LA, my hometown

The pizza is New York crispy thin, but that's it. Everything else is totally Abbot's style. There's a bagel crust of your choosing, and then they have a set combo of toppings for your pie. The BBQ chicken is really the best BBQ out there (forget CPK), and the five onion is a personal favorite for all you onion lovers out there. There's a handful of others with creative names like "Bianca" and "Popeye's." If you're a little more of a control freak, you can order the exact topping you want . . . and no questions asked. The mixed fresh salad is a good side with the pizza. If you're single, Abbot's has a pizza by the slice in New York-size slices . . . (big) . . . nothing "personal" about this pie.

Abbot Kinney, where this pizza joint is located, has a mini New York "East Village" vibe, which includes the current gentrfication. But it's a great way to have a quick bite, step out onto the sidewalk, and people-watch. There are benches on the sidewalk in front of the neighboring coffee shop, and there are ledges in front of neighboring stores.

If you arrive early, good. The bar is bustling and makes killer martinis. They arrive in the required stemware and in little viles chilled in a wooden bowl. You can order appetizers here and they'll bring it to your table if your table is suddenly ready. A plate of Taiwanese fried crickets is a must if you're daring. The name actually sounds worst than it really is. How can you go wrong with deep frying something, mixing it with spices, chili, and crispy fried wontons? But I digress. The ubiquitous chicken lettuce wraps are a good alternative if vanilla describes your dining partner (not that there's anything wrong with vanilla).

When reserving ask for a window table (reserve ASAP, weekends are busy). The menu/table mat have got everything to please everyone, except for someone who wants a key to the Chinese zodiac. The Mongolian beef is tasty, tender, and succulent. It comes with a basket of carbs (bread topped with sesame) for you to place your meat in. Yang chow fried rice is a medley of flavors. I'd skip the "Mi Goreng". I'm from Indonesia myself and this isn't my thing. Pad thai works much better if you're celebrating someone's birthday Chinese style (long noodles to symbolize a long life). Maybe the "mi goring" works if you're passive aggressive and your m.o. is to dump someone soon. Again I digress.

There's a rooftop patio on top of Typhoon, but it's hit and miss with choosing that as a dining option. It all depends on if the waiter has time to trek up there to take your order, deliever your food, and check everything is okay. However, the bar can still serve you up there. Enjoy a Santa Ana evening.

I'd say "ghetto Korean barbecue" is the best way to describe this joint. You walk in and you see dark wood paneling on the walls, every table packed with food and people cooking over flaming hot wood burning pits with lots and lots of smoke. There are huge vents over the BBQ pits, but I didn't hear the usual hum associated with an "on" vent and the proof is in the tears out of your sebaceous glands. (Sentimental, I'm not.) I suspect it's for decoration only. Therefore, this place is a no-no for people with cystic fibrosis, and bring your inhalers if you have asthma.

There are two rooms and both of them are fairly dark with minimal fluorescent lighting (can be a blessing or a curse). You get the impression that the Korean mafia might be in the other room, conspiring to kill Tony Soprano. Luckily, they serve beer and only in big bottles. So who knows if it's your intoxication or the smoke that's making your vision bad. Enough of this wacky ambience.

The food is awesome and the portions are mighty generous. They start by giving you a smorgasbord of appetizers which includes the ubiquitous kim chee and various other pickled delicacies and a bowl of salad. We ordered the Bolgogi (beef), pork, shrimp, and the chicken. The pork was the cat's meow, the beef and the shrimp were just as awesome, then the chicken--well, it's chicken. (I believe one needs to marinate chicken overnight to get any flavor in that puppy and so I'm a little biased already). We noticed hearty slabs of eel on other people's tables and that might be a good substitute for the chicken for a well-balanced surf and turf meal. A bowl of hot steaming rice comes with the meal. This place really rocks if you're into good flavorful marinades on your meats.

For people who don't know, Korean barbecue is all about cooking your own meat. They give you a plate of raw meat and you cook it to your liking. It's where rare, well done, and everyone else in between can all get along. A major warning though--the wood burning pits get incredibly hot. I couldn't get close enough to do my own cooking before the heat burned me. Lucky for us, the wait staff come frequently to toss and turn the meat and take it off the pit onto our respective plates.