Ritz Bites

What's for lunch? Nae Go Hyang

My feelings towards whatever historic preservation fieldwork I'm doing are largely dictated by the available eats in the area. Long days in Pico Union were good. Days in West Adams, not so much.

I agreed to a project in K-Town largely because of lunch options. Sadly I'm not organized enough to compile a list of restaurants, but at least my first random choice worked out well.

Nae Go Hyang is in the block-long Oxford Square strip mall on the south side of 8th between Oxford and Serrano. It's a crowded jumble of signs, most of which I can't read for obvious reasons. Some Peeping Tom action had to suffice when picking a lunch spot.

Most people were eating big stainless steel and ceramic bowls full of noodles and soup in different colors and textures. Turns out Nae Go Hyang essentially specializes in buckwheat and whole wheat-based goods. They mixed chewy buckwheat noodles with julienned veggies and a pickly sweetish red sauce at a good tolerance level for me. The leek and veggie pancake was super tasty too, especially for all of $5.54. Big shared buckets of kimchee and tongs are part of the deal.

So far, so good on this work project. At least the eating part.

Nae Go Hyang
3516 W. 8th Street
Koreatown
213.381.0022

Broth v. Tofu: Beverly Tofu

Tofu or broth?  That is the question.

As was recently explained to me, apparently these two things are the deciding factors between Beverly Soon Tofu and its neighbor across the street, Sokongdong.  Sokongdong was the first soon tofu house I ever went to and I remember those enoki mushrooms and fully rounded broth so fondly.  It's been so long since I've been there that I don't clearly recall the softer, more curdled texture of the tofu.  But I do remember the broth being better than Beverly, where it's sharper and tastes more acidic.

But Beverly's got great panchan that include silky marinated tofu discs, sweet pickled cucumbers and sesame bean sprouts, plus atmosphere to spare.  Though I'm not sure for how much longer I'll be able to sit on those backless natural wood benches.

Beverly Soon Tofu
2717 West Olympic Blvd. #108 (at New Hampshire)
Los Angeles 90006
213.380.1113

You lose some, you win some

How am I supposed to keep track of all the foods I'm supposed to avoid?  I didn't know soft cheeses like feta and the queso fresco served with the Andean mega corn at Los Balcones del Peru are off limits.  And I thought I was being responsible by ordering the choclo and boiled sweet potato on the side so as to avoid the ceviche juice.  But I ate the cheese.  I am already proving to be a terrible mother.

My doctor also gently suggested I put away the heels I was caught wearing on my last visit, even if they were my comfy old lady Ferragamos.  There's no denying that it's time to enter the flats-only shoe phase, so I waved a sad temporary goodbye to the many boxes in my closet.  Now the cruel irony is that my favorite flats feel a tad too snug.   

To my credit, I managed to baby sit my friends' 16-month-old without incident (she's happens to be a joy and an early-to-bed, deep sleeper), eat balanced meals and snacks, and make sure to touch only the super well-cooked pieces at Soot Bull Jeep.

Which leads to some exciting news.  SBJ is back up to an A!  No more facing that fat red C in the window that we sorrowfully avoided.  I'm so happy to have their charcoal grilled meats again -- the cooked stuff over gas at other BBQ restaurants doesn't compare.  All they gotta do next is fix the overhead hoods, since the intense smoke might be not so great for Baby or for any of our lungs.  (OK, enough already.)  When we got home our clothes went straight into the hamper.

Soot Bull Jeep
3136 West 8th Street (at Catalina)
Los Angeles 90005
213.387.3865