Korean Food is Everywhere... from LA to Springfield

The reason I love Los Angeles is because you can feel such a strong Korean vibe... it has nothing to do with the fact that I have a Korean face. I just really like the food! So does my husband.

These pics are from Gyenari, a restaurant Hannah and I stumbled on in Culver City. We were going to another restaurant to meet some of her friends for dinner. Not knowing the area very well, we were a little early and walked by a Korean restaurant during Happy Hour. And, what a good choice-- we were definitely smiling when we left!


Hite... my Korean beer of choice. You can buy it all over Springfield, by the way.

Back to Jim's love affair with Korean food... When we were in Korea in October, my Korean aunts kept hand feeding Jim as if he were a baby. Not only that, but they oohed and aahhed at the way he used his chopsticks. I thought..."What about me?!" After all, I was raised by white Missourians... where was my applause? haha

Anyway, I digress.

Korean food is really good eats, and I'm so glad to see it more in the mainstream--whether it is a full-on Korean restaurant or a Kogi taco truck.

DID YOU KNOW KOREAN FOOD IS ALSO EVERYWHERE IN SPRINGFIELD? Interestingly, there are a ton of Korean restaurant owners... who operate non-Korean establishments. How does this play into your food? Tons. Argentina Steakhouse, Fuji, Ohana, Mijuri, Haruno, ReRico and Kai are just a few examples I can think of off the top of my head. You are probably eating Korean-inspired dishes without knowing it!

Food Fusion is a Beautiful Thing...

Even I was skeptical of eating Korean-Mexican food. Could bulgoki and tacos really go together? What about pickled cabbage inside a quesadilla?

Well... that was before I had a visit to the Kogi Truck in Los Angeles.

The Kogi (Koh-Gee) truck is a popular taco truck that drives all around the L.A. area... you can find where it's going by following the company's tweets. Since the Kogi (Korean for "meat") truck started hitting the streets, other companies have popped up with their own version of fusion tacos... including Calbi!

Just read Koream Magazine's article to see the latest on Asian fusion taco wars!



If you go, you won't believe how freaking delicious the food is. I never thought a kimchi quesadilla sounded good until I tried it. Heck, I didn't even order it. My friend did, and when I took a bite of hers, I nearly blacked out. Ohmas everywhere need to take notes!

I think it's my second calling. If you see me driving a taco truck around in the next few years, it's a good thing.

Um, do my eyebrows look funny?

So...when you're in Los Angeles, not only do you want to see the stars... you also want to look like them.

That's why my friend, Hannah, suggested I go to Anastasia to get a brow shaping. I already buy Anastasia products at Sephora... and after all, who doesn't appreciate the woman who does Oprah's eyebrows?

When you walk into the Beverly Hills salon, you'll find a whole wall of celebrity head shots marked up with thank you notes to Anastasia. I remember Eva Longoria's pic was right by my head... and I thought, "Dang, her eyebrows look good!"

Well, my eyebrows got tweezed and waxed, but somehow they got bigger in the end. I'm not sure if I dug it.

The woman who did my eyebrows was very skilled at her job, but at the same time, she was a bit harsh with me. She told me I needed to grow out my brows, and when I told her that they were just weird and didn't grow...she kind of scolded me. Granted, I felt a little Eastern European vibe from her... so, uh, maybe that was just the way she came off?

Regardless, I still had such a great experience! I even saw paparazzi outside snapping pictures of some unknown person. It was absolutely worth the $80! Just don't tell my husband.

My reverend experience... and pictures!

I have so much to share about my experiences from my trip to Los Angeles.

First of all, I became ordained a few months ago so that I could marry my college friend Amanda and her new hubby Eric (who, by the way, happens to be from Springfield.)

The wedding was at the Smog Shoppe in Culver City. It claims to be the greenest urban space in the L.A. area, and I believe it. It seems as if everything there is reclaimed, and then there's a beautiful wall full of succulents. Totally awesome.

The wedding was beautiful, and at the same time, super cute. The bride and groom had an intimate ceremony, and every detail was well planned. It was honestly one of the best weddings I've been to.

As for the ceremony itself, it was very meaningful. Eric and Amanda wrote a good portion of the ceremony, and I added my own words as well. I really enjoyed doing it, and I hope it lived up to what Eric and Amanda envisioned.

I don't want to post pics of the happy couple because it's not my wedding to share with everyone... BUT a couple pics of them might slip because you've got to see the photo booth pics! The photographer was really great!!

I really like photo booths, but this one was a little different. The photographer took great care with the pics. She was there to take the pics, and I've never seen that before.

And, at the end of the night, I managed to take pics by myself. Totally normal!