Galbi Jjim at Sun Nong Dan in San Gabriel
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Hi @PorkyBelly,
Wow! Fig Tempura! How was it? 
Thanks for the reminder, I need to go back now!
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It was fresh, sweet, soft and crunchy, really good.
Try the eel and zucchini if they have it and the battera and tuna roll.
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RBTA
New “robata” restaurant in highland park, but feels more like a low budget asian fusion place more than anything. Everything was fine but the uni pasta was just plain bad. It had a burnt, acrid, bad uni flavor, I couldn’t even finish it.
Tori karaage - soy ginger marinated chicken thighs
Crispy and juicy, pretty good.
new york steak - yuzu butter, soy sauce and fried garlic
Tender, cooked about medium.
negi ma - chicken thighs and green onions
shiitake mushrooms
King oyster mushrooms
u10 diver scallops - spicy aioli and spicy rice cracker
These looked a little on the small size to be u10, but they were really tasty, the spicy aioli was just right to pair with the sweetness of the scallops.
shiba ebi shrimp
sesame tuna and avocado
blue prawn sashimi and uni
uni pasta - fettuccine, fresh uni, shrimp, and mushrooms with uni butter cream
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= Running Back To Aburiya
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Casa Bianca
Tried this place for the first time and… I don’t get it. I’m all for thin crispy crust but this tasted like a less flavorful roof shingle, the sauce wasn’t even detectable, and the toppings just tasted like salt. I’d rather eat a frozen totino’s pizza.
eggplant and sausage
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Hayden (Culver City–the Platform)
This is a new hipster all-day eatery. It’s all that you might expect and then some in terms of the hipsterdom. In any event, the menu looked pretty interesting, and I ordered a Japanese breakfast bowl with smoked trout that was utterly delicious. Served with a side of sambal, this thing was everything I wanted–perfectly cooked rice, a melange of different textures, delicious smoked trout, and a perfectly cooked egg. The downside was the price–it cost $19, just enough to be too annoying to order again. There’s really no basis for them being 25% more expensive than a fully loaded rice bowl at Sqirl.
They also were selling foccacia squares from Bub and Grandma’s that looked quite good, but I was too full. Next time.
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Thanks for the report @PorkyBelly. A few of my friends felt the same way; they have no idea why J. Gold put this on his best list for so many years. Canned mushrooms and generic ingredients, etc. I’ve been avoiding it for years because of their warnings.
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F. Mclintocks sidewalk grilling trip tip, artichokes, sausage, and other things.
Thursday Night Farmers’ Market, San Luis Obispo
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quintessential SLO.
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It’s for people who grew up eating Mama Celeste frozen pizzas at home, and when they need an outlet (literally and figuratively) to stroke their pizza nostalgia they flock to Casa Bianca.
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Mmmm…linguica sandwich 
Is it ok to admit that I like Tender Greens even though it’s a chain? 
I’m glad they opened up a location in Torrance.
Fried chicken sandwich (Jidori chicken breast, maple glaze, green cabbage, radicchio, & Fresno chili slaw, sweet & spicy pickles, spicy aioli, toasted Rockenwagner brioche bun). Comes with butter lettuce salad.
I thought this was pretty good. The chicken was juicy, crispy, and seasoned well. The slaw had a tiny bit of heat. Unfortunately it was a special, or I’d get it more often if it was on the regular menu. I washed it down with their always refreshing mint lemonade.
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Hi @thechez5,
No shame at all. I love Tender Greens as a convenient, healthy option. Compared to most fast food, I’d rather go there.
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Fukuda (Irvine)
When you have been craving pretty much everything on their set meal specials.
Seafood salad - albacore, salmon, yellowtail; greens; house dressing
Cold house made soba - grated radish, nori
Spicy tuna don - spicy tuna, brown rice…I forget how good the brown rice is here
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Took a friend to Sun Nong Dan for first time.
Said it was one of the best things he ever ate! (Galbi Jim)
Insane dish compared to Soban.
Soban is Mozart
Sun Nong Dan is Metallica (first three albums)
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So of all places…
Huntington Beach has a hidden gem serving up pho.
Wait a minute there are pho shops all over OC and especially in the Little Saigon area right?
Correct.
Chances are, pho, as you know it and love it is Saigon/Southern style Pho. Hanoi/Northern Pho is said to be the original. Not too many places in Southern California serving this style. In fact if you took someone to eat here and didn’t mentioned that it was Hanoi style, they will probably react, “Hey this tastes different than the pho I usually have.” At table side you still have your hoisin and rooster, and they still bring you a plate of basil, sprouts, and limes.
Best way to enjoy this Hanoi style pho is maybe a little lime and maybe a tiny dash of fish sauce. That’s it. Really. I’ll eat the sprouts and basil for health reasons but really you don’t want to do much.
Right away this broth is more pure, and subtle. This is a 18 hour broth, per workers here. More savory. The color of the broth is different, too. I been eating Saigon style pho all of my life, but I prefer this Hanoi style more.
Never been to Hanoi but wouldn’t mind getting some pho for breakfast and bun cha for lunch.
Place is called Pho B. Hanoi style. Open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays and midnight on the weekdays. Very nice Vietnamese family!
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On Adams and Magnolia, right? We went when they first opened and all agreed that the pho was great, but they had a really limited menu back then. Clearly it’s time to head back for another try.