My experience with tagines is limited - Tuckerbox in VT, and Mizlala in Sherman Oaks, but this was a little sweeter than I expected. Nice portion, and very tender lamb with much of the gaminess (which I personally don’t mind at all) kept to a minimum. The pita wasn’t fresh, but reasonable and toasted/warmed.
I’d look forward to trying their baklava and maybe the fish bastilla for something more savory.
SoCal Indo Food is a Facebook group business which delivers! Please order using Facebook (join the group “SoCal Indo Food”, then PM the admin.)
Everything tasted delicious, and really reminded me of my trips to Southeast Asia. I really miss food travel, and this is the next best thing for now, I suppose.
(Starting from the lower left of the photo, and going counter-clockwise…)
Mie goreng (AKA bakmi goreng): Perhaps the most common noodle dish in Indonesia (oh, could it be because it’s so friggin’ yummy?!). But its ubiquitousness doesn’t make bakmi goreng any less extraordinary. And this takeout version was the best I’ve had in the U.S. Noodles were imbued with wok hei and were legit as hell.
Risoles (Indonesian-style rissole): Croquettes, basically. Really tasty batter (same as they use for crepes on the streets of Jakarta), with a savory filling. First time I’ve had it outside Asia.
Lemper (Indonesian sticky rice): A chimeric snack resembling tamales, onigiri and zhong, lempers are made with glutinous rice, filled with seasoned shredded chicken, and then wrapped in banana leaf. These wrapped banana leaf rolls are then steamed with coconut milk for an hour. These were great. Very addictive to eat.
Lumpia basah (Indonesian Spring Rolls): Very similar to lumpia goreng (which are deep-fried), lumpia basah are instead pan-seared. A less common dish in the Indonesian restaurants outside Indonesia…
Bolu kukus (Indonesian steamed cakes): Eaten usually at celebrations, these are moist and just a tad sweeter than pan dulce. I detect hints of coconut milk and rosewater in the mix, and those are great things.
Taishoken San Mateo Tokusei Tsukemen in the car for lunch. The savory hearty umami rich dipping broth not pictured. Given this was consumed immediately after pickup, it was as glorious as ever. The citrus (yuzu) accent in the dipping broth helped to temper the heaviness a lot, and is a nice touch in the slightly warmer weather. A black iced coffee at Philz afterwards completely avoided any drowsiness and food coma that would have otherwise ensued.
Highlights from the nigiri set of Sushi Yoshizumi. Kinmedai is super ridiculous, and kohada finally makes an appearance, spectacular and masculine powerful in profile as always. Sakura masu (which a friend kindly reminded me is actually a salmon, not a trout, despite the “masu” name and unfortunate direct translation for trout) is ridiculously fatty. Simmered scallop is the most aromatic (strong citrus too, like yuzu and in the marinade) and perfectly tender this time. Now his takeout is selling out consistently much to all our relief!
Izakaya Ginji’s exclusive one cup sake Houraisen Tokubetsu Honjozo. An example of a super regional and local sake, like a village level table wine but very good quality. So regional that it is likely only available in the area where the brewery is located and arguably super tough to find in Tokyo (or overseas). Ideal size for takeout and awesome for everyday drinking, especially those online drinking parties with friends (yup I was getting ready for one!) where you can get Sith faced and doze off but you’re in the comfort of your own home
The rice was deftly vinegared, and the neta placed in wonderful proportions. There was beautiful searing, which really brought out the seasonal taste. Included was akami zuke, ni-anago, kinmedai seared with binchotan, kasugodai marinated in sweet vinegar, kohada, kuruma ebi (!), ikura, atsuyaki tamago, shiitake-ni, kyuri. It was a lot of food.
Was this mainly just an excuse to have the farro? Perhaps. But everything held up pretty damn well given the 25 minute drive. The peas may have been my fave
Yucatán menu from Vespertine, devil’s food imperial stout cake and bacon & caramelized onion cheese pull part from Helms Bakery, and (in the plastic bag) carbonara from Pasta Sisters
Picked up a lot of food from Bludso’s Bar & Que today, very mixed experience. Food was solid for the most part, despite a couple salt bombs and a couple dry pieces of brisket. I was happy to see they’re so busy - around 10 people picked up orders while I was there, and TONS more bags being prepped.
But the pickup process itself, man what a mess. Their advertised “curbside pickup” is nonexistent, at least on a busy night. They say to call when you arrive, but it just goes straight to a mailbox. So I walked in, and there was no single point of contact. A bunch of other people (mostly delivery app drivers) were waiting around in a cramped area. Of course, one of those idiots has no mask. After flagging down somebody, it took another 10-15 min to hunt down my order even though I placed it through the restaurant’s own website. I would have felt much more comfortable if they just made everyone wait outside and deal with one order at a time.
