Right now it’s probably Paiks Noodle. I generally order jjampoong and will have a few bites of jajangmyeon so it’s not my main area of expertise. I have no idea how to phonetically spell jajangmyeon.
When I lived in LA it was The Dragon. But much of that is due to nostalgia. The Dragon reminds me of one of my earliest food memories eating in Flushing with my family. The restaurant was under street level and was the restaurant that we went to the most growing up. The best food served on those old Chinese paper place mats with the 13 zodiac symbols. The Dragon was also the 2nd date I went to with my wife and first date at a restaurant. I purposely wore a brown shirt and told my wife it was in case I spilled some of the brown sauce while eating. I was very smooth back in the day.
The panna cotta was really cool. Threw me off at first as it was dense but I talked with chef who said they cut back on gelatin and folded in whipped cream. A play of some kind on a Joe Beef recipe.
They were out of most things, but the small snacks we had were quite tasty and had that familiar, comforting “homey” feel food can have even if you’re not from anywhere near that part of the world. The backyard has two tables for two, a larger table for ~6, and a friendly, welcoming vibe, like you’re chilling at your friend’s place. Two thumbs up from a 7-year-old chowpup.
Morro Bay Butcher and Deli is getting a special shoutout. Had one of their specials, wagyu patty melt, 2 days ago. Not a great pic (my hands got pretty oily after picking it up), but this thing is the shiz. Super beefy, super rich. Partner and I split one, and I cannot imagine eating an entire one myself (and I say this as someone who really likes animal fat).
Enjoyed it so much that we returned the next day for more sandwiches. I got the Italian. Filling was great, filling-to-bread ratio was also spot on. Bread itself was a mixed bag. It was a bit too soft, fluffy, and bland. I appreciate being able to easily bite through the sandwich (which is not something I can say of Gjusta’s), but I wouldn’t have minded a bit more chewiness.
Mrs hippos got suckered into buying two chirashi boxes from kinkan for my Christmas prezzie.
Some pieces were quite good namely ikura and some pieces of the tuna. I think it was a blend of akami or chutoro some pieces were super fatty a luscious while others had a pretty strong blood line flavor and some undesirable fish flavor. Uni was badddd.
yikes! sorry to hear that. it won’t make anything better for you but i’ve been shown pictures of kinkan’s cold locker at Luxe showing frozen uni. this was a year ago, so can’t say what kinkan does now, but for the price they charge, it’s a travesty.
I got the Italian. Filling was great, filling-to-bread ratio was also spot on. Bread itself was a mixed bag. It was a bit too soft, fluffy, and bland. I appreciate being able to easily bite through the sandwich (which is not something I can say of Gjusta’s), but I wouldn’t have minded a bit more chewiness.
for my Christmas prezzie.
this was a year ago, so can’t say what kinkan does now, but for the price they charge, it’s a travesty.