Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
That’s sort of what we looked like at the Miya Ando Stanoff art exhibition. Her back story is amazing. She’s the descendant of a sword maker. That’s cousin Mike Idemoto and Eugenia Yuan. That’s Miya above my cousin’s left shoulder. This all took place at the Bandini gallery on Fairfax. The art is minimal style, sort of Rothko in a way, but it’s all made out of metal, and with industrial finishing techniques, the work has tones and textures. I’m a little more into pop culture, so this type of work is something I’m not used to seeing. Evidently, she’s from Watsonville, a small town in California, where my mother’s side has some roots. Miya now lives in Brooklyn and has art exhibitions all over. See her site here. I liked this piece the most.
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Fooled you. I bet you thought it yet another tired food blog. I can't say I'm an expert or even near in on Little Tokyo or Japan town or any town. However, I am qualified to talk about the ownership of property, leases, and maybe a bit about the future. There's two comments I copied and pasted below after my post about Shojin. Never mind, that the food was really good, the comments are more about...
Fooled you. I bet you thought it yet another tired food blog. I can’t say I’m an expert or even near in on Little Tokyo or Japan town or any town. However, I am qualified to talk about the ownership of property, leases, and maybe a bit about the future. There’s two comments I copied and pasted below after my post about Shojin. Never mind, that the food was really good, the comments are more about the dying mall in Little Tokyo where this great spot is located. It is a more important topic that happens everywhere. Cue up Howard Jones song, “No One is to Blame” you can listen to this while you may or may not read this.It’s tough ride, when people or companies own properties. It’s a balance of who’s willing to put up money, and who’s not. Korean businesspersons step up to buy, it’s their right to do whatever they want, unless the city tags some kind of Historical Landmark on it. Yes it is too bad that the Japanese businesses will get pushed out. If Little Tokyo becomes the next Korea town, that’s the direction that the dollars are going. Even in the micro version, Sawtelle, you’re seeing more and more Korean owned businesses than ever. Pinkberry, TofuVilla… etc. Where are the third generation Japanese American developers and business owners? Where are the Japanese developers and or business owners? There’s not a lot, and not enough, so that’s how it goes. I wish I had a better answer, but there’s not enough folks stepping up to the plate to make a difference. Instead, I do see greedy Japanese American landlords, who end up driving out other Japanese Americans from their own areas. It’s a free market, right? I’ve heard blame placed upon the youth who bring new cultures in. I’ve heard blame placed on the younger Japanese Americans as well for not stepping up, like I mentioned above. Yet, you have to also take into account the greed of the older Japanese Americans as well, who don’t think about who they choose to sell to, and at what ridiculous rent amounts they attempt to stick onto their tenants. It’s a cycle, and the truth is, it’s not pretty. But then again, it’s their land to do what they want, but when things change not to their liking, they have to look at themselves as well – but they won’t. Keep in mind a lot of the landlords had the experience of WWII when they got their land and possessions taken away, so shit, if they want to cash out… you can’t blame them. I’ve talked about this same exact thing before, but I’ll keep saying it until people get it – which they won’t. Here’s the comments: 1) Yeah, Little Tokyo is pretty much like San Francisco’s Japan Town now. Koreans bought the New Otani. The Japanese Village Plaza was sold around the same time to another non-Japanese owner. And then I heard 3-D investment,...
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The thin friendly waiter said that we have to try this. Before he did, he asked if we were vegan and how we found out about the place. Giant Robot was once in downtown LA. We were in a loft in Little Tokyo and I'd frequent the exact spot where Shojin restaurant is located. There was a spot called Cafe Lauren, which was one of the best around. Anyone been there? Recently, I took a walk through,...
The thin friendly waiter said that we have to try this. Before he did, he asked if we were vegan and how we found out about the place. Giant Robot was once in downtown LA. We were in a loft in Little Tokyo and I’d frequent the exact spot where Shojin restaurant is located. There was a spot called Cafe Lauren, which was one of the best around. Anyone been there? Recently, I took a walk through, just to see how things are in the mall. I ran into Shojin, it wasn’t open for business yet, but it looked nice. Shojin to my knowledge is a Buddhist related meal. You’ll eat Shojin food if you stay at a Buddhist temple. I’m sure the food won’t be as extensive as what you get at Shojin in Little Tokyo. Above: Organic Tomato Tartar. The white blocks: it’s tofu cheese. I don’t like cheese in general, so I had to ask what was in it. It’s tofu and miso with tomato and avocado. It’s a salad like appetizer that you pick at, and it’s refreshing and tasty. The tofu does have a cheese like texture, but it taste like tofu. This is Tsukune or Fried Garden Seitan. It’s a meat ball dish made with seitan that’s quite simple, but the sauces were great. The soy sauce with scallion had some sweetness to it. The other reddish sauce is a homemade ketchup which had a slight salsa flavor. I preferred the soy sauce. Yes many things are organic. They do their shopping at the farmer’s market in downtown. Even the lemon in the water (if you ask for lemon) will be an organic lemon. It’s the same layout as Cafe Lauren. I got the Shojin Okara Cake. It’s not okra, it’s okara, which is sort of like the dregs of tofu. This one is mixed with cashew, mushroom , and garlic. Certain Japanese markets will give it to you free, and if you know what you’re doing, it turns out great. Below it is a brown rice porridge which tasted great with the okara. This is the bento box. This has a little bit of everything. The BBQ Seitan in the left corner was amazing. Then raw kale with tofu was simple, Japanese pumpkin with some pumpkin seeds had some veggie bitterness, and hijiki which is a seaweed with carrot and gobo was tasty. It comes with brown rice. This is the healthiest dish they serve. Whoa there… That’s what I had to say when this came. Green Tea Moss Cake. It’s larger than it looks when it shows up. It’s the green tea, azuki bean, and date, cake that comes with rice cream. There’s toasted almond, dried apple bits, and oats and matcha sauce. Shojin is located on the top floor of the Mitsuwa market building in Little Tokyo. Park at level four, walk across the bridge, and take in your parking ticket for validation. It’s not a quick rush place, and it’s...
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