Overworked. Underfed.

Vij’s

At a restaurant that does NOT accept reservations, how long would you be willing to wait for a table? That was the question that weighed heavily upon us all, Smooth Obturator, Triple T, Dumpling Man, and myself as we put our names down on the waitlist at Vij’s in Vancouver. We came at 8:30pm on a…

Noisette

After only a short time in Portland, I feel like I’ve eaten at most of the big name restaurants, Beast, Andina, Paley’s Place, etc. With Valentine’s Day approaching, I was worried there wasn’t going to be a restaurant special or fancy enough to truly celebrate the occasion. Dumpling Man and I don’t like to repeat…

Bluehour

I will rarely eat somewhere if the Yelp rating isn’t above 3 stars, but for Blue Hour I made an exception. I think I read somewhere that they got a new executive chef, and the menu looked really tasty. It didn’t hurt that it’s walking distance from my apartment too. It made for a nice…

DOC

Big Spoon has been raving about DOC for sometime, so finally there was an occasion to celebrate. I took Dumpling Man here for his birthday. We were quite surprised by the “quaint” or “humble” design of the restaurant, which feels more like you’re eating in someone’s house. Walking into the restaurant puts you immediately in…

Otafuku

Otafuku is just another one of the MANY Japanese restaurants populating the South Bay. They call themselves a noodle house serving udon, soba, and the like but then they also have dons, skewers, sashimi. It’s confusing. We came for lunch and I would have been pleased had I followed the cardinal rules of restaurant dining…

Shabu Shabu Bar

Orange County seems to have more tasty food options these days. We decided to try a different shabu shabu place because we usually just go to California Shabu Shabu which typically has quite a wait, but this other spot in Santa Ana seemed pretty popular on Yelp. It was a Saturday night but there wasn’t…

ink.

I’m a Top Chef and less so a Top Chef Masters fan. I’ve been watching from the beginning. I’ve experienced some of the contestant’s culinary talent (here, here, here, here, and here) , but never have I been able to taste the food from a winner. Ink has finally changed all that for me. It’s the new restaurant from…

Class 302

Anyone who’s anyone knows about the new shaved ice craze. When you think about your traditional Chinese shaved ice, you think of a bowl of crushed ice doused in condensed milk, topped with a scoop of red bean goop. Then there’s the Korean version, which comes with all of the same plus a scoop of…

MB Post

What do I consider “LA”? I get irritated when people say they live in LA, when really they live in Sherman Oaks or Pasadena or Redondo Beach. I’ve lived in LA my entire adult life up until now, and I really only consider LA to the area bordered by the 110, 10, 405, and maybe…

Castagna

As I’ve said before, Portland’s dining scene can be summarized as seasonal local ingredients prepared deliciously without the frills, gimmicks, and pretention as you might experience in LA. It’s just good food that makes you feel really warm and comforted inside. Castagna doesn’t really fit the mold of your typical Portland restaurant. It’s modernist…

Michelle’s Pancakes

Michelle’s Pancakes is a restaurant that’s been around for a few years I think, but the reviews on Yelp were never that impressive. It’s located in the same plaza as Luscious Dumpling, so maybe it gets some overflow from them. When I attempt Luscious Dumpling, I just make the commitment to wait and wait and…

Aviary

Like all the other Jews and Chinese people, we found ourselves looking for any open restaurant to celebrate Christmas Eve. I originally was planning to make dinner, but Verde was orphaned for the holiday so we decided to make a night of it at Aviary. This restaurant had the unfortunate luck of burning down shortly…