What does it say about the current state of fast food in Southern California that all of a sudden we seem to be eating lots of it out of bowls? This is not to be critical of bowl cuisine, for I rather enjoy eating out of bowls.
Bowls are casual. Bowls are fun. Bowls are zany. Bowls remind me of Moe Howard and his haircut. Bowls remind me of the sugar-drenched breakfast cereal I ate as a lad. It’s more enjoyable to eat spaghetti out of a bowl than off a plate. And bowls are what you go to the oddly named Yellow Fever for, just down the street from Zamperini Field, better known as Torrance Airport.
Why, you may be asking yourself, would anyone choose to name a restaurant after an often fatal tropical viral disease? According to the wall menu, Yellow Fever is: “When someone is obsessed with Asian things. An infectious tropical disease. Ridiculously tasty Asian bowls.” They acknowledge the viral part, but still, the name is a bit off. But not the food, which is straightforward, satisfying and, if not actually “ridiculously tasty,” at least sufficiently tasty.
The drill, as is true at most bowl joints, is a matter of mix-and-match, add and subtract. At Yellow Fever, which sits in a mini-mall across from the Torrance Crossroads, you go to the counter, where the very friendly staff walks you through the options. First, you have to decide whether you want rice, noodles or salad in your bowl. Then, there’s a choice of seven bowls, named for places that offer ingredients that match (more or less) their monikers.
The Seoul Bowl has grilled filet mignon. The Shanghai Bowl is braised pork belly with “kung pow” sauce. The Bangkok Bowl is made with green coconut curry. The Kona Bowl has Spam and eggs. And each of them has ingredients like Asian slaw (which seems to be marinated shredded carrots), mushrooms, kale, almonds and so forth mixed in as well. Not all the ingredients hold up well in the bowls — the mushrooms seem a bit weary, the baked kale is wilted — but tossed with the sauces, the taste is good, even if the texture can be a bit saggy.
There are sundry add-ons from “Lil’ Sumpin’s” like garlic and ginger chips for 55 cents to “Big Sumpin’s” like avocado and a fried egg for $1.50. There are “Things to Share” as well like “Lucky Pickles” (unexpectedly pickled green tomatoes, of the sort found in a New York deli) and “Ugly Egg Rolls” (which are more notable for their oiliness than their ugliness).
To wash it down, there’s a tasty green tea and lemonade mixture called a “Bruce Lee,” which is immortalized on a complimentary button that reads, “Bruce Lee Lives.” There are four buttons handed out at the counter, including one with a cartoonish rice bowl on it. Be the first to collect the whole set.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Send him email at mreats@aol.com.
