February 2019 Weekend Rundown

Thanks. I stand corrected. I remember the first time we had it and it was goat. In SF, down in the Mission over 25 years ago. The little lady who served it to us waited til the end of the meal, when we’d cleaned our plates, that she finally admitted that it was goat :slight_smile: Nice little memory.

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Very common to offer both or specialize in the beef or goat variant. It’s an excellent use of the 7 bone roast.

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Does anyone know if Burrito Las Palmas serves consommé?

BLP is Zacatecas. Is it not typical to serve with consommé in that region? I only ask because new places like La Unica and Teddy Reds does but from what I understand is Tijuana style. All those weekend places in South Central and Boyle Heights/East Los seem to serve consommé as well. Just curious and nerding out.

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I don’t think they do. As far as consommé goes, my friend recommended Birrieria Gonzalez to me since he’s not a fan of La Unica. This place has both a truck and a store and they do serve consommé.

Yup. Our friend from D.F. makes goat as well as beef - dometimes lamb as well.

Glorious Khingali, pretty good (not great because gas and a whole dimension is missing) lula kabab, eggplant salad, fortune telling on Armenian coffee

Cafe Areni in Sherman Oaks is quite good with homey Armenian / Russian food that’s very accessible to Americans. Super casual, lunch vibes. Their specialities should be ordered ahead of time though. None of this was

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Bang #1:


50 mins wait


Almost there


Birria de chivo & burria de res quesataco - crispy taco with melted cheese with delicious spice-stewed goat and beef fillings


Tacos dorado birria de chivo & res - same as above but without the cheese…scrumptious nonetheless


Asada tostada with guac - super thin and crunchy fried tortilla…and just look at the caramelization on the meat :heart_eyes:


Freebie goat consumme that will warm your soul :yum:

Bang #2:


Wonton Noodle - Standard broth that didn’t stand out


Noodle is a touch too al dente and lacking the bounce that I’m looking for in what I had at Mak’s in HK.


Good for SGV standard with plump shrimp and well cooked pork.


Roast duck


It’s juicy enough but it’s seasoned unevenly with certain spots extra salty. The skin, on the other hand, is flabby without a hint of crispiness :disappointed_relieved: Ruby BBQ in El Monte is your guy if you’re looking for crispy skin.


Char Siu


A-okay…standard stuff and far cry from the good stuff in HK

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Did you try La Unica’s salsas??

I did. It was sauce city. :drooling_face:

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Thanks @Nemroz. Any recommendations on their specialties that need to be ordered ahead of time? And by “ahead” do they need to be… 1 day in advance? Or longer? Thanks.

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They told me a couple of hours.

These things include whole trout, khaash (the crazy Armenian beef trotter broth) which is for some strange reason to go only, and khashlama - a slow stewed, simply spiced meat dish which is usually lamb or veal. Khigali buns are on that list but I don’t think they need to be ordered in advance.

No vodka shots yet unfortunately

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Brunch at Tartine Bianco on Saturday Feb 16. I was told that this was the first day of brunch service.

Menu:

Egg sandwich with spinach. Delicious with the sharp cheddar oozing all over the sides. At $13 it seemed a bit steep though.

I also got a chocolate rye teacake to go and it was very moist and chocolaty. Loved it and I highly recommend for your visit.

Loaf of oat porridge bread. This is very tasty and moist (it’s difficult to slice, even after left out for a day) with a subtle sourdough flavor. This is a bread that is delicious just eaten plain, or with a pile of eggs on top. I’ve had the oat porridge bread at Lodge Bread and I think Tartine’s version is maybe just slightly better.


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The prices on the pastries seem incredibly steep and we haven’t even factored in the mandatory 5% service charge before tip?

$4-$5 seems par for a pastry @ a proper bakery these days

1:30-3 at Armenian ones :slight_smile:

@Sgee Thanks for the rec for Birrieria Gonzalez! We were in the neighborhood and dropped by for lunch. Between the husband, one of the chowpups, and me…we ordered a quesataco, 2 tacos, 2 tacos dorados, a quesadilla, cosummé, and a burrito. I made my way through one each of the tacos and the cosummé and was plenty full. I particularly loved the dorado and the quesataco. The birria here was yummy…and different from the birria at Burritos La Palma.
Followed up with some churros from Churros Don Abel…parked right behind the Mariscos El Bigaton truck. There was a long line for churros, but the churro man was pumping them out as quickly as he could. The churros were custardy on the inside and super crispy outside. I wish there was more cinnamon sugar…and fresh out of the fryer, it was a touch greasy…but about 15 minutes later, it was close to perfect.

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Uncle Fung’s in Long Beach.
I really love this little place. The food has been consistently good since they opened.

Char Kway Teow (I ask for it “very, very spicy” and they make it the perfect heat level for me).

Mee Goreng:

Pollo a la Brasa in Gardena.
Great chicken as always. Since there seems to be a French fry debate going on, I’d like to say that these are some of my favorite fries. They have that crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside thing that I love going on. They’re also kind of oily, but in a good way. If that makes any sense…

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Fudge, those noodles look good…

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the wife just told me the loaves of breads are $13. Wow, Tartine rep be damn, that’s steep considering clarkstreet, gjusta, lodge, friends/family and most other fine sourdough bread spots are under 10…and mostly around 8.

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Just picked up over a dozen different pasties at Croissant du Tokyo over the weekend. $2-3 was the average - kinda surprised cuz Japanese _______ often adds a premium. Some very Japanese-y combos (e.g., mentaiko garlic nori bread stick; hojicha cream brioche; Earl Gray an pan) and most expensive item was croissant jambon at $3.80. Overall quality was very good. I guess at least in this case, a solid bakery with a strong rep (in Japan) can put out solid products for very reasonable prices. No tip jar either.

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