Umami Mart

By Johnny Lopes I recently stayed near Stade de France, a popular stadium located in Saint Denis, Paris, France. On arrival, there was a rugby match between Racing Métro 92 and the local favorite, Stade Français. Not really being into sports, I was more interested in the nearby food and beer stands. This particular vendor caught my eye […]

Mash-ups has been en vogue for over seven years now. Every time Britney or Gaga release a new smash hit it’s instantly mashed up with an old Kylie Minogue or Human League hit. Sometimes, it’s because mixing and mashing creates an entirely new song. Sometimes it’s for promotional purposes. And other times, it’s done in […]

Being a single gay nerd means the only sausage you’re gonna get is down at the hot dog stand. Eating a ho tdog is part of being Danish– or at least it used to. The fast food army of America and the growing health awareness has overturned the old wiener kingdom, and now eating a […]

*Please enjoy this track (in another window) while reading this post. Admittedly, I’m not the biggest Los Angeles fan, but I’m trying my hardest to appreciate the great things the city has to offer, and at the top of most Angelenophiles (did I make that word up?) “things to love about LA lists” is Dodger’s […]

“Yoko, they have rattlesnake and alligator sausages,” my friend told me of this place called Wurstküche in Downtown LA. For some reason I imagined Lisbeth Salander goth types sitting around a table eating rattlesnake sausages with forks and knives. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t at all interested in the rattlesnake or the alligator– […]

Met up with fellow Umamimartians last week at The Trappist, a Belgian beer bar in “Old” Oakland, downtown. I made SF folks come out to the East Bay– and they actually did! On a school night! Such trickery. The thing is, The Trappist is so much more than just a specialty beer bar. Oh, so […]

Hot Doug’s (The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium) was really the ONLY place Matt wanted to go to during our Chicago visit. Our conversations leading up to the trip often went like this: Kayoko: Should we go to Burt’s Place for pizza? Matt: Sure, I’ll leave it up to you. But we’re going to […]

Photos by Travis LoDolce. Now tell me: why oh why would I ever move back to NYC when all of its wondrous gems can come to ME!!! When I heard last week that PDTman John Deragon would be guest bartending at the popular SF joint Beretta for ONE NIGHT ONLY, I screamed a silent hooray […]

My dear friend Jim is opening a sandwich, beer and ice cream joint in LA!!! My three favorite food groups all under one roof- could you ask for anything more? I think not. He and his biz partner Jason have named the cafe The Golden State, that will quite appropriately be highlighting beers, meats, cheeses […]

I had to see what all the hype was about, at least once…so I joined the massive sweaty crowd this year in Coney Island at the Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest. Joey Chestnut won by eating 64 hot dogs in just over 10 minutes. Disgusting and amazing, all at the same time.