Skewers, LAX

Skewers by Morimoto
380 World Way
Los Angeles, CA 90045

When most people I know think of LAX, the immediate reaction is to groan. A litany of complaints usually surface including, but not limited to: constant traffic on the 405 to/from the airport, poor mass transit to the airport, lack of efficient transportation between terminals, and dingy terminals once you are at the airport. While the first three are still immensely true, the latter complaint is slowly going away as LAX is going through renovations of its terminals.

That welcome surprise came to me during my recent visit to LAX during a layover from Albuquerque to San Francisco. I was pretty impressed by the newer facilities at American Airlines’ terminal 4. However, none of the food options really appealed to me (in part because there were no Asian options). As I was hungry for a late lunch I decided to walk to Delta’s terminal 5 instead, as LAX’s terminals 4, 5, and 6 have a convenient-ish underground walkway to transport people back and forth without needing to exit security.

Upon entering Delta’s terminal 5 I saw an even more impressive, more newly renovated terminal with higher ceilings and, more importantly, an Asian food stall, Skewers by Morimoto. Now, I’ve always wanted to dine at some celebrity chef establishment in LA but I did not realize my first would be one at an airport. Of course, I knew this dining experience wouldn’t be remotely like one I would have if I was dining at his eponymous restaurant in Philadelphia, but I happy stood in line and ordered the following:

Ramen and Chicken Kushiyaki at Skewers by Morimoto

• Pork Ramen – The pork ramen had decently cooked noodles with thinly sliced pork that was chewy but tender. I did wish I had more pork and that the broth was a little richer. All in all though, it’s still better than most airport food.
• Chicken Kushiyaki – I just got one of the skewers, as you can see, and while there was a perfect amount of sauce, the chicken was more on the drier side. The glazed sauce enveloping the chicken helped to deflect from the dryness of the chicken.

At $16+tax ($12.50 for the ramen and $3.50 for the individual skewer), it certainly wasn’t cheap but in line for the rates of airport food, especially if you aren’t ordering from a chain like McDonald’s or Panda Express. The portion of the ramen was a little bit small, but it was perfect for a light lunch.

Either way, I am immensely grateful that LAX passengers have a much better array of dining options to choose from than the typical chains, including Skewers. Is it comparable to what I would find at a ramen joint on Sawtelle or at Morimoto’s eponymous restaurants around the world? No. At the same time, you can’t beat having a decent ramen option if you’re waiting a few hours for your plane.

Advertisement

All That Barbecue, Irvine

All That Barbecue
15333 Culver Dr. Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92606

For my sister’s 16th birthday I took her to Disneyland. On the way up to Anaheim the night before our Disney adventures, I asked her what she wanted to eat and she said Korean BBQ. Because we were running a little late to Orange County, instead of going to the delicious Korean BBQ restaurants in Garden Grove that can close early, we decided to go to All The Barbecue in Irvine instead.

We arrived in Irvine a little before 9PM and the pungent, fragrant smells of Korean BBQ immediately hit my nose. We sat down and they promptly set the table with a new grill top, salad, and banchan. Additionally they gave us a menu of all the items you can order with cute names including “Skinny Dipping Cow,” a plate of thinly sliced beef to cook on the grill that pairs well with their dipping sauce, and “Don’t Rib Me Off,” a plate of two long, juicy pieces of marinated galbi [beef short rib]. Since it is all you can eat, we ordered a bunch of different items to try including:

All That BBQ in Irvine

• Skinny Dipping Cow [thinly sliced beef] – The beef slices were great and cooked really fast. It was mostly meat but had just enough fat that cooking it a little longer on the grill didn’t make it too tough of dry.
• Don’t Rib Me Off [galbi / marinated beef short rib] – I loved the marinade on this galbi and the short rib is thin enough that it doesn’t take too long to grill it. The only downside is that they only give you two pieces at a time.
• Hotty Piggy [Spicy pork] – I loved the flavor of the spicy marinade which helped to keep the pork flavorful even if it was cooked a tad too long.
• Tried and True [bulgogi / marinated thinly sliced beef] – The marinade was nice but perhaps a little too oily for my taste. While it did taste nice, I did notice that if left on the grill a little too long the pieces charred and became grisly a little too quickly.
• Let My Egg Go [steamed egg] – This was probably the worst dish in that the steamed egg seemed a little under-cooked and it came to the table lukewarm. Nonetheless it was still a nice balance to soak up the meat juices and salad dressing.
• Green Land [various vegetables] – The vegetable plate came with 2 slices of eggplant, a few slices of potato, 2 slices of mushrooms, rings and rings of onions, and 2 cucumbers. I liked the mushrooms and grilled cucumbers but the others didn’t do too much for me.
• Speak Your Beefy Mind [Beef Tongue] – These were thinly sliced and quick to cook allowing the tongue to come out pretty tender after 30 or so seconds off the grill. Not my top recommendation given the other great items, but definitely something I’d try as well.

At the end we were happily stuffed and ready to continue our journey to the Happiest Place on Earth. It also helped that the dinner price was $21.99 per person which is pretty reasonably given the fancy Irvine digs and the quality of meat compared to other Korean BBQ places. Definitely a place to stop by if you’re in Irvine and craving lots of meat.