Choose your restaurants well - Dining out is getting expensive, and that ain’t no foolin’!
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Taco Bell is the only worthy Restaurant.
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Celebrated April Fool’s up in the Bay Area with a sausage/pepper from Pizzeria Pappo in Alameda
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Looks like you posted before the photo finished uploading.
Fixed it, thanks.
Cosetta LA (shouldn’t it be Cosetta SM?)… I liked it quite a bit.
Bread service with chicken liver, Sicilian olive oil: Fantastic…
Kanpachi crudo: Really enjoyed this…
Farro & white bean soup, with toasted focaccia: Soup is very hearty, while the focaccia itself is out of this world…
Pizza: Lo spagnolo ricco: Crust is delicious and delightful. The Spanish conserva almejas were a nice touch but didn’t really add or subtract from the pizza…
BBQ langoustines alla griglia, with bagna cauda bianca, Calabrian chili crisp: Nicely grilled, but just a few small bites for $74…
Dessert: Polenta almond cake, with mascarpone, blueberries: Nicely restrained (not cloyingly sweet), and delicious! (Pro tip: Save some of that olive oil to drizzle onto the cake…) My limoncello was OK.
Du-Par’s (Beverly Grove): A Farmer’s Market classic…
Jar: Another LA classic, now celebrating its 23rd year! #Jardan
I gotta admit, I was IG-fluenced by the return of their Ipswich clams, served with both tartar and cocktail sauce - Huge bite!!! Love these clams!
Lovely interior…
While at Jar, gotta have their signature pot roast!
Coffee Tomo (Sawtelle Japantown), for a quick latte…
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those clams look amazing!
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Cosetta - today
zero drink - fruit - Fiji kava and other fruits - just ok - lots of ice
bread and burrata - both are ok
pizza - marinara with anchovies
ice cream sandwich/doughnut
they ran out of the tumeric-ginger tea
or gave me an old menu
Pizzeria Sei - yesterday
pizza - marinara with burrata and anchovies on the side
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Okay, apparently like quite a few other people, I went to Cosetta this past wk.
Totally packed on Friday. We were waitlist and, instead of the estimated 45 mins, I think we were seated in more, like, 10? Maybe 15?
Build out is quite attractive, and service is very polished. The patio is very nice (and the heaters are no joke; we, and I think one other table, asked one heater to be turned down).
Partner very much liked the negroni. My (virgin) Energizza (sp?) was perfectly fine, but I couldn’t help but think of the juice pairings at Meteora, and the Energizza just isn’t in the same category (esp for $16).
Whipped baccala (index finger for scale), cesar salad, funghi town.
I thought the whipped baccala would be, well, more whipped, but this was more like mashed cod (which I’m actually fine w/). Very tasty.
Cesar salad excellent Our dish seemed a bit more radicchio forward than the neighboring table’s. I would preferred less radicchio…
The other neighboring table had ordered the clam pizza, and partner andI were like, “Ohmigod, are all the pizzas that small???” Thankfully, they are not. Mushroom pizza is excellent and a satisfying size. Cheese mix on the pizza was crack, and I’m glad that it didn’t overpower the mushrooms.
If you are the delightful couple sitting next us that evening, we were so glad to meet you (we have no idea if they are on the board).
Never been to Alimento, so I have no idea how this food compares. I think this place is delightful, and I hope it continues to do well. Free 2-hr parking in the lot w/ validation.
Jyan Issac at Brentwood FM
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve been (maybe 1 yr?). They’ve expanded and now have stalls along San Vicente (incl Jyan Issac). I’ve never had his bread, so…
I cut the loaf before taking a pic. 
I guess I was expecting to have my mind blown, but it’s “simply” very good.
Nijiya Market (Sawtelle)
Had been hoping to get a chirashi bowl, but they were out of those. Didn’t walk away empty handed, though. Yummy.
Colapasta
Didn’t take pics of most of the dishes b/c we were hungry. 
I took a pic of the lasagna b/c the server came over to apologize for the wait. She said they had run out and that the chef was making more. I assume he was making more of the pasta sheets themselves, and I couldn’t help but think it’s wonderful that we live in a city where the chef could be cranking out pasta while you wait at a mid-priced restaurant.
I think they dialed back the anchovy flavor in the bucatini awhile back (which makes me a little sad), but the food is otherwise exactly as it has always been (and fantastic). So glad to see this place constantly busy at night.
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Yes, the Brentwood Farmers Market is now hosting the Pacific Palisades Farmers Market.
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I was wondering if that was the situation. Thanks for the info.
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I also went to Cosetta this weekend. The whole board was there it sounds like.
It feels like an elevated neighborhood spot, which ironically is what Leopardo claimed to be. But Leopardo this is not. There were ok dishes, good dishes and great dishes. The kitchen is not operating at Michelin star level, which is ok, not every restaurant has to! But someone made a Leopardo comparison (to the pizza), so I felt like a further comparison was fair.
Pizza
Let’s start with the pizza. 15 years ago it would have been a top pizza in LA. Now it’s middle of the road. On par with Jon & Vinny’s - good, but not special. The dough lacks depth of texture and flavor - it’s a bit flat. The toppings are quite good, but to me the dough reins supreme, and here it whelms. We ordered the pepperazi, which was spicier than expected. Still probably worth getting a pizza, just set your expectations - it’s not Sei or Bianco or Mozza.
Albacore
This is on me, but I thought it would be served raw, so I was quite thrown off when it arrived lightly seared. The flavors were good - the albacore sits in a nice tomato conserva. But the fish itself was in a weird middle ground where it was (in my opinion) not cooked enough, or not raw enough, take your pick. I would skip.
Italian Dumpling Salad
I should’ve realized that since it is listed in the small plates not salads section of the menu, it is not really a salad. Indeed, it is not. It’s agnolotti with some greens. The individual ingredients were all solid, I just don’t know that they created a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Mozzarella Sticks
These slapped. Some of the best I’ve ever had. Don’t kid yourself, you’re not too sophisticated to order mozzarella sticks.
Chicken Milanesi (spelling theirs)
I was concerned when the dish came out because the chicken was much thicker than I am used to for a milanese (or parmigiano). However, even with the thickness, it was incredibly moist and tender, with a really nice light fry batter. Best dish of the night, really great.
Cocktails
Solid but a bit too aggressive with flavors. Lacked subtlety that I would expect at a high end restaurant or cocktail bar.
The space itself is charming.
I’m neither dreaming nor dreading a return visit. It’ll happen. It’s a solid spot. But I have been incredibly busy recently, therefore I prefer using my limited free time to dine at more memorable spots.
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Baar Baar for brunch [baarunch?] - very good however the place was empty
My party of three had bottle of sparkling water and the boozy Hera Pheri cocktail [mezcal, orange liqueur, spicy guava chutney, pink salt]
Pani puri
Omlette
Squash and Vegetable Kofta
Butter chicken
rice, daal
the daal was nice and hot, the butter chicken was very warm in temperature, and slightly less spicy than I remember the dinner version. The rice wasn’t particularly memorable.
The kofta was a full entree size, however, that dish means it comes out with three koftas. Without seeing a nutritional breakdown, the three koftas feels a little minimal for the full entree pricing. Approx $150 before tax and tip, and I’ll go back again, but wouldn’t necessarily pick it over trying a new place.
After BatBoy, the Musical on Sunday night [recommended, worth the ticket purchase], I decided what I really wanted was churros. We drove straight to Don Abel on Whitter. These were great churros for a first time visit, and I was very happy to see how busy that food truck scene was even at 10PM Sunday night. There’s photos on Yelp, however, EDIT: since Don Abel has multiple trucks, the one I went to had old pricing info, and there was a lot of written modifications to the menu. If a more diminutive order existed, I didn’t clock it. EDIT CONCLUDED. The truck I went to was red, not silver. We purchased the bag of 10 for $13 and overate. If/when I go back I’ll ask at the window how to purchase fewer. The red truck I went to had a slightly different pricing and bundling availability than I wanted.
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Yang’s Kitchen (Alhambra)
Had some business at in the neighborhood and took the opportunity to have lunch at Yang’s with a friend.
Dry-aged barramundi collar - yum! House salsa verde and chili crisp drizzled on top was 
Steelhead & ikura bowl - one of the prettiest bowls I’ve been presented with in quite some time. Fantastic grilled yuzu-miso-marinated dry-aged steelhead, ikura, greens, house pickles, marinated jammy egg on top of multigrain rice…perfect lunch! I mixed it all together and had it bimbimbap style so I could get a little bit of everything in each bite.
Not pictured:
Arroz caldo
Chicken liver mousse
We were short on time so didn’t make it to dessert.
Ruby BBQ (El Monte)
Why did I wait so long? Dropped by on my way home to pick up a few things to share with my parents.
That pork belly is the finest Chinese BBQ style pork belly I have ever eaten. My Dad kept snacking on it as Mom was taking her share.
The duck skin wasn’t as crispy, but that could have been my fault since it was chopped and boxed. It was very tasty!
Also tried some BBQ pork for fun.
The pork belly is out of this world.
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good call on Ruby BBQ. their pork is indeed great.
i think this kind of roast duck isn’t really supposed to have crispy skin.
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Ruby’s duck is delicious but on the greasy side. Slightly prefer Sam Woo Van Nuys these days.
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Past 2 weeks
Chuckled at how my order at moo’s craft came out. Half lb of pork ribs and brisket, burger + fries, mac and cheese. I’m convinced when you order small portions of bbq, you get nicer bigger pieces. QPR for this order seemed better than in the past when i’d get bigger portions.
First time at Checos and completely new to zarandeado. I was surprised by how much the flavors reminded me of vietnamese food. The fish + salty onions tasted like ca kho (minus the nice smokiness). Salsa langostinos was giving tom kho tau.
Bean and cheese slowly becoming my favorite thing at Sonoratown. Very comforting
Open Market Breakfast burrito (cut in half to share). Love the smashed potatoes. Usually get with bacon but i follow lent fridays out of habit
Cafe 2001. Was pleased w the asparagus risotto. Thought the Katsu sandwich was okay. Really saucy and mustardy
Recently moved and now Marisco Jalisco is too accessible
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I feel the same about the zarandeado, too! Vietnamese essences here and there.
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