The summer of 2012 kicked itself off with a bang, drove off of a cliff, rolled around in the mud, and is just now seeming to pick itself up and clean itself off as the season comes to an end. With just a few short weeks left of this very interesting summer, I decided I should go through the tunes I've been gracing my sunny days with. Enjoy my top ten of the unnamed summer!
In no particular order:
1. Father John Misty - Well, You Can Do It Without Me
2. Beach House - Lazuli
3. Frank Ocean - Super Rich Kids
4. King Tuff - Keep On Movin'
5. Imagine Dragons - It's Time
6. Big Sir - Regions
7. Chester French - Drop
8. Fiona Apple - Daredevil
9. Best Coast - Up All Night
10. Carina Round - The Last Time
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Genwa: Korean BBQ
I had never been to Korean BBQ until last week, but it is a favorite amongst many Angelenos. I asked a coworker to point me in the direction of a good spot to try for some first timers. She happily directed me to the "best in the city," Genwa. To our delight, Genwa lies just a few short blocks from our house in Hancock Park! And we LOVE places that we can walk to!
We headed out on our new dining experience on Tuesday night. Word to those who have not been: make a reservation if you are going on a weekend. I might even suggest making one any night of the week, just to be on the safe side. This place packs itself out, and diners tend to stay long and fully enjoy their meals.
No dinner is truly complete for us without a good beverage, so we ordered up a pitcher of Sapporo to get the party started.
They knock the full order out right at the beginning, and just start bringing the food out as it's ready. Nothing wrong with that!! First, they brought out this massive display of side dishes. At first sight, we didn't know what to do with this array of goodies. It was slightly overwhelming to the newcomers! There was everything pickled, spiced, smoked...eggs, fish, cabbage, broccoli, fish cakes. If you like kimchi type foods, try it all! It's free of charge at Genwa, in lieu of bread. Such a treat!
We started with the vegetable mandu -- steamed vegetable dumplings. They were huge, and came out on a platter. The portions here are definitely geared toward sharing. The dumplings were really good with their sesame soy sauce that they had brought out. I would suggest 3+ diners to not let any of these babies go to waste.
Our shared meals came out simultaneously, the galbi ramen noodles in a spicy beef broth with short ribs, and the sizzling bimbimbap, a crispy rice dish with vegetables and beef brought out to the table scorching hot in a steel bowl. They mix the seasoning and chili sauces in right at the table to customize it to each diner and then let it sit in the hot steel plate to get the rice nice and crispy before serving. Along with our two main dishes, we were brought a salty egg souffle as another free side. I loved the egg souffle in the ramen to give it some extra salt (I'm a total sodium whore). Both dishes were unbelievable, and left the two of us totally stuffed.
We were a bit jealous watching our fellow diners cook their own meats and vegetables in the boiling water pots centered at each table. We definitely know we have to take our Korean BBQ skills to the next level upon our next trip to Genwa.
As we were leaving, we were brought another treat (on the house) of a cinnamon and ginger soju shot with pine nuts. They said it was good for digestion, and to shoot the drink whole (note: Koreans don't sip on anything). We were ecstatic with our service and our dining experience, and chatted up with the staff for a while before they doled out some more soju shots with fresh squeezed lemon. Both of us left with full bellies and a warm fuzzy feeling. One couldn't really ask for more when going out to eat.
Genwa, you have our hearts.
We headed out on our new dining experience on Tuesday night. Word to those who have not been: make a reservation if you are going on a weekend. I might even suggest making one any night of the week, just to be on the safe side. This place packs itself out, and diners tend to stay long and fully enjoy their meals.
No dinner is truly complete for us without a good beverage, so we ordered up a pitcher of Sapporo to get the party started.
They knock the full order out right at the beginning, and just start bringing the food out as it's ready. Nothing wrong with that!! First, they brought out this massive display of side dishes. At first sight, we didn't know what to do with this array of goodies. It was slightly overwhelming to the newcomers! There was everything pickled, spiced, smoked...eggs, fish, cabbage, broccoli, fish cakes. If you like kimchi type foods, try it all! It's free of charge at Genwa, in lieu of bread. Such a treat!
We started with the vegetable mandu -- steamed vegetable dumplings. They were huge, and came out on a platter. The portions here are definitely geared toward sharing. The dumplings were really good with their sesame soy sauce that they had brought out. I would suggest 3+ diners to not let any of these babies go to waste.
Our shared meals came out simultaneously, the galbi ramen noodles in a spicy beef broth with short ribs, and the sizzling bimbimbap, a crispy rice dish with vegetables and beef brought out to the table scorching hot in a steel bowl. They mix the seasoning and chili sauces in right at the table to customize it to each diner and then let it sit in the hot steel plate to get the rice nice and crispy before serving. Along with our two main dishes, we were brought a salty egg souffle as another free side. I loved the egg souffle in the ramen to give it some extra salt (I'm a total sodium whore). Both dishes were unbelievable, and left the two of us totally stuffed.
We were a bit jealous watching our fellow diners cook their own meats and vegetables in the boiling water pots centered at each table. We definitely know we have to take our Korean BBQ skills to the next level upon our next trip to Genwa.
As we were leaving, we were brought another treat (on the house) of a cinnamon and ginger soju shot with pine nuts. They said it was good for digestion, and to shoot the drink whole (note: Koreans don't sip on anything). We were ecstatic with our service and our dining experience, and chatted up with the staff for a while before they doled out some more soju shots with fresh squeezed lemon. Both of us left with full bellies and a warm fuzzy feeling. One couldn't really ask for more when going out to eat.
Genwa, you have our hearts.
Venice Ale House.
It's a little late in the year to call a hot weekend a touch of Indian Summer, but I know us Angelenos love to brag about a hot day when the rest of the country is fighting the bitter cold. We were blessed with such a day last weekend, so my favorite vegan girlfriend and I adventured to the west side of town to enjoy it properly -- at the beach. I forgot to put on sunscreen (hello, it was almost December!) and needed a break from the rays, so we decided to stop for some vegan treats and drinks at the Venice Ale House that sits right smack in the middle of the boardwalk.
We started out with a pitcher of sangria. For some reason, sangria is this thing that so many people serve now, but probably shouldn't. Sangria is an art form, and everyone has jumped on the bandwagon without taking the time to perfect it. While VAH's sangria definitely offered up quite a buzz, we found it to be somewhat lacking in flavor. Perhaps if they put more fruit in it and let it marinade longer it would have been better.
We started out with a pitcher of sangria. For some reason, sangria is this thing that so many people serve now, but probably shouldn't. Sangria is an art form, and everyone has jumped on the bandwagon without taking the time to perfect it. While VAH's sangria definitely offered up quite a buzz, we found it to be somewhat lacking in flavor. Perhaps if they put more fruit in it and let it marinade longer it would have been better.
Next we ordered their "unfried" potatoes. These were delish!! They were perfectly crispy on the outside, nice and cooked to perfection on the inside, and well seasoned for just about any palette.
For the main course, my compadre had the vegan scramble and I had the chopped salad. I was a bit concerned that my salad might have too much quinoa on it, but it turned out to have a perfect amount. My salad was light and fresh with roasted red peppers, cucumbers, beets, carrots, and garbanzo beans. The lemon "vinagrette" that they make in-house was decent, but nothing to rave about. While I felt super healthy and proud of my smart meal choice, I ended up trading plates with my friend when I got a bite of her scramble.
VAH really has something good going on with the vegan scramble. It its full of tempeh, potatoes, veggies galore, and more of those wonderful potatoes. Not to mention it comes with a very tasty house made hot sauce.
Overall, I would say that any vegan person should try this place out. They have a notable beer and wine list, and tons of vegan options that are far better than most vegan foods that I have tried. I would definitely go here again and try some other menu options. Not to mention, they sit on the boardwalk with a great view of all the passers by and our treasured Pacific ocean.
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