(Credit: Jesse Grant/wireimage.com)
As fate would have it, John Cho fell across my path: I ran into him as he was dining izakaya-style at Haru Ulala in Little Tokyo. Despite some bumbling antics on my part, the actor graciously granted an interview. While his character in the first movie was driven by, well, green-fueled cravings, Cho himself doesn’t need much to spur on his appetite or a conversation about the city’s best places to eat. “I’m a phenomenal eater,” he proudly admits. “I’m always hungry.” And he ain’t lying. Between grabbing late-night sushi and trying to secure some delicious grass in Alhambra, Cho’s grub-happy explorations of L.A. are exceptional. Now, if he’d only open up about what it’s like to play opposite a “cock-meat sandwich.”
I would imagine that Haru Ulala isn’t one of those places you’d go and expect to be bothered?
It’s specifically to avoid people like you [laughs]. Yeah, I like that place; the pants are less fancy than sushi. The grilled mackerel is probably my favorite. Maybe it’s because it’s an old Korean thing to do, grilling the fish.
And stinking up the house?
Right, that’s especially true of mackerel. I did that once and the place stank for days. It’s deadly. But if you go to HK Super (on Western Ave.), it’s all set up for bachelors there. Everything is cooked or ready to cook: [You can get] mackerel ready to go in styrofoam [trays]. It’s pretty convenient.
Is there any place in L.A. where you can go and be anonymous?
We’re a densely immigrant population, so certain parts of Alhambra and certain parts of Koreatown. You know, Koreans don’t know the Korean-American guy. I’m sure if I went to an Armenian market in Glendale, they wouldn’t know…
You seem quite adept with L.A. geography. Did you grow up here?
I went to high school in Glendale. But I would consider myself an Angeleno at this point, because I’ve spent more time in the Los Angeles area than anywhere else.
Do you have much time to explore the city?
It’s not being able to cook that has led me to many corners of L.A. For some reason, L.A. doesn’t get credit for being one of the most cosmopolitan places on earth. If you tally up all the neighborhoods, L.A. has some of the best cuisine. I think it’s better than New York, I really do. I get really nuts when New Yorkers say that there’s not good Chinese food here. It’s a real affront to me. It’s because they haven’t left WeHo. You’ve got to get in your car and go to a neighborhood that you may not want to go to. But don’t say that there’s no good Chinese food.
So where to go for Chinese food?
My wife and I have mused about moving to Alhambra. The food is so good and cheap over there—what we would save in restaurant bills. I also took Jon and Hayden [the creators of "Harold and Kumar"] to Sam Woo BBQ because they were a couple of New Yorkers who were like, “Where’s the Chinese food?” They ate like there was no tomorrow; they still talk about it to this day. The wok-fried lobster is unbelievable.
But the area can be hard to navigate for newbies. Do you have any tips?
Go where the kids are, I guess. There should be at least some English speakers. There are places along Valley Blvd., and I’m like, “I wish we knew…” But you really need a Chinese friend to get the good stuff. Because the menus aren’t in English, you have to rely on pictures and then you try to memorize the names of certain dishes. Sometimes, to no avail. I’m always trying to get snow pea tips. It sort of resembles grass. It’s delicious. My description [to the servers] must be awful because they don’t know what snow pea tips are. Then, five minutes later I see somebody else get it. I just don’t know how they did!
Anything else that’s worth the drive?
There’s Hawaiian food in Gardena. When I was working with the East-West Players, there was a large contingent of Hawaiians, and they would bring in catered stuff, like kalua pork. It was really heavy, ass-making food.
Seriously, there’s nothing like loco moco, right? Rice, then hamburger steak, a fried egg on top, and then gravy over all of that…
Oh my god. See, that’s truly American. It’s all in there. Apple pie seems very Eurocentric at this point.
As a self-professed Angeleno, were you familiar with White Castle before the “Harold and Kumar” movies?
The first time I had it, I was in Chicago and somebody brought it into a bar. It was closing time, and it seemed perfect then. The next time, it was on the set of the movie, and it was less perfect. Maybe because it was 75 of them, and it was noon.
In a battle between White Castle and In-N-Out, which would win?
Geez…I’m going to go with White Castle, just to be contrarian. Really, you couldn’t have asked the worst guy, because at the end of the day, I don’t see what the fuss is over burgers. I read an article the other day in the L.A. Times about In-N-Out [drive-throughs] wreaking havoc because the lines were preventing people from entering shopping centers. I was like, “Really! Are you idling your car for 40 minutes, waiting for a hamburger?” It’s something. So, I’m going with White Castle because they’re more, uh, pedestrian versus In-N-Out, which encourages, um, fossil fuel consumption. God, I sound like an asshole.
But how craveable is White Castle late at night?
You can do better in L.A. at midnight. I’m not a frequenter of taco trucks, but there’s also Burrito King in Silverlake, which is opened till 3 a.m. That’s a pretty good option. There used to be a sushi place on the Eastside called Shibucho—I don’t know if it’s still open. [Editor's note: It is.] It was a place that I’d only go to at midnight, and we would see other chefs from other sushi places who were getting off of work…Have we really been talking about food this entire time?
Oh yeah. We’ll get to the film eventually.
Jiyeon Yoo is Restaurants editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
