Year of the Golden Pig -- The Return of DBB

My dear comrade DBB returned to Los Skandelous from Shanghai last Thursday night. His first request upon arrival was for pho. So here we are at Pho LA in Koreatown.

Happy Birthday to Me

It was fucken great. We reserved a private room in the back of Sake House and it was on! Good music, great food and fabulous friends! I would share stories of the evening but my memory was violently stripped away from me by alcohol. Yes, alcohol is evil. Real evil.

It was all sweet and innocent at first...

Then five minutes later...

Yup, I'm still standing at the end... sort of...

Borat is my hero

Joe and I had a lengthy conversation about Borat while we dined at Uzbekistan Restaurant in Hollywood. Uzbekistan borders Kazakhstan, and since Borat is from Kazakhstan, it was a natural topic in our conversation.

We found some great Borat footage on YouTube. Enjoy!

FYI: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (the movie) is coming out on November 3, 2006!

Hasidic Reggae

When BF and I first saw this dude perform for the Chabad Telethon on some public access station, we laughed... for a long time. But after our laughter subsided, and we wiped away the tears, we opened our ears... and discovered that Matisyahu is pretty good. I heard he was featured in the LA Times last month, and now he's a national celebrity.

The 26-year-old has reconciled strict religious demands with a staccato chant pop style that has taken his latest album "Youth" straight into the Billboard charts at number four with 120,000 copies sold in one week. He will be one of the top names at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago in August.

His rap is hardcore but puts across a positive message:

"Strip away the layers and reveal your soul,

Give yourself up and then you become whole".

That's deep, man. You know, I love Hasidic Jews. I really do. They're so neat. To find one that raps and sings reggae in Yiddish... it touches my heart and expands my love for Jewish orthodoxy.

*Btw, I accompanied Dead Boy to the FISH GRILL today for lunch. The Fish Grill, located in the heart of a Hasidic community in LA, is an absolute must! The prices are good and the fish is so fresh and moist and tasty. Totally casual but clean. Great outdoor patio. Hot men with thick beards. Check them out and support a local Hasidic business: 7226 Beverly Boulevard, a block west of La Brea. (323) 937-7162.

Mmm mmm good?

On route back to Phoenix, I spotted a CRACKER BARREL Restaurant off the side of the highway. This brought back many memories of Urbana, Illinois. I recall the hearty prairie food they serve, and the kitchy canteen next to the dining area. I convinced the girls to try it out. I told them it is GOOD.

Okay, so I was wrong. The girls immediately grew suspicious of the place once they read the menu... chicken fried chicken, fried okras, fried dumplins, fried hashbrown casserole... even fried apples. I think they finally decided the Cracker was on crack when they learned about the coca-cola cake... as gross as that may sound, I regret not ordering it.

I began to wonder... has the quality of food diminished or have my taste buds become refined? I feel the same way about IHOP, which was such a treat in the past but now I find repulsive. I hope this is not true for my other favorite pit stop, Perkins Restaurant... may the bread bowl salad live forever!

Sorry for getting you ladies and Baby Nickel sick and greasy. But what a memorable experience, right? I bet you'll never forget that image of the cook in the kitchen with his long beard tucked into a hair net. At least the staff at the Cracker are hygenic.

pronounced "Shit da rock"

The Chan Family at Shik Do Rak Restaurant
Photo by DYY

"It's the best Korean BBQ in LA" -- KJ

Shik Do Rak
2501 West Olympic Blvd. (and Hoover)
Los Angeles, CA 90006
213-384-4148

Tell them DYY sent you.
But you gotta say it in Korean. They won't understand you otherwise.