Xegyn's Cyberspace

I recently enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Oinkster (Yelp) in Eagle Rock. If you love pastrami sandwiches and beer, this is a great place to visit. I got the Oinkster Pastrami which comes with caramelized onions and is very filling. Jessica got the BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich which was equally as big. I must admit that although I love pastrami, the slow-roasted flavors of the pulled pork might have the pastrami beat. Both sandwiches come with caramelized onions (always a plus) and red cabbage slaw which gives the sandwiches a nices crunch. We also ordered the Piggy Fries which I would describe as something close to In-N-Out’s Animal Style Fries. These were absolutely fantastic and I can’t stop thinking about them. The Oinkster also has a decent selection of beer including one from the local Craftsman Brewing Company in Pasadena.

A few weeks ago, I went with my coworkers to Masan Restaurant (Yelp) and I have to admit that I have never had so much obscure seafood in a sitting. I believe we ordered the $129 set menu and a side of live octopus which was more than enough food for the six of us. There were many dishes including sashimi, sea squirt, sea cucumber, fried mackerel, a fish stew, and anglerfish in spicy noodles. It was the first time I had ever had sea squirt and it had a unique flavor, slightly sweet, and reminded me a little of the taste of uni.

And of course, the main attraction was the live octopus. The live octopus was a plate of just legs that were still moving. They were a little hard to pick up with chopsticks and the suction cups stuck to your tongue and gums as you tried to eat them.

Last weekend, Jessica and I had the idea to go hiking and eat lunch in Malibu. Conveniently, Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market and Patio Cafe (Yelp) is adjacent to the Sara Wan Trailhead at Corral Canyon. We got to the parking lot a little after noon. The lot is divided into two sections: one for the restaurant and one for the hiking trail. The parking for the trail requires a $5 payment and yes, they do hand out tickets if you do not pay. The restaurant is pretty popular and their parking is frequently full.

The Sara Wan trail is a pretty easy loop hike that gives you great views of  the ocean, beach, parts of Malibu and Santa Monica. We encountered a lot of small lizards on the trail as well as many birds including Scrub Jays and Hummingbirds. There were also a lot of plants with yellow flowers that I did not know the name of. The hike is pretty straightforward with few forks to get lost on.

After we finished our hike around 2pm, we walked from the trailhead right over to Malibu Seafood at which point we had built up an appetite. We ordered the ahi burger, the chicken sandwich, and ceviche which we enjoyed outdoors on their patio with a view of the beach. We had also brought some cold beer in a cooler from home. The restaurant does not sell alcohol but allows you to bring your beer and wine. The restaurant also has fried and grilled seafood and various seafood cocktails on their menu. The very meaty (and no shell) crab cocktail is one of my favorite items.

The hike and meal is definitely something I would do again and I highly recommend it if you are looking for something to do outdoors and have a hankering for some fresh and casual seafood.

If you are looking for a Japanese-style pizza with obscure toppings in Los Angeles, Strawberry Cones (Yelp) is the place to go. It is located in San Gabriel in a small shopping center at the intersection of Valley Blvd and Abbot Ave.

One of the interesting pizzas they offer is the Teriyaki Mochi Chicken. The mochi surprisingly goes well on pizza and also goes well with my favorite Japanese pizza topping the Teriyaki Mochi Chicken comes with: mayonnaise. Other unique pizzas offered are the Salmon White, the Seafood Genovese (with squid), Mochi Mentai (with mentaiko, or pollock roe), Pizza Edamame, and California Walnut & Raisin, to name a few. I did not have a chance to try the California Walnut & Raisin, but I would definitely like to try it next time I am there. Some of their pizzas also include bamboo charcoal in the dough, making it a black crust. If you can’t decide on just one pizza, they also offer a Four Seasons pizza which combines 4 of their signature flavors.

Strawberry Cones also carries Japanese style pastas, salads, and appetizers. They also offer free coffee and tea with your meal.

OB Bear (Yelp) is a small Korean bar in Koreatown that really knows how to do bar food right. I have been to OB Bear three times and  I have been satisfied every time. The first thing I should tell you is that this place has massive portions. Usually we get one dish less than the total number of adults at the table and it ends up being enough food.

The best dish this place has is by far the Spicy Chicken Wings. The glaze they use on these wings are absolutely delicious and have a great balance between sweet and spicy. In fact, sometimes I crave these wings so bad I just have to drive out to Koreatown to get these. The regular wings do not have any glaze on them so make sure you get the spicy wings.

Another great dish this place serves is soondae. Soondae is a pork blood sausage stuffed with vermicelli. At OB Bear, soondae is served with a spicy sauce and vegetables.

OB Bear is a great place to hang out if you want a bar with delicious food that won’t let you leave hungry.

After struggling to find German cuisine in Los Angeles for quite a while, I finally got referred to a pretty awesome place in Silverlake called Red Lion Tavern (Yelp). In addition to having an extensive food menu, they also have about 11 German beers on tap including the Warsteiner Pilsner that I really enjoyed. Red Lion Tavern features two sections: a lower level bar and an upper level outdoor dining area. Both times I have visited Red Lion Tavern were for a Saturday lunch; each time there was a light crowd relaxing with a beer and hearty German food. My personal favorites of theirs were the chicken schnitzel and German fried potatoes. If you are around Los Angeles looking for German food or just a nice place to have some German beers, you should definitely check out Red Lion Tavern.

This is from back in August of 2007, but Tony, Mike, Luis, Mary, and I decided to try a Japanese okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) restaurant, and the closest one to Los Angeles was in Torrance, called Gaja. After a long drive, we spent about 2 hours eating here. Everyone but me got the okonomiyaki. I got the monjayaki, which is kind of like a watery version of the okonomiyaki. Their menu was enormous. I think there were around 20 pages. The food was was pretty good and it was fun to cook your own okonomiyaki at the table.

Last week my roommate Tony found on someone’s blog a hidden gem of a Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles, so we went to check it out with Richie. The place was called Wakasanchi, or わかさん家, or Waka-san’s House. Their menu consisted of one thing… Chef’s Special or Omakase. Before ordering, our waiter made sure with us that we are okay with this style or ordering. If we were picky eaters, we would be out of luck because there are no substitutions. Luckily, none of us are. The waiter told us that the menu changes every day depending on what the chef, Waka-san, decides to prepare that day. The food every day is supposed to be traditional home-style, Japanese cooking. The 13 course meal we had that night included:

1. Boiled Spinach
2. A Jellyfish Salad
3. Lobster Salad
4. Fried Fish (forgot what kind)
5. An egg custard with white fish inside
6. Sashimi
7. Crab Legs
8. Soba
9. Niku-jaga or 肉じゃが (Meat and Potatoes in soy sauce and sugar)
10. Wonton Soup
11. Tempura
12. Chawamushi
13. Green Tea Ice Cream

The best item was the sashimi. The tuna was so soft it melted in my mouth. The fried fish was my second favorite because it was very flavorful and soft. The plates are small, so don’t worry if you think this sounds like too much food.

Word of warning: Several websites incorrectly list the address as 929 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles CA. The REAL address is 1929 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles CA between Olympic and Santa Monica. The owner also does not advertise the place.

I give this place a 5/5.