Manpuku

I hang out, once in a blue moon, with my son and his basketball teammates. They've been playing together since they were 6. Now, they're are all 15. Lately, I feel like I should excuse myself when they're in their pack or collective but today they invited me to have lunch with them. I brought my iPod and the latest issue of Helio just in case.

They decided to go to Manpuku. I had never been but it's their restaurant of choice on Sawtelle. It certainly makes sense. "Manpuku" is a kind of familiar term. It's what you say after you've eaten a hearty and fufilling meal and that's how these guys eat.

I ordered the lunch special. I've been trying to decrease my carb in take for the past few years and so I asked the waiter, really nice guy, to hold the rice. He asked if I wanted more salad to compensate for this menu change. Sure. Ever since my Dr. reccomended I change my diet, I've eaten a lot of salads. That's cool because I can also have protein and that means meat. The salad had a really delicious sesame dressing.

Manpuku's lunch special came on a piping hot iron plate. The BBQ beef sizzled and popped and was topped with slices of roasted garlics and a kind of Korean BBQ sauce. There's a side dip dish of ponzu sauce which was delicious.

The boys ordered Bibimpap (Korean vegetable/beef/rice dish) and several types of bentos (box lunches) with BBQ beef.

The food is tasty, hearty and fresh. The really cool thing was that the waiter brought the each of us seperate checks (that's never happened before) and each boy, including my son, insisted on paying for their own meal. It gave the whole experience a surreal edge.

Manpuku, 2125 Sawtelle Blvd LA CA 90025, 310-473-0580, is "full" in Japanese i.e., "I am full, I can't eat another bite".