Learning my ABC's through UNOgood art. good beats.cool cats. jazzy drinks.

image taken from www.uno.la

It's been over a month since my last update and after this long hiatus, I've finally found my way back to my little BoLitA.

Recently, like last week recently, I reconnected with a college buddy of mine. JC lived in the apartment directly across from me... our crap holes of an apartment off-campus - full of no insulation, cockroach infestation, and high rent indignation.

In all actuality though, JC was more my roommates' friend than mine but it's funny how time blurs the past. And now I feel as though we've always been kindred spirits of sort. (But then again, I tend to say that whenever I meet someone who loves to eat good food just as much as I do.)

The plan: meet up at his artist's studio and grab something to eat.

As I drove westbound on Beverly approaching Normandie in the heart of Koreatown, I called to double check that I was headed in the right direction. Somehow I forgot the piece of paper with the scribbled address on my desk and I'm what some people might call "directionally-challenged." And as the signal turned green, I saw him on the street and picked him up with my green lean parking machine. Parking in LA is always such a pain, but luckily we found a spot across the street from his studio by the unmistakingly purple nightclub on the corner. It wasn't metered nor was it permit parking, and it was after 6pm so I got to park for FREE! I just made sure that my trusty red club was in plain view though. After all, this is LA.

Little did I know that in the middle of this sprawling, congested, and loud city street - next to the dental office and an auto body shop - there's a little city secret with a white sign on a white painted wall - UNO. Beneath the steel gate and chained padlocks that cover the art studio and gallery, a bright blue door welcomes you inside. Tables, chairs and lamps are all handcrafted with care and with designs that reflect the space... Clean, simple, and so full of creative energy. Shelves house works of art; tables and walls keep drafts and other artistic treasures; and one corner even doubles as a DJ station with speakers. It's easy to imagine how this quaint studio space transforms into a hip night of showcasing and celebrating local LA talent. Events like the upcoming LetterPressShow this Saturday night where "LA artists breathe new life into an old standard" remind me of why I love LA, its people, and its many dimensions. I'm hoping to swing by with MS to see more of JC's work and to let out our creative sides for a night of fun and art.

In any event, JC and I were ready to get our grub on. We guesstimated that it had been almost 7 years since we last visited our apartments for some PlayStation/Nintendo 64 action and HotPot potluck dinners. And now that we've aged with a little more income, we decided to walk down the street from the studio to Noshi Sushi. One of my family's favorite, I knew that the food was good and ordered a few pieces of sushi with some edamame and miso-shiru. All were mouthwateringly good and fresh, except I steered clear of the "peanut butter textured" uni and passed on sampling the sea urchin.

After JC's choice of Dinner #1, we decided to have Dinner #2 or dessert at one of my favorite LA spots - El Carmen.

It wasn't even 8pm and was still relatively early. The weeknight crowd hadn't rushed in yet, and we were seated immediately at a small table for two. After quickly scanning the small menu items from the kitchen, we debated on what to order. After a great sushi meal, we opted for some dessert: the La Bamba with deep fried battered bananas with a side of bittersweet or dark chocolate and the Apple Empanadas deep fried and placed in a bed of sticky sweet caramel served a la mode. Both were delicious with our mango margaritas and cost about five bucks a dish. When we placed our dessert order, all our server could leave us with was... "I'm impressed."

With good eats, good friends, and illustrations that are published in the National Geographic Society and The New Yorker, so am I.

off my list of things to do in my lifetime:
Go to restaurant and order all desserts on the menu.

UNO gallery.studio.store
street: 4300 w. beverly blvd in koreatown | la. ca 90004
web: www.uno.la

UNO LETTERPRESS SHOW ::: April 22 — 8:30p

El Carmen
street: 138 w. 3rd street in la / near la jolla cross-street
tel: 1.323.852.1552

Josh Cochran, the artist.
web: joshcochran.net
blog: theplundering.blogspot.com