Mr. Pizza Factory February 19, 2010

I can’t remember exactly when I went to this place, but I do remember that we ordered a half-and-half pizza. Half Potato Gold, which I’d heard lots of good things about, and half bulgogi, just because there was no way we could go to a Korean pizza place and not try bulgogi as a topping.

Here’s the result:

I wish I’d turned the pizza around before I took this picture, because this way you get an eyeful of the bulgogi half, which was really only okay. The bulgogi wasn’t as flavorful as I’d hoped. It didn’t taste like getting KBBQ on your pizza. The Potato Gold half, on the other hand, was pretty good, but you can’t see it as well. It had bacon, potatoes, mayonnaise, and other tasty stuff.

I admit it sounds a little weird. I’m a fan of bacon on my pizza, but I’d never had mayonnaise before. I don’t think I’ve ever had potatoes on my pizza before either, and to be honest, I can’t really recall what I thought of them. But it didn’t taste like your everyday American pizza.

Now we get to the best part. The crust stuffed with sweet potato mousse was amazing. That crust doesn’t come standard on the bulgogi pizza, so to get it we had to pay as much as if we were buying a whole Potato Gold. I was okay with that. I’d been dying to try the sweet potato crust ever since I heard about it. It lived up to the hype.

I’m told Mr. Pizza Factory has a paid lot, but I found street parking.

Mr Pizza Factory
3881 Wilshire Blvd
(about two blocks west of Western)
Los Angeles, CA 90010

Korean Film Festival in Los Angeles 2010 February 13, 2010

There’s been a bit of a hiatus since the last one of these, but finally another Korean Film Festival in Los Angeles (KOFFLA) is in the works. It’s gotten bigger, promising to showcase over 70 films (I think the 70 must include the shorts, because I don’t count 70 features on the schedule). Screenings take place in various theaters around town, so you kind of have to look at the schedule and figure out where you’re supposed to go for what. Can anyone tell me where the Beverly Music Hall is? A lot of the screenings are scheduled to be there.

Among the interesting folks on the festival’s advisory board are Park Chan Wook (Oldboy, among others) and Kang Je Gyu (Tae Guk Gi, Shiri). Actors Kim Jeong Eun (Lovers in Paris) and Jin Goo (Mother) are scheduled to attend the opening night film Le Grand Chef II: Kimchi War, in which they also star. No word on whether kimchee will be provided at the screening or whether it’s BYOK… Okay, yes, I’m joking about bringing kimchee, although I can recommend several Korean markets where you can pick some up (starting a kimchee war at the screening is not recommended). 🙂

On Friday, March 5, there’s a surprise screening, and the ActorFest on Saturday the 6th also sounds fun. Actually, most of the events sound pretty cool.

The festival runs from March 4-7, 2010. Its website, including the schedule and info on becoming a sponsor or volunteer or Facebook friend, can be found here. I might consider volunteering, except I don’t speak Korean, and I’m thinking that could be a problem.

Housekeeping February 11, 2010

I’ve just finished some housekeeping around here. The number of categories was getting way too huge, so I’ve cut back on those and converted a lot of the categories to tags. You’ll notice a tag cloud to the right. I’m not completely sold on tags, but I needed a more manageable number of categories.

There’s also a new feature where you can sign up for an email subscription. Considering my blogging schedule is erratic, this might be a good idea for anybody who wants to read my posts but doesn’t want to check back all the time.

Also, the search feature now seems to work. It hadn’t in the past, at least not when I tried it.

For those of you who’ve been wondering where I was, let’s just say it hasn’t been the best year I’ve ever had. At this point I do have some new posts planned, including one I promised to someone and am very, very late on, for which I sincerely apologize, and I’ll try to get that post up shortly.

Do Not Watch

Well, I did manage to get my hands on that My Sassy Girl screener I mentioned, oh, a year or more ago. I turned it off halfway through and have no intention of going back to watch the rest. Ever. Seriously, if you have any interest in this movie at all, beg or borrow a copy of the original and watch that. The remake is at best a lesson in how not to execute a remake.

As I’d feared, the emotional story didn’t seem to be there, although a lot of the quirky scenes were. But those scenes don’t work without the emotional content.

Granted, the original is a bit slow in the first half too, so maybe the remake becomes awesome in the second half… but I guess I’ll never know.