I love catching up with friends, especially if it is over a good meal. Since I have not had a chance to catch up with Kris, we decided to have dinner and she suggested Lazy Ox Canteen. Always open to new places and looking for an adventure, I happily agreed. So on a Friday night, we both ventured to Little Tokyo to Lazy Ox Canteen. Initially it was tricky finding the place, especially since it didn’t have a sign up whatsoever. However, we both managed to find the restaurant only to discover that there would be a three hour wait! However, we were both determined to try the place and put our names down for seating (outside seating and bar seating was available based on first come, first serve). After waiting for roughly an hour, tables finally opened up and we sat down, eager to try dishes on the menu and on the board.
There was such a variety both on the menu and on the blackboard inside that it was hard narrowing down our choices. On top of that, whenever I try a place with Kris, she always wants to try multiple things – usually too much for our own good – and I feel the exact same way. We justified ordering more than usual for two people by telling ourselves that the dishes were tapas style – smaller and meant to be shared. Off the menu we ended up ordering Salt Cod Brandade Fritters (with yuzu aioli), Charred Octopus (with pickled shallots, lima beans, and smoked paprika), and Hand-torn Egg Pasta (with sunny-side egg, brown butter, and fine herbs). From the blackboard, we ordered Lamb Cheek and the Ox Burger. The Charred Octopus came out first, which was an overall okay dish. It didn’t stand out and we were not thoroughly impressed by it. However, the Salt Cod Brandade Fritters came out next and they were delicious! Our waiter described them as corquette-like with butter and a chunk of fish. It was exactly that, but better. Part of me wished there were more than three pieces (And in the back of my head, I thought Taro would love this dish!). The Hand-torn Egg Pasta, Lamb Cheek, and Ox Burger followed and all three were flavorful and worth getting again. The lamb was very tender and reminded me of the beef cheek Taro ordered at The London. Lazy Ox Canteen is known for their burger and the burger did meet our expectations. I would definitely go back for the burger – and bring along Taro, my brother, and Vivian since they all love burgers.
Overall, Lazy Ox Canteen was a good experience and I enjoyed spending time with one of my best friends. You can’t ask for anything more – good company, good food and wine, and fun overall.
Lo and behold, after Kris and I went to Lazy Ox Canteen, she sent me an article from the Los Angeles Times reviewing the food there.
I think it is funny that whenever we meet people, they call me and Taro newlyweds. I mean, we are newlyweds, but the term is just so strange. I have known Taro for a while now – we lived together in three different apartments, bought a house together, and share ownership of Peanut…all before getting married! So newlyweds? Yes. New to each other? Far from it. A series of questions will then follow after the newlyweds statement: When did you get married? Is it different being married? And of course, then there are comments like, “It’s your first [fill in the blank] as a married couple!” So I guess this was our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple, but really I don’t see anything different about it. It is just an excuse to get each other something and then enjoy the night. We don’t need a day to celebrate love, but it is nice to know that there is someone special to celebrate the day with.
Our Valentine’s Day was pretty low key; I booked a massage for Taro at The Massage Place – he desperately needed one to get the knots out of his back from work – for an hour and a half and when he was done, we had lunch at home – sandwiches, salad (leftover from Mozza), and clam chowder from Bristol Farm (My fave!). What did we do afterward? Nap. Massages are exhausting and Taro slept for three hours! I only napped for an hour and did a mixture of reading and watching the Olympics when I woke up.
So at 6:30 p.m., we headed off to the Metro Gold Line since it now goes all the way to Little Tokyo. Once we got there, I had to pick up imagawayaki from Mitsuri Cafe; these things are amazing, especially when they are freshly made. I always buy some and take them home because they are one of my favorite things. Then we walked over to KaGaYa, a shabu shabu restaurant, which we went to a few years ago and really enjoyed. Shin-Sen-Gumi does not compare when it comes down to shabu shabu and why we haven’t returned earlier to KaGaYa, I’m not sure, especially since I remember how delicious their meat was and how their banana dessert was something to be remembered. So we were excited to return and it did not fail our expectations. I ordered the special – live king crab – and Taro ordered beef (USDA prime rib) with a side of premium wagyu beef. Live king crab is amazing; to order the regular Alaskan king crab does not even compare. We dipped it just long enough to have it cook and savored each bite; the portions were actually generous considering it also came with clams and oysters. The beef was also delicious, but when it came to the wagyu beef, it was like butter. You have to just count to three when you swirl it in the broth and then, it just melts in your mouth. Taro and I left KaGaYa stuffed and we seriously cannot wait to go back.
After dinner, we headed over to Casey’s Irish Pub to watch Joe Romero, Taro’s friend from high school, do an anti-Valentine’s Day stand-up. I have only been to the Laugh Factory once, but this was nice and intimate, and also a treat because it was Taro’s personal friend. There were a lot of jokes made about dating and overall, it was a night filled with laughs, drinks, and more laughs.
It was a good Valentine’s Day – nothing outrageous, just a nice day. So Happy Valentine’s Day again, Taro, and here is to many, many more.
Dark because of the pub (I didn’t want to use the flash to blind him), but here is a picture of Joe Romero making the audience laugh:
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