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.

My cheap coochie

I've been on a coochie roll but i promise, this my friends, is the end. I went to the market and bought all the supplies to make my own hot diggities (that's what my old lady calls 'hot dogs', she's foreign). I pulled out the abacus and did the math:

Per Dog

fancy mustard: .o6 cents

Kraut: .85 cents

Bread: .41 cents

Sausage: .41 cents

Total: $1.73 per dog

(there is a sausage under all that mustard, i swear)

Moral of the coochie madness story is that its always cheaper if you do this shit yourself at home. Not to mention, all that shit comes in packs so you have extra food to feed your friends, the neighbors, or yourself 6 times throughout the week. A very wise little Asian boy once told me, "when you eat out, don't pay for shit you can easily make yourself, order something you cant make at home."

Tommy's has Best coochie

There is nothing like an exhausting day in Satan's lair to make a man not hell bent on fixin' viddles. I was tired and feeling lazy. So as i drove down Colorado on my way home dreading a cold cuts sangwitch for dinner, i remembered that i pass a Tommy's en route. And i thought, (at the risk of getting an attack of violent diarrhea) why the hell not. I pulled into the drive-thru and for $2.25 i got this filthy, disgusting, gut busting chili-cheese dog. Uh! GET SOME! You can see the grease glisten off the yellow wrapper which is clearly an indication of its vast nutritional goodness. Okay, okay, it's not made of rattlesnake, rabbit, and endangered snow leopard; but for $2.25 this is a hearty hot dog. And if you count that giant wedge of tomato and the half dozen pickles, this bitch is almost, almost-in healthy salad territory.
Also, as i was doing my laundry on Sunday i found that Trader Joe's sells a 6-pack of the Spaten Optimator for $7.99. Sacrilicious.

Worst-coochie gives good sausage!

The place is actually called Wurstkuche (with an umlaut over the second u). Its located on 800 East 3rd Street in L.A. I read about it in Los Angeles Magazine's May issue:cheap eats, and it came highly recommended by fellow foodies as a must try. Technically, i am violating the food blog rule by reviewing a spot that i have only visited once. But in my defense i was there with Mr. M and he ordered something different from me, and we sampled each others orders.

First of all, the 'purveyors of exotic grilled sausages' have a great set up. A fabulous menu which includes awesome German and Belgium BEERS. An even more fabulous layout, with a spacious cafeteria style dining room flooded with natural light during the day. (the tables are removed to make way for a dance floor @nite) The crowd is a mix of the business set and hipsters who wear their sunglasses indoors while they eat. An apple lap top is set up in a corner providing the soundtrack to your meal.

That being said, i am not entirely sure why this place was reviewed as being a cheap eat location in Los Angeles. The 2 exotic dogs we ordered ran us $15.50, (Buffalo, Beef & Pork w/Chipotle Peppers topped w/ caramelized onions and Sauerkraut pictured above) and the 2 frosty beers were an added $12.00.(Spaten Optimator- 7.2% ABV pictured below) The buns are not especially soft nor sweet nor sourdoughie (in a good way). They are in fact, a little too big to house the sausage. And even with the 2 free toppings they throw in, i am not entirely sure that this is a great cheap eats deal. All this aside Wurstkuche offers a fantastic experience and i definitely recommend it to any and all sausage and beer lovers. This place does not need my 2cents, nor my $27.74 for that matter. As we were leaving, there was a considerable line forming to order dogs or beer. But i don't live Downtown, nor work there, nor "party" there so its unlikely that i will go back. This place reminded me of PINKS; also a Los Angeles hot dog landmark that always seems to have a DMV type line flanking its establishment. I see big things and a promising future for this place. However, for my money, i think I'll stick to one of those good ol' victory dogs: a hot dog wrapped in bacon topped with onions and green peppers that you can buy on any street corner after a game, concert, show, night out at the local pub for about $2.50.

Yaba-daba-doo!

GM died on Monday. Sadly, the news was not really that shocking for me; i have been hearing about the eminent demise on NPR. On Tuesday I received a forwarded email titled; "Goodbye, GM", an essay written by Michael Moore about the event. It got me thinking about the future of automobiles, the earth, about the Aztecs and the end day. It made me a little angry and reflective about the job our current president has been doing. It was easy to lampoon G.W., he's a total buffoon who's a constant embarrassment to himself. But Barack is an educated, articulate man, and that is what makes my disappointment with his lack of activity more discomforting. I read Michael Moore's essay in which he goes into a litany of requests for automotive reform. On Thursday in the parking structure of HELL my opinion of the defunct company totally changes when i saw the FULL CELL EQUINOX by GM. It was like an amalgam, a mirage, a glimmer of hope. It seemed ironic to me that at its life's end; GM actually proved to fulfill Mr. Moore's manifesto, an energy efficient vehicle.

What is a Fuel Cell Vehicle?

FCVs represent a radical departure from vehicles with conventional internal combustion engines. Like battery-electric vehicles, FCVs are propelled by electric motors. But while battery electric vehicles use electricity from an external source (and store it in a battery), FCVs create their own electricity. Fuel cells onboard the vehicle create electricity through a chemical process using hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air. FCVs can be fueled with pure hydrogen gas stored onboard in high-pressure tanks. They also can be fueled with hydrogen-rich fuels; such as methanol, natural gas, or even gasoline; but these fuels must first be converted into hydrogen gas by an onboard device called a "reformer." FCVs fueled with pure hydrogen emit no pollutants; only water and heat; while those using hydrogen-rich fuels and a reformer produce only small amounts of air pollutants. In addition, FCVs can be twice as efficient as similarly sized conventional vehicles and may also incorporate other advanced technologies to increase efficiency.

*information provided by: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fuelcell.shtml

Not for nothing but this car RULZ! Like a compact mini-van, or a tubby station wagon; its design was clearly intended to please the market demand for SUV's/Monster trucks. Apparently, GM revealed this automobile in early 2oo8 and after winning several awards, receiving acclaim and recognitions, the car never became available to the public. How sad. I was excited to be near it and eager to learn more about it. (It belongs to Disney-Disney has offices in HELL too)
Its depressing to know that the technology exists to make serious strides in self sufficiency and that clearly the public is responsive and willing to make the switch from oil to electric, but that our government would rather forgo progress to keep corporate America rich. Unacceptable. I sincerely HOPE Obama makes good on all those campaign promises. No disrespect Sir, but the tax break on purchases of new automobiles is just the tip of the iceberg. When will you tackle real reform rather than coddle corporate America with bail outs? What happened to the EV(electric vehicle), bring that bitch back Barack. Put some solar panels on the lawn of your white house, pimp out your ride and make the Beast Eco-friendly. Attach some strings to all that money you are giving the automotive industry and help us break free from our addiction to foreign oil and war.

side note: does anyone remember that MC BREED song about him being from F.L.I.N.T. and how if he became president he would paint the white house black....