September 2020 Rundown

Friday night - Goldburger in Highland Park. I really liked my Goldburger, and thought the fries (regular and curly) were just okay. My dining companion liked his cheese less Goldburger as well.

We also got one slice of blueberry crumble and one slice of chocolate chess pie. I liked the chess pie; the blueberry was a solid “skip it.”

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needle x ototo

char siu (fatty)
This was fantastic, tender, and fatty and had a wonderfully silky mouthfeel with that perfectly rendered fat.
@TheCookie, @NYCtoLA, @euno

almond jello
Anybody know how many fruit servings in one almond jello?

strawberry and magical grape daifuku

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Damn that char siu looks so damn good. @moonboy403 did you get in on this as well?

At this pointPorky you should just buy a tub of that almond jello!

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It sure does look good but I didn’t get any. Next week! :smiling_imp:

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haha, i wish they sold it by the gallon

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That looks :drooling_face: Did it make you forget the Belly?

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BBR (best bite roundup)

Porridge + Puffs

Yes, yes, porridge is in the name of the restaurant so they better be able to back it up, but with the recent n/naka collaboration they set a new bar for themselves. It dangerously enters chuggable territory.

Ototo

I hadn’t had the jellies before, but this was so refreshing. It’s the perfect afternoon treat for a hot day where the summer fruit really stands out.

Sushi Tama

Among the 10 piece nigiri omakase, this was probably my favorite bite, though the mackerel and the otoro were good too. The rest of the box was fine :man_shrugging:

Pearl River Deli

This is next level hainan chicken and there’s a reason I try to get it every time it’s available.

Majordomo

The Salmon and Ikura Rice Bowl is the ideal (and I suppose only) way to experience Majordomo takeout if you don’t have multiple friends down to split. Highlight of the week.

Fat and Flour

Carrot cake is my all time favorite cake. Nicole Rucker makes the best carrot cake in LA. You can do the math on this one.

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nope, there can never be enough good char siu and they were both great.

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Chef James Sugashita (Arts District) -
Chef Sugashita is trying new things, and his latest bento offering reflects it.




Kinmedai Yuan-Yaki (grilled Goldeneye snapper marinated in sweet yuzu shoyu), Atsuyaki tamago (egg cake), Shiitake-ni (simmered shiitake mushrooms), Aspara Okakiage (asparagus fried in rice crackers), Hokkaido bafun uni, pickled young ginger, cucumber

Kuruma ebi (Japanese tiger prawn), charcoal-grilled Nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch), age dashi Nasu (fried & simmered eggplant), Yaki-Renkon (grilled lotus root), Wakamomo (Japanese baby peach)…those baby peaches were like candy!

Uri-somen (spaghetti squash marinated in vinegared dashi), simmered greens, grilled Nodoguro

Futomaki (anago, kuruma ebi, tamago, shiitake, kyuri, toro)

Everything was exceptionally well done. I loved the grilled lotus root, the spaghetti squash and asparagus…the sugars caramelized and the lotus root became meaty and savory. The grilled Nodoguro was delightful…it was rich and luscious and a little smoky from the charcoal grill. The rice texture was perfect and it was a great balance of vinegar and seasoning. I think this is the best rice Chef Sugashita has put out, yet. The only thing missing was a great sake…but eating by myself at home makes it hard to open up a bottle. I’ll not be able to finish it.

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Sugishita>>Hayato>>Kaneyoshi

Triple bento bang plus futomaki is now a possibility!

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Props to the person who can eat all the rice and fixin’s x3. I had that bento yesterday and couldn’t eat much the rest of the day.

Hold up, wait a minute. How come I’m not seeing carrot cake on her website?

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Holbox X Ototo X Petit Trois

seafood paella
Insanely fragrant and delicious. Every damn piece of seafood was cooked to perfection. However, make sure you let the restaurant know to only partially cover the paella so the goods won’t steam on your way home.

matcha cream puff
These cream puffs are crunchy so I would imagine that there’s a craquelin topping hiding underneath that matcha powder? Also, it seems like there’s a matcha custard filling but it’s a touch lumpy and needs a bit more flavor.

strawberry & muscat grape daifuku
Soft, chewy, burst of freshness from the fruits. I prefer the more refreshing grape daifuku.

I agree with @hanhgry that they’re pretty darn small.

napoleon | puff pastry, tahitian vanilla pastry cream
A fine rendition.

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HK Tomato & Beef, from Pearl River Deli (Chinatown)… Really great balance of tartness with the peppers, onion and beef. The richness of the meat upgrade (from the traditional flank steak to rib?) was instantly appreciated. I just wish I had more rice to scarf down with it all - This iteration was a true winner. Bravo, Chef @JLee!

The Travis Scott, from McDonald’s… So this “collaboration” burger is supposed to (according to the McD website) “slap”. But in fact, this creation most certainly did not slap. What McDonald’s did do was “slap” on an extra piece of cheese and sad bacon to a Quarter Pounder, with the result possibly sabotaging what would have been an otherwise perfectly good Quarter Pounder. #NoNeedToQueue

Celebratory home lunch for our annual backyard kyoho grape harvest - the crop was so sweet this year! Sauteed backyard cherry tomatoes on a bed of linguine al limone, garnished with ground pepper and fresh basil from the side yard herb garden…

Malasadas, from L&L Hawaiian Barbecue… Because I’m missing the Aloha State. Dipped these bad boys into some Bailey’s-loaded Kona coffee to drown out my travel bug. For now.

BBQ tray for the backyard from Maple Block (Culver City)… Maple Block is popular these days! Very solid.

Breakfast with leftover Homemade Soba and Tamagoyaki, from @losnooyado… The tamagoyaki still tasted sublime after a day in the fridge. I had it two ways: With soba, and also in a sando with toasted King’s Hawaiian roll, topped with a bit of Kewpie Mayo.

Name this delicious fruit in season right now…

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Jujube. Perfect for soup after drying but delicious as is!

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When I picked it up Friday she had just made 4 orders and only put it up on her personal Instagram. I wouldn’t have even known if they hadn’t casually mentioned it during my pick up.

They did put it up though on their menu board Saturday though and announced on Instagram—it wasn’t something that you could preorder online in advance like usual.

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was socarrat in da house?

Glad to hear maple block is better! Last two times I went it was on a downhill alert, meat was dry and overcooked.

Did you get soup broth with your soba?

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:-1: