They added pastor interesting…how did it taste?
pass. the play is asada and chorizo only.
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The play is also mixto asada chorizo Mulita at tire shop… transcendent
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Had Eleos pizza in silver lake the other night.
Was… fine. I like my dough a little saltier, and not as much chew or bounce as I like. Kinda just bit straight through. Also a very muted(?) flavor. I don’t know, there was nothing bready about it.
I’d give them another go, especially for the price.
$10 base pizza, $1 per topping.
Sausage, mushroom and bell pepper
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Lillian’s Bread and Sweets in Northridge
The longsilog was pretty decent. Combo with pancit, rice, beef kare kare, and corned beef. It was alright, not great. Maybe it’s because we came at three, but does anyone know what to get here? Saw some people getting dinuguan, but I’m not really into dinuguan.
Mee & Greet in Palms
Pretty good garlic noodles for a neighborhood place. Don’t recommend the steak though, it was underseasoned and the meat quality was meh. My favorite is Vox Kitchen but that’s in the OC.
Tsujita in Sawtelle
First time having this because I don’t do lines and I finally got an opportunity to go at 3:30 on a weekday. I really enjoyed it but I’m not sure it was worth nearly $20 before tip. Need to try the tsukemen at Yumeya and compare.
El Nayarit #2 in San Fernando
Chorizo and eggs plate and freshly made tortillas. Really good, especially the beans. All this was $8 before tax and tip. Will be back to try more things.
Uovo in Santa Monica
Crema di Pamiggiano, really loved it. Carbonara, I liked the sauce but the noodles were more al dente than I’d like. Not sure if it’s intentional.
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Great pictures! Have you tried Tatang in N. Hollywood for Filipino? Their website is empty or I would post it. We went once and were pretty impressed. Nice people, good food. I will do a write up on it next time we go.
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I have not. Looking at the pictures on Yelp the bistek looks good. Do you have any recommendations?
Also, how different are the flavor profiles compared to traditional Filipino food? I love Oi Asian Fusion but it doesn’t satisfy when I have a Filipino craving. The flavors are different enough that I’ve classified it in a separate category in my mind.
Max’s of Manila, Glendale.
(Screenshot from Google Street View)
In the Philippines, everyone has an opinion of Max’s of Manila. The restaurant has been around in some form or another since 1945, touting the history of Maximo Gimenez and his relationship with US occupying forces during the second world war, a group of which convinced him to open up his first shop. Now that a second and third generation have taken over the operation, second and third generations of families are coming to enjoy the fried chicken and everything else.
This branch opened almost fifteen years ago in downtown Glendale, a busy area of town close enough to the epicenters of Filipino populations. There is little fanfare for the place outside of this group, but walk in on any day or evening and you will see it is a hugely popular spot for groups of friends and family. As it is in Metro Manila, Cebu, or any one of its over 100 locations in the Philippines, Max’s is a destination for happy times.
While the signature dish of Max’s is indisputably their fried chicken, the success is ultimately based on the combination of this with a full menu of traditional Filipino foods like lechon kawali ($15.99, above), fried pork belly. This beloved dish is handled with real precision here with an almost unbelievably thick and crispy exterior layer. While the meat inside is juicy and delicious, be careful biting down as that crust can mangle the more tender parts of the mouth.
The sauce typically served with lechon kawali is called liver sauce, but this ends up being one of the last tastes that you find in it, especially when paired with the crispy pork. It is mostly sweet and slightly sour, from brown sugar and calamansi juice, respectively. The combination is great, although you can easily eat the succulent pieces of meat all alone if desired.
Even if you are dining here alone without your Filipino family and friends, Max’s makes it easy to try a few things with their chicken combo meals. Max’s fiesta plate ($13.99, above) includes a leg quarter of fried chicken, rice (or fries), and a fresh or fried lumpiang ubod. It also comes with the essential garlic vinegar sauce, which beats out the banana ketchup or worcestershire sauce that they recommend for the chicken, and a side of small dessert.
The chicken once again is extra crisp on the exterior with incredible crunch, while still juicy inside. The lumpiang ubod is a flaky egg roll made with hearts of palm, pork, shrimp, and crabmeat. That dipping vinegar was actually meant for this, but no one is looking. To further the garlic experience and make sure no vampires (or humans) approach you for the rest of the night, upgrade the plain white rice to the garlic version.
Since you obviously have not had enough fried and gluttonous food already during this meal, grab the turon a la mode ($5.95, above) to finish things off. Turon are lumpia made with bananas, joined on this plate by mais keso ice cream. Anyone reading Spanish can sound this out to corn and cheese, which sounds a bit odd for ice cream but is marvelous. The combination is undeniably right.
Wash everything down from the start with a tall glass of calamansi juice ($4.50, below), much sweeter than the fruit juice would be alone, but so good as a beverage. There is a reason this Filipino citrus is so ubiquitous in the country.
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We were there on a weeknight when they don’t do lumpia. Argh…
Their sisig is an interesting take as it is chicken instead of pigs face, but it was delicious. The cracklings, and the salad were great. The seafood dish was a bit too intense for my wife, but the rest of us loved it.
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Hate that when that happens! Wonderfully written review and great pics. Have to try this out. Thank you!
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That, and the lines (and just the HEAVINESS), is why I don’t go to Tsujita (or a lot of well-known) ramen places. Totally forgot about Yumeya and haven’t been… Hmmm… 
I assume they are. The noodles have been pretty consistent the times I’ve gone, and one reason why @SpockSpork likes Uovo more than Pasta Sisters is b/c of the firmness of the pasta.
Next time you’re in the mood for pasta in Santa Monica, consider Colpasta.
My “contribution” for the past wk is as follows… I really want to love Refresh, but I’m not entirely sure how much the owners want it to be a successful business. Service there, while super friendly, is always… slow. I went there for lunch on Fri and, immediately after stating I wanted a banh mi, was told, “Oh, we ran out of picked vegetables.” How does one run out of picked vegetables at 1PM on a Friday? And, perhaps more importantly, why I am being offering a sandwich that’s missing an essential component?
I still purchased one, anyway, b/c I was starving and was in a hurry. So I got a banh mi that consisted of pate, cucumbers, jalapeños, and cilantro. It was… weird. ::sigh::
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Live tweeting, baby…
Edit:
Sorry for the delay. I totally passed out after the trauma of having to navigate Ikea (which is why I was in the area to begin w/). And, yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounded.
Was originally thinking of hitting up Pho So 1 or Pizza Wagon and then I remember @Ns1 had mentioned this place. I’ve only been the one time and only had a single dish, but it was delicious. No need to choose btw the sausage and khao soy b/c they have a combo for $14! Bwahahahahaha. The amount of food in the bowl seems small, but it’s not. While the flavors are intense, there’s sophistication to both the seasoning and presentation (even interior decor). If Chiang Mai’s sausage is what Thai pork sausage is normally like, I can see why Northern Thai FC is (super) crumbly by comparison. I actually like crumbly, so happy we have a variety to choose from. 
Service is super sweet. And, if you’re in the mood for kosher pizza afterward, well, you can get that across the street.
If I lived close by, I’d be here all the time. Not sure when I’ll be in the area again, but I look forward to coming back.
Many thanks to @Ns1 for mentioning this place!
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Bizarra Capital
Flank steak chimichangas 
- must order when I come here. Packed with flank steak, the beef flavor comes through mostly and dunking it in the crema and the beef jus is just pure decadence.
Pulpo en mojo verde - really one of the most flavorful and creative octopus dishes in the city. Pretty spicy from the verde sauce. Ordered this with some handmade corn tortillas to make fried potato and octopus tacos bites.
Nopal asado - pretty good, I think I would just grab another order of chimichangas cuz so much better.
LSXO
Another great fuckin meal.
Pork belly “bun bo hue” - perfectly crisp skinned pork belly and tender meat beneath, sop everything up with that amazing broth and eaten with the nicely cumin spiced morcilla, then topped each bite with pork rinds. Such a creative dish with so many interesting flavors. I’d order this again for sure, for myself only 
Only slight disappointment was the Bo Kho was not in the menu 
but the rest of the meal made up for it. Why is the papaya salad here so great?
Majordomo
B.S. Fries
Con queso
Brodard
Shrimp and pork spring rolls - necessary order to make the visit official
Mì Triều Châu noodle soup - nice broth and the broth gets better and better as the ingredients bathe in it.
Brodard crepe noodles - love this and fish sauce lyfe. Love the variety.
Howlin Ray’s
Chicken n waffles
Sando
Batters box
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That’s some impressive eating!
I’ve never ordered the chimichangas from Bizarra Capital before…will have to do so the next time I’m in. Though they look more like flautas and rolled tacos than chimichangas.
Did you have to get the steak in order to get the fries?
I haven’t had banh hoi in ages…how is Brodard’s version?
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That’s my favorite bar in Ktown, mostly for the decor and history though. The chicken is not too bad either
Definitely try the chimichangas, I do agree they are more like flautas. These are done right with a nice ratio of meat to tortilla which makes them so flavorful.
I didn’t order the steak, I just asked the waiter and he asked the kitchen and they let us get them. I also gave him some cash which wasn’t really needed but he was a good waiter.
I really enjoy this dish at Brodard even though I has no baseline of which to judge. I have had it a few times now and just love all the different meats and herbs and the lime chili fish sauce is pretty darn good. They give you fried eggrolls, charbroiled chicken, charbroiled pork, pork sausage, and shrimp paste all topped with fried shallots and peanuts. They assemble the meats on top of the banh hoi so all the juices and oils soak in which I am a huge fan of in general. Oh, and they give you some pickled daikon and carrot as well. So each little wrap you make is different flavor and texture. Let me know what you think if you do try it as it is the only version I have had 
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The Prince’s cicken is legit. I’ve had better, but not at anyplace still open. Weird that you can’t have soju at the bar, but it’s a still a semi-free country.
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