So sorry to hear that the monta were mediocre. I went there a while back to try their veggie manti, but was told I needed to order them a day earlier. It’s quite a schlep for me, and going by your review, I might decide to give it a pass.
Thanks for the info about the vegan gravy at Spudds. It might be a good option if I want to go on an extremely calorific cheat day. Great reporting as always, @Chowseeker1999!
Rustic Canyon last Friday night
Griddled toast with chicken liver, radish, & strawberry: pickled & burnt.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEkMCt7g-sH/
White yams, green garlic butter, celery, hazelnut dukkah, & aioli.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEkR5RWg-mh/
Local rice congee, duck confit, preserved cherries, & opal basil.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEkYCJoA-iL/
Vista Punta Gorda Ranch banana cream pudding with peanut butter cookies.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEkj2zng-nE/
Loved everything, particularly the chicken liver toast (go figure for a guy who calls himself The Offalo), but the yams were revelatory. Perfect balance of sweet, tart, tender, crunch, creamy, garlicy, etc.
Finally got “The Cookie” (which I didn’t realize was diff from the plain ole choc chip cookie I had been getting b/f) and Mian Noodle House (also had the wontons, which aren’t pictured):
The Cookie is divine. The second one I got had a bit too much salt sprinked on it, but it was still delicious. It more like a cookie stuffed w/ melted chocolate. SO yummy.
Really liked Mian Noodle House. Even my dad (who is notoriously picky about his Chinese food) grudgingly liked it. I recommend splitting up the wontons ASAP b/c, by the time I got to the bottom of the bowl, the combo of spices was overpowering and unpleasant (sweet and spicy aren’t good when dialed up THAT high), IMHO (unlike @secretasianman, I had no desire to tongue the bowl afterward… 
).
Had a sip of my dad’s beef noodle broth, which was fantastic. Should’ve re-read @TonyC’s review to get something cooling. I was dying for white rice (which they don’t have). We had one jelly dessert, which I thought was a touch too sweet.
The meal ripped up my intestines for about 40 hours, but it was SO worth it (not joking… about either statement).
Yeah, that, “The Cookie,” is the cause for trips to many health specialists, but ain’t it worth it?
@Chowseeker1999 - Bummer. Gotta’ get the Shrimp & Cheesy Grits at My 2 Cents. The sauce is like crack.
I inherited the nick name from my dad, because our last name is Cooke.
I do make a darn good Lemon Meltaway though 
I actually had THE COOKIE and Mian on diff days. I have no doubt, however, that, had I had them on the same day, the caloric impact of the cookie would’ve been negated by how, um, QUICKLY it would’ve been escorted out of my system… Ahem.
I had originally been planning to head to Quenelle after Mian, but I was too full. Maybe next time. 
I was in Hollywood today so I stopped by Luv2eat to have the Jade noodles. No pictures because I forgot until I was half way through, but honestly, I cannot overstate how much I love this bowl of noodles. And it was great to get to focus on it alone, without eating anything else. I ordered it medium spicy, which was just right–every time it felt a bit sweet, the heat kicked in and balanced it out. This thing is a carnival of textures and flavors. Crisp pork, wonderful bbq pork and duck, peanuts, chinese broccoli, and sprouts, along with a shallow pool of broth at the bottom, work perfectly with the fresh ramen-like jade noodles. If there’s a better dry bowl of noodles in LA, I haven’t tried it.
How do you like it compared to Sapp’s, if you’ve had that one?
i recall wanting to tongue the bowl of noodles with XO sauce at corner beef noodle. but not the spicy wontons in the anise flavored broth at mian; you kinda need to have wonton and sauce in the same mouthful for it to work - together i thought the dish was memorable, maybe enough to want to tongue the bowl.
I like it significantly more than Sapp’s. I like Sapp’s, it used to be the standard, but to me this is just a more dynamic bowl.
I agree. I love the boat noodles at Sapp.
But the jade noodles there were always too oily for me.
Luv2eat does far superior bowl of jade noodles.
OH! Thanks for clarifying. I had no idea how one could want to tongue the sauce for the spicy wontons!
@Haeldaur, I think I prefer Sapp’s still, but it’s it’s like 51/49 at this point, and may be more due to familiarity. Have to go back to Luv2Eat more! Boat noodles are a toss up between the two too. Really, I’d be happy to go to either for either dish and I’m glad Luv2Eat is open later than Sapp, though both are a trek for me.
@Porthos, interesting, I’ve never found Sapp’s jade noodles to be oily. Where’s the oil coming from, the pork or duck? I’d think L2E’s would potentially be oilier with the chunks of deep fried pork belly, but I didn’t find theirs to be oily either.
The noodles themselves. They were coated in an oil that left an unpleasant after taste.
Ditto
Weird, I don’t think I’ve ever experience that. The noodles aren’t stir-fried primarily, as far as I can tell (no browning). I was trying to decide whether or not the noodles were boiled and then chilled a little and served, or if it gets warmed up in the wok briefly. Maybe they do the latter and there was more oil in the pan.
