You prefer cookie crust to puff pastry crust for your Dan taats?
I like both but prefer the most crumbly cookie style crust.
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I’ve never had Jim’s but I’ll have to try it out I’m a fan taat fanatic.
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If you time it right and it comes out warm it’s the best egg tart in SGV
Notable Westwood Village grand opening X2 take-out bang-bang this evening:
Prince of Venice Pasta & Pizza: Yes, the pasta truck of Italian aristocracy is now a brick & mortar on Broxton (in the old Scallions space). The dishes are affordable, and more importantly, they’re really tasty!
MeetFresh Westwood: The Taiwanese dessert chain (finally) comes to West LA (on Weyburn, in the former Jerry’s Deli space). Customizable hot/cold bowls/cups of shaved ice, tofu pudding, taro balls, grass jelly, red bean milk tea, sweet potato, almond jello… The permutations are endless. Hallelujah.
(Yes, fellow Bruins, indeed I just could not resist the gravitational pull of Diddy Riese, and ended up doing a third bang there after MeetFresh…)
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The Win-Dow has just created a large outdoor dining setup. They walled-in the parking lot, block on the outside, wood-panel on the inside.
Gravel on the ground and lots of distanced tables. Staff wiping them down often!
So now an inexpensive awesome burger and an area to eat it.
BTW, burger is just awesome. One of my favorites.
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It’s been busy, so I need to catch up on some BBR.
Orsa and Winston
Crab Cake Sando
JFC. This was insane. It’s got a perfect balance between the crab cake, pickles, slaw, spreads and just enough cheddar cheese. It was still a bit crisp on the outside and is wonderfully creamy on the inside. You can tell each element from the shiso tartar sauce to the toasted sliced bread is made with care and precision—Orsa and Winston deserves recognition for delivering such approachable meals at a very reasonable price point without sacrificing any of the quality they’re known to put into their tasting menus. Shout out to @butteredwaffles for bringing this to my attention.
Holbox
Scallop Aguachile
I really preferred this to the ceviche I had last time. The scallops were perfectly “cooked” in the marinade, which was all around delicious.
Taco de Pulpo en su Tinta
Still slaps.
Chef Ai Kennedy Bento
I’ve been following Chef Ai for awhile and finally found the time to make it out to Pasadena to try out her bento. All in all, it was a well composed set, but the absolute standout was the fish, both the 9 day dry aged buri as well as the cooked piece, which had skin so insanely crispy it was like a great chicharron. She posts her menu every Friday on Instagram for pick ups on Sunday and Monday: https://www.instagram.com/chefai.la/
Bar Ama
Brussels Sprouts
I’m obsessed with these fried brussels sprouts, which are covered in a chuggable fenugreek vinaigrette and tossed with the typical Baco Mercat smattering of herbs, pickled stuff, and cheese.
Ototo
Passionfruit Chocolate Cream Puff
Spot on balance between the passionfruit and chocolate.
Black Sesame
Super creamy, and I really liked the offset sweetness with the date mascarpone.
Carrot Cake Cupcake
I’ve made my love for carrot cake very clear elsewhere, and I knew this was automatic when it appeared on Ototo’s Instagram. It’s got all the elements of your typical carrot cake including cream cheese frosting, but with the spices really dialed back. I appreciated the restrained hand here, not only because it was something different, but it seemed to almost make the lightness of the cake itself even more apparent while still being perfectly moist. It also has a nice stewed guava jam situation hidden in the center that added another nice touch.
Tsubaki
Kinmedai Yuan-Yaki
One of the specials this weekend is the charcoal grilled kinmedai, which is served with spinach goma-ae. 10/10 would eat again. I also added on some ingen goma-ae because duh.
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wow that kinmedai, I need that with some rice to try and recreate hayato’s gohan. is that a regular menu item or a special?
Special for this weekend. I didn’t speak with Chef or Courtney about it and I don’t know if they will carry it over an extra week like they have with some other items, so you might want to grab it tomorrow just in case.
Finally got to the LettuceFeast truck - it’s a vegan, fried chick’n sandwich type setup. I follow them on Instagram to figure out where they’ll be.
They’ve got two trucks, and ask people to order ahead. I took a chance and went at an off time. I put in my order standing in front of the truck on my phone, and then just relaxed until the food was ready. I got the classic, the hot honey sandwich, and cajun fries. It was all very good! I would go back - probably skip the fries and try one of their desserts.
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Damn yeah I need this right now
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If you like scallop aguachile be sure to also try Taco Maria’s. IMO it’s one of the best dishes there
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Yes I need to bite the bullet and drive out there!!! Thanks for reminding me!
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i tried LettuceFeast a few months back and liked the hot honey sandwich and cajun fries too! Nice junk food treat.
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Yes! I haven’t tried that many aguachiles but the Taco Maria aguachile is the best one I’ve had
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Paper Pizza Company (Downey)
From the folks who bring you Lock & Key Social Drinkery is Paper Pizza Co. They had their grand opening this past weekend, and I decided to order takeout after a long day of work. They are extraordinarily proud that they make their own pasta and pizza dough using organic flour from Italy. The crust itself is Neapolitan-style, but the fascinating thing is the crust curls over and creates a faux pocket so you get some pizza toppings, sauce, and cheese as you eat the crust. It’s completely untraditional, but I found that I quite enjoyed it. I got the one topped with pepperoni, soppressata, and sausage. The fior di latte was great.
I also go their kale salad with cilantro, avocado, parm, almonds and a Thai chile vinaigrette. This was a solid salad. It had lots of textures and flavors.
I’m looking forward to coming back to try more of the menu. Beer and wine only.
It’s right off the Lakewood Blvd exit of the 5 freeway so it’s an easy pit stop if you are so inclined.
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It’s been an eventful month on all fronts, finally catching up with a few places.
Tsujita WLA
We recently moved and are now within walking distance of Tsujita’s Sawtelle location. The tsukemen holds up very well for takeout. Simply microwave the broth, and use the included soft water to hydrate the noodles.
Sawtelle Tempura House
I really miss the previous owners - so sweet and kind. It really reflected in the comfort classics they served - the chicken katsu curry was on another level. I’m slowly warming up to the new offerings, and surprisingly I really enjoy the “BBQ Chicken” salad. Skin-on chicken in a salad is a winner. Perfect for a weekday lunch.
Sushi Tsujita
This was an election day meal, which feels like forever ago now. The premium hokkaido don is good, but you can do much better for the money. It certainly feels a little empty compared to having the regular kaisendon at the restaurant. I found myself missing the hairy crab from Matsumoto.
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They made it into Eater LA today.
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Finally made it out to Oliboli. Waiting for the goods…
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