does this still exist anywhere? this thing was legendary.

i have to disclaim that i was here with a bachelorette party (although a pretty unobnoxious one as far as these things go), and while all the items sounded interesting -- like all the little tidbits in mason jars; all these simple preparations of good ingredients that should be amazing --, none of it really blew me away. we did have some really nice wines, but the food itself was not amazing. nor was the service -- slow and addled at our table, plus an argument broke out between a few waiters out in one of the hallways.

after hearing so much about this place, and being really impressed with the unusual space, it really didn't meet my expectations.

has anyone been to Flame, the Persian restuarant on the list this year? is it really any different from all the other Persian kabob places?

hmm -- not sure i agree. other things at loteria are delicious for sure -- the chicken mole, and the awesome nachos for two. but the salsa always seems to taste really 'cooked' (ie, more like a stew than a salsa to me), and weirdly oily.

i know it's comparing apples to oranges, but try the salsa verde at el taurino. so, so good.

perfect timing on this post. my first time at the glendale porto's was for an 11-in-11 event -- 11 eateries that represent Los Angeles in 11 hours on nov. 11. It was around 5-6 o'clock, and the whole of brand street was dead, but we walked into Porto's and it was bustling! Brightly lit, families sitting down to dinner, locals excited to eat something delicious, it just had a great energy. And then the potato balls! Cozy and delicious. (This was all we could stomach -- about 3 of us shared one -- after the gorgefest that the day had been.)

And the first time I went to the Burbank location was, well, today! Flat tire got me on a different route to work, and I had to stop in. My iced cappuccino was made with so much love, and pride -- the guy was almost giddy to hand it to me. And it really showed -- the coffee was so rich, and with no bitterness - i didn't need to add sugar at all.

is it weird to be nostalgic about something that happened 8 hours ago? =)

my parents took a field trip to a pistachio farm, and I got a giant bag of fresh pistachios, right off the tree. any ideas of interesting things to do with them, other than just eating them out of hand? thanks!

so i was just on the website, where they have images of the paper menu, and it's got that address listed as 'loteria grill take-out kitchen'. hmm...

http://www.loteriagrill.com/LoteriaGr...

you know what's weird about the counter? they're supposed to be all about high-quality ingredients and an elevated burger experience and all this, but on their menu, they tout the fact that they use 'corn-fed' beef. you sure you want to say that out loud, counter? like, we're reading michael pollan these days, and we know that cows ain't supposed to eat corn. i was really surprised they mentioned that on their menu. it'd be great (and lots of buzz for them, although probably an expensive proposition), if they moved to grass-fed...

I believe that place is called El Salvador Con Sabor, and yes it's delicious.

Also not new but good, CJ's on Pico and Hauser -- their huevos rancheros are the best I've had.

agreed, both Vallarta market and Jons market in the valley make excellent tres leches.

of what's been mentioned, i have to go with javan. But I wanted to add a few other options to the discussion too:

- attari sandwich shop. while they do have kabob, it's an afterthought. the main event here is sandwiches of things like kookoo sabzi (it's basically an herb fritatta) or schnitzel in french bread. great barley soup, pretty courtyard.

- if you're willing to go out to woodland hills, my favorite kabob place is Green Cottage on ventura blvd. delicious, very homey feel, yummy pickled garlic (along with all the standards)

- there's a place in van nuys called It's All Good House of Kabob. modest place, mostly takeout, but they have this thing on the menu called 'beryani', which i have never seen on any other persian menu (nor in any persian home kitchen). apparently it's a big old ground lamb patty. i've not tried it, but definitely something different than your average chelo kabob.

- vanak in van nuys. the kabob is just ok, but the point here is the fresh baked breads. really delicious barbari bread.

aroma bakery in tarzana has a drink called 'limonaana' -- it's a frozen lemonade, fresh squeezed, with lots of fresh mint blended in (so much so that it's actually a greenish color instead of yellow). it's a strong contender for my favorite beverage in the world. very refreshing on a hot valley day.

as everyone else has stated, the pastrami at langer's is kind of amazing in every way. having said that, the cabbage soup there turns out to be a delicious vegetably surprise.

one more -- izayoi in little tokyo. cute yummy place, and there's lots of poeple walking around the area at night (some fun shops to duck into, as well)

el taurino has amazing salsa verde -- kind of smokey and really delicious. get it with the carne asada burrito. yummers.

oh, he's open on sundays now? fabulous! i had no idea!

i visited sheddy's, the new place that took over bodega de cordova's spot on fairfax, a couple weeks ago, and they had a small, but pretty impressive beer list. off the top of my head, i recall maudite, a couple chimays, blanche de chambly (i was very excited -- not a huge beer person, but i love that one), fat tyre, various others..

not sure when they open (noonish? 11ish?) but they close at 10. closed on sundays.

this sounds fascinating -- i might check it out. in related news, today at Trader Joe's I found organic Dole bananas -- with a 3-digit code on the label that links you, on the website, to photos and info about the specific farm on which your banana was grown. Kind of amazing. ( www.doleorganic.com )

the index of botany of desire does not list bananas, but i might go through and do another skim. and yes-- wherever this passage is, there's this whole thing about how they are all genetically identical, and how our grandparents had a different strain -- Gros Michel -- but it was taken over by a fungus at some point, and now *all* eating bananas are a different strain -- Cavendish. And I feel like there was more about the actual mechanics of how bananas, ahem, make baby bananas, but I can't recall the details... anyway, thanks for the info..

it's not technically a health food restaurant, but aroma cafe/bakery in tarzana has awesome salads and sandwiches -- you can definitely find healthful options there.

I recall reading in some book (Omnivore's Dilemma? Food Revolution?) about the details of the bizarre way bananas reproduce, and how susceptible they are to blight since they're clones, and all that stuff. but i can't for the life of me remember which book this was.

anyone have any insight on what i might have been reading?

thanks!

tasca -- wine and pretty substantial tapas, in a small, dim, intimate, stylish setting. 3rd street around crescent heights, which i guess is technically a bit north of miracle mile, but it's worth going a few minutes out of the way.

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Tasca Restaurant
8108 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048

i went for lunch a few months ago, and was pleasantly surprised. it's thai-ish. they have a series of dishes where you have a choice of proteins -- seitan, vegan 'chicken', tofu, etc. on the waitress's recommendation, i got the 'chicken' with chinese broccoli. it was really fresh, not overcooked -- so the veg was still bright and crisp. sauce was flavorful, protein was pretty good too. my friend had mung bean noodles with mixed vegetables -- also very tasty and fresh.

gnocchi with brown butter and sage is amazing. as is the pappardelle. it's good in general -- great texture -- but the last time i was there i had it with a sauce that i believe was called fumo, which was a pink sauce with smoked scamorza (similar to mozzarella) cheese, and it was pretty fantastic.

Spork Foods out of silver lake does some classes and specialize in vegetarian/vegan/healthy/etc. they might have something for you:
http://sporkfoods.com

you might want to try mama's hot tamales in macarthur park:

http://www.iurd.org/mamasHotTamales/

it seems like 3rd stop is changing more than just their beer prices. i was there last week, and there was a host at the door seating people (and later making one member of our party wait outside for a bit (despite the facts that there were empty tables and that he was going to be sitting at our table anyway). they also have table service, and extremely loud, offputting music. kind of a bummer -- it was a really nice mellow spot, but now you can't hear the conversation at your own table anymore.

they have really delicious cream puffs (i prefer them to the Angel Maid ones up the street). BUT -- I did get quite a surprise once when i bit into one and the filling was berry flavored. Now I know to ask.

Their babas au rhum are also pretty delicious.

I checked it out a couple nights ago. I really liked it and look forward to going back. My thoughts, and a few choice lo-res cell-phone pictures here:

http://tannazie.blogspot.com/2007/11/...