Been wanting to try it but it’s tough to make the drive out there when I stayed in SF. How was it? Did you try anything else?
I can’t properly review the xl kougin amann because I couldn’t eat it right away, but the regular kougin amanns I’ve had there have been good. I still prefer the flatter style at arsicault though.
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Late reporting - picked up and ate from Fat and Flour
slice of salted honey pie
5" key lime pie
5" chocolate pie
fresh fruit hand pie (apple)
I liked all, and if/when one of the savory options works with my schedule I’ll try one of those. My experience is that Fat & Flour is pre-order only with no walk up business. Assuming this will change in some golden future, I’d be interested in trying different fresh fruit hand pies.
Picked up and ate from Nicole de Porres
six biscuits
Hoppin’ John (with pork)
Hoppin’ John (vegetarian)
Good lord this place went from a “I want to try,” to “I am so excited to figure out what else I can order.” I really really liked my food, and all interactions with her.
Predictably, I liked the porky hoppin’ john better than the vegetarian option. While the vegetarian option looked the same as the meat version, I thought it had a more acidic note. The biscuits are WORTH IT.
de-Porres has an option to deliver directly to your house, or to pick up from a space in DTLA. It’s easier for me to pick up, and all of that went smoothly.
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Saturday afternoon Bang X2
LA MASCOTA BAKERY
Sandra’s is closed so we decided to try this place in the area. I’ve seen it recommended here at FTC before.
Really terrific masa to filling ratio. The filling isn’t super dry. The filing is saucier than many other places, in a good way. The masa is really moist and flavorful.
EL RUSO
Carne asada tacos with beans and cheese. Excellent. The cheese wasn’t noticeable but the beans were a nice addition. The meat was not tough or gristly as some have mentioned and there was a nice smokiness.
Man, those are some damn good flour tortillas.
The red salsa is nice and hot. Lingering furnace effect in my stomach was pleasant LOL. Guess I should not have dumped 3 container-fuls on my two tacos.
BTW, El Ruso is no longer cash only for those who didn’t know.
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Adana in Glendale/Burbank
Beef Koobideh plate w/ shirin polo (orange peel/almond rice)
Chicken Koobideh w/ zereshk polo (barberry rice)
Ajika dip - red bell pepper, carrot etc, might be my favorite thing here! Not pictured is their Igra dip, which is eggplant/tomato based, a more nuanced version of Mini Kabob’s eggplant caviar.
Love everything here, especially the rices and veggie dips. I think of it as more Burbank because it’s right on the border and only a couple blocks from Ikea.
Iki Ramen - shoyu ramen + kaisendon + 4 hand rolls. Kaisendon was great, everything really fresh and amazing qpr! The ramen traveled well - only wish they include a whole egg, 1/2 seems skimpy. The hand rolls prob weren’t the best idea as the nori was soft by the time I got to them - quality of rice and fish were solid, like the kaisendon.
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From J. Gold’s review (link from restaurant website):
The exact provenance of the restaurant is hard to place. Khechemyan’s appetizers are mostly from the repertoire of Armenian meze, but his main courses and sweets lean toward Iran, and he talks a lot about the flavors of Georgia. The menu is in English. The name of the restaurant is that of a Turkish city (one from which the Armenians were expelled in a particularly nasty way). The kitchen staff and many of the customers talk to one another in Armenian. The music trickling across the dining room is what used to be called semiclassical. You can get a burger or a Philly cheesesteak if you are so inclined.
(Thank you for the review, @glazedonut - looks totally up our alley.) (Bittersweet to read JGold’s review: we were so fortunate to have his voice!)
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Great read, as always with JGold, thanks for linking @ElsieDee! Hope you enjoy Adana as much as I do. It’s a little far for me, so whenever I go, I get a ton.
Makes sense igra is just another name for eggplant caviar, thought they tasted similar. Another nice touch is their raw onions served on the side with kabobs are spiced with not just sumac but also Aleppo pepper. Adds a another dimension.
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I like Adana quite a bit as well.
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I haven’t been since before covid, but that is how they usually are
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Ekiben Japan by n/naka (Palms)…
The result of team n/naka’s collaboration with JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) L.A., this delicious two-tiered take-out box is inspired by ekiben: Rail station bento boxes meant to be taken aboard for enjoyment while riding the various marvelous train systems of Japan. The ingredients were supplied from all corners of Japan as well. Truly, this experience brought me back to the days of yore, when care-free international travel existed (pre-2020).
As is usually the case with the n/naka, every bite was spot on. Highlights included the braised beef sukiyaki (Yonezawa), the ika yaki (Aomori), ebi with chili shrimp paste (Yokohama), chirashi don (Osaka), onigiri (Ibaraki), kinako almond praline dango, as citrus and muscat grape jelly. The rice used was delightful. Just magnificent!
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looks great!
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Furn Saj bakery and restaurant in Granada Hills.
So we got a “falafel pie” (Vegan btw) $7.99, which is 3 falafels, hummus, tahini, parsley, fresh tomato, and turnips in oven baked mana’ish bread.
Then we got a beef shawarma plate, $15.99. Comes with tahini, turnips and two sheets of saj bread. You also get your choice of two sides. Choose from hummus, salad, baba ganoush, fries, white rice, labneh, fattoush or for $2 more you can get tabouli.
Each of these dishes can easily feed two, or me.
Full summary of my experience and more photos here Thread: Favorite Restaurants In The Valley
Also, here’s a link to their website. https://www.furnsaj.com/ They have locations in Granada Hills, Glendora, and Calabasas (near border with Agoura)
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Furn Saj is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. Everything there is just really tasty and fresh.
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Chef Johnny was kind enough to grant me a sneak peek of this weekend’s Cut Chicken at Pearl River Deli (Chinatown) - Marvelous! Wonderful aroma and texture.
I forged a PRD x Needle collab this evening. Today’s offering featured Chef Ryan’s best char siu thus far. Excellent wok hei on those beef and onions. Shrimp egg scramble was not all there for me (I felt it was a tad too runny), while the beef curry was a smash hit with the family…
Later this month, Needle will host a Siu Yeh ( 消夜 ) Pop-up… Aw yeah for siu yeh!
The spirit of New Wave Cantonese fare in L.A. is growing…
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Checked in on Konbi today, and while the pick up situation was a bit of a mess, (if you pre-order online you still need to wait in line to get to the window at which point they start preparing your food?) this little shop is still turning out some powerful flavors.
I deviated from my usual egg salad/original omelette sando order and went with the jonah crab omelette, which was interesting. It’s much saltier and had a pleasant taste, but it wasn’t straight luxury like the original omelette can be.
I also picked up the roasted beets, with crushed tofu and Asian pear. While Konbi has kept its sandwiches pretty consistent since opening, the seasonal sides are notable for being mostly outstanding. Ever since Chef Miles Thompson showed up in the kitchen, they’ve been churning out sides that are compelling enough to keep me coming back with the bonus of always getting a no-fail sando.
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We usually do our Annual Friends/Christmas dinner on the third Saturday of January. We did it this way so we always have a set date and we would avoid all work and family and friends Xmas dinners or parties that are usually held in December.
Since it was not possible to meet up this year, we arranged bento boxes from Jimmy Sugishita. We did a custom order which included the sukiyaki.
Overall, the group really enjoyed the bento box.
Here’s the menu:
Buri Sumibiyaki(Wild Japanese Yellowtail Grilled over Binchotan Charcoal)
Sudachi Citrus, Hanaho(Shiso Flower)
Roasted Takana(Pickled Japanese Mustard Greens)
Satoimo-ni(Steamed/Simmered Japanese Atari)
Kabocha-ni(Simmered Japanese Pumpkin)
Uri-Somen(Spaghetti Squash marinated Vinegarized Dashi)
Kabu-Ni(Simmered Tokyo Turnip w/ Moromi Miso)
Agedashi Nasu(Simmered Japanese Eggplant)
Yaki-Renkon(Grilled Lotus Root)
Wakamomo(Japanese Baby Peach)
Kegani(Hokkaido Hairy Crab)
Myoga
Shiso
A5 Kagoshima Wagyu Sukiyaki
Choice of:
Tekkamaki(Akami, Chutoro, Otoro from Kyoto)
Futomaki(Anago, Kuruma Ebi, Tamago, Shiitake, Japanese Cucumber)
This a pic of both choices for the bento.
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That’s brilliant! And delicious.
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It’s been a while since I’ve had Furaibo in Sawtelle. Tried a few new things, and everything was a hit.
Tori Pirikawa (Chicken Skin)
The menu had this listed as chicken nuggets, but it turned out to be fried chicken skin. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. The sweet and sour sauce is really nice here.
Tamagoyaki
This is something I haven’t seen before. The tamago is grilled, then topped with grated radish and chili oil. We liked this a lot.
Okinawa Style Pork Fried Rice
This reminds me of something you’d get at a ramenya, specifically Daikokuya. The chashu is plentiful and rich, in a fried rice made perfectly.
French Fries
Everything we ordered was great, but the french fries stole the show for me. These are actually made in-house and to order. They taste like it, too.
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