03 Feb 2015 13 Comments
in Eating Out Tags: humor, Japanese food, Kula sushi, Little Osaka, Sawtelle Ave., sweet shrimp, uni
There’s an outpost of a popular Tokyo revolving sushi chain called Kula located in the Little Osaka neighborhood of Sawtelle Avenue in West L.A. that I like to visit.
Imogen enjoying her salmon at Kula
Every plate is $2.25, the quality is unusually good, and so you get a great sushi lunch for $12-$15. You can really go nuts and spend $20. More
25 Mar 2014 10 Comments
in Eating Out, On the Road, Recipes Tags: Anthony Bourdain, black clams, Bodeguita del Medio, Casa Tres Coronitas, Mexican cooking, Mexico, Pancho's Takos, patas, Puerto Vallarta, uni
I had successfully taken over the kitchen at Casa Tres Coronitas — at least for a couple of our nights here. And Marilu actually seemed somewhat relieved.
At the PV Farmer’s Market
Out on the boat with our amigo Mario fishing, looking for whales, snorkeling and loitering on beaches, we’d caught a big red snapper and a couple of smaller fish that appeared to be in the tuna family. The little fish I made into a Mexican crudo with lime, chili, cilantro, onions and Jugo — the Mexican equivalent of soy sauce — while the larger fish I left to Marilu to grill, one of her specialties. (I didn’t want to steal her thunder. And her fish was delicioso, I could’ve done no better.) More
22 Oct 2013 22 Comments
in Recipes Tags: Don Schneider, Japanese cooking, porterhouse, sake, sashimi, sushi, Tuesdays with Morrie, uni, yuzu
I never read the book, “Tuesdays with Morrie.” It sounded sort of depressing. Plus, I have my own more festive, culinary version. I have Tuesdays with Donnie!
Donnie & his saké on a Tuesday evening.
It all started one particular Tuesday, when I ran into Don and Monica Schneider at school. They’re two of our favorite people, and we hadn’t socialized with them in awhile. “I know it’s Tuesday,” Don said, “But do you guys wanna do dinner tonight?” More
30 Apr 2013 11 Comments
in Cooking Tips, Food, Humor Tags: cooking, dining, food, lunch, Sapporo, sushi, toro, uni, wine
It was a Sunday morning. My wife had taken the kids to church, and I was alone in the house. I spent some time chasing a guinea fowl in the yard, but failing to catch it, returned inside to do the responsible thing: pick up toys and clutter. I hadn’t gotten far into my chores, however, before the kitchen called.
Lunch with myself
Shifting things around in the fridge for inspiration, I remembered some toro and sea urchin I’d purchased at the Japanese market a few days before and hadn’t used yet. With dinner plans for the evening and time running out on the freshness clock, it was now or never. So I got out the short grain rice and began rinsing it. More
31 May 2011 6 Comments
in Markets & Stores, Observations Tags: Giant Robot, japanese, Little Osaka, Marukai, Nijiya, Safe & Save, Sawtelle, uni
It’s always sad for me to write about the ghosts of places I loved, in decline or disappearing. (Favorite restaurants of the past, Dar Maghreb and Anisette, for example.) Such is today’s ghost story, my fingers tapping glumly at the keyboard…
Last days at the Safe & Save
I stopped awhile back by one of my favorite markets, the Safe & Save on Sawtelle. On a stretch of “Little Osaka” that’s becoming somewhat trendy with izakayas and Giant Robots, it was — along with Satsuma Imports and Hashimoto bonsai nursery — one of the last vestiges of the Old Sawtelle. More
skinny girls & mayonnaise 