Hadn’t been in years. The music was terrible. Just absolutely terrible, unbelievably so for the decor, just like it always had been. This guy started pounding on the piano, really super fucking and inappropriately loud, only he wasn’t pounding out Chopin, he wasn’t pounding Blue Rondo a la Turk, he wasn’t pounding Rimsky-Korsakov, no no no, he was pounding out cheese-ass versions of “Take My Breath Away” and what have you. Then a dining patron decided that he, too, needed to take a turn on the piano, ordered up a cocktail and really started going for it. After twenty minutes or so of this hilarious nonsense, he finished up with some sort of tinkly flourish, took a bow and returned to his table. But then of course the original guy returned and pounded the fuck out of a few more ballads, for good measure. This was all nearly too loud for my companions and I to even be able to hold a simple conversation. Finally piano guy took a break, walked up to the DJ booth and put on one of those CDs of incredibly shitty, unlistenable sugary Korean pop that make you want to hurl your soju and fling your tiny Hite beer glass at the velvety red wall. It was time to go. The one thing I recall telling Betty before leaving was, “If you can’t figure out a way to leave work by 6pm like all of the married people and all the people with kids, you have officially lost the battle with The Man. Good luck at life.” Have a nice weekend all.

Worth $10?

Cheapskate foodies, garlic paste addicts, festival fans and carnivores alike: Saturday has come and gone. Did you make it out to the Summit this weekend for the inaugural Korean BBQ Festival & Cookoff? Did you suffer 90-minute lines for such booths as “Flip’s Beach BBQ” (one of the only vendors with a clear, discernable sign posted) or, as did my party, did you stumble upon one of the unmarked vendors in the corner catering primarily to staff, and purchase a (mostly passable) plate for $10 or $15? Did you wait patiently for Sprinkles to set up shop, just for the chance to wait in a line that appeared at surface to be less than than a 75-minute commitment? Did you get sunburned? Stuffed? Bored? Cooled by a paper-and-wood fan that inexplicably reminded of you “Yelp”? Did you partake of the Coors Light and Blue Moon suds? What were the highs and lows? The ins and outs? The Bar-B’s, and the Q’s? The Kims? The Chis? Please grade the festival. Lay it on us, won’t you now, please. My festival grade after the jump.
»continue reading 2009 Inaugural Los Angeles Korean BBQ Festival & Cookoff: What’d You Think?

As it turns out most people just want coffee, without a side of smaller coffee. Prime square footage on Western, spitting distance from both the Wiltern and the city’s kookiest KFC. Still available at press time! What should the next business call itself? Choose from the list below or throw your choice into the comments…

• Coffee & Coffee (& Coffee)
• Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee
• Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee, & Coffee & Coffee
• Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee & Coffee
• Just Fucking Coffee
• Sears
• AutoZone
• 1 and 2
• 1, 2 and 3
• All of the above
• None of the above