L.A. trip suggestions and report

I live right by there and love (in addition to the General) their version of mapo tofu usually get it with ground pork (not authentic in the least and no mala, but delicious anyway). Crab rangoon is pretty tasty as well.

Don’t forget to try their house made condiments as well

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Warning, possible downhill report. Went a couple of weeks ago and they no longer have the chinese sausage in the fried rice. The fried rice was underseasoned and didn’t have any other filling.

Their fried items all used to be fried excellently with a light batter and meaty. The squid and chicken I received were nowhere near as good as when I used to visit regularly. Fry job on the greasy side, heavy batter and light on the meat.

It was the first time I’ve been disappointed in a visit since they opened.

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Yikes! I hope it was just an off day in the kitchen. But if ingredients are getting cut from their staple dishes, that’s not a good sign :frowning:

Had a nice meal at Little Fatty tonight. Will post details later.

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Little Fatty…Chubby Rice. The restaurant names reflect how I’m feeling right now :laughing: Food coma aside, I truly enjoyed both meals.

Little Fatty and the Accomplice Bar were quite the scene when we arrived around 8:30 last night. I didn’t expect such a trendy atmosphere, buzzing with activity. I wish I hadn’t just rolled off a delayed flight, booking it straight from the airport to dinner :sweat_smile:

After a twenty minute wait, we were seated on the Little Fatty side. We shared the XO fatty noodles, three cup chicken with a side of white rice, the greens, and dessert. The noodles were addictive. Tender doughy bites with a toasty seared exterior just bursting with shrimp flavor. The three cup chicken with whole roasted garlic cloves was just fine, but not a standout dish to me. The dessert was a wonderful contrast of flavors and textures, and not too sweet. We were democratic and split the 5 sesame balls evenly between us two.

I’d like to come back with a bigger group and try more items. There was also an interesting list of nonalcoholic concoctions. I’ll have to give one a try next time.


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Chubby Rice was a perfect spot for a tasty, quick lunch while catching up with my friend. Such welcoming staff and a casual, comfortable open dining space. Turns out my friend is a regular here and has her go-to orders. We split a veggie egg roll, she got the salt & pepper calamari with egg fried rice and soup, and I ordered the General Tso’s chicken with egg fried rice and veggies. A generous lunch plate portion for a fair price. I was more than happy with the fare, though I have no “before” experience to compare to. Lots of flavor and not overly greasy. I loved trying their many house made sauces. The egg foo young is next on my list to try.

Tomorrow’s lunch will be Round Table pizza in Downey. No forthcoming FTC review for that one :grin:

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Today’s lunch was at Ichimiann (the Cravens Ave location in Torrance). I had my heart set on the ume shiso soba and it did not disappoint. Tangy and herbal. So refreshing. The chew of their house made soba was wonderful. I enjoyed a simple side of salmon roe over grated radish (ikura oroshi) and shared an order of tempura mochi. While I loved the contrast of chewy and fried textures, the tempura batter was not very crisp. The tempura pepper I snagged off my brother’s plate also lacked a crisp batter. I’d still order the tempura mochi again…I’m a mochi ball fanatic :grin: Nice refreshing iced barley tea on tap. I’m so happy my family tried this restaurant. Friendly staff and relaxing space. Budget friendly prices, but cash only.

Ume shiso (cold)

My mom’s yuzu oroshi (cold)

Tempura mochi

My brother diving into the grilled mackerel. Also pictured, oyako rice (small…just $5!) and assorted tempura.

Bonus: ranch dressing avalanche at Round Table Pizza yesterday :stuck_out_tongue:


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Hi @chinchi,

Yay. Glad you got to revisit Ichimian for the Soba again. :slight_smile: I love the Ume Shiso Soba as well! So refreshing and bright.

I scrolled a bit too fast and saw the last pic and thought, “Wut?! When did Ichimian serve Pizza and Beer?!” :open_mouth: :stuck_out_tongue:

I forgot, but have you been to Ichimian’s sister restaurant, Inaba? You should give it a try next time: They get Ichimian’s fresh Housemade Soba on a daily basis (it’s nearby) and they have their amazing Tempura Bar (where you get fresh fried Tempura, piece-by-piece) and it is wonderfully light, perfectly crispy and the best! :blush:

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Thank you for the tempura suggestion! I tried Inaba just once. It was quite a few years ago and I don’t remember much from my visit. I’d love to return and give their freshly prepared tempura another try!

And ha! I should have made my pizza and salad bar disclaimer more noticeable. Or filed that in the FTC Confessions thread :sweat_smile:

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Hi @chinchi,

If you go back to Inaba, try and ask to be sat at their Tempura Bar. At the Tempura Bar, Chef Hiro will cook each piece and present them to you and your party to enjoy one at a time.

If you sit a table and order a bunch, they usually try and plate them together on a larger plate, which means some pieces might get softer by the time you get the large plate.

One other way to circumvent that is if you’re at a table instead, just place an order for only a few pieces at a time (and just add more pieces after you enjoyed the first round, 2nd round, etc.). So they’ll come out in smaller batches, fresher. :wink:

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I’ll be road-tripping back down to L.A. next week with my S.O., who has never visited for more than a couple days in his lifetime. I have spots in mind for eating around the city, but the meal I’d love some recs for is the “meeting mom” dinner. She offered to pay, so I want to keep it affordable (we will try to commandeer the check…though we need it to be cheap-ish too if we pay :sweat_smile:).

Considerations:
Around $25 PP for dinner (excluding drinks, though neither of us drink)
Not too far afield from Westchester (but preferably not in Westchester. No Truxtons, considered Humble Potato but wasn’t too impressed with my most recent visit and maybe a little too casual)
Comfortable atmosphere and acoustics that allow for conversation
My mom has FTC-level tastes :wink:
My S.O.'s tastes lean towards American/Americanized standards and fast food, but he’s open to trying new dishes and cuisines

I’d love any suggestions :blush:

Sticking super close to that area…
Workshop Enoteca in El Segundo
Grimaldi’s in El Segundo
Kagura in El Segundo
Coni’Seafood #2 in either Playa Vista or Inglewood
The Ramen Joint (Westchester): A Pictorial Essay in Westchester

If you’re willing to go Manhattan Beach, MB Post - Thoughts/Suggestions is great.

Or you could bang bang the In n Outs on either side of the airport :wink: :

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Hi @chinchi,

Some ideas, especially if your mom has FTC-level tastes (and can appreciate good food)… :wink:

  • Inaba - Tempura specialist. If you’re careful about what you order (i.e., none of the fancier shellfish, etc.), you can have a comfortable, delicious meal and with Housemade Soba Noodles to finish things off for about $30 - $35 pp, maybe cheaper depending how much everyone eats.

  • Kagura - Tonkatsu (Deep Fried Pork Cutlet) specialist. I think you’ve been, right? :slight_smile: That should be right in the price range and they have some quiet tables on one side of the restaurant.

  • Torihei 2.0 - Not as great as it was when the 3 original chefs were running it, but still respectable and quite affordable. I think our last meal there was about $33 - 35 pp (before Sake). Solid Yakitori and Kushiyaki (Grilled Skewers of Chicken and various veggies over Binchotan Charcoal, which seems pretty accessible to anyone).

  • Izakaya Hachi - Charming neighborhood Izakaya (Japanese Pub) with small plates.

Hope you enjoy your visit! :slight_smile:

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Workshop enoteca
Grimaldi’s
Coni’seafood

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Superba Food + Bread in El Segundo.

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Lucques

Is there another lucques that’s $25pp I don’t know about?

She did say “around”

You could barely do lunch for $25.

Thank you! Workshop Enoteca was on the “to try” list from my trip last weekend, but I didn’t get the chance to go. Kagura is another contender. A kawaii stuffed pork cutlet charm adorns my handbag :grin:

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I love Torihei! But with so many tempting small bites on the menu, I don’t think we’d get out of there cheaply. I haven’t been for over a year now. When did the change happen?

Inaba is a great idea. We can complement our recent Ichimian experience with fresh tempura.

Kagura is in the final running.

We have not tried Izakaya Hachi. I’ll explore your linked review :grinning:

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Superba Food + Bread looks to have a very “L.A.” menu. That could be fun for this meal. Thanks for the suggestion!

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