NBC Seafood

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If you don’t know that the best Chinese food in town is found in Monterey Park and surrounding areas, then you really haven’t been paying attention. So listen up!

NBC Seafood has been around for something like 20 years, which is an eternity in the restaurant business. My recent (first!) visit there helped explain why.

The restaurant is brightly lit, but not blinding. The menu focuses, as you might expect, on seafood–but there are terrestrial options as well. We had duck two ways (Peking and lettuce wraps; the latter was my favorite, but both were terrific), cashew chicken, lemon cod fillets (more on these in a moment), asparagus with black bean sauce, and some kind of beef that was delicious. Let’s say it was Mongolian, and move on with our lives.

Service was excellent. The waiter answered our questions and described the dishes well. The duck came out first, in two stages, which helped the later dishes fit on the table, and kept us from starving. (Hey, when you drive across town from the Westside, you’re going to be hungry. Sitting in traffic does not fill your stomach.) The prices weren’t amazing, but they were fair, particularly considering the quality of the food. Everything was really tasty, and the restaurant atmosphere was comfortable and welcoming.

My only disappointment was that I still have not found a replacement for the lemon cod fillets that were served at the now-defunct Dragon Regency. Those were wonderful, and I haven’t found anything that measures up. NBC’s are just a touch too sweet, and need to be a bit more lemony. Alas.

Still, if you’re looking for good Chinese food, NBC Seafood is a great place to try.

Welcome to Pink’s

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Pink’s, on La Brea just barely north of Melrose, claims to be the “Home of the World’s Best Chili Dog.” There are lots of chili dogs I like, but I do have to say that Pink’s is up there. They’ve been in business since 1939 without a change in location, so clearly I am not the only one who thinks this. The lines will testify as well–yesterday we waited for an hour to place our order. On the other hand, once the order was placed, it took about one minute to get our food.

I don’t know how the staff keeps things straight, but on our three visits (we don’t live in the area, so we don’t get there often), they haven’t missed a beat. In spite of what looks like mayhem behind the counter, and customers shouting out orders, everything seems to get to the right person.

A trip to Pink’s has become a minor tradition for us. After running (in my case, watching) the L.A. Marathon, or participating in a 5K fundraiser in the general vicinity of downtown (I did do this one), chili-cheese dogs are a welcome treat. We like ours with no mustard or onions. I’m not sure what either of those is supposed to add; they seem like they result in too many flavors and distract from the chili. I also think the fries (seasoned–not my favorites) benefit from a dollop of chili. They’re cooked just right, but I prefer the chili to the flavor of the seasoning. So while I’d get a chili dog and regular fries at most places, at Pink’s it’s chili on everything. Mmmm….

Pink’s dogs are also helped, as far as I’m concerned, by their stock of Bubble Up. This lemon-lime soda is sort of like 7-Up, but better. Why? Glass bottles and real sugar, instead of corn syrup. I discovered it on my first trip to Pink’s and was instantly hooked. Try it, you’ll like it. Or you won’t, which leaves more for me. Cheers!

BTW, the Melrose Pinkberry is right around the corner. Pinkberry, your yogurt is awesome, but your website is just plain weird.

Update (6/19/07): Okay, the site is less weird now. Way to go, Pinkberry!

Interruption

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There’s a cold going around that hits you, and then hits you again about two weeks later. I seem to be recovering from part 2 of this particular double-whammy. It’s been frustrating, because first of all it’s no fun to be sick and secondly because I haven’t gotten any exercise at all for the past week. Hopefully this week I’ll get back in gear.

Let the Training Begin!

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We went swimming yesterday. Sure, the weather seems to have been a little on the cool side–it may have gotten to the upper 60s–but with a heated pool, it’s not so bad.

I went for 400 meters, which will be more impressive when I can do it all at once, instead of in four 100-meter laps, with pauses in between. My goal is to be able to do 800 meters nonstop, because that’s twice the distance of the swim portion of the race. If I can do that, and get in a few ocean swimming sessions, I should be fine.

Then all I’ll have to do is learn to bike downhill.

Indonesian Delight

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I’ve discovered Ramayani, in Westwood. It’s on Westwood Boulevard, just north of Santa Monica, in a little rabbit warren of restaurants (and one dry cleaner). Although I haven’t eaten Indonesian food since a trip to The Netherlands more than 25 years ago, I will definitely go back for more. The bakmi ayam goreng is fantastic, and so are the corn fritters (for which I do not know the Indonesian name). This is not Thai food, and not Vietnamese–although some of the ingredients are similar, the results are very different. Try it. Enjoy.

Tsunamis, Real and Adapted

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This weekend, I had a dream about escaping a tsunami. So I guess it’s no surprise that we finally decided to watch HBO’s Tsunami: The Aftermath.

Once again, HBO has provided an excellent production that reminds us of ongoing recovery needs. I think that When the Levees Broke was stronger, largely because it was a documentary and Tsunami is fiction based on the actual events. However, the performances are excellent. Sophie Okonedo and Chiwetel Ejiofor are particularly moving as parents who experience the tsunami in different ways, and must search for their missing daughter. (I was struck by the idea that Okonedo is all of the actress that Thandie Newton is not, and now am even more motivated to see Hotel Rwanda.)

Toni Collette is excellent as always. I might wish Gina McKee had a bit more to do as the mother of two boys who determinedly petitions her government’s local representatives for assistance (she seems so calm that, in the wake of The Forsyte Saga, I begin to question her ability to emote any sort of passion), but that is only a minor quibble in an otherwise excellent miniseries. It’s a shame only Collette was nominated for a Golden Globe–I am surprised that Okonedo was not so honored for her poignant performance.

Academy Follies

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What were they thinking? A while ago, I posted that Crash was a bad movie. With the exception of Good Night, and Good Luck, we’ve now seen all the other Oscar nominees from last year’s ceremony. All of them were superior to Crash, but Capote–in spite of its subject’s physical stature–was head and shoulders above the crowd.

Don’t get me wrong. I would not want to spend time with Truman Capote. He seems to have been a manipulative, unthinking, even cruel man. But Philip Seymour Hoffman’s portrayal is masterful, and the movie itself is visually stunning. On the surface it is almost monochromatic–but look closer and you see all the layers and textures. This is a tremendous example of how design, lighting, and cinematography can play a powerful role in transmitting a movie’s message.

I have no doubt that Good Night, and Good Luck will be better than Crash, but I’m hard-pressed to imagine that it will be better than this film. Capote may have been a person to avoid, but Capote is a don’t-miss.