The best Hollywood HH at The Well

That's a bold statement, I know. The best HH in Hollywood. Really? I stand by my statement.

1) Happy hour runs till 9pm! That means you don't have to rush over after work, and you can take your time ordering. You don't have to order 5 dishes and double up on drinks at 6.59pm.

2) There are many drink specials during happy hour including wine, cocktails, well drinks and beers. I was impressed that they offered craft beers such as Affligem and Delirium Tremens.


3) The happy hour food menu is extensive and priced under $10. There's something for everyone. You have typical fried fare (french fries, rings), healthy options (salads), Mexican grub (tacos, taquitos), and more substantial plates (burgers, sandwiches).


4) The space is fairly large so you can always find a spot to sit at. There's a large wraparound bar in the center and lots of couch seating against the wall. The prime spot is at the bar, where service will be faster.

Mixed up bowl - French fries, sweet potato fries, seasoned fries & onion rings ($5)
Why get an order of fries or rings if you can get a combination of all their fried food. This is the perfect dish if you can't decide between fries or rings. It was quite a sizable portion and wasn't too greasy.

Steamed vegetable pot stickers with hoisin and sweet chili sauce ($6)
A healthier option to balance out the fried fare. It's nothing special. This is like your typical Trader Joe's frozen dumplings. I have no issue with it, I've got a similar bag in my freezer.

Beef short rib taco with spicy BBQ sauce ($3)
The shredded beef was tender and well marinated with a very spicy sauce. It was surprisingly quite filling because there was a lot of beef on the taco.

Bacon wrapped Smokies with BBQ mustard ($5)
Surprisingly my favorite dish of the night. These pigs in a blanket were an awesome bite. The smoked sausage was wrapped with perfectly crispy bacon, and served with tangy mustard sauce.

The crowd really runs the gamut from young to old. When I first got to the bar at 6pm, there were about 6 other people, all elderly gentlemen, in pairs. By the time I left at 11pm, there were probably another 30 people. All late 20s-30s, low key Hollywood crowd. There was only one bartender for most of the night and she definitely had her hands full. Often times, she would be deep in conversation with select patrons while ignoring everyone else. I saw many people trying to flag her down but she would barely look in their direction. Aside from the service issue, this is a stellar happy hour option. The drinks and food are well priced and you really can't beat a happy hour that ends at 9pm. I also like that The Well is mellow. It's not your sceney Hollywood crowd. It's dark, chill, they play awesome rock music and they also have a jukebox in the corner.

Hits: prices, ends late, not too crowded.
Misses: service
Rating: ***

The Well
1536 Argyle Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 467-9355

Yamashiro's Farmers Market - tacos, brats, booze. I heart you!

Every Thursday night, Yamashiro hosts Farmer's Market in conjunction with LA City Farm. Unfortunately, given the drastic decrease in temperature, this week (Oct 28) is the last one of the season. They offer fresh produce, knickknacks, live music, beer/food stands and during the month of October, they are celebrating Oktoberfest with bratwursts from Best of the Wurst. Since parking can be scare hilltop, they also have an efficient shuttle system that buses you from free parking (at the Christian Science Church on La Brea & Hollywood Blvd) up the hill.

The Yamashiro Farmer's Market is really a grown-ups' version of the market. I love that it's in the evening because sometimes, I really don't want to crawl out of bed at 10am on a weekend to pick up from fresh produce from the Farmer's Market. I love that it's located on the hilltop with a gorgeous view. I love that they serve booze and food so it's a nice alternative to hanging at a bar.

If you haven't been to Yamashiro, you should. The view is gorgeous. The restaurant is perched on top of the Hollywood Hills, overlooking Hollywood, Downtown and Century City.

Veev was present to serve up some acai cocktails. Acai is found in the Brazilian Amazon and has been known to provide various remedies (although not all founded) such as detoxification, improved immune system and weight loss. I personally don't buy into all of that, but hey, if it's mixed in a cocktail, I'll try it.

You have to select from a few fresh herbs to be mixed into your cocktail.

The cocktails are served in a mason jar decorated with a bracelet made with acai berries, both yours to keep. My choice was the acai mint cocktail which tasted a bit like a mojito. Refreshing, citrus and very drinkable.

The Oktoberfest beer stand this past week had Sam Adams on tap. The market also has a wine stand with a couple wine selections. So basically, there's an adult beverage for everyone.

I've heard good things about Chef Brock Kleweno's tacos. He's the chef at the Yamashiro Restaurant. I don't typically fawn over Mexican cuisine but I can dig these gourmet Asian-inspired tacos.

There were three taco options (miso-sake cod, short ribs and duck confit), priced at 2 for $8.

Miso-sake marinated cod, and Hoisin duck confit with Santiago Farm white nectarine and cherry salsa
The tacos were standout. The duck confit was tender and flavorful. With each bite of the taco, I got a mouthful of juicy duck and sweet cherries and nectarines. I thought the fruit pairing was quite unique. The amount of duck in the taco was generous. In fact, I had every intention of ordering two tacos AND a currywurst but I was already full 1 1/2 tacos in. The cod was flaky and absolutely delicious with a salty miso marination. It was topped with spicy wasabi guacamole. I liked that the tacos were flavorful and left you wanting more. I even enjoyed the fresh chips and spicy salsa.

To round of the Oktoberfest festivities, Best of the Wurst was on hand to offer a nice selection of brats. And for the vegetarians, they also offer portabello schnitzel.

Pork Bratwurst was the "simplest" of the lot but the most popular. The juicy brat was topped with a heap of sauerkraut that tasted very homemade.

The market shuts down at 9pm so we took our drinks to the bar area at the Yamashiro Restaurant. I haven't been to Yamashiro in almost ten years and back then, it was rather quiet. It was good to see an influx of people at the restaurant, which I think is largely due to the overflow from the Farmer's Market. I really enjoyed the event and only hoped that I had attended more of these, especially when the weather was warmer. I liked being able to sit outside with a drink and a delicious taco while catching the sunset. If you're looking for something fun to do this Thursday, the Yamashiro's Farmer's Market is the perfect venue.

Yamashiro Garden Market
Thursdays 5-9pm
1999 N Sycamore Ave.,
Los Angeles, CA 90068
(323) 466-5125
www.yamashirorestaurant.com
http://lacityfarm.com/yamashiro-garden-market.html

Beers and food trucks @ LA Beerfest

The Los Angeles Beerfest was held this past weekend at Sony Pictures Studios. For $40, you get unlimited beer from local and international brewers served in your own mini 4 oz beer stein, live entertainment and access to various food trucks (food is an additional cost). Last year, Beerfest was held over two days but they decided to consolidate it into two sessions in one day this year. Reason being that Saturdays were traditionally more popular, and a one day event made it convenient for beer companies. The event was sold out with the 1st session (1-4pm) selling at a faster pace than the 2nd (5-8pm). Guess the young'ens prefer to party earlier in the day. We bought tickets to the second session.

The selection of beers were quite impressive including many local representation. Yes, there were also reps for Bud light but I saw that their stand was somewhere in an obscure corner!

My friend who went to the first session advised us to get there early as he had to wait in a painful line. When we arrived 30 minutes early, there was no line at registration and a reasonable line at the entry. While we were at registration, we saw the inebriated crowd from the 1st session hanging around, some were lying on the sidewalk. Hope that won't be me, I thought. The gates opened promptly at 5pm. I was quite impressed that it was clean and well organized. Odd that they didn't check IDs to determine drinking eligibility.

There were numerous beer stands. Some of the (many) ones that I sampled were Maudite Chambly, Shipyard Blueberry Ale, New Belgium Mighty Arrow, Lagunitas, Ballast Point Big Eye, Strand Pale Ale, Acai Berry Wheat and a Saison by Eel River, Coronado Brew Co, Skyscraper Sancha, Hobgoblin lager, The Bruery, Angel City, Karl Strauss, Green Flash Summer Saison, Allagash White, Speakeasy Prohibition Ale and for a sweet ending, Wyder's Pear Cider.

There was a large crowd but it wasn't overly claustrophobic. After some drinks, we made our way to the food trucks which were situated towards the front of the festival. There weren't too many trucks. The ones present were NomNom, Lomo Arigato, Don Chow, Frysmith, Border Grill, Worldfare Bus and Calbi. I was surprised that there weren't any lines. Perhaps most of the 5-8pm attendees had already eaten.

Deli Special banh mi with ham, headcheese, pate, jalapeno and pickled vegetables. A 12 inch sandwich for $6.50 was a steal! The sandwich was huge and the bread was fresh. I think they could have used more pate but I'm sure if you requested, they may oblige. The pickled veggies were delicious, crunchy, a bit sour but not overpowering. I also liked the jalapeno which was extremely spicy and gave the sandwich a kick.

Next up was Lomo Arigato, a Peruvian Japanese truck.

Lomo Saltado made with marinated steak and fries with gravy on rice. It's basically a stir fry with fries! I've never had this before and really enjoyed it because it was so flavorful. The fries were crisp yet slightly softened by the gravy. The sauce and rice combination was delicious. There's something so simple yet satisfying about rice and gravy.

Don Chow tacos, a Mexican Chinese fusion taco truck.

Spicy tofu taco from Don Chow, served with pico de gallo, avocado and salsa for $2. The tofu was fried and well marinated.

While I got in line at the porta potties (p.s. not as scary as I thought, and after experiencing Coachella porta potties, nothing will faze me), my friend decided to sample from Tastymeat, which was the only truck located at the west side of the festival. Tastymeat serves Turkish wraps.

Yes, it's not meat, but she's on a semi vegetarian diet, so my friend ordered the grilled cheese. It was served in a pita wrap with tomatoes and onions. Interesting spin on a grilled cheese.

We initially thought 3 hrs seemed short for the session but believe me, 3 hrs of non stop drinking is more than sufficient especially since there were minimal lines at the beer stands. Unfortunately some stands (Hollywood Blonde, Skycraper) ran out of beers just half way through the festival. LA Beer Festival is a pretty great way to spend your weekend. It was a fun night with ample beer samples and food bites. I liked the 4 oz pours as you didn't have to commit to a full glass of beer. They could have had more food variety. Seemed like they had a lot of taco options. It might have been better to get in other cuisines such as those offered by The Buttermilk Truck, Marked5 or dosatruck. But then again, tacos and beers go hand in hand.

Who needs Kogi when you have a Korean friend

Lately, my friends and I have been trying to throw more dinner parties at home, with an unintentional theme of cooking food from our respective cultures. So last night, we convened at Albs and Betty's place for some Korean tacos. In a cultural melting pot like Los Angeles, you can easily find ethnic condiments at the grocery store. So you don't need to prepare the marinade from scratch, unless you're the type of person that loathes Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade and scoffs at the idea of using store brought products. Well, Alb's is a bit less lazy than I am so his marinade was homemade.

Pick your protein such as short ribs, chicken, pork and tofu.

Then marinade them in separate containers overnight. Korean BBQ marinade consists of soy sauce, sugar, red pepper, garlic, ginger, green onion, sesame oil and rice wine. It's really that simple.

Cook your meats over stove top or on the grill, then serve on taco shell with a topping of diced onions, green onions and drizzle of sriracha hot sauce.

Chicken taco

Beef taco

Tofu taco

Our friend Sara also made some latkes which were delicious. Who can resist fried pancakes? Latkes are made with potatoes, eggs and onions and then fried up.

Warm cranberry brie and crackers. Apparently very good if you like brie.

Finally, desserts made by Betty. For someone who is a health nut that runs everyday, I was expecting low fat, bland cookies. Unfortunately, these were too delicious that I had to return for seconds and thirds.

Festive Sugar cookies

Whoopie pies/oreos

Sugar cookies with mint M&Ms

Christmas brownies

Weeknight dinner parties need not be laborious. Tacos are simple to make; the preparation and cooking was quick. They cater to meat eaters and vegetarians. And why wait 30 minutes in line at the Kogi truck when you can have something similar while hanging out in the comforts of your home, drinking wine and catching up with friends.