I Have the Hookups at Tofu-Ya!!!

I love this place!!!

The banchan (side dishes)

Bubbling Tofu Soup

My favorite place on Sawtelle to eat at is this place called Tofu Ya. If you know me and have visited me, there is a good chance I have taken you to this place. Now, I know all the Korean people I know are against this establishment. But I don't care!!!! I'm not Korean. I love this place for what it is....good short ribs and tofu soup. Now, it may not be the traditional tofu (soondobu)....but like I said I don't care!!!! I equate it to this: when I was a kid I would eat Ichiban instant Ramen all the time. I never ate fresh made ramen. One summer I went to Japan (I think I was like 8) and the family we were with took us to this real ramen place. I hated it...I said to my mom, this doesn't taste like ramen because it doesn't taste like that Ichiban Ramen. Of course they laughed. But I always remember that incident and Tofu Ya reminds me of that. So I will continue to eat there because I love it for what it is. And of course the people there are so nice. I must go quite often because they always recognize me and Angie. One time I went there and I wanted to order takeout. There was this huge line of people waiting and the guy told me it would take like at least 30 minutes because of the crowd. But then he told me "you come here all the time, so let me see what I can do." I kid you not, he gave me the food in 7 minutes. Yesterday, I went with Angie after our run. The same guys were there and kindly refilled out chapchae (noodle) bowl twice. At the end when we were leaving the guy told us to wait and came out with two really large takeout containers of noodles for us to take home. It almost brought a tear to my eye.

Tofu Ya
2021 Sawtelle Blvd
LA, CA 90025
(310) 473-2627
www.tofuyabbq.com
closed thursdays!!!

Afternoon Tea Luncheon with the Girls

After visiting London and having a wonderful afternoon tea/champagne luncheon at Fortnum Mason, I have become obsessed with throwing afternoon teas for my girlfriends. I think this one is number 3. I invited one of my best friends, her cousin, and her cousin's daughter. There were two kinds of tea: a hot darjeeling and a iced tea. For lunch, I made a ramen cabbage salad, deviled eggs, cranberry scones, and four types of sandwiches: egg salad, cream cheese and smoked salmon, cucumber butter, and caprese tortilla rollup. I attempted to make Beignets from this boxed mix I bought when I went to New Orleans. Somehow, they didn't puff up quite as nice as I remembered from Cafe Du Monde. I was a little disappointed, but I will try to make them again in the future. All in all it was a relaxing sunday luncheon and I can't wait to throw another tea party!

Bodega Bar and Arsenal - My New Favorite Combo

To die for sandwich: Fig Challah and Brie Grilled Cheese

Very Spicy Chicken Pizza

Hey, someone left all their crusts!

Last weekend before my friend Gina moved to New York, we went to Bodega Bar in Santa Monica for dinner and wine, then headed to the Arsenal for drinks and dancing. This weekend, the same thing occured, with different girls. My sister Angie, Daniella, Jessica, and Julie and I stopped off at Bodega for some dinner and wine. Bodega is one of my favorite places to go to after work for some no frills wine and food. Julie and I shared a carafe of the Malbec red, then another one of the Grenache. The 5 of us shared a Chopped Salad with some spring greens, zucchini, jicama, mushroom, and chickpeas all tossed with a light balsamic vinagrette. On came the Grilled Cheese...my favorite dish the whole menu. Bodega orders this special fig challah from some bakery, place slices of brie cheese and grill it up to melt the cheese. Mmm....I love it and luckily we ordered two of them. Next we had the Margherita Pizza...nothing too spectacular, yet just goes well with the wine. Later on we ordered another pizza...the Spicy Chicken...which was exactly what the menu said, very spicy. Not sure what the spice was that made it so hot. We also had the PLT (Portobello, Lettuce, and Tomato) sandwich. Also very good with a light spread of pesto and goat cheese.


After a filling meal at Bodega which included a few glasses of wine, I was nice and toasty. We trekked over to the Arsenal. This bar/lounge is my new Lounge 217. For those of you who ever went to Lounge 217 with me, knows what I am talking about. The Arsenal is just one of those places that you can have a drink, dance, talk to the friendly bartender (Paul), and just always have a good time there. It is reliable and I love it. I love it so much I was there last week, this week, and going there again next week! But that's just me. They play good hip hop/top 40s which you can dance to. Or you can sit in the two side rooms. One of the room is an outdoor lounge with a modern feel. The other room feels like a pub with a bunch of guns/ammo (hence the Arsenal) on the wall. The latter is my favorite, because my beloved Paul the bartender is in this room.

If you are ever in town and want a good time.....visit both of these places!!!

Bodega Bar: 814 Broadway (near Lincoln) Santa Monica, CA 90401 (310) 394-3504 www.bodegawinebar.com closed mondays!!!

Arsenal Bar: 12012 W. Pico Blvd (near Bundy) LA, CA 90064 (310) 575-5511 www. arsenalbar.com closed sundays!!!