Sun & Sea

Mar Y Sol Restaurant: 6011 N. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90042
Open 7 days a week, for breakfast lunch and dinner


Nestled in a strip mall; in picturesque Highland Park, sandwiched between what i suspect to be a rub and tug massage parlour, a laundry mat overrun by savage rogue children and an El Pollo Loco, is Carolina's Mar Y Sol Restaurante. I don't know a whole lot about Salvadorean dishes, but a sign outside promises $1.60 Pupusas-everyday and i like pupusas. Also, i like a bargain even though i am always hesitant to try things that have not been previously recommended.

A pupusa is like a sope except stuffed with the meat/cheese/bean mix

The little restaurant was dead, aside from the belligerent man loitering out in front asking me why i was taking pictures of the place. (Questioning which prompted me to order my food to go and not take pictures of the inside of the joint.) The place is small but has seven numbered sitting sections, a picture menu above the ordering window with no prices listed, and mirrors on both flanking walls. Overall, it is nice and clean. Carolina will gladly take Visa and Master Card but will charge you an extra dollar for the service, so bring cash. The Menu for $1.60 pupusas includes 3 options: Revueltas, Frijol con Queso, and Mixtas. I ordered one of each, and for a little over 5 bucks and a 10 minute wait, i got a side of curtido, tomato sauce and a satisfactory meal.

Now the thing about curtido, like anything, its not always good. (This one was not, it smelled like feet, and not in a good way like a good aged cheese). It's like sauerkraut or kimchi, the general idea of a pickled product is achieved but some are far better executions of the intended product than others. Also, most if not all Salvadorian dishes are not spicy. So the tomato sauce is just that, a watery non spicy tomato sauce. As for the pupusas. I was betting that the Frijoles con Queso/Bean and Cheese was going to be the winner, i was dead wrong. The Mixtas/which includes meat(pork) and cheese was by far the best. Revuelta which is a mixture of beans, cheese and meat was a close second and the beans and cheese were my least favorite. But oh boy did i love that Mixta! Next time i'm down there getting my "neck" massaged, i am going to pick up 3 mixtas pupusas.

SIDE NOTE: i picked up a printed menu for this Salvadorian/Mexican/American restaurant, and the regular prices for other pupusas are $2.25. Most combination plates are roughly $8.50. The food is a little on the pricey side, aside from the advertised discounted pupusas. Be advised.

Weathered Sandal

Huarache Azteca Restaurante: 5225 York Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90042

With rave reviews in notable publications like the LA TIMES, the LA WEEKLY, and Los Angeles Magazine, just to name a few; its no wonder i eagerly looked forward to trying the "Huaraches" at my neighbourhood "gem" of the same moniker, 'Huarache Azteca Restaurants' in Highland Park. At the risk of disagreeing with the pseudo culinary expertise of YELPers far and wide, this brick pile is a 2.5 star joint, AT BEST.

Maybe i am being too hard on this place because i grew up eating Mexican food or maybe all the praise and hype I heard about it falsely raised my expectations, whatever it was, I can honestly say that i gave it the ol' college try. I once read an article about rules to writing food reviews that included a list of do's and dont's. I found the list redundant and obvious but one rule that seemed logical was that in order to review a restaurant fairly, one had to try it more than once, and that is just what i did.

ROUND 1: I sampled the famous huarache, a torta and a taco de suadero. Everything aside, I will say that the price was right! With the drink included, i barely broke 10 bucks, but as the popular adage goes, "you get what you pay for." I was not impressed by the elongated deep fried sope-like tosada that is the huarache. It's deep fried and deceptively chewy, not crunchy as you would expect it to be. The asada meat lacked flavor, and the crema cheese that was poured over it was runny and thin. The torta was just okay, and the suadero was absolutely terrible. (For a good torta go to My Taco on York, also in Highland Park, and for the best suadero, Taco Zone in Echo Park. Its a truck parked on Alvarado right by VONS)

(that shiny pool in the top corner, is yummy greasy)

ROUND 2: This time I went with something different. 2 sopes and a burrito. AGAIN, the meat needed flavor and the sopes were a greasy fried crunchy mess. As a rule i always order burritos "sin arroz/without rice" because that way you get the most meat. This pathetic little burrito was full of dry beans and unsavory meat. (For good sopes try Senor Fish or King Taco, there are several locations in and around Los Angeles. As for the asada, my personal favorite cheap meaty 2 hand burrito is @ Estrella, open 24 hrs. located on Figueroa Blvd, in Highland Park*ask for the red sauce, its the BEST!)

The first time i ordered my food to go, the second time i ate in house. The place was packed with an authentic cross section of the community with an eclectic mix of characters filling the living room sized restaurant while lethargic flies hovered in and around the patrons faces and food. Ummm, sanitary.

In the end, it really is of no consequence how good or bad their sorry ass "chanclas" are because this place is inexpensive. As much as I disliked the food, I may entertain the idea of going back to try the chilaquiles and maybe one of those aguas frescas they boast about. Which I must admit, looked very refreshing. I had the horchata during round 2. I find that one can gauge the quality of the food in a Mexican restaurant by how good the horchata is. This one was just okay, too much ice and not sweet enough. On second though, I'm not going back to that shit pile, i make some excellent chilaquiles...

square peg in a round hole

Contrary to what some men believe, the pelvic exam is not as awesome as it sounds. I used to visit Planned Parenthood for all my lady part needs, but since i have a job that offers me the opportunity to pay for my own insurance; i wanted to take advantage of what has already been deducted from my paycheck. My trip to Kaiser left me feeling raped emotionally and financially, not to mention a little sore in my labia.

First of all the exam was initially slated for March 31, but i was menstruating and ineligible for probing. The soonest Kaiser could reschedule me was: May 18th. Then May 18th came, i was period free, and ready to get in the saddle when i get a call letting me know that the Doctor decided to cancel my appointment, no explanation provided. Next available day: June 10th. Keep in mind that i have to take these days off from work, as unpaid days which i have to request off a month in advance.

(im starting to whine, and im losing my focus, regrets)

Its June 10th. I am at Kaiser, first window-$15.00 copay. Next window, the ensemble cast of "nurses" are the medical professions' answer to Reno 911. The nurse that performs my exam; NP Lil Louie, keeps leaving the room. At first i though she was looking at my pap smear under a microscope, (i have had doctors do that) but she would come back and not report anything. Then i realized that she was visiting other patients in the time she was supposed to be examining me. She left me in that room for 10 minutes at a time while she worked on other women.(i wonder if she washed her hands?) On one of her brief returns to the room, NP Louie asked me if it was okay if she inserted her finger in my anus WHILE she was inserting her finger in my ass. It was more of a statement than a question. (i am still confused what that procedure was for).

As if i had not already spent enough time there with Josef Mengele; I, in my infinite wisdom decided that i wanted to be fitted for a diaphragm. She was ill prepared and at one point i suspected that she was trying to insert dirty diaphragms inside of me. NP Louie, who decided not to listen to me insisted on inserting the largest diaphragm inside of me first. It was the size of a small baseball cap. I began to complain. I yelled, "Ouch...STOP...your hurting me..." at one point i even told her that i changed my mind that i did not care for this form of birth control, i yelled. "...you know- im cool with condoms, this is fine, please lets just stop." But this NP did not understand basic English commands or simply did not care. The whole time she ignored me and treated me like she was doing me a favor for free. Needless to say i left an hour and half later felling uneasy, slightly used, and ashamed. I am 31 years old and i have had at least 10 pelvic exams in my life, and none compared to how terrible this one was.

A week later i get a call that i need to come back, that although my pap smear was negative there are irregularities. I specifically ask, " is this just an excuse to needlessly test me, in an attempt to pad the bill?" "Oh, no, not at all, here at Kaiser we are very careful..." I reply, " i have had other exams before and this is highly irregular" "Oh madam i assure you that we are only taking precautions." Next appointment is June 25th with a real doctor this time. Gladys Estela Loera, MD. Okay, this is refreshing. First window, again $15.00 copay. Next room, i barely sit down when im called into the back. Although MD Loera seems disillusioned with the idea of looking at vaginas all day; she is attentive and alert, friendly and quick. She did not leave the room until it was over. I asked for an HIV test, she tells me to go to the lab, shakes my hand and sends me on my way. 20 minutes in all. More like it. I go to the lab and the shell of a woman who was on leave from her other job as crypt keeper tells me, its a extra 10 dollar copay for the HIV test. I tell her that its ridiculous to pay AGAIN, for something that i can get for free. I asked her for my card back and stormed out. Whatever, its done and over with right? wrong!

On Sunday i go to my PO BOX and waiting for me is a bill from Kaiser for $155.00! I am so angry! I specifically asked if the second trip would cost me money and they lied to me. But that fact is besides the point. ITS GROSSLY UNETHICAL to perform a treatment without disclosing a hidden charge. What if i cant afford this? (which i cant) I should have been given the option to decline service and opt for a more affordable treatment. I am at a loss. I feel trapped. I wonder how many other people KAISER has done this to? I see names of "providers" listed on my bill that i did not actually see on those 2 days. It appears that i am being billed twice, and at no time did i sign anything agreeing to being billed at a later date. I dread making the call to dispute the erroneous charges. I will sit on hold for 30 minutes and be transferred 3 times before someone tells me to "call my insurance" just to get me off the phone. To which i will exclaim, "YOU ARE MY INSURANCE!" i don't want to ruin my credit over this, but i DON'T believe its fair to extort $155.00 out of me. It sucks to be the little man/woman. Paying for insurance at a shitty job that offers half ass benefits, having no money for legal recourse, no voice, no choice but to pay. and pay, and keep paying...

P.S. i have yet to wear this $40.00 diaphragm that i paid for in full at the pharmacy that first day after waiting in a lobby for 45 minutes with sick people and crying babies.