January 2021 Rundown

Happy New Year, folks! May 2021 bring you safety, good health, and delicious eats.

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Down in Philly today. Dalessandros and Wawa. Hearty appetite today compared to yesterday where I slept all day. (immune response to the vaccine had me fatigue/achey for the whole day).

Dalessandros, I’ll have to play around with the different toppings and additions to the cheesesteaks. Wit whiz, onions, peppers at minimum. I should have asked for more hot and sweet peppers. I really wanted DiNics roast pork broccoli rabe but Reading Terminal is closed today. My only reference to cheesesteaks is Phillys Best around LA/OC, Fig Cheesesteaks by USC, and Boo’s.

Wawa is probably the best damn gas station around. Hoagies and other freshly prepared food (or foodz in Philly wiseguy goon slang) is ordered on a touch screen, then you pay at the register and pickup. The coffee is fine for gas station coffee. I have to say the chips out here are really good. Brands I never heard of like Utz and Middleswarth. I see Tasty Kakes but I never know what to get. Hoagies, not bad for a gas station!

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butterscotch krimpets and peanut butter kandy kakes

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Happy New Year, JKB. Classic Philly post. I miss Utz chips and (strangely) taking the SEPTA from the Main Line into the city. I’m getting my second dose of the Pfizer next week. Did you get Moderna?

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Started off 2021 the only way we know how.

Then took a nice walk in Dana Point so stopped by Heritage BBQ. The car pick up line at 11:20 was out of control. They have multiple guys doing traffic and directing cars to wait on the other side of the street. Took about 30 minutes to get out food. Pictures are terrible but the BBQ was excellent. Great loss of smoke and extremely juicy. The wife says this is the best BBQ we’ve ever had and can’t disagree. While we loved the brisket the chicken stole the show. We have so much food in the house I didn’t want to over order. My kids destroyed the pickles and the queso was delicious. A better grown up version. Make sure you have extra chips on hand bc they only provide a small amount. There may or not be picnic tables that people are still socially distanced eating and drinking beers on.

Happy New Year.

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In some parts of CA cities are designating outdoor areas as ‘city parks’ so they’re not technically on premise even when they are. With OC authorities not really spending much energy enforcing rules there may be plenty of room for slippage. See no evil…

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Gotcha. I personally don’t have a problem with outdoor dining as long as your not having a raging party with tons of people. My family eating BBQ on a picnic table drinking beers 10 feet away from anybody else seems much safer than being inside a mall at 20% capacity but what do I know. We might sit and eat at the ‘city park’ in the coming weeks after another hike in south county.

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South OC has some really beautiful beaches that are not as nearly crowded as South Bay beaches and Huntington. Jus sayin. Bang bang it with FTC fav Kawamata Seafood for real poke with Hawaiian seaweed!

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Pfizer.

Happy New Year to you too!

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fried chicken sandwich | brioche, pickled slaw, radish, tomato, cucumber, special sauce, yuca fries, spicy ketchup - Walking Spanish LA
It was a tasty sandwich but ate more like grilled chicken than fried. The batter lacked crunch and sat between two smushed up buns. Yuca fries were crunchy but dry and hard. I liked the spicy ketchup though. @Hungrydrunk

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nods approvingly @JeetKuneBao, try the Herrs brand chips too!

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I tried the same chicken sandwich last week. Agree with pretty much everything you wrote. Thought it was good, but my chicken looked even less crunchy than yours. Not sure if it was because I placed a late order on a rainy day. I did like the yuca fries.

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Yikes. Yours looks pretty bad. Overall, it’s a close call between this and a Popeye chicken sandwich in terms of tasty factor.

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James absolutely nailed his new iteration! Himi Buri was a revelation. Highly highly recommend picking up a bento from him.

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ototo

satsuma daifuku
this was as good as it looked. the satsuma was juicy with just the right amount of acid to balance the white bean sweetness. one of my favorite ototo daifuku.

ohagi
the red bean and kinako pattern almost made it look like a piece of nigiri.

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Langers x Angry Egret Dinette x Katsu Sando

#19 on rye | hot pastrami, coleslaw, swiss cheese, russian dressing, double-baked rye bread - Langers
Great as usual.

baja shrimp po boy | fried shrimp, cabbage slaw, pico de gallo, chipotle cream - Angry Egret Dinette
Delicious sandwich. Lots and lots of avocado. Loved the light, crispy, and flavorful batter on the shrimp!

pork katsu sando - Katsu Sando
Just okay…toasted bread was a bit dry and you can see the not-very-crunchy batter peeling away from the reasonably moist pork.

waffle fries - Katsu Sando
Perfect! Nicely seasoned and crunchy.

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Pizza Wagon pickup. Worth the drive from Los Feliz.


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New Year’s Day fondue feast:

January 2nd Bruno’s pizza picnic by the SM Pier:

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Pikunico

Mix (1 whole wing, 1 thigh, 2 tenders)

It’s been a minute since I’ve had Pikunico, and I forgot how great the fried chicken is with its juicy meat and crisp skin.

Sauce power ranking:

  1. Lemon Aioli
  2. Daikon Onzu Oroshi
  3. Parsley Sesame Sauce

Pikunico Slaw

This is one of my favorite salads in the city. The dressing is absolutely addictive and I love adding the seasoned egg.

Choconut Chip Cookie

Bigger this time, and it still slaps.

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Manresa Bread

XL kougin amann
long live the kougin
buttered toast for scale

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