Met A Real “Restaurateur” Saturday Night
Early Saturday evening I was at The Far Bar for a couple of plates of sliders and a Sapporo beer. It was early still, and I was mostly b.s.ing with the bartenders Sky and Edgar, when a guy come over and asked if I worked out at LA Athletic Club- I said yes, and did not immediately recognize him, but it turns out we both (used to) lift in the mornings- I did remember him after talking with him.
His name is Enrique, and it turns out he is part-owner of Chop Suey/The Far Bar, and the founder and still-owner of Senior Fish’s (there are several locations, including the one on 1st and Alameda in Little Tokyo). Enrique is a very interesting guy- born in Mexico, raised in East L.A., he is a real success story. He told me stories of his other restaurants- one in Redondo Beach that I knew about, that was in a terrible location where every restaurant there failed). Another on the West Side that was a modest success. But Senior Fish and it’s arrival in Little Tokyo was a daring move for Enrique- long before any of the more “modern” building appeared in J-Town, like Weiland Court, or the Japanese Village. And when he saw Chop Suey up for sale, he jumped at the chance to buy such a historical restaurant and lounge. Lately Chop Suey has been slow; there are tons of new noodle houses on 1st St. and as with bars, the public’s fixation on a certain dinner destination changes rapidly and unexpectedly. Enrique told me of his plans to revitalize Chop Suey- very aggressive and frankly, brave plans. I don’t know how much is partners are “on board” with his ideas, so I will not discuss them, but it sounds good to me…
He had been carrying a copy of “LA City Beat” magazine, and showed me a nice article that was in this week’s edition - CLICK HERE TO READ ARTICLE While the article is not 100% positive, it captures what is cool and charming about Chop Suey- it’s history.
We talked for about 45 minutes about everything downtown- all the new restaurnats and clubs, and of his desire to buy a loft downtown (as an investment). It was a little funny running into to a Hispanic man that owns two popular places in Little Tokyo, but I like his vision and his desire to stay “authentic” in certain respects to the buildings and their historical value.
I knew The Far Bar had to have a cool owner…
I’m not too big on Japanese food, but I did recently check out Rocket Pizza on East 4th, between Main and LA. Not a bad spot. Very relaxing, cool environment. They had a few TVs where some guys were eating pizza and kicking back watching the Cowboys game.
I had a regular pizza that was pretty tastey, but a tad bit too garlicky for me. Overall, a nice place to get a pizza on an afternoon.
September 8th, 2008 at 10:18 amwe were pretty disappointed with the meal we had at chop suey cafe when they first re-opened, and haven’t been back since. maybe we should give it another shot. it’s tough, though — there’s lots of places in little tokyo that we love.
and i’ve never actually been to the senor fish in little tokyo, but i used to eat at the one in eagle rock fairly regularly.
September 8th, 2008 at 2:06 pmHey Jim- from what Enrique was saying, I don’t think Chop Suey will be open for awhile now, while they “re-group”. But the entire menu, including sushi rolls, is available in The Far Bar. I personally don’t like the Chop Suey dishes much- very bland, but the “gringo” food is pretty good- Pad Thai chicken skewers, sliders, and wasabi fries are about all I get there anymore.
I hope they can figure out what to do to make the restaurant a “hit” again…
September 8th, 2008 at 3:17 pmHey Officer 6X- Rocket is one of my fav Italian places in my ‘hood- and I LOVE the way they use Garlic. It’s definitely a mellow place until Art Walk (which is Thursday- I hope I can stay awake).
Try the calzone, spaghetti and meatballs, or meatball sandwich too- they are “White Boy Approved”
Great delivery service too…
September 8th, 2008 at 7:12 pm