BACK TO LA: DAY 4

Welcome back to my posts about dining in LA. On our 4th day in LA, my mom wanted to go shopping at Marukai and Nijiya, both big Japanese grocery stores located a bit south of where I live. Marukai is more like a giant supermarket/warehouse and the experience is akin to the one you'd have if you were shopping at a Walmart/Costco than a typical supermarket. My friend Noel can go on and on about how much she loves Marukai because they sell things for much less than if you were to visit a normal Japanese grocery store. (which are typically small, pretty and hugely expensive). And did I mention the crowds?? It was even more crowded on the day we went cause it was the day before New Year's Eve, which is apparently a really big holiday for Japanese people. Tom and I wandered around, picking up snacks and random goodies and eventually, we thought it'd be smart to stand in line while my parents shopped. Each line extended to nearly 2/3 back into the store, so even though we got in line early, we still ended waiting a good 30 minutes before we checked out.

Afterward, it was time for lunch, so my parents thought to take us to Nijiya where they have a large Japanese food court (think Porter Exchange, but nicer and with better food) Here's a shot of the interior, with a faux Japanese tea garden. Each place was super helpful with their little plastic renditions of the food they serve (I always find this amusing). I ended up ordering some tempura with rice, but I forgot to take a pick until I'd finished most of it. Sorry, I know this is kinda pathetic. Meanwhile, Tom got some uni and rice. Eating here is a lot like eating at Porter. It's cheap, quick, and pretty decent. And here's a nice pic of a dessert display case. I really wanted a piece of strawberry cake, but just didn't have the stomach for it. After lunch, we decided to walk around the market a bit, to work off the meal. Here's a pick of some king crab legs that they had on display. My mom ended up getting some for the shabu dinner she was cooking on New Year's eve. And next to those were these special crabs that were brought in from Hokkaido. Do you know how much these were? $30/ea. Those must be some damn good crabs.We made our way back to the Westside and I took Tom to Venice Beach to show him around that area. Later that evening, we met up with friends at Tia Juana's. Normally when I have Mexican food in LA, I'll just hit up the local take out joint. But everyone (my sisters, Katie, Chowhounders) had been singing the praises of Tia Juana and their freshly made tortillas. So we picked that as a location for our group dinner. I was expecting maybe 8 people at dinner, but I'd invited Greg, a friend of Jayna's, and much like Big Ed, he showed up with his posse. We ended up having 14 people at dinner, but the staff at Tia Juana was very accomadating and put the tables together for us.

We waited 45 minutes before everyone arrived and we ordered, though it didn't really feel that long. I spent the entire time munching on these homemade tortilla chips. I think I ate nearly a basket by myself, and they just kept refilling them. I eventually had to stop myself.
When we finally ordered, we started off with a plate of guacamole to share. It was good, but to be honest, I can make better guac than that. And I didn't think it was salty enough, but I've been having salt issues. Also, I didn't know what was going on with that watery salsa stuff on top. I was kinda turned off by that. Next, I ordered my dinner. I ordered one enchilada and once hard taco (both with chicken). It came with this bowl of soup:Which basically tasted like Campbell's canned veggie soup. Tom ate the meatballs. (My other choice would've been an iceberg lettuce salad. Why do they even bother?)

But onto my main course. Here's it is, a massive plate of food. Now, Katie had warned me that the portions are huge here. Plus, she'd also mentioned she normally just ended up eating the tortillas with beans and rice, so she shared one dinner with Dustin. That turned out to be the smart move. I ended up with way too much food (and I'd eaten all those damn tortilla chips). I did finish off the enchilada, and thoroughly enjoyed the sauce on top, along with the taco.And of course, I had to eat one of their famous tortillas (which are served with butter on the side). They are made by hand at the front of the restaurant. They really were quite good, but I just couldn't finish it all! Oh, I also wanted to share a pic of Ben's dinner (my little sister's bf). He ordered the shrimp. And though well cooked, I want to point out that there are only a total of 4 shrimp served. So don't order that. Ultimately, I had a really enjoyable dinner at Tia Juana. The food was great and it wasn't too expensive. Plus it was really plentiful. I walked out of there painfully stuffed. (but still managed to go to the Balcony to fit in a last mocha. I'm telling you, I was amazed at my eating abilities in LA). I really do love Mexican food in LA, and will continue to hope for such a place to open in Boston. I mean really, with the number of LA friends that have lived out here and complained about Anna's qualifying as "great Mexican food", you'd think SOMEONE would've caught on and opened a good place by now. Sigh.