Ondal 2: Spicy Rib and Crab Soup Heaven

Ondal 2 is well known for their kkot gae tang a.k.a. Spicy Korean Crab Soup, a bubbling pot of crabs, vegetables, and sprouts in a spicy broth.
Once you're seated, they will have you wear a red apron (ok, bib). Things are going to get messy.

The banchan spread is pretty impressive here.
Besides the usual suspects, you'd also get a whole fried mackerel ...
... and a whole spicy crab.

Their soups aren't cheap - a medium order may run you $55, though it will feed 3 people. There were six of us so we got two medium orders of different soup.

Here's the Spicy Crab Soup (menu item #2).
Your server will empty the contents of the crab shells onto your bowls and fill the shells with white rice, continuing cook them in the pot.
Alternate between slurping spicy, crab-flavored broth and bean sprouts and cracking crab legs. That's bliss.

When you're done with your crab meat and rice, you're not done yet! Next they tear off some dough into the still boiling pot.



The other item the waitress had recommended was the spicy beef rib stew, mae-oon sohgalbi jjim (I think this was #12?), which turned out to be even better than the crab soup!
The soup is actually more flavorful than the crab soup, and filled with ribs so tender they wonderfully give way upon your first bite.
While the crab soup was good, it was this that stole our hearts. I'd definitely return for this rib stew.

No pasta here, but they will instead use the remaining broth for some fried rice! Always one of my favorite part of a Korean meal ... It's that concentrated broth that's absorbed by the rice, it's that crisped rice at the edge of the pot.

Some shikhae (rice drink) to cleanse our palates. I always like shikhae, I sometimes wish I can just order a whole glass.

If you have never tried korean spicy crab soup (kkot gae tang), Ondal 2 is definitely worth going to for that, but it's the spicy rib stew that I'll be returning again and again for.

Ondal 2
4566 W Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90016
(323) 933-3228

Summer Tasting Event on July 24 + LA Street Food Fest Recap

The widely popular LA Street Food Fest will be back with a Summer Tasting Event on July 24th at The Rose Bowl!
This time it's not just street food though, it will also have popular restaurants like Mo Chica, Starry Kitchen, Malo and Pal Cabron participating, along with dozens and dozens of street food vendors.

Instead of a nominal entrance fee and pay-as-you-go format like last time, the upcoming Tasting Event will have a $45 entrance fee ($65 VIP) with unlimited food from over 60 vendors and drinks (yep, beer, cocktails, tequila and mezcal included - I'm talking major tequila/mezcal tasting here with 13 different brands!).

To get you even more interested, the event will also have live performances by two of our best local bans, The Deadly Syndrome and Warpaint (catch some of their music videos). There will also be photo booths for that photogenic you and a cook-off judged by Top Chef Master Susan Feniger and more.

Get the full detail here: http://lastreetfoodfest.com/info/

Now, the last event did meet with a lot of complaints because of the lines and crowd (it was really popular, what can you do?) but the $45 entrance fee and limit on ticket sales this time may mean smaller crowd, and instead of waiting for you to order, the vendors will just crank out the food they're serving that day, which should mean faster lines.

The first Street Food Fest back in February also marked the first appearance of the Ludo Fried Chicken truck, which will soon actually hit the streets.
Ludo's fried chicken, now affectionately known as "Ludo's Balls" probably gathered the longest line of people waiting for both food and photo+signature ops. At $5 per order, it was indeed the best and cheapest opportunity for these piping hot babies.
Will he be back this time? No official word on that yet, one can only hope.
We won't lack celebrity chefs though, as Susan Feniger will be on location leading a panel of judges for the cook-off competition.

Other vendors whose food I enjoyed last time and will be back for more this time around:
mini ice cream sammies from Coolhaus.

Kimchi and foie gras fries from Frysmith.

The Edison Brings the Deals Back to Downtown

35 cent cocktails are back at The Edison, quite possibly the best happy hour deal in town! Better yet, they're now available on both Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5-7 PM, while you can get a $1 Millenium Cocktail on Fridays at the same times.

The 35¢ cocktail changes all the time, but expect competently prepared classics like this gin martini we had last week.

Five bar snacks are available for $5 each from 5-7 pm also and each comes with either Edison or Tesla (sweet potato) fries.

Kobe Beef Slider

Singapore Wings, with a sweet glaze.
My favorite bite of the night

Beer drinkers should watch out for the "Dog Days of Summer" deal, where you can get (kosher) hot dog, onion rings, and a draft beer for $10. If you get a glass of Chimay cing cent like I did, consider that that usually runs $9 a glass here. That means your hot dog + onion rings come out to $1.

If one cocktail isn't enough (when is it ever?), be happy to know that everything else on the menu is 40% off during happy hour, so you can give my favorite the Brown Derby, a concoction of bourbon, honey, and grapefruit juice, a try.

PS. Radio Room is returning to The Edison on Tuesday July 13. This time they're featuring bartenders from Ward III in New York: Michael Neff, Kenneth McCoy, and Abdul Tabini.
Event starts at 8 PM with a $10 cover. Check out www.edisondowntown.com for pre-sale tickets so you don't have to wait in line!



The Edison
108 W 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 613-0000
www.edisondowntown.com


Disclaimer: I was hosted by The Edison during this happy hour.