Friday
Giorgio Baldi (outstanding)
Special Appetizer w/ Fried Zucchini and Zucchini Blossoms/Burrata, Cherry tomatoes, a nice fried soft-shell crab - lemon/capers
Trio of fish carpaccio
Penne w/Lagoustino
Saturday
Snack ot Odys and Penelope - Warm cheese puffs, smoked tomato romesco (really good)
Ledlow (pretty good)
Chicken Schnitzel, great cocktails
Sunday
Shanghai Dumpling House (went based on a recent write up by @secretasianman ) - nice, simple place
very nice cold appetizers, Excellent XLB and pan-fried dumplings, beef rolls - good, “hot pot” of rib eye and veggies - meh, noodles - good
ciao - im a big fan of Giorgio - hes certainly got a way with those langoustinos…wondering if doing that pasta with butter and shaved truffles and if so how much…fond memories and thanks for the write up
Satuday:Pepper bellies (aka Texas Frito Pie) at the Manhattan Beach Home Town Fair…
Sunday went and meet friends from SF…and of all the places they wanted go to was Gladstone’s (I really tried to talk them out of it and I begged them to go to Gjusta) Place was empty for Sunday Brunch. Had the fish and Chips for an ungodly $25, but suprisingly it wasn’t bad and they use fresh cod.
Saturday - Settebello Pasadena - caprese, meatballs and tomato w focaccia, a Margherita w/ mushrooms and a Settebello pizza. Bulgarini Gelato afterwards, which also included some fettuccini.
Sunday - Dinner at Home - Rigatoni with Sunday Gravy, hot Italian sausages and lamb neck. McConnells ice cream for dessert.
Friday - Ballast Point Sculpin at the local biker bar followed at home by frozen Hebrew National pigs (a bit of a misnomer when having Hebrew National) in a blanket and more beer.
Saturday - Inka Mama’s for Peruvian. Jalea, chaufa de mariscos, fried plantains with caramel and Stone 2.0 Pale Ale & Ninkasi Octoberfest beer.
Madeo - Previously recounted. Pasta was excellent. Pizza was good. Carved veal was just ok and extremely expensive.
Saturday:
Hardy’s BBQ:
Baby back and beef ribs, always great. Only available Sat and Sunday. In the parking lot of Hardy’s meat market, on Coldwater and Moorpark.
Sunday:
Take out from First Szechuan Wok in Westwood. Found this place last week. Pretty good Chinese for the Westside and reasonable prices. Not as good as Joss but comparable to Xian.
Friday dinner: Siam Chan delivery (the glass noodles were surprisingly good, as was the moo shu [my partner has been dying for some])
Saturday:
Lunch: leftovers from Siam Chan
Dinner: Three cheese pizza at Olio at GCM (my first time)
Dessert: Sweet Rose Creamery (Santa Monica); fresh mint + chocolate chip is one of my favs
Sunday:
Brunch (?): a newish pupusa place at Brentwood FM. Bleh! Seller took it off my pork and cheese off a huge stack of pupusas that had been sitting around. It was chewy and tough (although the flavor was good). Veggie one was better. Where was my “cole slaw???” Rrr… Had been hoping to get some stuffed cabbage from the Polka stand, but they weren’t there yesterday.
Dinner: more stuff from the FM’s (mixed greens from Scarborough Farms; burrata from a new guy I’ve never seen [less rich and creamy than Gioia]) + prosciutto and La Brea baguette from Bristol Farms.
Friday:
Urban Plates in Irvine - quinoa (meh), mac and cheese (okay), pizza (meh), caprese salad (okay), salmon (okay). Reminded me of Lemonade.
Creamistry in Irvine - vanilla ice cream with strawberries (okay)
Playground in Santa Ana for late night snacks and beer - aguachile (good), focaccia (okay).
Sunday:
Sushi and sashimi from Iroha - wonderful
Key lime pie from Clementine with Talenti Toasted Almond gelato and McConnell’s Eureka Lemon and Marionberries ice cream - pie crust was a little hard, but it was delicious nonetheless
Friday: Guisados, because I hadn’t been there in a while. Tried the chiles torreados taco for the first time, and it kicked my ass. Their always delicious horchata helped, though.
Saturday: Newport Seafood. Got our usual boring dishes, nothing “adventurous”. Beef loc lac, Yang chow fried rice, fried tofu, and the house crab. Great as always.
Sunday: Brunch/lunch at Manhattan Beach Post. We usually have dinner there, so it was the first time we’ve tried the daytime menu. The bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits are my favorite biscuits in LA. Also got the truffle honey fried chicken, chimichangas, and the steak & egg. Everything was tasty, but the batter on the fried chicken was rather dense as opposed to crispy.
Their always delicious horchata helped, though.
