faulker054

When I first heard of Silver Lake, I was told it was a haven for artists, musicians, screenwriters and of course, hipsters. On any day, you can drive by the cafes and shops and see people dotted along concrete like tacks on a bulletin board. You might see about thirty people outside the shoe-fiend hangout, Undefeated , waiting for the new $150 pair of artist-endorsed Nikes. You might see a lady with two dogs at Eat Well enjoying the sunlight and smog while reading the freshest copy of LA Weekly or The Onion. You might see a crazy person yelling at a telephone pole, maybe even punch it. You might see a man strumming his guitar for some change outside of the Intelligentsia coffeeshop. You might see a couple on a morning stroll, with arms completely tatted up like sleeves. This is the area I live in, and everyday is more interesting than the next. And although there's a salad bowl mix of personalities here in this postage stamp area called Silver Lake, you might find that ther...

6:13 am. I open my eyes to a hazy foreground. There's barely any light coming in through the windows yet I find it hard to even open my eyes. They feel like they've been sewn shut. I swallow the saliva in my mouth and feel the droplets slowly trickling down no faster than a snail's crawl. My mouth and throat are completely dry as a desert, probably from sleeping with my mouth open. I'm laying on the right side of my face, body sprawled over my bed. My leg's hanging off the bed and I can feel absolutely no blood circulating there. Oh my head. It feels like it's in a woodshop vise cranked all the way. The back of my eyeballs are throbbing with a slight jolt of pain. I can feel the pressure in my kidneys, signaling me to go to the bathroom. But I refuse to. I know what's going to happen if I get up. All the blood is going to tilt inside my head once I stand up, causing me to feel even more nauseous. It's now 7 am and my alarm goes off loudly. ...

The only thing I like about the thanksgiving dinner meal itself, is the gravy. My plate looks like the Brown Sea once I get my hands on that greasy ladel. I literally drink it. Because of my current look (refer to profile photo), I've got to slow down. Thanks to the Jones Soda Company , a brand known for quenching our thirsts with unique flavors has furthered its reputation. Introducing: the Holiday Pack . - Turkey & Gravy Soda - Sweet Potatoes Soda - Dinner Roll Soda - Pea Soda - Antacid Soda I'll probably by some this week and come back with a report.

Moving over to the East Side of Los Angeles has been a pleasant experience so far. Besides being closer to J , there were Asian markets that I could shop at and a variety of places to eat at. Korea town is to the South, Thai Town to the North and Chinatown/Little Tokyo to the East. And not to mention the cozy, down-to-earth places in the Silver Lake/Los Feliz/Atwater Village area. The Silver Lake/Los Feliz/Atwater Village area offers a lot of vegetarian and vegan options for those that are health-conscious. If you don't have the word 'organic' on your menu at least 5 times, you'll get less customers. Though being a health-conscious eater usually does not apply to me, I'll occasionally eat something healthful. Good food is still good food to me, whether it's wrapped in bacon or wrapped in a kale leaf. J has been on a health binge, so it's been hard finding a place that would satisfy us both. But sometimes you'll find a gem in the nooks and cranni...

What would you do with $18 million dollars? Would you retire and travel the world? Would you help out a village in an underdeveloped country? Would you buy a ticket on Virgin Galactic ? No, these are all a waste of time and money. Instead, let's build a Japanese mega-restaurant over the old Ed Debevic's Diner and name it Gonpachi . That's exactly how much it cost to build Global Dining's third location in Beverly Hills. According to articles, it's a true import, meaning they shipped out the same exact building materials out to LA. Let's see what $18 million dollars buys you. This week, I drove down to Beverly Hills for a company function at Gonpachi . I couldn't be more excited. My foodie friends, Tokyoastrogirl , Rameniac and Pirikara , had written/told me about this super-sized izakaya. An izakaya is a Japanese-style pub serving various foods. To me, it's like a tapas bar. You can get your sushi. You can get delicious chicken, beef & ...

Long gone are the days when I used to relish over all-you-can-eat places, including Korean bbq, and made-for-Viking joints like Claimjumper's. America is about exceeding limits – a sometimes tacky and overbearing demonstrating to other countries that power is exemplified through making things faster, bigger and stronger. Is it a wonder that Americans don't live as long as, say Europeans, who bask in the sun with wine and gorge in meals 3-4 times a day? No, because they understand the concept of moderation and turn their heads away from fast food. As you can see from my profile photo, I haven't come to terms with eating in moderation – I am clearly... American. During my grueling 2-month stay in San Francisco for work, I came across this little gem, Laiola, with high recommendations from Bar Crudo's Chef Mike Selvera. Previously, I had asked Selvera about his favorite places to eat, during my 7 visits to Bar Crudo. I love finding out what chefs, sick of their own s...

We all have our fears, whether or not we're willing to admit them. But we're all human beings, and it's one of the many things that sets us apart. I've got a whole list of them. For example, I loathe the glaucoma machine at the optometrist's office. You know the one that blows AIR into your eye at like 528 mph. It takes me a good 4 minutes per eye and I wish I was a pirate or cyclops so I'd only have to endure the suffering for 4 minutes total. Another thing I fear is anything in tiny dot patterns. Blackheads, blueberry pies and bad 80s polka dot clothing. I'm not sure why but I think it might have to do with this cartoon I've watched before... where this character had 18 eyes on his face... all blinking at different times. Weird I know. And finally... my apparent condition of bakephobia . I've talked about it in my pizza posting a few weeks back and just can't get myself to appreciate baking because of the necessary precision and limita...