22 March 2008

manna kbbq

One of the highlights of living in LA is the cultural diversity that translates to a plethora of ethnic eats to be had. Being of the mind that you can't really go wrong with meat and fire, I've been to most of the K-BBQ joints in town, but when it came to finding one suitable for a 30 plus party, I was stumped.


Enter the Manna Meat Rave. This is the bastion of all you can eat meat for a very nominal $16.99 per person. Even knocking back a healthy number of Hite beers and pitchers of sweet lemon soju to the dulcet tones of (as my Beer would put it) plinky-plonky Korean techno, you can expect to drop less than $30 a head - and that's including a generous tip.

Is it the best KBBQ in town? Of course not. No one's going to come round and give you a tutorial or make sure your meat is turned and cut properly. And if you don't ask for some things, like rice wraps and steamed egg, you're probably not gonna see them, but for the type of experience they're providing - a fun, relaxed, just rowdy enough, smokey, DIY, indoor-outdoor party vibe for a group - you can't knock it with a stick. Be prepared to ask twice for most of what you order to be sure you get everything you want, and definitely ask for refills on the banchan and salad, because mystically different items appear every time they bring another round.


Party people, beware. If you come with a cake, you're guaranteed a "complimentary bottle of champagne." What that translates to: If you seem to be having a birthday or similar such occasion, they will come out when they decide it's time for you to be done and promptly shake the hell out of a cheap bottle of champers, flip it upside down, and pop it to explode in a geyser spray all over you, the table, and all the poor schmos sitting anywhere in the vicinity. Another word to the wise; make sure you're done eating before the soaking transpires because somehow the half bottle of champagne dripping from the dirty ceiling onto the flaring grill isn't nearly as appetizing as one may think, even after a couple of jugs of lemon soju.



3377 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 733-8516

13 March 2008

baskin robbins


This is the stuff little ones' dreams are made of. If you grew up in these parts, trips to Baskin Robbins for a fat scoop of bubble gum ice cream - and the resulting sugar high it induced - were a treat wholly worthy of some good behavior. If you ever went to a kiddie party, you probably had slices of at least a dozen BR ice cream cakes, too.

And, ooooooh, the clown cones. How could I forget the clown cones! They gave me the creeps!

When one of my best friends told me she was getting a classic birthday cake here for our shared celebration this month, I couldn't have been happier. And let me tell ya, every bite of that cake delivered, from the peanut butter cup ice cream and unmistakable bite of frozen white cake, down to the tang of copious amounts of FD&C #40 in the red icing trim.

Sure, it's no Haagen Dazs, Scoops, Mashti Malone's, or any of those other places your grown up palate tells you you should prefer, but it's a very tasty bit of nostalgia sure to hit the spot, and a guaranteed stroll down memory lane.


271 North Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 273-3422