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Jenny And Johnny Are Having Fun With: Atch-Kotch

With I’m Having Fun Now (Warner Bros.), Jenny And Johnny are following in the grand tradition of girl/boy singing duos, a select conga line that stretches as far back as Sonny & Cher and X’s Exene Cervenka & John Doe to more recent warbling tandems like Mates Of State and She & Him. Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice are living proof the trend is still on the boil. Lewis cut her teeth in L.A.-based combo Rilo Kiley and has recently released two exciting solo efforts. Rice, a Scotsman transplanted to America as a teenager, has also issued a pair of solo albums and produced Lewis’ sophomore release, Acid Tongue, before teaming up with her for what could turn out to be the gold standard of indie-rock duos. Jenny And Johnny will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with Rice.

Jenny: If I had to chose one meal to be my last, it would without hesitation be the garlic tofu bento box from Atch-Kotch in Hollywood. I have been a loyal customer for more than a decade and have never ordered anything else off of the menu! I have never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never strayed from the isosceles triangles of deep-fried, perfectly textured, spicy tofu served with a scoop of Japanese mashed potatoes. I don’t think I had even tried tofu before discovering Atch-Kotch. A couple of months ago, a terrible rumor spread that it was to close its doors after nearly 15 years. One of the owners had fallen ill. Myself, Johnny and our best friend Morgan drove over as soon as we heard, fearing that it was too late. We noticed that the spider plants had been cut back and the white walls were bare. It was the last day of our favorite meal. When I greeted the waitress, she burst into tears and told us that Atch-Kotch would be closing its doors the following day and that she had been drinking sake for hours. We asked if we could join her. We didn’t have to place the order. She knew exactly what we wanted. When she arrived with the three boxes of the best damn meal of my life, we reverently touched chop sticks and devoured our boxes! We then ordered three more. And then three more. We called our friends Blake Sennett and Richmond Arquette to join us. We ordered box after box and told stories about all of the first dates, band talks, awkward family get-togethers and damn fine conversations that had taken place over the garlic tofu bento box. In tough times and after momentous occasions, after playing to no one and playing to thousands, in love and out of, alone and in the company of those who are no longer around, sober and hammered on Chinese moonshine. And the price had only increased $2 in a decade! Only $9.50! Atch-Kotch closed its doors in May. But reopened the following month! It was like having someone tell you that your dog that got run over is actually still alive.

Photo after the jump.