Aug 2011

Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery – Los Angeles (Santa Monica)

Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery

After spending Sunday afternoon watching “The Never Ending Story” with 80 diehard Weezer fans, I stepped out of the theater feeling positively hungry. It turns out that fantastical stories populated by a cast of strange characters bring on the pangs like you wouldn’t believe.

I remembered seeing Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery when we exited off the highway and couldn’t think of a better time than the present to finally experience “The Godmother.” Cue the singing angels…

Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery

The hype surrounding The Godmother is nothing short of tremendous. Its legion of passionate fans endure long lines, nightmarish parking, and gruff customer service for the pleasure found between two slices of hefty Italian bread.

When The Astronomer and I arrived at the market slash deli sometime past four o’clock, we made our way through the sizable crowd  hovering around the counter to grab a numbered ticket. One Godmother sandwich with “the works” was in my hands within fifteen minutes.

Bay Cities Italian Deli & Bakery

All of the picnic tables along the L-shaped patio were occupied, so The Astronomer and I dug in on our feet over a slab of concrete railing.

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Aug 2011

Nha Trang – San Gabriel

Nha Trang - San Gabriel

The Astronomer’s 27th birthday was celebrated over Vietnamese food and lots of it. There was grilled pork a plenty at home and satisfying noodle soups in San Gabriel.

Jonathan Gold’s review of Nha Trang brought us to this itty-bitty shop off of Valley Boulevard. In his write up, Mr. Gold warned that a long wait was to be expected and that the kitchen might run out of the more popular dishes. The gods of good eating must have been smiling down on us this afternoon because we were seated after a few short minutes and everything on the menu was still available. Woo hoo!

Nha Trang - San Gabriel

One of my pet peeves with Vietnamese restaurants in America is that their menus are typically overwhelming, advertising everything from broken rice to bánh mì. Nha Trang’s menu was refreshingly edited, serving only eight dishes. Granted, the offerings were still all over the place in terms of regions, but the effort to pare down the menu was noted and appreciated.

Nha Trang - San Gabriel

After placing our orders, a sizable plate of herbs, beansprouts, chilies, and limes was brought to the table.

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Aug 2011

DonDay – Los Angeles (Koreatown)

DonDay - Koreatown

Cousin Phil is my favorite person to feast on all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue with. His appetite for animal lifeblood rivals that of a T-Rex and his skills on the grill are top notch. When it’s just The Astronomer and me protein-loading in K-Town, there’s always a possibility that we won’t be able to polish off the final plate of galbi or that we’ll somehow burn the delicate shrimp or squid. However, when Phil’s around, everything is carefully managed and under control.

DonDay - Koreatown

When a recent business trip brought Phil to Los Angeles for two days, The Astronomer and I whisked him away for a Korean barbecue dinner. After picking him up at his downtown hotel, we made the short drive to DonDay in Koreatown. According to my friend Danny, the restaurant’s all-you-can-eat specials offered good quality and value. Our party of three settled on the $19.99 per person option that included a variety of animals, cuts, and marinades.

DonDay - Koreatown

Included in the price of admission was a small army of side dishes. The Astronomer and Phil didn’t care too much for the banchan, but they’re my absolute favorite part of Korean dining.

Tonight’s selection included blanched broccoli with sesame oil, pickled daikon, kimchi, macaroni salad, marinaded cucumbers, bamboo shoots with jalapenos, and rice papers. I appreciated how the ladies who run the joint happily refilled my mac salad and rice papers when I ran low.

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