No pics but someone at work brought in Raising Canes. Never had it and never heard of it. For a fast food chicken finger it is pretty solid. The dipping sauce was good too. Didn’t get to try the toast because the animals-coworkers got to it before me. Would have liked to make a sandwich with the fingers, sauce, and toast but oh well.
On a similar note went to Chik Fil A because a younger family member wanted it when out and about.
Yeah, I am pretty sure that chicken sandwich shrank in size!
Raising Cane’s knows how to fry some solid chicken tenders…and that sauce is crack. If you ever go in, the sweet tea and lemonade is saccharine sweet. The slaw isn’t bad, either.
We stopped by since we were in the area on the SGV trek earlier (continuation of my previous post). Apparently Claud & Co. closed down, and Chef Claud Beltran converted it into a more casual neighborhood spot. I first heard about Claud & Co. from @ElsieDee and @nashwill on our old board, and we were able to make it over there a few times when we happened to be visiting.
Tap & Kitchen is more casual and doesn’t feature the rotating “world / theme menu” that Claud & Co. was doing, which is unfortunate (that was fun!).
Duck Leg Taquitos (Cilantro Tomatillo Sauce, Cumin Sour Cream):
Nicely cooked, slightly crunchy, filled with moist, juicy morsels of Duck Leg (tasting like slow braised or confit). They were delicious! 
We inhaled these within seconds. 
Little Gem Salad (Radish Sprouts, Marinated Red Peppers, Chopped Black Olives, Mrs. Bracci Garlic Vinaigrette):
This was a refreshing, crisp, garlicky Salad. The Roasted Red Peppers provided a touch of natural sweetness, and counterbalanced the Olives, and the Mrs. Bracci Garlic Vinaigrette was quite good, and very fragrant from a good quality Olive Oil.
Fish Fry (Cornflake and Corn Meal Crusted Fried Barramundi, House Potato Chips, Pickled Vegetables):
This was the only hiccup of the night: The Barramundi tasted muddy (like an improperly cleaned Catfish), and while the breading was crunchy, the whole taste just fell short of great Fish & Chips like at Connie & Ted’s, Golden State and BatterFish.
The “Chips” in this case were sad, flaccid and lukewarm, saturated in oil. 
Service was pleasant and relaxed.
If the new menu is more like the delicious Duck Leg Taquitos and the Little Gem Salad, we’ll be glad to go back and try more items at Chef Claud’s new casual eatery.
Tap & Kitchen
488 N. Allen Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91106
Tel: (626) 688-7256
It had been a couple years since we last went to Father’s Office, but one of our friends felt like stopping by to see what Craft Beers were on tap.
Epic Big Bad Baptist (Salt Lake City, UT) (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with Espresso and Cocoa Nibs):
While not as good as Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, this was quite enjoyable, a nice Dark Chocolatey back note, with an Espresso finish. 
Our friend was marveling at the Scaldis Prestige de Nuits from Belgium. Apparently an Ale aged in Burgundy Barrels that sells for $74 for a bottle of Beer(!). 
The Office Burger (Caramelized Onions, Bacon, Gruyere, Maytag Blue, Arugula):
It’s now $15 (+tax & tip) with no sides, which feels a bit steep. But it had been a few years…
The first bite yielded a dry, moisture sucking Bun. It was beyond typical dry, tasting almost old. The actual Beef Patty tasted slightly beefy and OK, but nothing like it used to, perhaps they switched purveyors? The Caramelized Onion Jam was just really sweet as well and they put too much on it.
It feels like Father’s Office has just gotten worse since Chef-Owner Sang Yoon is expanding his empire and appearing on more TV shows, etc.
It wasn’t bad, but this Office Burger tastes like a lesser version of what it used to be, or maybe it was just an off day.
Father’s Office (Culver City)
3229 Helms Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Tel: (310) 736-2224
Meals by Genet is one restaurant in Little Ethiopa I’ve been meaning to try for years. It was recommended by multiple Hounds on our old board (@westsidegal and some others) , but for one reason or another, I just never got around to going until now.
Vegetarian Combo + Ria Genet’s Dorowat:
This seemed like the best value and way to try all the Vegetarian dishes, as this Vegetarian Combo included every single Veggie Side Dish in one plate.
Timatim Fifit (Tomatoes, Jalapeño, Red Onions, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice):
This had a familiar taste, given the ingredients, with Tomatoes, Red Onions and Olive Oil coming to the forefront. It wasn’t as tart as a Salsa.
Souf Fifit (Pureed Sunflowers with Jalapeño, Onion, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice):
Beets (Jalapeño, Red Onions and Lemon Juice):
These were fine. Relatively light, the Souf Fifit was a bit more enjoyable than the Tomato version. The Beets tasted like Roasted Beets (not a bad thing), but nothing really making it stand out.
Shiro (Orange Split Peas):
The spiciest of the Split Pea offerings, this was fragrant, earthy and brought a bit of heat.
Alitcha Kik (Yellow Split Peas):
My favorite of the dishes today. This was the right consistency for me (not as thick as the Shiro), and the earthy nuttiness made a nice match with the Teff Injera Bread.
Shimbira Asa (Sautéed Garbanzo Beans):
The most heavily spiced and salted of the veggie dishes today; still pretty tasty with the Injera.
Gomen (Collard Greens):
Nicely sauteed, tender, with a nice density. Delicious!
Tikil Gomen (Cabbage and Carrot):
Also a nice standout, although Rahel’s version is much better.
Mesir (Red Lentils):
Atkilt (Sautéed Potatoes, Green Beans, Carrot and Onions):
Ethiopian Salad:
Ria Genet’s Dorowot (Spicy Chicken Stewed in Red Pepper Sauce with Ethiopian Butter):
This was a deeply complex, heavily spiced, almost herbal concoction, thicker and heavier than many Mole Sauces we’ve had before(!). It was almost sweet, and had a bit of heat, and the Ethiopian Butter was very noticeable. Butter makes many things taste better, but they really used the Butter here, it was saturated with Butter flavor. 
Very tasty and the actual Chicken was a bit overcooked (long stewed), but in general a delicious dish.
The one quibble might be the price of the Dorowot: For $21 (+ tax & tip) you get 2 small Drumsticks and an Egg. I imagine this complex Sauce takes a long time to make, but it felt a bit precious.
Meals by Genet is the nicest of the Ethiopian restaurants we’ve been to in Little Ethiopia: White tablecloths, crisp service, and a quiet dining room (where you can actually talk at normal levels) makes it feel “fancy” and a bit more upscale than the neighboring eateries.
For taste and price, though, all of us felt Rahel’s was still tops, and remains our favorite, with cleaner, brighter flavors, more depth of flavor without being so heavy.
Meals by Genet
1053 S. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
Tel: (323) 938-9304
I’m glad to get your take on this; the weekend during the day is our
only real chance to get to that part of LA, so our only chance to eat
Genet’s cooking has been at The Taste, and it’s never come close to
knocking my socks off. We have been to Rahel’s a couple of times, with
uneven results entirely due to our servers: on first visit, taken well
in hand by a woman who made sure we got the freshest of everything and
politely instructed us in eating the Ethiopian way; second visit, with
friends (of course!), a very gruff and grumpy woman who answered
questions as briefly as possible, flung the tableware onto the table,
and made sure to serve us the last scrapings from any given steam-table
pan. However, it was the first visit we continue to believe to be most
representative, and (most importantly) they are open for lunch on weekends!
I am also glad to see something about Claud’s new use for that space – I
was by there yesterday for the first time in a while, noticed the change
in signage and wondered if it was still his or not. We had gone to
Bacchus’ Kitchen on Thursday night, our first visit in almost a year,
and for the first time since a visit to Noir several years ago had a
nice long chat with the man himself, which got me thinking about his
food and what makes it both odd and wonderful: there is always something
a little wrong with it, but in an oddly good way. Although my wife is
vegetarian and I am not, she won’t get the pasta dish because she
doesn’t like olives, so I decided one of us had to. Well, I found it
both delicious and weird; I did not like it nearly as much as I loved
it. Tania took a taste and to my surprise agreed – she loved her bite,
but while refusing another said how surprising it was.
Nice reporting all the way through!
Will
So much foodnography™
Hi @nashwill,
Thanks! Bummer about the service during your 2nd visit to Rahel’s. The 4 - 5 visits we’ve had… we haven’t run into the gruff old woman yet, so hopefully that was the aberration and not the norm (and their Lunch special pricing is always nice! ;)).
Thanks for the info on Chef Claud. How was Bacchus’ Kitchen on your recent visit?
Well, I mostly covered it, except that Tania thought the cheeses on the not-cheap cheese plate were too Trader Joe’s (or even Ralphs!) and not truly special enough to merit the presentation. Her problem there is not only that (as I mentioned) she doesn’t like olives, but she absolutely loathes sweet peppers, and the only vegetarian entrees on the menu have one or the other … which leaves her stuck with the cheese plate. But she adored her prosecco, and I really enjoyed the pinot noir. As it turned out they had TWO available that night, a French and a California, and gave me a taste of each. It tickled me that the local one was so obviously the better one.
I think the food is not completely up to the standards implied by the prices, but it is so interesting, and the atmosphere (at least out on the veranda!) so pleasant that it’s always worth the trip and the tab. And Claud himself is as gracious as it gets. I had to tell him of the first time we met him, at Noir, when he stopped by our table and asked if we needed anything. I told him that I had been trying to catch our waiter’s eye for more bread, and he said, very jovially, “Oh, I think I know how to cut bread!” and took the basket out to the kitchen.
#Spring
Had an OK dinner at Spring. Everything was cooked well but nothing really wowed, except for the excellent english pea and lobster soup, i would come back just for this. The Legumes de Saison were fine but seemed redundant with all the other vegetables that came with the entrees.
Baguette et Huile d’Olive - bread and extra virgin olive oil
Salade de Printemps - mixed green, snow peas, english peas, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, basil pesto, lemon vinaigrette
Soupe De Homard Et Petit Pois - maine lobster and english pea soup, mint, pea tendril
peaing in a bowl
Legumes de Saison - roasted, braised, steamed and raw seasonal vegetables
Truite de Mer - ocean trout, artichoke, cauliflower, pee wee potato, barigoule jus
Onglet de boeuf - pasture raised flat iron steak, broccolini, olives, pee wee potatoes, tomato confit, parsley
Peche et verveine - poached peach, lemon-verbena cream, pâte sucrée, vanilla chantilly, peach sorbet
But it’s all so beautiful!
Hi @Chowseeker1999 -
Seems like you had a porktastic weekend - maybe not all of it was 'tastic though. 
I think this pretty much sums up samgyetang.
[quote=“Chowseeker1999, post:21, topic:5824”]
Overall it tasted like a pleasant, warming Chicken Soup, albeit a bit too light in seasoning for my tastes.
[/quote]Ditto the bowl we had at Buil Samgye Tang. I think we’re too timid with the salt. It just seems wrong to add more than a little spoonful. But as I’ve mentioned before, soup has a lot more salt than people think, probably a scary amount. But at least you had a better experience with the Abalone at Healthy Zone 52 than we did at BST 
That’s great about about Chakan Sul Lung Tang serving organics. I hope that trend catches on!
Good intel from your friend at Myung In Dumplings. It might explain a few things (not sure what). I’m just not getting the hype.
Great work Seeker! 
Thanks @TheCookie. 
I just re-read your visit to Buil. It sounds like Samgyetang is just really lightly seasoned then, which normally I do like (not overly heavy on seasoning), but it seems it might be just a little too light.
Nice, did you happen to try the duck tartare on their menu? Sounds pretty wild, didn’t realize you could eat raw duck?
Won’t do it. Can’t make me.
The best tartare offering on the Charcoal menu is the lamb tartare, with the bison a close second. Just wish both came with the flatbread that accompanies the beef tartare.
i did not. same thing happens to me in steakhouses; it just feels weird to have steak tartare and then steak, so i passed on the duck duck combo at charcoal.
im weird about a lot of stuff.
[quote=“ipsedixit, post:56, topic:5824”]
Just wish both came with the flatbread that accompanies the beef tartare.
[/quote]Hmm… what do they come with?
[quote=“linus, post:57, topic:5824”]
im weird about a lot of stuff.
[/quote]Me too brotha’.
haha Fair enough. I kind of like the “try it in multiple forms” thing sometimes, though myself. Just never seen a duck tartare.
