This is a good Chinese restaurant. I never hear anything about it on this board, but they have the best Chinese food I have tasted west of the SGV. The food tastes like food I cook from fuchsia dunlop’s books, using the best possible ingredients, which isn’t a knock on this restaurant, but rather high praise for my cooking. In some ways it’s better than most SGV restaurants: clean flavors, more attention to execution, great ingredients. The downside is no wow factor.
Yes, many people like Pine and Crane.
Reason it’s not mentioned on FTC is because it’s sort of been discussed previously, along with a very nice photographic essay by @J_L
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I’m so glad you like it.
Yeah…I felt the same way. I thought it was really nice to eat at, but no wow factor. If it was open later I would probably go more often I guess.
P/C is fantastic - great chinese food AND great beer - the lines are the only wow factor that keep me away
Pine and Crane is fantastic. Probably doesn’t get discussed very much cause it’s not very polarizing and it’s not sushi. Everyone that’s been likes it and that’s that.
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Love it. I live just up the hill so I’ve got to pace myself with P&C, otherwise we’d be ordering from them multiple times/week.
I think every neighborhood would kill to have P&C in their neighborhood. Except maybe SGV. I love it there, such a pleasant place to eat, as compared to like 95% of SGV places, which are bleh in the decor department.
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This.
very interesting to hear so much praise - i went for the first time a couple of weeks ago and didn’t enjoy it. I felt like all of the dishes were very sweet and didn’t taste right, and contrary to popular opinion I didn’t like the environment either. I thought it was trying super hard to be hip, and I hate the “order at the counter then stand around and hope a table is free before your food is ready” system.
I know this isn’t a board that would fall prey to such things, but the place felt like hipster bullshit to me. Maybe we ordered wrong, or maybe it was an off night, or maybe I was just grumpy, but I guess I may need to try it again. Though I’m not particularly excited to head back…
you’re not completely wrong. Pine and Crane is definitely very hipster. But they actually put out really solid food.
I agree with you about the ordering and fetch your own table system they have. Would work if the place wasn’t so packed all the time, but…
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The best dishes here believe it or not is whatever greens they have available.
You are getting it direct from Vivian Ku’s family farm. Since every Taiwanese and Cantonese family style meal MUST include some type of green/s I consider them Chinese Food Royalty.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BW04yQAhZ1P/?hl=en
Not your typical Gai Lan, A-Choy, or Choy Sum.
Oh and the cold marinated veggies are solid too.
I can pretty much eat all veg here.
Pine and Crane to me is all about them greens!
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It’s been awhile but Pine and Crane would have homestyle Taiwanese dishes like Hakka Stir Fry and Omelette with Radish.
What’s more Taiwanese than Hakka Stir Fry and Sweet Potato Leaves.
Agreed. Their veggies are always amazing.
I find the food to be a yawn, but I do like the rice and the pea leaves.
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Huge Tree Pastry (I still call it Yi Mei!) is the standard to compare imo.
How do they compare? I wanna guess “lighter”?
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I can confirm that Pine and Crane DTLA is every bit as boring as Pine and Crane Silver Lake. If you like steamed bok choy drizzled with sesame oil and nothing else, this is the place for you.
What about the shengjianbao and the potstickers?
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