Anyone from Southern California?

[Millerboy]

Anyone want to meet up with me from Southern California? Whether you're from San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, or Riverside, as long as you're in Southern California, we can meet up. We can talk about Asian-American issues and stuff.

[ZhuBaJie]

Anyone want to meet up with me from Southern California? Whether you're from San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, or Riverside, as long as you're in Southern California, we can meet up. We can talk about Asian-American issues and stuff.

yeah, i'll meet you at Roscoes at 11:00 pm tomorrow night. a couple of my boys and i are meeting up there. be there. or be square.

[Tyger Durden]

here's your chance people.

lol

[Televangelist]

Flying back to the OC in 4 hours.

Ahhh, Roscoe's... a heart attack never tasted so good. :)

[Le Sheng Liu]

I just moved to LA two months ago. First month I lived in Pasadena a few blocks from a Roscoe's. Mmmm mmmm I never felt so black in my life!!!! Yeah I am down to meet. I'm a social slut. My email is lesliu@gmail.com

[cattygurl]

San Diego.

[wuwei]

Cant believe I missed this.

[PhoenixRisen]

I just moved to LA two months ago. First month I lived in Pasadena a few blocks from a Roscoe's. Mmmm mmmm I never felt so black in my life!!!! Yeah I am down to meet. I'm a social slut. My email is lesliu@gmail.com

HAAAAAA! LMBAO!!! I've never been to Roscoe's. The very thought doesn't appeal to me. More power to yall, though.:p
How did it go?

[wontonsoupxxx]

meet me at Jasmines on Convoy in San Deigo

[Le Sheng Liu]

So are we gonna have a SoCal 44s get-together or are you guys a bunch of shy pussies? I mean I've been in LA a few months now and I pretty much live in the mexican ghetto with nothing but fast food everywhere. I wanna hit up Alhambra or Monterey Park for some good Asian gorging like I used to have all the time in the Bay Area. Come on now you don't want a fellow 44 to be deprived of pho and dumplings and dim sum, now do you?

Again my email is lesliu@gmail.com if yall wanna meet up.

[Makulita]

I'm up for dim sum but I'm still reeling that Millerboy's somewhere, out there, tramping along in my territory.

I wanna try that Min Chon place in Convoy though. I like how you can buzz your waiters. Or that Green Tea House place.... it was near some boba joint.

[Le Sheng Liu]

I'm up for dim sum but I'm still reeling that Millerboy's somewhere, out there, tramping along in my territory.

I wanna try that Min Chon place in Convoy though. I like how you can buzz your waiters. Or that Green Tea House place.... it was near some boba joint.

Yeah I'm down for dim sum but I don't know any of the places you named. I live in Highland Park/northeast LA.

[Makulita]

Hah HAAAA-- that's a good two hours due south for me. Figures, y'all too pussy to live any farther south than L.A.

[27727746]

Anyone interested in having another So Cal get together? (I know I can count on Le Sheng Liu). I hadn't yet discovered the site when they had the last few gatherings and I'm really interested in meeting some of my fellow 44's. I figure that everyone's schedules should start freeing up as we get closer to the holidays.

[tokyolovestory]

Makulita, MinSokChon is pretty cool... interesting vibe. I'm in Escondido, but I grew up in San Diego proper so Convoy is pretty familiar to me.

[Makulita]

I know, I ate there once. Which is kinda too bad.

Oddly enough the people I went there with, both had a previously bad experience with it. First thing to note is that one of my friends is very dark skinned, and from that I think its pretty obvious what the "bad experience" was. The other always, always hangs out with the other so... I dunno what made that visit less hasslesome for them, I'm not quite light skinned myself and I was experimenting with a new (and now that I look back on it ugly-ass) style that day so... wtfever.

I wonder if you know Tajima though? The one that's allllllllllll the way back in this little nook and makes it hard as fuck to park just to eat there. I... didn't really like that Tajima, I was with the same two people and we got passed up for these white-like-dayglo Japanese chicks, and this one excrutiatingly annoying white boy/asian chick combo where I had to sit and pretend to not hear that boy prattling on and on about the "conflict between Japan and Korea" (in a condescendingly scholarly and teacherly tone of voice no less! wtf!) and the equally painfully obvious twinkie girl's responses of "Ohhh... really? Wow. I never knew that."

Jesus fucking christ, I was damn near about ready to ask for some chopsticks to jam and rape my own ears with. The Chinese-Islamic joint right next to it was excellent though. Bit oily.

[Ike]

I was with the same two people and we got passed up <snip>

Just checking - do you mean "passed up" as in, they seated the other parties before you when you got there first?

[Le Sheng Liu]

Anyone interested in having another So Cal get together?

Another get-together? I've never even been to the first one!!! None of you wanna be my friend? Y'all don't wanna play with me? :( Anyway I live in Highland Park/Northeast LA which is near Pasadena. I go to Alhambra/Monterey Park/San Gabriel to eat a lot. My email is lesliu@gmail.com

[tokyolovestory]

I know, I ate there once. Which is kinda too bad.

Oddly enough the people I went there with, both had a previously bad experience with it. First thing to note is that one of my friends is very dark skinned, and from that I think its pretty obvious what the "bad experience" was. The other always, always hangs out with the other so... I dunno what made that visit less hasslesome for them, I'm not quite light skinned myself and I was experimenting with a new (and now that I look back on it ugly-ass) style that day so... wtfever.

I wonder if you know Tajima though? The one that's allllllllllll the way back in this little nook and makes it hard as fuck to park just to eat there. I... didn't really like that Tajima, I was with the same two people and we got passed up for these white-like-dayglo Japanese chicks, and this one excrutiatingly annoying white boy/asian chick combo where I had to sit and pretend to not hear that boy prattling on and on about the "conflict between Japan and Korea" (in a condescendingly scholarly and teacherly tone of voice no less! wtf!) and the equally painfully obvious twinkie girl's responses of "Ohhh... really? Wow. I never knew that."

Jesus fucking christ, I was damn near about ready to ask for some chopsticks to jam and rape my own ears with. The Chinese-Islamic joint right next to it was excellent though. Bit oily.

Yeah, I've been to Tajima often. I've never had that problem of being passed up (I'm sure there are race/color dynamics at play, I'm sorry:( ). There's a new Tajima, too. I actually really recommend Yakyudori which is a yakitori joint in Hillcrest. <3

...do you live in San Diego?

[Makulita]

Yeah, I'm near enough to Hillcrest which is about ... 15? 20? Something or other minutes away from me. I still haven't been able to check out that Pinkberry my sister said was opening there.

:( And I haven't visited my precious Vespa scooters there in awhile either.

"Passed up" as in, we were there an hour and a half, a good 5 people seated plus the Know-It-All white boy and "Haaaaaa-durr" asian chick before we said fuck it, drew hearts and stars and circled our party's name three times before bouncing out the joint.

[tokyolovestory]

Oh, and if you like sushi/Japanese food, I recommend Izakaya Sakura, on Convoy. It doesn't have a sign out front, it's in the same complex as the Original Pancake House. Between the two army recruiting places, there's a lil restaurant. It's mostly where you drink and have some lil sides, but I like the food there. I used to work there, which is the only reason why I know about it.

[Makulita]

... Then we need to go there and see if we can score a Former Employee Discount.

But I think I wanna visit that place when I finally score my Honda Reflex/Yamaha Majesty scooter so I can scope it out myself. Like an inauguration ride.

[tokyolovestory]

haha I wish. In terms of discount, all I get is my current employee discount at Nordy's.

Any suggestions for good food in this area? I love food.

[Makulita]

Around the Hillcrest/Convoy area?

Lessee, I haven't eaten in too many places because my friends aren't all that very "Let's try new and exciting things!" We have our "Denny's at 1 or 2 in the Morning Crew" and that's as fancy as we get.

There's Ranoosh in Hillcrest, great lebanese food when I was there. I ordered a mint tea and ended up getting it on the house <3! There's a hookah area in the back if that's your jive.

Panachos is good for that indie not-too-mainstream Mexican joint craving.

My sister highly recommends Tandor... which I think might actually be in your neighborhood. Its got a ghetto eatery feel to it, but that just adds to its charm I think.

I've forgotten the name, but that Chinese-Islamic place right beside the Tajima that's stuck in a sort of cul-de-sac place is great, its probably what I ordered but their food's on the oilish side.

Then that Green Tea House? Green House? Its a Korean joint next to a Boba place and a Morning Glory store.

Celadon in Hillcrest is alright too. Its a Thai place, and though I don't really dig that "lights so low you can't even see what it is you're eating" decor, and the fact a bunch of the white people go to that place. The food's alright and they don't care how many candies you yoink off the reception bowl.

Saigon on 4th Street, near the Vespa store is good. The waiters are super friendly especially these two dudes who hopefully still work there so you can meet them One of them's got a french accent and a kickin' mohawk the other went on the JET program. The pineapple rice is tasty. But its got the same problem as Celadon as in all the old-yet-hipster-yuppie white people eat there too. Its atmosphere is sorta severe, not all too cozy but the back outside eating area's cool.

Depending how far down here you wanna get, my sister recommends Rama and Star of India? Princess of India? It was "-of India" I know that. Its here in Downtown San Diego. Rama's the other thai joint and... Star of India's pretty goddamn obvious. There's "The GuiLD" too but... its pretty well hidden for some reason. Its a sorta hipster eatery since its also a furniture shop. On the expensive side. My sister swears by the food though.

I'm bad with Viet spelling but there's another place in Convoy, "Phong Truong"? The food keeps me happy and they got pandan shakes which also keeps me happy. Its near a motorcycle goods store and a fitness center. Its in one of those plazas but its facing the street so its easy to see on the road.

[tokyolovestory]

That's awesome, I generally don't stray from Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, so it'll be fun to try some new places. One of my coworkers says there's a really good Thai place in Hillcrest, a little hole-in-the-wall place in one of those plazas. I have yet to find it.

Green Tea House is right by TapEx, right? I used to go there but the vibe has kinda changed... Convoy in general has changed a lot. When I was in high school, you didn't see white people there at night. Now it's like a multi-cultural party.

I've heard from some people that there's a place in Hillcrest called Cam Ky or something that has amazing duck (I'm partial to it <3). I need to go visit but whenever I'm in the Hillcrest area, my mother wants me to eat at her place so I don't end up going out.

[Kuroyama]

I just wanna say you guys suck for hittin all this up without me. I used to live in Hillcrest for a few years, but grew up in Southeast SD.

You might wanna try Osaka Kitchen. The owners name is Mr. Kitamura He actually built Tajima back in the day but sold it to go do some traveling. Came back and opened O.K.

Tajima...Ive never hit during regular hours. Everytime I go its like 2-3am. They do a great ramen set up for all the hostesses and their customers after work. Very tasty.

Id like to hear about the MinSokChon thing. Im dark enough of a Black person that no one has ever had to guess my ethnicity... but Ive always been treated well there.

As far as Hillcrest eats... the taco shops are not to be trifled with. Thats good eatin and you need to represent fo ya bros who cant be there to enjoy it! When I flew back home this July the first thing I did after getting off the plane was hit up the place next to Bronx Pizza. After being away for over 2 years, and flying halfway around the world...I was NOT disappointed.

Bronx Pizza... another place that Id kill for. Get the Whitestone pizza with pesto sauce. Its a pizza with three cheeses and pesto. thats it. delicious!!!

Do right by The Mountain... get good eats now because you dont know when you too might end up on the other side of the planet with no access to that stuff.

[tokyolovestory]

People make a big deal about Sushi Ota (in PB). I guess it's not bad and my family used to go there (Ota-san is an old friend of my late father) but honestly, it's nothing that I'd rave about. Meanwhile, Surfside Sushi in PB is alright in terms of the sushi and quality of the fish... but I was disappointed that they just throw all the fish together instead of having separate areas for each kind of fish, at the sushi bar. Why would I want hamachi that has the smell of salmon? Ridiculous.

My coworker is super into food and she says there's a bakery in Hillcrest (is it just me or is a lot of the good food located in Hillcrest??) that has some awesome breads and general baked pastries.

Green Tea House used to have some awesome bubble tea... You could get real strawberries and vanilla ice cream in it. Yum! <3 I dunno if it still does.

Trattoria Fantastica in Little Italy (India St.) used to have some AMAZING canoli. It's still alright but it used to be great. I think management changed.

But seriously, on a cold night, I really recommend the oden at Izakaya Sakura (if you can find it). Mmm...

haha Oh, come on, Kuroyama, Japan has its share of good foods. :D

[Le Sheng Liu]

I'm so confused :( Are you guys talking about the San Diego area? What about downtown LA/K-town/Alhambra/SG/MP, etc? Anyone interested in meeting there? I wanna go back to San Diego but I'm not sure when that will be.

[Kuroyama]

LSL...

Im going off of memory as I was born and raised in SD. Ive gone to hostess clubs in LA, but no place I wouldnt take anybody who didnt speak Japanese. Even then, my rate of frequency is so low I wouldnt go back to most of them without a friend who knew someone/goes often.

When I go into places like that its pretty much like a scene out of a movie. The whole place pretty much seizes up until I start speaking in Japanese and ordering drinks like an old man. At which point I guess my stock needle goes from "Possible Vice Cop/Wayward thug" to "Curious oddity" to "meh". At which point everyone relaxes and we can all get our drink on.


TLS.

If you want the best sushi in SD you have to go to Shirahama on Convoy. Its in the same space that used to be Fusako 2+5 not far from Pancake House. same side of the street. Be warned. The owner is a sushi nazi. It is best to let him decide what fish to serve you as well as suggest which sake to go with it. He does not serve drinks that wont go well with the fish (in his opinion). He also does NOT serve Philadelphia Rolls, California Rolls, and will not sit by and let you dunk the fish in a half cup of soy sauce... Hes thrown people out for less. Ive seen him do it. He doesnt care what color your skin is. Even among the Japanese community hes got a bad rep for being a horrible grouch...but everyone acknowledges that he knows his fish.

Tell him a big bald Black guy from SD that speaks Japanese sent you and that he knows me. He likely wont remember my name, but we never forgets who I am.

Also be warned about the cost. You pay for the best. When I was first starting my gig as a Field Engineer years ago I had a project that caused much overtime and blew through my wedding anniversary and Valentines day... to make it up to my wife I took her there. The two of us dropped over $4oo in fish and drinks.

Its not cheap. (though we did glut ourselves and go through 2 bottles of sake...)