finally, the man can take a break. RIP Bill.
5 Likes
- new hot dog vendor Pearls Red Hots in Studio City on Tujunga, seems to be Chicago-influenced with the poppy seed buns and italian beef sandwiches. Dogs themselves have a snappy casing and super juicy.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pearl-s-red-hots-los-angeles
- The Mouth in Burbank for smash burgers; reminds me of BNSD style except with comeback sauce equivalent vs ketchup/mustard. Excellent lacy edges and Martin potato rolls.
9 Likes
I went to Cedro a few months ago and if you want to be nicely greeted by Italian folks and then enjoy some really good homemade pasta, this is the spot - next time I am in the area I will absolutely try to come back
2 Likes
Great to hear!! I have been trying to convince my gf’s family to trek out to Newbury Park since it made it the bib gourmand. Wahoo!
2 Likes
Amir’s Falfafel, Studio City. Smaller than the typical but perfectly crispy on the outside. Comes with 5 sides! I likey.
11 Likes
Cedro last night in Newbury Park. I came with high hopes and with part of a skeptical group, and I was really bummed that we had an underwhelming dinner.
Two starters, three primi, and one secondi.
Grilled peaches & prosciutto
Rustica salad
Gnocchi
Tagliatelle al porcini
Carbonara
Ossobucco
It’s a medium-sized space, and though it feels smaller than it is (maybe accommodates 11 groups, but several tops are easily occupied by four people), that does not warrant the fact that on a Saturday night, FOH staff was only a runner & busser and the manager/host/server. At our reservation, there were about 12 people sat.
Meh. Peaches were out of season and prosciutto was fine.
Also underwhelming Rustica salad.
There was a long gap between our starters and the rest of our order. We’d expected three pastas to arrive, but they arrived with the ossobucco.
Sadly, all pasta arrived lukewarm. They had evidently sat on the pass for too long as the rest of our order was completed.
Gnocchi. Probably the best pasta of the night. Great al dente texture.
Carbonara. Over-salted and the egg white had cooked. Lukewarm.
Tagliatelle al porcini. Over-sauced.
Ossobucco over risotto. Pretty salty but the most successful of the dinner.
I was really looking forward to this place and even a generous review couldn’t really warrant a recommendation. My group wondered what’s happened between bib gourmand nod and now. Shifts in management/ownership? Understaffed kitchen? We took the ossobucco home and it was even better than last night; I saved the bones and stuck them in the instant pot with some other leftovers for a broth.
Sorry, Cedro! I really wanted to like it!
6 Likes
Yikes. I’m not a pasta/sauce expert, but I don’t understand how the carbonara was allowed to make its way to your table looking like that. That looks pretty dreadful (w/ the tagliatelle a close second).
1 Like
Yeah it was disappointing!
This weekend is the new Alto in Studio City. Promises to be much better.
3 Likes
Need a place for a Sunday dinner between Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills. My dad is not very adventurous. We’ve been to just about everything in WH, though just noticed Deux Bistro. Any good? Any other bistro/farm to table type places? $100/pp cap. FYI, Casalena was vetoed.
2 Likes
@grog Have you tried Prose in Woodland Hills?chef / owner was chef at Cleo back in the day among other places
Might be within budget. Impressions?
Good local spot, Menu reads like the greatest hits of the early 2000’s but it seems daring for the area & everything was well executed when I went and seems fairly priced. It’s nice to support a local Chef owned spot. Wouldn’t come from out of the area to be honest but if the price works there should be enough for a less adventurous palate and still keep you interested
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I’m guessing whoever wrote up this menu has no idea what binchotan is:
“Compositions from the garden chicken +$7, faroe island Binchotan +$10, hanger steak +$16
Bincotan Grilled Faroe Island Miso Binchotan | snap pea & cucumber salad, yuzu ponzu, sesame tofu mousse, crispy shallots, fresh herbs”
I definitely want the binchotan add-on to my salad. They didn’t seem crunchy enough.
6 Likes
Deux Bistro is also good. Another option is Casalena.
@hungryhungryhippos and @Nemroz ICYMI - Ta-eem Grill’s owners opened up a place in West Hills over a year ago called “Al Ha Esh Kosher Grill.”
Al-Ha-Esh Kosher Grill
22950 Vanowen St. unit 100 B
West Hills CA 91307
(818) 914 - 4097
Below’s a pic of my Sabich Pita “with the works”
So ginormous, I wasn’t sure how to go about it and tried to eat the sandwich with a knife and fork at first 
, and then switched to holding up and chomping down. Pita bread was impressively fluffy and sturdy at the same time. Kind of reminded me of Bavel’s brioche-like pita minus butter and egg in the dough.
I also got a beef shawarma plate to go, but visually it was less impressive so I’m not posting my pic, but for me, the lower salt levels were welcome compared to other places I’ve been to in SGV. Next time I go, I’ll probably do dine in with a chicken Parigot or shawarma plate and see if they’re generous with all of the Israeli salads and pickles.
Of all the malls in SoCal, the Fallbrook/West Hills one is perhaps my favorite b/c I can park for free and do a bunch of things in a 4-5 hour span: Have a meal at Al Ha Esh Kosher Grill; see a movie at AMC Fallbrook and then go window shopping at World Market Cost Plus; pick up hardware supplies at Home Depot; and then go to TJ’s before driving back to the Westside.
14 Likes
I miss everything there especially the pargiot!
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There is a Christmas emergency! Hosts got sick and the dinner is cancelled.
Scrambling for takeout – is Bamboo Cuisine in Sherman Oaks worthy?
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It is completely Americanized Chinese and not very good at that.
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If Bamboo Cuisine isn’t good, it needs to be Chinese, and if West LA is doable, maybe check to see if Meizhou Dongpo or Sichuan Impression are open? Not in the SFV, but traffic should be light today.
Moon House for Americanized Chinese is not bad.
Have not been to Hop Li (and only went once to Hop Woo many yrs ago), but those might be options, too.
3 Likes