

Lawsons: These are all over Japan, actually. Kind of like a Japanese 7-11, with refreshingly good rice balls filled with tuna, salmon or the simple - but undeniably good - seaweed with vinegar. Provided many a breakfast during my last trip.




Osaka- What was the best meal I had in Osaka? Maybe the tempura we had, in a quiet little bar (below) in Dotomburi, while enjoying beer and great conversation with the owner's son, whose mom kept scolding him for not paying enough attention to the couple who were actually enjoying a full meal. Maybe it was the okonimyaki (basically a Japanese omelet, or pizza, as they often refer to it), made for us on the street, right by the Dotomburi canal. Or maybe it was the yakitori we had, in the narrowest restaurant I think I've ever seen, in a neighborhood a bit off the path where Japanese businessmen walk around with 21 year old prostitutes. It was definitely not the takoyaki, though it wasn't terrible by any means.




Kyoto: I remember Kyoto more for the temples, and the bike rides, than I do the food, though some of the best meals I've had have been in this city.
If you do nothing else in Kyoto, spend a few hours one night with a traditional kaiseki meal, preferably in an old, off the path restaurant.
And if you can get a reservation, don't settle for less than Shiraume (in Gion, the historical pleasure district in central Kyoto). Shiraume is found on the Shirakawa Canal, which snakes through northeastern Kyoto, ending up in the Kamo River. When you arrive, you'll be directed to a private room (hopefully you've had the forethought to reserve the one right on the river, with a side view of the garden). What follows is a multi-course selection of seasonal foods - sashimi, pickles, hot pot, miso soup, broiled fish, more soup, tofu, perfect prawns, chilled vegetables, a fresh leaf from the garden - all carefully orchestrated and arranged on artful vehicles with absolute care and attention. I'm not sure how many times my mouth dropped in the course of two hours.




Also worth a visit is Nishiki Market (above), across the river from Gion. Once you find your way through much of the tackiness of the main shopping arcade, you'll find the more worthwhile food market. If you ever doubted the Japanese flair for pickling, there is ample evidence here (pictured on blog title). Storefront after storefront exhibit barrels full of vegetables waiting to be taken and used as one of the greatest Japanese condiments of all (if you don't like pickles, get ready to like pickles). In addition to pickles, there is dried fish...lot's of it.





But the highlight for us was the tiny little bar at the end of the corridor where hungry parishioners sidled up for oysters (above), grilled as we watched, and small glasses of crisp beer. Just as satisfying as the kaiseki in some ways.




Houtou Udon on Kawaguchiko-Along the banks of Kawaguchiko, one of the five lakes that surround Mt. Fuji, there's a prominent restaurant, with large lake-front windows that serves steaming iron pots of udon, cooked with tofu, vegetables and spices that seems appropriate for the cold, mountain setting in which it's located. The annoying part is the fact they sit the pot in front of you for what seems like forever as it continues to cook before they finally open it. If nothing else, you get a view of an amazing mountain creature (above) as you walk out of the second floor dining area.

Been awhile...

Mountain Cafe (Koreatown)
I tracked this place down and found what, after a good amount of research, I determined to be somewhat of a fan favorite for Korean juk, which is basically porridge. The abalone juk (above) was supposed to be particularly good. And I suppose it is pretty good, if a little underwhelming for around $9. Next time I'll try the Ginseng Chicken Soup which seems to be equally as popular. Supposed to be great for a cold. (B)

101 Coffee Shop (Franklin Hills)
I could sit in this place for hours. Low lights. Comfortable booths. A long bar with a friendly, if a bit unhurried, wait staff. A slice of American cool, vintage photographs crowding the wall, with a comfortable, almost cave like atmosphere at night that provides as good an example of space-age commercial architecture as you might get in a city with an embarrassing surplus of such treasures. If only the food was memorable. The Tandoori Salmon sandwich is ok, though a bit bland. The Blackened Catfish sandwich seems to suffer from an abundance of bread in proportion to, well, the catfish. The chocolate malt seems to be a bit too much chocolate, and not enough malt. Again, though, if there's any kind of bottomless cup of coffee deal, I could easily pass two hours in this place with a book or a copy of the Sunday New York Times. Or maybe with just the coffee. (B+, for the look, not the taste)

Newport Seafood (Westminister)
Deep fried lobster. Completely worth the drive. (A-)

Tacos El Sauz (Glendale)
El Sauz is kind of like a stationary taco truck. The menu is very limited, though a bit more expansive than your average truck (they have ceviche...). The food arrives almost as you order it. You are in and out in less than 20 minutes. Alas, there is no toppings bar with assorted salsas, though the owner will provide a small selection of radishes and grilled jalapenos if you ask. No one is overly friendly here, but the tacos and burritos are just as good as anything I've had at a taco truck, which says a lot in this town. (A-)

Versailles (West Hollywoodish)
Maybe not as good as El Conchinito in Silverlake. Maybe a little better. Honestly they're kind of identical in my mind. I'll take El Conchinito for the atmosphere, or lack thereof. (A-)

Kyochon (Koreatown)
I'm not sure I really get it. Sure, the wings are pretty good, but I feel like there's a bit of a gap between the praise that's been heaped upon them and their actual delivery. Am I missing something? I'm sure I am but I'm not quite sure what it is...Maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about. (B+)

Sapp Coffee Shop (Thaitown/Hollywood)
Recent discoveries (Ground Chicken Curry and the Saturday special Hainanese Chicken Rice) make me appreciate this place even more than I already did. They seem to run out of the specials early, which is a good sign. (A)