Pi Day: LA Marathon Expo, Winston Pies, Kazan

LA Marathon Expo

plus Pi Day and Kazan

The scene on entrance just before 12 noon.

Not overwhelming at all.

Line for seed corral pickup for LA Loyal (aka repeat runners) was 45+ minutes.

Other lines are long, too.

Parathlete, elite age group, and legacys had the shortest line.

The line 30 minutes later.

10 year LA Loyal package.

Asics is title sponsor.

The runners wall keeps getting smaller and smaller.

That's me.

The print for the names is tiny.

I see MIke. And AJ.

And AJ.

Fun backdrops.

Obligatory detailed map.

Some of this weekend's medals.

Chiquita Bananas has a booth.

Despite the rain, the expo goes on.

Line of food trucks.

Winston Pie's new West Hollywood location.

5" apple pie for Pi Day.

Outside.

Kazan for lunch.

Types of noodle, all handmade on-site.

Half order summer salad was pretty good.

Inside is a mix of modern classy and touristy.

Noodle kitchen.

The famed #7 lamb in lava.

Different angle. Not actually THAT spicy. aka I had no problems.

Sadly as I am taking these photos, the lamb is cooking itself to death.

Noodle pull did not go so well. Clumps.

Clumps.

Doh. Well-done.

I am not sure what keeps going on with the Los Angeles Marathon, but the lines at the expo, at least the Friday it opens, keep getting messier and messier every year. Maybe it works better later in the day? This time around, standing for 45+ minutes (I think it was actually 50 minutes) in the rain for my bib was not great, but at least the rain was barely an annoyance. The rest of the expo was pretty well attended, but definitely felt a bit more toned-down due to the weather?

Winston Pies' new West Hollywood location was the next stop. Not too many places do mini pies, and their 5 inch apple is perfect for Pi Day without overwhelming me in pie. With Pi Day being on a Friday this year, that made it difficult to count on coworkers to help me eat it-- heck, this year, I stuck to only one mini pie and not two (the mixed berry crumble was tempting!).

Final stop of the day was Kazan on Restaurant Row in Beverly Hills for lunch. Been meaning to go there for years. Their normal ramen dishes are almost reasonably priced and the interior is a mix of touristy and cliche, but still comfortable? However, their most social media-friendly dish is the number 7 "lamb in lava," which was not as spicy as advertised, nor as filling. It was indeed spicy to some degree so if you're not used to spice, take it under advisement. Thick soba noodles weren't bad, and the lamb was probably good quality, but as I was snapping away with the camera, the lamb sits and cooks in the broth, and ends up well-done. Sigh. Also, it was $57. Ouch.

I would sort of be open to going back, but would have to grab one of the normal ramen dishes that have sane price...