Holy shit that is insane who wants to ftc split lol?
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What’s the green stuff on the matsutake?
yuzu
The issue with the ones at the market is you don’t know how long they’ve been there for. Suboptimal over ripeness since most of these are picked at peak ripeness.
Most chefs that work with them tell me that if they don’t get them within a couple days of them getting in from the importer, quality drops quickly
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That’s great to know before I go wasting money on one of these things. I need to go contact ussakayu lol
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isn’t there a date printed on the tag?
I don’t remember seeing it when I grabbed it. But maybe I just missed it?
it’s in japanese so easy to miss. the date should be on a tag attached to the outside of the box and also in the “manual.”
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お召し上りは6月27日〜28日頃
O meshi agari wa 6 gatsu 27-nichi 〜 28 nichi goro
Serve around June 27th to 28th
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I see these melons pop up at HEY DEN in Arcadia.
Been meaning to check it out.
1304 S Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007
is there a secret to getting a reservation here? or just getting lucky and refreshing constantly?
try weekdays - parties of 2 at most.
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Going on almost 12 months of no luck myself. Always looking for 2 on a Wednesday.
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I got 5 Tock reservations in the last 9 times I tried without any help, as a normal human with 2 hands, so you can trust me. I also don’t lie 
Statically speaking, it was a 55.5% success rate, much better than the lottery, but it might get harder and harder in the future as they grow too popular
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4 of the reservatios were for a party of 1, only one reservation was for 2 seats and most of them was made on a computer instead of a phone
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I use both my phone and laptop at the same time because I have two hands
Usually set my laptop to find seat for one and looking for 2 seats on my phone* -
you will need an exact timer to the very second (I use Time.is, simple, just be very very on time)
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know your shortcut to reload your browser a few minutes before 10am PT to test connection speed
*if the connection seem unstable, make sure to use at least 2 devices to increase your odd
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by default, reservation is set for 2 and the current view port will show the current month on your phone. That’s why I like to you a laptop to see 2 months on a wider screen, saving a click to the next month.
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I set it for one right when the calendar opens, but that’s just my preference
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it doesn’t matter which date, just click on the best available spot as soon as the page loads
*TBH, I wasn’t able to make any reservations on Tock in the last 3 times I tried but I’ll try again because it’s worth it 
Just don’t get too disappointed and keep on trying when you can 
Also, FYI: please do not use bot Bot are traceable.
Brandon will ban you for good when they find out.
Please don’t risk a curious meal… you might miss a chance to meet some of the best people in LA. They’re very caring and real, much better than any food imo
Hope it help. Good luck 
@rohto I logged in to write this, because I’m afraid no one will give you real advice 
Thank you for trying Sui Croissants I like you because of that 
Eat more croissants!
The secret is… I honestly eat a lot of Sui croissants every week (at leasy one every other day) and load of Needle food. Maybe that’s how you get good at Tock-ing… give that a try LOL
I blocked 10 minutes on my work calendar 9 times for this reservation thingie
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Yeah the one time I got in I just refreshed at 9:59:59 and clicked on a random date as quickly as I could.
The other time I got in off waitlist and couldn’t go 
But the best meal I’ve had in LA
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Some months are also more difficult than others too. For example, if Brandon is going to Japan or something. But otherwise Armillaria’s advice is pretty much what I’ve recommended in the past. I’d focus on the timing most.
The literal first second is the most important. There is no room for error with your clicking. After the first few seconds, the next most important time frame is the first 10 minutes. I say this because I believe Tock has a 10-minute time out. Not sure if that will work as well though with wait list utilization but you might have some degree of success with people taking whatever they can and then having to drop it because perhaps the date doesn’t actually work for them.
I haven’t tried in a while but people are doing it (refer to Armillaria’s post). You just might have to be very precise. If you can’t commit to that then unfortunately I think trying your luck with wait list might be the best way. I like to think it’s at least better than the days of n/naka with Resy for those who’ve tried that.
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so many new dishes as we approach winter. zuwaigani and duck are back and they’re spectacular; sweet hokkigia makes a surprise late fall appearance; donabe is now buri with ginko (i’m usually not a cooked buri fan but this buri belly and collar was so fatty and oily it just melted in the mouth); and the nabe has shrimp shinjo that just taste like the essence of pure shrimp. not a single miss the entire evening, this is 
cooking.
(new) sakizuke - santa barbara spiny lobster, lobster head dashi, lobster roe, ginger juice
kue shabu shabu, tosazu gelee, shiso blossoms
stunt crab
(new) live zuwaigani grilled over binchotan
agemono - anago, satsumaimo
(new) grilled hokkigai, mitsuba
shinogi - sekogani okayu with uchiko and sotoko eggs, kani miso
(new) owan - shiro amadai, somen, yuzu zest
sashimi - tai, tairagai
sake steamed abalone, abalone stock cubes, abalone liver sauce, wasabi
charcoal grilled nodoguro, charcoal roasted maui onion, sudachi
(new) seared-steamed-grilled duck breast, kombu dashi simmered turnip
fun fact, the turnip is cooked in the water that’s used to rinse the rice.
(new) mizore nabe - steamed wild shrimp shinjo, shiitake, komatsuna
grilled karasumi
buri and ginko
x3
i’d like to welcome the newest members to the clean donabe club: @formersushichef, @Spicyshlomi, and the rest of the counter.
shizuoka musk melon
the kobe beef of melons
k&j nashi pear, sake jelly
matcha
yuki’s wasanbon
fin
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How many donabe bowls @PorkyBelly ?
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only three bowls 
the counter was hungry.
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Were you there on Sunday?