Lunch in DTLA tomorrow, Saturday? I’m meeting someone before their movie at Alamo drafthouse and I know he won’t have a car so would like to keep it public transportation friendly.
thanks! We’re going there and I’ll report back.
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Ooooh snap a menu pic if you can I’m curious
Pizza Wagon still hits. The texture was great, perfect crisp followed by that very nice chew.
I just wish they fermented their dough a little bit. In the age of great pizza in Los Angeles, this is where Pizza Wagon is falling behind.
Still, a pretty damn good neighborhood spot!
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Finally got to try Prime pizza (Woodland Hills). Pretty good though family prefers slice house.
Back to Wadaya (Sawtelle). Really enjoy the mazemen here.
Hui Lai Shan (Irvine)
Santouka (Torrance). I loved how ginormous this Mitsuwa is. Santouka has one of my favorite ramens but today was just okay.
Diddy Riese (go Bruins). Was happy to see so many street vendors, hopefully will get to do a taco crawl someday.
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Reporting back - good but I’m unlikely to return to Le Draq under my own steam. I got the migas (thanks for the menu photo @butteredwaffles ) and was nonplussed when I got it. It was much closer to an egg sandwich - the language of “crispy tortilla” was misleading. The dish I received looked a lot more like a very rich egg sandwich. To my table’s eye, the tortilla looked so puffy to look like bread (but not a baco). The acid in the dish was all contained in the picked onion, cukes and pepper that was contained in a separate ramekin.
My friend got the savory porridge and the pistachio coffee drink of the day. It was advertised as a pistachio coffee and it was a latte (or the other way around?). For two entrees, one coffee drink it was $50 with tax, before tip. The space is exactly the same as the Bar Ama days.
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Mercado Gonzalez: If you like Northgate market as I do, you’ll like this place. Huge space and selection, something for everyone. Great patio space for large groups. Loved El Moro in CDMX and thought this version was really good too. Busy but nothing unusual for Angelenos.
Que dieta 
?
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Was there some sort of special event or in the evening? I saw no street vendors at all during my past trip (but do not generally go in the evening).
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Yes Saturday evening. At least 10 different food stands, mostly tacos/burritos, etc.
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Bar Etoile
The chowpup and I headed across the street and got the last table at Bar Etoile. What a nice neighborhood restaurant…an interesting mix of items that can make anyone happy.
I liked the skin contact wine they’re serving now. Light, refreshing and some fun pear and apple notes with light floral finish. The New Fashioned tasted very much like an Old Fashioned.
Damn…I thought the world went away, but there was a line straight out the door as late evening turned to night. With some folks giving up after using their wait time for drinks and snacks on the benches outside.
Spring peas are excellent. That ricotta gremolata is just a nice dressing for the blanced snap peas.
Caesar beef tartare Just darling how the bread is sliced into cubes to mimic croutons, so you can mix it all up and eat it like salad if you want. I wish the beef was seasoned a touch more.
Lobster rillettes or lobster salad? Don’t know and don’t care…it’s pretty tasty, but a touch more salt would make it even better. The super thin crepe is a nice surprise.
The chowpup also got the steak frites…a cut that is sous vide before a hearty pan sear with au poivre sauce. Frites served separately to preserve crispness and an aioli. This is a case where the frites were a touch too salty for me. The chowpup did not notice and consumed with a gusto.
I wasn’t a fan of the crème caramel…the caramel was a touch over for me…just a little too bitter and the custard felt to airy and not vanilla or sweet enough to counter the caramel. They had just run out of the strawberry sorbet.
Still a fun evening with the chowpup.
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Maccheroni Republic - I was meeting up with an old friend in DTLA the night before his conference kicked off and what better excuse to get things rolling beforehand than to carb-load it up. Maccheroni did the trick and delivered exactly what we needed: a cozy night of reminiscing over affordable Barbera and a solid lineup of pastas. We also got the meatballs which were pretty small, but we made the best of it making little baby mini meatball sandwiches with their complimentary bread.
We got 4 different types of pasta which were all solid: lasgna, bianchi & neri, bigoli della nonna, and the agnolotti di ossobuco. Looking back, the one that has stuck with me most was probably their bianchi & neri: high mountain & amber durum black and white spaghetti, shrimp, wild mushroom, roasted pancetta, tossed in a creamy bisque. All in all, a solid LA bib gourmand.
Stara - I finally got around to the Polish stand, Stara, in the Original Farmer’s Market. Very much my type of comfort food here. I had a really nice grilled kielbasa sandwich with onions and Polish dill pickles (my fav pickle) and kotlet schabowy, Polish breaded pork chops, with the traditional sides of mashed potatoes and buraczki, Polish beet salad.
Then I also tried out Mom, Please Ukrainian Food in Playa Vista. More comfort food that makes me happy and satisfied. Turkey cutlets with mashed potatoes w/ heavy cream, olive oil, dill, parsley, and traditional mushroom sauce.
Turkey cutlets are savory patties made from ground turkey, onions, and garlic, breaded and fried, Top it with some incredible traditional sour cream and wild mushroom gravy sauce (not in photo).
Somehow, both a Polish and Ukranian place, don’t serve cold delicious lagers to really complete the meal. It’s alright, I’ll come back again. Also, a good time to spread the news that Stara just opened up a second location on the Venice boardwalk. Pierogis meets beach and I’m here for it
Picalily - The downtown Culver City spots never really stood out to me, but it was time to give them a try. Went to Picalily, southeast asian influenced spot that at the end of the day does whatever they want, for happy hour. Crushed some of their brussels sprouts and spotted a Seattle dog on the menu, kinda had to get it. Solid HH, had a good time here.
Also, shoutout to the happy hour at Broken Spanish.. too bad it’s only at the bar but their salt foam margaritas are excellent, and the food is priced well.
Before chowing down, I checked out a new Matcha spot, Maruwu Seicha, and got a matcha latte with a scoop of Hokkaido milk ice cream on top. I don’t go out of my way for matcha, but I do recommend, great combo.
But my favorite drink in Culver City is Samosa House’s Mango Lassi. This is perfect to sip on during a sunset walk, or any time really. 
Some Guatemala eats
Catch of the day at Mercado 24. The tuna tiradito was an absolute delight, so fresh and satisfying, with a side of tostadas. Super cool place in Guatemala City’s Cuatro Grados Norte district.
I have to admit, I don’t have much knowledge on Guatemalan food since there is not a big community in NYC compared to LA, but I knew that I was going to try as much pepian, suban’ik, and revolcado as I can and explore the traditional and hearty food that Chapin cuisine has to offer.
Pepian, Guatemala’s national dish. A thick, rich stew characterized by roasted pumpkins seeds and various spices. Smoky, complex, comforting.
Suban’ik, Traditional Mayan stew with meat simmered in a light, achiote-tomato sauce with a side of piloyada antiguena, a Guatemalan bean salad.
My favorite spots were La Cuevita de Los Urquizu in Antigua, which was recommended by many locals for lunch for authentic Chapin cuisine, and Ristorante 7 Caldo.
I enjoyed ITZAM as well, giving Mayan cuisine a modern twist. The corn husk ceviche with a chipilin tamal was a good showcase of that.
Also, shoutout to Ulew Cocktail Bar.. they are doing some special things there with their cocktails, using local ingredients and unique Guatemalan flavors in their drinks.
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Westwood Village now has probably 4 or 5 taco stands in the evening
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Mini kabob ftw. It tastes great even when not piping hot. Favorites of the day were the cutlets, eggplant caviar, and ground chicken koobideh. Suprising hit was the unpictured tomato and cucmber salad with Thai basil. Friend brought it down for lunch over the weekend. They have also created this new orangish hot sauce that is pretty damn good but I still like toum more.
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Went to see the NOFX documentary, 40 years of f*ckin up, at Alamo Drafthouse yesterday and ate at Tabl M, the newish Lebanese restaurant on the bottom floor of the Bloc. Really enjoyed their donut-shaped falafel, Lebano oregano punic bread, and Lebano cheese rolls. They have a wood-fired oven to make their punic bread, pizzas, and pitas.
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Are they all clustered together or spread throughout?
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Rama Thai. In a jewelry building basement in DTLA (6th and Hill). I’ve always liked the cooking here. Simple but classic Thai flavors, and above par rice. Cash only / no cell reception.
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Besides major restaurants, I had two smaller meals since I needed to eat.
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Tire Shop #2. I love Tijuana style tacos. Up there for best taco I’ve had in the states. Probably tied with Los Mariscos (NYC), and Tacos 1986 (recently opened a NYC branch). I think I might prefer the cdmx style of Tacos Rameriz (NYC) though but it’s been a sec since I had it.
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Ghost sandwiches. It was aight but nothing I’d go out of the way for.
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Spread.
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