Low Blood Sugar's Profile
Cuban roast pork with crispy skin?
I would think that most Cuban restaurants will give you extra skin if you request it. I've done that when ordering carnitas at Mexican places. There's a bakery in Hawthorne called El Zorro. They do roast pork trays to-go around christmas time. There's a couple of square feet of crispy skin in there!
Late Night Dining in the Torrance area
Koraku in the Rolling Hills Plaza is open til 3 (I think). Ramen and rice dishes...the ramen is pretty boring but the rice dishes are good.
Hollywood Bowl...eat there? or bring your own?
I think you can bring whatever you want, liquor-wise. Last year while everyone was sipping wine out of glasses, my gf & I were pouring vodka into cans of Hansen's soda. I for one, enjoy slumming it in nice places. :)
My Favorite Uniquely LA Cheeseburger (PICS)
I'll probably try it within the next week, already had in-n-out this week. I'll definitely give you an honest opinion but I already like double doubles AND a good tikka masala. Predisposed to liking it!
My Favorite Uniquely LA Cheeseburger (PICS)
I think this could be a new chowhound pasttime, food mashups. still reeling over this indian burger :)
My Favorite Uniquely LA Cheeseburger (PICS)
I live a mile from there. I'm humbled by your food creation skills :). I haven't been to Al Noor yet, but i'd highly recommend Al Watan which is further down Inglewood (towards the airport) about another 2 miles.
molecular gastronomy ramen?! wth?! oh yes, RAMEN CALIFORNIA is here. (review w/ pics)
Great minds think alike, I went to Santouka the day after Ramen California. 2 questions: why doesn't Santouka have a stand-alone restaurant? ,they would do pretty good I think. and also, what happened with the Chabuya that California Ramen replaced? at both Chabuya locations i've been to(sawtelle & the closed one on crenshaw), the food was great but the servers on the younger, inexperienced side. did they just turn off too many customers? the quality of the food should have kept that business afloat.
molecular gastronomy ramen?! wth?! oh yes, RAMEN CALIFORNIA is here. (review w/ pics)
What a timely review, I just went there yesterday. Let me start off by saying that i've been following your blog for a few years on and off. Great stuff on there.
I went yesterday for the first-time with a co-worker. We both disliked it. We had the california ramen. The vegetables were fresh but the whole bowl was very underwhelming. The broth just seemed like a simple chicken broth. I couldn't even tell if it was made from scratch. The other bowls didn't seem interesting... tomatoes in ramen?? Blech!
Different strokes and all that, BUT, the south bay isn't known for 'forward thinking' food. It's possible that this type of restaurant would work up in L.A. where tastes are more adventurous (or at least more tolerant), but in the old-fashioned south bay, I think the restaurant is crusing towards an early closure.
If the chef took a traditional ramen and enhanced it or really tricked it out, I think the business would do well. I guess we'll see once it has it's true grand opening.
And they didn't even have gyoza! MAN! :)
Maison Riz - Redondo Beach
I went there for their 'soft' grand opening. At lunch time, on the weekend, they had exactly *3* dishes available: a salad, a ricecake appetizer and of all things....CHICKEN TERIYAKI(!) I couldn't believe that 1)they would have ANY kind of an opening with such a limited menu and 2)if it was going to a be a limited menu, at least provide dishes that will tease you into visiting another time..I think they only people intrigued by chicken teriyaki wouldn't be the kind of people that would come to a place like this.
I think the several good izakaya restaurants within 10 minutes of this place are a much better choice.
Best Italian Restaurant in Little Italy
I haven't had alot of high end Italian food, but the meal I had at Lunelli's(Lunella's?) was the best Italian meal of my life. Amazing osso buco, fettucini alfredo, etc...
Tasting the Cuban Menu at Versailles Culver City
Cuban here. I like the Versailles chain except for their Manhattan Beach location which is terrible service-wise and food-wise. Tried Rincon Criollo, didn't like their service (wasn't friendly, had a strange attitude) nor their food which I found bland.
For the most authentic Cuban experience, I like El Colmao up in L.A. It's in a terrible neighborhood, but during the daytime it's not nearly as bad.
Cafe Beaujolais in Eagle Rock?
I'm not sure if i'm thinking of the right place, but if it's on Colorado, they have the most amazing croque monsieur sandwich i've ever had...INCLUDING THE ONES I TRIED IN PARIS!!
The manager/owner I didn't care for so much. He overcharged me and when I went to get the extra change I was owed, he basically tossed it at me on the counter while turning his back to me. Such a weird reaction...and yes, I was polite about asking for the change.
Looks like a Kogi truck, but it's not...
With a recession that might last for years I see food trucks really taking off. Someone please start a tandoori burrito truck. :)
gardena area?
The Hustler Casino is near Gardena Bowl (even within walking distance?). They have food, it might be a good choice if you're eating with people that aren't foodies (or aren't into asian food).
Making japanese-style curry at home. Alternative to House Brand?
I've started making japanese curry at home and want to try something different than the House Brand(though i'm a big fan of the Curry House and Hurry Curry). Are there any brands you can recommend? I saw some stuff in a bag in the curry section of Mitsuwa that looked like grains of Sanka coffee but the entire bag was written in japanese. Looked intriguing though.. Any advice? Thanks!
Pann's wins Best Biscuits in L.A. 2008
Yeah, we showed up around 1:30pm and the waitress thought they were out already..
Pann's wins Best Biscuits in L.A. 2008
I went to Pann's yesterday with my gf for breakfast. It had been a while so we figured it was a good time to revisit this place. When we were walking in, they had a sign showing that they won the Best Biscuits award for this year(not sure who created the award..l.a. times, citysearch??).
We both ordered breakfasts with biscuits and gravy. The biscuits were the best i've had in MY LIFE. The outside was very firm, each bite yielding crumby cascades of buttery goodness. The inside was surprisingly moist, or at least not dry like average biscuits(you know the ones, they just suck all the fluid out of your mouth). I ordered the breakfast that has the Pann's fried chicken wings based on the good things i've read on here. They were good, but not great.
Anything like "stinking rose" that doesn't suck?
I think it's unlikely to find a similar place because other restaurants that might be garlic-oriented would be dedicated to a particular ethnic food(ie, italian, etc). Stinking Rose is all over the place with their menu...
Mitsuwa's Hokkaido Fair is back! 9/11-914
I'll check out the other food but the guest ramen vendor that was there earlier this year was completely underwhelming. I'd like to see another ramen place's version of tonkotsu broth.
Where is the best turkey burger in LA?
Fatburger has a surprisingly good turkey burger, well seasoned and still a bit juicy.
Where is the best whole roasted pig?
Havana Mania is a Cuban restaurant. I wouldn't recommend it for lunch as it seems like they rush the cooking of the food, often resulting in a very bland version of what they're aiming for.
I've been to their night where they do the whole roasted pork(Tuesdays?). Honestly, I prefer their regular pork better, it's more marinated and has 3x the flavor of the whole roasted version.
Smoky, Tender and So Delicious! - Porky's BBQ and Golden Bird [Review] w/ Pics!
Do they still have coupons on their site? The first time I went, I spent around $30 and had enough meat for 2 that lasted for 3 days.
Middle Eastern in South Bay
I went to a new middle eastern place last night on Artesia and ...Phelan? It's called Beirut Express. GREAT food. I had the beef shawerma and my gf had some kind of (amazing)chicken skewer. The funny thing is that there's ANOTHER middle eastern place, Al-Hamra, in the same small plaza. Good food there as well though the restaurant isn't decorated at al. I'm hoping the 2 places will compete against each other and keep raising the quality of the food.
Cafe Noura/ Eat A Pita
I knew Eat-A-Pita was closed but not Noura... Damn! Everytime I went in there, at least half the tables were always full. I used to take dates there when I was younger and impress them by eating around the fire pit.
Man!
Jaybee's Bar-B-Q in Gardena
I went to Jaybee's this weekend based on the results of the Chowhound BBQ contest(which I guess was held in 2001).
We ordered:
Pork ribs
Hot links
Mac & cheese
BBQ beans
I was really hoping for something special but I found myself less satisfied than going to a chain restaurant like Lucille's.
Issues:
the pork ribs had close to zero flavor. No smokey taste, the hot sauce was not hot or flavorful and there were huge fatty sections of the ribs(maybe that's common, i don't know).
the bbq beans tasted EXACTLY like campbell's baked beans. remember that scene in Ratatoutille(if you've seen it)where the evil food critic takes a bite of his food and it takes him straight back to his childhood? I had that experience with these beans, except it zoomed back to my childhood to a vague memory of opening a can of beans.
the mac & cheese was OK. it tasted homemade but it also didn't have much flavor. I had to add a decent amount of salt to taste anything.
the hotlinks were fairly good. they tasted homemade. they weren't cooked well so the skin felt pretty rubbery. other than that, the spices in the links were tasty.
and lastly, I have to mention the service. the cashier had on one of those 'faux' rude attitudes that i've heard they do at some novelty-type restaurants. it was reminiscent of the soup nazi from seinfeld. before you finish what you're saying, the cashier cuts you off and asks what sides you want. also cutting you off into the first syllable of your side order. i can understand that they're busy, but the cashier likes to throw in alot of ...mm hmms... and you got it player this, player that.. i guess you'd have to be there to understand.
with all of the different bbq places in L.A., I don't see myself returning to this place.
First ever Chowhound BBQ Taste Test RESULTS
Porky's on Manchester in Inglewood wasn't included? It was one of the first few Chowhound-recommended places I tried...and ran into the Chowhounder(nosh) who recommended it in the first place! :)
The Veggie Grill, El Segundo - A Quick Hit
I went last week and had the Santa Fe Chickin sandwich & a side of sweet potato fries. The fries were excellent, no added sugar, and served with some kind of a ranch dressing on the side. The sandwich was decent. I've been to a couple Chinese vegetarian-meat places(Veggie Wokkery in Cerritos...HIGHLY recommended & House of Vege in Lomita, which I thought was pretty good as well). I found that while the vegetarian chicken in the Chinese places was a rough, yet pleasing approximation of chicken, the one at the Veggie Grill felt more rubbery in it's texture.
That being said, I'd go back....unless the Counter is open next time! :)
Why does L.A. Bahn Mi taste worse than SF
I wish people made an L.A. banh mi blog, like the guy that does the great taco hunt blog and (i think)rameniac's ramen blog. I was going to start one but had a HORRIBLE banh mi at the first restaurant I was going to review in Long Beach(forgot the name of the restaurant). I literally had to spit out most of the sandwich as the pork in there was 90% fat/10% meat.
With THAT being said, i've had some good banh mi at Saigon Flavor in Torrance(corner of Crenshaw & Carson)and also a boba place in Gardena(the boba place in the shopping center that has Curry House & El Pollo Inka). I wouldn't recommend coming all the way down here unless there's something else you can do in the South Bay(beach perhaps?). I'd imagine that SFV has alot more choices.
