Lucky Belly

One of Umami's old favorite Chinatown places, Mini Garden, has given way a new eatery that seems destined to become one of his new favorite Chinatown places.  Lucky Belly first opened as a late night take out window in June of this year, but has since opened as full restaurant and bar.  And, as usual for all things food in this town, it was quickly mobbed.  Want to go for lunch?  Get there at 11?  Dinner?  Be prepared to wait an hour on a First Friday night.  Maybe more.

[Hint:  If it's too crowded, skip it, skip Little Village (which is also likely to be crowded) and go to Ken Fong down the street and have the Arp Tui Min - stewed duck noodle.  That's some serious comfort food too!]

Umami and Elle were, well, lucky, last Friday.  The Hawaii Theatre crowd had just left (for the Shaolin Warriors!) so there were two seats at the bar.  Elle ordered the Shrimp Kim Chee Bowl ($14), recommended by Mookie:

Shrimp Kim Chee Bowl

Mookie described the broth as "sort of a goma-miso" and Umami gets the miso part of the equation.  The sesame seed part was a little harder for him to pick up.  Regardless, the broth is elegant miso soup comfort food.  The ramen is perfectly done (i.e., what Umama would call "firm" and what in another language might be called al dente).  Shrimp very lightly tempura battered and, according to Elle, "sweet."  Kim chee and chili oil and shichimi give some heat.  Oh, and an egg.

Umami opted for the Belly Bowl ($14), because . . . well, why not?  No sense fooling around.  The Belly Bowl is like the Shrimp Kim Chee Bowl, but with pork belly, thick slice bacon, and arabiki sausage instead of the shrimp and kim chee.  

Belly Bowl

The best part is that the bacon (which has a nice, required, layer of fat) soaks up the soup.  It's so rich and full of bacon goodness that Umami took really small bites just to savor it as long as possible.  So good!

There are other menu items (featuring bacon!) that Umami and Elle will return to try.  Though maybe wait for the crowd to thin a bit when the next-big-thing opens up.

Lucky Belly

50 N Hotel St
Honolulu, HI 96817

Central at Caesar's Palace

Central is the 24/7 restaurant near the registration area of Caesar's Palace owned by Michel Richard (James Beard winner; owner of Central (D.C.) and Citrus (L.A.)).

Umami and Elle went in January of 2012 and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The Lobster Burger ($35 late night) is crazy decadent, with lump lobster meat, but also super rich and food coma inducing.  Which is fine for Las Vegas.

Lobster Burger!

Lobster Burger!

Central's concept is American-Favorites-with-a-French-Twist, so this time, Umami and Elle opted for comfort food:  Meatloaf ($24) for Umami and Fried Chicken ($23) for Elle.  There's only so much you can do with meatloaf and fried chicken before it becomes a parody of moodiness.  Does anyone really want "deconstructed" or "architectural" or "molecularly gastronomic" or "fusion" versions of meatloaf?  Of fried chicken?

Wisely, then, Central doesn't mess around.  The meatloaf is an excellent, albeit straightforward version of the classic.

Meatloaf, like a Bat of Hell!

The Fried Chicken is boneless, with a crunchily executed coating, so it's essentially a chicken katsu on steroids.

Winner, Winner, Fried Chicken Dinner!
(There's a second cutlet lurking underneath!)

 It's not cheap, but it is very, very good, and if you're in Vegas to live the life, why not?

Central
Caesars Palace (near Hotel Registration)
3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109

  

Slater's 50/50 Burger

Umami and Elle were visiting family (Elle's) in Torrance, CA when they heard about a place that served a burger that was half beef and half bacon (!)!  The place is called Slater's 50/50, located in Anaheim Hills, off the 91 on Santa Ana Canyon Road east of Imperial Highway.

[Umami was amused to learn that Los Angelenos really do like the characters in Saturday Night Live's "The Californians," where everything revolves around freeways . . .

  

Really, they do . . . ]

So, Umami and Elle, after visiting the Fender Guitar museum in Corona, were driving back on the 91 west and took the S Weir exit, then west on East Santa Ana Canyon Road to Slater's, which is in a little mall at the corner with Fairmont.  [Really, it is]

Slater's 50/50

The 50/50 has the aforementioned 50/50 burger, a sunnyside up egg, avocado mash, pepper jack and chipotle mayo, all on brioche.  The waitress said the egg is a problem for some people, but since Umami and Elle can down a loco moco with no problem whatsoever, the egg on the 50/50 is also, no problem whatsoever.  And it makes the burger more luxurious, as well as giving it an additional "bacon and eggs for breakfast comfort food" quality.

Sheer luxuriousness

Their waitress said that the owner was, like, 28 years old and just really liked bacon with (in?) his hamburgers.  Now he's got three restaurants and has Umami thinking "Hey, why couldn't I think of that?"

Good stuff.

Slater's 50/50
6362 E Santa Ana Canyon Rd (near the 91 and Imperial)
Anaheim Hills, CA 92807

This would be fun

Osaka Ramen - Spicy Tan Tan Ramen

Sorry for the absence sports fans . . . Umami's been busy lately, what with two cats joining the household . . .

L to R:  Sasha Fierce and Rufus Khat

and learning to play bass . . .

Basses (and Dr. Sher's guitar that dropped by for a visit)

it's been a busy month!
But, on Sunday, Umami and Elle went off to check out the music fair at McKinley High, then went off to Jelly's Aiea.  Then, on the way, they stopped in to Osaka Ramen at Pearl Kai Shopping Center.  By accident, because Umami thought this was the place Ms. D recommended for spicy ramen.

Wrong!  Ms. D's likes Wang's Garden for Jyajangmyeon (Black Bean Noodles).

Spicy (!) Tan Tan Ramen

The Spicy Tan Tan Ramen is . . . Spicy!  If you like a strong sesame flavor, then Goma Tei's version is more your speed.  This version goes for the heat, with minced pork, green onion, and, for a change of pace, cucumber slices.  Throw in some minced garlic (kept in condiment jars on the table!)  and you've a dish that'll work up a sweat!   For those of you suffering from a hangover, and you know who you are, give this a try.

Osaka Ramen

98-199 Kamehameha Hwy
Ste B9
Aiea, HI 96701

TJ's Oyster Shooters

Oyster Shooters

$10 gets you four of these little guys.  Oyster, quail egg, cocktail sauce, tobiko, green onion.  Umami likes his oyster shooters, but was concerned about the egg.  Not to worry, it added some richness to the whole enterprise.  For those of you who don't like oysters because they're slimy, well, a cold raw egg probably isn't going to change your mind.  But fun if you're a fan.


TJ's Sports Bar & Grill
600 Kapiolani Blvd, Ste 100
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 545-2424

Is This Any Way To Do A Grand Opening?

One of Umami's favorite downtown lunch places, Aloha Island Grill, has closed up to tackle a bigger space in the Mililani Town Center.  Aloha, Vil and Michele, Umami'll miss you!

In their old downtown space, a new restaurant, whose name (was it "BGH?") escapes Umami's memory.  Perhaps just as well . . . *cue foreboding music* . . .

Today they were running a super grand opening special:  $4 for any regular burger or plate lunch.  The menu is fairly nondescript, so Umami opted for the Hamburger Steak.  This is what he got:

Hamburger Steak Plate

It was rather disappointing actually, a rather pedestrian pre-fab burger with equally pedestrian gravy, tasteless mac salad.  And is this really a regular size plate?  Umami misses Aloha Island Grill already!

Maybe there's some growing pains and maybe it will improve.  But Umami's not prioritizing a return trip.

For those of you who must know:

BGH?
1111 Bishop Street (Remington College Building)
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 545-2960

Support

Umami is impressed by 9-yo blogger, Veg.  Why "Veg?"  She says "My dad says I should myself Veritas Ex Gustu, truth from tasting in Latin but who knows Latin?  You can call me Veg."


She blogs (Site:  NeverSeconds) about her school lunches and Umami wishes he could write things like this:  

"It is quite hard to eat peas and sweetcorn without dropping them but I was very careful. The dessert is called Australian Crunch but I don't know why. The only reason I can think of is it has coconut in it unless its a traditional Australian recipe."

Unfortunately, local school officials banned taking her photos because they were misleading and distressing to cafeteria staff.


The public outcry, however, soon forced them to see the error of their ways, and Veg is back in business!  Fight the Power, Veg!  You get on wit' yo' bad self!

And, as if that's not enough, she's raising money for Mary's Meals, which is a charity that sets up school feeding projects in communities where hunger and poverty prevent children from gaining an education.  She's raised £67,000 ($105,000)!!  Umami's was so impressed, he chipped in £10.00.  Respect. 

Ka 'ike o ka Moana: The Knowledge of the Ocean

Umami was invited to submit an artwork for a show called "Ka 'ike o ka Moana:  The Knowledge of the Ocean."  The works had to be themed on "the ocean."   Here's Umami's painting . . . if you think it looks raw in the photo, it's even raw-er in real life . . .

"All Tomorrow's Parties"

It's called "All Tomorrow's Parties" because, well, Umami really likes (1) the Velvet Underground song of the same name and (2) the William Gibson novel of the same name.  And, especially, the song lyric:

"And where will she go and what shall she do When midnight comes around"

Because, eventually, midnight will come around for the oceans and, then, where will we go and what shall we do when they're gone and the painting tries to ask that (but not answer it).   Yes, Umami's really a leftist hippie environmentalist at heart.

It'll be interesting to see what other people did.

Here's the show flyer . . . reception is June 14.  There's some nice entertainment and Umami might be prowling the pupu line.  Should be pretty cool.

Ka 'ike o ka Moana:  The Knowledge of the Ocean
Honolulu Hale Courtyard
530 South King Street

Bacon Ice Cream Waffle.

This what happens when Umami watches Iron Chef . . .

Iron Chef was having a "Grill" weekend marathon, with secret ingredients like pork and hot dogs (seriously, there was a "Challenge: Hot Dog").  After watching that, Umami had to make a Bacon Ice Cream Waffle - Turkey Bacon, scoop of Hagen Daz Vanilla Ice Cream, and an Eggo Whole Wheat Waffle.  With some Blue Agave Syrup over the whole mess.   Of course, it was fabulous . . . or, as Elle would say:  "Grub-able!"