Category Archive for Food + Theme Restaurants
Monsterland: monster theme restaurant re-opens in Mesa. Watch my Arizona bizarre travel video!
Help! I’m locked in a cell with a Gothic Lolita… Where in the world am I?
To find out, watch my new video about alt, spooky travel in Arizona.
Can you tell I had fun on this trip? I’m especially happy with how this video turned out, thanks to the original soundtrack by Leon Lindon, and performed by the Lindon Automata.
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Eerie music plays as we explore Monsterland Bar & Grill, a theme restaurant in Mesa, Arizona (east of Phoenix).
I was already shaking as I entered the restaurant through a winding passage. Creatures of the night awaited me…
… some of which jumped out unexpectedly!
Inside, it was every horror scene come to life, from dungeons to dragons.
I got tied up in Frankenstein’s lab.
Bunny shirt: Miffy store in Hong Kong
Scallop shorts: KiLaRa, from the Hong Kong Hello Kitty store
Bunny-eared headband: gifted by Soho Hearts
Monster gloves: gifted by Josie Loves J Valentine (remember the photoshoot we did in LA?)
Lolita shoes: Yosuke, from Marui One Shinjuku
Leon Lindon, in the Adventure of the Pharoah’s Curse.
His visual musical band, Colosseum Thesis, braves the Grim Reaper’s scepter.
“We did the Monsterland mash. It was a graveyard smash.”
The VIP room was ruled by an alien (perhaps from our Sedona road trip?). Monsterland often has special events like video game nights, costume parties and “Scary-aoke.”
The food matched the monstrous theme: beer tasters in a skull, “Children of the Corn” balls, bat wings.
The blue Swamp Water cocktail had a surprise at the bottom. You’ll have to order one to discover what lies beneath.
Dare to be scared! Monsterland re-opens on August 24th (they were on temporary hiatus); check their Facebook for upcoming events.
Here’s a bonus outfit photo, from dinner with Visit Mesa at Postino Wine Cafe in Gilbert, AZ.
Octopus print dress: gifted by Sourpuss Clothing; buy it here.
Black eyed bag: Hyoma, Izzue boutique Hong Kong (store photos soon)
Sunglasses: gifted by Lumete
I have fond memories of this meal. I tried a Macedonia Tikves Vranec wine, and stuffed myself with salads and bruschetta.
Gilbert, a town known for its water tower, has a nice food and arts scene.
I also ate very well at Liberty Market, across the street from Postino’s.
We enjoyed fresh favorites like caprese salad, pizzas, burgers, and endless coffee refills.
I leave you with these photos of me in the Downtown Phoenix Westin hotel bathtub. You can see more photos of my Miffy bunny dress in this post.
Did you expect Arizona to have such spooky culture? Would you visit the monster restaurant?
I hope you enjoy the video and soundtrack. Tell us what you think of our Arizona adventure.
PS: Plane tickets booked for August! Can you guess where my travel team’s going next?
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Final Fantasy Square Enix cafe, Shinjuku Robot restaurant, Kagaya Shinbashi: Tokyo’s weirdest theme restaurants.
Bizarre theme restaurants are maintaining their stronghold on the Japanese imagination. While in Tokyo, I visited two new themed cafes — robots and Final Fantasy — and an old favorite, Kagaya. Read on for scantily-clad fem-bots!
The Shinjuku Robot Restaurant has been raising eyebrows, for obvious reasons. I haven’t been to it yet, but apparently, 5000 yen buys you dinner inside a disco-neon space where women in bikinis para-para dance and battle each other on giant robots.
To promote the recently-opened theme restaurant, a truck drives around blasting loud music, with these two fembot killer machines attached. (Address: B2F Shinjuku Robot Building, 1-7-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku)
I did make it to the Square Enix Artnia cafe and gift shop, dedicated to all things Final Fantasy. (Address: Shinjuku Eastside Square, 6-27-30 Shinjuku)
Artnia is a giant egg next to the towering Square Enix headquarters, where video game magic happens.
Inside, you can buy stuffed toys and memorabilia of your favorite characters, and posters of FF’s Cloud. (Doesn’t he remind you of Sebastiano?)
The Slimes (who are possibly the cutest villains ever) are popular Dragon Quest characters.
We had lunch at Artnia cafe, which serves themed food. (Photography by First Mate Naomi)
I ate every last bit of these chocolate-banana pancakes, fittingly stamped with a Chocobo bird.
I’m afraid I’m not too familiar with Square Enix characters. Do you recognize the figures that adorn these sweets?
How about these cute blue creatures?
In the back, there is a Final Fantasy VIII concept art gallery that runs until April 28th.
The character models are surrounded by dramatic lighting and mirrors. A fountain sits in the center.
For us Pirates, no Tokyo TV mission is complete without a visit to Kagaya izakaya in Shinbashi. (Address: Hanasada Building B1F, 2-15-12 Shinbashi)
I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you, but Mark (the owner) has endless tricks and delights up his sleeve, including prank drinks and costume-crazy performances. You can glimpse the fun in this video of my 2010 visit.
Hungry to learn more about Japan’s weird theme restaurants? I hope you’ll check out my book, which covers Ninja, vampire, Lock-Up, Christon, Alice in Wonderland, Princess, Butler and more.
Are you a Final Fantasy fan? Would you like me to visit and report on the robot restaurant? Tell me in the comments and on my Facebook.
PS: Tons of international travels coming up… can’t wait to announce where I’m heading next!
LA CARMINA
