The great news is Zingerman’s will deliver that sandwich to you!! I have sent it to several people (special people):
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I send it to my daughter every time it goes on sale.
We were in the main dining room in the corner next to that private room. Yes, definitely a bummer, but next time!
Porridge to me is soul food. Made commonly by mothers and grandmothers to feed their sick child. It is nourishing, healing, and comforting. There is bowls of porridge all over Southern California. And most of them are probably just fine and will serve it’s purpose. Whether it is Cantonese, Taiwanese, Thai, Korean, Filipino,Vietnamese, and Cambodian all of the above can be had out here. I know I enjoyed them all in their respective neighborhoods areas, and homes.I just love porridge.
I know of Chef Minh Phan/Porridge and Puffs for a few years. Jonathan Gold loved it. I believe they were one of the many food stalls when Smorgasburg LA first opened up. Prior to that I heard of the popups as well.
Some Asian and Asian-Americans have expressed, “it’s overpriced hipster porridge”, or “my grandma makes it for free/better/cheaper” or “I can go to _____ in _______ neighborhood”, Okay I can see what they mean by that. But I don’t think Porridge and Puffs is tryin to replace your Grandmas or the traditional versions, I think Chef Phan is inspired by those but is merely expressing her self and her vision thru the vehicle of food and the blank canvas of porridge. You live in the food wonderland of Southern California, isn’t it nice to have some options and variety? Isn’t it great that this week you can have Porridge and Puffs, and then next week you can have porridge in SGV/Little Saigon/Koreatown??? How lucky right?
I went on a weekday I had off and headed for lunch. Yeah parking sucks but luckily Beverly was not too busy around 1045am and I found a spot in front of Tactile Coffee and quickly parallel parked.
I heard one of the brothers here used to work for Ludo and made biscuits on the Ludo Truck. These biscuits are hot, fresh, nice exterior and the apple butter…that ain’t no Lucille’s Apple butter, that apple butter at Tactile taste like straight up fall. Pretty good biscuit. I like Everson Royce Bar better tbh but then again I am also happy with Popeyes so what does that say??? Solid. The latte was fine.
I walked right in to Porridge and Puffs and had the place to myself for almost an hour. The waitress was sweet, cute, and energetic. Was very helpful in recommending some dishes as this was my first visit.
Fermented Tea Leaf Salad.
As other FTCers mentioned you are going to want to taste every component individually for 1-2 bites. Believe me as each veg is pickled/fermented/seasoned uniquely. I loved every damn vegetable and fruit in that salad. The pickled watermelon rind in passion fruit juice…I think I said outloud, “oh shit” and “damn”. This is my kind of salad! I’m just not a fan of those salads you see in Italian restaurants with a ton of cheese. Yeah normally salads are usually not worth getting, but for me this was worth getting. I crown this my favorite salad.
Chicken and Mushroom Porridge.
This seems like their signature. Again try the components individually…
And this instantly became one of my favorite dishes. Absolutely stunning.
If I can sum up Chef Phan’s porridge…it channels and has the soul of Grandma with the creativity of an Artist. Their is a feminity to it, the way it is composed and plated every part is well thought out made with care and attention to detail. It’s fun and playful but also focused. The savory is balanced out with other wonderful flavors playing around in your mouth. It is indeed soulful! It is beautiful feminine energy.
Lol yeah I got a second bowl this one is Seaweed and Mushroom. The Chicken has a mire poix based porridge and this one has a negi based porridge. This was wonderful as well but I like the chicken better! The kitchen gave me a free Puff, I used this to scoop up and tore some pieces into the porridge. It tastes like a youtiao but is bready as opposed to airy. I can do without it tbh.
The Mochi. The aroma, the taste, that sauce! I gave the plate a few licks.
If you haven’t can tell by now, I like Porridge and Puffs.
Hung out at one of my favorite places. Did some learning, walking, writing, thinking. The Planetarium shows I should stop seeing these because it turns into a $7 nap…those damn comfortable seats and darkness, lights out for me!!!
So afterwards…what should I eat for dinner? Well Koreatown and Thai Town is nearby and I love eating in those 2 neighborhoods. Or I could…
Go back to Porridge and Puffs for dinner lol!!!
This time I got the Short Rib porridge and some beets (dinner special). Porridge was good!
I’ll have to try their Pinch Dinners on Thursday’s, as well as their other porridge’s. No menu posted on their official website but you can always count on the Chicken Porridge and mochi being on the
menu. The menu can change daily and weekly. Shoutout to those farmers who provide this restaurant with their veggies.
So yeah I personally love this place
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So my unmet friend are you ignoring the fact that many of us are sad you are moving away? What is up with that? Asian porridge is good, a lovely report as always, but are you really leaving?
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Just for a few years. Yes I am sad but also excited. I’ll keep the food reviews going from there (maybe not as much as LA/OC, I’ll be cooking more) and I’ll try to keep the pulse on things here in LA. Try to make an annual visit. I love LA FTC I have learned so much from so many people!!
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Well said about Porridge and Puffs! I love her food. Try buying some of her tapioca pudding before you leave. It’s seasonal and I don’t know how often she has it so buy it when you can. They don’t have it at the counter, it’s off menu so ask for it and they’ll put it in a jar for you. The girl at the counter didn’t know what I was talking about but went to the back and asked Minh who told her she would have it ready in a few minutes.
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+1 on this entire post (including taking a nap during Planetarium shows…). 
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How’s the situation with Chinese Laundry at Smorgesburg? Do they sell out quick? Super long line? The duck looks amazing and basically want to make sure we know to what to expect before we ride our bikes over there…
We got there around 1:30 and waited in line 40 minutes. When we got to the front, I saw them starting to talk to the folks behind us (presumably letting them know stuff is running out) so I would assume 1:30 is the absolute latest you would want to get there. Also they are having a special day today (2/2) where the entire smorgasburg is doing a spotlight on vegan food so you may want to confirm the status of the duck.
Thanks so much for the deets!! Will probably be headed down there at a future date. I’ve followed him on Instagram to plan ahead for next time. 
Nick’s Coffee Shop
Eggs Benedict with a side of grits
Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs
Bacon, “it’s wafer thin” — long paper thin slices. Never had it this thin. Actually pretty tasty this way.
Never been here before. Super-friendly staff!!
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Kean Coffee. Classic Cappucino. Hands down my favorite shop in all of LA/OC. Everything here…the pour overs, the classic European espresso drinks, the lattes, Caffe Borgia. Those shops with minimalist design… I don’t know what it is but they seem so boring and they lack warmth and energy, the shop and their employees. Martin Diedrich, much respect.
Soundtrack at this coffee shop today : Scenario-A Tribe Called Quest feat Busta Rhymes, Hip Hop-Mos Def, Get Money-Junior Mafia, I Ain’t No Joke-Eric B and Rakim, CREAM-Wu Tang Clan, TROY-Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Represent-Nas
!!!
Quick grab at Claro’s, the small LA/OC Italian Market chain. The sandwiches are solid. I like the frozen section for the ravioli’s.
Tip get the butternut squash ravioli, some amaretti cookies, some good unsalted butter (I think the French and Irish make the best), and some sage.
Cook ravioli, brown butter and throw in sage, drain and add in the ravioli, crush those cookies over…game over!
I think for this I am going to try sardines, garlic, red pepper flakes, and squid ink pasta…maybe some fresh clams?
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Even though it is now February I neglected to post this when it happened. We also dug in before taking pictures, a frequent fault of mine.
The Bellwether, http://thebellwetherla.com/, was one of our favorites, but between my insane work schedule the last six months and several disappointing visits it had been a few months since we had been. We decided to give them another try for DineLA. It was not disappointing.
My wife got the $39 DineLA menu giving her three dishes from a select list.
She started with the butter lettuce salad with grapefruit, avocado and crispy shallots;
This was excellent as always.
She added crispy brussels sprouts;
These were good, a little too heavy on the balsamic reduction which slightly overpowered the brussels sprouts.
She finished with an excellent strozzapreti with short rib ragu.
I went freelance as French fries were not on the DineLA menu, and French fries at the Bellwether are a must order.
Unfortunately these, while good, were not the best execution we have had there, being too oily, and many were overcooked.
The big surprise of the night was the hangar steak with tomato romesco. Great stuff!
Hangar steak is a wonderful, unsung cut almost impossible to find in stores. About ten years ago Trader Joe’s, of all place carried it but it is long gone. I order it whenever I find it on the menu. This was perfectly cooked, beefy and tender and married beautifully with the romesco and the spigarello.
All in all a lovely evening, and we took home leftovers for days.
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Jesus, thanks for reminding me this is February. I’ve been posting like January is going to be all year. LOL
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Oi Asian Fusion - Canoga Park (also East Hollywood)
Tapsilog bowl. I’m here a few times every month but usually forget to take pictures. This place is so good, it deserves its own thread, will probably do that at some point.
Aroma Cafe - West LA
Small cevappi, and aroma sandwich. We were the only non-Eastern European people in the restaurant. Nice option for lunch if you’re not in a rush. My favorite was the aroma sandwich which had beef proscuitto, cream cheese spread and green bell peppers. Really like the flavor on the cevappi but it would do better with some sort of sauce. Might bring along some Krystal next time. Balkan food seems very compatible with American tastes, great option for when you have picky non-adventurous friends.
Hanoi Avenue - Westminster
Bun Cha Hanoi here is not bad. I still prefer the version at Garlic and Chives though.
Mogumogu - Sawtelle
Deluxe mazemen is so good. At dinner, there’s plenty of parking on Olympic and the restaurant is almost empty. Good luck getting through traffic to get there though.
Teddy’s Red Tacos - Venice
Tacos, quesadilla, consomme. I was so excited I forgot to take the pic until after we started eating. The best birria de res. We come here all the time for weekday dinner. Really hope this place is doing okay because it’s usually empty when we show up.
Pho So 1 - Tarzana
Grilled pork over rice and egg rolls. Nice option for this part of the valley. Just like the other Pho So 1 locations, the food is not as good as the one in Van Nuys but close enough. This one also has banh mi which I saw quite a few people getting. Prices are a little higher with a newer, nicer dining environment and better service at this one.
800 Degrees - Santa Monica
Instagram Pizza of the Day which was pesto with chicken and red onion. It’s $6.50, you get a nice place to eat, there’s free parking and it’s open until midnight/2AM. I find the pizza serviceable and it’s less than eating at McDonald’s.
Seafood Palace - Temple City
No, we didn’t get the crab. My mother wouldn’t let us because health and qi blah blah blah.
Pork with preserved vegetable. This is my favorite version of one of my favorite dishes. If you know of a better place, do tell.
Soy sauce intestine with bean curd. This was alright, kinda plain though.
Chili with ground meat chiu chow style. The waiter said the peppers varied in their spice. Unlucky us, the ones we got were pretty close to bell pepper. It had a super salty ground pork on top flavored with fermented black beans maybe? I enjoyed it but wasn’t super exciting and I’m not sure if I’d get it again.
Seafood hotpot. For my dad, because no matter where we are he wants it. I’ve never been wowed by seafood hotpot and I’ve had way too many. This one is consistently fine.
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You missed out on the hard to find Hanoi style Crab Egg Rolls at Hanoi Avenue!!
Th Green Chili with Ground Meat is so good over some rice!!
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