The classic grilled cheese sandwich. With bacon, of course. Comes with tomato soup and a salad with sesame dressing.

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After months (and maybe years) of seeing this truck featured on the Food Network and chasing it down on the freeway, we finally spotted it at LA's ArtWalk!

Duy had the special, the Spam bun, which was pretty moist and flavorful. He and I both had the kalbi bun, which was pretty dry, since it was sliced thinly then cooked. Flavor was fine, but the meat left a little to be desired. I enjoyed my Dweji bun, which was spicy pork with scallions and the whole shabang. Good flavor, juicy meat, and a nice spice kick.

Duck fat fries were also pretty tasty, albeit covered in rosemary (which is not on my top spices list). All in all, a great tasty experience, definitely deserving of its food truck lore.

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While in Long Beach last week, we decided to have a sunset happy hour out at Yardhouse. We were pretty psyched to discover they had a new street tacos menu. We ordered the marinated beef and the pork tongue, both of which were pretty tasty. The tongue was tender but the rest of the ingredients were overpowering. The beef was fairly tasty, with a good overall balance with the rest of the ingredients. Overall winner goes to the beef taco.

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Oh it was ON. After hearing good reviews about two BBQ joints, Bludso's in Compton and Gus's in Pasadena, we decided to do a side by side comparison of the ribs and brisket. (And tossed in some beer growlers from Golden Road for good measure.)

The verdict? Gus's was better seasoned, but Bludso's was more tender. Both of them would do in a pinch, but depending on your preference, you can pick one over the other. I'm loving the one piece of fatty brisket from Gus's, since it was the perfect balance of flavor and moistness!

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We've all been to Manna, this tiny, kinda dingy but lovable spot in K-Town, where you used to have all-you-can-eat K-BBQ for a mere $15. Well, they finally upped their game and went high-end, buying a huge space in the Little Tokyo Mall that used to be a martial arts studio. The result? A fabulously trendy, ultra-lounge looking spot with an occasional trance music night, smoke hoods at every table, an expansive buffet bar with a wide variety of offerings (including some sushi rolls) and a really high quality of meats that stay tender and moist during cooking.

The best part of all? Because of the change in the cooking surface, from a flat grill to a grate surface, they lather the surface with a huge chunk of FAT (pictured in the middle). Unbelievable. All-in-all, a must-return, if only to see if the shabu-shabu half of the menu is just as worthy... Stay tuned!

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After waiting the usual forever and a half for an Umami burger at its latest opening in downtown, we were lucky enough to be seated in front of the PIGG counter, since the restaurant is shared between three concepts, Umami and PIGG amongst them.

We ordered our favorite from The Lazy Ox, pig ear chicharrones, only to find ourselves crunching on hard, flavorless pieces of blandness. Even the dip didn't bury the fact that this wasn't savory nor innovative. As a point of comparison, the pig ears at Lazy Ox are sliced thickly enough that you get a crunch on the outside and a soft, delicate cartilage layer inside. Texture is perfect and flavor hasn't been fried out of it.

The guys at PIGG were diligently slicing away at slabs of aged pork all night, including a hand-slicing of a gigantic pig leg. We tried some of it, and it was phenomenal. Probably some of the best charcuterie you'll find anywhere and worth the price for the quality.

I can't really say the same about Umami, which was so busy that night that they burned my burger so that it didn't even taste like beef anymore. As huge an Umami fan as I've been for years, this was a major disappointment. I'm looking to be coming back for the PIGG for sure, but I'll hold off on the pig ears or the Umami.

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Oddly enough, the wild boar consommé didn't taste that different from your standard ground beef when mixed in a chili... Still yummy though!

Wild boar consommé, onions, garlic, and a slew of seasonings!

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This is what half a pound of foie gras looks like, bought from Bristol Farms and seared at home! Needless to say, it didn't last long! Time to throw down the dinero at $80/lb to buy a whole 2lb lobe before Cali's foie ban takes effect!

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This used to be my mom's easy food option, just order two fish at number 6 and call it a day! I'm dying to go back and get some catfish at number 1 to bring home and roast for table side spring roll night!

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Freebird is a new Chipotle-like spot, allowing you to choose your destiny in terms of what goes into your burrito bowl, salad, or, apparently, your "Super Monster." I'd say seasoning of the meat was better at Chipotle and negative points to Freebird for squirting the guacamole out of a bottle and making it look like baby food, but otherwise not a bad option in a pinch. Within a couple miles, I think I'd still drive to the nearest Chipotle.

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The foie gras presented at Michael Voltaggio's Ink. Foie surrounded in waffle pieces and my all time favorite, Sriracha dots!

This was part of the nine course meal my friend and I enjoyed before being greeted by Mr. MV himself, who wondered when we would tap out. Lol!

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So simple since its literally meat and cheese, but it was literally one of the best tasting nachos I've had in a really long time!

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This is the massive burrito that three guys tried to take down and had to store leftovers of. Notice that the to-go option has you carrying it away in a cardboard box designed for soda cans! :)

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And with a new day comes a new age, a new place to live, and a new neighborhood to explore new food possibilities! This new adventure brings us to Alhambra, closer to the Asians and all the Little Saigon food I've been hankering for since moving to LA.
Our latest restaurant adventure brought us to Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa, where on a Friday of Lent we were restricted against eating meat (I.e. no bun bo hue or pho), though we did get to try banh beo, a steamed rice-based dish with shrimp and often a pork rind on top. This place featured a tortilla chip instead of a pork rind, but it was still delectable enough to convince us we won't have to drive all the way to Little Saigon to get our fix.
Beware the red chili. You have been warned.

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While I've been eating curry for years, I had never experienced butter chicken until Great India Cafe. Saffron tomato and butter based curry? Sign me up! The best part is the online ordering and free delivery. Makes the garlic naan all that much more delicious when all you need to do is go to the door and pay the nice delivery man.

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In loving memory of one of our West LA favs, Orris, we wanted to give it a final farewell before it closed its doors to tapas styled food and ushered in a new age of generic pastas that would keep them in business (here's hoping they keep uni pasta on the menu).

I'm fairly sure that with 5.5 people at the table (a 2 year old was munching along where he could), we ordered half the menu, and as usual, everything was stunning. Highlights of the night go to snapper carpaccio with shallots and toasted almond slices, as well as Liberty duck breast with yuzu kosho on the side (since everything tastes better with yuzu kosho). Honorable mention goes to shrimp ravioli in mushroom reduction sauce.

Here's the special of the night, two slabs of seared foie gras with eggplant, with what tasted like a port wine reduction.

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DineLA is here! And with it comes the deliciousness of a bunch of restaurants with prix fixe meals. Our latest excursion took us to Cafe Bizou in Pasadena, one of the $26 options. Appetizer, entree and dessert, with the option to sub an entree or dessert for a glass of the house wine.

Appetizer: Lobster bisque. Incredibly rich and thick. Tasted just the right amount of seafood and just the right amount of cream. Good balance. Probably the best lobster bisque I've ever had.

Entree: Black tagliolini with lobster, scallops and prawns. Props for the huge chunks of seafood and clearly visible lobster claw meats! Maybe neutral points for the black pasta not tasting as "seafoody" as I expected from my previous experiences having black squid ink risottos. All in all still a highly recommended dish!

Of course I subbed out my dessert for a glass of the house wine, which wasn't too shabby.

All in all, good meal and highly recommended. Cafe Bizou never disappoints.

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Best dumplings in LA. The Shanghai Dumpling King pork dumplings are tastier, but spicy pork and shrimp wontons win here by a landslide. And they let you watch them make it!!

But really, I just come here despite the hour-long wait to order three trays of the juicy pork dumplings. So filling and delicious!

 

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For those of you who have not been fortunate enough to join us yet, this is tableside spring rolls at home. Proteins vary by week, but have included fresh shrimp, Kurobota pork belly, beef tongue, lamb, and pork jowls. Toss in some rice vermicelli and some lettuce, and you'd almost think it was a healthy meal!

P.S. Check out the marbling on that beef on the right! Courtesy of the Korean-owned Woori Market in Little Tokyo.

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Spring rolls for 6-8 people! This is a lunchtime special for those of you in the Garden Grove area looking for a nibble between your meetings. Excellent ambience, pretty good service, and unlike other Vietnamese restaurants, it has a full bar... ;)

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These Shanghai dumplings had a thin wrapper, but they just MIGHT have tasted better than Din Tai Fung... And check out the garlic stir fried green beans in the background! Yum!

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Truffle popcorn (from the La Folie-owned bar next door), foie gras mousse amuse bouche, raw egg yolk with pureed leek in an egg shell amuse bouche, seared foie gras with quince consomme (which quite frankly was a little on the sweet side), and butter poached lobster over a mushroom risotto with black truffle shavings. Michelin starred and fabulous! Everything tasted like heaven. Portions are a bit smaller and pricer than a few years ago when we first went (i.e. truffle shavings used to be $15 and they're now $30), but it's all still filling and worth the overall price tag.

A word of warning to all ye to dare: Go for the three course. Friends have also reported back that four courses of food is a LOT of food.

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