Evan Funke porchetta sandwich at cofax
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I remember the first (and only, I think) time I had the porchetta truck, I thought to myself, “This is one of the most perfect bites of food I’ve ever had.”
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Absolutely gorgeous. Question: what’s the filter-in-cup for?
Had to be to filter sediment from his wine bottle.
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It was for the house fried tortilla chips.
Beef neck stew in K town at some place without an English name.
What? 
Guerrilla Tacos Venice, Sweet Potato and Feta & Gulf Shrimp and Chorizo. Wonderful.
Also a stop at Blue Star Donuts with Buttermilk Lemon Poppy and Hard Apple Cider Fritter. I liked it much more than Sidecar.
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Was there as well this weekend. I love Guerrilla, but I do have some criticisms of it.
The tostadas are, almost without fail, over dressed. They had gorgeous pieces of big eye tuna so drowned in various sauces that it just completely overpowered the tuna. Could have been any fish under there.
Likewise, the tortillas work for some of the tacos, but not others. They had a roast leek taco with a fried egg. The egg was just a mess in the tortilla.
Thankfully, the sweet potato taco was incredible–remains one of the best dishes in LA.
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I went to Mitsuwa in Torrance for their Customer Appreciation Event. Marumasa’s tenmusu (musubi/onigiri/rice balls with shrimp tempura) were elegant. They were smallish and came five to an order in a festive red bag. The musubi benefitted from the thin band of nori (seaweed), which meant that the sogginess of the seaweed was not too noticeable. The takuan (pickled daikon radish) were some of the best that I’ve had - not overtly sweet.
I had warabi mochi (fiddlehead fern mochi with kinako/roasted soybean powder) and a wagashi (Japanese confection) that was studded with sweet potato from Kumajun, a wagashi specialist from Kumamoto. The warabi mochi had the right suppleness. The wagashi with the diced sweet potato was very dry and crumbly. In hindsight, I should’ve ordered the ikinari dango (steamed mochi with sweet potato and anko/sweet bean paste), which is their specialty. But my favorite dish was the sansai (mountain vegetable) omusubi, which at $1.50 each, was quite a bargain. The omusubi was chockablock with finely diced, flavorful vegetables.
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Lots of eating this weekend. 
Tempura green beans at Veggie Grill. I’m conflicted about VG b/c I want to like it much more than I do. Crispy Santa Fe Chicken was a miss (not pictured), but fried food + mayo sauce is a guaranteed success:
Public School 818 for dinner b/f “Deadpool” at the Arclight Sherman Oaks (a very weird movie, BTW, and I knew about the self-referencing, 4th-wall breaking stuff beforehand). Bison BBQ burger closest to the camera; lamb burger in the distance. The BBQ sauce has an odd, harsh alcoholic aftertaste. The rest of the burger is good, though (but it was NOT medium-rare, as I had asked). Lamb burger was better (it had a spice seasoning that I associate w/ lamb in Moroccan dishes). Fries were great. Salad of kale, shaved brussel sprouts, and arugula was good, but the dressing was a bit too lemon-y.
Republique for Valentine’s Day and partner’s b-day (yes, he was born on 02/14). Weekend brunch is counter service. The line was long, but it moves relatively quickly.
Pastries (mentinoned in DoTM): all terrific. Bread pudding was surprisingly light. Some of the pistachios had seen better days, though. 
Quiche filling was amazingly creamy and tender (yet still solid). Shakshouka was delicious. Kimchee fried rice needed more kimchi; ingredient quality was above reproach, but the dominant flavor was spicy-hot. Not enough funk/fermentation/acidity, for my taste.
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Chengdu Taste Rowland Heights. No wait at 5. Only 2 deep at 630.
That rabbit appetizer is really good.
Pork shank was good but I think I like the Meizo Dongpo one better.
Steamed pork with rice flour also very good and not really spicy at all.
Squid hot pot was okay but I probably wouldn’t order again.
Veggies were really good.
Tasty but I wouldn’t wait 1 hour for this.
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Wexler corned beef reuben…excellent, liked this over the pastrami on rye
Cheese action shot
Morelienas
Costilla y cueritos
Pierna y cueritos
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Ramen Yamadaya - Tonkotsu kotteri
PhoHolic - Pho dac biet
China Tasty - House special beef noodle soup with turnip
Bulgarini Gelato - Pistachio gelato, yogurt with olive oil and salt, pappardelle with ripassata, gnocchi with bolognese.
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Leo’s pasta is pretty damn tasty too.
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The pappardelle had a really nice slight bite to it. Gotta thank @ipsedixit for his tip. When I read they were making noddles, I was SO DOWN, and what better way to finish than with his gelato? 
LOL
GF wanted homemade pasta last night. Of course, I obliged, as I refuse to eat out on V Day.
Small buffalo mozzarella app w/ greens. Homemade fettuccine with sausage and porcini.
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BacoMan, you do realize Pailin has been open for over 10 years? No, you don’t.