Sound Bites 16.0: Asiana Grill Yoshinoya @ LA

Growing up, my mom would take us to Yoshinoya for beef or chicken bowls.  I hadn't been there in years (Jennio is a big fan), so I was very curious when we were invited to check out the menu at their new spinoff, Asiana Grill Yoshinoya, by USC.  

I was surprised by the bright, cheery colors and the inviting atmosphere.  It definitely felt more like a sit-down restaurant compared to Yoshinoya's fast food seating.  With free wifi (only at the USC location), I could definitely picture students coming in to study or hang out with friends.

Boasting 180 different combinations of cooking style, protein, and sauce, Asiana Grill is kind of like the Chipotle of Yoshinoya.  If you're like us and have trouble deciding amongst all the choices, you can also have the beloved Original Beef Bowl (you can have it with mushrooms too) or the Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Bowl (which I'm eager to try next time since I love pineapple!).  Here's what Jennio and I had: 

Drink:

Cucumber Lemongrass

• Apple Blossom Green Tea - served hot.  Smelled lovely
• Lychee Lemongrass Flavored Water - nice light flavor.  Wasn't overly sweet
• Cucumber Lemongrass Flavored Water - really good.  Tasted like a lemonade with cucumber.  Roxanna Navarro, marketing assistant for Yoshinoya America Inc., said this was a favorite for most people. I can see myself drinking this on a hot day. 

Food:

• Chicken Wings - crispy and addictive even without the spicy Gekikara dipping sauce.  Like the other appetizers, this would go great with beer.  Unfortunately, alcoholic beverages are only offered at the Fullerton location
• Great Yellow Bun with Charbroiled Chicken Breast - baked fresh daily and served with Asian Cabbage Salad (Napa and green cabbage with shredded carrots, chopped parsley, vinegar and mirin). 
  We had the slider version of this, so we could get a taste of their famous Yellow Bun, which reminded me of a less sweet Hawaiian Bread.  I was surprised by how juicy the chicken breast was.  I hope they add the slider form to their menu because this would be so good with Chicken Wings and beer. 



Chicken Wings / Great Yellow Bun / Lots of Soup / Big Platter

• Lots of Soup with Grilled Chicken Thigh and Ponzu Sauce - lightly sweet Shiromiso base served with grilled white rice cake and fresh vegetable medley (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and cabbage). Topped with scallions. 
  This was pretty much a huge bowl of miso soup with crispy rice.  Even though Lots of Soup seems peculiar to some people, it's actually one of the most popular dishes on the menu.  It was comforting and good on a cold rainy day.  I wish the soup was piping hot because it cooled down pretty quickly, but then again, we were busy taking tons of pictures...
• Big Platter with Udon, Grilled Shrimp, Ponzu sauce - served with plump steamed white rice (when we were there, they offered Jennio choice of rice or udon.  Not sure if they're still doing this), fresh grilled vegetable medley (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and cabbage) and romaine spring salad mix with sliced cucumbers, julienne carrots, scallions and a light Sesame Miso dressing. All topped with Daikon sprouts, sesame seeds and a garnish of red ginger. 
  I was jealous as soon as I had one of Jennio's shrimp.  They tasted great and not in the least bit overcooked.  The grilled udon noodles had a nice salty grill flavor.  Tasted like it sounded, heh.  Jennio said the vegetables tasted like they do at Yoshinoya, which I don't mind.  I actually like Yoshinoya's brightly colored veggies.   
• Mini Cheesecake with Daffy Apple Crush Topping - prepared daily, dipped in rich melted chocolate. Add Daffy Apple Crush topping to your dessert at no additional charge. 
  Smaller than it appears on the menu picture, which is good because it was just enough sweetness to the end the meal without feeling too full.
  
   

When he's not checking in at the 2 locations, Roy Alamillo, corporate chef for Asiana Grill, is testing new recipes.  With his infectious enthusiasm, he discussed some of the dishes he hopes to roll out later this year, such as miso-glazed salmon, sliders, and the substitution of ramen for rice in Lots of Soup. 


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Coachella 2013 Lineup

Image via Coachella

It's that time of year again.  Somehow the two-weekend formula was a success and is happening again this year.  I always thought it would be better to go to Coachella the first weekend because you would get to experience everything first and not have the surprises spoiled for you, but Doug makes a good point about how there are different special guests the second weekend, so I guess the surprise element is still there.  And when I think about it, it would be nice to find out which shows are worth seeing after the fact; it would help me narrow down my usual long list of singers / bands to watch.  Still, I feel like all the craziness and hype of the festival pretty much dies down after Weekend 1. 

I dub this year, the Coachella of the early 2000s.  There are some bands that I currently like, but a ton that I used to love back in college and high school, which adds to my excitement because now I finally get to see them live when I missed the opportunity back in the day.

Many people are disappointed by the headliners.  The Stone Roses I'm a bit surprised by, but Blur, YES!  Some don't think Phoenix deserves to be on the big stage yet, but I get it; they've been extremely popular in the past year and have been used in a lot of commercials.  I hear their songs on the radio all the time.  But Red Hot Chili Peppers?  I'm so tired of everything they did off Californication and beyond.

Top picks for Coachella:

Friday

• Band of Horses
• Beach House
• Blur
• Divine Fits - I'm a Spoon fan
• Foals
• Four Tet
• Johnny Marr
• Local Natives - already digging their new album Hummingbird
• Modest Mouse
• Of Monsters and Men
• Stars
• The Stone Roses
• Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra - Japanese ska / jazz goodness
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - I found Fever to Tell kind of annoying, but I didn't mind Show Your Bones.  Karen O has an interesting voice.  I'd be curious to hear her live.

Saturday

• Descendents
• Franz Ferdinand - I've ALWAYS wanted to see them live
• Grizzly Bear
• Hot Chip - one of my favorite electro bands
• Janelle Monáe - adore the The ArchAndroid and Metropolis
• Jason Bentley 
• Major Lazer
• Moby DJ Set - sad how he would have been a headliner at peak of his popularity and now he's been relegated to the third line.  
• New Order
• Phoenix
• Sigur Ros
• The Postal Service - YES!
• The Wombats
• The XX - hopefully, the audio is much better than when they played at the festival 2 years ago.  Also hoping they're in a tent this time
• Two Door Cinema Club
• Vintage Trouble - based off of seeing the lead singer in a plaid suited performance on David Letterman.  Guy who can rock a plaid suit probably rocks live. 
• Violent Femmes

Sunday

• Cloud Nothings
• Grimes
• La Roux
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - MAYBE just to hear some old songs
• Rodriguez
• Social Distortion
• The Airborne Toxic Event
• The Faint
• The Lumineers - ok, so Ho Hey is forever associated with Hawaii in my brain because of the Bing commercial that started airing when I came back from Oahu.  I can't not like them.  The song brings back good memories...
• Vampire Weekend

Anything Goes Musical @ Ahmanson Theatre

Photo via Center Theatre Group

Cole Porter songs.  Check.
Nautical setting.  Check.
Wanting to see Anything Goes because of my love for Midnight in Paris (one of my favorite films of last year), Boardwalk Empire, and the time period in general.  Triple check.

Jennio and I attended the Friday 12/7 performance and sat in the balcony, where a few other younger folks could afford to sit.  I was mostly there for the music, so I didn't mind the distance.  And fortunately, the acting, dancing, and humor made for a wonderful musical. 

Seeing the show for the first time, I imagined Reno Sweeney would have a voice more characteristic of Cole Porter's singing.  Although, Rachel York is very talented, her vocal style didn't quite sit right with me.   I much prefer Sutton Foster's vibrant voice on the Anything Goes 2011 cast album.  In the current run of the musical, Erich Bergen (playing Billy Crocker) does have the perfect voice for Porter's songs, but Alex Finke's (Hope Harcourt) singing was a bit quiet for me, especially during her duets (I could barely hear her voice).  

However absorbing the show was, there was one scene "that really took me out of it" (to quote the girl next to me).  During the couples dance number in It's De-lovely, it was hard to appreciate the lovely choreography when I could hear the abnormally loud "ee er ee er" of the squeaky floorboards.  I had to try hard to stifle my laughter along with a few other people in the audience.  I wonder if anyone sitting closer to the stage had to do the same. 

Song's Stuck in My Head:

• You're the Top
• Friendship
• It's De-Lovely
• Anything Goes

Sound Bites 2.1: Starry Kitchen Nights @ Tiara Cafe, DTLA

Starry Kitchen Nights is the return of Starry Kitchen in the form of a dinnertime popup (sort of?) at Tiara Cafe. Wing and I went Halloween weekend and, sadly, Nguyen Tran wasn't dressed up in one of his famous costumes, but it was probably for the best because he was crazy busy with customers, but not too busy to enthusiastically greet us (wonder if he ever has an off day because he's always such a ball of energy) and point out his f-ing favorite dish.

Unfortunately, there were only two of us, so we couldn't order the extremely popular (you have to reserve it ahead of time) Singaporean Chili Crab.  Being Wing's first time at Starry Kitchen, I had to have her try the other deliciousness on the menu.

What we ate:

Top: 1 - 2, Bottom: 3 - 4

1. Singaporean Chili Crab sauce over rice - a fiery hello from Chef Thi Tran since we didn't order the crab.  The sauce was so spicy, but so good that I am currently gathering a team of eaters to return and obtain the crab in its entirety. 
2. Pineapple Beer Chicken Wing Soup - my all-time favorite chicken soup.  I pretty much went back to Starry Kitchen every time they had this on the menu.  Just when I didn't think it could get any better, it arrived to our table...in a clay pot!  It's probably their best version I've had so far.  Wing loved the fresh pineapple and oh so tender chicken as much as I did.  Nguyen thought I was coming in the day before when they had run out of soup, but, luckily, they had more that night.  I think I would have cried if they were out.  
3. Claypot Carmelized Striped Bass + Pancetta - Wing has a theory that everything tastes better in a clay pot and I concur.  I'm used to having the catfish version, but Starry Kitchen's striped bass version is definitely better.  It was so delectable with the accompanying white rice.  And I'm so addicted to the sauce that even though we finished all the fish, I wanted to get the white rice packed up with the rest of the sauce poured on top.  What?  I ain't gonna waste no tasty sauce!  Jennio ate my leftovers the next day and agreed upon the savoriness.  Nguyen pointed out that this is his f-ing favorite dish on the menu and it's now definitely one of mine.  
4. House-Cured Roast Pork Belly XO Fried Rice - okay, we probably over-ordered for 2 people by the time we got this, but it was good and, by the way, it tastes f-ing good with the Claypot Bass sauce.  

Song Pairing: 
Hip Hop Hurray - Naughty by Nature
Because I always hear something old school whenever I'm at Starry Kitchen


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The Presets, Flight Facilities @ Club Nokia

I was so glad Wing and I paid a bit more for pit tickets because people weren't as crammed in as they were when we saw them at El Rey.  Most people were in the back or seated at the balcony....suckers.  The pit had a great view of the stage and we were standing one person away from the front.   

The crowd was older than expected.  And I was shocked to find out from the guy behind me that most of the people he chatted with actually drove in from cities outside of LA.  Guess techno shows don't happen often in Orange County and San Diego. 

Flight Facilities

Photo by  Andrew Youssef via Stereogum

We had forgotten it was Halloween weekend, so it was cool to see all these people in costume at a show.  Outfitted as pilots from different eras, Flight Facilities, one of The Presets opening acts, fit right in.  We only caught the end of their set, but they seemed like they were having fun and they were an unexpected treat.  I will definitely be checking out their music in the future, especially after reading about all the research they put into making 4 mix tapes for triple j Mix Up Exclusive. Mix tapes are an art form. 

The Presets
I was surprised by their late set time (11:45pm), but it seemed like the whole show was set up to be an all night Halloween dance party, which it was.

The Presets were on tour promoting their new album Pacifica, which is one of those albums that gets better with each listen.  It has more of an 80s slant this time around, but definitely catchy.  

The Australian duo built up excitement with Push and kept the party going with my other new favorites Ghosts (sounds Native American), Youth in Trouble (crowd hit), Promises (if you see 2 glow sticks in the video -or any youTube from the show, for that matter- it's me and Wing!)


mixed in with some old favorites My People, clap-happy Are You the One, A New Sky, If I Know You, This Boy's in Love, and ending with über catchy Talk Like That.  It was a great show, I just missed some of my other loves Down Down Down, Girl (You Chew My Mind Up), Together. 


High Notes:

• Kim Moyes' awesome dancing with a straight face made my night.  

Is it just me or does Moyes look like (Photo by Leslie Kalohi)

David O'Hara? (Photo via Harry Potter Wiki)

• I find that people will usually let you stand in front of them if you ask politely (and you're shorter than they are).  So thanks to the nice guy who let me stand in front of him (I returned his kindness with the gift of one of my many glow sticks). 

Low Note:
Dear Girls with Long Hair:  PLEASE tie it back in a bun.  All that whipping back and forth is scary, especially when it hits me in the face!


More:
Flight Facilities music videos
The Presets

• Setlist
• Review and photos - Stereogum