May 2020 Rundown

Quick snaps from Connie and Teds

Cold lobster roll with mayonnaise - this great version of it survived takeout really well - the roll maintained its structure well enough to complement the lobster

Chowder - Rhode Island (clear) and New England (creamy); we couldn’t decide so got both (there’s also a Manhattan)

Fried chicken sandwich - the crust of the chicken stayed crispy enough on the ride home

Gumbo that was reheated for later - nice and unctuous, with good depth of flavor that didn’t rely on salt

Gjusta

I love Gjusta, and I will continue to order from them and enjoy it; however, this is the first time I’ve had it delivered, and my order didn’t handle the extra delay that well. Previously, I’d picked up or eaten in, and I think I’ll opt for one of this options from now on. Specifically the bread on the Banh mi americano was soggy throughout. Given I had just bought a baguette and sourdough from them, I should have just repurposed the filling into some fresh bread.

Tuna conserva

Beef brisket sandwich (I still miss the prime rib sandwich!)

Chicken Parm

Lox bagel

Banh Mi Americano

Ronan
They, along with Il Romanista and Superfine, have been my favorite pizzas during this pandemic. Ronan cooks their pizzas most of the way and then provides reheating instructions, and the crust turns out really nicely, with plenty of chew and just enough crisp. They definitely scratch the Sotto itch (and maybe even surpasses the pizzas from Sotto (RIP), which were a touch overbalanced on chew and under balanced on crisp).

This was my 2nd time ordering, 1st time with delivery (the other time was pick up). The original ETA was 60 minutes, but it took 90 minutes. I was a bit bummed out at not being given a realistic ETA, and now looking back and reading all the articles, it sounds like Doordash service probably waited until a 2nd order was made and then had them both delivered at once. Yet another reason to order directly with the restaurant and pick up yourself.

We ordered 3 pizzas, and this was two of them (the third being the How Nduja Want It)

Sweet cheeks (with Honey) - great combination and not overly cloying

Margherita - nothing needs to be said

Reheated Silkie Chicken Broth from PRD
I think this is no longer available, but this is definitely Asian mom approved. My mom loved it!

Il Romanista
I was honored to be @PorkyBelly ‘s delivery driver for this and for Jame, repaying the favor from prior occasions!

As mentioned before, this pizza is excellent, and it survives reheating extremely well. My favorite was the peperonata, though they all were fantastic.

Jame Enoteca
My first time eating food from this restaurant, and under these not-so-great times, but the homemade pasta was glorious. I think @J_L has been a cheerleader for this place for a while, and I can see why.

Really really loved the tagliatelle with ragu and the squid ink bavette. They use olive oil liberally, and I enjoyed the extra decadence.

Ribtown BBQ
Calling this place a “pop-up” is unfair, as I believe they have been serving BBQ in West Adams during the weekends for a long while now. Lonnie Edwards and his family provide home made southern style BBQ in their mobile smoker. During the weekends, they park it outside of a loan office and take walk-in traffic (though I was able to text and preorder). QPR is outstanding, though I also think the absolute Q part of that equation is fantastic.

We ordered a slab of ribs, some rib tips, and beef links. This came with potato salad, beans, and white bread, and we also ordered Mac and cheese. We were huge fans of this place - the ribs were really succulent, with the meat falling off the bone (yes, I concede that some would call this overcooked), and I found the meat flavorful, with all the bbq sauce really nicely cooked through. They make their own bbq sauce and rub. The potato salad tasted homemade in the best way, and my wife really enjoyed the Mac and cheese, saying it actually tastes like A well executed version of Mac and cheese And not Mac and cream :slight_smile:. Definitely going to try this again.

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best delivery i’ve had so far, thank you!

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I saw this and thought I would try Gjusta delivery (albeit with things that I thought might travel well). I excitedly filled my cart with stuff (including nitrile gloves, which I haven’t been able to find elsewhere) only to receive a message when I tried to check out that I was beyond the delivery area. Which was beyond annoying because usually most of the apps tell you in advance that you are not in the delivery area.

But for anyone looking for nitrile gloves . . . I was also hoping to try their food.

Oliboli Donuts
Meyer Lemon and Strawberry

image

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Only been there once, need to get back. So good!

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How do you like them vs Sidecar?

i haven’t been to Sidecar in at least a year or so, but from what i remember i liked it. I like Oliboli more especially the ones that are made to order.

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Same here. Getting the hot fresh made to order donuts are a huge advantage. Sometimes at Sidecar you’ll get a fresh batch as well due to high turnover. I’ve had a few greasy heavy donuts which were not well fried at Sidecar. Oliboli is always on point. Bonus points for being down the street from Cream Pan.

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I still need to make an excuse to get to Oliboli. Those donuts look amazing.
I don’t care much for cake donuts, yeast-leavened is where its at!
Also, enough of the over-the-top toppings. I much prefer a simple glaze like you got here.

I love Sidecar’s yeast-leavened donuts, but donut care for their cake ones.

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Fascinating… I had no idea there were diff types of donuts that way. I generally despise donuts, but I do like Sidecar’s. Wonder if it’s b/c I might’ve had the yeast-leavened ones…

Are all of Oliboli donuts raised?

(Edit: the only other donuts I’ve ever consistently liked were Krispy Kreme. Did a Google search, and it appears that their donuts also use yeast).

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Yeah, it is just the difference between fluffy/airy and cake-y/dense donuts.

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Both sidecar and Oliboli have yeast and cake donuts.

If you like yeast, fluffy raised donuts then I’d definitely recommend Oliboli.

My favorite donuts at Sidecar are their cake donuts - Huckleberry, Butter & Salt and Old Fashioned.

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My current Sidecar fav is:


(not my photo)
CHOC-A-LOT $4.25

Our signature raised chocolate doughnut, topped with a house made chocolate glaze and Valrhona Chocolate cocoa nibs.

That’s right. A RAISED chocolate doughnut. It is awesome!

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Oh, and the pro tip at Sidecar is to always ask “What came out last?” when they are taking your order.

Don’t ask “What’s fresh?”, because then you get their canned response, “At Sidecar, we fry our doughnuts in small batches to make sure they are all always fresh!”

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I think today was our Pi Day.

Stop 1
Fat N Flour
Key lime pie haven’t eaten yet
Chocolate chip cookie was great. We enjoyed Fat n Flour cookie better than the République version. Crunchy on the outside but chewy on the inside. More milk chocolatey vs République very good dark chocolate taste.

Stop 2
Superfine
Ordered a pepperoni pie and slice of cheese for my daughter. We ate the whole pie and needed to order more to take home. Combined ate 9 slices when we usually eat 5-6 total. Both my kids said it was the best pizza they’ve ever had. Better than Prince St and Scarrs but might have some recency bias. Saving the vegetarian and salami honey for later. I may or may not have dipped my crust into the pepperoni grease.

Stop 3
République
Mango passion fruit pie is just absolutely delicious. Nothing more to add. Glad we also picked up farmers market veggies and fruits. Salted caramel chocolate cake for later. Jam bombolini was a nice dessert.

Carbs and sugar overload today.

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What a haul! Glad you made your trip to the city worthwhile.

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Hi @js76wisco,

Nice! So glad you and your kids loved Superfine’s Pizza! :slight_smile: And that Mango Passion Fruit Cream Pie right? :slight_smile:

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Bavel. Thanks to @chewchow and @CiaoBob for their reports/pics.

We were so full that we haven’t yet touched dessert, but everything else was amazing. Incredible mix of warm and cool in seasoning and temp, richness and acidity. Does anyone know the recipe for the salad vinaigrette??? That stuff is crack. And excellent re-heating instructions, and everything is incredibly thoughtfully packed (incl the package w/ duck being left open to prevent steaming)! Highly recommend.

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That is some good eaten! Both those pies are tops in the city.

So glad you loved it!

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