True dat, and Dr. Gjusta knows his way around veg!
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Are you Andrew Zimmern in monster disguise? 
Had another stellar Gjusta falafel sandwich this week. It has quickly become one of my favorite sandwiches in the city.
Also really enjoyed a plate of their broccolini
This place never ceases to amaze me. And I’m not the biggest Gjelina fan.
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This looks like my dream meal! Thanks for posting the mouthwatering photos.
I think Gjusta has transcended words at this point. It is just where you go if you want to eat unbelievably well in a simple way.
Did they just /love/hate me with all the veggies on my falafel though? haha
Crust could have been better on the banana caramel tart, but still fairly tasty.
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Ate in at Gjusta for the first time in a while, so I decided to give the cheeseburger another try. And I have to say, I enjoyed it a lot more than I did the first time, when I took it to go.
The arugula was crisp and peppery, not wilted like before. The patty was loosely formed with a nice crust from the sear. I really liked how the sour pickles and smoked tomato complimented the juicy meat.
My only complaint was something @Chowseeker1999 pointed out: the patty comes out overcooked. Mine was actually closer to well done than medium even. Still juicy, but I would have preferred medium rare.
I wonder if they cook it that way because of the blend of meat they’re using. Like the fat from the marrow and short rib doesn’t render properly if they don’t cook it long enough.
Hi @Bigmouth,
Thanks for the report, did you specify doneness when you ordered?
If not, maybe they are just catering to clientele’s general preference.
I enjoyed the burger but feel that it was a lot going on. You can taste the beef, but it is sort of obscured with the amount of tastes going on. I wonder how it would taste just plain? And my burger was cooked perfect medium.
I did not. My friend put in the order and I forgot to specify. However, the fact they encouraged you to order it medium makes me think there’s some further reason why they do.
Hmmm… good question.
Medium is the message at Gjusta. I tried ordering mine medium rare yesterday and got a polite but quizzical response that they serve it medium if that’s ok.
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This thread is too long to scroll through fully and so I have not been able to see if anyone here has gone to this breakfast and brunch place for dinner. At any rate, we did so today. We were at the beach up past Will Rogers and the kids got hungry on the way back. Traffic was bad and it didn’t seem like they’d be able to hold out till we got back to Koreatown. So we drove up to Venice and found Gjusta. Either they don’t do much dinner business in general or not too much Sunday dinner business but there was ample seating to choose from on their patio. We got a bunch of things: the boys ate the tomato-mozzarella flatbread, we shared an order of the porchetta melt, an order of the anchovy toast and a small plate of their smoked fish (we got the oil marinated sardines and the herbed gravlax and the guy taking my order recommended the smoked trout). All of it was bloody good but the porchetta melt and the sardines were a cut above.
All that said, I was a little surprised at the cashier when the bill came to $58 ($70 with tip). The food proved to be very good but $70 seemed a bit much for sandwiches, two pieces of flatbread and three small portions of fish. But I guess this is the new Venice. A long time ago I used to live not too far away down 3rd from Gjusta, in Santa Monica, right on the Venice border, and I have to say the Venice we drove through today seemed quite unrecognizable in many ways.
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The prices are relatively high but are justifiable IMHO. Regardless of their location and the impact of this on price, the quality and breadth of their food is remarkable. You can find lesser versions of their dishes everywhere. You can find similar quality versions of some Gjusta’s dishes at other places but involve a lot of running around - not good in LA. And then there are dishes that only Gjusta has - period.
I went to Wexler’s the other day and got a bagel w/ lox and cream cheese - $13. It was delicious. The salmon was luscious and the bagel was old school wonderful. Not much else to grab there that morning, other than a black&white. To get most items would require waiting when I’d prefer at like versions at Gjusta (e.g. smoked trout).
At Gjusta, I can get a wonderful bialy of like deliciousness plus a gang load of other foods of unquestionable quality as well - much of it straight from the cases. From that point, determining the various choices comes down to personal preference.
The vast majority of what Gjusta offers is made in-house. And considering the quality and variety, I always walk away with amazement, wondering how they pull off all of this every day. A dream team of specialists all under the Gjusta/Gjelina roof? I can accept that this effort doesn’t come cheap, and if a premium is demanded, I can’t argue with this.
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Thanks for the report back. I think @bulavinaka hit the nail on the head.
I understand your feelings - don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly not cheap. But there’s something to be said about the quality of ingredients and the execution: You said that what you paid seemed “a bit much for sandwiches, two pieces of flatbread and three small portions of fish.”
But the key is in the details you left out. It’s not just a generic “sandwich” that you might get a Subway. I ask where you can find a Tuna Conserva Sandwich (Fresh Housemade Olive Bread, Caper Aioli, Roasted Peppers, Salted Cucumbers, Radish, Sprouts, Tapenade) on the level of Gjusta: It is quite simply leagues above any other “Tuna Sandwich” I’ve ever had.
The Prime Rib Butcher, Turkey Butcher, the Porchetta Melt that you had are all standouts, and their generically named Veggie Sandwich is the most flavorful, packed sandwich that I have ever had, filled with farmers market fresh vegetables, herbs, house-made pickled veggies, on housemade, fresh-baked bread. Their “sandwiches” are so good, I’d gladly skip, say, 3 “Subway $5 Sandwiches” and just eat 1 Gjusta masterful sandwich every time.
It is that good.
Their 3 “small pieces of fish” is also unfair in the description. Look at the 10+ visits and multiple people’s pics above. It’s more than that for a Smoked Fish Plate. And the condiments you get (a variety of housemade pickles and vegetables, luscious cream cheese, and slices of housemade bread (which are thoughtful and so delicious)) are not to be overlooked. Finally, the actual smoked fish is phenomenal, it’s the best in the city (not even close).
Would I like for it to be cheaper? Or course. But when they execute at this level, it feels worth it (for me at least) to splurge once in a while. But I understand everyone’s values are different.
I have one friend who refuses to eat at Shunji, Mori, Tsujita Sushi, etc., because she feels her neighborhood sushi joint that she’s been eating at for years is just a better “value” at $30 - 40 per person. When she heard those places can charge up to $150 - 200 per person, I understand her perspective. Is Shunji, Mori, Tsujita Sushi and similar really about 600% of the “value” of her neighborhood joint? I can’t answer that for her.
But for me, I’d rather save up and eat at Shunji, Mori once in a while, than eat 5 dinners at not as fresh cheaper sushi joints. Thanks.
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The basic bagel (bialy) with “lox” and cream cheese at Gjusta is terrific and actually a couple of bucks cheaper than Wexler’s–and there are three styles of lox to choose from (regular, gravlax, and pastrami-cured).
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It is borderline impossible to set foot inside of Gjusta without spending more than $50/person it seems like…but god damn is it worth it.
The place is a deli that was in the running for best new restaurant in the country when it opened…in some ways I think that says it all.
@bulavinaka RE: Gjusta making almost everything in house…I am currently trying to think of what they DON’T…cheese/butter is all I can think of, and those categories almost don’t count imo. Anything else??
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As I said, the food was very good. And I understand the ingredients and execution are good. Still, the meal we ate was in the genre of sandwiches and “pizza” slices and we paid $70 (for counter service, fetching our own water and not very comfortable seating). It’s in that sense that the price seemed high nonetheless. Please understand that I’m not saying their sandwiches are not better than Subway’s and so on. I’m saying that if I spend $70 I’m generally not looking to eat a meal centered on sandwiches (of whatever quality).
Relatedly, people who are willing to pay very high prices for well-executed meals in this genre should certainly not complain about high prices for well-executed (and in some cases, unusual) meals at Thai and Chinese restaurants.
And despite all of the above, I also said that the food was very good.
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I guess I forgot to post about my lunch there last month? Either that or the search is messed up.
The inadequate seating is disgusting, especially since assholes just linger. Bad hospitality, not convivial. We’d never have gone there if we realized we’d have to stand the whole time we were waiting for our food and eating. I don’t understand how they got away with the bait-and-switch zoning thing.
We were starving so we devoured a lot of the salads before I thought to take a picture. I thought these were very good and an excellent value.
Smoked fish sampler, pretty disappointing. Overall seemed amateurish, I think all of them had one flaw or another: underseasoned, dry, not fatty enough, not smoky enough, not filleted properly. The bread was pretty good, the dense seeded pumpernickel-ish one was quite good. Accompaniments were excellent.
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Other than what you mention, maybe water? Seriously - it’s easier to list what isn’t made there.
Well, Robert, you and I may form the small club of Gjusta smoked fish skeptics. I think it’s a pretty incredible place for roasted meats, breads, and salads. But the smoked fish section is more variety than a deft hand in smoking. It is a pretty good value given all the other stuff you get.
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