Nope. Didn’t even know about ti.
Perhaps they saw the unhappiness here about the ciccio not being a “regular” menu item at their last LA pop up!
How was it?
More recent eats:
Garlic and Chives: blood clams and toothpick lamb, both so flavorful and 
Yang Chow: slippery shrimp, its been a minute since last visited 
Sapp Coffee Shop: jade noods 
Woon: gai lan, pork belly over rice, beef noods
Sonny’s Pizza: lives up to social media hype , however the process of obtaining a pie is painful like Apollonia’s. Maybe it gets better with their brick and mortar 
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Serious pacing issues. They were shooting for an OmakaSEI style event but the kitchen got really backed up. Some of the pizza came out cold.
It was our first time trying Truly’s pizza but I suspect this wasn’t their best showing.
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Ouch, ouch, ouch….
I had a good experience at the pop up in Santa Monica, but I know that at least a few others on the board did not. Here’s hoping that they work out the kinks b/c they may not be making the best impression on potential customers in LA…. 
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seems like I’m in the latter but I really don’t mind scheduling a time, driving over, and picking up a fresh pie on the time I’m supposed to be there
appolonia’s was a nightmare - waiting in line forever to get in, then the process to order took a bit, and then having to wait another 20 minutes for the slices to come out.. and it wasn’t fresh out of the oven or even close to it, like Sonny’s.. yeah, not doing that again
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The insider trick is to call in your order. Since I only order whole pies, not sure re: slices by phone. You can also order on line whole pies (surcharge added). To pick up, go to the alley behind the mall and walk in by the Gastrobot. That said, Apollonia’s is on a downhill alert. Last three pies have been lacking in cheese quantity and oozness (too dry). I’ll be hitting Sonny’s soon.
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That part is totally fine, and no problem other than the usual la traffic while driving. I should have clarified, I was referring to pies selling out in minutes every day, since it went viral/blew up. It’s hard to remember to order when working, and I’ve missed out a few days sadly. However, it was worth it 
. Sonny’s and Flour are fantastic new additions to la.
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Had to pick up something at Westfield Culver City (Fox Hills Mall) around lunch time and was checking out any new options when I realized a place called Super Dumpling opened 9 months ago and had 4.8 stars on Google, so we had to try. Super friendly service when we walked in. It’s Halal Chinese (I swear this mall has the best/strangest mix of shops!) so no pork at all, and no alcohol. Weekdays they will do half portions so we got a bunch of dishes to share.
Broccoli was perfectly crisp tender and seasoned well. Probably could have cut off the browned ends but it was a nice tasty plate and a good way to get veggies in.
Xian men fried rice noodles - nice mix of protein, stir-fried well, a little on the sweet side.
Spicy chicken wontons - these were great - nice chicken flavor and addictive sauce
This, honestly, was a disappointment. It was fresh and tasted OK, but I think my decades of pork lard infused dim sum have trained my taste buds to expect a pork component. I tasted some beef in these shumai, but it was just a no for me.
Service was excellent. Waiter was attentive, water was constantly refilled, dishes came out as soon as they were ready. Chatting with staff and they told me the restaurant only has 2 locations and is family owned.
Would definitely go back again to try a few more dishes - chicken xlb, beef sjb, cumin lamb.
Walked around the mall after and saw that a Chagee will be opening!
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Hope they work out the kinks soon; looks like they will be opening on Abbot Kinney (Greenleaf location):
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New Golden City is inside of the mall where the Ranch 99 is. They are opening a Marugame Udon inside and a new Jinsol Gukbap is open now.
@JeetKuneBao clued us in that there is some connection to Earthen so we had to confirm.
House chicken is very good. The sauce is a little less garlicky and pungent but we missed this dish so much.
Sliced pork with bean curd. As good as or better than we recall. Perfect on top of rice.
Beef roll with a very well made scallion pancake. Not greasy or oily and a very nice thickness. A excellent version and you should order.
Hot n spicy eggplant. Emphasis on hot. I tried one right after they placed on the table and the temperature of the dish was the surface of the sun. Delicious. We think the eggplant used to be sliced but great saucing. Wouldn’t have minded if it was spicier.
Gotta get the greens. Always well made.
Hot n sour soup was the only miss. A good amount of toppings but not sour and spicy enough. Very muted.
Went across the street for boba at San Chen which is supposedly Michelin rated. Teas are made fresh to order so it took 15 mins for our order. I’m not a big boba tea drinker but everybody said these were amongst the best they’ve ever had so I’ll take their word. The bolo bun next door at Kee Wah Bakery are amazing. Buttery layers very croissant like and the crunchy pineapple topping was perfect not too sweet but crunchy. I much prefer the bolo to their more famous egg tarts.
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I’m one of the ones who had a less than stellar experience at the Casa Del Mar pop up. But given that they’re moving into my neighborhood, I’ll give them another chance.
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I always forget to take food photos. Sorry.
Fiorelli Pizza. We will try this a few more times because the location is v convenient. The website does a fair job of describing the Neapolitan influenced crust with NYC style toppings but the results felt like two separate ideas rather than a cohesive slice. Less than 15 minutes to finish two pies ordered at 6. Seats were full when we stopped by around 630.
I told our three year old that they put basil on their hotdog and I think it offended his sensibilities.
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Truly Pizza
Don’t sleep on the sandwiches. This Italian sandwich was outstanding. Great lemony vinaigrette with a pickled spicy gardinera. The focaccia was so light and pillowy. Great skinny fries.
Ciccia is so delicious. Thin and crispy. Covered with ribbons of provolone. The sauce was bright and lovely. I could eat a few of these myself.
Mushroom pizza was ok. We didn’t vibe with the sesame oil and bonito flakes. The crust on the round pizza are excellent. This one with the sesame seeds was great dipped in ranch.
Pepperoni was very good. Nice cups.
This was the real winner. The square supreme. Basically focaccia with a bevy of toppings. The gardinera cooked on the pizza was diabolical. My favorite of the whole meal.
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Café 2001 still killing it! Hay smoked wild tuna salad & Tuscan fries. Had a really surprising and nice wine that almost reminded me of an Amaro. Pleasant bitterness and herbal notes from the central coast
Bang bang with a Double laab burger from Ban Ban burger.
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Really like Ban Ban burger. Shakes are great there. Just wish hamburgers were more of a health food.
My contribution for this weekend…. Neighbor really likes Rosemary Grill, which is (was) located a few minutes away on Santa Monica Blvd. I thought I’d finally try it, but, when I did an internet search on the rough location, I saw info for “SNX Tandoori” instead. Only a few Yelp reviews from folks w/ not much posting hx (but at least the writing style was not as suspicious as the reviews for The Mulberry). So partner and I thought we’d give it a try.
Total hole-in-the-wall. There is a counter for individual seating next to the trash bin; that + this long table are about all there is for seating. I assume decor was kept from the previous tenant b/c, next to the soda fridge, there is a composite of US presidents, ending w/ George Dubya.
The ambiance is zilch, so we order it to-go.
The cashier said the food would take ~15–20 mins. I think we ordered the saag biryani medium spicy, but all other dishes were ordered mild.
Bananas were not included. Saag biryani, shrimp tandoor, shai paneer, plain naan, peshwari naan. Dishes come either either rice or naan. I upgraded one order to
I have wanted peshwari naan ever since I saw this:
I have no idea what’s even in peshwari naan (prior to ordering it here), but I just wanted one anyway.
Not an Indian food connoisseur, but I thought it was pretty damn tasty. Birayni nicely spiced (and surprisingly spicy for medium) but a bit wet. Shrimp not at all smoky but whatever sauce had been used was quite tasty. Shai paneer a bit sweet (maybe it’s supposed to be like that), so I think medium spicy might have offset that nicely.
Cashier included raita for the the biryani.
Naan is enormous and thicker than what I’m used to.
LOVED the peshwari naan. When I asked cashier if it was “dessert-sweet,” he originally said it was not, then gave an ambivalent answer, and then, when I asked again, said that it was. It’s pretty sweet but not cloyingly so. I do think it is kind of dessert-y.
My favorite dish was probably the biryani.
They’ve apparently only been open for 1.5 mos.
There is absolutely nothing elevated about this place, but, I think for a local joint, it’s quite enjoyable (at least on this first visit).
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Dinner for 1 at State Bird Provisions
Undoubtedly the most accommodating spot for solo diners I’ve ever been to. All the marked dishes they can do in smaller portions sizes (not just 1/2 sometimes it’s 1/3 or even 1/4) for solo diners. Every wine by the glass they can do as a half pour.
For those who haven’t been - the printed menu contains the stalwart classics. And then they come around dim sum style with carts or trays of another ~12-15 dishes.
Banger after banger after banger. Not a single dish I disliked. The namesake quail was revelatory. But almost everything else was just as good. If I had to stretch for criticism - the duck croquette meat was too dense and the dumpling could have used more heat/spice.
A+, well deserving of the Michelin star. Purely food wise I would say it’s encroaching on 2 star territory, but I don’t think it’s “fancy schmancy” enough to ever get 2.
It’s just a really fun place. The bar has to be the best spot to sit as you get to watch all the dishes being made in real time. It was fun to predict what the next dish was going to be - I was usually mostly wrong.
And it’s a great value. 2 half pours, 3 on menu solo diners portions, 8 off-menu nightly specials, $150 on the dot all in. And this was my only meal of the day, so I ordered and ate quite a bit more than I normally would. If I had eaten lunch today it probably would have come out around $120.
What sticks in my mind the most:
- The quail - juicy, flavorful, perfect breading, just an exemplary fried bird
- Huckleberry-pear sorbet burnt cinnamon tapioca & whiskey persimmons. Oh my. The best sorbet of my life, hardcore fruit essence like you’re tasting the fruits right at the farmer’s market. I normally dislike tapioca but these were divine with just the right intensity of cinnamon.
Why can’t we have a place like this in LA
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Easily. My favorite restaurant in CA, possibly in the US. I wish there was something like it in LA.
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You are speaking my language! Very reasonable price point for a bunch of different bites at that level.
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Nice find! Is that by Tom’s Sushi House?
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Peanut milk is transcendent
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