A Chicharron stand. I love L.A.
Mercado Olympic has a great chicharon guy. Mercado Olympic is quite the experience!!
Yummy
Spicy City
Thanks to the recommendations for where to find Water Boiled Fish, we decided to give Spicy City a try. Walking in and you’re hit with a waft of Chili Peppers. 
Chive with Pork Tripe:
One of our friends wanted to try some offal dish, so we settled on this one. It was surprisingly well-cooked. The Tripe had some chew, but was still tender. The heat level had a good burn, but nothing overwhelming. The Chives gave it a really nice fragrant, vegetal note.
Pork Foot Soup:
This was a clay pot soup, made of Stewed Pork Foot and Soybeans primarily. The Soup itself tasted like a rather light (not very fatty) Pork Broth, but stewed for hours. The Soybeans were soft, yet still had a little bite / meatiness to them as well. Thankfully one of the few non-spicy dishes at this Szechuan restaurant. 
Stir-Fried Kidney with Pickled Chili Pepper:
This is the type of down-to-earth, funky cooking I was thinking of when we were eating at Meizhou Dongpo. It’s spicy, slightly piquant from the Pickled Chili Peppers, a bit of crunch from the Celery and then the tender Pork Kidney well marinated in that spicy Ginger Sauce. It was pretty good (and we don’t eat offal that much). Definitely something for @theoffalo. We’d order this again.
Stir-Fried A Vegetable:
One of the Vegetables of the Day, they had “A Vegetable” which is an oddly named veggie popular in Taiwan from what one of our friends told us. Nicely sauteed with a touch of Garlic, it was fragrant, non-spicy and a nice way to break up the heat. 
Fried Chicken Cubes with Hot Pepper:
This is what we were also hoping for when eating at Meizhou: The Fried Chicken Cubes (Szechuan style) here are definitely more rustic, saltier, but it’s more crave worthy. It has that Szechuan Fried Chicken appeal and it removes the slightly sweet edge that Meizhou has. Meizhou’s version is solid, especially considering the West L.A. location (and lack of great Szechuan there), but a basic dish like this at Spicy City seems crunchier, more fragrant, more spicy and just a more enjoyable version.
Boiled Fish Fillet with Hot Sauce (a.k.a. Water Boiled Fish):
And one of the more popular Szechuan dishes that we’ve been craving for a bit (great for the cooler weather! ;)), is the Water Boiled Fish, known on the menu as “Boiled Fish Fillet with Hot Sauce.” Spicy City’s version is spicy, with a good burn… it’s an immediate heat with a good trailing finish, LOL. Some Steamed Rice helped us through.
But the heat was worth it for the lightly Boiled Fish Fillets, the fragrant Chili Peppers and Szechuan Peppercorns (and that unmistakable numbing “spiciness”). This was quite good.
If anyone else has good recommendations let me know.
Spicy City isn’t the best Szechuan we’ve had, but it’s enjoyable and the prices are fair ($6.99 - $16.99 with most dishes in the $8 range).
Spicy City
140 W. Valley Blvd., Suite #208
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Tel: (626) 280-0186
Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken
Thanks to @JThur01 for the note, the oddly-named Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken caught my attention. It made it easier to visit the SGV and try a variety of shops at once, so off we went to try this as well.
Supposedly a huge hit at the Shilin Night Market in Taiwan (they have their history posted on the wall), Hot-Star serves their famous “Large Fried Chicken Breast.”
Large Fried Chicken Breast:
First, it has to be said: If you thought Claim Jumper’s was ridiculous for their portions, when you see their Large Fried Chicken Breast, it puts Claim Jumper’s to shame! 
I inadvertently blurted out laughing seeing this monstrosity. This is easily the size of… 4 Chicken / Pork Katsu (Cutlets) you order at Japanese restaurants.
Secondly, they serve it in a little paper envelope, in a paper bag.
There are no plates, no utensils. When we asked how to eat this, the waitress just said we gnaw off bites of it, while holding it from the paper bag. 
Well, that made it awkward for sharing. We just tore off chunks to split. They seriously had no utensils.
The actual Fried Chicken was tasty. It was juicy, fresh-tasting, and had a slight crunch.
You could also specify Spice-Level, and we ordered it “a little spicy,” which was perfect (just a tiny bit of heat).
Ultimately it’s just really weird: You’re eating Fried Protein. With no rice (they don’t serve any rice or noodles); with no vegetables. It just felt kind of unsatisfying to gnaw at this gargantuan Fried Chicken Cutlet, with nothing else to eat with it. 
The menu had Fries with Cheese Sauce, but they didn’t have it ready yet, and it sounded wrong to pair that with this Taiwanese snack.
Hot-Star Fried Chicken
7540 Garvey Ave.
Rosemead, CA 91770
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That fried chicken concept - there are no words
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I don’t know… My brothers and I were just reminiscing about our favorite post-holiday breakfast - a pork schnitzel grabbed straight out of the fridge with a paper napkin. Maybe a pickle in the other hand.
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On the way out of town on Friday, stopped at Slater’s 50/50 since Black Friday is the release of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout.
Since I was in Palm Springs, had to get a Date Walnut shake from Great Shakes.
Shopping in Glendale on Sunday so went for the Chickn Shack at Shake Shack (bacon cheddar fries in the background)
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HOMIBING / SUL & BEANS / CHOCOLATE CHAIR (KOREATOWN)
This was a couple weekends ago, but we did a lil impromptu Koreatown dessert tour because why not?
First stop was Homibing, where we got the milk tea shaved ice.This was probably the winner of all of our stops. The texture of the shaved ice was silky, and I loved all the different crunch options and the marshmallow goo and side of mochi added some soft stickiness.
Reason we went to Sul & Beans afterwards was that I’d remembered liking it better than the Homibing. But I was wrong. The Sul & Beans shaved snow (we got the matcha) was good, but the texture is more of a powder, so unless you get your bite right, it can just taste cold.
(picture from Yelp)
One the way out of the Wilshire Center, like the fools we are, we were lured into Chocolate Chair to try the Dragon’s Breath. We knew it was a mistake, but we continued on. The Dragon’s Breath are these lil balls made in liquid nitrogen that produce a smokey fog when you bite into em. They taste like stale Fruit Loops, and you’re afraid for your life the entire time. Here’s a video about 'em: LA Restaurant Chocolate Chair Serves Dragon's Breath Dessert Would I go again? No. But am I happy that I tried them? Not really. But it’s not really that serious.
(picture from Yelp)
SHAKE SHACK (HOLLYWOOD)
After seeing Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Pantages, we, along with half of the theatre, stopped into Shake Shack. The line actually moved along at a good clip. Shack Burger (so good), Chicago Dog (also tops) and Cheese Fries (perfect for what they are). Bonus was sitting next to Christopher Nolan. Celebrities: they’re just like us… only perfect!
KOGI (WHOLE FOODS - EL SEGUNDO)
Out running errands, stopped in to try the newly opened Kogi inside the Whole Foods El Segundo. Always a treat. But damn if it isn’t super greasy. The quesadilla soaked clean through the paper carrier. Brutal. Nothing that a Duvel at the redesigned bar at the front couldn’t wash down, though.
CHICKEN OR THE EGG (PLAYA VISTA)
I was excited to try this after seeing it written up in Eater LA but oof. First is parking. The restaurant is located in the business park that hosts Youtube, etc., and so it’s very much geared towards feeding businesses. And since there are only parking garages, if you want to just go to the restaurant, you find street parking as close as possible, which ends up not being very close.
I had the Chicken Fried Steak. I can’t find any pictures online, but it’s a piece of fried chicken drenched in a nearly flavorless gravy, sitting atop greens and an english muffin. It was all just very one note and not worth the calories.
Tried a couple bites of the eggs benedict and felt the same way. It was all just blah to me.
(picture from Yelp)
Maybe we ordered wrong, but when coupled with the awkward location, I can’t imagine I’ll be back.
And now I fast.
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Big fan of BCS and all of its iterations. Tasty beverage.
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Boss.
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[quote=“Bookwich, post:139, topic:4543”]
a pork schnitzel grabbed straight out of the fridge with a paper napkin.
[/quote]This holiday schnitzel thing is interesting. I just watched Christmastime in New Orleans on KCET. Chef John Folse spoke of the “seven distinct nations” coming together to form New Orleans culture and food, Germany being one of them. Then on the program, Chef John Besh did a demo of his family’s X-Mas breakfast. It was a floured, pan-fried pork cutlet on grits, topped with a skosh of pan sauce. He didn’t say it, but I thought “It’s Creole schnitzel”. Is schnitzel a German holiday staple?
[quote=“Chowseeker1999, post:137, topic:4543”]
Spicy City
[/quote]Dang Chowseeker. You go deep. Calling @Xochitl. I know you were looking for something on the Westside. But here’s a good “pork intestine fix”.
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[quote=“Chowseeker1999, post:137, topic:4543”]
You’re eating Fried Protein. With no rice (they don’t serve any rice or noodles); with no vegetables. It just felt kind of unsatisfying
[/quote]I hear ya’. But it’s just not weird to some. Hubby had a hankering and went out for fried chicken recently. If I hadn’t mentioned sides he wouldn’t even have thought about it. He does the same with BBQ. He just gets the sides because.
[quote=“Chowseeker1999, post:137, topic:4543”]
Large Fried Chicken Breast,
[/quote]I always wonder what makes them so large. Older hens? Capons? Or something more sinister - like hormones, salt water injections… Hmmm.
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Hormones and a good pounding
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We are in LA…
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Hi @TheCookie,
Oh don’t get me wrong, we love Fried Chicken as well (see my Howlin’ Ray’s posts 
). I think it was just the mindset going in, seeing it pounded out like a standard Cutlet, we were thinking it’d be served like a more traditional Taiwanese Pork Chop / Chicken Cutlet Rice (with sides and rice); or Japanese Tonkatsu / Chicken Katsu (Cutlet) style (also with rice and sides). 
Also it is really, really oblong and strangely Claim Jumper-esque: It seriously was larger than a Frisbee. 
So with no fork / knife / chopsticks in the restaurant (not even paper plates), you’re left holding up this giant flattened Cutlet and ripping off chunks of it like a barbarian or something? 
I love Spicy City – think it stands with all the better known Sichaun places and has no lines or pretentious BS. And they let you BYO, no corkage/no questions asked,
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