Old Town Sushi, Newark, California

Address: 34942 Newark Blvd., Newark, CA 94560

Items Ordered:

• Chicken Katsu
• Miso Soup
• Katsu Calamari
• Dynamite Roll
• Miso Soup
• Grilled Saba Fish

This is the first in my Bay Area series. Just an update, I am now back from the UK and living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since I haven't really lived here in so long, I am really getting started with exploring restaurants around here. More to come as I eat my way around the Bay!

The first thing I have to say about Old Town Sushi is that the portions here are huge! We ordered a 2 item combo meal and each of the items was a dish in itself. The food is pretty good and definitely good value - I even feel like it might be too much. The Katsu Chicken was probably my favorite dish, and I'm still in awe of how much they gave. The free Miso soup was nice too. However, this time I only got one roll - the Dynamite Roll and it's not my favorite. I didn't like the fish(?) inside - it tasted dry. Next time, I'd definitely want to try more of their other rolls. Besides that, looking forward to going back there to try the other rolls and to get more food enough for like 2 extra leftover meals! :P

Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas filled with friends, family, love, and of course, delicious food!!

--V

KTCHN DTLA Pop-up @ The Gorbals - Downtown Los Angeles, California

Address: 501 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Items Ordered:

• Drinks: Rouge - beet, carrot, celery, apple, pineapple, OJ; Spicy Carrot - ginger, carrot, apple; Mimosa
• Brie Grits with berry compote topped w/ julienne apples & bourbon cherry granola
• Chicken Fried Ribeye Steak w/ lime gravy, topped w/ a jicama crispy onion corn salad, eggs, home fries
• Red Wine Braised Short Ribs 'n Eggs w/ polenta, melted blue cheese, fried kale, eggs
• Best Part of a Fried Egg w/ bacon, roasted tomato, butter greens, crispy egg white w/ hollandaise, home fries
• Habanero Scramble w/ goat cheese, caramelized onions, pumpkin seeds, crispy onions

There are so many popup restaurants in L.A., that I basically gave up and decided not to visit any of them! Luckily, my friends are not so lazy, and someone planned a birthday get-together for one of my friends at KTCHN in downtown L.A. The drinks were colorful, but nothing you couldn't make at home with a juicer. When I saw chicken fried steak on the menu, I knew it had to be mine, and luckily we were sharing b/c the portion size was humongous (13oz)!! While, I'm glad I got to try it, I thought the breading didn't coat the steak that well, and it can be pretty difficult to season such a large portion of steak. My favorites of the day were actually the non-fried options, including: the brie grits - delicious, and tangy w/ the addition of berries, and the habanero scramble b/c it was so spicy. Yum! The braised short ribs were tender and flavorful, but w/ the fried eggs, it was just a little too rich. Similarly for the fried egg whites dish. I'm glad I got to try this interesting pop up brunch. Overall, the portion sizes were plentiful, and the atmosphere was fun, but the dishes were a little too heavy. I would however, try making this habanero scramble at home since I really enjoyed it.

On another note, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you received everything you wished for and more this holiday season. Hopefully, Victoria and I can squeeze in a few more posts before 2013!

Love,
--y