Busy week of take-out and dining out… So much great eats in our city right now!
Ji Rong Peking Duck (San Gabriel)… Splendid presentation for take-out: All de-boned, skinned, and ready for the handwrap frenzy at home! And it’s not just their duck that’s great. Definitely get the duck soup, which is a marvelous, surprisingly light duck broth. Don’t sleep on their Shanghai-style spareribs as well as their special sautéed crab-flavored mushrooms - Perfect with a hot fluffy bowl of rice!
Shamrock McFlurry, to celebrate St. Paddy’s. But the best “green” dish is yet to come…
Ristorante Marino (Melrose)… Under the canopy by the old olive tree, the outdoor area here feels wonderful and relaxing. Chef Sal’s farmers market English pea soup is the very essence of spring itself. I wish I could drown in a tub of this. Fantastic tuna crudo with sea salt, chives and arugula are to die for also.
Northern Cafe (Monterey Park) keeps on doing its thing by shaping large lumps of dough into Q-laden bowls and plates of noodles, Northern Chinese style. The clear beef broth makes for a perfect lunchtime bowl. And the “big plate of chicken” remains messy, spicy heaven…
Macheen pop-up at Milpa Grille (Boyle Heights) - Taco with pollo y mole blanco, garnished with pomegranate in a blue corn tortilla is my “huge bite” of the week. It is straight up delicious as hell. Chef Jonathan Perez is really kicking his menu (QR code provided in photo) up a notch here, but don’t worry - The breakfast Macheen burrito is still way killer.
Brooklyn Pizza Co. (Boyle Heights) - Just across the street from Milpa Grille, this is one of the most bang-worthy joints in the city right now. Try the O.G. pepperoni slice (greasy cup alert!), of course. However, I was most impressed with their esquites pizza, which combines the spirits of both coasts, with each bite just chock full of flavor.
Shunji pop-up at Yamakase (West LA)… Shunji-san’s back in town from Japan. His current iteration of bara chirashi with shirauo, kinmedai, isaki, hotaru ika and myoga simply blew my taste buds out of the water. Can’t wait for his new location in Santa Monica to open.
