Taco gobernador and shrimp ceviche tostada (Mariscos German food truck, San Marcos, CA)
Poke nachos, shoyu ahi poke and spicy mayo salmon poke (The market at Hawaiian Fresh Seafood, Sorrento Valley, SD, CA)
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The unicorn made an appearance at Artelice Pâtisserie (Sawtelle Japantown) this past weekend, with a limited re-drop of their (cover your ears here, @Ciaobob) Truffle Croissant! Seriously, this thing is delicious! No fake truffle oil used; just a very VERY generous serving of truffles baked into each Huge Bite…
Cento Pasta Bar (West Adams): Chef Avner Levi and his crew toughed out an initial COVID-related closure earlier last month and is now running on full steam. The vibes were great and as for the food, well I’m happy to report that the food was even better than at their old DTLA location! It’s a family affair, as Chef Avner’s dad created the massive pasta sculpture overhead above the counter, and his sister served as the gracious Hostess on our wonderful visit…
Chicken liver crostino, with aged balsamic, raisin agro dolce… Always a great appetizer here!
Grilled octopus, with romesco, potato, celery… Tender AF.
Uni spaghetti, with Santa Barbara sea urchin, Persian saffron, burrata… Killer dish. Perfect al dente.
Squid ink malfadine, with 'nduja, prawns, serrano, basil… Most places, any item with “squid ink” on the menu usually plays the kitschy dish. Well, not here at Cento. This plate of pasta was the best thing I ate all week. Huge bite!
Spicy pomodoro, with rigatoni, Calabrian chili, truffle, ricotta, basil… Hardcore flavor bomb. Order this one. Huge bite!
Saffron panna cotta, with pink pepper, blood orange… Outstanding dessert. So satisfying.
Back to ol’ skool institutional dining with Philippe the Original (Chinatown) on NE Clam Chowdah Fridays… Yes, this was me lunching solo…
Tripp Burgers (Palms) popup is building a steady fanbase! A long (but quick) line for a terrific smashburger on a potato bun in the Westside!
Jiangsu cuisine slinger No.1 Express (Arcadia) recently opened, and I liked it very much. Killer version of Shanghaiese braised pork.
The shenjianbao is outta sight also.
But their cold sesame noodles with chicken, while photogenic as heck, tasted a bit underwhelming…
I’m a sucker for Daily Specials. Tempura House (Sawtelle Japantown), masters of soulful Japanese-American cooking, prepared this splendid chicken stew with potatoes for me - Perfect on a chilly February night! Huge Bite!
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Holy moly. Nice weekend of eating.
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You have a soup and a beef stew?! I’ve never seen that one 
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Two soups!
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Yes, the beef stew is always on Philippe’s menu. It’s more of a broth-y soup than a thick stew, but it is absolutely LOADED with goodies and hearty nevertheless.
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Where’s the chili? 
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I know, I know. But I had to save stomach space for a second lunch after Philippe’s, so… 
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What kind of truffles?
Not sure, but the gross histologic shavings looked to my untrained eye to be T. indicum or T. melanosporum… I would suspect the cheaper T. indicum, if used for baking large quantities, but this would be pure speculation on my part. Gonna need to run genetics on samples to garner better speciation.
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Indicum tastes like nothing. Melanosporum, they’d have to charge some crazy price. Black summer truffle (T. Aestivum Vitt.) they could sell for $15-20 and not lose money.
Yes boss.
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There is only one cookie for me… The Lemonades. Luckily I have an OC Girl Scout hook up because Lemonades > Lemon Ups.
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Sun Nong Dan has opened a (relatively) new location on Western Avenue, at the old site where Sizzler (the one Anthony Bourdain went to when he visited L.A.) used to be. @CiaoBob, @chrishei, @DoughnutsFC and I decided to tackle the menu here head-on. Will it be as good as the other Sun Nong Dan locations?
Verdict: This new location is excellent, and significantly a better experience than its older sister location on 6th Street! The first two dishes, the Tta Roh Guk Bap (beef brisket with dried cabbage soup) and the Mo Deum Soo Yook (lean beef, beef brisket, knee tendon, oxtail & cheek meat plate) both slapped. Hard. (That means we all loved the dishes.)
Of course, the star of the show: The Koh Galbi Jjim (braised beef short ribs, back ribs & oxtail with rice cake) remains an iconic L.A. dish not to be missed. Huge bite!
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Will be in NYC for a day and half. Going to do the trifecta of MoMA, Met, and AMNH. My hotel is right next to Russ and Daughters. (Promises my friend we will eat Katz together on a later day so no Katz).
What’s the move? I am willing to eat 2 sandwiches.
Everything bagel. Plain cream cheese. Caviar cream cheese. Tomato, onion, and capers. What kind of salmon?
Also plan on eating at Kopitiam, 886, Nice Day, and Ho Foods (maybe as of now the beef noodle soup is sold out). Maybe after the Met hit up Haji’s for a chopped cheese with everything and a baconeggcheesesaltpepperketchup.
Any recs for me?
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Bagel with whitefish salad and nova. Slice of babka for dessert.
Belly lox. Salty silky belly lox. Damn, can’t get that out here in California.
You know, they get stuff from
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Bourdain went to the Sizzlers on 4th and Vermont across from Shatto Lanes.
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Oh, good to know. I was under the assumption it was Western & 7th. Thanks!
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