TRAINED AT... BLACK HOUSE?!

Got invited for a roll at Black House yesterday, courtesy of Mike Lee. Was super stoked of course, got invited before but just couldn't make it. Made sure I did yesterday though.

I was all like, what? I wore the friendliest t-shirt I had!

Large mat, same area all those photos and lots of video footage was shot that I'd seen on TV.  Mike Lee (pictured, black gi), their all around media guy, is here on a daily basis. 

I wanted to get in the boxing ring and mess around and act like I know how to box, kinda like how you'd "play kung fu" with friends as a little kid. 

Keeping it mellow, worked some positional sparring, some regular rolls. And while nobody was looking, I went and kung fu kicked everything and did eagle talon eye-gouges on that one rubber mannequin guy. 

The Spider, Anderson Silva's gear from his second fight against Chael Sonnen when he completely and undoubtedly demolished him with a knee to the solar plexus and there was no way Chael was going to get back up and it was over and finished. Did I mention that Chael lost on that fight? 

My half Japanese brother from another mother, you know I totally dig Lyoto Machida. How could I not? Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and now contender for middleweight. One of the very few karate guys that makes it work in the octagon. And if you're thinking to yourself, "nooo - he doesn't REALLY make it work, dawg!" you should read this paragraph all over again. 

CONTINENTAL GOURMET MARKET - LOMITA, CA

Stumbled upon this place in the south bay - Lomita to be exact. Every Argentinean market, bakery, restaurant, whatever I've ever eaten at has always been a treat. This place was no different. 

Just off of PCH on Narbonne.

The market itself seemed a little sparse to me. Any time I walk into a cuisine thats fairly that's new to me, I gotta stand around and check things out for a bit. Few regulars were having lunch, watching soccer of course.

Sasha had the Milanesa Sandwich, breaded steak. We swapped halves of course so we could sample both. I thought this one was good, nice breading...

...but holy shit, dude, this Churrasco Sandwich was the bomb. They had the thinly sliced beef crisped perfectly, like total pros. It was delicious. The bread tasted freshly baked too. 

Oh, I can't possibly go to any Argentinean spot without trying the empanadas. I ordered three of them. Beef, chicken and Pomodoro. They were all good, tasted very freshly baked. The pomodoro stood out, especially if you're into that Italian taste of cheese and tomato sauce. 

If you live anywhere near the south bay, this spot is a definite must. 


25600 Narbonne Ave Lomita, CA 90717
(310) 530-3213
http://continentalgourmetmarket.com

WHEATONS EATINS BBQ - SOUTH BAY

So driving through Harbor City on Friday, with Morrissey singing me his clever lyrics, I saw a big flag reading BBQ and smoke billowing by. It was about 2pm and I was starving.

Never seen or heard of this guy before but I had a good feeling about it. They had their deal set up in the Auto Zone parking lot.

Gotta love street vendors. I live for them.

I got to take a peek at the beef ribs. The rest was too smokey to get even a fairly clear shot.

I had the combo plate, the sides were potato salad and BBQ beans... they tasted ok, maybe they were out of a can to be honest (or at least the beans started out of a can). Took a few bites but I pretty much skipped them. Ate the roll though.

The meats I chose were Brisket, Beef Ribs and Chicken.The brisket was done well, not too lean or overcooked. I can eat brisket like this all day. The chicken was good, but they only gave me one thigh (but it at least it was a thigh!). Wish I had like four of those chicken thighs. 

And they gave two beef ribs. Slightly fatty, but in a good way. I was kinda surprised that they gave more beef ribs than chicken. 

Maybe I should've gotten the sauce on the side. Guess I'm more of a dry BBQ kinda guy. I keep feeling like the sauce is masking the good cuts of meat underneath. It's the style of BBQ that's around here though, wherever I can find it.

Bottom line, check these guys out if you can. I can tell some love is going into this BBQ and they're not out there just slanging meat just to make a quick buck.

Check their site for future locations, they're usually moving around the South Bay (last two spots were Harbor City and Compton): www.wheatonseatins.com

UMENOYA RAMEN - TORRANCE

Well, this place is good. It's a solid alternative to our usual spots like Yamadaya Ramen and Asa Ramen (which I can't believe I have talked about on pakajunk before). Umenoya, again, is good but I don't think it's on par with the likes of Asa.

Service was excellent. Japanese waitresses and cooks, in case you were wondering.

Fried rice was not greasy, it was pretty fluffy and tasty. Not so filling by itself but definitely get regular sized when eating it with ramen.

Gyoza's were fried to crunchy goodness too. They had this down to a science and were really good.

Even at 3:30pm on a Sunday, this place was packed.

I went with the Tsukemen, which is a dipping-style ramen. I always go for Tsukemen whenever I see it. Not as common. So all the ingredients are served in a bowl like this, separate from the broth. It came with a grip of raw diced onions which was kinda Onion O.D. Should've taken it easy on the onion.

Lastly, this is the Tsukemen broth. If you're not into Tsukemen right now, you soon will be after you've graduated through beginner Ramen Fundamentals! haha.. Some places have a fish base broth for tsukemen, but this place was more pork tasting. Lots of bits of pork fat in it too, which makes it THAT much more tasty.

Only complaint I may have about Tsukemen is that the broth can get cold quickly. So dip fast and eat! Some places will warm your broth up for you with a little extra if you ask nicely. 

Start ordering TSUKEMEN instead of your standard Miso Ramen and Tonkotsu Ramen. This way, you can get the jump on everybody and say you're O.G with the dipping ramen before it got popularized on SOA.

24222 Crenshaw Blvd
Torrance, CA 90505

(310) 530-3177

TERI HAWAII - GARDENA

Whenever I'm in Gardena, my spider-senses for Hawaiian food is off the charts. I'm constantly checking myself, "I just ate but... should I stop by Bruddah's real quick? maybe Bob's? I just ate but... maybe a bento to go?"

I've driven by Teri Hawaii a bunch of times on my way to buy groceries at Marukai, always seen the place on the corner of my eye right off of Artesia (next to Kanpachi - the best sushi spot in all of the South Bay and Orange County). Always wondered what this place was like, I mean, never heard anything about the place.

So I finally checked it out and was a little surprised. I got their chicken katsu and it reminded me of Grace's Inn katsu in Waimalu. Not quite as good, but I'd get it again.

Better than the katsu though was the fried saimin. Real saimin noodles, spam, kamaboko, onions, real simple. I call it "dry style", where it isn't greasy or oily at all without much ingredients. The way I like my fried saimin.

If you ever test this place out, gotta get both!

1425 W Artesia Blvd
Ste 34
Gardena, CA 90248

(310) 327-0307

*btw, I think the owner is a yobo lady thats not from Hawaii but das alright! the grindz was solid!

M&M SOUL FOOD - CARSON, CA

I had forgotten about M&M Soul Food. There used to be one up in North Long Beach but they were always out of this or that, hard to order. This location is different though, and I'm told it's a different owner. 

A few of us ended up here after the Jiu Jitsu tournament the other night. The place was neat and tidy, big A rating on the window, and the service was excellent. At the last moment, I saw they had oxtails on the menu so I went with it.

Lean oxtails, how I like'em... and at a soul food restaurant, of course I want gravy all over. 

The succotash was made in a pork broth, it had to be, because it fucking DE-LISH. The yams and and red beans were good too. I like when all the sides are equally good.

Check this place out, not too far off the 405 in Carson!

335 E Albertoni
Carson, CA 90746

(310) 324-5317

BRUDDAH STEVIE FOUND SOME FOOD TRUCKS

..at California H-D in Harbor City. 

"Holy food trucks Batman...

..The Mighty Boba Truck!"




"I was feeling adventurous...



"...I was going to go for Island Pork with Sweet Basil Popcorn Chicken but instead..."

  

"...I went for the Sweet Portuguese Sausage with Squid Balls and Green Tea Boba!! Yummy"

3 BROTHERS - HARBOR CITY, CA

I had heard about this place from several people who grew up in the Torrance/Gardena area. I was told it was a Hawaiian style plate lunch place, but its not so... its more like "island style food". The Filipino ladies that run this place seem to have just a couple of Hawaii's favorites here... but I dare not try the fried noodles or tempura.

What I did come here for was their grilled chicken.

I had eaten here once before but I had the teriyaki beef plate. I usually don't go to those generic "California Teriyaki" places that scattered throughout The Southland but I heard this place's chicken was better than the norm... also heard that you gotta order it with the sauce on the side, which I did.

The grilled chicken without the sauce had enough flavor to carry itself, so I barely even used a 1/4 of the sauce that was provided. It was a good lunch though. Grilled chicken over rice and the other half was tossed greens (been trying to avoid The Mac Daddy aka Mac Salad these days). And next time, I gotta ask to get the salad dressing on the side too!

I wouldn't say that this place is a total destination spot, but its decent if you're in the south bay area.

23722 Western Ave
Harbor City, CA 90710

(310) 326-3843

DEAD LANDCRUISERS

TACOS EL GALLITO - HARBOR CITY, CA

New spot to check out in L.A's South Bay. CantStayJose and I went the other night. I told him the tripas here was good and he took the tripas challenge.

We did tell them to make it extra crispy and I think it came out perfect. Jose said "these tacos are so fucking good" 5 whole times. I counted it. That's how good the tripas were. I think he said the asada was good too.

Pictured is two tripas and one pollo.
Go check it out. They're always open!2

Pacific Coast Hwy & Bixby Ave
Harbor City, CA 90710

RAMEN YAMADAYA - TORRANCE, CA

Along wit Mark aka 9half and CantStayJose, we went on a field trip to Torrance for a lunch time treat. I had eaten here once before but I just had ramen. I kept hearing from some Japanese guys that this place had good tsukemen, which is a dipping ramen.

I was on a mission; all I wanted was their tsukemen. I'd only had it once out of the ramen truck a few months ago but other than that, I hadn't eaten in years.

The place was pretty standard on the inside. Short line outside, we waited like15 minutes but it was around lunch time. No big deal.

We started with the kara-age, which is basically Japanese style fried chicken. Kara-age always tends to be a lighter fried chicken than most Americans are used to. Lighter batter and not as oily. Brawny makes a good kara-age.

Yamadaya's speciality is their tonkotsu ramen. Tonkotsu is a broth based on pork or pork bone. Most shops add their own variation to it. CantStayJose ordered the Kotteri Tonkotsu Ramen, above. Looks like they added some burnt sesame oil to it.

Mark had the Charsiu Tonkotsu Ramen, which he mopped up accordingly.The standard bamboo shoot, seaweed and shoyu egg is in there too.

I had exactly what I came here for. Tsukemen! I ordered the Charsiu Tsukemen. So you take a little something-something out of the bowl, dip it into the warm broth, then you're ready to go.

The broth is extra tasty, more tasty than your standard ramen broth which is why you just need a quick dip. It's excellent. Lots of bits of pork in there, along with pork fat for flavor. I'd go back here for my next craving of tsukemen... in fact, if you eat here, I highly suggest it. Don't be a wuss - try it!

3118 W 182nd St
Torrance, CA 90504

(310) 380-5555

*They also just opened in Culver City with new locations in Costa Mesa and Westwood coming up before the end of the year. 

PUERTO ESCONDIDO - WILMINGTON, CA

SOMEWHERE near downtown Wilmington, CA, CantStayJose and I found this taco truck. Sun was setting and the freaks were coming out that night.

After going up and down PCH around Wilmington and Carson, we came upon a parking lot security guard pointed us toward this general direction. As luck would have it, the street cuisine was pretty good. This one esse that pulled up in a pimped out 7-series was totally giving us stink eye but he ended up being alright. He recommended taco de buche (pork stomach), which he had a whole plate of and was eating it with his back on the taco truck while keeping one eye on us.

So I took the stink esse's advice and got 2 buche and one al pastor, which is marinated pork. I think the buche was just hype. I mean, it was alright but not like holy shit. I ate both of them no prob.

I did end up getting another al pastor. I'd go back to this truck just for that.

But there had to be more here. We just have to figure out what that is exactly.

And the only way is to order another meat. Jose got quesadilla with carne asada, which was good but not outstanding. The people walking by was more entertaining at this point...

Then the cook stuck his head out the side of the truck and said they had tripas that night, as a special. We ordered one each. Check out the little tubes of cow guts being fried up (above).

I thought this was going to be a lock. This HAD to be good... it had really good flavor but it wasn't crispy enough. In fact, it was barely crispy and the insides were all livery still. Like you're eating guts! Damn. But it tasted good. It this time, this taco de tripa left the both of us just eating half the little taco and bailing back to Long Beach.

I'll be back to this place again though. Didn't get to try the lengua and cabeza!