Tofu House in K-town

Another interesting feature about Los Angeles is the level of diversity you find in the streets. The fact that this is a huge city might have something to do with it but I doubt that even larger cities, such as Mexico city, have the diversity you find in this town. To take advantage of that, this week we have already eaten at a Salvadorean restaurant, a couple of Mexican restaurants and a Persian restaurant in Glendale. But the most novel experience to us happened just a block away from our hotel. We are staying in Koreatown, also known as “K-town” to the locals, which is just about three miles west of downtown L.A. Around the hotel there are many Korean businesses including supermarkets, banks, and especially restaurants. A couple of days ago we decided to venture into a Tofu House that is located just a block away from our hotel. I always see this 24-hour restaurant full, at times even with a waiting line outside. And the people inside and on the line seem to be mostly Koreans. I wish we had a Korean friend to help us figure out what to order and how to eat there but we decided to take the chance on our own. We went in, requested a table for two and were quickly escorted to our table. When the menus were delivered we were happy to find at least one or two words in English under every menu item. Definitely a very brief description because the entry in Korean was a lot more extensive than the translation. Our waitress was friendly but she didn't speak much English and was so busy with many other tables that hardly had time to give us a quick overview of what was available. She definitely noticed that we were not of the usual crowd so she tried to help however she could. At the end B ordered a Curry Soon Tofu which was described as including onion, beef, potato and carrot and I ordered a Seafood Soon Tofu which seemed to include some shellfish and shrimp.

The first delivery to our table were two very hot, heavy-iron pots covered with a heavy lid. We opened the pots but closed them up right away when we realized the rice inside was still in the process of being cooked. A few minutes later the next delivery were the side dishes (banchan) which included a small whole fried fish for each and a few bowls containing various fresh and pickled vegetables (Kimchi) such as cabbage, ginger, bokchoy, red chillies and a bowl with two cold fresh eggs in their shell. We were just sitting there not knowing if we had to wait for something else or if we should start eating. We kept watching our neighbors to see how they were eating everything but fortunately our waitress came by and said something like 'eat, appetizer' and motioned as to start eating which we did right away. Our utensils were a long-arm, small, metal spoon and two skinny, metal chopsticks so we started to dig into the fish with our chopsticks.

The last delivery came in two other heavy metal pots with something that looked like a well-seasoned broth. Mine had seafood and a large ball of tofu. B's had curry beef and vegetables. They were literary boiling and impossible to be eaten at this temperature. Our waitress came to help us with the rice which was already cooked by this time. She spooned most of the rice out of the heavy pot into a smaller metal bowl for each. Then she showed us how to crack the eggs open and poured them into the soup and then mix them quickly with the chopsticks. We figured that eating wouldn't be too far off now.

With the chopsticks and the spoon we managed to pick from the plates with vegetables and pieces of the fried fish and the rice to mix them in the larger soup bowl. Then with the spoon we would enjoy the end product. A few minutes into this process our waitress came by and poured some hot water into the heavy pot on top of the leftover rice where it had cooked. She motioned that this was to be drank as a tea at the end. I didn't particularly enjoy the flavor of that last “drink” but I'm sure it must have some traditional significance. That's were having a Korean friend would have helped.

At the end, we had fun. We enjoyed the mystery and the newness of the experience. It was nourishing, tasty and educational. You can't ask for a more lovely evening.

And to think that we can repeat this cultural experience almost every night. You can't beat California for it's cultural diversity and easy access to legitimate ethnic foods just around the corner.

LA Metro & Library

We got up early this morning to start our daily routine of having breakfast, changing clothes and getting ready for work. Well, my work is not of the kind that makes money but I still don't want to lose the practice of getting up early and so I do get up and prepare myself to get out like everyone else. As of late our routine, usually involves a hotel in a foreign or domestic city and this week is no different. 

Last week we were in San Francisco and this week we are in Los Angeles, California. Sometime it takes a moment or two to remember where we happen to be at the time to make sure I know what kinds of activities I have for the day. In some of these cities I am at the point that I no longer have to visit the obligatory tourist attractions and instead can leisurely focus on more mundane activities such as finding a grocery store and of course, finding the local public library as a safe place where I could easily spend all day.

Last week I celebrated Earth Day on 'ground zero' for environmentalists and pacifists: Berkeley, California. I bet Berkeley must have more Toyota Prius per capita than anywhere on earth. It's difficult to spot a GM or Ford vehicle but Priuses and bicycles seem to part of

the landscape. I love their wide bicycle lanes and how much of an institution it is to be and to look "green". Unfortunately my bicycles are sitting comfortably in South Beach and our rental-car was not a Prius but nevertheless I found a good parking spot and managed to spent a good amount of time hanging at the UC Berkeley campus and libraries.

This week in L.A. I have already taken care of the basics for survival so I headed to the L.A. Public Library in downtown. Of all the libraries that I have visited, and I can say that I have visited a few, the L.A. Library is the most complete, comprehensive and user-friendly of them all. Not only do they have many of the recently published books, but they keep multiple copies of each on the shelves. It's a safe bet to come here and to find whatever type of information I happen to be needing at the time and with free wireless Internet, it's like a little piece of heaven. It may also be safe to say that L.A must have a highly educated homeless population since the group with whom I was waiting for the opening of the main doors at 10AM, seemed to be mostly from that part of the population. I'm not sure if I already look the part but I had to make sure my shirt was tucked in and my appearance was not too dilapidated to look more like an unemployed Miamian and not like a local homeless. I wonder if the recent movie “The Soloist”, whose real-life counterpart happened just a few blocks from the downtown library, may have influenced some of the local indigent population to get some education or maybe this is just a very friendly environment for folks with nothing to do in the large cities of our country. I haven't dared to investigate.

Another feature of Los Angeles that I'm finding very appealing is their Metro system. When you think of L.A. you think of California's car culture, but if you have a chance to explore the underground Metro system you'll find it clean, easy to use, cheap and reliable. Of course, the city is so expansive that the few lines hardly cover a significant section of the city. But if where you are and where you happen to be going are on the Metro line, you're in luck. Not only you don't have to fight (and pay) for a parking spot, but for $1.25 you can go as far or near as you need to go and usually there will be a seat available for you to enjoy the ride. The Metro even goes to the LAX airport so it would be convenient to enjoy the city even if we didn't have a rental-car. However it seems as if I'm one of the few Angelinos that has ventured underground because everyone of our friends in the area have heard the good things of the Metro but none of them have ever tried it. The sad fact is that the L.A. Metro rides mostly empty and above, the freeways look like parking lots, but that's the way it is in our car-loving societies. What will it take to push people to enjoy and take advantage of the Metro? Maybe increases in the infamous L.A. Smog to the point that breathing causes emphysema, or the continuos gridlock on 20-lane highways make them just so inconvenient, or maybe a $15/gallon gasoline will persuade people to finally get off their cars and try public transport. Who knows, maybe it will not have to come to any of that.  But if V.P. Biden continues saying that riding the Metro would be unsafe for his family during the current flu pandemic, it may even take longer to get Angelenos to enjoy their wonderful Metro.  I try to be optimistic but reality throws my best efforts to the ground.  Hope I'm wrong again.

Here's a short clip I took while waiting for the L.A. Metro in downtown: