A&J restaurant in Irvine (first heard about this place on Chowhound and been going ever since, still delicious, fast and affordable)
7 Likes
Big catchup post for me:
SYTK Sullungtang, Koreatown
I’ve typically stuck to their more affordable options, but decided to get their Super Mixed Ox Bone Soup this time. It comes absolutely loaded with creamy melt in your mouth tendon, some intestines, and just good beef. The incremental value is 1000% worth splurging for IMO.
Top Island Restaurant, Alhambra
In December, I was trying to find a really god king crab special and wasn’t sure if Longo Seafood had their deal anymore. Got a tip from Facebook for Top Island restaurant and they had a special for $30/lb for King Crab. We got it served two ways w/ garlic + vermicelli and typhoon shelter style. There’s certainly better spots, but $30/lb is a damn great deal!
Their classic Cantonese dishes are also top notch and our group agreed it was some of the best versions of those dishes we’ve had in recent memory.
Fitoor, Santa Monica
Pretty awesome upscale Indian spot in Santa Monica, wasn’t expecthing this level of cooking on this side of LA. Really really enjoyed the scallops and the saag artichoke.
Brodard, Fountain Valley
Vietnamese Fermented Beef Rolls. This is really nice twist on the typical popular order at Brodard where the sausage is sour and you can chase each bite with a piece of raw garlic or thai chili. I would highly recommend getting this instead if you’re looking to change things up.
Danbi, Koreatown
Quite expensive but a very enjoyable date night destination. The tartare, uni bibimbamp, pork jowl, zabuton are great places to start. Wait for next DineLA deal to get good QPR.
Skip the perilla noodles IMO
San Gabriel Superstore “Night Market”, Valley & San Gabriel Blvd
Go for the vibes instead of the actual food. The food is still decent, some clear weaknesses. The chueng fun was freshly made, but a little thick. Still good! There are many shao kao trucks slinging heavily seasoned meat with billowing smoke. If you can sneak a couple beers with you, could be a really really good time with some friends.
Tacos la Guera, Highland Park
Still solid and still a reliable place that I rely on for quick meals. The vampiros have been my recent favorite menu item there and perhaps the best QPR @ $5 each.
El Agavero, Tulum MX
Really cool vibe, would expect it to be a great vibe at night
Ceviche Istmeño had some garlic and chili oil which made the flavors pop and feel more interesting than what I expect from a more typical ceviche. The tlayuda were really wonderful too.
Los Aguachiles, Tulum MX
Solid spot but not without its weaknesses. Some of the ceviches & aguachiles fall victim to all tasting the same. Also super understaffed when we visited.
Standout dishes were the chopped tuna tostada (avoid the marvelous tuna tostada which is overly sweet soy marinated tuna) and the Tuna “Carnitas”. Basically this was deep fried chunks of tuna that as you chewed on it, resembled the texture of medium fatty carnitas. Really interesting!
Outta Sight Pizza II, Chinatown San Francisco
Its been a few years since I’ve had the chance to visit Outta Sight, but they’re still slinging out some incredible pies. Their dough and creativity needs to be celebrated. While many of their creative slices are misses, I will continue to support that creativity!
The Ichigo is a crazy fun concept that really caught my attention. In place of a tomato sauce, Outta Sight tries to reverse engineer the main flavors of a tomato sauce from a different angle. Umami from miso, tartness from ume boshi. The result is a refreshingly light slice that keeps you coming back for more, especially from the bitterness of the shiso.
The Peking Duck Grandma Pie, their Chinatown exclusive, was a touch underwhelming to me. I kind of wish they played more into the freshness of what I would expect from peking duck - maybe some fresh cut persian cucumbers, long cut green onions, maybe even some hot chinese mustard. It was good and sweet, but some more freshness/hot mustard could REALLY help with going back for more bites.
Teriyaki Chicken its good. Only knock would be that I wish the chicken was grilled/charred like I would expect from a teriyaki joint. This tastes more pan seared, like what I would get if I reheated Trader Joes teriyaki chicken. The jalapenos were a nice touch.
Double Dragon probably the most “classic” slice we got, which tbh is still pretty modern - arrabiata sauce, pesto, mozzarella, olive oil, basil, dry jack. Second favorite slice after the Ichigo.
Moongate Lounge, Chinatown San Francisco
Incredibly vibey cocktail lounge above Mr. Jiu’s. Cocktail program is decent/above average. Tried the Major Cold, Vernal Equinox, and Start of Spring. All very tasty, Major Cold being a great espresso martini frappucino was nice. Start of Spring was my favorite
Hog Island Oyster, Ferry Building San Francisco
Oyster ceviche was very nice and the smoked tomato broth was a very nice touch. Only complaint would be that the $18 order only came with 3 oysters (which is consistent with on the half-shell pricing, I suppose). Sever recommended to add-on anchovies which was a very appreciated play
Four Kings, Chinatown San Francisco
Holistically, I think this restaurant is a bit overrated. It’s a really cool vibe with decent to great food, but not sure if it’s deserving of its notoriety. I think if you showed up with a good buzz, definitely a really good time. The food skews saltier too, which would go really well with beer or highballs.
Cold Cut Chicken - really nice roulade with the dark and white meat. Great bite to chase down with some drinks
Pig Head w/ Chili Crisp - the chrysanthemum salad here was a standout.
Mala Spaghetti - tastes nostalgic, but kind of one-note and boring.
Pork Chop w/ Tomato Egg Sauce - very competent pork katsu with a good egg tomato sauce. Really appreciate this rendition. Doesn’t hit as hard as Bay Cafe in DT Alhambra for me.
Warm Tofu w/ Black Sesame Paste - very very very good. Rich grainy black sesame paste oozes over a bowl of warm neutral silken tofu. A wonderful closer to the meal.
Hons Wuntun House, Chinatown SF
Very very good XLBs here, they’re absolutely massive and overflowing with broth. We opted for Spicy Pork, which is their Pork seasoned internally with chili oil. If I were to order again, would definitely opt for the standard pork.
The noodle soup is typical. Comforting and basic, very much needed after a lot of overstimulating eating and aggressive flavors.
Aji Kiji, Chinatown
Very decent midrange sushi takeout boxes. All of their salmon feels cold smoked which is nice. Their kinmedi is decent, although I don’t appreciate the torching they do after forming the nigiri where the rice is also charred. 10 piece set + bara chirashi ran close to $100 all in. Very filling for 2 people and really nice to enjoy at a park. I would definitely have this in a quarterly if not monthly rotation.
Cotogna, North Beach San Francisco
Also feel that this place is super overrated. First time here was a few years ago and just thought it was an off night, but second visit re confirmed my opinion.
The first pasta course came lukewarm but on very hot plates. The fava beans were a touch undercooked so they were crumbly and powdery in texture. The sauce was good but not really well integrated into the pasta. I can’t begin to describe how underwhelming the dish is.
The signature egg yolk + ricotta raviolo remains incredibly indulgent and delicious, albeit one note. Paired incredibly well w/ a CA Sauv Blanc/Abarino blend. Also wish the pasta was hotter.
The atmosphere and service are incredibly top notch, but I chose this spot specifically because I wanted “new school” pasta and left feeling pretty disappointed in the pastas.
13 Likes
Yeah but how many Chinese restaurants can you say that about? That’s what makes it special to me. I took my Chinese sister-in-law and nephew there because to me this is what makes America great.
Agree with @jc_eats on Four Kings. Their food and culture is right in my wheelhouse, which is maybe why I have a stronger opinion. For vibes, you can get that (and probably better modern Cantonese) in HK unsurprisingly. So my feeling was more: it’s good and notable for the city. In North America, Toronto has more than one restaurant playing in the same sandbox. Would be happy to go if it was here, just like First Born.
To be clear, not saying it’s bad, just a bit overhyped and IMO I would not fight for a reservation there. Kind of the same way that Anajak Thai gets overhyped and people go with sky high expectations. Last time I was there Justin was saying he didn’t want the pressure that a Michelin star would bring.
2 Likes
Bonnie’s, Potluck Club/Phoenix Palace in NYC.
I am all for new school next gen Cantonese! Children of immigrants who usually have a background in formal western cooking/kitchens cooking the food that they love. I’ll support these ABC places as a fellow ABC. Sometimes they just don’t quite hit like po po’s cooking or an uncle who has been wok cooking for decades. I still mourn the loss of Needle 
. Man how did we let that go??
Also Hon’s has some of the best scallion pancakes better than most mainlander spots in SGV
2 Likes
This is disconcerting. I first went, when they were in the old pharmacy on Octavia? One of the best meals, but that was like 30 yrs ago. We went again in the new location about 8 yrs ago and thought good but not great. Maybe they’ve run their course? I always go to State Bird now anyway.
That was Quince. Cotogna’s a relatively recent spin-off.
I had a good meal at Cotogna last July. Would go back any time.
1 Like
ugh, the memory isn’t what it was…
Ate at Cotogna now that I recall, and thought average.
My vague memory (based on only one trip to each) is that it is, but that the Lorenzo one was perfection, while the Bread Head one, well,… But I may be alone in my opinion of Bread Head.
1 Like
I agree that MOST Chinese restaurants don’t have a vibey transportive quality to them like Four Kings does. There are a few in every city but definitely a very small handful.
Going beyond the recommendations @JeetKuneBao mentioned,
In LA, I quite like the vibe in Hengry.
In Toronto, Alma and Mimi fit the bill as well.
Comparatively, there are tons of vibey Ktown Korean restaurants, so there’s certainly a lot of ground to cover.
I think if I didn’t experience temperature issues, I’d have a much more favorable impression. What would you recommend for a la carte pasta spots for someone who enjoys the seasonal creative flare that Rich Table or Flour + Water does?