VAMPS Live at Roseland Ballroom

An important thing to consider when thinking of a band name: if it looks good on a marquee.

VAMPS is a Japanese rock band formed by Hyde — the lead singer of L’Arc~en~Ciel — and K.A.Z from Oblivion Dust. They were in New York last weekend as part of their world tour and New York Comic Con & Anime Festival.

Here’s Hyde. He’s 41 years old. His Dorian Gray situation kills me. I had a crush on him in high school — how come he still looks the same?

K.A.Z and his awesome hair.

They played a fun, high energy show that lasted two solid hours. The setlist included a few covers, including songs by Bowie and the Beatles, but my favorite was probably their version of Shampoo’s “Trouble.”

There was also neat VAMPS merch for sale at relatively cheap prices (concert posters were $5 and tote bags were $10). They should add Hyde’s youth elixir to the lineup.

Los Angeles: Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles

I had chicken and waffles for the first time during my freshman year of college. One of my professors took us to a museum in Harlem; afterward, we went to a soul food joint where he foisted chicken and waffles upon us until we all (quickly) saw the light.

In L.A., I go to Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles to get my fix. I’ve only been to the Hollywood branch, but there are five locations throughout L.A.

You can order pretty much any combination of chicken parts and waffles. The Country Boy combo is three wings with a waffle (or french fries/potato salad):

I usually get the Carol C. Special, which the menu describes as “1 succulent breast, 1 delicious waffle”:

The chicken tastes like they serve it to you right out of the fryer; it’s piping hot, juicy, and crispy.  The waffles are good on their own, but even better with the fried chicken — an unexpected but delicious pairing of sweet and savory.

For side orders, I like the mac and cheese and smothered potatoes with gravy. The mac and cheese is more of the dry kind as opposed to the gooey cheesy kind, but it’s comforting.

These potato chunks are indeed smothered with gravy. Tasty tasty.

Roscoe’s recently expanded so the wait isn’t as bad as it used to be, but it’s still better to avoid peak lunch or dinner hours. If you don’t mind getting your food to go, they have special deals for take-out orders only (like five fried chicken thighs for $6.00).

Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles
1514 North Gower Street (corner of Sunset)
Los Angeles, California 90028

Los Angeles: Nom Nom Truck

Nom Nom Truck (of Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race” fame) serves two items: báhn mì — Vietnamese sandwiches — and Vietnamese tacos. The day I stopped by for lunch, they were parked in front of 5900 Wilshire Blvd., a food truck hot spot. There were five or so trucks parked on the same block, but Nom Nom had the longest line.

The grilled pork Vietnamese taco was basically the innards of a báhn mì (pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, cilantro, pork) served on a soft taco tortilla.

The lemongrass chicken báhn mì was tasty; the chicken was moist and the baguette was fresh and crunchy. I ordered mine without cilantro, because I’m on Team Anti-Cilantro.

The Nom Nom Truck is a solid and reasonably priced lunch option if they happen to be in the area; however, I don’t think I’d travel out of my way to eat there.

Nom Nom Truck / @nomnomtruck
Check their website or Twitter for the truck schedule.

San Diego Comic-Con 2010

Every July I make a pilgrimage to San Diego for the San Diego Comic-Con. This year was my eighth time attending. We met some people who’ve been going for 20+ years — something to strive for.

Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard signing their zombie apocalypse comic series, The Walking Dead. The television adaptation starts airing on AMC in October. We managed to get into The Walking Dead panel, and the footage they showed looked bloooooody amazing!

One of these girls made all the outfits and accessories from free bags Comic-Con handed out. So impressive.

“Klingons have taken over this station for the duration of Comic-Con and have demanded transit signs to be posted in the Klingon language. MTS appreciates your cooperation during this friendly takeover.”

See you next year! ♥