And now, an apology from Hot N Juicy Crawfish (HNJ)!

The saga continues in regards to the whole HNJ matter. In January, The Original "P" and I went on a trip to Las Vegas. During that trip, we ate at Hot N Juicy Crawfish at 4810 Spring Mountain Road. It turned out to be one of the worst experiences I had ever endured. Read my review here.

Recently, I received an e-mail from the manager at HNJ. Here's an excerpt from that e-mail:

Mr. Woo,

I am the manager at Hot N Juicy Crawfish, and I am reaching out to you after reading your review of our restaurant. First off, I would like to thank you for your comments, if you hadn't written that review, we would not have been made aware of your bad experience. We certainly understand what it's like to dine in a restaurant and have a bad encounter. Therefore, the owners and I are adamant about hiring people that have excellent customer service skills. Not only do we take pride in our food, but we strive to provide our customers with a fun and a great experience when they walk in our door. We believe it goes hand in hand.

Our servers are normally on top of things. I don't know what happened with that day. Nonetheless, that is inexcusable. I truly apologize for the service that was provided to you and your companion.

My cousin "JY" took me out to dinner at Forage on Thursday night. Here's what we ate.

We each ordered the "One Small Protein with Two Sides" plate (15 USD).



Hanger Steak with Tomatillo Salsa and Cilantro; Grilled Jumbo Asparagus with Bagna Cauda and Breadcrumbs; Roasted Baby Artichokes and Potatoes with Preserved Lemon, Green Garlic, and Mustard Dressing. Wow, the steak was so flavorful! Where did they source this meat? The tomatillo salsa augmented the steak's beefy flavor: it didn't overpower the hanger steak at all. "JY" liked the steak so much, she wanted to take a large order home! I also liked the asparagus which was perfectly cooked.



Petaluma Organic Free Range Chicken; Bulgur Wheat with Spinach, Peas, Persian Cucumbers, and Aleppo Pepper; Shaved Fennel, Blood Orange, Wild Arugula, and Crushed Hazelnuts. The Shaved Fennel salad was wonderful: the hazelnuts lifted the salad to a higher plane. The Bulgur Wheat had sliced kumquat in it which provided a nice, bright citrus flavor. For me, the chicken was borderline dry, but "JY" said it was moist enough for her tastes.

"JY" and I saw Claire Thomas of Food For Thought and The Kitchy Kitchen make the rounds at Forage. I don't think she ate there but just dropped by to say "hi" to some people. She's like 22-23 years old and she has her own TV show. Impressive. (How'd you do that by the way?)

Check out my previous review of Forage here.

Parking: There is a small parking lot in rear and street parking is available nearby.

The Bill: About 35 USD.

My Rating:  stars out of four stars (excellent). Open for lunch Tuesday to Friday, 11:30 AM to 3 PM, and on Saturday, 11 AM to 4 PM. Open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday, 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Credit cards accepted. www.foragela.com

Drip. I don't know how I waited on this review until now. I mean, geez, I really dropped the ball on this one! Drip - a coffeehouse tucked away in K-town - is something special, it deserves a better space on my blog.

Drip is located inside Assi Super - one of Koreatown's biggest supermarkets - on 8th Street between Serrano and Oxford Avenues. It's on the second floor: take the escalator from the main parking lot and head to the west end of the mini mall. A hidden gem!

The interior is fashionably furnished:



What I drank:



That's one of the owners of Drip who's pouring my cup o' java!

Coava Rophi Sidama (5 USD). This coffee comes from Ethiopia. It was brewed using a Chemex, which you can see in the photo above. I appreciated the oils and muted fruit flavors of the Rophi Sidama. I liked that there was coffee silt in the bottom of my cup, which had a lot of flavor. This was my first time drinking coffee from a Chemex and I must say that I was impressed.

Drip is for serious coffee enthusiasts. In addition to Chemex, they use other coffee brewing processes like siphon. You can get great espresso drinks and quality teas as well. Here's a look at their menu:



Drip sources a lot of their coffee from Coava, a single-origin coffee bean provider based in Portland, Oregon.

Parking: Use Assi Super's main parking lot which is located directly behind the market for short stays. If you want to hang out, there is a second parking lot on Serrano Avenue directly across from Assi Super for longer stays.

The Bill: 5 USD.

My Rating:  stars out of four stars (excellent). I know the owner personally, so yeah, there's that consideration, but if you know me, I strive to give an accurate rating regardless. Open Monday to Saturday, 10 AM to 8 PM. Credit cards accepted. www.dripla.com