Bummer. You should give them a call; they take feedback seriously. The last time we went, I saw Leo teaching the young looking kid (who looks like he’s a part-time high school or college student) to prepare ingredients for the gelato; it sounds like he needs more practice.
FIFM.
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Where is the steak from?
Were the texture of the pistachio and straciatella similar? The pistachio is def not the usual gelato consistency, and there is some texture. Never felt that the texture was overwhelming, though, so perhaps, as you said, an off day. Don’t recall the straciatella having a particularly unusual texture.
Tried Bacio di Latte once. Enjoyed it, but not something that I crave.
He was also teaching them about the pasta (I think). Heaven help him if that’s the case. The young guys were polite but completely inept on so many levels that I cannot imagine they’d do a good job with any food, TBH.
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Playing catchup posting for the last few weeks - apologies.
Alice’s Kitchen (Monterey Park)… Classic Cantonese breakfast/brunch. Loved the customizable bowl of egg noodles (mine was served in thick broth, with braised beef tendon and turnip)!
Warm pineapple bun with butter, and macaroni soup with ham & cabbage… Both comforting and charming.
Mei Wei Jin Hai (Monterey Park)… Chinese halal bangbang after Alice’s Kitchen, which is right up the street. Big plate of chicken was indeed a large serving, but it was somewhat lacking in noodles, and depth of flavor. Their hearty steamed beef dumplings were good, as were the braised eggplants.
The Taste (L.A. Times) was held earlier this month at Paramount Studios (thanks to @CiaoBob for the great company)…
Le Comptoir: These guys had the longest line. Why? Because everyone who survived the queue was treated to a fabulous THREE-course mini tasting menu, served in succession, right on the spot!
Same Same: Curry chicken noodles was a highlight.
Honor the taco…
Yours Truly: Chef Vartan Abgaryan serves up his tasty cacio e pepe potato!
Lalibela: Ethiopian sampler platter was lovely. Really nice stews and injera!
Formosa Café… Bangbang after The Taste. The only thing was the late-night menu (items like egg rolls, orange chicken, taro ice cream with sesame balls), the taste of which were, um… Hey, did I mention the bar stays open late into the night?
For beef’s sake: Our illustrious fellow FTCer @beefnoguy dropped by on a visit to L.A. for a few days last week. Just before meeting him for omakase at Shunji, I wanted to brush up my own sakeology before the visit, so I headed to Marukai…
Shunji sake-pairing omakase… Just superb. Shunji-san adeptly (and seemingly effortlessly) matched his inventive cuisine with our sakes!
Three layers of tai (red sea bream): Tai “pasta” at the bottom, with tai sashimi in the middle, topped by tai aspic and okra. Terrific!!!
The otsumami presentation is gorgeous here, as always…
“Unorthodox” matsutake broth… This is not a traditional matsutake dobinmushi! It retains all the great aroma and ingredients, but there is an added, je-ne-sais-quoi complexity to this soup which matched our sake so well.
True sake geek: “Someone” brought their own sake stemware! And yes, it did amp up the nose and enjoyment on those sakes tremendously.
Chinmi: Karasumi with ishidai (striped beakfish)… Tried and true pairing with sake. This did not disappoint!
King Tako!!! Look at the size on those suckers! The origins of this tentacle p*rn comes from a specimen of the North Pacific giant octopus, caught in Japan. The tako was incredibly tender. Release the kraken!
Fried kaki, cubed… Shunji-san took oysters, and somehow concentrated their flavor during the prep and frying. Whoa! Oishi!
And of course, the nigiri here is casually epic…
New farmer’s market grape hybrids make an appearance: Huge, sweet, juicy!
OOE Shunji Dessert Assortment… Umeboshi sorbet is especially fantastic!
Bay Cities Italian Deli… Time to pay a visit to Godmother’s house!
Didn’t realize before that Bay Cities carried Japanese whisky as well…
Langer’s Delicatessen with our esteemed out-of-town visitor…
Creamed herring… I had never tried this before at Langer’s, and I’m sure glad I did. This was excellent.
I also learned on this visit that customers can order a mix of meats on their Langer’s sandwiches! Here, we have a delicious beef tongue and pastrami on rye!
Of course, I cannot leave Langer’s without eating a traditional pastrami on rye…
Dessert with a BYO twist! @beefnoguy brought a box of Harry’s “Mara des Bois” French strawberries to top our strawberry shortcake with fresh cream at Langer’s. Phenomenal!
Hokkaido Fair at Nijiya Market this past weekend… Nice bento, packed full of goodies from northern Japan, all for $11.99!
Kiriko (Sawtelle Japantown) celebrated their well-earned 20th Anniversary over this past weekend! XX Anniversary Omakase was off-the-chain!!!
Seafood gazpacho with uni cream and nori tempura was marvelous…
Kakiage of lobster tail and matsutake mushroom, served with shishito and sea salt… Game over, man! So great!
The latest batch of Northern California’s very own Den sake goes so wonderfully with Ken-san’s housemade bottarga, lined underneath with murasaki uni and aori ika “noodles”…
Kiriko dessert trio: Ken-san’s housemade “Honey Kiss” melon sorbet with mint absolutely rocked, and the “Mizuyokan” (boiled chestnuts with sweet red bean agar) and kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) crème caramel weren’t too shabby either! 
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Super epic rundown @J_L! Superb gatherings we had and it was a great pleasure as always! Thank you!
That Shunji style oyster fry was truly amazing and creative. Like reconstructed kaki fry with a semi moist firm center. I was thinking if it could be sandwiched between toast with a little tonkatsu sauce and mustard 
Shunji san as always, is like that smooth jazz musician hitting the right notes with his small plates that flows beautifully, especially with sake. I’d love to return and re-try different sake with the meal for sure! Looks like I should drop by Kiriko too!
I’m so amazed at the quality of local fruit (the ones from Japanese farmers) and wished we had access to something like this up here in NorCal. Not only that, some of them really taste like depachika (department store basement) fruit in Japan!
I can’t remember where I paired corned beef with tongue, so felt this improvisation might be fun to try at Langer’s and luckily they allowed it (pastrami and corned tongue) although I was wondering what the sandwich would look like if they were ok with a 3 meat combo on a sandwich (alas this is not a roasties rice plate restaurant haha). I think there was more pastrami in the mix, but the tongue was absolutely delicious. Agreed on the rye bread, so aromatic…especially the crispy crust that was ethereal.
The creamed herring was so nice to taste on that super hot day! Almost exact profile with aji nanbanzuke (minus the cream)… so waiting for a chef to do a fusion version (looking at Shunji’s direction haha).
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Great pix! I love this place, and need to go back asap, while nights are still warm like this. Did you happen to notice the BYOB situation these days?
Oh, those dumplings look divine.
How was this??? That sounds like something I’d really enjoy.
Back at Belle Vie last Friday, b/c why not? Roasted peach and argula salad w/ bits of smoked mozzarella, sausage roll (on a buckwheat crepe!!! Confusingly labeled as a “galette” on the menu), octopus, and crepe suzette. All yummy.
Excuse the blurry pics, partner was hungry and wanted to eat quickly.
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This was @js76wisco’s post from further up the thread. I liked the photo so much I re-posted it. 
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I’m glad you found your way to Langer’s after all!
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Still no booze to be found. No BYOB either.
Great and very fair report, glad you got to try a variety of things and I’m curious to try some of those dishes/tacos myself! I forgot to mention the chimichangas, but glad you brought them up - they’re great, with a nicely crisp shell and savory, tender beef, with nice accompaniments like pickled onions, etc. It’s on the rich side, though - the shell is thick so it absorbs a good amount of oil!
Thanks for the tidbit about the salsa and chicken stock - no wonder it’s so good.
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Yeah, the pistachio is definitely coarser and less sweet than others I’ve had, so it may not be for everybody. I’ve only had it a couple times, but I loved it, as well as their other nut flavors.
@Haeldaur - I had a ton of gelato on my last Italy trip as well but rarely managed 3 spots a day, bravo! Curious if you tried Fatamorgana in Rome - that was one of my favorites there, and they also have locations in Studio City and a brand new one in Beverly Hills. Anyway, I love their Bronte pistachio flavor - it may be more along the lines of what you’re looking for, less coarse and more smooth, but also a little less pistachio-y.
I had it and liked it quite a bit. How does the one here stack up? It was kind of in my second tier. My favorite place was Otaleg. Had a Turkish pistachio there that blew my mind.
Can’t say for sure because I tried the Studio City one a few years after Rome, but the one here seemed sweeter maybe. Still need to try Bacio di Latte.
Otaleg sounds great! Not sure it was open yet when I went.
I think the play at Pizza Wagon is to order an 18” half/half, and take the rest home. 8 slices in a $22 18”, or $4 each. Also 3 tiny parking spots in the back.
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Like the pepper flakes.
Hey, Mr. @Ns1, Did you notice a major difference having slices from a whole pie rather than ordering by the slice?
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dunno, I’ve only ordered slices so far. I’ll order the full pie next go-round because I’m cheap then get back to y’all.