September 2020 Rundown

How was it? Doesn’t look bad.

Their pork neck in general definitely looks better though.

Quite interesting! This was reheated in air fryer, so not consumed right away after purchasing. The fatty bits were divine. I had one slice that was 90%+ fat but the others were not like that. The leaner parts had a bit more mouthfeel at times. It did have a killer smokey char aroma though.

I’d say the pork neck and regular chutoro char siu are better if you prefer more tender and evenness of fat/lean/texture, and are far more accessible to get. Otherwise very similar / virtually identical flavor profile.

2 Likes

Bootleg Pizza (at Hi-Lo)

While the rest of you were hogging up Hayato, n/naka x Porridge + Puffs, and Fat & Flour’s mini strawberry pies, I finally copped me some Bootleg Pizza. I’m not exactly familiar with the New Jersey style they’re striving for, this was a damn good rendition of a Detroit-style pan pizza (or the final form of Pizza Hut’s version). Neck-and-neck with Apollonia’s for square pies in town right now. Only downside is the price: $25 for cheese, $30 for pepperoni, $35 for the special - 6 slices each, so as if you were buying each slice individually.


Pep’d Up - love the pepperoni cups throughout (Prince Street-esque). Red sauce had a bit of tang.


Hot Jimmy - ricotta, hot sausage, garlic cloves, black pepper, hot honey. This was dope.

20 Likes

Like your thinking! They go high, you go Hi-Lo.

1 Like

National Gyro Day… Celebrating with some take-out from Sunny Grill (Mar Vista), with extra tzatziki sauce, of course…

Dessert: Antico’s latest ice cream batches capture the essence of summertime enjoyment. The textural play within the banana cream pie was especially enjoyable.

14 Likes

Great lunch at Langers!!

My wife had yet to go there. I told her it will be the best pastrami sandwich she’s ever had. She lived in NYC, so this was a bit of a bold statement.

Anyway, more on this adventure, here:

Langers v. Johnnies Pastrami

9 Likes

Banh Khot Lady x Brodard. Banh Khot Lady was easy and they are wonderful.

12 Likes

No pics, but had another excellent meal of chirashi and saba from Sushii Ii. I think their chirashi has the best QPR of all the ones I’ve had during COVID. Too bad it’s all the way down in Newport (over an hour each way from the foothills). Although it made for the perfect excuse to hit up Oliboli…

9 Likes

Definitely have thought it’s been my favorite at that price point. A super value when I’m in the mood for chirashi. They’re doing patio dine-in now too I think.

1 Like

Damn that is mighty fine eating! Looks perfect for a hot day. A big cup of Cococane would be perfect for me to go with that. I would probably need more lettuce/herbs for 50 pieces of Banh Khot lol

1 Like

What did get at Oliboli? Did you try the battera and bouzushi as well?

The pastries and bread at Wayfarer in La Jolla is serious stuff. Half hour line at 8:45am Sunday morning. The best croissants I’ve had in North America. Flaky would be an understatement. Every piece of pastry and baguette not pictured was so well made. The baker knows what they are doing. People were leaving with boxes and bags of stuff. If anybody is down in the area this is a must go to place. Bird rock coffee 2 blocks away.

Top left clockwise
Chocolate croissant with a good piece of dark chocolate
Ham n cheese croissant
Kouign Amman
Salted chocolate chip cookie
Strawberry pistachio croissant
Cinnamon bun

15 Likes

Got the strawberry, cactus pear, guava cream, and burnt bourbon bacon. The yeast donuts all have such a great chew to them.

At Sushi Ii, besides the chirashis,we got their mackerel rod-shaped sushi - which their waitstaff called “big battera.” That was excellent

4 Likes

There was more, not pictured… Also ordered extra pickled veg.

XLB Dumpling bar soft open in Brea today. Pork XLB, chicken corn dumplings, al pastor dumplings and cheeseburger bao. Bao was consensus fav but I liked the chicken.

Zombee Donuts. Not too sweet is not my preference in a donut and these do not disappoint. Looking forward to the choc/peanut butter banana which is new.

11 Likes

Better than Chaumont?

Infinitely better than Chaumont. Technically because I’ve never been to Chaumont.

3 Likes

A fine dinner. 5 mcchelin :star2:. :drooling_face:

12 Likes

No hash brown? I’m insulted.

6 Likes

Can’t afford it :money_mouth_face:

2 Likes

Here’s the weekly drop

Porridge + Puffs

I confess I consistently underestimate what Chef Mihn and co. put together week in and week out. For some reason, I always feel like they’re punching above their weight even though they’ve delivered some of my favorite meals since opening in their current location. The way the team subverts my expectations of “humble” food like spaetzle and porridge with absolute explosions of flavors is probably the reason I enjoy what they do so much. There is something absolutely delightful packed into each dish they make from the pickles and dressings to the desserts. This collaboration with N/Naka has been thoughtfully written up (with much more beautiful pictures) by others, but my personal favorites were the abalone porridge and the yellowfin. I’m an absolute fiend for carrot cake, so that was a highlight as well.

Jimmy Sugishita Bento

Chef Sugishita has changed his bento up since the last time I had it, and again he’s shown that he makes some of the best COVID era bentos around. I’ve always been a fan of his Atsuyaki Tamago, but new things that stood out this time were the Futomaki (with a generous serving of Hokkaido Uni) and the wakamomo.

Kato

Kato was my last dine-in meal before the shut down, and when I heard that they would be ending Kato-go I knew I need to rush over to the west side and cop a scallion wrap before they shorten their take out menu. Who knows if the wraps will stay or go, but it was one of the best bites I’ve had in the months between that March meal and this weekend. Shoot that chili oil straight into my veins.

Ototo

LA felt like the surface of the sun today, so major ups to Chef Namba and Courtney for putting on a cookout for all of us.

Goma-ae: Ototo’s John Stockton–it never disappoints.

Grilled fruit tomato skewer with yakitori tare and sansho: wonderful use of tomatoes here to bring out their natural sweetness

Chilled Meiji tofu with ikura myoga ginger: this was the highlight that I devoured

Grilled chicken thighs with ponzu brown butter oroshi: Tsubaki has leaned into its yakitori game in recent visits, and the skill really came through in this perfectly cooked dish

Corn yaki-onigiri: I’ve always loved ending my emails with Tsubaki’s yaki-onigiri, and this one was perfectly studded with sweet corn that took it to another level

Match cream puff: Outstanding work from pastry chef Gemma Matsuyama

Botanica

Botanica is one of my top tier neighborhood restaurants that I’m not sure gets enough love. Their vegetable forward, herb heavy, seasonal dishes have such a high floor they often top other places ceilings. For the past month or so they’ve been running a “kabob party” menu with a group of lamb, fish, chicken, and mushroom kabobs, as well as a handful of vegetables dishes. A couple of my favorites from this menu they’ve been doing are the roasted carrots carrots with beet muhammara and the chicken thighs. The chicken especially just comes to life thanks to the grilled stone fruit when you scoop it into laffa and smother it with toum.

Fat and Flour

Peach hand pie: hand for size.

17 Likes