Tatemichiya

Not a lot of people know this, but I was really sick with Bronchitis on my way to Japan. It actually got worse during my flight and at times, I thought I was going to die. I was desperately buying vitamin juice packs from our local 7 Eleven down the street from our hotel in Ginza. This was during winter so the cold frosty air didn't help my cough much. Luckily, I conquered a few days before visiting the emergency room. But, let's save that conversation for a different day.

Before visiting the hospital we saw one of my dearest friends, Ami Tsuchida, who lives in Tokyo. She recommended a local Izakaya that she's been going with her mom. It's as rock'n'roll and divey as it gets. 

View fullsize

This was shot from their little upper level seating. Tons of people were also smoking which didn't help my coughing much, but to my surprise, the alcohol helped. They have tons of sake, shochu and beer. If you don't finish your bottle they can tag it for you.

View fullsize

Marinated hotaru ika - Briny and sweet squid pairs perfectly with Japanese beer. I switch off between Sapporo and Asahi.

View fullsize

I believe this was shiokara over cream cheese. Shiokara is pretty much squid fermented with their digestive parts. It sounds gross if you're not familiar with these kinds of food, but I really like this.

View fullsize

A very traditional home dish Japanese people ate as a kid. Ham katsu. It sounds weird, but does it really? This isn't something that's bizarre, but this was one of the most memorable dishes I ate because of it's simplicity yet addictively delicious. 

View fullsize

Fried Oysters. One of my favorite izakaya items. Served with tonkatsu sauce and an egg tartar. SO GOOD. Where's my beer?

View fullsize

White fish with shiso deep fried. Served with grated ginger.

View fullsize

Sashimi moriawase.

View fullsize

Agedashi tofu with natto. Came out hot and sizzling. I love how a lot of restaurants serve natto!

View fullsize

Tsukemono. I always order this at every Japanese restaurant. It's nice to have with drinks. It also acts like a palate cleanser. 

View fullsize

Tonkotsu ramen to end our dinner before heading to a cigar lounge.

I forgot to take photos of yakitori, but we had it as well.

B1F, 30-8 Sarugakucho, Shibuya 150-0033, Tokyo Prefecture (Shibuya / Harajuku / Ebisu) +81 3-5459-3431

The Restaurant - The Getty Center

The Restaurant is located in the Restaurant/Cafe building (upstairs from the cafeteria). The Restaurant offers full service in an elegant setting with views of the Santa Monica Mountains. Menus do change seasonally and the restaurant is opened for dinner service during summer.

I've passed by The Restaurant many times, but never thought about dining here. They have a pretty prestigious menu that compliments the art pieces you can find at the museum. Everything we had was fantastic.

View fullsize

Pepper Tomato Gazpacho - Recommended to open your palate. 

View fullsize

Mission IPA 

View fullsize

I think I had 3 slices of bread. Incredible with the soft butter served alongside.

View fullsize

Beet Hummus - Toasted Cumin, Cilantro Pistou with Pappadam Crisps. ADDICTING.

View fullsize

BBQ Flat Bread - Grilled Flatbread, smoky barbeque pulled pork, white cheddar, arugula and red onions.

View fullsize

Rucola con Pecorino arugula, crisp apple, applewood smoked salami shaved pecorino toscano, white balsamic

View fullsize

SUMMER FRUIT PANZANELLA  marinated mozzarella, wild rocket, torn croutons, pistachio honey balsamic. Seasonal Peaches and cherries were the summer fruits of the day. Delicious.

View fullsize

Crudo scallop, garlic oil, capers, tomato coulis fresno pepper

View fullsize

Chefs take on Pozole. PORK LOIN - Hominy, ancho puree, papaya cabbage slaw, cilantro. One of my favorite dishes.

View fullsize

PRIME FILET OF BEEF - potato pancake, spicy sweet glaze, crispy onion, pickled vegetables.

View fullsize

Prawns Pomodoro - locally milled wheat pasta, heirloom tomatoes garlic, basil

Dessert

Perfect restaurant to go for a special occasion or just to treat yourself to a nice meal before or after walking the Getty.

Hours

Lunch

Tuesday–Saturday 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.

Sunday 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

Dinner

Friday 5:30–9:00 p.m.

Saturday 5:00–9:00 p.m.

Closed Mondays

Belle Belle Cues

New to Chinatown, Belle Belle’s Cue serves authentic Texas style BBQ in the neighborhood of Los Angeles, taking no shortcuts, and using only the finest ingredients. The meats are cooked with Woodfire for an unforgettable taste. Owner Justin Mi is committed to bringing simple, high-quality BBQ with the traditional down-south fixings to the Los Angeles community.

View fullsize

One of my best friends, Ben Azarraga, joins me for lunch. He makes a great napkin passer for those finger lickin ribs. This photo is not yet to be approved by him, but I'm sure he would appreciate it anyways ;)

View fullsize

With 5 different house sauces to choose from, my favorite was the Habanero BBQ sauce. If you are a lover of spicy foods, this was definitely tolerable. If you are Ben who cannot eat much spicy foods, do skip (sorry Ben for saying it wasn't spicy haha). His favorite was the honey bbq.

View fullsize

Spare Ribs - $10 Per 1/2 Lb

View fullsize

Brisket - $12 Per 1/2 Lb

Pulled Pork - $10 Per 1/2 Lb

View fullsize

I've never had brisket or BBQ like this in Los Angeles before. I enjoyed the simple smoked flavors without the heavy sauces that normally overpowers the meat. I would love to give this another try again. I recommend coming in a larger group, preferably meat eaters, so you are able to try a little bit of everything. My favorite sides were the pineapple coleslaw & creamed corn.

View fullsize

Pecan PIe - $4

Wednesday Thru Sunday

11AM to 4PM (or Sold Out)

701 W Cesar E Chavez Ave Los Angeles, CA 90012

323.897.9227 - info@bellebellescue.com

The Wall - Orange County

With over 50 beers on tap, it's enough reasons to come back to try them all. Every month, The Wall launches a new "secret" burger. During the month of February, their #behindthewall burger is a chili cheeseburger stuffed with freshly battered onion rings, American cheddar cheese, peppadew peppers, an all beef juicy patty and chive cream.

Find them on 80 Plaza Sq Orange, CA 92866 at the roundabout.

Come thirsty, and with stretchy motherhood pants.

View fullsize

February #behindthewall burger.

Secret jerk chicken wings

View fullsize

Their version of hot chicken over white bread served with house pickles.

View fullsize

Elote - Fresh corn with garlic aioli, cotija cheese, tajin.

Food items accompany beer really well. Items are tapas style so order a few plates to share with friends.

Oto Oto Izakaya - Monrovia - Brother's 30th

Talking about Oto Oto will be a bit personal for me. I don't talk much about restaurants in my posts because I only want to feature the offerings as well as the ambiance. In terms of the actual flavors and whether I like it or not, I don't dive too into it because that is something I want you to be the judge of.

Oto Oto on the other hand... I've worked here in the past for 3 and a half years while finishing my college degree in Business Marketing. I haven't been back since leaving over 2 years ago. I think the reason was the clean break from the restaurant. I wanted to eat new things. Italian cuisines, French, American, and contemporary cuisines whatever that means. The spark for Japanese food just vanished. It wasn't that I stopped coming here only, I also stopped my Izakaya and Japanese food craze unless a friend or family member wants it.

This is why we came here tonight. My brother, David, was turning 30 that night so we wanted to have a nice dinner followed by a countdown. I made a gesture to eat at a place like Oto Oto "Izakaya-style" so we can drink and just snack on items. But turned out, he was really excited to go back to Oto Oto and eat all the food he loved when they used to visit me during and after work.

Without going into detail today, my true drinking habits started here. I've also learned a different side of Japanese cuisine I wasn't familiar with. Izakaya. I immediately fell in love. Not just by the food, but also by how the chefs work. The main chefs are from Japan to continue this restaurant group here in America. IF you have to know, I believe they have over 150 chains in Japan. Oto Oto Monrovia, is their flagship in the U.S.

The restaurant is louder and much livelier than your typical conservative sushi dining experience. The best way to describe the whole Izakaya experience, is to start with a drink, order a few appetizers, and then order more drinks. Continue. I like to start with beer or sake. And order little appetizers like chicken karaage:

My first time eating this was here. I ate at least one piece of this every day. And when I am super hungry, I would order this with a bowl of rice. I would squeeze the lemon all over the chicken and my rice so I'll have the lemon flavor throughout. This, by the way, is fantastic with beer.

So you cheers a little and snack a little. One of the next dishes are all my favorites to eat here while enjoying great company, with drinks.

Yakitori

Here is the chicken skin, chicken liver, and special heart which is the fatty membrane around the heart of the chicken (DELICIOUS). Everything was eaten with a dash of togarashi pepper. 

Additional hearts were ordered. 

Ankimo in ponzu. This is monkfish liver served in a bowl with ponzu, spicy grated daikon, seaweed, shredded cucumbers and minced green onions. I used to also eat this with rice. The flavor is mild yet creamy in texture.

Half shell oysters - 1 ordered with UNI - Sea Urchin (recommended). Served with spicy grated radish, minced onions and ponzu. Super fresh and clean.

Wagyu Carpaccio. I know these are all my favorite foods here, but you have to order this. Tender wagyu beef over mixed greens, sliced red onions, sprouts and minced green onions with a savory tataki sauce. Everyone at the table was happy about this.

Salmon cut roll. We always order this wherever we go. 

Yellowtail belly. Just melts in your mouth. I eat this with a touch more of wasabi even though it's already added with a dash of soy sauce. Your eyes will roll back.

Dragon roll. Yes, unagi is good and we love avocados. But did you know they use real snow crab in all their rolls? Think again when you want to pass on their rolls. And hey, you are eventually going to need something to soak up all that alcohol.

For the next few years, I suffered with the syndrome to call this Spicy tuna at every restaurant. It is called spicy tuna pizza here at Oto, but a lot of other restaurants have the same concept with different names. I loved the seasoning of the spicy tuna.

More yakitori. Beef tongue and Pork calbi. Both are recommended.

They were sold out of their tebasaki karaage (fried chicken wings) so we ordered their chicken wings yakitori instead. I like this version, but the boys wanted fried.

Shiso gyoza. I knew what I wanted, but so did my brother. He made sure we ordered this even though we were extremely stuffed. His eyes rolled back after taking a bite. Served with citrus ponzu. If you love gyoza, you haven't loved it until you had it here. Made in house.

Limited quantity: Miso Marinated cod bones. Don't be fooled by the name, these are packed with flavor and meat. I've had this at other restaurants, but it just doesn't compare to here. It just tastes so fresh and not like it's been sitting in the fridge for a long time. The portions are also generous. Pairs fantastically with beer.

We also had a simple straightforward snow crab roll and ended our night with watermelon shaved ice.

If you plan on visiting let me know, I love it here.

OH and Happy Birthday again brother.