Tried Ali’i Torrance location.
I think I like Jus Poke more. But Ali’i has a really good smoked ahi dip. Also Jus Poke gives you more food and plus those cucumbers.
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Yes agree smoke dip and nothing else at alii, jus poke for the poke and the musubi.
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Never been to either but they’re on my list.
I enjoy hakata ikkousha and san tou ka a lot
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LOL Nijiya haul.
Weekend curry pan $2 special. Damn this was so damn good. The hot counter everything looked so crunchy good. That curry pan was an impulse buy lol.
The battera. Is this the best supermarket sushi? Possibly. The shiso is such a nice touch with the saba. Mako Sushi (now retired probably playing golf with other LA sushi chefs lol) in Little Tokyo used to make the best battera with shiso and oboro.
This is late afternoon I should come when they open.
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Does anyone know if all the Nijiyas are great for supermarket sushi, or just the South Bay one?
Sawtelle Nijiya has decent sushi also. Not sure about Little Tokyo Nijiya.
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Cafe Cuba - Hawthorne
Delicious food as always and probably my favorite Cubano sandwich. The papa relleno will take you back to what Porto’s used to be, the yuca frita con mojo is dangerously good, and the guava cheese Danish puts Porto’s to shame. Glad the yuca frita is a perfect portion or I might just eat those for my entire meal, especially with their mojo that sings with garlic and citrus flavor. Such great texture and flavor and not greasy at all.
Cubano 
Papa relleno
Yuca frita y mojo
If you order the guava cheese Danish for dine in, they will warm it up for you. Their pastry dough is flakey. They also have a version with coconut as well.
Only real downside is the place is super busy and it takes a good minute to order. But I’d rather they take their time and make everything delicious than rush the orders. Well worth the wait if there is one.
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Nice find!
I cannot take credit for this, I know @EattheWorldLA and @thechez5 both put me on to this here. I just thought this place deserves more recognition and wanted to share these amazing yuca frita and mojo among other items here.
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Will need to try!
Oh man yeah Cafe Cuba & Cakes is so good. I often pick up their sandwiches on the way to a beach day. The bread is so good, they bake it right there in the back! And those pastelitos de guava y queso wow.
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The Little Tokyo Nijiya’s sushi is largely nonexistent. Lots of onigiri, reheatable lunches, and side dishes, but none of the South Bay’s sushi offerings, like my go-to Negi Toro.
Also the karaage-by-weight is a blessing and a curse. Can’t just get one or two (or three or four) for a long commute back to NELA
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second Josui as the top in the South Bay followed by Jidaiya, but don’t sleep on Ramen Tao either, very solid.
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oh no! that’s interesting…both operations seemed very…unsustainable…and the one time I went it was pretty bad tbh. like I would’ve rather paid more and just gone to Fogo at that point
Good to know! Thank you.
Good to know. I guess it saved us a wasted trip. But kind of a weird story…
According to Eater, it’s now called N Steakhouse under new management (which apparently is asking people to leave Yelp reviews for free flan).
Western x Marine, Donut King 2 has a giant donut ala Randy’s if anyone is interested in history and architecture. 24/7 too.
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My partner and I were in JP (and ROK) this summer; we hit two of the basement-level grocery floors in JP in the fancy shopping malls (e.g., Isetan). Trying to get some similar chocolates as we found there – tl;dr – anyone know where to find Japanese fancy chocolates in the South Bay?
Have you been to the Mitsuwa at Del Amo mall? There’s a booth or stand that sells fancy Japanese chocolate there.
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