We may have to get back in there. We weren’t terribly impressed on the two occasions we went, but it’s been awhile, so who knows. Pueblo in SoCo has become our go-to for tapas.
1 Like
We’re due for another evening on Friday. We’ll try out Pueblo per your rec…thanks! Worth noting, I enjoyed the drinks more so than the food at Vaca…was disappointed that they didn’t have a smaller ribeye for us try.
I hear you. Beer and wine only at Pueblo, but we love their food. The Montadito de Costilla is a fantastic bite. We also enjoy their brunch. If you’re craving cocktails, ARC is just a few feet away and has a pretty good cocktail program. Small bites there are good, too, but I was disappointed in their tomahawk ribeye when I had it. Especially at the price.
1 Like
Holbox x Chichen Itza Surf n Turf
Shrimp Torta 
Chicharron Tacos
Yin and Yang
Shin Sushi
Amaebi Miso Soup
Hoji Fuckin Cha Ice Cream
I am a green tea dessert hater #TeamHojiCha. Intense roasty flavor, this was damn good.
Gjusta Surf n Turf
Salmon Roe Toast - really nice briny bursts to go along with a hefty slice of butter. The butter and salt just goes and you really can’t go wrong with high quality butter on Gjusta bread
Prime Fuckin Reeb
Hai Di Lao Surf n Turf
lol
TnT Aloha Cafe
Dat authentic mac salad w/ extra Best Foods mayo 
Maru One ~ soft opening
Popcorn Fried Oysters - pretty good stuff although light seasoning so you can taste the decent quality oysters
8 Likes
Hi @A5KOBE,
I like how you have 2 photos for Shin, a starter and a dessert. 
Where’s the rest of the meal??? 
Nice report. Glad to hear Gjusta is still ticking along even with Chef Lett out (sad).
1 Like
Oh, I had the carrot cake and it is not nearly as good as before. On a brighter note, I had a brown butter flourless cake which was amazing. I believe I went to Gjusta about 3 weeks ago or so, but Sergio was no where to be found.
1 Like
Went to Bulgarini Gelato in Altadena on a whim for the 4-course pasta tasting with gelato for $75 (I was already in Pasadena and had a few hours to kill before seeing “The Great Leap” at the Pasadena Playhouse”).
Items ordered: Potato Gnocchi w Pesto; Focaccia; Tagliatelle w Meat Sauce; Pici Hand Rolled Pasta w Garlic Tomato Sauce; Wild Boar Pappardelle; House Red Wine and Marscapone Crema gelato with Plum sorbet (house red wine not pictured).
Leo Bulgarini’s gnocchi is my all time favorite - so pillowy and cloud-like. I wouldn’t have thought to order Pici - the hand rolled tubes which were toothsome in a garlic tomato sauce - loved it 
. I enjoyed the other 2 pastas as well including the wild boar one.
I asked Leo to go ahead and choose a pair of gelato for me ‘cuz his gelato whisperer combos never fail me.
Been wanting to do this pasta tasting menu for over 3 years, but I had to lose 25+ pounds before I felt comfortable in eating all those carbs 
Pacing and dish temperatures not perfect, but that’s ok — it’s like eating at a homey trattoria and I’ll take that any day over more $$$ and snooty places closer to me.
13 Likes
Chilled spicy tofu from Hikari Japanese BBQ & Grill (Lomita)
Matcha + strawberry swirl with fudge, from Matcha-cha (Sawtelle). This was good! Reminded me of McDonald’s hot fudge sundae.
Kung Pao Tofu from Ms. Chi Cafe. Tofu was cooked perfectly, not overly fried or greasy. And the use of hazelnuts was quite nice.
n/naka (Palms).
Anyone know the name of that sake?
13 Likes
Leo Bulgarini’s tomato sauces with handmade pasta…I consider it the best I ever had and some of the best pasta in Southern California area. A true representation of simplicity in Italian cooking.
The only downside to Bulgarini is the pasta menu does not change much
3 Likes
How tall is the bowl? I like the softserve there, but the portions were SO big when I went (> 1 yr ago?) that it was a bit overwhelming… Your portion size looks much more sane.
“Anyone know the name of that sake?”
Denshin Aki
https://www.truesake.com/products/denshin-aki?_pos=1&_sid=6eb24c682&_ss=r
4 Likes
So it took Kanye 2 hours to start the show. Jesus( pun intended). 2 hour delay for a 1 hour show…and the stage performance was not shown on the big Jumbotrons.
Another disappointment was Luv2Eat…
The Massaman Curry…if I wanted “sweet” curry I would have ordered Green Curry…there is ZERO flavor from the Non-Thai ingredients that are typical of Massaman. WTH is this? This is a Southern Thai dish at a Southern Thai restaurant. The potatoes were raw or just barely cooked
Another Southern Thai dish, Stink Beans and Shrimp. Except the stink beans had zero aroma and zero flavor.
Phuket Shrimp Noodle Soup (new)
Umm I didn’t ask for spicy and it’s a noodle dish…noodle dishes you usually adjust the spice (or no spice) to your own taste.
Sigh at least earlier in the day I had some pretty good pho at Pho King Ngoc, and Northern Thai Food Club.
And I am now enjoying this…
while listening to LA music…Lord Huron and Mayer Hawthorne
Good night!
8 Likes
Sunday dinner at Toku Unagi and Sushi:
Pictured: Komatsuna veggie app; sea bream and scallop nigiri sushi; root veggie appetizer; chawanmushi seafood steamed egg custard; broiled unagi over rice; roast duck breast; “Matsu” broiled unagi over rice with kombu tea set; Toku Unagi’s pannacotta.
More about the seafood steamed egg custard and Toku Unagi’s unique version of pannacotta in @J_L ‘s Toku Unagi thread
11 Likes
Angler run.
Amberjack in plum water with baby shiso
Chicory Caesar
Radicchio murder
Parker rolls (shoulda gotten potatoes)
Roasted beet (not pictured)
Fish face
Spot prawns out of season 
Service was excellent as usual, had to send fish face back was comped second one they are so friendly. Great 80s music.
9 Likes
@beefnoguy – Thank you! I see it’s available in SF…next time I’m up there I’ll have to get a bottle.
@paranoidgarliclover – It wasn’t too large, maybe 5oz by weight. Perfect size for post dinner dessert.
1 Like
how come?
1 Like
Denshin releases seasonal offerings (4 times a year, each bottle having a variant color), so availability is limited at True Sake (maybe a case or two at most). They tend to (eventually) sell out. I would advise keeping it as cold as possible in transit and immediately refrigerate whenever you can (freezer packs and freezable zipper bags will do the job just fine even for a plane ride)
Non seasonal offerings such as Denshin Yuki (white box and bottle) might be available at Mitsuwa, Marukai/Tokyo Central (at least they are in Northern California) for those interested in exploring further.