Ernie's Profile
Best Take Out Dim Sum - SGV
I live very close to the restaurant and do not recall Triumphal Palace having 燒賣 or 蛋撻 nearly as good as Lunasia currently does
Pizza Mozza, Patina, Gjelina and Spago reserved. Where else should I eat?
Agreed. Patina was great back in its old space on Melrose Ave. Nothing the Patina Group does now is worthy of recommendation.
Best Take Out Dim Sum - SGV
Triumphal Palace is no longer. Lunasia has taken its former space
"Why Pork Chop Over Rice Isn’t Classically Taiwanese"
The rebuttal below it sounds pretty dismissive of Clarissa's opinion.
Dim sum at King Hua: A Pictorial Essay
I've been praising King Hua's dim sum for a while now and glad to see others have caught on. Lately though, I've been going to Lunasia. Their dim sum has gotten even better. Shumai and har gow are huge there and they have fantastically flaky dan taat (egg custard)
Umami Burgers....Worth the price ??
That's OK, we have very different tastes as it seems. I think "truffle" oil splashed on anything is disgusting, and Umami likes to splash it on many items.
Umami Burgers....Worth the price ??
I think they are definitely not worth it. I find Umami's burgers to be small and ultra greasy without anything crisp to offset all the richness. I thought their onion rings were awful, limp and poorly fried.
I have never, ever, had a bad meal at ____________and I have eaten there over a dozen times!
Musso & Frank
Bandera
Din Tai Fung
Golden Deli
The Nook
I've never had a problem with the freshness of food at Nook. It is a good place and reasonably priced, especially for the Westside
Meatball Subs
Oops, meant to say "Big Nick's" in San Pedro. Yes, Big Mike's closed a while back (and I miss their amazing burgers). I got my Big's confused :)
RAMEN WITH BEEFSTOCK WESTSIDE
Many ramen places have a miso-based or soy-based (shōyu) ramen available in addition to the pork based variety (tonkotsu). I am not aware of any Japanese ramen with beef stock.
Meatball Subs
Best I have had so far is at Big Mike's in San Pedro, but like most good meatballs it probably is not all beef. Large, fresh and you can actually taste the oregano and other spices in them. Never had a meatball sub in Greater LA that comes close, which is not surprising given San Pedro's large Italian population.
Carne Asada Burrito or Taco in Los Angeles
No, it shouldn't be greasy if prepared correctly with quality ingredients. Trouble is, most Mexican restaurants in the US operate on a very low-cost model so the beef is usually terrible quality and gristly.
Best Fries on Westside?
It is the small bar attached to South Beverly Grill in Beverly Hills
Best Fries on Westside?
I agree. The best fries I've had amongst all the Hillstone Group places I've tried (Houstons, Bandera, Gulfstream, R+D Kitchen, South Beverly Grill, etc.) is at the small Honor Bar in Beverly Hills. Hold the salt
Carne Asada Burrito or Taco in Los Angeles
Taco Village in Montebello. They use good quality ranchera meat for their carne asada. Most carne asada available in Los Angeles is made with extremely poor quality beef
Standard Hotel downtown -- is it worth eating at?
Their burger is pretty good, but that is all I would trust them with
"Fresh" dried Pinto Beans in Los Angeles?
Most Latino grocery stores, e.g., Vallarta have scoop bins with dried pinto beans that are usually "fresher" than the packaged variety due to more turnover
Staying at Beverly Wilshire tomorrow night
Yes it is touristy, but their prime rib is excellent
Staying at Beverly Wilshire tomorrow night
Red Medicine for very inventive Vietnamese fusion done deliciously. Skip Cut – it is overpriced and overrated.
Red Medicine. Wow.
Wow is right. I tried Red Medicine last night and was blown away with their food. Super inventive Asian/Viet fusion done very deliciously. Our party of 2 sampled the Brussels sprouts, chicken dumplings, pork, Akuashi beef and the green Gage plum dessert
The Brussels sprouts were absolutely delicious with great presentation. Extremely flavorful , they tasted like they were deep fried first then tossed with nước chấm (Vietnamese fish sauce) and caramelized shallot. The white shrimp chips and basil leaf topping were a nice visual and taste contrast to the deep, almosty meaty flavor of the sprouts. We loved the basil so much with this dish we asked for more and they obliged
The chicken "dumplings" arrived next. Dumplings is a misnomer; these were actually wonderful chicken meatballs artfully presented in a dimpled white serving tray with various Viet-style condiments to add and wrap up in butter lettuce leaves. Once wrapped up, they reminded me of gourmet Viet imperial rolls without the fried rice skin wrapper. The chicken meatballs were wonderfully crisp on the outside and juicy in the middle and had wonderful layers of Viet flavors and lime notes
Next came the pork (pork shoulder), another hit. The caramelized black vinegar and goji berry sauce gave a gorgeous lacquered black coat over perfectly cooked pork shoulder. The flavor of this pork was so good, we asked for jasmine rice so we could mix up and get every bit of the flavor
Our last entrée was the Akuashi beef with crème fraîche, cashew, and charred cucumber. When the dish arrived, we were so intrigued by all the great stuff going on the plate between the cream, bits of cashew and charred/pickled cucumber. Again, the meat was gorgeously cooked to a medium rare and all the different Viet/European ingredients worked so well. Outstanding
The only thing I was not blown away by was the green Gage plum dessert. It was pretty to look at and very inventive with elements of molecular cuisine, but I thought it had a little too much going on and wasn't actually sure what I was eating. I was expecting something more like a simple sorbet or ice cream but this complex dessert was very ethereal and light, with multiple flavors of light custard, sweet herbs and flowers and fruit. I think this would have made a better palate cleanser than a full on dessert
My only complaint is that the pacing of the meal was a little off. Our small plates (sprouts and chicken dumplings) arrived quickly but there was a long 15-20 minute gap before we received our larger plates (the beef and pork). The food was so delicious though, I can't wait to come back again!
Best hot dogs & onion rings on the Westside?
I agree. I've tried the "tempura" onion rings at Umami La Brea and they were awful. Some of the worst I have ever had. Ultra-greasy and limp
Best Taiwanese pork chop?
Din Tai Fung in Arcadia have an excellent pork chop. In fact, I like it better than their dumplings
The Ten Best Things To Eat In LA Right Now
I thought Spice Table's cauliflower was OK. A bit salty and the coating was a little too heavy
Jongewaard's Bake N Broil
Interesting. I have been having burgers (and pie) there for several years now and have always found them to be flavorful. Last visit was a few months ago, so maybe I need to revisit soon and see if quality has declined
Jongewaard's Bake N Broil
I don't get the Red Velvet thing either, it is just food coloring, however Bake & Broil make a great burger
LA's Best Ramen?
I've gone to Tokyo and Yokohama several times and agree about skipping Daikokuya for ramen. The quality of their ramen does not justify the crowds.
Mendocino Farms - what's your favorite sandy?
I've had that curry chicken salad sandwich before and also didn't care for it, however I do like Mendocino Farm's steak BLT and pork belly bánh mì
Orleans Corner, Arcadia... anyone been?
Had a good brunch at Orleans Corner over the weekend. It was ~$16 and included champagne. They had about 10-12 different brunch items available ranging from jambalaya to made-to-order omelettes, blueberry pancakes, and bourbon French toast. I thought food was good and an excellent value
Authentic French bistro/brasserie (not fine dining) Westside to South Bay preferred
I've had a a couple of good meals at Le Petit Bistro in West Hollywood over the years. I think the owners might be French-Morrocan but can't recall if the servers speak French.
