January 2025 Rundown

Spent a lot of time in the valley this month:

Bill’s Burgers
Really simple, no sauce other than mayo. No idea how or why but while plain and not immediately satisfying it just lingered, and I am now convinced it is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.

Baja Sub
There’s 2 Sri Lankan restaurants I’ve heard of and both are super acclaimed. Kottu has to be one of the planet’s most fun things to eat. Up there with tteokbokki and pad kee mao my favorite chewy savory foods. And the vfm is bonkers.

Furnsaj
S tier shawarma even though its known for other things.

Sincerely Syria
Got takeout once and was thoroughly unimpressed. Gave it another shot dine in, came cut up in several smaller pieces with extra garlic and spicy sauce and damn was it good.

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Kottu is super tasty, though whenever I see talk of it, I have to get on my soapbox again and talk about how it’s a great shame that Sri Lanka’s best snack food still isn’t in LA. Hot butter cuttlefish is a fever dream of a drinking food, spicy and buttery, perfect texture, a satisfying bite but never chewy, wok-fried, like a better and spicier orange chicken. If I had all the money in the world, I’d set up a tiny bar that serves Lion Lager and hot butter cuttlefish, maybe some fried curry leaves and cashews on the side.

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Bill’s Burgers makes no sense.
I also wondered what all the fuss was about so had to try it. Spied on the kitchen, nothing very special happened in there, Bill was not even there.
Burger tasted good and also " but while plain and not immediately satisfying it just lingered, and I am now convinced it is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had."

Did it taste like my childhood?

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January photo dump, 'cuz I have a bit of time to do so lol…

I-naba Sushi (Torrance): Yasu-san continues to serve excellent sushi! What were your Huge Bites for this omakase, @namstermonster?

New neta for me: Sumagatsuo (black skipjack), smoked, and served with Japanese mustard and nori… Fantastic!

Seiko gani: Huge Bite!!!

SideDoor (Corona Del Mar): Open late, offers an English cut, very proper… Lovely service. Adored my late night supper here…

Sushi Ii (Newport Beach): They called my omakase “Kaiseki”, umm… ok with me! Ii-san remains a consummate pro, but still speaks no English. Sushi-ya Nihongo works, though…

Ii-san’s bafun uni gunkan was outta sight. Just superb. Okonomi is available here, too. This place is a solid sushi-ya…

Cappy’s Cafe (Newport Beach): Classic. Hotcakes are old school and delicious here, with a wonderful crisp edge. Everything done right on my breakfast visit…

Havana Club Restaurant & Bar (El Monte): A friend told me about this place. But I found the Cubano to be fairly middlin’…

Somni (West Hollywood): Chef Aitor and team are serving up dishes I later dream about… What were your Huge Bites, @CiaoBob?

The turbot Engawa from Somni is one of the best things to eat in SoCal right now. Huge bite!!! And using different parts of the fish also… #mottainai

Arroz Caldoso… Another Huge Bite at Somni!!! The shrimp, winter truffle, bomba rice with saffron sofrito are divine…

Premier Dessert Art (Monterey Park): Easy bang bang after Mama Lu’s…

Restaurant Ki (Little Tokyo): So great to see Chef Ki back in his own space! Cod milt, bugak, red pepper opened the palate to a marvelous tasting!

Grilled lettuce, cheongju, Astrea caviar: Artistry. The lettuce ice cream was a stroke of genius. Huge Bite!!!

Sharkfin flounder, bigfin reef squid, aji amarillo: Beautiful amalgam of flavors and textures…

Nodoguro, carabinero prawn with sauce, crown daisy leek pesto: Huge Bite!!!

Tsubaki (Echo Park): Winter market salad felt just right. Super seasonal (of course), with delicious textures and counterpoints…

Ebi sumibi-yaki: Grilled head-on New Caledonian blue prawns, with ginger nira butter… Home run dish!

Youpeng Seafood - Go Believe: Tianjin steamer specialist makes their SoCal debut in City of Industry. The concept: Each table gets is own sleek automated steamer.

Then, the handmade bao (or jiao, or pre-prepared seafood) is brought to the table, ready for steaming! Sounds awesome, right? And it is awesome, until you wait. And wait. And wait - For each dish to finish steaming - Not all at once, but in a drawn-out succession…

In retrospect, I was glad we were there for an early dinner (first dinner seating), because if your party gets there after 5:30pm, you might have to wait 2+ hours for the table to turn over. There were some mighty hangry looking people waiting as we paid our check. Don’t get me wrong: The food was great (especially the vaunted Tianjin Go Believe" baozi); but the concept need a bit of retooling, IMHO…

Toranj (Westwood) makes delicious koobideh. They pair great with baghali polo, and wash it down with a refreshing bahar narenj (orange blossom drink)… Khoshmazeh!

Al Dente Pasta Shop (Rancho Park): Chef Luigi Fineo’s labor of love opens in West L.A… Tagliatelle Bolognese and Bucatini Carbonara were outstanding.

Camphor (Arts District): Steak & Frites night every Thursday. Glad to see the place packed to the gills.

Dessert: Mille feuille with vanilla custard & honey made us very happy campers. The taste in every item shows high execution and refinement. Chef Max and team playing at the top of their game…

Philippe The Original (Chinatown): Their Friday NE chowdah is mighty tasty. Boysenberry pie had a good crust, but the filling was a tad too tart. Happily for me, the beef dip sandwich and the au jus remain, as they say, the business…

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Just drove by it the other day. How do you think it compares to other Persian restaurants in Westwood?

Just looked at his IG. He has Sfogliatella!

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I heard them pronounce it at Pasta Sisters many yrs ago, and I still can’t say it for the life of me! :wink:

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Best koobideh in Tehrangeles. Lubia polo and lentil soup are also standouts there.

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Wonderful carbonara! Great find @J_L !

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stella pastry in SF has tremendous shfooyadell… especially if you catch it right when they open and they’re still warm, and then catch a spro at coffee movement

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Wait, what’s a spro???

TOO MANY “S” NAMES!!!

“Sfo” and “gli” are both challenging for English speakers.

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loll eSPRessO… the gen-z terminology sometimes too convenient…

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