Late Night Eatz! Not many options at 3 am… Cheese Enchilada Plate with Rice & Beans at J&S in Montebello. I wasn’t a fan of the rice, but it 4 in the morning, This plate was just OK and I probably won’t get this again. I’ll stick to the Chile Relleno Burrito, as that’s my favorite here. #latenight #open24hours

Leftovers Are Better the Next Day! The Saturday Special, Jerk Shrimp Plate, at @caribbeangourmet in San Gabriel. Served with Rice & Peas, Cabbage, and Fried Plantains. “Good leftovers make yo’ tongue fly outta yo’ mouth and smack yo’ brains out.” ~ Paula Deen #jerkshrimp #saturdayspecial

Old Skool Taco Place… Combo Burrito with beans, meat and cheese at Taco Lita in Arcadia. An American-style taco fast food restaurant, it reminds me of the early days of Taco Bell. A simple menu, but Taco Lita has a taco sandwich (a taco in a bun) I wish they still had their Taco Lita Sauce… Happy Saturday! #tacolita #comboburrito

Say It Isn’t So… Langer’s Deli, one of Los Angeles’ historic restaurants, may close its doors if the city fails to address crime, homelessness and illegal street vending at MacArthur Park. Owner Norm Langer is threatening to close his restaurant within a week. “One week. I either see some things happening within the week, or I’ll lock it up,” he said. On Sandwich Saturday… The Number 19 is not only a classic Langer’s sandwich, but an LA sandwich IMO. With hot pastrami, coleslaw, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing on double-baked rye bread, I love the double-baked rye bread here. Growing up, we’d come to Langer’s to get pastrami and corned beef sandwiches. I remember liking the rye bread here and ordering it at other places, I didn’t like rye bread at other places. Until I got older and understood that not everything in life is made the same. That’s what gives each its uniqueness… My hope is that the @cityoflosangeles and @mayorofla can urgently address the MacArthur Park area issues and @langersdeli will continue for many years to come. I’d like to keep telling my East Coast friends that we have better pastrami and corned beef on the West Coast, thanks to Langer’s Deli, although I do have some favorites in NYC. I hope is that we can continue to enjoy Number 19! #pastrami #sandwichsaturday #langersdeli

At 3:43 AM, I was on my way home from work and stopped at Original Tommy’s on Beverly and Rampart. A world famous Chili Burger with everything… It may not look pretty, but it was good when I got home. I’ve been coming here for as long as I remember, eating in the parking lot with my family growing up, it’s still the same. OK, no more bottled drinks and chips, if you came back in the day. Long before fries and fountain drinks. #latenight

It’s Teriyaki Thursday! Beef Teriyaki Bowl from Big E’s Teriyaki & Burgers in Rosemead. It’s been awhile since I’ve last picked up food from Big E’s Teriyaki. I happened to be driving by and thought to stop in. But, I didn’t realize the “bowl” was this large. I opted for Mac Salad this time (cabbage and potato salad were the other choices), I’ll try the potato salad next time… Happy Thursday! #beefteriyaki

Happy National Guacamole Day! Hass avocado, onion, serrano chiles, lime, pistachios, and cilantro at Trejo’s Cantina in Hollywood. Love at first bite. #guacamole #trejostacos

It’s Sandwich Saturday! Remembering one of the hardest-sandwiches-to-get… I had heard about this sandwich, but first had it at Smorgasburg LA in the early days and met Chuy Tovar Barraza. Earlier this week, I was saddened to hear that Chuy passed away in a tragic car accident in Riverside County. I didn’t see him regularly, but I’ll miss running into him at events and seeing his smile. He will truly be missed. “Lonche de Lomo” is a sandwich with pork loin, pickled jalapeños, tomato, avocado, red onions, Mexican crema and a spicy red sauce on crusty bread. The sourdough rolls that he sourced from Guadalajara would be the reason for it being hard-to-get, as he would have them one week a month at Primera Taza Coffee House back in the day. I love the balance of flavor in this sandwich, esp the pickled jalapeño and red sauce. But, it was the crusty sourdough that made this sandwich really special. I ran into Chuy at an event, we talked about coffee and then “the sandwich” came up in conversation. He said he would make a special one for me and would let me know when he had bread from Guadalajara. He did contact me, I went down and had a great sandwich, coffee, and conversation. He asked if it had met my expectations? I told him, of the few times I’ve had the sandwich, this was the best. We had a good laugh and thanked me for stopping by. I send my condolences to his family and the 5 others who also died in this accident. 🙏 #chuytovar #sandwichsaturday #porksandwich

“You know I like my chicken fried A cold beer on a Friday night A pair of jeans that fit just right And the radio up“ ~ Zac Brown Band “Chicken Fried” A 3 Piece Combo on a Friday night with an Abita Beer (from Louisiana) of course I’m wearing jeans (my official uniform) and Spotify is on… *I opted to substitute the fries for an extra Texas toast. We made it to the weekend! #chickenfingers

The Viper Room on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, once partially owned by Johnny Depp, will soon be torn down, actually the whole block. One day, it will be replaced with an 11 story mixed use development, with a luxury hotel, retail, and supposedly a more modern Viper Room is planned. It’s been maybe 30 years since I’ve last been inside, but it will continue to live on in movies and TV, such as Entourage, The Doors, Valley Girl, just to name a few of the ones I can think of right now. Originally the space opened as a grocery store and in the 40’s it was converted to a jazz club by renowned mobster Mickey Cohen. After the jazz club, it’s been a strip club before changing to rock n’ roll clubs. Over the years, the name has changed about 6x before becoming The Viper Room, sometime in the early 90’s when Depp was one of the owners. When I was there, we got the VIP treatment or at least my friends did, I guess you can say I was part of their entourage. But, I did have to get these friends into Disneyland, thankfully I had a Silver Pass at the time. IYKYK I remember seeing a Slash set there (or maybe it was a Guns N’ Roses set a block away at the Whisky a Go Go). I might have seen STP, Pearl Jam, and/or Maroon 5 there, since IG or FB didn’t exist back then for me to refer back. Have you been to the Viper Room? **see my IG for the full post** (Chef_Jay)

Happy 10th Anniversary Belly & Snout! I love hearing small independent restaurants surviving 7 years, but 10 years, even better AND they make really good Filipino food too. I met Belly & Snout at Smorgasburg LA in 2016 and don’t miss anything they do with Pork Belly. This was my favorite Belly & Snout protein… UNTIL, I had their special menu item, a Hot Dog with a Peanut Braised Oxtail Chili. My New Favorite! As I’m still thinking about it 8 years later… I love anything with Oxtail. #justsayin Congratulations Belly & Snout! Go see them at Haven City Market in Rancho Cucamonga. #oxtail #oxtailchili #smorgasburgla

I was saddened to hear that Oki-Dog on Fairfax Ave. closed on Labor Day. It’s been a few years since my last visit for the world famous Oki-Dog. What’s an Oki-Dog??? It’s 2 hot dogs, a slice of pastrami, cheese, and chili wrapped up in a flour tortilla. For me, I didn’t always get an Oki-Dog when I did go, I would sometimes get a Teri Burger or Teri Steak Sandwich. I found this late night place thanks to Jonathan Gold and LA Weekly sometime in the 90’s. I was interested in trying the Oki-Dog, but remembered it was a late night place too that served a Teri Burger (or burrito). Recently, I had heard that owner Jimmy Sueyoshi had passed away in May, which reminded me about Oki-Dog. After hearing of its closing at the end of August, I never got over there to eat one last time. There’s another location on Pico Blvd., but it’s owned by a different owner. Thanks JGold! 📸: Oki-Dog

September is National Biscuit Day! “I want you to know that you’re the hottest biscuit this side of the gravy boat.” ~ Erin McCarthy Biscuits and Gravy from visiting a chef friend in the kitchen OR maybe he just wanted me to leave… My favorite biscuit is with a really good sausage gravy, made with chicken broth instead of milk instead of milk to give it more flavor. I like a good breakfast sausage and seasoning the gravy well. I don’t bake, so I’m the wrong person to be giving baking advice… The best biscuits and gravy I’ve ever had was a small diner in North Carolina. The gravy was chunky with a really good breakfast sausage. I don’t remember the name of the place, but the grits were amazing too. Happy National Biscuit Month! #nationalbiscuitmonth #foodcalendar #biscuitsandgravy #lifeinthekitchen

It’s Taco Tuesday! “There’s a party going on right here A SHELL-ABRATION to last throughout the years So bring your good times and your laughter too We gonna SHELL-ABRATE your TACO with you” ~ Kool & The Gang “Celebration” Beef Taco from El Tepeyac Cafe in Boyle Heights. Tacos Forever #beeftaco #tacotuesday

Oodles of Noodles…. A Large Beef Udon from @marugame_udon_usa in Glendale. Handcrafted Sanuki-style udon (freshly made wheat noodles) in a traditional Japanese fish stock soup base and topped with sweet beef, green onions, and tempura bits. A day-off for the holiday, so it’s noodles to the rescue! #udon #beefudon #marugameudon #laborday

“Do you want anything from Taiwan?” is one of my favorite questions… As my favorite pineapple cake is from SunnyHills in Taiwan. What sunshine tastes like… if it was a cake. Although my family is from Maui and home to my favorite pineapple, Maui Gold; but my favorite pineapple cake is from SunnyHills in Central Taiwan. Although, 85 degrees Bakery sells a pineapple cake that is very similar if not the same. So, I can occasionally get my pineapple cake fix at home. Be a pineapple, stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet #pineapplecake #sunnyhills #taiwan

Work Hard, Be Nice, Eat Pizza. Bunch of Lunch Buffet at Shakey’s in Alhambra. My friend ordered a pizza, because he’s a pizza only kind of guy. His only complaint, they don’t put out enough cheese only slices on the buffet. What are you, 5??? I ordered the buffet and with my two plates, picked various slices of pizza, fried chicken, crispy Mojo Potatoes, pasta, veggies, garlic pizza bread, and a salad plate that didn’t make the pic. Being at Shakey’s brought back memories of spending my childhood at Shakey’s Pizza Parlors. Slice, Slice, Baby #bunchoflunch #pizzalunch #shakeys

It’s National Bao Day! This is one of my favorite baked pork bao. I first had these at an event prepared by Chef Mak Kwai Pui of Tim Ho Wan, a Michelin Star restaurant in Hong Kong. Happy Thursday! #chashubao #nationalbaoday #foodcalendar

When in doubt, eat noodles! When I got off of work this morning, got home before the sun came up, I wanted noodles. Since no one sells noodles at 4:30 am, I took a 5 hour nap before thinking about noodles again. After running errands this morning, I remembered the Rosemead Shin-Sen-Gumi was close by… Hakata Ramen (Tonkotsu - Pork Broth) Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen in Rosemead. Pork flavored ramen w/ chashu pork, green onion, pickled ginger and sesame seeds. Got my noodle fix! #ramen #thinnoodles

Late Night in Hollywood… After 55 years on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, Arby’s is no longer open. Where will I get my classic beef ‘n’ cheddar sandwich with extra Horsey Sauce??? Regardless where I go, I hope this iconic sign remains in Hollywood, a landmark next to KTLA and near the 101 Freeway entrance. This location is the temporary home to Prince Street Pizza, a pop-up drive-thru at Sunset and Bronson Avenue and remain open until Halloween. #hollywood #closedrestaurant

“Saturdays are the reward for a week well-lived; indulge in the pleasures that bring you happiness.” ~ Unknown Today’s Special: Guyanese Chicken Chow Mein at Caribbean Gourmet in San Gabriel. With Carrots, Long Beans, Corn, Red Bell Peppers, and Green Onions over a Yakisoba Noodle (wheat flour) and topped with a flavorful chicken, my kind of dish! “Dear Saturday, you are my favorite. Don’t tell Sunday.” ~ Unknown #guyanesechickenchowmein #guyanese

It’s too hot to cook today… THAT and I’m tired from a long week (so far, anyway) Regular Onigiri Combo from Mogu Mogu Onigiri Shop in Rosemead Buta Kakuni with Spicy Miso & Spam and Egg with 2 pcs of Karaage Chicken and a canned drink for $11. The dog days of summer… #spammusubi #onigiri

Earthquake!!! I didn’t feel the 5.2-magnitude earthquake tonight, as I was working. But, this was some of the damage we encountered just after the earthquake. This Just In… Our Heinz Ketchup dispenser mess was not, I repeat, not due to the 5.2-magnitude earthquake near Bakersfield, California. It was a grown-a$$ adult who left this mess! It’s funny how she asked for a ton of napkins, hardly used any and left the table a mess. Not sure how the ketchup got on the wall next to the table she was sitting at??? 😂😂😂. It was a Rock ‘n Roll night, at least the music was good tonight since I didn’t feel the shaking

It’s National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! America’s Number 1 Cookie Imagine if Ruth Graves Wakefield hadn’t run out of baker’s chocolate for her cookie recipe that day in 1937. Because that’s what happened. The cookie recipe she was preparing called for baker’s chocolate and would have blended smoothly into the dough. However, she was out. And what if Mrs. Wakefield hadn’t considered using semi-sweet chocolate instead? She figured it would just melt into the dough and work much like the baker’s chocolate. Or, what if someone had interrupted Ruth Graves Wakefield that day and caused the cookies to burn and ruin the experiment? Well, none of that happened. Instead of interruptions or doubts, the baker added the chocolate to the dough. Moments later the mouthwatering aroma began to waft from Mrs. Wakefield’s oven. Perhaps the smell lured a child into the kitchen. Or maybe a guest at the Tollhouse Inn she and her husband owned. We may not know the finer details of the day the chocolate chip cookie came to be. However, we do know Ruth Graves Wakefield made it happen. Now you know how Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies came about… Happy Sunday #chocolatechipcookie

It’s National Mustard Day! My favorite mustard, Bertman’s Ball Park Mustard from Cleveland (with the old label) Do you have a Favorite Mustard? #mustard #nationalmustardday