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A Friday Afternoon Adventure

This week felt like a long one, to say the least. Even though I didn’t have any major assignments due or any midterms, I took it upon myself to get ahead on work for my current job and also get to applying to summer internships as well. Late Thursday night, I got a surprise Slack message from my boss-- “No meeting tomorrow! Have a good weekend :-)”--and instantly felt a warm feeling wash over my body. No more work on Friday meant I could sleep in, and since I had no other scheduled obligations, I could spend my day relaxing however I wanted to.

So, I woke up at a languid 12:15 pm, checked my phone, and saw that my roommate had texted me 10 minutes earlier and asked if I wanted to go to Spoon by H with her--a beloved LA restaurant located in Koreatown that sadly announced on Monday that it was closing this week after not being able to hold itself up any longer from the effects of the pandemic. After the restaurant announced the news on their Instagram, hoards of my friends had reposted it online, donating to the restaurant’s GoFundMe, and expressed their sadness at the loss of one of the best kimchi fried rice spots in the area. As a personally-acclaimed LA food enthusiast (I mean it--check out my excel spreadsheet of all of the restaurants I’ve eaten at in LA here), I knew I had to try and eat there once before it said its sad goodbye.

But sadly, my mission came to a quick stop when we pulled up to the restaurant. The entire front was boarded up. A homeless man sitting on the curb told us that the owners were actually inside, and to knock to get into the restaurant, and so we did so. One of the workers scurried out, informing us that they were only open for people who preordered their food and scheduled for pickup, and that preorders had already filled up a few days before. After closing the restaurant door, I stood there in disbelief. Damn, I thought. I really just drove 25 minutes out to miss out on Spoon by H.

After a quick deliberation, my friend and I decided to reroute our lunch to Yellow House Cafe, an old favorite of mine also located in Koreatown that I see as the speakeasy of Nature Cafes. What looks like a shabby yellow house on the outside opens up to a beautiful garden and outdoor seating area full of plants, wood trellises, and delicious food, drinks, and desserts. We ate our sorrows away in a Korean BBQ quesadilla, kimchi bacon cream pasta, a Korean rice cake platter, two rolls of Kimbap, a glass of blueberry lemonade, and a matcha latte. Needless to say, we successfully distracted ourselves from our failed mission with a just-as-tasty meal!

Comments

  1. NickCFebruary 28, 2021 at 4:04 PM

    Hey Serena. This sounds like a perfect Friday. It is so sad how many places are closing down because of Covid, but I hope that some places like Yellow House Cafe manage to stay open! I hope the rest of your weekend was as nice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 1, 2021 at 3:04 PM

    Hi Serena! That's such a bummer that you weren't able to eat at Spoon by H, but I'm glad that you and your roommate were able to eat an equally as delicious meal. I checked out your spreadsheet, and it gave me some ideas for what restaurants to visit when I'm feeling indecisive about where to eat. If you're ever looking for great ice cream, I would highly recommend Jeni's. The company is based in Chicago, and they have a few locations in LA (in Venice, Larchmont, and Hollywood). -Andrew Piazza

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jared KehnMarch 1, 2021 at 10:49 PM

    Hi Serena, a relaxing weekend is often needed, especially during these times with no Spring Break this semester. I'm sorry to hear that one of your favorite restaurants closed. I was never fortunate enough to try it, but I'll definitely have to go to Yellow House Cafe.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AlissaMarch 7, 2021 at 4:40 PM

    Hi Serena thanks for sharing your restaurant review page--I just checked it out and I will definitely be trying some of your recommendations! What a shame that Spoon by H is closing down it's really so sad to see all the businesses and jobs people have lost because of Covid.

    ReplyDelete

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