Right? LOL! Lot was 1/3 full. Strange times, indeed.
Got to say, I was impressed with the way they were handling it. The setup was great. There was care.
Though they were getting phone orders nonstop. As soon as the girl took an order and set the phone down it rung again. They are making a huge mistake not having online ordering. Phone lines are mostly busy.
Wait, how did I miss Rioja talk. Now your speaking my language 
Was lucky enough to visit the City of Haro in the Rioja Alta and hang out at Lopez de Heredia, CVNE, Roda … Don’t sleep on the white wines of the Rioja as well.
BIG NEWS! Thank you for sharing.
socarrat in da house?
Let’s just say I saw plenty of my guy socarrat.
Last weekend I went to VP Tofu in Monterey Park for the first time since the COVID restrictions started.
They are only allowing in 2 people at a time, and you can no longer grab soy milk out of the cold case. You tell the employee which flavors you want and they get it for you.
They are also not frying tofu to order unless you specifically ask or have a particularly large order. I think it’s to prevent a backup of people waiting for tofu. I ordered a 10 piece plain fried tofu and it was given to me pre-packaged, shrinkwrapped on a foam tray. Still good but just something to note if you prefer the just freshly fried stuff.
I love me some Pandan Soy Milk!
Honestly, dont know where to ask this question and I know this is the wrong month but my sister told me that Vik’s Chaat House in Berkley has Pakistani mangoes right now and I am very jealous. Does anyone in LA have a plug for some Pakistani mangoes?
Had some really good mangos from Jordan market on Westwood blvd last week . Not sure where they were from though.
Modo Donuts pop up at Irvine Mitsuwa
Churro
Honey sugar
Strawberry
The flavors are very mild. Maybe a little too mild especially the strawberry but the texture of the donuts is the star. Great wonderful chew and still a little crunch a few hours after picking up.
TRIPP’S BURGERS and JOHNNY’S WEST ADAMS BANG X2
TRIPP’S BURGERS
OK, I’ve got to admit this was a crazy good burger. Crispy edges, though he doesn’t put any of the condiments right on the burger so it’s served plain. Tripp admitted today he did not feel like slicing onions so he did not have onion burgers. But there’s bacon (and maybe pork) in the patty.
SINGLE CHEESEBURGER
We took a bite of our single plain. Delicious. Absolutely delicious. we decided not to put anything on it it was so good. Martin’s potato roll. Ok, I see why you all give them such love!!
Wifey and liked this better than the Win-Dow, but barely, but would’ve preferred if the cook had assembled them with the toppings. The bacon flavor really comes through.
Plain. Yep. Plain good!
TRIPLE BURGER
The “kid” ate a triple, dressed it, and liked it, But preferred the Win-Dow.
Tripp’s was not cheap, however. A pretty small single is $9 and the triple was $14. Then again came with a bag of chips.
Second stop, Johnny’s pastrami on Adams.
This was definitely not Jewish food. It was a smoked brisket place that put an “ode to Jewish dishes” on the menu. Kind of like if I took over a Tex-Mex place and made cornbread with a hole in it and called it my Tex-Mex ode to the bagel.
My favorite thing was the burnt ends. Tender juicy. The fat was soooo great,
My full thoughts (on everything we had, sandwiches, knish, etc) if you are interested (probably not, though) are here in the Johnny’s West Adams thread
“I feel a bit rusty,” Chef Brandon grins as the bento boxes are most courteously handed to me by Hayato’s new kimono-clad host, Yuki-san.
After an absence of a few months, the famed Hayato bento boxes are back!
And Chef Go is too kind in his self-assessment, as today’s bento may be the best box I’ve yet experienced, from the already-lofty heights I’ve come to expect from Hayato. Case in point: The Satsuma sweet potato may sound deceptively simple, but on first bite, it becomes completely revelatory. The tuber is not gritty in its starch at all. Rather, it imparts a full-hearted earthiness that tells the diner of the care it received on the farm, and in its delicate preparation by Chef Brandon and his team. Such profound Japanese sensibilities.
The Karakuchi was an excellent dry choice to accompany the bento today. I’d highly recommend that anyone who picks up a bent at Hayato to also consider pairing it with a bottle from the thoughtfully curated sake list. If not for the pleasure of it all, then at least have some sake to help Hayato in these times. Chef Brandon has hired back his entire crew to restart this bento box endeavor. I hold much respect for everything Chef Brandon and his team stand for…
+3000, so this. Thank you for a killer report, and especially that super thoughtful ending paragraph!
I picked up a Sohomare Karakuchi too from another restaurant up here to go a couple months ago. Very solid food friendly sake for sure, and for those buying sake to go, can always play around with it at home (e.g. save some and warm it up too) and pair it with other food.
I do like that Dewazakura Mountain Cherry too 
Daishichi “The Gate” is quite luxurious (designed for kaiseki for sure) and the bottle design is elegant too.
Forgot we are in August already!!
Catching up:
Revisiting Sushi Yoshizumi’s kaisen futomaki. It was even more ridonkulous this time. So much flavor in all the ingredients mixed in together, and the uni was especially creamy that added additional texture. The most prominent flavor that was key, was the ni shitake.
New offering: kaisen chirashi
The bara chirashi got retired, it’s really sad a lot of customers didn’t appreciate that it was literally high end Japan sushi omakase offering… they just assume it’s leftover fish when it is not. And what’s even sadder, quite a number of of non FTC grade customers are oblivious to the fact that there are different grades and price levels of a wide variety of seafood, and can’t even tell the difference between cheap kinmedai and higher quality kinmedai that costs x2 or more (especially the superb seasonal phat ji-kinme you guys have also been enjoying from Katsuura a couple months ago), and yet jump to conclusions and harsh judgement based entirely on price without understanding value…
So Akira san tweaked it and the results are as good as dine in nigiri. Changed presentation and arrangement, and you still get ~18 varieties of what he does best! All of his masterful skills are on display here: konbu jime, marinated, aged, shoyu zuke, knifework, salt cured, cooking (tamago, ebi) and dashi, not to mention ingredients selection, and other wisdom. The shari is expertly seasoned and has the addition of shio konbu, ni shiitake, and kanpyo for a really superb mouthfeel (sorry I didn’t get a good shot of that, next time)!
Really wish you guys could try this and his other offerings! Interestingly, Andrea Chang of LA times has been here at least once for takeout in the last couple months.
I would make the trip for that Futomaki.
Do you think Akira san can make that after a omakase? (If when everything is back up to normal)
Some of these are from yesterday, but I figured I shouldn’t make two posts…
Beef banh mi at Nong La
The bento box from Jimmy Sugishita, perhaps his best yet
The aji bozushi on a Match Stoneware plate 
@hppzz @PorkyBelly
The clam belly sandwich at Connie and Teds
Strawberries and cream tart
The seafood paella at Holbox - this was before chef unloaded it into the takeout container - thanks for the encouragement to go @J_L
Btw, I was encouraged to see that the Mercato Paloma was reasonably busy at 3:30pm on a Saturday, and Holbox filled 3-4 orders in the 10 minutes I spent waiting for mine
Spot prawn aguachiles
Grilled kanpachi taco
Wagyu char siu banh mi at Kato - thanks for the heads up @PorkyBelly
Looks like we should have had an FTC meetup at Hayato yesterday!
Thanks for the feedback! You ate super well! Glad that Mercado La Paloma is busier. Those clam bellies look divine.
You mean like two rolls of kaisen futomaki for an add on for dine in, or a box to go? Very much doubt that when things go back to normal he will have those available (ie a box to go after the meal, unless you request it way in advance and if he even has the additional time to do it). If adding on say, a seafood futomaki (two pieces), that could be do-able but it will depend on what he has remaining, and it will likely not be as packed nor as thick. Right now he is down to doing everything himself… and doesn’t have the luxury of a full staff anymore, and even if dine in were to resume (and be safe) it’s uncertain what that will even look like. Which is why he could use all the support he can get right now…
I just had the regular and maguro futomaki’s for lunch and am already super stuffed.
I see the OG, legendary @JeetKuneBao is back! And you had that post a few months ago claiming you don’t think you can do a bang x bang anymore! I couldn’t imagine eating more after Yoshizumi-san’s wonderful Omakase (we were stuffed!). You’ve been training with your Uncle Bruce, to be able to down that wonderful looking Futomaki after the extensive Omakase course! 
Holbox is top of my list when I get back to LA .
