It's always a mix-bag of emotions when I find somewhere a little off the beaten path that I love... I want to tell you about it, but I also want it to be all mine!

Enter the Bento Place. It's a fairly new (Opened September 2016) convenience store pre-packed food eatery right in the heart of Koreatown that's literally around the corner from my secret eye doctor place (Europe Optical - it's truly amazing & they offer free exams so perfect for people without vision insurance!) and is now my go-to spot to hang while they whip up $40 glasses in under 30 minutes!

I just dragged Mr. Jeff to get some new contacts after he hilariously lost his last pair while on the mountain skiing - that's a whole 'nother story - we were searching for a quick bite and stumbled across this place. Walking in, we couldn't help but marvel at all of the uniquely creative rolls stacked in the refrigerator. The seared salmon looked particularly appetizing!


But in the end we settled for a roasted pork bento box and a chirashi bowl because I'm a total sucker for chirashi!

The fish was fresh, and the quantity was plentiful, which was quite nice given that the bowl was only $10! Their rice could use a little help, it was just plain cooked rice, no sushi-ness twists to it at all. But hey, I'm not complaining. It's a great deal.

If that wasn't enough - what made us fall head over heels in love with this place was their amusing little non-Japanese twists in the bento box. Super flavorful korean style meat with pickles, fried crab sticks, macaroni pasta, and what we're like 99% sure was their form of a bruschetta made this a weirdly perfect bento box! We licked the plates clean.


So next time you're in the area and looking for a quick and tasty bite - make sure you've added the Bento Place to your list. You'll be happy you did!

Oh and I think that they have 50% off happy hour from 8:30pm - 9pm... which is a little questionable for all the raw fish - I'd maybe stick to the cooked stuff then.

The Bento Place
1110 South Western Avenue, Suite 101
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(323) 643-4919
http://www.thebentoplace.com/