September 2026 Rundown

[attran99]

Shimamoto Noodle (Irvine)

Tuesday lunch is doable…and not so hairy where Chef is inundated. I put in my order as I was driving down and picked a time 10 minutes after arrival. Parking can get tight in this industrial complex…everyone wants to park close to SMART Kitchens.

This one’s worth the drive, y’all.

Negi shoyu - charred green onions mixed with sunset powder, diced chashu on top of a signature shoyu ramen. Clear, chintan chicken broth blended with dashi. Served with house-made thin, straight noodles, pork belly chashu, menma, and scallions.

This was excellent. If you love negi, you will love this. I hadn’t had a shoyu broth in a while and I am reminded how much I enjoy it. Noodles were great.

Ganja style tsukemen - Pork, Chicken, and Fish stock blend with thick, chewy noodles that are meant to be dipped. Pork chashu, menma, scallions, naruto, nori, and gyofun (katsuo powder). Noodles contain egg. Inspired by Ganja ramen shop.

The noodles in this dish are brilliant. Wonderful chew, and the speckles from the grains used to make them make it look so pretty. Broth was super rich, but the menma was the sweeter balance to all the savory. I couldn’t finish this so I took it home for a lucky chowpup.

Now pictured: ramen burger…this was a surprise…the noodle bun was great, but that burger patty had so much flavor. Umami bomb is the right word. Patty was cooked to a perfect medium-rare…I took one bite to taste and it went to another chowpup.

I wouldn’t recommend this on a hot day since you’re outside eating, but I would bring plenty of water and a hat. The kiddos might like this one since the planes at John Wayne land right over the parking lot.

Make sure you follow the instructions in your confirmation e-mail.

Petitgrain Boulangerie (Santa Monica)

Happened to be in the neighborhood and dropped by. Working through my haul.
The jambon buerre sandwich is great because it’s so simple. I could do with an acidic element to it…a little mustard or cornichon.

The croissant is still amazing.

That sausage roll packs a punch. Love the laminated pastry, the sausage is a simple sausage and the chili crisp jammy glaze is genius. It was a touch too spicy for me.

Working towards the cardamom scroll and seasonal KA…blackberry filling for now.

[robert]

@attran99

jambon buerre sandwich is great because it’s so simple. I could do with an acidic element to it…a little mustard or cornichon.

Tradition is just baguette, ham, and butter. In France it’s typically cultured butter so there’s lactic acid. Some modern places have optional cornichons.

[avalonmabi]

@attran99

negi

Did you get cheese with your ramen burger? I can’t decide to get it with cheese or not for when I try it this Saturday.

[attran99]

I opted for no cheese because I was a dummy and forgot to select the option. However, it’s pretty rich, so I’m not sure it would benefit from gilding the lily. The secret shoyu glaze overpowers the arugula and negi Chef adds. The chowpup thought the glaze was caramelized onions…his palate is still a work in progress.
Inquiring minds would like to know what you think if you do get the cheese.

[js76wisco]

Went to work dinner tonight at Arden West Hollywood. The food was fine but not what I would have chosen. The most important thing is that if you are single male between the ages of 25-35 you should go here. The entire bar and restaurant is 80%-90% young women. I’ve never seen anything like this. Several women at the dinner commented on this as well. We literally could not figure out what was happening.

[Dommy]

I finally got a chance to head over there last week and the Croissant was amazing!! The Cardamom bun was of what I got, my second favorite behind the croissant. If you would have asked me when I ordered, I would have said my favorite would have been the Pistachio Lemon Croissant, but honestly it was a bit much for me.

I did enjoy the Sausage Roll. But I preferred the potato cheese. It may have also been a case that I got an AMAZING sausage roll in of all places Pop Pie in Costa Mesa. They actually par bake it and then when you order finish it off. Even the next morning it was crazy good.

[cjla]

La Azteca Tortillera

It’s on Atlantic in a minimall that’s at the intersection of Atlantic, Beverly and 3rd. We had three different burritos - two breakfast burritos one with bacon and one with sausage. The third burrito was last on the list, and seemed like a combo supreme type. All three of us were very happy with our selections.

The cucumber/lime agua frescas was notably great, and will be the thing that makes me go back. I want to try other burritos and also want to sample the horchata.

It’s closed on Monday’s, and opens at 5:00AM Tuesday through Saturday. Get fueled up.

[sk8uno]

@attran99

Shimamoto Noodle (Irvine)

Good timing! The man behind the viral Ramen Burger quietly returns to a ghost kitchen in Irvine | LAist

[cjla]

Districto Catorce has been hosting kitchen take overs, and the next one is September 22. The below text if from the Districto Catorce Instagram, and I didn’t see associated pricing.

This Tuesday, September 22, we welcome Chef Juan Chan, founder of Ek’ Balam Yucatan Cuisine, for a special collaboration with Distrito Catorce’s Chef Jonathan Perez celebrating the flavors and traditions of Yucatán.

A proud Mayan descendant with family roots in Cansahcab, Yucatán, Chef Juan’s connection to food began with the cooking of his mother and grandmother. Today, that connection remains at the heart of his work as he preserves, celebrates, and shares the authentic flavors of his heritage through Ek’ Balam Yucatan Cuisine.

Chef Juan is a Le Cordon Bleu graduate with Five-Star and Five-Diamond hospitality experience. His culinary journey has also included working alongside renowned boxing trainer Robert Garcia, preparing meals for several world-champion fighters, and serving as a Yucatán Tourism Ambassador from 2022 to 2023.

For this Chef Takeover, Chef Juan brings a taste of Yucatán to Boyle Heights through three traditional dishes served taco-style.

TACOS DE POC CHUC
Tender, fire-grilled pork marinated in sour orange and traditional Yucatecan spices, served on handmade corn tortillas with roasted tomato, charred onion, habanero salsa, and fresh cilantro.

TACOS DE TZIC DE RES
Yucatán-style shredded beef tossed with fresh citrus, red onion, radish, and a touch of habanero, served on handmade corn tortillas with fresh cilantro.

TACOS DE FRIJOL CON PUERCO
Tender pork and black beans slowly cooked with aromatic spices, served on handmade corn tortillas with radish, cilantro, lime, and spicy chiltomate salsa.

Three tacos rooted in tradition. One collaboration celebrating heritage, family, and culture.

[Srsly]

I had takeout from Ek’Balam years ago and thought it was awesome, have always meant to go back - this sounds pretty excellent.

[butteredwaffles]

Two great recent burgers - Phil’s and le dräQ

Phil’s at the original farmers market. Used to enjoy sitting at the counter when I first moved here. Love that the guy who made my burger also walked it to me

Phil’s Cheeseburger with thousand island and grilled onions plus a dr. Pepper

And the le dräQ burger, which I’d been meaning to try

le dräQ burger - custom blend, green peppercorn mustard, habanero tartar-thousand island, double fried dill kennebec potatoes

Great fries and love the poppyseed bun

Drank a margarita and also the High Tea - vodka, oleo-saccharum syrup, blood orange, lemon

[paranoidgarliclover]

@butteredwaffles

oleo-saccharum syrup

I’ve never heard of it. Does this have a particular flavor profile?

Not sure why it took me so long to finally go to Yama (West LA).

The actual bowl used for the chirashi doesn’t seem seems very standard sized, but OH.MY.GOD. there is SO much fish in there (more than what appears in the pic). Rice is completely blah, but my untrained palate thought the fish itself was very good.

I also actually really krab, and so the California rolls w/ a minimal amt of rice were great (astonighly well seasoned, which is not something I would’ve previously thought of for a roll like this).

Parking is totally packed, but cars seem to move in/out pretty quickly.

I think it’s been a few yrs since I’ve been to Lobster and Beer in Santa Monica. Our first 2 or so trips were good and then we had a couple of meh ones. Went last night, and, maybe we were just lucky, but the food was perfectly pleasing. When partner said there seemed to be some mustard (!) on his lobster roll, I was a bit worried. But, when I took a bite, the small amt did give a nice bit of brightness and acidity.

My lobster melt was tasty, although the tomato soup tasted quite a bit like a thin marinara (is that tomato soup is supposed to taste???).

They apparently have a late-hour happy hr on Fri/Sat (10–11PM), for those of you who like to eat (much) later.

[JeetKuneBao]

Probably the best store bought California rolls!

[Omotesando]

Lunch today at Haifa on Pico. I like that place, but I thought the falafel sandwich was a bit dry and just missing that je ne sais quoi factor. I was happy to profit however from the Friday to-go chafing trays and pick up some Moroccan salmon to take home for the weekend.

My afternoon snack was a piece of Noten candy. Very simple piece of good chocolate with three nuts on top - perfect afternoon pick me up.

Lunch yesterday at Jade Rabbit. I wasn’t sure about the new Black Pepper steak because it was served lukewarm and lukewarm meat is just not good. I don’t previously remember food temperature being a problem at Jade Rabbit. I did learn that if you skip a base, which I did, you can get four vegetables instead of the usual two. I tried the new corn and pine nut salad. It had an interesting flavor, but some creamy dressing I didn’t love. Had mixed feelings about the new Fried Milk Tea Hawaiian Rolls. The first bite was utter bliss, but it is VERY sweet (think Krispy Kreme donuts on steroids) and then was maybe a little cloying. Plus I wish you could buy just one because you get three for $9.25 and three are way too many unless you are with a group and split them.

[butteredwaffles]

@paranoidgarliclover

@butteredwaffles

oleo-saccharum syrup

I’ve never heard of it. Does this have a particular flavor profile?

Not sure how their recipe goes but you basically let lemon peels (for instance) macerate in sugar and create a syrup. The sugar pulls the oils from the peels.

There was also blood orange juice in the High Tea, it tasted like a nice punch

[joe]

Late-ish bite at Homage Brewing on N. Main, across the street from LAX-C.

One classic cheeseburger, one single smash burger, and an order of fries. Nothing to complain about – food came out quick, tasted great, and filled us up before some dancing. One American-style lager and a soju spritz. After tax & tip we were out about $60.

The music was great and there’s no cover charge.

[JeetKuneBao]

Merka Saltao. I had a craving. It’s good but kinda hard to eat with everything so compact. It’s a non-cornstarch stir fry so it kinda pools on the bottom so a little more room to mix everything would be nice. Didn’t take a picture but the housemade chicha morada is so good.

Mustard’s.
Nori bagel is really flavorful ! Only downside is the bagel has probably been sitting around for some time. Not that I expect a really hot fresh bagel at the end of the business day. Maybe if getting loose bagels go earlier in the day.

BTW on Venice Blvd at the park in downtown Culver is Mariscos El Faro 2! Probably the most interesting choice in downtown Culver

[boourns]

I’ve seen Mariscos El Faro 2 setup, but never tried them!

I like Merka Saltao’s concept and they have some good choices for the sides. The owner seems like he really cares, even though it looks like a modern fast casual franchise.

[JeetKuneBao]

I highly recommend Mariscos El Faro! I think they are one of the top mariscos trucks in LA. Very convenient for many of you who live on the westside. In comparison to other trucks and street stands mariscos are not as common so it’s a real treat.

[Bonusoceans]

Finally, after much cat herding, I was able to get a decent group together for girl & the goat. I’d been thinking about those goat empanadas for weeks. I LOVE goat and wish we didn’t neglect it so in the US. Loved them. Had the lean meatiness I love goat for. The relish was surprisingly raucous too.

Other highlight were the dips for the bread and green beans. But it was all mostly solid. I’d revisit.