Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

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22 Mar 2012

Twohey’s Restaurant – Alhambra

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It is a tradition among my food blogging friends, especially those dining in and around the San Gabriel Valley, to sip milk tea following late night meals. Chewy tapioca balls are a common add on, but usually my company prefers their drinks straight up and fully caffeinated. While a post-dinner milk tea is perfectly lovely, I’d like to propose a new ritual that’s equally sweet, social, and local: hot fudge sundaes at Twohey’s Restaurant in Alhambra.

Twohey’s (pronounced “2EE’s”) has been around the San Gabriel Valley since 1943. The restaurant’s symbol, a gentleman with a clothes pin pinching his nose and tears running down his cheeks, is known as “The Little Stinko-O.” It was trademarked by the restaurant’s founder Jack Twohey upon overhearing a woman exclaim, “Oh, Stink-O,” when a patron seated next to her was served a hamburger garnished generously with onions and pickles. True story.

The Astronomer and I have driven past Twohey’s florescent-lit “Little Stinko-O” sign hundreds of times over the years, but it wasn’t until Jonathan Gold mentioned the restaurant’s famous hot fudge sundaes in an old column that I had any desire to check it out. Following last Friday night’s pho feast at Noodle Guy, it was finally time to put my curiosities to rest.

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20 Mar 2012

Noodle Guy – Alhambra

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Friday night called for something warm and comforting for dinner. It’s been one of the mildest winters in recent memory, but temps hovered in the fifties this evening and storms were rolling in from points north. After assessing the possibilities in and around the neighborhood, The Astronomer and I decided that a short drive to Alhambra for Vietnamese beef noodle soup was the order of the day.

Noodle Guy, not to be confused with Noodle King two doors down or Noodle Boy in nearby Rosemead, serves Vietnam’s greatest hits. From broken rice to spring rolls, there’s enough variety here to fill a thick, spiral-bound booklet. However, glancing around the dining room, it seemed that most everyone was burying their faces into a big bowl of pho.

Taking a cue from my fellow Noodle Guy-goers, I ordered a bowl of pho bo dac biet. Beneath the heap of chopped cilantro and sliced onions was a bed of rice noodles and a delectable collection of meaty odds and ends including flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe.

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17 Mar 2012

Chego – Los Angeles (Palms)

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Back in mid-February, I was invited to speak on a panel about food trucks at UCLA. I wasn’t sure if I’d have much to contribute to the dialogue, but couldn’t refuse once I heard the line up. Joining in the discussion were Chef Roy Choi (founder of Kogi), Erik Cho and Brooke Howell (founders of Frysmith), and Natasha Case and Freya Estreller (founders of Cool Haus). Moderating the talk was none other than wordsmith extraordinaire, Jonathan Gold. I had to say yes.

As anticipated, the evening’s conversation was more about the business of trucking than the business of blogging, so I sat back and listened while my fellow panelists discussed their experiences. The highlight of it all was Chef Choi’s anecdotes about the genesis of Kogi and his passion for Los Angeles. I walked away from the talk craving his brand of bold Korean food with a distinctly L.A. soul. And thus, the “Roy Choi Restaurant Tour” was born.

After the tremendous success of Kogi, Chef followed it up with a rice bowl venture called Chego, which roughly translates to “the best.” The concept was inspired in part by the rice-bowl-hawking tenants who previously occupied the restaurant’s space, as well as the Chinese oven that they left behind. When Chef saw the metal box in the kitchen, he knew it would be perfect for cooking all manner of proteins slow and low.

The Astronomer and I dined here on a Saturday night along with our friends Nastassia and Reed. The line for grub stretched into the parking lot when we arrived, but it didn’t take too long to get through. We perused the menu upon making our way to the front and were pleased to find that everything from “Beginning” to “Middle” to “End” was priced under $10.

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