Went to Smorgasburg and had a fantastic breakfast burrito from Macheen and delicious hummus and pita from (cringe) Hummus Yummy. It really is amazing what they have accomplished there–lots of tasty options and a fun atmosphere.
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A rarity that I eat out more than once a week, but as hostess I’m getting the opportunity 
Had a daytime gig in Long Beach that lasted all day, and 10 hours after our Panns breakfast with no snacks to hold us over we were ravenous. We tried Number Nine, a Vietnamese restaurant on 4th St. that was a) open and b) had a minimal wait. As my friend said, hunger is the best seasoning, but we were all happy with our choices. My chicken bun ($9.50) was fresh and flavorful; a large portion served with vegetarian egg roll. Not the most extensive or “authentic” selection of dishes and cuts of meat, but we left full and happy.
Number Nine is not really meant to be authentic, but that chicken bun, with all of its inauthentic crispy onions and fresh, locally-sourced produce, and chewy vermicelli + super garlicky sauce on the side is still probably my favorite bowl of bun ever.
Even though I’m all for authenticity; I really feel like they made some wonderful choices with that bowl at that place.
It’s cool that someone else on here actually tried it!
Although I feel like you’re missing an eggroll haha
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I did have a $16 bun at LXSO that may have rivaled my favorite at Number Nine. Leaning a little more authentic, and way more expensive; but everything in it was cooked with immaculate precision. Everything in a standard bun thit, but amplified in flavor and texture to an 11/10.
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Wow, that looks amazing!
I always go and end up with just 1 or 2 dishes at LSXO and forget to write about it. Chef Vuong is seriously fusing his heart and soul into the menu there at the moment. Since it is so much easier to access than the other two Little Sister locations I am not sure if they are keeping up or not, but the creations are incredible, and I would expect some to translate to the DTLA and Manhattan Beach Little Sisters. However, judging by the online menu of Little Sister maybe that isn’t true…if not, then LXSO is worth the drive to Huntington Beach in my opinion.
I had this Hu Tieu Nam Vang that was absurdly great the other night there for $13. A southern street food type dish, the portion was huge, the hu tieu (tapioca-based noodles as opposed to rice like pho or bun noodles typically are) were amazing in their chew and savoriness. They also mostly keep their texture overnight crazily enough! There was so much good stuff in the savory, umami-rich, slightly sweet, yet spicy sour broth besides the noodles, too! Minced pork, sliced fatty pork, a huge head-on prawn, fresh fishballs, chilies, onions, sprouts, cilantro…and housemade, super smoky lardons! Plus free fresh crullers on the side to dunk (and I got extra sour serranos and garlic, which is a free side as well)! The interplay of so many textures, meats, seafood, heat, sweet, etc… the smoky fattiness of the lardons was surreal. I’ve never tasted anything like it; it felt almost like a fusion of American BBQ with Pho with Tom Yum Soup with Taiwanese breakfast flavors but at the same time a hint of something French… just indescribably insane, and utterly awesome.
Closer shot:
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Avoid the BBQ place in that center as well.
Lmao don’t even need that advice as it’s so obvious.
It’s a miracle that Bluegold and LXSO are in the place.
But truly there is no excuse for every place here not to be that good or better given how much money is floating around it. Very unfortunate
Did you get suckered into $12 parking garage? The center is really nice, but fuck this place is a tourist trap. Glad there is something worth going to in that center or it might end up being Santa Monica Place v2.0.
You didn’t validate? Free 3 hours of parking!
Portola Coffee is also great there.
They didn’t have validation before. WTF!!!
They’ve had validation the entire time the place has been open haha someone just lied to you or was misinformed
$7 Uber from my place. Round trip is a little more than parking, but the lack of aggravation and peace of mind when having drinks makes it well worth it. YMMV, literally.
EDIT:
Completely agree on most of the food offerings down there. We have been completely underwhelmed. When we go, it’s usually a group going down for sunset/drinks/drunk food. Looking forward to trying LSXO.
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That was my impression of the center too.
Have you been to Bluegold? Just curious if you find it also horrible.
By my estimation, the Bluegold/LSXO combination are by far the best restaurants in Huntington; among the best in the entire OC, though I think LSXO is somewhat better thanks to a more focused menu.
I have not. Living in HB, I usually have the good sense to avoid downtown. That said, I’m looking forward to trying both.
The instinct to avoid downtown HB has traditionally been an excellent one (with the singular exception of Jan’s Health Bar), but miraculously, an LA chef opened some places. The places are typically fairly busy, so I hope that means a higher level of dining will begin in the OC, though I am sure it’s a ways off. It is true that whenever I dine at Bluegold or LSXO it’s difficult to remember I am in HB because it is so alien to have such good food (well of that level, there are some ok lower end spots there) lol
Hey @Aesthete, which of those restaurants is the smaller one inside the other one? I tried to walk in to it at like 5 pm over the holidays and was told they were booked until 10. Is that the typical experience? Must I actually book reservations to dine in downtown Huntington?
The one inside is LSXO, and if it’s a weekend, yes.
When it first opened it was booked solid every night of the week, but now you can sometimes walk in on like Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.
It is bizarre to me as well, but I guess because it is just so “cool”. I’ve noticed a lot of people in there often are there just to drink and they like the space. It’s sort of a fluke that such great food exists there haha