I live 1.5 miles west of the 405, and, on a very bad weekday night, it can take 20 mins just to get to the 405 on-ramp (let alone onto the freeway itself)… But that was mainly b/f the lockdown.
Anyway, back to the thread…
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It’s a trek yes, but on the other hand I dunno that I really think hard about the different parts of downtown. In my head Bavel and Majordomo are essentially equidistant from SaMo.
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Yeah, that’s how I think about it, too, but apparently we may be alone in that! 
I get anxiety having to exit 10 to the 110N if I’m not getting off on one of the early streets. Just kidding but I think it’s a mental/emotional block for some people.
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Kinda goes both ways. I never go to Venice, though that might have to do something with an utter lack of interest in the food there, Felix aside.
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Oh absolutely, and I also imagine you don’t see a big difference between the drive to Gjelina and, say, Fia
You don’t care about French food?
I’m not certain what restaurant you’re even talking about. Ain’t pasjoli in Santa Monica?
I actually do really like Gjelina but the resys are just hard enough that I don’t make them in advance
Correct, will make the occasional pilgrimages to either neighborhood, ha.
It’s basically such that I’ll never go to any of those spots often, and it also means that I miss out on getting to know the neighborhood spots.
At the same time, I was in Crown Heights this weekend and it’s a pain to get most anywhere in Manhattan from there, lol. Felt equivalent to the east/west trek
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As a former weho’er I echo this sentiment only time I went west was to visit friends. Gjusta, gjelina, Felix and that’s about it
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Are the French places you’re thinking of Pasjoli and Melisse x Citrin? Just wondering if I’m missing something else.
I’m thinking of Pajoli. I don’t think of Venice and Santa Monica as significantly different destinations, but I guess if you need to park, they are.
Ive had wagyu at restaurants before and found it tremendous - that’s the main reason I tried this.
Somewhat unrelated but I had recently the steak Brandt prime sirloin steak at Rustic Canyon ($54) and it was outrageously more flavorful and delicious and incorporated mushrooms in various ways. The one at MD just felt they didn’t do anything to improve the flavor of the Wagyu here… nothing special.
the fries were very very good though, I get the hype on those but not enough to go back
duck crispy rice alert
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pork rankings forthcoming? @rlw
(new) diver scallops, meyer lemon, cherry, shio kombu
very good
caviar, egg yolk, chive
free boba with every order courtesy of @Clayfu
cultured butter & honey
low key the best bing
fried shrimp, salsa seca, walnuts, honey
they really improved on the fry of the shell. closest I’ve had to lotus of siam @attran99
(new) clam lo mein, garlic, thai chili, lemon
grilled yu choy, yogurt, plum, chickpea
duck is confit’ed and served with leeks. I preferred when they used their super tender sliced duck breasts but this was still very good.
coming soon to the regular menu
the crispy
ibérico pork, spring onion, fish sauce, lime
probably my favorite item on the menu right now
(new) pandan pie, coconut, okinawa syrup
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I think I’ve tried almost every Bing and this is always the winner. That combo just gets me every time. We like to order the Benton’s ham and add it to the butter honey bite.
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That’s a good looking tin @Clayfu. Can you share what is inside per their specs or is that staying private?
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that’s the move
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That’s the schrenckii! Used at all david chang west coast outlets!
Roughly 12-14 yr old sturgeon. Aged on salt for 2-3 months. It’s the most umami bomb of all our caviar and my personal favorite.
It rules on the bing.
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Sounds amazing!
And I’m with @js76wisco I also love the bing with cultured butter and honey…and ham.
Time to plan a return trip.
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