komasa inspires pop chart hits!

Komasa

351 E 2nd St

Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 680-1792

price: $$

verdict: omg, i love it!

i would like to resurrect an old song that i wrote because of my complete adoration of komasa. here it goes:

(read my review to the tune of sir-mix-a-lot's "baby got back")

oh, my, god. becky, look at komasa.it is so small. *scoff* it looks like, one of those hole in the walls....
i love komasa and i cannot lie
you other sushi eaters can't deny
that when you walk into this itty bitty place
and you get tuna in your face
you get sprung, wanna pull out your gut
'cause you notice that sushi roll was stuffed
sitting at the sushi bar i'm staring
i'm hooked and i can't stop swearing
that "oh baby, your food's the best"
let me take some foodie pictures
my homegirls tried to warn me
but that spicy tuna roll you got makes me so hungry
ooh, rump-o'-salmon-skin
you say you wanna feed my friends?
well, feed me, feed me
'cause we ain't your average sushi groupies
i've seen them rollin'
and here i sit just droolin'
komasa's da shit, da best,
got it goin' like a turbo 'vette
i'm tired of trying other things
and hearing people sayin' other sushi places have the best thing
take an avid sushi eater and ask him that
we say "other places are just plain whack"
so, foodies! (yeah!) foodies! (yeah!)
do you like to eat some sushi stuff? (hell yeah!)
then go shake it! (shake it!) shake it! (shake it!)
shake your healthy gut to komasa!
komasa's NOT whack!

when i first chanced upon komasa about 5+ years ago, it was love at first bite. to me, it epitomized what i called "the sweet spot," not the "g-spot" you nasties. a sweet spot is sweet because pricing is just right and you get great food to boot. for many years, komasa was a sweet, sweet, sugary sweet sushi spot for me. although i always ate a lot and waddled out with only a few bucks left in my pockets anyways, i knew it was a great deal. quality was tip top and the fish you were served were thick fish slabs...ridiculously thick to the point where i look at the owner a.k.a. sushi chef from time to time and wonder if he's making any profit.

hi owner! me likey your sushi!

for many years, i went once a week. eventually my consistency petered out in the name of food blogging and going on food hunts. the last time i went to komasa was about 5 months ago and after going this past friday, i see that komasa has suffered from the economic downturn as well. the sushi...are finally regular sized now :( i miss my ginormous komasa slices. :( sushi quality is still great though. delicious. well, into my belly went:

albacore salad. seared albacore, avacado, gubo (japanese root), shredded iceburg lettuce, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, sliced cucumbers, and seaweed in a delicious, tart (probably ponzu) vinegrette. it is quite a hearty salad and super yumtastic.

blood red maguro (tuna) so deep in its coloration that it looks magenta. holy freshness it is! uni (sea urchin), and scallop sushi (fresh scallop pieces mixed with mayo and smelt eggs).

let me take a quick second to write a love note to the great sea urchin since i heart it so much:

roses are red,

violets are blue,

when i stick you in my mouth,

i taste the ocean, yes i really do.

ok, perhaps i'm not an emily dickenson with my words to my beloved sea urchin, but my god thank you poseidon for offering such a lovely silky sea tofu that is the sea urchin. a sushi dinner is never complete without it. and thank you komasa for keeping it under $6 and not at mp (market price) like other bastards.

and OF COURSE, i get their spicy tuna and lots of it! of all the spicy tuna rolls i've eaten ever, komasa reigns supreme. perfect spiciness to this kewpie mayo concoction.

spicy tuna cut roll. mmmmmm...

spicy tuna handroll. told you i love this shit and eating it in different ways DOES make a difference :)

two orders of lovely albacore. do keep in mind that i came with a friend. sheesh.

unagi (freshwater eel). one for you and one for me? i like the sweetness to it and the crispy edges.

topped it all off with a mixed tempura chaser and we have a winner here folks. it always feels so right when i grub at komasa.

there's always a cute toothpick holder that accompanies the bill. it appears that christmas cheer has already seeped into this sushi dwelling.

i always order everything that i've just shown you and i'm as regular about it as your bowel movements. komasa is pretty popular and during peak hours starting from 6:30-7 p.m., you can expect about a 45 minute to an hour wait. if you're not THAT hungry, you can always stroll around the vicinity and grab a few japanese snacks while you wait.

bringing it back old school

Los Angeles County Fair
1101 W McKinley Ave
Pomona, CA 91769
http://www.lacountyfair.com/

price: $$
veridict: try it!

when i was younger, little carnivals would open up in empty lots near chinatown and my parents or my aunt would take us. for a poor kid like me, that was the closest way to get to a disneylandish experience. ok, far from it. it's more like disneyland's fart these carnivals were and we farted these farts several times while growing up so they hold a special place in my memories.

today, i went to the l.a. county fair for the first time and it absolutely reminded me of those carnivals from days of yore. but let me start from the beginning....

the car line to get in was monstrously long. it was the last weekend for the fair and admission was $1 before 1pm. hello!

after parking in arkansas, you get the option of taking a tram or paying one of these western world rickshaws to take you to the entrance. i decided that if i'm going to partake in some of the infamous fair world fried foods, i better walk my jiggly butt there. it was not far at all, but i heard people huffing and puffing around me....dang.

one dolla?! one dolla?! holla! normal admission price is $17 during the weekends. i like this price a lot better. wouldn't you?

ahhhh, the memories!!! it's like those ghetto carnivals i use to go to, but this one is HUGE and there's white people! lots of them!

i remember sliding down one of these on a potato sack. for a split second, i imagined what it would be like to go zipping down one of them again, but all i could think of was a slippy slide accident with me being seriously embarassed. no thanks.

i also remembered these. it's a table with rainbows painted on them and if you slide a quarter right in the middle of one of the colors (it can't touch any lines or any colors), you can win a prize. the mofos manning it were pretty strict. i didn't bother with any of the games because i would have to line up to get a card before i can play. no thanks. i don't need that oversized frog to carry on my back. no, i really don't.

OF COURSE it's time to eat. i was hankering for some bbq and went to big bubba's bad bbq. who knew that this bus just brought in a load of bad bbq. if i knew, i would have stayed away! ack!

look, i tend to like my bbq sauces on the sweeter side, but the bbq sauce on this pulled pork sammich was DISGUSTINGLY SWEET. i bet you the ingredients were: sugar, water, and sugar. i was capable of only a few bites before i chucked it out. the side of beans were ok and the coleslaw was standard vons fare. do yourself a favor and don't waste your money here.

the sweet corn was alright. you can't do much to eff up sweet roasted corn though. i got this from bubba's with a free coupon in the coupon booklet you get when you buy your fair tickets.

dessert tally-ho!! i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE frozen bananas. they are as close as i can get to a healthy-ish dessert and you must have the nuts, too! you CAN'T have a banana without the nuts, but if you do, it's called a modified eunuch. go look that up.

here's two sticks of deep fried heart stoppers. they look the same, but they ain't. one is a deep fried snickers bar and the other is a deep fried reeses peanut butter cup molded into a log. can you guess which is which? not to let you guys down, but i only took a bite or two of each. first off, every bite means another extra block or two when i walk charlie. my fat ass shouldn't go crazy on this kind of shit and i'm GLAD i thought it was ick so i didn't.

but if i HAD to choose between these two monstrosities, i think the snickers one is better because the nuts (gotta love me some nuts) gives it texture when you eat it but the reeses one is just mush. both failed in the department of being a good fried product though because the outer breading is way too thick. i would not eat these again. NO!

fried snickers on a stick. hubba hubba?

the reeses peanut butter cup is le oozy and le mushy. me no likey no no no. me want $4 back.

then it was off to look at things and to shop if i was so desirous of doing so. here's a dude giving peeps a free taste of his nuts (is it just me or are there a lot of nutsack references today?).

yes, your eyes ain't deceiving you. it IS a dodgers inspired coffin! wtf?! would you ever be caught dead in one of these things?

i couldn't leave without taking a looksie at the smallest horse ever! teenie weensie? really?

this man charges $1 per adult viewing and 50 cents for kids. man, those dolla bills be building up! look at that line!

here's a look at the mini horse. don't tell me i never do anything for yah!! i just saved you a buck! can't quite see his face cuz he was in his feed the whole time...stop eating fatso! look at your nonexistent waist! the owner said he's about 10 years old.

and of course i bought something!!! i walked by a plumeria vendor and couldn't resist these pretty plants so i bought two! my sis went to hawai'i not too long ago and brought home a plumeria stalk to plant in our garden. her stalk didn't produce any flowers yet but these potted plants did so i bought them. they were HEAVY. i had to use a rickshaw to get back to the car cuz carrying it across the fairgrounds was tough enough.

pretty aren't they?!

the l.a. county fair will be open one last day (tomorrow, sunday), for $1. if you can't go, perhaps you will try it next year. for sure, the best thing i got other than the plumeria plants was a bottle of refillable lemonade at hot dog on a stick. $2.50 refills will keep you hydrated throughout the day. fun times!

fried chicken on a waffle plate

Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles
830 N Lake Ave
Pasadena, CA 91104
(626) 791-4890
http://www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com/

price: $$
verdict: tasty, try it!

i know the weather must be changing and a new season is upon us because i went to target on sunday and saw halloween AND christmas crap in the aisles. SHIT, the weather is cooling down quick and my blubber better be thick because i detest feeling cold. so i pinched my muffin top to check if i'll be properly insulated but ended up going to roscoe's chicken and waffles right afterwards JUST IN CASE.

seriously.

roscoe's makes me think fat thoughts like heart attacks, shamu, and freeing willy. if it wasn't for the fact that i have this odd friend that's NEVER eaten at roscoe's before (he was raised in a cave), i might not have gone this past sunday. to give them credit, i think their fried chicken is yummy and i'm always down for their waffles, but a meal there is oh so bad for the waistband. so after the last time, i swore not to go back.....neverrrrrrrrrrrr....

but i guess even though we swear off things, we sometimes forget, or the temptations become way too strong for us to deny it. you know what i mean, like "baby, i promise i won't ever cheat on you again...you're the only one i love! she meant nothing to me!" and then the prick goes and bangs the waitress. so i found myself looking at the roscoe's chicken logo on the door and thought..."oh no! not again"...i could have sworn i made a swear about this not too long ago....

once seated my friend was directed to order some fried chix and waffles so he ordered the 1/2 order with two waffles. i nabbed myself a piece of fried chicken which was sinfully good and not too greasy. i sure love that fried chicken skin!

as for moi, i ordered a side of waffles. i REALLY, REALLY love their waffles...i really do. light, cinnamony, made in the perfect thickness though i scraped off most of those butter mounds you see. there's actually a place in my belly that craves these roscoe's waffles.

this time, i ordered the big mamma special because i saw this huge omelette at the next table and the pavlovian switch was turned on which meant i wanted eggs too. what a HUGE EFFIN' MISTAKE that was. EEEWWWWWW!!! the big mamma special is pretty much scrambled eggs with cheese and onions. sounds innocent enough right until after the first forkful, i discovered that it was mostly cheese with a hint of eggs. it was WAAAAY too cheesy and i just couldn't do it to myself no mo'. i do not enjoy eating a block of cheddar cheese. do you? i didn't even bother with the potatoes drowned in gravy. *shudders* i left that monstrosity untouched like an ugly virgin.

so i swore never to go back to roscoe's again, which means i'll be back soon. but next time, i'm sticking with the fried chicken and waffles ONLY....better yet, i'll stick with the waffles and borrow a piece of chicken.

can you meet me at canele?

Canele
3219 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 666-7133
www.canele-la.com/

price: $$
verdict: tasty, try it!

i have a group of friends that i've known since undergrad at ucla...holy moly ancient memories! many, MANY years later, we are still good friends and although our lives are filled to the brim with obligations that makes hanging out a juggling act of busy calendars, we still find the time to reconvene once in a while to enjoy each other's company. not too long ago, i met up with them for brunch at canele in atwater village. i've heard many lovely stories about this lovely place so it seemed appropriate to have a casual yet intimate brunch there with my dear friends and their significant others. canele is rather small, but the food is suppose to be explosive. well, that was the word on the street anyways.

ooohhh, i like this sign! it's like taco bell's "fourth meal" but chic-er.

every good wino knows that a day should start off with some alcohol masked in oj. here's a nice glass of mimosa to wet my lips. yum!

i ordered the duck hash with fried egg. i thought the duck meat was a bit dry. the runny duck yolk did not do much to moisten this dish up. it's like putting water on hay...all you'll get is wet hay. so putting a yolk on dry duck meat...well, you know where i'm heading with that thought. though pretty to look at, i wouldn't order this again.

i had to split an order of their thick slabs of french toast with mascarpone and fig sauce. no way i was going to leave canele without trying some of those! mmmm...good! the french toast was dense and the sweetness of the figs paired nicely with the richness of the toast and reminded me of a nice summery day at the farmer's market. but to eat more than one slice was tough for the waistband.

anyways, good times with good friends filled with convo about house maintenance, babies growing in bellies, and how to cheat a stripper with a ripped up dollar. yep, it was hilarious.

mean, green, soybean!

V.P. Tofu
237 S Garfield Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 572-9930

price: $
verdict: omg, i love it!

once in a while, i get a loud roar from my fobby side to go get some soy milk. NOT the silk milk you get at ralphs, but the authentic soy milk squeezed from a soybean squeezed by a china man. yes, it's quite delicious and i get the double perk of fortifying my body while calling forth my motherland through the drink.

v.p. tofu is a hole in the wall, located in a strip mall, right next to a laundromat kind of place. it does nothing but worship all that is tofu and is quite popular amongst the locals.

the menu is all about tofu...doh! firm, soft, salty, sweet, hot, cold, fried, or fresh...they have it all! you also know this shit is fresh because they don't use preservatives and recommend that you "keep refrigerator."

they also sell some nuts, breads, and quick packaged eats on the side, but they don't look that great to me so i've never been enticed to buy.

anyways, when i go there, i ALWAYS get a jug of the sweetened soy milk. they sell a smaller version of it, warm or cold, but it makes no sense to drive all the way to monterey park just to pick up an individual serving so i always pick up a jug or two to share with my fam. let me warn you though that if you are use to the sweet soy milk taste that you get from asian grocery stores, you may find that the sweet flavors are a bit on the light side. it is very good though and is obviously the better choice.

the sweetened black sesame soy milk is just as tasty! mmmmm.....

and don't you DARE walk away from v.p. without trying a cup of their "doa fu fa." in cantonese, that means tofu flowers. how poetic right? the slivers of silken tofu swims in a sweet ginger soup and is eaten either hot or cold. i prefer mine cold, eaten during a hot summer day, sitting in my shorts with my feet kicked up on my coffee table. the flowers will make love with your tongue before it slips down your throat. it is a mighty sexy treat and oh so delicioso!

v.p. is a great little place to try some tofu products and of course, doa fu fa. maybe you will jock this place as hard as i do. gooooo soybean!

vino for the wino

Vinoteca Farfalla
1968 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90189
(323) 661-8070
http://www.vinotecafarfalla.com/

price: $$
verdict: omg, i love it!

in my brain, the word THIRST always conjures up an image of a skinny white dude in a dirty torn up dress shirt crawling his way through the sahara desert. how did he get there? who knows, but i do know that he's crawling towards a mirage thinking he finally found water. so sad when he finds nothing but sand around him.

now imagine me, waiting for the last minute of the work day on a friday to conclude and then sprinting towards my car. i too, am driven by the word THIRST like that poor white dude that i just described, but mine ALWAYS result in pleasantries and not death...and it almost always involves wine and not just plain water. it is absolutely 100% cooler than what happened to that dude. for reals.

this friday, a friend and i checked out vinoteca farfalla in los feliz for their happy hora. from 4-7, you can spend 3 full hours drowning your THIRST with $6 wine or $4 beers. holla! the space is also narrow, chic, and dark. a GREAT place for a date or for weary workers like us who wanted good eats while we drank.

check out the way they dispense wine...ghetto fabulous?

omg cheese. cheese like a wheel, cheese in buckets, cheese, cheese, cheese!

the happy hora menu looked awesome. we decided on three dishes (click on the picture if you want to read what's on the menu you blind bat) and a glass of chardonnay for my thirsty self. they do generous pours as well. marry me...please? i can cook.

we started off with the ceviche vinoteca which was limey white fish, shrimp, basil dip, and guac served with tortilla chips. the ceviche is tart but sweet and not super sour like most places. i thought it was yummy.

we also ordered the empanadas plate which were three empanadas with different types of filling: oozy cheese with hearts of palm (my favorite amongst the three), beef (which tasted like chinese stir fry for some reason. there were celery and carrot bits in it), and chicken (which tasted like chicken pot pie). although only one of the empanadas was truly amazing, if you plan to split something, this would be a good pick so i recommend that you try it.

empanada with oozy cheese and hearts of palm. salty and tart wrapped up and fried. did god make this because it is good!

and being the burger whore that i am, i convinced my friend that we NEEDED to order the braziburger or else we would be lame. the burger had a thousand island, mcdonald's big mac inspired sauce on it dressed up with grilled onions. the buns were sweet which made me think it was either a hawiian sweet roll or some sort of brioche bread. it also came with delicious crusty fries which made my lips smack. yummy. anyways, the knife stabbed through its center was dramatic and hilarious and such an appropriate way to celebrate the end of another work week.

since i eat INSANELY early, i will beat the happy hora vinoteca farfalla crowd by rolling in at 5 on the dot sometime soon. fyi, chatting up with the server revealed to me that 2 doors down on the corner is vinoteca farfalla the RESTAURANT. please don't be a stupid ass like me and go there first before finding the right place.

french at the american

CrepeMaker

227 Americana

Glendale, CA 91210
http://www.crepemaker.com/

price: $

verdict: tasty, try it!

once in a while, i find myself roaming about the americana. not often though because giggly teenagers and large crowds in a small space do not a good day make. besides, it's the bastard child of the grove but DOES NOT have the coolio farmer's market attached to it that saves it from being "just another teenager's hangout." so in short, i don't visit it often if i can help it.

but when i AM there, i like to visit the crepe maker for their chicken pesto crepe. there's usually a good wait for it, but i think it's probably due to its affordability relative to what gets offered at the americana. the service isn't very fast either, being that there's about two people staffed there regardless of customer volume.

so the last time i went, i got the chicken pesto crepe again....suprise! did you squirt from the suprise like this guy did?

i think it is probably the best crepe on their menu after tasting a few other savory ones and their dessert crepes which were mediocre bordering on nasty. but the pesto chicken YUM so if i were you, i'd go for this one. huge effer though so i suggest that you share with a friend lest you don't mind going up in pant size.

my favorite part of the crepe is the crepe itself. it is not soft like traditional crepes but hard and crispy but not crackily. the best comparison i can come up with is a fried eggroll shell WITHOUT the oilyness that comes from fried foods. it's lovely.

this crepe is also filled to the brim with cheese, basil, tomato chunks, chicken, and pesto sauce. it's pretty delicious for the first few bites, but once you get to the bottom half of it, it gets a bit nauseating because the cheese is pretty overpowering. i urge you to share this sucker, no really! i had to throw 20% of mine away because i couldn't heif it down no mo'!

anyways, nothing to write home to mom about, but if you HAPPEN to be at the americana and HAPPEN to get hungry and HAPPEN to have only a few bucks in your pocket, i would pop by for a crepe. ONLY the CHICKEN PESTO crepe ya hear?!