Olé Spain Delishop (Costa Mesa) - Wanted to make it a paella weekend by trying out the version here but ended up with a bocata with domestic serrano ham, pamplona chorizo, manchego cheese, piquillo peppers and some patatas bravas with spicy dressing and hot paprika. I’m unfamiliar with Spanish sandwiches in general but bread had a crispy crust and soft crumb. Patatas bravas… maybe think of animal style fries with cubed potatoes instead of fries in that same non-crispy way.
Huong Quan (Santa Ana) - Bun mam, one the restaurant’s specialties, a Vietnamese vermicelli noodle soup with fermented fish/shrimp paste forming the base flavors for the slightly thickened broth. Word of warning that it’s kind of a stinky dish (and the restaurant had an “interesting” aroma to it as well), but the dish is immensely savory and delicious. Oh, and had bun dac biet, a vermicelli noodle salad with grilled pork, egg rolls, and shrimp. I’d skip this one next time in favor of some recent visits to Vien Dong and Thanh Mai if you’re looking for bun. HQ’s grilled pork was grisly and flavors were flat compared to aforementioned places.
Sunday:
Paella Night with Perfecto Rocher @ Hinoki and the Bird (Century City) - Really enjoyed the veg dishes. Paella very tasty but socarrat very minimal.
Did the Rock N Roll half marathon on Sunday so decided my post-race meal would be at Smoke’s Poutinerie. Moreplease recommended the Korean poutine (bulgogi and kimchi) which he came up with for his Hollywood store.
Worked all weekend and not much eating out so don’t know if I should play… But I did have to finish off last week’s Oktoberfest purchases so what the hell.
Friday - Alpine Village Knackwurst with harissa mayo and julienned sun dried tomatoes on commis bread.
Saturday - Attari Sandwich Shop - tongue and brain sandwich and a bowl of osh. First time for the tongue and brain. Not much flavor from those brains but a nice texture. Not sure I’d get it again over the tongue alone.
Sunday - Hungarian Bratwurst, sauerkraut, selection of mustards.
All sausages came from a drunken apres-Oktoberfest spree at the Alpine Village deli counter last weekend. Also picked up a half smoked pork butt, country pate and some berliner headcheese.
Saturday afternoon: throw away pizza, real food daily (vegan) club sandwich, dinner a great fucking burger from Wally’s (finally a fucking dish there that’s actually fucking dope, I think I’m officially finished with Wally’s for the time being now) and a solid Old-Fashioned, and i really really like that space.
Sunday: Wexler’s smoked trout on poppyseed bagel and iced almond nut latte, and some rolls from the sugar fish roll joint.
Sunday late dinner: LA Burger Bar for a kosher burger with beef fry (their version of fucking bacon) and chili, i was quite impressed with this joint for a kosher joint. And it’s sort of like a decent if not better junk-fast-food chili burger shack, which is incredibly high praise indeed.
Just got back from vacation in Italy on Tuesday, and still jet-lagged. The spouse formerly known as the Woman In The Hat was feeling even more under the weather than I did, and when some folks we’ve known a long time, one of whom was also experiencing a touch of “feeling off”, called about dinner in Hollywood relatively late on Saturday, we all sort of said the same thing: “What’s tasty, but not challenging? No scorching heat, no fishy funk, no “witty” food”, no multi-course tasting menu with dishes which don’t look like what they are, and require instructions to eat.".
Consensus: Marouch.
Still consistent, still tasty, still accommodating. Food’s still exactly the same as it was a year ago; the same as it was a decade ago, and probably the same as it was 25 years ago, when I first ate there.
Original location in Santa Ana (near South Cost Plaza). New(er) location is in HB, and they’re supposed to be opening up at ARTIC in Anaheim one of these days.
We had the house pan roast, which had shrimp, clams, crab, and lobster. House chowder had the same.
Prices weren’t too bad. Fed a family of 5 (two kid’s meals) including a bottle of wine and an order of bacon-wrapped shrimp for about $100.
In all fairness, the $100 got us one pan roast, one chowder, two kid meals, the shrimp, and the wine. So yes, it would be more expensive with each adult getting their own bowl. House pan roast is about $23, which I guess is kind of steep when I think about it, but I always enjoy it, especially now that I can have a glass or 4 of wine with it. YMMV.
