Out of all the supermarket sushi I’ve had I think Tokyo Central is the best. A hair better than Mitsuwa. Don’t judge. Not every FTC is balling and eating at Mori, Raku and Shunji every night. Haha.
12 Likes
With our baby due in mid-June and mom-to-be’s birthday in May, we scheduled a takeout from Melisse/Citrin for mom’s bday. Then the baby showed up a few weeks early (she and mom are doing great!), so the Melisse meal turned into a two day one-at-a-time affair. We started with the rolls and the beurre de baratte. I think I remember the rolls at Melisse being absolutely incredible and these were merely good, but the butter was incredible. We then immediately had the lobster bolognese because we were worried it might not hold up that well, and it was wonderful (if shoveled in at a perhaps faster rate than we might normally do). Just slightly better than hospital food 
We then bravely also had the filet + braised beef in pasta and duck. The reheating instructions were easy and had things to a good temperature. The filet was perfectly cooked (must be sous vide?) and I loved the sides (mushroom + farro, leeks + potatoes, mashed potatoes). Duck was also really good though from a texture standpoint I think the beef did better with reheating. We also finished like a quarter of each before quickly dashing off to nap.
The next day, we had the tomato soup with strawberry and burrata, and lazily heated things up in the microwave and it was still a great lunch (can 10:45 am be lunch?). We also finished the dinner. Later in the day (I think, it could very well have been the next day), we had the dessert, which I thought was perfect though mom, who has an absurd sweet tooth, didn’t like it as much as the many cakes she had been gifted so let me finish both
I also ordered one of their drinks, which I have surreptitiously finished over the last week or so (tasty and very well priced, FWIW).
16 Likes
Have you ever Farm Boy’s? I think they are the best.
Josiah Citrin has a video of his steak technique on IGTV - the instagram video thing. Pretty interesting basicly he says it’s his way of trying to get the accuracy of sous vide but on the stove top
1 Like
Congrats! Glad family is healthy and that you are eating well. 
2 Likes
Providence En Voyage #2: The Amalfi Coast…
This week, Chef Cimarusti takes us to the Amalfi coast, home region to Providence’s General Manager, the ever-charming and always affable Donato Poto. There, in the bucolic milling town of Vico Equense, sits a restaurant called La Torre Del Saracino. It was there that Chef Cimarusti was served on of the most comforting dishes he’s ever had: A simple pasta mista with seafood from the local fishermen. The simple and cozy joy of this local specialty is what I also got to enjoy this evening in this special take-out meal.
Unpacking: Here is the line-up, straight out of the bag…
Mise en place…
First Course - Crudo di Pesce: Hiramasa (young Japanese yellowtail), Maldon salt, greens, California olive, and citrus dressing… The citrus really plays up the qualities of the yellowtail here. This crudo served as a bright and meaningful intro to the meal.
Entrée - Pasta Mista al Frutti di Mare: Truffle Brothers mixed fresh pasta made with cuttlefish ink, Santa Barbara spot prawn, Manila clams, mussels, Santa Barbara uni, local squid, firefly squid, Maine lobster, basil, tomato soffritto (made by stewing all the shells and bits of seafood parts)… Served with semolina focaccia, this pasta and bread combo was fun to heat up and plate out. And the taste was out-of-this world! Both the pasta and the broth were imbued with all that goodness the sea has to offer. The tomato seafood broth was full of interesting character. Marvelous!
Dessert - Tiramisù, with Sfogliatella… Donato says “You can’t get more Italian than tiramisù!” And what a lovely one it was! The espresso-laden lady fingers, whipped mascarpone cream, shaved chocolate and cocoa powder, all in perfect harmony. (Not pictured: Espresso…)
Grazie mille!
17 Likes
Impressive plating!
1 Like
Nice report @NYCtoLA. I want gallons of the Silkie Chix Broth… hint hint @JLee. #bringitback. So many things in this report I want… one we’re trying for today. 
Oh and who knew C&T served Gumbo?!
4 Likes
We ordered take out from Night + Market Song last night for dinner.
Got vegetarian pad see ew with tofu, papaya salad, crispy rice salad and garlic green beans (those three items veganized). Made some white rice on the side. It was delicious as always. They did not have their cold noodle #1 on the menu, which I LOVE, but they said they were slowly bringing back more of the menu as time goes on. It took about an hour for the food to be ready once I placed the order.
13 Likes
Yes, we are working on it and many other side projects at the same time!
2 Likes
Mozza was set on fire.
Looters ransacked the Mac store and were able to get inside Mozza. It’s all so crazy. Fox filmed a looter stealing from the Champion store then jumping into a brand new Mercedes with the license plate exposed. WTH?
At least watching the videos a lot of car dealer ships had cars stolen today in midcity/bev hills it was truly a free for all
1 Like
Oh wow. That makes sense. The looters in the Mac store were jumping in new cars too. One dumbass was trying to carry a bunch of stuff on his bike and couldn’t get away.
Nonna’s for some modern takes on empanadas.
Lots of broken window storefronts around this area.
I like how they “brand” the filling type on the outside.
10 Likes
The Kato Chirashi Box is thing of beauty to behold and to savor. The steamed abalone and uni were outstanding!
15 Likes
@Gr8pimpin I like how the box has partitions for both empanadas and chimichurri.
@J_L A pipette with your chirashi? How cool!
4 Likes
It’s June already?
Yuzu Meringue Tart with matcha crust from Stonemill Matcha in SF
The Shota in San Francisco pivoted to takeout under the moniker Yubu BTS (By The Shota). From high end omakase dinner service to fusion comfort food. The base is inari sushi with seasoned rice/takikomi gohan, and topped with a variety of offerings from shellfish to spicy versions of shellfish, to vegetables. It’s tastier than a lot of well done American rolls. The chirashi is spot on. Picked up a bottle of Sohomare Tokubetsu Junmai Karakuchi to show support… I actually passed on buying that bottle from K&L Hollywood last year.
SIP somehow has made me explore more Chablis… sake is taking a backseat 
The proper way to do takeout of the classic pork strips bean sprouts shiitake pan fried noodles. Separate the sauce from the noodles so the noodles stay crispy and you can adjust the sauce amount as you need. Designed for chili sauce!! Porridge King in Daly City
Japanese masaba bousushi and the new Copper River salmon zuke and ikura shoyu zuke donburi from Sushi Yoshizumi
Sweet and sour pork, just because!
8 Likes
That tart looks great! I dunno if I can eat that in the car without getting crumbs all over the place.
1 Like
Never need a reason to try it, 
Sweet and sour pork is one of my all time guilty pleasures. It’s so hard to find a good one but that doesn’t stop me from trying them at different places including the cheap combo steam table places.
3 Likes