October 2021 Rundown

Pizza Wagon. Looks good!

But, I can tell Anthony (the owner) wasn’t working today. Because as @lapizzamaven has mentioned, it can be too thick.

Thick…

… and thick…

Ugh.

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I had Pizza Wagon yesterday. Anthony was working and my pie was still on the thicker side. Still delicious.

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looks like a reminder to “keep it thin crust” when ordering is a wise move!

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It was a stupid postmates order.

I did put in the notes :: “ PLEASE MAKE THIS THIN — EXTRA THIN IF POSSIBLE”

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oh well, this thickness issue needs to be monitored!

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Ali’i Fish Company (which I first heard about here) is opening a second location in Torrance.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVlxgSNvrKo/

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Damn I’m so down for this! Thanks for letting everyone know.

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The best Peruvian in North OC. Higo Chicken. Everything is flavorful and on point.

Must order these monster home made fries. Crispy and creamy inside. Better than In N Out by a country mile.


Juicy well seasoned rotisserie chicken.

Sweet caramelized plantains to offset the aji sauce.

Forgot to take a pic of the lomo saltado but it’s also a must order. Great wok hei. My kids turned around when they were cooking the dish to see the flame 2-3 feet into the air. I told them wok hei means dragons breathe and they immediately understood. The sauce on top of the rice with a piece of onion, meat and aji is one of those wonderful bites.

Lots of take out orders. Lots of locals and regulars. Always good, nice people and one of those local restaurants you love to support.

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Meanwhile I had the worst Peruvian food at Jose Andres DC restaurant……not even close to Mario’s on Melrose.

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North Shore Roast Beef from Nicks. A speciality right outside of Boston.

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La Casita Mexicana - Bell

Chilaquiles divorciados w/ chorizo is probably my favorite chilaquiles in Los Angeles. :heart_eyes:

Little Coyote - Long Beach Los Diagonales location

White pizza add pepperoni :heart_eyes:

Father’s Office - Culver City

Office burger, fries, brussel sprouts and octopus. The burger :heart_eyes::heart_eyes: Juicy AF

Sabaidee Lao and Thai Street Food - Rancho Cucamonga

Sabaidee wings were very crispy, nice amount of garlic flavor all rounded out with a sweet chili dipping sauce.

Lao green papaya salad was very different from the Thai version, lots of seafood flavor and super spicy. Got spice level 3 which is I guess medium. Not bad.

Nam khao with cured pork was probably my favorite item. The rice was super crispy with nice sour, salty, spicy, nutty flavors all wrapped with some lettuce for freshness.

Wadatsumi - Torrance

Roast beef bowl :heart_eyes: and gohan perfection.

Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen - Century

Smothered pork chop

Oxtails

Asadero Chikali - East LA

Vampiro with carne asada “Chikali style” :heart_eyes::heart_eyes: This vampiro made with flour tortillas is the bees knees. Use the avocado salsa and the salsa verde.

Also had a vampiro with bistec w/ papa “Chikali style” which was pretty tasty and nice switch up from the carne asada.

And some regular tacos.

Oui Melrose

Hot cod sandwich :heart_eyes::heart_eyes: definitely get the spicy version here. The pickles are fantastic to round out this perfect rendition. Probably my favorite to date.

Donuts for Laker game time snack

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Holy shit, that is an amazing few hours!!

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That reminds me i should hit up F.O… Wow those chilaquiles are on point!!

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Those chilaquiles have so much flavor on their own. I get a side of chorizo to add to the side of refried beans they give you. Most people add eggs to chilaquiles but I personally love them unaltered.

I went to FO to watch the Dodgers playoffs on a Saturday night. Not a bad place to watch a game with the selection of beers plus that burger that continues to be great.

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Try the smoked eel salad sometime - one of my favorites!

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Pasta Sisters in Culver City last night. Haven’t been since pre-pandemic times and glad that everything was as good as ever.

Arrabbiata, which I ask for extra spicy, with tagliatelle and topped with burrata:

Carbonara:

Bresaola Carpaccio:

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Definitely have to come back! Just a quick lobster roll


Damn good lobsters!


Mikes for dessert (should have went to Modern)

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How much was the lobster roll - prices tend to be really high this year.
Any other places you visited in Boston ?

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Lol I didn’t even look I just said add 20 percent. You’re right it’s not cheap I went to some place in Ipswich and it was $$$. It wasnt that great and neither were the clams. If I am still here on the east coast next summer I think I rather go up to Maine and eat my lobster fix. Even when I do move back to CA to Southern California or the Bay I really like the New England area. I like Boston from what I seen, well at least the North End. What a cool neighborhood. I would gladly come back during the fall and the summer as I would love to visit the Capes and Martha’s.

I definitely want to come back to Boston soon. Any recs for food? Like I said I would love to come back to Neptune Oyster and go biggie boy on that menu. All of it sounds good and that quality of that lobster was phenomenal!

I’ll be going to Sally’s Apizza maybe Louis Lunch next so stay tuned!

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I have a lot of catching up to do…

Love & Salt

If it’s not obvious, I’m an east side guy, so I rarely find the will to drive out to the west side for dinner. However, I always make my friends come to me (I mean come on the east side has better food :upside_down_face:) but after paying them back and driving all the way out to dinner in Manhattan Beach at Love & Salt, I may actually have found a place that I’m keen to revisit on what basically amounts to the other side of the planet.

Wood Oven Meatballs

Not something I usually order, but given that we were going carb heavy I’m glad that we did. Flavor was great and I’d eat it again–I just wish it came with more bread (not that we would need more of it though).

Freekehlicious

There’s a lot going on here–five different grains, radish, currants, hazelnuts, and herbs–but it amounts to what is one of the best “salads” I’ve had in a long time. If you’re going for the first time, put it on your table.

Strozzepreti Costolette

Our sole pasta dish, but it was a hit.

Krikorian South

It was really hard just choosing two pizzas, but I think we made the right call. First up was the Krikorian South, which is sausage, a bunch of different cheeses, fried sage, and honey. I love honey on carbs.

Duck Egg

Our friends that had been before highly recommended we get the duck egg pizza and it was another great call. The only thing I love more than honey on carbs is a soft, broken yolk on carbs.

I really want to get back to Love & Salt to try some more of the dishes (mainly different pizzas although that would be tough because the ones we had were so great). So if you find yourself out in that neck of the woods, Love & Salt is a great option.

All Time

One of LA’s neighborhood gems. All Time’s dinner situation isn’t going to blow you away with flavors you’ve never tasted before, but the quality of the cooking and ingredients is top notch. It’s also just a great vibe and one of those places with an incredibly high floor.

Good Ass Salad

It’s fucking huge.

Burrata

Yeah the name of the dish is about a cheese–and the cheese is good–but it’s really just bread topped with a bunch of delicious things to trick you into thinking it’s not just a bread dish. It’s also the best thing on the menu.

The Whole Dang Fish

Yes, a whole fish. Not super creative, but look at the crispy rice it comes with!

Brussels

One of my favorite brussels sprouts dishes ever. The bacon is cut thicc and generous so you get some with every bite of vegetable.

Cauliflower Rice

Probably one of the healthiest vegetable entrees I’ve had in awhile, as it’s packed with huge rings of beats, turnips, and squash as well. All mixed together it was quite good and something I’d have no trouble feeling confident to order again.

Eszett

I’ve had their hot sauce, but this was my first time dining in. In short, I was really impressed and wondered why this place doesn’t get more shine. I came for the shrimp toast, but all the dishes were inventive and packed with flavor. I’ll definitely be returning.

Big Fries

Holy shit these might be some of the best fries I’ve ever had. They were wedge cut, so I was a bit skeptical, but no joke about halfway through each was just the crispiest, crunchiest exterior. I normally don’t jump for fries on a menu, but will absolutely get these again.

Shrimp Toast

I don’t know why, but I don’t see shrimp toast many places around LA and I had a particular craving. This version didn’t disappoint–the bread was a bit crust forward but the spicy sweet sauce was fantastic.

Kampachi Crudo

A fairly light and refreshing dish that really comes together thanks to the nori oil. It took what would be a fairly standard crudo dish to an interesting place that I absolutely devoured.

Sunchoke + Grilled Quinc

The romesco/tahini mash up sauce was fantastic. A banger of a vegetable dish.

Grilled Long Beans

Hints of some Asian influences provided some nice contrast to the sunchokes and showed that they’re confident and capable of pulling off a range of flavors across the menu.

Filet Uh Fish Sandwich

Solid, but there are others out there that are better.

Of the two sandwiches we got, this was the more exciting one.

Regardless, the fact that Eszett has a number of different sandwich type options on the menu makes it a great place to come solo, eat at the bar, and still have a fantastic meal. Get one of those and maybe a vegetable and the fries and you’re set.

Chef Ai

Chef Ai has started offering bentos for pick up in the Arts District (out of Crafted Kitchen) and both of her seasonal offerings have been bangers. I think I first had her bentos when they were available for pick up in Pasadena last year, and both of these have been the best yet.

Sanma Bento

I really liked the sanma oshizushi, it was super flavorful and didn’t need anything else. There was also scallop yuan yaki and umaki, and while the eggplant and crab tofu didn’t quite live up to the Hayato bentos, it was enough of a taste while I’ve been going through that withdrawal.

Toro Sawara Bento

The slightly more expensive toro sawara bento was my favorite of the two though. The grilled toro sawara was a super highlight–one of my favorite bites I had in October. The bento is filled out with a lux chirashi of uni, crab, scallops, and ikura, as well as the other items from the sanma bento, plus ankimo.

You can order for Fridays and Saturdays here: Ai - Los Angeles , CA | Tock

Outstanding in the Field at Paramount Studios

I’ve never been to one of these kind of events before–and had I not been invited I wouldn’t have otherwise gone–but I think I learned a lot from the experience.

Passed Apps

These probably were the most successful bites overall. The abalone was fine, chicken wing from Jitlada was as good as it gets, and my favorite was the shrimp from Shiku.

Sunchoke and Red Pepper Bread from Céor Bread

I guess I kinda paid for it (even though I didn’t) but I didn’t finish it.

Crudo from Crudo e Nudo

This was my first indication of what we were in for… the flavor was good, but the knife work was super suspect as not all of the slices of fish were even or cut all the way through.

I didn’t take a picture of the chile relleno from Angry Egret Dinette because it was so disappointing… the mole on it was good, but the cheese inside wasn’t even melted. So here’s a picture of what the event looks like instead if you’ve never been to one of these Outstanding in the Field things before.

Brisket Hummus from Slab BBQ

This was at least kind of warm when it hit the table, and flavor wise my favorite dish. It’s something that I wish Burt Bakman would actually have on the menu for us to order at Slab.

Grilled Fruit Cake from Valerie Confections

Nothing about this was grilled, but at least it tasted good and was meant to be chilled. I think.

Guelaguetza

We ordered a lot. They didn’t try to wave us off of it, but we really underestimated the amount of food this was :sweat_smile:

Chips and Mole (Complimentary)

An easy dip into the mole pool.

Molcajete de Gucamole

We could have passed on it, but whenever we go out for Mexican we always end up ordering it, so it was a given. The guacamole itself was great and had a bit of a kick to it.

Half order Botana Oaxaqueña

When we saw how big this was (there were 5 of us and this was intended for 4) I wasn’t actually sure if we would need anything else to eat. It’s a giant sizzling platter of grilled meats with cheese and chiles. Everything was delicious and it has such a strong QPR.

Festival de Moles

A must order just because it will give you a true sampling of what they do best.

A personal power ranking:

  1. Mole Negro
  2. Mole Roja
  3. Estofado
  4. Coloradito

Tamal Oaxaqueño de Mole Negro con Pollo

A fantastic tamal that is just soaked in mole negro. If your group doesn’t have a huge appetite to order some of the huge family style dishes, I think this would be something to get.

Tlayuda Tradicional with Cecina

We didn’t really get into this as much because by this point the table was overflowing with dishes and we were pretty stuffed, but we all enjoyed the few bites of it we had.

Yes, there were a lot of leftovers :joy: so better ordering strategy might be in the works for next time, but overall the food was fantastic and Guelaguetza has some of the best QPR in the game.

Sunset Sushi

The Kaisen Chirashi is still the move.

DTLA Cheese

Final plug here for DTLA Cheese. Not only do they sell the best hot sauce in LA (from Highly Likely) but they also recently expanded their tinned fish selection. If you’re at GCM it’s definitely worth checking out.

Now on to November…

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