aventinus's Profile
Give me cool Tokyo restaurant ideas
I'm leaving Tokyo in January. I've been thrilled with the food in Tokyo so far, and I'd like to eat at as many interesting, delicious places as I can between now and January. Price is not much of a consideration. More important considerations are that they take reservations in English (very important) and); it is seafood (or poultry) and vegetable focused (I avoid meat); and it's good for dining solo (but if they'll take me, that's cool).
Here are some good places I've been so far:
Sushi Saito. Right up my alley.
Kikunoi. Excellent. Beautiful kaiseki, seafood-focused, friendly to English speakers.
Daigo. Like Kikunoi but vegetarian (and in some ways, even more impressive).
Pierre Gagnaire. I called ahead and said seafood only, and they accomodated nicely. This was a terrific experience, but if I'm going to do French again it had better be extraordinary.
Rakutei. Good tempura, friendly to English speakers.
Please give me some more places I shouldn't miss before I leave.
Affordable Sushi In Tokyo
After living in Tokyo for a week, I'd say it's pretty hard to go wrong with sushi in Tokyo. On average, it's much better than sushi in Los Angeles in the same price range. While I haven't been to any place in the same ballpark as Urasawa, Mori Sushi, and Sushi Zo, I've been to a couple of places on par with Sushi Gen but much less expensive (think $1.5-$2 per nigiri sushi). The only not-so-good sushi I've had was at a sushi-go-round place in Asakusa.
So basically, I think it's less important in Tokyo to seek out some particular place for good sushi than it is in Los Angeles, except perhaps toward the Michelin-starred high end (which I haven't tried).
Using a wok on an electric stove -- is this truly doable?
Agree. Use a cast iron skillet.
How long in advance do I need to make a reservation?
you can wear a hip t shirt and jeans if you want. in fact, it's quite common at all those restaurants. It's more important in LA to look good than to look formal.
Great Middle Eastern take-out for large party
I suggest Marouch. They've catered successfully for me before.
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Marouch Restaurant
4905 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029, USA
Best Cambodian and Lao Near Burbank
Lao cuisine and the cuisine of Isaan (a part of Thailand that borders Lao) are essentially a single cuisine. There are several restaurants in Thai Town that serve good Isaan/Lao food, including Yai's on Hollywood Blvd.
Cambodian cuisine isn't very similar to Lao cuisine. I don't know of any Cambodian restaurants in these parts. There are some Cambodian restaurants near Long Beach and at least one in the SGV, but they haven't really wowed me. (For that matter, the Cambodian food in Cambodia didn't really wow me.)
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Yai Restaurant
5757 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
Organic / Local Mexican food in Los Feliz/Silverlake/Echo Park (or nearby...)
Also try Casa. It's better than Ocho. In my view, it has by far the best burritos in LA. (But I don't like the greasy, meaty kind of burritos most people on CH like.)
Downtown, mellow, good atmosphere and good food?
I would choose La Golondrina.
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La Golondrina
17 Olvera St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Organic / Local Mexican food in Los Feliz/Silverlake/Echo Park (or nearby...)
I second Alegria. Probably not exactly what OP is hoping for, but probably in the ballpark.
Uses for Italian Parsley?
Funny. Chopped parsley is a staple in much of my cooking (Italian and Middle Eastern). It has a mild flavor so it's hard to go wrong with it. If you have to use three bunches, tabbouleh is the way to go.
Where to buy fresh aji amarillo LA/OC
Anybody else? I'd like to incorporate more Peruvian dishes into my repertoire.
Is there better szechuan in LA than Chung KIng in San Gabriel?
Without purporting to rank Szechuan restaurants in the SGV, this is a favorite of mine:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/yunnan-garden-san-gabriel
where do you buy dried pasta? and what kind?
Third Bay Cities. I usually buy Latini -- just because I've had good experiences with it.
Mozza's Pizza is NOT Pizza!
Wonderful ingredients that don't come together in a satisfying way -- at least for me.
Downtown LA- What's not to be missed?!!
Downtown:
Water Grill
Little Tokyo (Sushi Gen, Sushi Go 55, Hama, Komasa, Fugestu Do, etc.)
Wurstkuche
Short Drive:
Jitlada (Southern Thai menu only)
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Water Grill
544 South Grand, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Sushi Go 55
333 S Alameda St Ste 317, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Little Tokyo Restaurant
150 E Bonita Ave, San Dimas, CA 91773
Boa, Spago or Pizza Mozza
Spago, easily.
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Spago
176 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Moving To Santa Monica and searched a lot! Check my list?!
To me, the most exceptional restaurant in Santa Monica is Real Food Daily. Sure, the food is more healthy than delicious. But most of the food in Santa Monica is mediocre and not worth the indulgence -- at least in my opinion
Another exceptional place is Le Pain du Jour. Very good, legit croissants.
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Real Food Daily
514 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Ciudad to become "Border Grill Downtown"
Just substituting one worthless, style-over-substance restaurant for another.
Xino Has The Best Dim Sum In Santa Monica
If it were your money, would you open a legitimate Chinese restaurant (or legitimate restaurant of any kind) in Santa Monica Place?
There is no good Chinese food outside the SGV. The SGV is not that far. It's easier to get there from Santa Monica than it is to get to Hollywood.
Water Grill- what to order?
I'll also add that one of my most memorable recent dishes at Water Grill was not fish, but rather chicken in green olive pesto with "potato risotto." This was interesting and full of flavor.
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Water Grill
544 South Grand, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Water Grill- what to order?
I haven't had a bad dish at Water Grill in my past 10 meals there. Most dishes have been outstanding; some have been merely good. I would just order what sounds good to you.
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Water Grill
544 South Grand, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Sushi Gen: Great sushi...Damn good deal
I agree that Sushi Gen is very good, but I've always found it quite expensive. I am surprised that the OP was able to order what he or she did for just $80. That said, I also agree with your implication that the price is unpredictable.
Start with A Block of Tofu and.....?
Freshness of the tofu is very important. Fresh tofu tastes elegant and slightly sweet. Old tofu tastes sour and complex. I personally like the flavor of tofu that is a little bit old, but fresh tofu is better. This is particularly true for soft tofu to be used as a custard -- it has to be very fresh. If you dislike the taste of your tofu raw, it's probably not fresh. Try to find a dedicated tofu producer if you live in a big city.
Coffee with Salt
FWIW, boiled peanuts its very common in the rural south, and certainly not prepared solely for tourists. Where I grew up, it was not unusual to drive by someone with a stand on the side of the road and a huge pot of boiled peanuts. Boiled peanuts is, in fact, my favorite way to eat peanuts.
Favorite Marcella Hazan recipes?
Broccoli and anchovy sauce. Excellent with fusilli; I liked it less with orecchiette (but it was still great). Terrific recipe that is very different from what you can eat in restaurants. Maybe my favorite recipe.
White clam sauce. Perfect first time.
Smothered onion sauce. Wonderful, unusual.
Tomato sauce with olive oil and chopped vegetables (a crudo). A revelation. This has become a staple for me. I like it better than the sauce with sauteed vegetables.
Cream and butter sauce (alfredo). Perfect.
Tuna sauce with tomatoes and garlic. An easy, tasty one-dish meal for weekday evenings. I always feel like it's missing one accent ingredient, but I haven't figured out what I want to add to it.
Classic polenta (stirring for the whole time). Perfect. Made a nice main dish with her suggested additions of gorgonzola, parmesan, and butter.
Two lemon chicken. Amazingly simple, came out perfect.
I'm craving South Indian food!
Agree on Annapurna and Udipi Palace. LA is a driving town. Artesia is the place to drive for non-Punjabi Indian food. Udipi Palace is the best of the "Southern Indian," non-Gujarati restaurants.
