shawntology

quick view: yatai ramen pop-up @ breadbar [LA]

Oxtail ramen

While my restaurant reviews aren’t usually too extreme, I want to give full disclosure on the following doozy.  I went to Breadbar this past Friday with some friends from New York and had one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had in my life. 

With wildly successful pop-ups from illustrious chefs such as Ludo Lefebvre, I was beyond excited to try the latest pop-up at Breadbar: Yatai Ramen. The six week takeover is in the evening only, and there is even the option to BYOB.  I was looking forward to tasting the ramen, with choices ranging from classic to exotic.  However, after settling in and popping open our beers things went from bad to worse. 

We placed our orders and eagerly waited for our choices to arrive, ranging from tomato ramen, oxtail ramen, and foie gras ramen.  Things turned sour as we began to notice that the majority of people that had arrived after us were receiving their food before us.  While we had a fairly large group (seven people) we patiently waited for our orders to arrive together.  After we had waited half an hour, we began to pester the staff to figure out what was taking so long for our food to arrive.  One of the staff attempted to placate us by offering to bring out bread while we waited, yet he forgot to bring it out, and then we had to ask him to bring out the bread! After waiting for over an hour, we decided that we should just leave and call the night a complete wash.  As we began to gather our belongings, the staff then said it would only be ten more minutes for our food to arrive.  When the ramen did come out, it came out sporadically bowl by bowl.  Four bowls were brought out first, then two, then the final one.  By the time all of the food had arrived at our table, we had been waiting a total of 2 hours.  I don’t care how special a restaurant purports itself to be, 2 hours is an unacceptable amount of time to wait for dinner.

I do not know what exactly the problem was with Breadbar that night, but I do know that there is something terribly wrong with the way the restaurant is run.  The restaurant was by no means crowded and there really was no explanation as to why our food took so long to prepare.  Also, if a restaurant is promoting a certain type of food, they need to be equipped to serve it.  In terms of management, there was seemingly no superior to whom we could address our problems, only a two person serving staff who were tragically frantic in their attempts to ameliorate the situation. 

The worst part is that the ramen was actually pretty good, but we were just so turned off by that point that we couldn’t really enjoy the meal.  Also, I think the ramen at Daikokuya in Little Tokyo is far superior, and at a more reasonable price point.  I would not recommend going to any future Breadbar events as they clearly are unable to function as a full-fledged restaurant. 

Breadbar
8718 West 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 205-0124
http://www.breadbar.net/

quick view: the roger room [LA]

Image via Curbed

While definitely late on the punch on this review of The Roger Room, I wanted to share my thoughts after my first visit a few nights ago.  While initially touted as a uber exclusive speakeasy, the Roger Room has since let loose the velvet ropes (ever-so-slightly).

The Roger Room is a drink and mixologist-centric bar a la The Edison or The Varnish downtown.  The great part is that you don’t have to make the trek downtown if you live in West Hollywood, because it is located just a few blocks away from the Beverly Center!  However, ff your drink of choice on a night out is a vodka and Redbull this is probably not the right fit for you.  If you’re looking for a more intimate bar with a bevvy of meticulously crafted drinks, you should definitely give the Roger Room a try.  

While definitely on the more expensive side, the cocktails are really delicious.  I ordered a classic, a French 75, which was refreshing and still pretty stiff.  I then ventured for a “Night and Day” which consisted of cachaca liquer, blackberries, honey and lime and it was great! My only point of issue was the crowd, which was random at best, and were not particularly dressed to fit the sophisticated vibe.  Perhaps I went on an off night, but I appreciate places like the Edison that are not only sleek themselves, but there clientele are, too. 

Like a true speakeasy, The Roger Room enforces a “no-flash photography” rule, hence my lack of a requisite image.  So, to take a glimpse for yourself, look for the unassuming door on La Cienega and Oakwood next to the psychic shop, you’ll be in for a treat!

The Roger Room
370 N. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 854-1300

quick view: charlie palmer [OC]

Charlie Palmer at South Coast Plaza fits seamlessly with the tawdry shopping mall to which it is attached.  The immense steakhouse takes up an entire corner of the Bloomingdales flagship, with a large dining room and adjacent lounge.   While the space and decor are undeniably hip, the food leaves much more to be desired. 

The food at Charlie Palmer is nouveau American, and the interior decor reflects the cuisine.  The white interior is scattered with bursts of warm amber tones, and the room is anchored by a plexiglass paned tree.  While certainly cool, the dining space feels slightly stark and lacks a sense of intimacy.  The lounge area is scattered with leather couches facing a massive mural of stampeding horses. 

Dinner lacked the sophistication one would expect at a refined steakhouse and could summed up as mediocre.  I can only describe the food as somewhat bland, uninterestingly plated, and incohesively composed.  I will laud however, the creative cocktail menu with expertly prepared drinks.  There’s even a “Cougar Cocktail,” which for OC, is oh-so-appropriate.

If you want to give Charlie Palmer a test run, definitely check their happy hour which is their #1 selling point to me.  Every day (EVERY day) from 4-7 PM, cocktails are half-priced which makes them roughly $7 a pop.  Paired with some of their small plates, you can decide if you want take the dive and go for dinner. 

Charlie Palmer
3333 Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626-1873
(714) 352-2525
www.charliepalmer.com

listen: two door cinema club

Hailing from Northern Ireland, Two Door Cinema Club is the foreign import that will keep you jamming all summer.  Touted by music blogs as this year’s MGMT, the band is indie, rock, pop and fun.  Their show is already sold out at the Troubadour on May 5th and they have kindly graced us with another showing in LA on May 3rd. 

Take a listen, and if you like what you hear, join me next Monday at Bardot!

LISTEN

Like what you hear? RSVP!

RSVP

see and do [LA]

Reasons I love LA.  Here’s where you should be ‘til the weekend…

Cool Cats Pop-Up Shop Closing BBQ @ Barracuda
April 23, 2010
4 - 9 PM

Barracuda
7769 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046

David Choe - Nothing To Declare
Show opens April 23, 2010

Lazarides Gallery
320 N. Beverly Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
www.lazinc.com

Image via Bleeding Cool

Phil Frost - Pale Writer
Show opens April 24th, 2010
8-11 PM

Known Gallery
441 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
www.knowngallery.com

coachella recap

Didn’t make it to Coachella, but It was still a bizarre, indulgent, wonderful, insane, amazing weekend nonetheless in the desert.  House on a lake (complete with its own boat), great party crew, face paint(!), and great weather.  Not sure I could ask for more.  Looking forward to 2011 to do it all again :)

coachella parties [indio]

With Coachella being sold out already this year, you know the Indio Valley is gonna be one big flustercuss of drunk/high/stoned/all-of-the-above hippies this weekend.  As for me, I’m skipping the festival for the numerous pool parties scattered around Palm Springs.  Here’s the breakdown for those who want it:

P.S. RSVP quick! Some of the guest lists close today!

BPM Magazine x Music Loves Fashion @ The Riviera Hotel Palm Springs

RSVP

Blackberry’s Dipdive Oasis Mansion Party

“Ladies Only RSVP”: HEART@LOVE-MADE.COM

The Good Life Pool Parties @ The Viceroy Palm Springs

RSVP

Levi’s Desert Gold @ The Ace Hotel

RSVP

The Music Lounge x Indioasis

RSVP

Vice Magazine’s The Desert Bender

RSVP

Lacoste @ Coachella

RSVP

*I’m not posting the notorious Anthem pool party because it appears that this year it is an exclusive, invite only event.  Unfortunately, this tends to be one of the best parties of the weekend, but we’ll have to see how it fares now that it has closed itself off to the public. You can longingly lick your chops by going here: Anthem. 

You can check out more party info on Clubsoda.fm, which was invaluable in my search for raging parties. 

refresh

What better way to come back to my blog than a worthy cause like 58-12 Design Lab’s entry into the Pepsi refresh project?  For those who don’t know, instead of using money to advertise during the Superbowl this year, Pepsi has decided to award this money to worthy organizations through an online voting process.

In any case, Jonathan and company have started an organization aimed at improving the lives of the impoverished through design.  58-12 seeks to address the plight of billions of people globally who don’t have clean drinking water or a roof over their heads. 

Maybe you’re not sure how you want to change the world yet, but it only takes a second to help the people at 58-12 realize their goal of jump starting social change. Hey, you’re just clicking away right now on the internet anyway, right? So give the website a few seconds and clicks and you’ll feel great for helping out a good cause. 

CLICK CLICK CLICK!
http://www.refresheverything.com/5812

Some background:

quick view: plancha tacos [LA]

If you’re hankering for authentic Mexican tacos street-style and don’t want to make the trek to downtown LA, you can now get your fix at Plancha Tacos right on W. 3rd St.  The restaurant offers the tacos that one might find at a taco truck downtown, at prices that are remarkably comparable.

Located in the middle of West 3rd street among tawdrier cafes such as Joan’s and Toast, Plancha makes its niche selling well-made tacos on the cheap.  Here you can get 3 al pastor tacos for $5! Although I wouldn’t call my self a taco aficionado, the food appeared and tasted pretty authentico to me.  The corn tortillas were soft and warm and the meat was juicy and well-seasoned. 

The restaurant space is bright and airy, with indoor as well as patio seating (no restaurant on West 3rd is complete without a patio to sit on).  Also great is the fact the restaurant is open until 12 on weeknights and 1 AM on weekends.  Definitely give Plancha a try, especially when the line at Toast is around the block.

Plancha Tacos
8250 W. 3rd St. Ste. 108
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 951-9911
www.planchatacos.com

gallery: parra @ project space

Image via Kitsune Noir

Dutch artist Parra is showing his work at Project Space starting this Thursday.  His work is cheekily fun pop art, and the gallery opening should be a good time.  I’ll be there for sure so let me know if you want to join!

Show opening is from 7-11 (read: free booze)

Project Space
603 North La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90036
(323) 938-8818
http://arkitip.com/project-space/