I would not have thought of that had you not mentioned it, but, yes, the menu is very painful to read in the dim light…
I thought the menu was a parody at first. It is completely insane.
Met a friend for drinks and dinner at Taps in Brea. They just renovated, but I can hardly tell the difference. Lobster bisque was solid and the chipotle glazed salmon with roasted Romanesco and spaghetti squash was was good. Their creme brûlée was almost as good as mine at home. They’ve upped their bar game by redoing their entire cocktail list. We had a nice comfortable meal. Still a winner.
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Pasta Sisters in Culver City. Wait was about an hour (Friday, 8:30pm-ish). I honestly wouldn’t mind waiting longer for their pasta. I love the original location and I’m glad this one is just as good.
Bresaola Carpaccio (arugula, shaved parmigiano, and lemon olive oil dressing):
Tagliatelle Arrabbiata (extra spicy) topped with burrata:
I overheard someone order the arrabbiata extra spicy, so I decided to as well. I’m glad I did. It had a pretty decent bit of heat to it which I thought went perfectly with the cool and creamy burrata.
Pappardelle Bolognese:
Did I mention that I love this place? 
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Venice Bang Bang:
First, Mon Petit Poulet… Excellent rotisserie chicken au jus (even better than when I last tried it), haricots verts, ratatouille, and housemade mashed potatoes. Demi-baguette was piping hot, and that ratatouille is spot-on.
Then, Wanderlust Creamery…
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That area is strong for ice cream.
Salt and Straw
Jeni’s
Wanderlust
Sweet Rose
All fairly near to each other.
What did you think about Wanderlust?
Agree on all counts.
Really nice theme-based ice flavor selections at Wanderlust. I found it just ever-so-slightly less creamy than Salt&Straw (which is fine with me). Mango sticky rice, Japanese Neapolitan, and ube were my favorites there (I know, so Asian)…
If I had to rank them: (1) Sweet Rose, (2) Wanderlust, (3) Salt&Straw, and (7) Jeni’s.
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Thanks man. It’s always been my trusty Sony RX-100M3 for the past few years. I am finally starting to get familiar with this marvel of 2016 technology. 
Agree about the creaminess. Also, a few of the flavors could handle a little more aggressive flavoring.
Kid like the Aubelita Malted Crunch.
I went with the Brown Butter Whisky (no whisky flavor, but still delicious) and the Tobacco Chocolate (no tobacco flavor, but still delicious).
Japanese Neapolitan still the reigning champ for me after a few visits.
We were there as well - around 1900? While one of the staff forewarned us that the wait would 35-45 minutes before we had our food from where we stood - the door’s threshold - it took about 25-30 minutes.
We ordered the arugala salad, gnocchi with pesto, tagliatelle with porcini mushroom sauce, spaghetti with bolognese, spaghetti with bottarga, spezzatino con.polenta, tiramisu and the mini sfogliatelle.
Everything was very good. The only problem was a matter of where we ate - outside in the patio area. The night was very cool, which chilled off the food rather quickly. Still, like you, we will be back.
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What?! No pastrami?!
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that’s a Grom May flavor.
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Didn’t take pictures but the BBQ at Ember inside of Native Son Alehouse was delicious. Easily the best BBQ I’ve had in the OC other than the times I’ve driven to Bludos.
Served on white bread. Brisket, ribs and burnt ends all very good. Burnt ends only served on the weekend. Everything is sauced so if you don’t want sauce make sure to specify. The sides are better than most places too. Good beans and slaw. Thick cut French fries and onion rings were pretty standard. They only had 1 sauce but we aren’t big sauce fans anyway.
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Hi @bulavinaka,
Good to know. Did they not have any heat lamps? Just wondering (we only dined inside).
Hush, lady!
They do. They way they’re positioned, I can’t imagine they’d do much for the food, though.
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As @paranoidgarliclover mentioned, they do. Unfortunately, thwy realized the two by us were out of propane.
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Yeah, we sat at the counter inside for exactly that reason. Also, lucky you for getting the porcini pasta. That’s my favorite and they ran out as soon as we got in line. 
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Northern Cafe opened up a location in Gardena recently. While it may not be SGV quality Chinese food, I thought everything was good. Plus, it’s a much needed addition to the South Bay, in my opinion.
Lamb noodle soup with medium flat noodles:
Dan dan noodles:
Chongqing spicy chicken:
Beef rolls:
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