December 2019 Rundown

Sounds authentic

Anthony also has a few spots right behind the store off the alley.

Yeah, Brooklyn woman is his wife Marina.

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Agree. Underdeveloped crust and unlike poster above I require a puffier crust. Not only is it delicious but it’s proof of sufficient fermentation and ahem… proofing

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I love a good patty melt, and those rings look absolutely excellent. I keep meaning to get to Pann’s.

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Pizza wagon they were so nice they threw in an extra cheese slice since it was my first time.

Loved the Sicilian and the cheese, I thought the eggplant parm was quite flavorless and the spinach roll was dry and not flavorful as previously described (maybe they were out too long). Definitely going back for more plain slices.



Porridge and puffs chicken and mushroom porridge is amazing. So was the tea salad (not pictured)with pickled vege and fermented tea leaves.
The Japanese potato dumpling with chicken, a play on chicken and dumplings was a total miss.

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The Bellwether in Studio City, http://thebellwetherla.com/dinner/, has the best patty melt I have ever tasted plus the best fries I have had in LA.

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Agree 100%. I thought maybe it was just me, but that’s my least favorite slice.

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both the ribs and the chilly verde are excellent at Cold Spring Tavern… honestly… the coziest place in the world on a cold day with the fireplace crackling away.

bonus wine country pic, deep on Foxen Canyon

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That vineyard shot is amazing.

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Oh, that’s too bad. Our version was delish (purple mocha as the dumpling). Wonder why they changed it. What didn’t you like about it?

Glad the rest of the eats were good. :slight_smile:

Believe it or not, no filter !

Drove by we both said holy wow and I made a uturn

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@beefnoguy Thanks for the heads up! I’ve always considered a stop by when I make a trip up. Now I’ll have extra reason to reach out ahead of time.

I love that place! So beautiful!!

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A wonderful Japanese breakfast at Gatsu Gatsu popup with @JLee and Todd Chang

These Portuguese egg tarts were delicious!

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I’ll be heading down to L.A. this week and will make local contributions to the December and January rundowns while in town, but I wanted to spotlight a Sacramento/Bay Area chef, writer (SF Chronicle, Saveur, among others), and food blogger (Eat Gorda Eat) focused on Puerto Rican cuisine and regional specialties: Illyana Maisonet. Tonight I went to her event Puerto Rican Christmas Dinner. From the dishes served, to their cultural/geographic history, to family influence and life biography, this meal was much more than the food served (which in and of itself would have made for a delicious night out). I’m so glad two seats opened up so I could take my mom to this special feast.

Pastelillos de Jueyes. Regional specialty filled with crab. Cali version prepared with Dungeness crab. (Tucked into before I thought to take pics, sorry)

Granito de Humaco. Local specialty that was brought back from her recent trip to Puerto Rico. Topped with raclette.

Pork was the star of the mains. (After 9 months of pescatarian life, this was a perfectly porcine reason to reintroduce meat :grin:)

Pernil (loved the crunchy roasted bits), arroz con gandules (seasoned Koda farms rice with peas and green olives with pork), and pasteles (made with green banana and plantain, and more pork)

Dessert was a cake based on sweet roll dough with local Arkansas black apples, walnuts, dulce de leche, and vanilla ice cream.

Lastly, we toasted with coquito. I don’t drink, so she was kind enough to whip up a non-alcoholic version. The bottle pictured is the rum used, with the bottle repurposed to serve the holiday concoction.

Each guest got a parting gift.

Truly a special evening. If any fellow FTC folks make it up this way when Illyanna is hosting another event, I highly recommend reserving a seat.

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Sadly i didn’t think any of the flavors really worked together and unfortunately many of the individual elements did not taste good to me.

The veloutte was kind of stiff and set and didnt have a rich creamy texture or flavor meaty savory or otherwise, so it tasted like a flavorless dry gravy.

The “crisped” chicken tasted like chicken they had boiled or cooked porridge in that had all it’s fat removed and then they pulled the meat out and crisped it on a flat top it was stringy and sadly cold. Sometimes I do the same thing with my leftover boiled chicken I use to make stock or chicken porridge

The kabocha on top was not soft and actually quite chewy. I don’t know if it was purposeful but it was hard to eat as long cut ribbons.

The dill and pomegranate didn’t add anything to the dish because there were really no strong flavors to counterbalance.

The Japanese yam dumpling was probably the best part they were colorful soft and tender but didn’t really get any yam flavor. Carrots were also tasty.

So it just didn’t really make sense and kind of baffled me as dish. It was sold to be their take on chicken and dumplings, which is something that I love and don’t see offered often in LA, maybe a dish that sounds better on paper :thinking:.

But with that being said super excited to go back and try more of their porridges and pickled/salad items.

What other slices have you tried? Would love some recs for some good ones.

Made it to sergio underground today.


Had the mango marinero ceviche, Camarones langostino, and the Pescado Zarandeado with soy carmelized onions.

All amazing and hits! Even the rice was super flavorful. Only thing was the langoustine sauce was a bit salty great for sucking on shrimp heads but a little salty on its own.

One thing to note was they weren’t making fresh tortillas today which I had read that they do. And sadly they ran out of michelada mix.

Will be back to try more delicious items.

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Harajuku Taproom, Culver City.

This is the best eggplant I’ve had in ages. The Taproom has had awful food for the longest time, but we stopped in for a beer last night and I guess they got a new chef. The menu and pricing have been adjusted and everything we ordered was really good (chicken thigh, mushrooms, ribs, California roll, something, something). No more chicken liver or hearts. I’ll have to gently push for those to be brought back :frowning:

Not really “drive-worthy”, but a great upgrade to a neighborhood izakaya. As always, the beer was excellent, and I very rarely drink beer.

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beautiful.

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