Oh, no he didn’t!

Posted on August 18, 2010 by m@| Leave a comment

Oh, yes I did. I am a married man now.

While my contract with Michelle won’t allow me to release all the details of the wedding yet, you can plenty of the unofficial wedding photos online. There are no less than 2,000 photos floating around the Internet from our wedding. I’ve never seen so many cameras at an event. I went blind at one point from all the flashes going off.

So what am I allowed to show you? I guess the rehearsal dinner is okay to post. We went to Back on the Beach for our rehearsal dinner since it was close by our wedding venue.

It’s a salad. Refreshing but still a salad.

My out of focus Steak Frites.

South of the border.

I didn’t actually taste the tacos, so I had nothing to say about them. The steak was okay but not worth a trip to the restaurant just to try it. This pasta was great. The sauce was creamy and spicy and each bite was as satisfying as the previous.

Of course it wasn’t all about the food. It was a time to recognize the people close to us. Here are the groomsmen and me with their gifts. Welcome to The Dark Side.

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I guess the diet is over.

Posted on August 13, 2010 by m@| Leave a comment

Wedding diet has been officially ended but for good reason. It was Jenny’s birthday. So what if we were two days away from the big day. If we didn’t get out we would probably have been sitting at home worrying about things. We took one of our few and far between trips to Orange Couny to Memphis in Costa Mesa. The best part is that we got down there during happy hour so we enjoyed a variety of good eats.

Corn bread. I didn’t try this because the whole dish is bread. I was still trying to stick to the diet in principle.

I did mention it was happy hour, right?

I didn’t try this either, because in a cruel twist of fate, I became allergic to crab in junior high.

Muscles and clams mixed in with some sausage, all in a white wine-tomato broth. This is where the diet broke down. The broth was too tempting not to have soaked in bread.

Pulled pork sliders.

Pizza with tomato and andouille sausage.

Sweet potato fries. I still don’t get the attraction to these that people have. I like my fries salty.

Meat loaf sandwich. Mostly bread though.

Gumbo!

Although it was Jenny’s birthday, she tried to pass off some of her gifts to Alice. Cougar Soap! 60% of the time, it works all of the time!

The birthday girl with her birthday cake, complete with baseball topper.

I like this place and looking at the website shows there’s one in Manhattan Beach too. If their happy hour is the same, I’d definitely go back to try some more bites, drinks, and even an entrée.

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Korean BBQ Cookoff!

Posted on August 12, 2010 by m@| 2 Comments

Last Saturday I got the opportunity to go to the 2010 KBBQ Cookoff. Note to self. Stop shooting while wearing polarized sunglasses. It looks like I shot all these images while standing on the surface of the sun.

I don’t know about you but this is a win in my book. Free parking!

All the different restaurants were out in full force, cooking up a storm.

It’s amazing how well kimchi goes on sausages.

Probably should have opened this burger more, but this is the Kalbi Burger. It’s really good, but it doesn’t have much of a Korean taste to it. You know what it needs? Kimchi!

KoreAm was out as a sponsor, showing off their publication and new shirts.

Spicy ribs and chicken. Now THIS tastes Korean.

The lines were long, but with VIP passes, we got to skip to the front of the lines.

Intestines and pork. This is so good. Does anyone remember which restaurant this was so I can go back and get some more?

Cool Haus was on site to serve up some dessert.  Yes, that’s candied bacon in the ice cream.

They even had a Chocopie eating contest.  There are no winners in a contest like this, only losers.

Korean food is always something I enjoy eating, and it’s nice to eat outside on a warm summer day for a change. I don’t enjoy waiting in line for it though. If it wasn’t for the VIP passes, there is no way you’d catch me at a food festival. I learned my lesson the first time.

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Home Cooking…Not Mine

Posted on August 11, 2010 by m@| Leave a comment

My friend made this sandwich. Tri-tip, garlic mayo, salsa, pico de gallo. Word.

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Rethinking this marriage thing…

Posted on August 10, 2010 by m@| 2 Comments

Best Man: im gonna totally lie and make u look like the best guy ever
Me: if i dont cry i want my money back.
Best Man: if u werent married u would totally get laid
Best Man: after my speech
Me: but since im getting married
Me: i wont
Me: ever

My Best Man is married. There was no disagreement to my statement. Wait a second…

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Jackson Market

Posted on August 9, 2010 by m@| 2 Comments

Michelle and I were told about this particular food place a long time ago by Liz. We never bothered to look for it until just recently.

If you drive through our neighborhood you’ll see apartment buildings and homes lining the streets. A couple blocks down the road you’ll see Jackson Market.

They sell things any grocery store would carry, like cereal and bread but also a great assortment of sodas, teas, sports drinks, and juices.

You’re going to need those drinks if you’re going order a fresh, deli sandwich.

The sandwiches are good, made with fresh ingredients.

While it’s a nice place to get a sandwich, the food isn’t what makes this place special.

They have the nicest patio in the back, where you can enjoy your meal in the shade.

There’s even a little pond with goldfish in it.

Who would’ve thought such a place existed, tucked into a quiet neighborhood with homes on each side?

If you’re ever in the mood for a sandwich and a leisurely lunch on a warm day, give us a call. In fact don’t let Michelle find out you went here without calling her. This is our spot now.

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Decision to eat here took longer than the meal.

Posted on August 5, 2010 by m@| Leave a comment

I woke up from a nap to find that thirty five emails had been exchanged in a conversation to figure out where to eat dinner. Originally Michelle wanted to try this Korean place that is known for its braised short ribs. Then came all the replies. “I just had Korean two days ago.” Other suggestions were tossed into the mix. In the end I told Michelle, “Let’s just go to the place you originally picked. If people don’t want to join us, they don’t have to join us.” It was settled. We went to Seongbukdong.

I could eat this stuff every day.

This is what they are known for, their signature dish. The texture is incredible. You can cut it with a spoon, but it’s firm. The flavor is sweet and savory. It makes me sad that I am looking at a picture of this and not eating it. I think I finally know how Michelle feels about all food.

Here is the same dish, cut up. The meat still holds together, and I am still sad I am not eating this.

So after all the email madness, all turned out well. Maybe not exactly. One of our friends got mixed up in all the emails before his phone died. He thought he was getting Japanese food. He came all the way from Irivine, and needless to say he was disappointed. After all that drive he didn’t want to go J-Town so we walked down the block to Shoubu.

Tea time? Nope. Sake time!

Everything fish cake.

I didn’t eat here since I was still happily stuffed with braised short ribs. A beer was all I could handle. The food here looks to be okay, nothing phenomenal. I wouldn’t come back here because like a lot of places in Korea Town, a cloud of cigarette smokes hangs overhead. I prefer my meat to have a smokey flavor, not my clothes.

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I love taco trucks.

Posted on August 4, 2010 by m@| 2 Comments

Taco trucks are awesome. I’m not talking about the new generation of food trucks that have fusion this and that. I’m talking about the original taco truck, the one that hasn’t evolved in the past twenty years. In a world of expensive places to eat, these places have dollar tacos day in and day out. I have done quite a bit of research on taco trucks in the LA area, and I’m slowly starting to check them off my list. The latest one Michelle and I went to check out was Leo’s Tacos on La Brea and Venice.

This one is parked on the northwest side of the intersection and is situated in a gas station.

They have al pastor right from the spit with the pineapple on top. Such a simple flavor combination, but it’s awesome every time.

Since we’re not too far from this truck, we took the tacos home. Of course we got all the accessories to make the tacos into a complete meal.

The carne asada.

The carnitas has a nice skin on it.

The chicken actually makes me think of Del Taco. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but I like Del Taco’s chicken soft tacos.

This is the reason you go to Leo’s Tacos. Al pastor.

Bienvenidos al pais de sabor. Que delicioso.

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It’s not too late. Run!

Posted on August 3, 2010 by m@| 2 Comments

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Happy Ending at a Thai Place

Posted on August 2, 2010 by m@| Leave a comment

I’ve been missing in action on my blog. I’ve had to attend a couple memorial services for people that passed away far too young, one of these services being in Michigan. It’s been a physically and emotionally exhausting week, but I’m starting to kick back into action.

I’m way behind on my meals. Over a week ago Michelle and I decided to stop into Swanya Thai. The place is what you would expect for a restaurant on the west side. It’s clean, modern looking and definitely not as raw in appearance as a place like Jitlada.

Just don’t confuse it with the massage joint next door with the same name.

Crying Tiger Pork. The sauce is great and I do love working for my meal, and the lightly charred pork provides that texture.

Shrimp in red curry.

Chicken curry.

Duck in red curry. This one is awesome. The creaminess of the curry is only enhanced by the oil from the duck meat. I could eat this dish every day.

Swanya Thai is the cross between your takeout Thai places and the more coarse flavors you might find in Thai Town restaurants. I think it does justice to real Thai food while offering flavors that are inviting enough for even the most unadventurous customers. I enjoyed it so much the first time I went that I went again that same week.

They let you choose how spicy you want your food on a scale from 1-5. Picking a 3 gives it a subtle kick to it while keeping it bearable and making sure your butthole doesn’t get revenge on you later that day,  something that cannot be said about some of the other Thai spots in Thai Town.

Michelle checked out the massage place one afternoon and said it was good. Five massages and you get a free meal next door. That would definitely be a happy ending.

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