April 2024 Rundown

[paranoidgarliclover]

@JeetKuneBao

Crypto dot com arena looks so wrong

The name itself, or the physical arena looks so wrong? I myself liked “Staples” better…

Unrelated… I had been wanting to try Xuntos for awhile, and, after seeing @boourns’s post, finally went. We were able to make a reservation for the same night at a “reasonable” hour (7:15PM). Maybe Coachella helped us out there.

Sorry for the blurry pics. It is pretty dark inside.

Lighting fixtures were kind of interesting.

The tray for the bill appears to be in the form of a tiny paella pan? Cute.

I have never been to Spain, so I can’t comment on how this place compares, but partner and I were very pleased and thought everything was excellent. The only thing I felt vaguely sad about was the squid on the skewer isn’t very large (and for $11 for 2, not sure how it could be a big piece), and I didn’t realize what I was eating until several mins later. It was delicious, though (me: “what is giving off this fantastic umani that I’m getting w/ the olive???”).

Partner wouldn’t minded if the potato omlet had been more heavily/evenly salted (the salty bits were quite a bit more tasty). We enjoyed the almond cake so much that, when we noticed a neighboring table had left a bite, we joked about asking them if we could have it.

I like the Mencias that I’ve tried, although I wouldn’t mind something just a bit more full bodied. The spice of the wine went well w/ all the dishes. We ordered a second glass of something, although I can’t remember what it was or what I thought about it.

We were seated upstairs, which was charming and cozy (and was more than a little “European” in feeling).

I think the place is worth a detour/seeking out, even if you’re not super close by.

[TheCookie]

I saw fat white asparagus in sauce pass our table at Wally’s Santa Monica on Friday night and wished we had ordered them.

[robert]

Now you tell me. I’m back in Berkeley.

[TheCookie]

Haha I know! I’m sorry, just saw your post today!

[robert]

Maybe somebody up here is hip enough to do it. Or I’ll buy some at Berkeley Bowl and cook it myself.

[PeonyWarrior]

Bowery Bungalow. Peony puts it well: It’s good quality, but it’s not right. From the choice of salad greens to the salting to the texture of the cauliflower, everything is off.

[hungryhungryhippos]

Unfortunately no response from that number wonder if they are still in business all their socials are no longer on

[Loaxley]

Spotted on the specials menu at Locanda Veneta, though it was sold out for the day

[robert]

There’s a picture of some fat white asparagus on Republique’s reservation widget for their May 23 asparagus tasting menu.

https://www.opentable.com/republique

[hamburgertuesday]

That would fuck me up–I was there four weeks ago. I feel like that would’ve hit Eater, though.

I’m relatively close; I’ll try to go by this weekend and ask what’s going on with catering now.

[hungryhungryhippos]

Awesome that would be super appreciated! Feel free to post or DM me.

[Loaxley]

Hosting some out of towners this weekend. I have reservations at Both Spago and Mother Wolf for tomorrow night. I have been to both multiple times, but not Spago in a while. How is Spago these days? Would you guys take out of towners to Spago or Mother Wolf?

[CiaoBob]

I would say Spago for visitors, though 9 times out of 10, I personally would prefer to eat at MW.

[J_L]

Giorgio Baldi, in case they want to eat with rockstars and paparazzi waiting outside.

[rohto]

Can’t go wrong taking out of towners to Spago. Inside for a classic white tablecloth LA dining experience or outside for something a little more lively and fun.

[hungryhungryhippos]

Haven’t been to spago in years but I would say mother wolf because that’s where I prefer to eat and it’s more indicative of where LA dining scene is while still being accessible to most people.

[boourns]

I’d say the food is good enough at Spago and Mother Wolf that it comes down more to preference on environment, style of cuisine, beverages, proximity to things you may be doing before or after.

If you want to be able to have a conversation, I’d pick Spago: the room is much louder at Mother Wolf and it’ll be jam packed on a Saturday too. Beverages could go either way, but the cocktails are more interesting at Spago with their new-ish program IMO. There’s also Dante at the Mayborne, the Mayborne bar, Bar Funke in the area.

[PorkyBelly]

spago for visitors. mw will try and turn your table as fast as possible.

[paranoidgarliclover]

Lower-cost sushi place near me has new management. This is what I got when I ordered the poke bowl last night. And, yes, the krab appears to be the same portion size as the avocado and salmon portion.

[J_L]

Ban Ban Burger (Sawtelle Japantown) is a surprise hit. While I really, really liked their wagyu larb smashburger, the real marvel turned out to be their incredible Panang chicken sando. Toasted butter roll (think lobster roll), juicy perfectly fried chicken, with lovely texture and taste. I am admittedly a sucker for pandan, so I absolutely crushed that pandan milkshake also. Huge bites!