Anyone could catch a bug with a pair of chopsticks...

..at Typhoon restraunt at the Santa Monica Airport. Typhoon is the only restaurant that I’ve found in the US that features a “Bug” section on their menu, that’s why I make sure to eat there everytime I visit LA.

Here is what I wrote the first time I visited there a few years ago.

I’m one of those cats that will enjoy anything unusual, whether or not it’s good or bad tasting. During the filming of Master of Champions, I dragged my friends McBride, Owen, Remmy, Augie, and YinYo to Typhoon and encouraged them to try the entomological cuisine for themselves. We ordered one of everything, White Sea Worms, Stir Fry Cricket, Garlic Roast Garthim*, Chicken stuffed Waterbugs, and Stir fry Ants.

Everything but the Waterbug are served on a crispy bed of potato strips. So if you just scoop up a plate of food, you’ll have a pretty hard time of distinguishing what’s a crispy bug and whats crispy potato. Still, it’s pretty difficult to not thinking about what exactly you are putting into your mouth. But you get over it pretty fast.

The Waterbugs are a very different story. First off, they are very large, not just something you can pop in your mouth and swallow. Secondly, there is no bed of potatoes to conceal the texture. First you have to decide, am I going to bit off the head, or the torso. Then you have to chew.. chew… chew… It’s impossible to identify which part of this dish is chicken and which part is bug. Chew… chew… Swallow (or spit into your napking).

Sake really helps this meal. Anykind, served anyway. You are probably gonna need some.

Before we feasted I made a toast, “Throughout our existence, mankind has always become wormfood. But tonight we celebrate, because tonight we turn the tables!”

I’m sure there where hella bad puns, but I’m not going to post them because they really bug me. I hate being a pest when it comes to easy jokes. It did just occur to me that at some restuarants the crispy potatos would be referred to as a nest, as in “delicate red ants served in a crispy nest of stir fried potatos”.

All photos by Owen on his fancy pants cell phon-era.