Unless you've been living under a rock you've likely heard of Kogi BBQ,
LA's twitterific Korean-Mexican fusion truck. If not, allow me to
introduce you. The Kogi BBQ fleet, now three trucks strong, travels all
over LA, from Torrance to Glendale, on a day-to-day basis, informing
the public of their locales via everyone's new fave social network,
Twitter (@kogibbq).
On weekends Kogi occupies the kitchen at
Venice's Alibi Room. This is where I first enjoyed the delicious fare,
but as my BFF Brendan was recently in town and we decided to hit up one
of their trucks, the way it's meant to be. We accidentally arrived
early , which was a blessing in disguise as it took no time for quite a
line to grow behind us.
We kept it real by ordering two beef short rib tacos, two spicy pork tacos and their Kogi special, a spicy pork, Jack cheese quesadilla topped with Kogi's new salsa verde.
I know I’m really late to the game on this one, but I finally went to
Fraiche in Culver City. I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t just chance that
kept me from trying it. It’s not that I don’t want to give Culver City
a chance. I do. And I have. I’ve been to Wilson – terrible and
terribly expensive (good riddance). I’ve been to Akasha (and will
probably go back)—I highly recommend the lamb sliders, but it’s a
little expensive for me. I’ve even been to Royal/T where, although I do
like the idea of eating in an interactive art gallery, the food is only
so-so and there are way too many children running around. But my mom
would not stop raving about Fraiche. So I
decided to swallow my bias about Culver City and try it. Plus, Matt and
I really needed to go on a date—for both of our sakes.
Driving on the freeway, looking at the streets and neighborhoods below, I often wonder what fabulous restaurants I'm missing. 
Though I've lived in Los Angeles for two decades, I still don't consider myself an Angeleno. Mostly because we rarely do anything that's considered interesting or hip in this vast and ever-changing metropolis. We have our own wine cellar – well it will be someday, but right now it's an office with cases of wine stacked in it – and a kick-ass Rock Band set-up, so we're pretty much self-entertained. It's hard to pay for drinks when you have so much waiting for you at home. However, every once in awhile I feel the need to explore our horizons and wander out into the City. The Man goes along with "the plan" because he has no real choice in the matter. Putting up a fuss just wastes energy in a fight you aren't going to win. Lately, our excursions have centered around vintage Hollywood venues, which are regaining their popularity due to an "old is cool" mentality sweeping the city. We're not only old-fashioned, we like our drinks that way too, so the new classic cocktail culture is giving us a reason to step out once again. Being a fan of Hollywood history, I am slightly embarrassed to admit that there are many old school, infamous places I've never been to like Musso & Franks, The Polo Lounge, Chateau Marmont and Spago. Didn't have any money when I moved here. Still find it hard to spend $12 on a martini. There is however, one place I can now cross off the list: Yamashiro.
After a screening of the frightening (and somewhat hilarious)