It’s popular for the same reason Pink’s remains popular…
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I had it a New HJP and it wasn’t as good as Old HJP. They didn’t cook it down enough. Potatoes suffered too. Meat wasnt falling off the bone. But the ribs were as good or - my friend though - b etterbetter.
I’ll give them time to dial in on the gamjatang.
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Went for the first time recently. I enjoyed it, but it’s not like I’m in a rush to go back (edit: this comment was about The Bigg Chill).
Dorala (Sawtelle)
I’ll leave it to the tea connoisseurs to tell me/us how significant it is that this place uses Yame green tea.
I enjoyed it and would get it again. The green tea cream had an interesting separation of flavors. You first get a hit of, well, just plain cream, and then the tea comes in mighty strong after that. The matcha bean paste didn’t have much green-tea flavor that I could detect, so I assume that a good amt of that was from a green bean?
I think that the sandwich style ends up w/ unequal distribution of ingredients in each bite, but I’m not sure of a workaround for that.
Partner’s matcha latte was very tasty and VERY intense in flavor. They have an assortment of diff milks.
It’s kind of nice to have a relatively light dessert that isn’t ridiculously priced and is “normal-sized” (looking at you, SomiSomi).
The owner himself was the lone person working there and is quite pleasant.
I hope this place succeeds! I think that specific suite has been a hard one for businesses. 
Ramen Chikumo is closed “temporarily.” Not a single person in Petros. (I noticed on my last visit that they have a winery + resturant in Los Olivos).
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Yame is just a place and doesn’t really speak to the quality of the matcha, just like the fact that your wine is from a particular wine growing region (as opposed to from a specific vineyard) doesn’t say anything about the quality of the wine. Matcha has gotten so extraordinarily expensive nowadays that I highly doubt they are using high grade matcha for sweetened matcha drinks. It would kind of be like taking a first growth Bordeaux and using it to make a wine spritzer. But at least they are using matcha from Japan because I really worry about heavy metals and contaminants in the cheap Chinese stuff which I think a lot of places use nowadays. I drink my iced matcha straight and always make them show me the actual label.
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First time at mae malai. Didn’t get pics of everything, but friend got khao soi noodles and the other pic is veg pad see ew. I ordered the bowl of beef offal and it was misleadingly small,lol…I’m not sure if liver was one of the cuts, but wow was that one strong, and I love offal.
Other friend got pad Thai and mango sticky rice. Was solid all around. Next time I think I’ll stick to the signatures though
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Try the holy basil stir fried noodles (dry-erase board special) at Mae Malai…
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This makes me so happy!
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I hate to give a big thumbs down to a mom and pop restaurant, but I tried delivery from Ethio Kitchen & Coffee, newish Ethiopian restaurant on Pico near old Westside Pavillion, and it was awful.
I was excited at the prospect of an Ethiopian restaurant closer to me than Fairfax, where not only is the parking a nightmare, but the prices at all the restaurants have gone through the roof. Ethio Kitchen & Coffee isn’t cheap either: $26 for a vegetarian plate of collard greens, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, yellow split peas and red lentils. But nevertheless I was excited that it was nearby and could possibly be my new neighborhood hang.
Strangely this was the first Ethiopian restaurant where I was asked to specify how spicy I wanted the food – mild, medium, hot or extra hot – kind of like in a down market Thai restaurant aimed at people who want Americanized Thai food. Maybe that should have been my clue that the food was going to be absolutely tasteless. In fact, the most tasteless Ethiopian food I have ever had, except that it tasted like someone threw in some low quality, old chili powder (I ordered “hot”). But the usual depth of flavor that you get even in the cheapest Ethiopian restaurants was missing. Sort of like they just boiled up some legumes and vegetables and sprinkled some cheap ground up chili powder on top. The cabbage, potatoes and carrots were not only tasteless, but so undercooked as to be almost inedible. Collard greens completely tasteless and also undercooked. Red lentils not only lacked a depth of flavor, but tasted like someone had thrown some sugar into the mix and I have never had miser wot with a pronounced sugary note. Could they have thrown in ketchup?
So basically the worst Ethiopian food I have ever had. And go figure, a 4.9 rating on both Google and Yelp (which is why I don’t trust any food ratings on either site). I’ll stick to the awful parking and high prices on Fairfax.
Edited to add - I was so fascinated by this flavorless mess (sort of like a car crash that you can’t look away from) – that I did a little research. First if you look at the one-star review on Yelp (which is what kept the restaurant at 4.9 stars rather than 5 stars), the reviewer echoed my thoughts exactly. Bland tasteless food.
And I was fascinated by this specify mild, medium, hot or extra hot thing. And my research indicated that indeed was a red flag because you can’t adjust the heat on the fly – the spices require long simmering to bloom and develop flavor. So apparently what this place is doing is making a bland, generic base sauce ahead of time (and likely sweetened it with sugar or ketchup, as I detected in the miser wot). And then when I specified “hot,” they probably dumped raw, low-quality chili powder or cayenne into my portion right before serving.
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lol I wonder if the Big Chill day at my kids school is gonna get canceled. My kids will be devastated 
Agree that is straight up not good.
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Thank you for the guidance here! This sounds really great - I hope to check it out soon.
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Had a breathtaking taco afternoon. Taqueria Frontera Pastor/Asada, Villas Tacos Chorizo, Angel’s Pastor.
All amazing, but Frontera’s Pastor was life changing. I can’t stop thinking about it. Where should I go next for more life affirming tacos?
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The Brea DTF is gorgeous. Very nice build out but it’s corporate. The tables are bolted down to the floor and they won’t let you seat more than 8. They take reservations for 4 or less. There were probably 50-60 standing in line at 10:45. We squeezed in 10 people to an 8 person table.
The food is still good but pricey. I remember when the pork chop used to come with the bone.
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Have you been to tire shop, La carreta, or Asadero Chikali?? Also any of the classic mariscos joints would be a good next stop while it’s still summer
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Didn’t get Mango shaved ice? 
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Concur with @js76wisco.
Even seats at the bar can be tough during prime hours. We’ve been lucky to stroll in early or later.
Worth noting, the bar has off-menu cocktails. There’s a sweeter Sailor Moon drink that’s the lychee martini with added ingredients to make it fruitier. They also recommend their sidecar.
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Don’t wanna derail Loaxley’s Uovo thread so I’ll post i finally visited for the first time! Ragu, vongole, pomodoro basilico. I debated between ragu and brodo one but the waiter suggested ragu (I’m very indecisive). They were all great, but my favorite was definitely pomodoro basilico, as someone more seasoned said was their favorite in the other thread. Was the teensiest bit awkward when the waitress asked our favorite and responded to my pomodoro with “the vongole is our (owner’s aunt’s?) recipe that was brought over” . Was I being guilt tripped lol
Got broccoli and cauliflower sides and I felt like they were overpriced for how simple and small they were. Subsidizing the pasta? Whatever. I’ll be back. This was the studio City location since I was the area.
Sidenote: I stopped by the erewhon to get some snacking carrots and not only were they slimy and sour, the second bag I grabbed was the same…
Finally, since I was in the valley, which I never am because it’s a trek for me, I hit up epicurus gourmet and boy was i in heaven. My bank account is crying though
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The key to getting a table at the first 11am seating at Mo Ran Gak is to wish for an off shore hurricane and absolute downpour in OC. Even then we still barely got a table.
Meat quality is top notch. The service is really outstanding. Best naengmyeon.
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Maison Noten, a chic little chocolate shop, opened on the corner of Pico and S. Point View mid-City, just across the street from the CVS. I believe the owners are from France and it reminded me of the kind of small neighborhood chocolatier you would stumble upon in Paris.
They sell bon bons, candied fruit, pate de fruit, candied nuts and chocolate bars. They gave me a few bon bon samples to try, including black sesame (very unique tasting) and Earl Grey tea. They make the Earl Grey tea one with real Early Grey tea and the tea flavor really comes through.
A nice and unexpected addition to the neighborhood. A warning for anyone who likes a very sweet See’s type candy - these are very chocolatey and barely sweet at all. The bitter notes of the chocolate really come out.
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Thx for sharing this! Super close to me. I usually get some Milla chocolates when I’m near there but will pop by this one next time
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Sounds great!
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