Take 5 Bar Pie – Worth It!

Baking break!

Momofuku Milk Bar’s Candy Bar Pie! I’ve been baking from Christina Tosi’s cookbook, Milk Bar. Having finally mastered compost cookies and crack pie, I decided to try out her take on the Take 5 bar, my favorite candy bar.

Men Oh Ramen – Update: Now with Tonkatsu!

Tried to get in on Shin Sen Gumi’s first anniversary $3 ramen sale, but not surprisingly was cheapskate-blocked by the hordes. Oh well, gave me an excuse to go back to Men Oh to give them a second look. They now have tonkatsu broth ramen.

Merry Edwards Wines – Oaked Sauvignon Blanc

I know, I know. Is there anything more douchey than some winedouche talking about wine? Yes, that winedouche talking about his visits to a winery.

Well, to kick off a regular feature focusing on how the wine you drink sucks and how you should be drinking the wine I’m drinking, let’s talk about Merry Edwards.

Aloha Cafe – At Least This Greasy Spoon Is Cheap

A longtime staple of the Little Tokyo community, the Aloha Cafe is your only opportunity to relive your Hawaiian plate lunch dreams in downtown (other than pricey Roy’s). Could their lunch combo waft island breezes into my life?

A Passing Shot – 4th and Spring

A shot of lights on 4th Street at Main in dtla.

Starry Kitchen – R.I.P. (at least at the California Plaza)

Downtown lunchers have had a rough twelve months, with the closure of Chimu (the best takeout window in the history of the world) and the plumbing-related death of the Spice Table’s lunch service. Starry Kitchen also ended it’s three year run in the California Plaza. Although they’ve since shuttered and moved to the Tiara Cafe as a long-term pop up, here’s a couple photos from the last few days of the old (but not oldest) Starry Kitchen.

Kaju Naengmyun – Kimbap Is OK

I had heard this place in Koreatown was great for two of my favorite Korean snacks, kimbap and ddukboki. Would Caju Naengmyun make me forget dear old mom’s versions?

Handsome Coffee in the Office

Just got a bag of Handsome Coffee’s Kiawamururu beans from last week’s event. Brewing it up at the office, it’s pretty great. It’s a light touch on the roast, with an acidic feel and a mellow roastiness. I prefer a chocolatey brew, so this is not quite a repeat buy. But it’s two coffeedouchey thumbs up here.

If you want their coffeedouche tasting notes:

“Tangelo and meyer lemon with a hint of red fruit and black tea. The beautiful acidity of a fresh made marinara sauce.”

Ah, how coffeedouchey.

Campanile – Caveat Emptor: Death Rattle

Like every fooddouche in the area, I made it out to Campanile when I heard it was closing soon.. I had been meaning to go for a while (like probably everybody in LA), but had never made it until now. You don’t even need to wait for the break for me to tell you that it kind of sucked.

You Aren’t What You Eat

“[T]he prevailing interest in food ‘represents a kind of perversity or decadence, an inward-turning dissipation of psychic and intellectual resources,’ adding that society now places more faith in what cooks say on how to live than in what politicians and clergy have to say on the matter.”

From the Wall Street Journal

A new book from Stephen Poole, “You Aren’t What You Eat,” critiques our modern obsession with food. The WSJ review critiques the critique.  I would critique the critique of the critique, but 1) I haven’t read the book; 2) I don’t actually plan to read the book; and 3) being a food douche, it’s hard to disagree with the premises that Americans are obsessed with food and that that is a sign of some kind of disorder.