Made in L.A.?

yeah but copied everywhere now

Well, a) clearly you and I have different opinions re: Pinkā€™s, but b) itā€™s not about the specific quality of _______________, but rather the experience, the atmosphere, the whole gestalt. There is only one Pinkā€™sĀ¹ ā€“ nothing else is like it. Same with the original first LA locationĀ² of Barneyā€™s Beanery.


Ā¹ The Las Vegas location has as much in common with the original as Vegas locations of Nathanā€™s have in common with Coney Island . . .

Ā² Barneyā€™s actually opened up in Berkeley, CA in 1920, but moved to the Santa Monica Blvd. location in whatā€™s now West Hollywood in 1927.

Black truffle gohan is a dish thatā€™s featured at various modern kappo places in Japan, e.g. Azabu Kadowaki. I think it might be Kadowakiā€™s most famous dish. Shunjiā€™s agedashi tomato, however, is more uniquely his own. Really nice umami by pairing tomato with dashi - brilliant!

N/nakaā€™s abalone spaghettini is also quite uniquely hers, as this dish takes itameshi to some new heights you donā€™t see elsewhere. To me, itā€™s a signature dish of hers and it makes perfect sense at a modern kaiseki place in LA.

Kogi korean tacos are quintessentially LA for me, as they distinctly reflect not only the taco truck movement which really took off in LA, but also the intersection of two cuisines - Mexican and Korean - which are so emblematic of the city of LA. That method of mixing different cultures is so Californian, too (see Peruvian-Japanese a la Matsuhisa), so Kogi tacos capture the feeling of ā€œLAā€ to me. Itā€™s ā€œmade in L.A.ā€ because to me Kogi tacos can only really originate in L.A.

Thatā€™s fair enough, but I wish somebody would have noted that to me before I came to LA and waited in that hour line for what I thought would be an excellent hot dog.

Oh, yeah ā€“ Iā€™d NEVER wait in line that long . . . but I do have a nostalgic fondness for Pinkā€™s, based largely on the fact my high school was nearby. But, still, if and when I go, I only go at ā€œoff timesā€ to avoid the line . . . but when I go to LA, 9 out of 10 ties, Iā€™m going to hit Philippeā€™s rather than Pinkā€™s.

1 Like

Heard location got bought and may close. Beanery.

cmon, man. is there a hot dog in la county worth waiting an hour for? is there one anywhere?

No, but if the hot dog at least tasted good I wouldnā€™t be as bitter about the whole experience.

i hear you and believe you. but iā€™ll repeat what ive said before:
i bet if i lined up hot dogs from any number of regarded places, and included pinks in the lineup, and did a blinfolded taste test, the results would be unpredictable and surpising.

i think the experience at pinks has a significant effect on peopleā€™s opinion of the hot dog.

1 Like

Weā€™ll agree to disagree - just like old times. :grin:

I had a pig in a blanket dish at Alma that I wouldā€™ve waited at least 59 minutes for.

An hour? Thatā€™s tough to say.

Are you aware of any places doing it in less random locales? Iā€™d never even heard of Colton and have been living in LA/OC for 20 plus years!

Try Sushinaloa int the South Gate / Lynwood area on State and Long Beach Blvd.

Culichi Town also does it and has multiple locations.

YOLO!

side note: never been to Culichi Town and only recently heard about it from second hand knowledge of an unreliable source, so TIFWIW

Check out all the Culichi Town locations!

Ironically, there is a location in Colton!

I was not so impressed by Culichi Town. The sushi is all rolls, and they all include cream cheese.

fair enough, amigo. and i enjoyed a just fine costco dog
on saturday.

new style sashimi

chili cheese dog, LA style

pastrami burrito.

Langerā€™s pastrami.

toro tartare with triple zero beluga caviar

the Shunji tomato thing and yes the elusive fucking truffle gohan that I still really really want to try for fuckā€™s sake.

Agreed on ā€œnew style sashimiā€ - the ubiquitous ā€œyellowtail in garlic ponzu with jalapeno/serrano chileā€ (and maybe avocado) is entirely Nobu. Perhaps also his ā€œrock shrimp tempuraā€ with mayo/aioli?

Toro tartare with beluga is something very Masa NYC as well - though, I guess one might say that he did such things at Ginza Sushiko where Urasawa now is.

Shunjiā€™s agedashi tomato yes. But to my knowledge, the truffle gohan is not an LA-original dish - itā€™s been the signature course at Azabu Kadowaki in Tokyo for a while (and I think Iā€™ve seen pics of it at a few other kappo counters, too).

Pastrami burrito just sounds gluttonous (not saying thatā€™s a bad thing here).

Kimchi Quesadilla. Great example.

Ah, how could I forget the crispy rice with spicy tuna a la Katsuya.