Through Tock, the Rose Cafe in Venice is offering a throw-back a la carte menu of some New England seafood favorites from Chef Neroni’s prior restaurant, Catch & Release, this weekend (ends tonight). Last night I had very good fried clam strips [$17], delicious raw scallops on the half shell (the bottom of the box was filled with ice to keep them cool and fresh) [$15], and an excellent lobster roll (choice of cold with mayo or hot with drawn butter, served with Parker House rolls)[$22 for a good amount of lobster]. Oh, and Boston Creme Pie for dessert [$10]. There are other choices on the menu as well.
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Stayed local today because I’ve made enough trips to the city in the last 2 days.
Cafe Hiro (Cypress)
I really love this place. Super great food for super reasonable prices. I ordered and paid over the phone. Got a bunch of things…because it has been a while since I’d been back. Lunch comes with a salad and chef’s choice dessert (I got the vanilla panna cotta today with berries). Dinner comes with salad. 10% off orders in excess of $100 before tax. I hope they survive…it would be a shame to lose this gem.
I had time in between order pick-ups so I dined a la @PorkyBelly in the air conditioned car. Not pictured: tuna tartare with wonton crisps (because I forgot to take a photo before I ate it), shiao-mai (for the spouse), sautéed mushroom salad, edamame (complimentary), side salad (complimentary), and panna cotta (complimentary).
Creamy crab cake - they should just call this a croquette instead…very creamy inside, crab essence and some crab…but not a crab cake. Nice tomato sauce as a dip/garnish.
Uni spaghetti - my favorite item on the menu…the creamy uni sauce is packed with uni flavor and I love that it comes garnished with fresh wasabi to counter the richness of the dish. Pasta was a perfect al dente. I ate half in the car and saved the other half that I just polished off as a snack now.
Katella Deli & Bakery (Los Alamitos)
When I’m too lazy to drive to Langer’s (which is often and this place has longer business hours), this is where I go. I love the pastrami on rye here…not as good as Langers, but lazy beggars can’t be choosy. Orders can be processed online with an option for curbside pick-up so the process can be pretty contactless if you choose. They’re still doing restaurant takeout in addition to their full bakery operations, but they like many other restaurants have converted to adding market pantry operations. I got pounds of European butter for $7/lb., active yeast, kosher salt, and a few other things for quarantine kitchen experiments. I also picked up restaurant pastrami, pickles, their famous frosted pink cookies and chocolate covered strawberries.
Pasty Kitchen (Los Alamitos)
This place has been a community staple for ages. Still cash only. They’re keeping to social distancing guidelines and I noticed that the senior members of this family operation were not in the kitchen today…only the younger staff. But they are churning out beef and chicken pasties without skipping a beat. Tender and flaky pastry dough filled with beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, and herbs/spices. A must get is a side of gravy to pair with said pasty…the beef gravy has more flavor than the chicken. A small pasty and a salad is just perfect for lunch or dinner. They also sell them frozen for you to take home and bake yourself.
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You know you can add mentaiko to your uni pasta at Cafe Hiro? Highly recommend!
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Say what?!? 
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I’m so glad the true cost of the convenience of delivery is becoming more apparent every day.
@Omotesando Like you say, if you’re able to travel to the restaurant yourself, now is the best time to shun delivery apps as much as possible.
I’ve sought out restaurants that are either taking orders over the phone, or using Tock or ToastTab
@paranoidgarliclover I know what you mean. Luckily I’ve been more than impressed with the pickup procedures of many of the restaurants I’ve frequented during this crisis.
Yesterday was the first time I ever participated with one of the delivery apps. We had Howlin’ Rays delivered. It almost felt like a catch-22 because of course Howlin Rays has way more bargaining power than many other restaurants right now. They’re the perfect business to partner with postmates (besides the crowding of drivers). So I accepted it.
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Do Tock and ToastTab not charge exorbitant fees?
Yes, I do have to say that most (all?) restaurants I’ve been to have been totally fine. I should probably call the restaurants.
@Omotesando: you know, as stupid as this may sound, the idea of simply giving my credit card over the phone never occurred to me. Most places I go to have a pretty stable set of staff, so I guess it’d be safe…
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Tock, ToastTab, ChowNow, and the like are much more reasonable. Tock takes a small percentage of each order (3-5%). ChowNow charges a monthly fee as opposed to a per order one. Part of the reason is that restaurants are linking or embedding to their pages on these sites, and services like Postmates/GrubHub/DoorDash try to sell the pros of having the restaurants be discover-able in their apps (which does help to a certain extent, I’m sure, but not 30% worth).
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il romanista x jame enoteca
Wow, this is some of the best pizza I’ve had in la. Great crispy crunchy crust that’s not too thick, and strong flavors. @TheCookie, @attran99, @JeetKuneBao, @chinchi, @Gr8pimpin, @butteredwaffles, @ebethsdad, @Ns1
Thanks @NYCtoLA and thanks for the reminder @Chowseeker1999.
Spoiler alert ken knows exactly who it is
boscaiola - tomato sauce, mushrooms, sausage, mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano
(new) l’olimpico - tomato sauce, sausage, roasted artichokes, spicy soppressata, oregano,
mozzarella, basil, evoo
parmigiana rossa - tomato sauce, roasted eggplants, cherry tomatoes, parmigiano reggiano DOP, fresh basil, evoo
peperonata - tomato sauce, roasted bell peppers, sausage, oregano, mozzarella, fresh basil,
evoo
jame enoteca
tagliatelle al ragu “hollywood-style”
spicy rigatoni “alla vodka” - parm, chili, basil
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Article explains why clicking on an order option on a restaurant’s website takes you to a 3rd party delivery app. But I have also tried to call orders in and restaurants do not pick up. I want to help restaurants, however minimally, but it seems like calling and bypassing 3rd party apps isn’t all that easy. I only do carryout–I get a message that there isn’t any fee but that only applies to me and not the restaurant? Oh, bummer, I thought by doing carryout, I was helping the restaurant bypass the 3rd party fee.
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I hear you! I can’t speak to restaurants not answering their phone. Many places are running barebones crews, both due to fear of getting staff sick and not bringing in enough money to pay all the people necessary to run their operations.
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I’d give the restaurants some latitude on this. For some, there isn’t enough staff to answer the phone at all times. Also, some might choose a 3rd party app to consolidate and organize all intake (as opposed to having a dozen tablets from various services, or not properly equipped to handle takeout intake on their own). If they don’t pick up, try again. If no go, then place an order online and pick up. No harm, well-intended.
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What was your favorite flavor?
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Thanks for sharing the article, glad that chefs/owners are speaking out.
Anecdotally, I recently called in an order from Blackbird Pizza Shop on Melrose, and when I picked up they automatically gave me a 10% discount simply for calling it in myself. I really appreciated the gesture and added the 10% back to what I would’ve tipped. The manager had a lot of the same complaints about the delivery apps - especially in these times, he said they were killing the already-thin margins, but he had to work with them because otherwise he’d lose even more customers.
If anyone’s feeling like Chicago deep dish, please support them by calling in and picking up! I know not everyone here’s a fan of that style of pizza, but it’s prob my favorite Chicago deep dish in LA.
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Did I miss something, or does Providence not explain what’s included in the menu?
You need to click all the way through and pick a time for it to show.
Experience the flavors of central and southern France. Our three-course dinner includes Salad Niçoise, traditional Bouillabaisse with Rouille, Cherry Clafoutis and Fougasse.
*Substitutions are politely declined
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Everything was great but my favorite was the boscaiola with the sausage and mushroom. Loved it.
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found oyster x ruen pair
half fried chicken, original recipe, old bay, cayenne
Nice and moist but a bit too salty
clam chowder - clams, bacon, and chives
Ate this cold because I’m a philistine. Delicious @TheCookie, @Chowseeker1999
chinese olive & ground pork
First time having this and didn’t love it. Is the pork supposed to be so fried it basically turns into ground jerky? @JeetKuneBao
fries egg and salty turnip
The fucking bee’s knees. Sweet, salty, crunchy, eggy. Eat with a bowl of hot rice.
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That is one of the Thai-Chinese dishes at Ruen Pair that I do not like!