How was the line? I’ve been waiting to go there because I haven’t wanted to wait an hour +.
Haven’t braved the line for HR either, so I can’t compare, but I did like the hot chicken at Crawford’s.
Pretty low frills spot, but you can grab a beer with your meal while you’re there. I’d skip the regular fried chicken and go for the spicy.
Go after 1 on weekdays, lines are maybe 10-15 minutes long. If you go at opening it’s about a hour. Last wed I was eating nearby, we finished at 12:45 and the line was about 6-7 deep. We went to eat there Wed at 3pm and the line was similarly 6-7 deep. Weekends are a shit show all day long.
Rice Bar - Opened by Charles Olalia (former exec chef at Patina). About a year old now, it’s in my lunch rotation. Basically rice bowls with some specials. Throwback to filipino comfort food. The chicken rice with the ginger soup is perfect. The housemade langganisa is the best langganisa I’ve had, especially when he makes a burger out of it. All the rice is non-gmo heirloom rice growers from the philippines. Great spot
Sonoratown - recent addition to the fashion district. Sonora region’s flour tortilla with mesquite grilled meats. The chorizo is from a local maker. The chivichanga is a throw back to the great microwave burrito, shredded meat, a pepper, melted cheese, wrapped up and grilled on the flames. Carne Asada is smokey and full of flavor. But the star is the flour tortillas, light but with great chew.
Went to 71 Above a couple of weeks ago for a wine dinner.
Food is better than it needs to be for a high elevation destination restaurant. It was interesting but nothing incredible. The octopus tentacle grilled then lightly fried with almost a sweet and sour flavor was good. Also the pork trio was pretty tasty too (pork belly, pork loin, ball). Really cool space though, beautifully appointed and the view is top notch. Huge bar area if you just want to grab a drink.
The longganisa is definitely one to get. Have to make it out again for some of the other dishes (chicken & beef). Being open later now definitely helps.
Yum. Maybe Arnold and I should visit LA next year.
Went to Alma for brunch because I was meeting someone there. They should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. The food and service were horrible.
Went to Otium next to the Broad for lunch yesterday - outstanding! Anybody else been?
Rustic/chic decor with lots of different variety on seating, 4 of us were seated at the end of a counter and had a view of a Metro expansion below us.
Expensive small plate concept - most were $17-$25 each, we shared 5 or six and was plenty for brunch. Delicious, quality food with their take on different ethnic dishes. Standouts were Hamachi with an avocado/citrus smear, hummus and baba ganoush with best flatbread/pita ever, buckwheat blini with smoked salmon/cream fraische, amazing brioche with fig, poached egg and prosciutto.
Every dish was outstanding and we all licked our plates. Highly recommended for the food. Wine list was crazy expensive by the glass so I had a $15 Bloody Mary that was mehhhhhh.
We were thinking this place was inside the Broad Museum of Modern Art but was adjacent to. Line to get into museum was crazy long, but we do plan on going back to check it out and will eat here again.
Place sucked when it was stand alone and named best new restaurant by BA and it still sucks.
Completely full of themselves.
We did a quick day/night up in LA for my wife’s birthday. She wanted to try Pok PoK and Gwen. We went to Pok Pok for lunch and were pretty much happy with everything. Boar collar was nice and smoky and had a bit of a kick. Wings and papaya salad also very good but our favorite dish was a clay pot with prawns, pork belly and bean thread noodles. Tons of flavor. I can see why they are struggling a bit though. You can probably get 90% of the flavors elsewhere at 50% of the cost. The room was more than half empty while we were there.
Gwen actually exceeded expectations. It was about 6 courses with the highlight being a perfectly prepared rack of pork. Pasta course of chestnut agnolotti was also killer as was the house made charcuterie board. Relatively good value for the quality I thought. Wine list is small but well chosen and cocktails were on point.
Brunch the next morning was back at Republique. Love that place.
We went to Otium earlier in the year and although the food was good and corkage reasonable, the music was SO LOUD I literally couldn’t even hear myself talk, let alone the couple we were with. TURN DOWN the bass drum EQ a bunch and let people have a conversation for a change.
Anything new on the scene.
So far I have the following on the agenda:
Baroo - lunch
Destroyer - breakfast
Kinjiro - dinner
Robertas
Hearing GREAT things about KATO?
Had an amazing dinner a few weeks ago at Republique. Wine list and service are killer and Walter’s food is stunningly delicious.
Love Republique, a beautiful restaurant. I’ve only been there for brunch/lunch. Gotta make it out to dinner sometime!
Kato is cute and whimsical but i think the enticing factor is the low price point for the food. $50 for 7-8 courses.
I hear good things about Gwen, but no BYOB allowed.
PYT does a cool veggie menu.
Here’s looking at you in Ktown i good.
Go check out howlin rays for lunch for some fried chicken, there’s a bit of a wait (around 30-40 minutes at any given time) but it’s damn good.
Just ate at Here’s looking at you. Wow. One of the best meals I’ve had in La this year. The play on textures and flavor is incredible. The did a raw tomato with yogurt and crispy chinese sausage that was killer. But my favorite dish was poached sturgeon with a oatmeal puree. Their seafood is excellent
I ended hitting up the usual places:
Kinjiro - very good as always and for those who like high end Sake there are some crazy values on that the list.
Baroo - what more can I say I love the place. I ran into Chef Carlo Mirarchi of Blanca/Robertas there which should tell you something.
Roberta’s - pizza are smaller than NY but overall I was very happy to be able to get Robertas in LA!
Destroyer - I only ate breakfast which was good. I am told lunch is much better.
Gjelina - Perfect for brunch with my brother and kids and a billion times better than my Alma brunch
Hearing lots of great things about Shibumi which is on the list for the next trip!
Until a few minutes ago, I had never looked at the Epicurean Exploits forum, so I just discovered this entertaining thread. In response to Robert’s inquiry about anything new on the scene, I just dined at the formerly venerated Michael’s in Santa Monica, and it is definitely “new,” because of chef Miles Thompson. After working at some well-known restaurants and running his own short-lived Allumette, Thompson joined Michael’s a few months ago and has transformed the menu. Of our six shared dishes, two were excellent/memorable and two were very good.
The Dungeness Crab Chawanmushi with uni, ginger sprout, and Japanese sesame consisted of the most light bodied custard and had a perfect balance of sweet crab and briny sea. The Spice Roasted Baby Beets with farmer’s cheese, white chocolate, and almond was the most memorable vegetable-named dish I’ve had in a while, though the chocolate and almond might seem notably sweet for some diners. The Barbecued Quail with pistachio-plum vinegar, tangerines, and braised white miso was meaty and balanced, and the Duck Breast with huckleberry-juniper pickle, mizuna, and squash was generous, tender, and very good. Unfortunately, the pickled wasabi leaf in the Black Garlic Rice with vinegar roasted turnips and sumac yogurt was not well-mixed and led to sudden wine-unfriendly jolts. Finally, the Whipped Cheesecake with walnut, sour cream curd, and graham cracker sable was acceptable but unremarkable. The patio at Michael’s is still beautiful; the service was good; and, corkage was $25/bottle. I suppose, though, that if one didn’t like the Asian-influenced interplay between sweet and sour, many dishes would not be appealing.
Below Melisse, I would say Michael’s now joins Rustic Canyon and Cassia as notable restaurants in Santa Monica.
don’t do it. I don’t think it’s good at all for japanese cuisine. I don’t think i’ve met a person who loves japanese cuisine that also like Shibumi. Oversalted dishes, very little finesse, pretty pricey for the portion size.
I think people are more intrigued by his background as an american/white chef who cooked in Paris and Japan and now has a restaurant here. Unfortunately it doesn’t elevate itself to a higher level of food.