Rita Ave. Between Gage and Zoe ~ Huntington Park

Venice Beach ~ California

This show features graffiti performed by professionals and/or idiots.

Professional…

Professional…

Idiot…

I guess someone has to keep the cycle moving.

Antique Row

That’s Marilyn Manru on the left. Photo by Shane Sato

Wanru Tseng is one of the writers/performers of the hilarious comedy of sketches TELEMONGOL which closed on Sunday at the GTC Burbank. I sat down with her last Sunday before the matinee show. I wanted to meet the creator behind the supremely confident and mischievous Dr. Pho and the actress with perfect comic timing who had me thinking I was watching Betty Boop impersonating Marilyn Monroe.

LA Taco: When did you start writing/performing?

Wanru Tseng: In 2001 I decided to sign up for an improv class and took to it right away. One of my teachers was Robert Covarrubias, a member of the multi cultural improv group Cold Tofu. In 2003 he asked me to join them. This year was the first year we were able to do a sketch collaboration with other comedy groups.

LA Taco: Let’s talk about the collaborative process. 4 groups come together, what made you decide on the subject of TV? What were you trying to say? Or change?

Wanru Tseng: Phil Cheung from Lodestone Theater Ensemble, who usually does dramatic work, wanted to do an edgy sketch comedy with social and racial commentary. So he contacted 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors who are very political, OPM who is edgy and has the race and sexual humor and Cold Tofu, where we do more general humor. 2 writers from each group threw a bunch of ideas like Charles Kim from OPM wanted to write something about the leader of North Korea and for holiday times.

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4059 Lincoln Blvd. Marina del Rey, CA 90292 ~ 310-822-7561 ~ (TACO Map)

Everything about La Tlapazola makes it look like the rootsy-est little Mexican on the Wessside; a quaint, tiny structure boasting an indigenously-skewed name hidden in a whisper of Lincoln Blvd. It looked as though no one comes and the structure is lonely. There, there little one. There, there…

Upon entering, much to my surprise, La Tlap revealed itself as an upscale “gourmet Mexican” restaurant, complete with a wine display, linen tablecloths, professional-to-the-extreme waiters, and double digit prices. Special times call for special occaisions though, and after esteemed Taco foot soldier Darnell ‘Hot’ Sauce put in his valuable time helping me move from my3rd apartment in five months, the thought of gourmet Mexican dipping into my vault while $1 tacos could be lingering around any corner, mattered not. It was payback time.

Most of the delicately prepared plates come kissed by the grill; the menu displays a lot of tantalizing choice that sizzles on its frontside. Adobado steak tostada topped with gaucamole, ranchero and jack; shrimp fajitas; grilled trout with salsa fresca; grilled salmon with mole pipian; sauteed tilapia with lime alcaparra salsa; along with gourmet takes on traditional favorites of our’s like burritos, tacos, carnitas and carne asada made from rib-eye. Crab cakes with corn relish and a wild mushroom quesadilla are but a few appetizers that stress modern tastes using traditional ingredients. Everything uses dependably fresh and mostly homemade staples, while pushing the boundaries of a creative menu through standards and specials.

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Los Angeles ~ CA

Fuck all city, RTH seems to be all nooks and crannies. Trying to document their work comprehensively could run an amateur photographer ragged. Like a soaking wet Gremlin, their marks seemingly multiply over night, overrunning the city and sending old ladies flying through their roofs by fucking with their automatic stair-climber seat things. These photos span the gamut from Highland Park to South Central to Hollywood to West Los Angeles, even SF.

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Ports O’Call Village ~ Los Angeles