Tiki on “American Dad”

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Mr. Baseball told me he had something to show me the other day, and I figured it was a web gem or photobomb or something on “this is why you’re fat,” but no—it was a tiki! On “American Dad,” no less. Kind of looks like a totem pole with its two heads, and it could be classified as “Disney style” because it’s unorthodox-ly painted à la the tikis in The Enchanted Tiki Room.

This was the scene:

Roger: “And here’s a giant tiki statue that cries booze. Five tears will have you on your ass. Ten tears will have you on my ass!”

For context, Roger the alien was creating the best spring break ever in his backyard, and he included that tiki along with a lazy river of beer and other alcoholic shenanigans.

Actually, I think it’s pretty ugly and would certainly not have it in my backyard…unless it really did cry booze.

Aloha Apartments – Gardena, CA

Aloha!

While I was on my merry way to devour some loco moco at Bruddah’s Hawaiian Foods, I serendipitously drove by this neat apartment complex on Gardena’s Vermont Blvd. I made a u-turn to make sure I got a pic.

I figured it would be chronicled in Tiki Road Trip, and indeed, it was. This is what James Teitelbaum had to say about it:

“Nicely maintained vintage building with few Tikis; worth a trip, or just move in!”

Hmm, I probably would if I had a job at the Hustler Casino down the street! But I don’t…so I guess I won’t.

I didn’t see any of the aforementioned tikis, but I also didn’t sneak around too much. That would have been a little creepy. Looks like I may have a ways to go in my pursuit of being a budding urban archaeologist.

Animal Restaurant – Los Angeles (Loco Moco)

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After completing phase one of “Loco for Loco Moco: No Joke-o” (me at Bruddah’s Hawaiian Foods, and the Gastronomer at somewhere I’m not sure because she hasn’t blogged about it yet), it was time to try the luxe loco moco at Animal, a restaurant with the same name as my favorite Muppet, no less. It’s on Fairfax, right across from the ill-fated Largo, and unless you know what you’re looking for you might fly right past it since it’s unmarked, that’s how you know it’s hip.

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After asking if it was our first visit (it was), our server went through the menu describing dishes and pointing out her favorites. (The loco moco was notably not on that list. For a second time, I wondered what we were in for.)

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The foie gras loco moco ($35) came with stubby Carolina Gold rice, Niman Ranch hamburger, Spam and a big slab of seared foie gras (that’s mostly what you see in that photo) topped with a fried quail egg. The gravy element of the moco was substituted with teriyaki sauce and dots of Sriracha, which made it less comfort food-y. The foie was great, but it definitely took center stage in the dish and it made it a little hard to discern all the flavors in each forkful. It was pretty ridiculous!

If you want to hear about the rest of the meal, there are more photos…after the jump!

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