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aaaand… we have a winner
Hi @PorkyBelly,
Darn it, I missed your post at the same time (was too busy typing, didn’t see your update). Awesome. 
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Always A+ coverage! Seems the biggest fail that all pastrami contenders except Langer’s make is the bread. I have to wonder if Bea’s out in the SFV has some kind of exclusive agreement with Langer’s, or is this just an oversight/skip on the part of Wexler’s and Ugly Drum?
My “puffy bagel” comment was just part of an observation of bagels and croissants in LA. I used to eat lots of bagels from The Bagel Factory in the Palms area from back in the 70s (worked in the area). Their bagels were more old school - pretty chewy.
I took a hiatus from bagels when I moved on from that job. Noah’s became popular (I think) back in the early 90s. Trying their bagels, my first impression was “puffy and sweet.” This style seemed to be embraced by both the public as well as it’s upstart competitors. I never saw lines at The Bagel Factory. But lines at Noah’s were common.
Like many here, I think there’s a growing appreciation for the type of bagel that you had and described. How popular it becomes, I don’t know. Places like Costco sell pillowy croissants as well as puffy bagels by the dozen and shoppers scoop them up. Americans seem to prefer tender, sweet and “melt in your mouth” as descriptors for food characteristics. Maybe most folks consider chewing to be too much work.
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Hi @bulavinaka,
Thanks. Yah it always baffles me about the bread. It’s like, do they not notice how dry and moisture-sucking their bread is?
Heck if they made a deal with Gjusta and got any of their fresh baked breads, they’d be delicious and far more edible.
Interesting comment about the Bagels, thanks. Yah I think you’d Maury’s then. It’s a dense, chewy type of style, definitely not like Noah’s Bagels (which I don’t particularly love or hate).
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Re Goa Taco
I’m really glad to see those guys make it out to the West Coast. Did they have their full offerings? Like the lamb shoulder or the chicken chorizo?
Great report as always.
Superlative reporting, @Chowseeker1999! Tip of the hat to you.
So sorry Ugly Drum’s bread was a letdown. I really loved their pastrami back in the day; especially its smokiness and succulence. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what their bread was like, but I have a recollection of the sweet apple slaw that didn’t quite meld with the sandwich.
Glad to hear that Mama Musubi’s kelp and rayu musubi with brown rice was a keeper. I’m a sucker for rayu (Japanese chili oil), especially when paired with ramen or gyoza (dumplings).
I can’t wait to try Porridge & Puffs (and hello jasmine iced tea!) and Rucker’s Pie. I hope to make it out there in the next week or two.
Too bad. The lamb shoulder taco is outstanding.
Hi @ipsedixit,
Thanks. Yah @A5KOBE mentioned it, sadly they didn’t.
But a Lamb Shoulder Goa Taco sounds pretty amazing. 
And by “Chicken Chorizo” did they make their own Chorizo in NY? That’s pretty cool.
They did say that if it goes well out here in LA that they were hoping for a brick & mortar or just expanding in some way, so hopefully they add more to the menu soon.
Hi @MaladyNelson,
Thanks. Not your fault about the bread, LOL. I’d imagine if you had it back in the day, then you probably enjoyed it on Mendocino Farm’s Breads, and they have a few that aren’t as dry as the Rye they were using.
Yah, I think you’d like the Kelp & Rayu Musubi with Brown Rice. And I’m thinking of Porridge & Puffs right now for some reason. Just really subtle, but interesting, delicious flavors.
Has anyone tried their Puffs before? They didn’t have them on the menu this week (she said they had an equipment malfunction today, so no Puffs, just the Porridge).
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They do indeed.
And, by chance, do you know who was manning the stand? Was it the owner/founder Duvaldi Marneweck, or someone else?
Hi @ipsedixit,
It wasn’t Chef-Owner Marneweck; it was a younger woman with glasses. But the chef’s face (from the NY articles) looks familiar. He might’ve been on the grills? More reason to go back and ask about the Lamb Shoulder.
Or just make a trip to NYC!
Wow, their Lamb Shoulder Goa is worth a trip to NY?!
Now I really hope they add it to the LA menu soon.
Gonna take a couple of days to read through your reviews, but I do like toasted rye. It’s the scratch baguettes for banh mi that annoy me. 
Hee, hee.
Ah cool. Yah, I wish it was toasted (it wasn’t). 
LOL. Yah, when baguettes are too dry / sharp / dehydrated it messes up my mouth as well.
Great report as usual. Was Sunny Blue not there? They were there on opening day. I like their onigri a lot.
I also liked Ugly Drum’s papaya slushee. I’m guessing that’s their take on the papaya drink to go with the hot dog.
Hi @Jase,
Oh interesting! Sunny Blue was there when you went 2 weeks ago?
We only saw Mamma Musubi.
Thanks for the heads up about the Papaya Slushee. Was it overly sweet, or just all-natural Papaya pureed into slushee form? Thanks.
I didn’t find it sweet and I have a savory tooth, not a sweet tooth. I would be more sensitive if it leaned towards the sweet side. It looked like they were pouring some kind of liquid mixture into the slushee machine. Also it was on the red side, not the straight orange I’m used to seeing from the New York dog stands and possibly had some additional food coloring.