As a steady stream of students approached the ingredients bar at Mongols BBQ, a no-frills Mongolian barbecue establishment in Westwood, I was reminded less of a normal restaurant and more of an engineering competition. The premise is simple: You pay for a bowl, which you then fill with as much food as you can manage from the extensive ingredients bar.
Category Archives: A&E Spectrum
Family business works with hand crafted jewelry
Straightening the tortoise shell-rimmed glasses over the bridge of her nose, she eases herself onto the seat in front of her work table and picks up the scalpel with her fair, wrinkled hands to cut the sheet of wax. She adjusts the red rusting lamp that hovers over the desk, which is cluttered with hand-worn […]
BarbecueLA: Moodaepo II
It only took a moment to realize why my first experience with Korean barbecue held such an air of déjà vu. The cavernous, dimly lit room of Moodapo II – filled with pulsing dance music, videos and Friday-night revelers – felt less like an old-school restaurant and more like a Las Vegas club. I’ve been told this flashy style is far from standard in the Korean barbecue world, but the festive atmosphere of this Koreatown staple served only to enhance the indulgent nature of the feast.
Celebrities walk “The Lego Movie” red carpet
On Saturday morning, the Regency Theater and Bruin Theater in Westwood closed to host the premiere of “The Lego Movie,” a film about Emmet, an average minifigure who discovers he may be the Special, destined to save the world. In attendance were the film’s voice actors, an ensemble cast of comedy actors and renowned celebrities, including […]
Fathers support each other through Project Fatherhood
The men gathered together in a cramped auditorium and began to dig into their plates piled with mashed potatoes, green beans and hamburger patties. Some dressed in business suits, others in plain white T-shirts and jeans. They weren’t all related by blood, but they laughed and joked as if they grew up together. Jorja Leap, […]
Humans of Westwood: Winter 2013 Week 4
Photodocumenting life around UCLA – one person at a time. (Inspired by Humans of New York: www.humansofnewyork.com) #HOWEWO
BarbecueLA: Phillips Bar-B-Que
Much has been made of the barbecue sauce at Phillip’s, easily one of LA’s most beloved Southern-style barbecue institutions. The restaurant’s popularity hit critical mass after Jonathan Gold waxed poetic about it in 2004, but it had been a neighborhood favorite for years before. The resultant long wait, which most regular customers know to expect, is a one trademark/quirk of this takeout-only joint.