Beacon, an Asian Cafe
3280 Helms Avenue (@ Washington Blvd.)
Culver City, CA 90034
310.838.7500
www.beacon-la.com
- You have to park way, way, waaay the hell over there in the next county because there isn’t enough room anywhere else in Beacon's parking lot for Preggy-in-Pink and the beachball attached to her torso to get out.
- The hostess seats your party right away, even if you don’t have a reservation and there are more than a half-dozen parties ahead of you. Side note: If you want the best seat in the house, you could probably get it.
- On the way to the table, Preggy-in-Pink points at everything on everyone’s tables, remarking how “that looks sooooo good.”
- We don’t order. She does.
- When it’s only 12:30 and the kitchen is already out of the Bento box, she looks like she’s going to stab the server with the butter knife. But then she calms down. *phew*
- There is absolutely no rhyme nor reason to the final order: tonkatsu because that’s what she’s craving (even if Mom balks with “$9.25 for tonkatsu? Are they crazy?!?”), a green bean salad with smoked tofu and radishes for the growing baby inside, and um, French fries? That’s for her. Just because she feels like it, okay?!?!
- “Is it just me or is it warm in here?” she asks as she removes her very snug shrug. Yes, Preggy, it is you. It’s November.
- The server re-fills her water glass about 18 times. And yours and your mother’s, but neither you nor your mom have had a single drop of water to drink.
- A table of three women is “not in the mood” for dessert. She shrugs. She’s just not; and that’s is perfectly fine with us. Check, please!
- She has to “walk off” some water retention, which is pregnancy-code for “shopping” at H.D. Buttercup.
Mom, my very pregnant sister, and I went to Beacon in Culver City for lunch just a few weeks before she was due. I had been there previously a couple of times (both, also for lunch) and thought the pan-Asian food was not quite worth the menu prices. However, it has a very "nice" atmosphere - it's new, clean, and California casually upscale - so it remains on my list, though relegated to the "only go if you're dining with people whose company will keep you highly entertained and your mind off the food."
Kalyn says
Your shots of the food look great.
Helen (AugustusGloop) says
Eating with pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers is great. It makes my appetite look almost sparrow-like!
And lucky you, I've tagged you for this Four Things Meme too.
Maure says
uh oh - i've got a lunch date at
beacon on friday - at her suggestion. it better be a really
"nice" atmosphere.
jason says
Mmmmmmmmmmmm tonkatsu.... and steak fries.... in the same restaurant.... what a country we live in.
congrats to the soon-to-be auntie.
sarah says
kalyn: thanks!
ag: yeah, it's crazy, and secretly, i love salads and french fries together, LOL!
by the way, i was tagged for the meme a few weeks ago...it's already posted here:
i've caught another meme
maure: it's nice. it really is! and this will force you to focus on your date :)
jason: don't you love it? and i also love that korean cafes offer korean food and...fries, too! LOL! as far as beacon goes...too bad the tonkatsu was a tad bit dry. i
Catherine says
hahaha! that was awesome.
and nice pix, too! as always. :)
Anonymous says
You should try their miso cod. It is sooo good. I didn't think the prices were that bad at all.
sarah says
i have! on my first to beacon, i tried the cod, and it was pretty good, even though normally, i shy away from teh stuff because, well, i think restaurants have gone crazy. LOL!