What to cook, what to cook? I always ask myself what I want to cook, and every time I brainstorm, I come up with all sorts of new options I (1) haven't tried before, or (2) tried before, loved, and want to repeat. So last Saturday, when I tried coming up with ideas, I thought of a few items I wanted to cook, and then realized a theme: Faux Breakfast!The appetizer was the start of the inspiration. I love creating cheese plates...

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Orochon Ramen. From my early college days, pre Man vs. Food, this place was my santuary, making such a delicious version of what is otherwise considered 25 cent college food. As the years went by, I honed in on how spicy I liked my ramen, how much noodle I wanted, which flavor I liked best, and exactly why no other ramen place I've tried has compared to the deliciousness of this bowl of spicy goodness.The concept is simple enough....

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It was like a HOME. And maybe it wasn't really my home, it felt so welcoming and so loving and so delicious that it may as well have been. Yesterday I was invited to join DD to friends' JT and JT's house. They had a cozy house in Chatsworth, CA, and while the drive on the 405 N during rush hour was agonizing, I would do it twice over again if I'd known what was in store.DD and his brother and friends chartered a boat this weekend...

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I confess, I don't remember the egregious offense. Maybe it was him blowing into my face while he was almost drunk, but I can't quite remember exactly what it was that PP did to cause him to ask, "How can I make it up to you?" Before thinking, I kicked off the smart-ass auto-response. Of course! "Be my slave."Before I knew it, we were negotiating the terms, deciding that yesterday at noon was too late to start for a whole day,...

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Yeah, I was expecting more.After hearing so much about Chef Joseph Citron, I was expecting Cache Restaurant to knock my socks off. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't bad.... Probably around a 7.... So "good"..... Just not orgasmic.My list of complaints could go on forever, but the foie gras was bland (but it's seared foie gras, so I can't complain too much), the pork was sort of bland as well with no zest,...

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EDIT (10/2009): This place was just closed. :(The only other time I can remember having food that made me feel like I was in a puebla in the middle of New Mexico (aside from when I was in New Mexico) was at Mesa, Bobby Flay's restaurant in Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas. Bobby Flay, from Iron Chef and on Throwdown, is very clearly a lover of all the spices and seasonings and flavors of the Southwest, those zesty combinations that...

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Really, need I say more?For those of you who have the pleasure of visiting the West Coast, make it your Harold and Kumar mission to find an In-N-Out. It will change your life.For those of you familiar with In-N-Out, doesn't just seeing the red palm trees on white cups and wrappers make you drool? That's because they offer fresh meat that's never been frozen, handcut fries, handcut lettuce, and all sort of other tough manual labor...

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These are dangos. Born before we ever saw the first deep-fried candy bars, deep fried ice cream, or deep fried soda, these deep fried balls of dough are a staple of LA festivals like Tofu Festival, Lotus Festival, and Nisei Week. Tofu Festival was cancelled two years ago, after the likes of Tofu Ninja and Tofuzilla, due to lack of a large enough venue. (And I was looking forward to the next tofu mascot.) Lotus Festival this year...

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I have always been a fan of breakfast. Any meal that inherently requires frying foods, using oil and butter, and sizzling on flat griddles is automatically BOMB in my book. The smell of eggs reminds me of Saturday mornings at home, when Mom used to make scrambled eggs with any variety of breakfast foods. Some days it was taco meat for breakfast burritos. Some days it was egg-battered toast with powdered sugar for French toast....

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Let me start by saying what I have always said to my friends and family:New York City is my affair, my mistress, my lover, and Los Angeles is the love of my life. An LA girl at heart, I have been to NYC at least once a year to enjoy not only the atmosphere, but also the 5-star restaurants and the hot dog vendors on the street, who sometimes oh-so-kindly cut me a slice of the lamb rotisserie to top the hot dog. Heaven.Since I left...

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