I have a lot of catching up to do…
Love & Salt
If it’s not obvious, I’m an east side guy, so I rarely find the will to drive out to the west side for dinner. However, I always make my friends come to me (I mean come on the east side has better food 
) but after paying them back and driving all the way out to dinner in Manhattan Beach at Love & Salt, I may actually have found a place that I’m keen to revisit on what basically amounts to the other side of the planet.
Wood Oven Meatballs
Not something I usually order, but given that we were going carb heavy I’m glad that we did. Flavor was great and I’d eat it again–I just wish it came with more bread (not that we would need more of it though).
Freekehlicious
There’s a lot going on here–five different grains, radish, currants, hazelnuts, and herbs–but it amounts to what is one of the best “salads” I’ve had in a long time. If you’re going for the first time, put it on your table.
Strozzepreti Costolette
Our sole pasta dish, but it was a hit.
Krikorian South
It was really hard just choosing two pizzas, but I think we made the right call. First up was the Krikorian South, which is sausage, a bunch of different cheeses, fried sage, and honey. I love honey on carbs.
Duck Egg
Our friends that had been before highly recommended we get the duck egg pizza and it was another great call. The only thing I love more than honey on carbs is a soft, broken yolk on carbs.
I really want to get back to Love & Salt to try some more of the dishes (mainly different pizzas although that would be tough because the ones we had were so great). So if you find yourself out in that neck of the woods, Love & Salt is a great option.
All Time
One of LA’s neighborhood gems. All Time’s dinner situation isn’t going to blow you away with flavors you’ve never tasted before, but the quality of the cooking and ingredients is top notch. It’s also just a great vibe and one of those places with an incredibly high floor.
Good Ass Salad
It’s fucking huge.
Burrata
Yeah the name of the dish is about a cheese–and the cheese is good–but it’s really just bread topped with a bunch of delicious things to trick you into thinking it’s not just a bread dish. It’s also the best thing on the menu.
The Whole Dang Fish
Yes, a whole fish. Not super creative, but look at the crispy rice it comes with!
Brussels
One of my favorite brussels sprouts dishes ever. The bacon is cut thicc and generous so you get some with every bite of vegetable.
Cauliflower Rice
Probably one of the healthiest vegetable entrees I’ve had in awhile, as it’s packed with huge rings of beats, turnips, and squash as well. All mixed together it was quite good and something I’d have no trouble feeling confident to order again.
Eszett
I’ve had their hot sauce, but this was my first time dining in. In short, I was really impressed and wondered why this place doesn’t get more shine. I came for the shrimp toast, but all the dishes were inventive and packed with flavor. I’ll definitely be returning.
Big Fries
Holy shit these might be some of the best fries I’ve ever had. They were wedge cut, so I was a bit skeptical, but no joke about halfway through each was just the crispiest, crunchiest exterior. I normally don’t jump for fries on a menu, but will absolutely get these again.
Shrimp Toast
I don’t know why, but I don’t see shrimp toast many places around LA and I had a particular craving. This version didn’t disappoint–the bread was a bit crust forward but the spicy sweet sauce was fantastic.
Kampachi Crudo
A fairly light and refreshing dish that really comes together thanks to the nori oil. It took what would be a fairly standard crudo dish to an interesting place that I absolutely devoured.
Sunchoke + Grilled Quinc
The romesco/tahini mash up sauce was fantastic. A banger of a vegetable dish.
Grilled Long Beans
Hints of some Asian influences provided some nice contrast to the sunchokes and showed that they’re confident and capable of pulling off a range of flavors across the menu.
Filet Uh Fish Sandwich
Solid, but there are others out there that are better.
Of the two sandwiches we got, this was the more exciting one.
Regardless, the fact that Eszett has a number of different sandwich type options on the menu makes it a great place to come solo, eat at the bar, and still have a fantastic meal. Get one of those and maybe a vegetable and the fries and you’re set.
Chef Ai
Chef Ai has started offering bentos for pick up in the Arts District (out of Crafted Kitchen) and both of her seasonal offerings have been bangers. I think I first had her bentos when they were available for pick up in Pasadena last year, and both of these have been the best yet.
Sanma Bento
I really liked the sanma oshizushi, it was super flavorful and didn’t need anything else. There was also scallop yuan yaki and umaki, and while the eggplant and crab tofu didn’t quite live up to the Hayato bentos, it was enough of a taste while I’ve been going through that withdrawal.
Toro Sawara Bento
The slightly more expensive toro sawara bento was my favorite of the two though. The grilled toro sawara was a super highlight–one of my favorite bites I had in October. The bento is filled out with a lux chirashi of uni, crab, scallops, and ikura, as well as the other items from the sanma bento, plus ankimo.
You can order for Fridays and Saturdays here: Ai - Los Angeles , CA | Tock
Outstanding in the Field at Paramount Studios
I’ve never been to one of these kind of events before–and had I not been invited I wouldn’t have otherwise gone–but I think I learned a lot from the experience.
Passed Apps
These probably were the most successful bites overall. The abalone was fine, chicken wing from Jitlada was as good as it gets, and my favorite was the shrimp from Shiku.
Sunchoke and Red Pepper Bread from Céor Bread
I guess I kinda paid for it (even though I didn’t) but I didn’t finish it.
Crudo from Crudo e Nudo
This was my first indication of what we were in for… the flavor was good, but the knife work was super suspect as not all of the slices of fish were even or cut all the way through.
I didn’t take a picture of the chile relleno from Angry Egret Dinette because it was so disappointing… the mole on it was good, but the cheese inside wasn’t even melted. So here’s a picture of what the event looks like instead if you’ve never been to one of these Outstanding in the Field things before.
Brisket Hummus from Slab BBQ
This was at least kind of warm when it hit the table, and flavor wise my favorite dish. It’s something that I wish Burt Bakman would actually have on the menu for us to order at Slab.
Grilled Fruit Cake from Valerie Confections
Nothing about this was grilled, but at least it tasted good and was meant to be chilled. I think.
Guelaguetza
We ordered a lot. They didn’t try to wave us off of it, but we really underestimated the amount of food this was 
Chips and Mole (Complimentary)
An easy dip into the mole pool.
Molcajete de Gucamole
We could have passed on it, but whenever we go out for Mexican we always end up ordering it, so it was a given. The guacamole itself was great and had a bit of a kick to it.
Half order Botana Oaxaqueña
When we saw how big this was (there were 5 of us and this was intended for 4) I wasn’t actually sure if we would need anything else to eat. It’s a giant sizzling platter of grilled meats with cheese and chiles. Everything was delicious and it has such a strong QPR.
Festival de Moles
A must order just because it will give you a true sampling of what they do best.
A personal power ranking:
- Mole Negro
- Mole Roja
- Estofado
- Coloradito
Tamal Oaxaqueño de Mole Negro con Pollo
A fantastic tamal that is just soaked in mole negro. If your group doesn’t have a huge appetite to order some of the huge family style dishes, I think this would be something to get.
Tlayuda Tradicional with Cecina
We didn’t really get into this as much because by this point the table was overflowing with dishes and we were pretty stuffed, but we all enjoyed the few bites of it we had.
Yes, there were a lot of leftovers 
so better ordering strategy might be in the works for next time, but overall the food was fantastic and Guelaguetza has some of the best QPR in the game.
Sunset Sushi
The Kaisen Chirashi is still the move.
DTLA Cheese
Final plug here for DTLA Cheese. Not only do they sell the best hot sauce in LA (from Highly Likely) but they also recently expanded their tinned fish selection. If you’re at GCM it’s definitely worth checking out.
Now on to November…