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Scary lookin toast! 
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That is amazing 
Nong La’s banh mi with cha lua
Il Romanista
Nothing to add beyond what’s been said. Brilliant crust with such a nice chewiness. I asked if they would consider opening on weekends - said when they did, only a handful of customers came in, so no longer. Sigh.
Tripp Burger Another visit
Clark Street Bread
They just opened their standalone outpost in Echo Park. The place serves breakfast and coffee and was packed at 10am on a Sunday morning. Parking is a bit scarce (lot is small) and street parking looked pretty rough.
Egg in a hole with avocado - drizzle of lemon/lime juice provided some zippy acidity, while pepper flakes provided a nice spicy kick, both complementing this otherwise rich dish
Also snagged several baguettes (my favorites in the city, along with République and Gjusta). Also got some kouign amanns. Was not able to snap pics before family gobbled them up. They are much flatter than the ones I’ve seen at Dominique Ansel, République, or Huckleberry cafe. They look like the cross section of a seashell and were baked flat. As a result, I felt there was too much crunch crust vs the moist flaky inside and prefer the others.
Fantastic addition to Echo Park and to the city in general.
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ate at La Morra Pizza at Kettle Black for a pre-dinner before Kato, really enjoyed it and plan to come back soon before they leave.
Amatriciana? i think that’s what it was called.
Food was pretty good at Kato, there were 2 tasting menus, $118 and $188.we got the $188 menu which included abalone, caviar and Wagyu short rib
I don’t know if it was a lot of food or not because i had 2 slices of La Morra pizza beforehand. I was pretty full though. i liked the interpretation of 3 cup chicken but with abalone, and the steamed fish dish with turbot, and soy. I would go back but probably stick with the $118 menu.
i didn’t care for the wagyu, it had a little bit too much chew
sorry no food pics, lighting was terrible at our seat.
But here’s a pic of the menu:
Went to Bestia on Friday night, still packed and still good. i had not been in like 2 years and the cooking is still on point.
tomahawk pork chop:
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I walked by this new dessert window in the Weller Court in Little Tokyo and was very curious.
Dot Dot Dot Wheel Cake- seems like a Taiwanese version of imagawayaki, from my quick googling.
I had some cash on me so I got a custard with boba ($2.50). Took a few minutes to make and it was piping hot when they handed it to me. I’ve never had wheel cake, so my only comparison is with the red bean imagawayaki or the custard-filled taiyaki served elsewhere in Little Tokyo or Koreatown. This wheel cake had a way higher filling to cake ratio than say, the red bean cake from Mitsuru Cafe 2 blocks away. In fact it was mostly filling. I probably shouldn’t have gotten it with boba because the cake split almost immediately after I took the first bite and custard filling oozed out everywhere.
It was pretty good, but I think the custard could have been a little thicker so it wouldn’t gush out so easily. Cake part was crispy on the outer edges and a little chewy on the inside.
They were doing some promo with buy 3 get 1 free (something like that…I can’t remember the exact number) but it was only me and didn’t want to be wasteful if it ended up tasting not great.
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Seeing the posts by @JeetKuneBao and @butteredwaffles had an earworm effect - “donut shop - apple fritter.”
First stop: Stan’s Donuts for their Apple Crisp $4
I liked it better than DK’s Donuts in Santa Monica because it wasn’t as sweet, but would’ve preferred larger chunks of apple as I saw in JeetKuneBao’s SCD apple fritter pic.
Not ready to try SCD’s $4 Friday apple fritter yet. Gonna try a few more places on the Westside. To be continued…
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Lotus & Light (Burbank)
@Ns1 is so right! Went to lunch here today and got the grilled pork chop rice with fried egg. You get 2 lovely pork chops, rice, a “spicy” nuoc mam, and garnishes of cucumber and tomato. The chops were grilled well and tasted like the pork chops I had growing up. The combination of egg yolk and nuoc mam was nice with the chop juices and rice…but the nuoc mam was not as spicy as they advertised. Still a very solid lunch.
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I was there yesterday too 
I’m there at least once a week now. Didn’t really care for their chicken pho though.
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Great minds think alike. We were likely there at the same time. I was there with my team…4-top in the corner by the bar and the POS counter.
Relevant to a previous discussion with @tailbacku @chinchi @jeetkunebao et al -
returned to El Flamin’ Echo Park on my way home from the airport last night, and it reaffirmed for me that it is absolutely the good shit. Seasoning is super bright and intense, more aggressive than most others. Pieces were well-cooked and expertly cut, though could have been a touch crispier. They make their own tortillas, and they’re noticeably better than Guerrero from a bag but not super special.
A friend also put me on to the huarache, which was absolutely wild. You do have to ask for al pastor from the trompo specifically though. The huarache itself was fried and shattering without being toooo oily, and it was topped with a layer of beans, quesillo, meat, onions, and crema. Almost reminded me of Neapolitan Pizza Fritta. The mid-Atlantic, from whence I had just returned, could never.
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Haven’t been in a while but was gratified they had suadero last time I checked
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It was on the menu last night! I was tempted, but I hadn’t been in a while and needed to go ham on the pastor. I’ll be back for it sometime soon for sure though.
Also, about this El Flamin’ at least - they have pared down what used to be a ridiculous menu with a whole bunch of stuff specifically labeled for 4/20, and it seems to be a lot more streamlined these days, in a good way.
Good to know, maybe I’ll do a late night visit to them and the Leos at the car wash for a side by side!
quick atwater lunch bang trio
fish & shrimp taco from Ricky’s Fish Tacos
chorizo, nopales, and spinach breakfast burrito from Tacos Villa Corona
croissant from Proof Bakery
apple chausson from Proof Bakery
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solid atwater run. a stop by Dune and Wanderlust would’ve made a full house.
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They added pastor interesting…how did it taste?
pass. the play is asada and chorizo only.
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