I Cut a Minor Swath Through LA

I recently made a short visit to LA and I tried to hit as many of the basic food groups as I could in the limited time I had between meetings. I got in late in the day, so I didn't have a lot of time to explore the first night. I tred to get in to Urasawa, but wasn't able to score a last minute spot at the sushi bar. Instead, dinner was at a Los Angeles burger landmark, the Apple Pan (sorry, no pictures). The Apple Pan has been around since 1927 serving great burgers in more or less what later became the In-N-Out style and, of course, homemade pie. The apple pie is justifiably famous, but I always skip that in favor of the fantastic banana cream pie (a must for BCP lovers). There's no shortage of great places to get a burger in LA, but the Apple Pan is a true classic and is worth a visit if you've never been.

The next morning, I had a client meeting in Manhattan Beach, and since I was in the area, I decided to go for a ramen lunch at the Pigmon recommended Mottainai Ramen in Gardena. Mottainai wins the prize for the toughest restaurant I've ever tried to find. It took me several tries to finally figure out where it was, but believe me, it's well worth the effort to track it down. Mottainai is located in a large strip mall with a bunch of other Asian businesses including a medium-sized supermarket, which is interesting to check out but doesn’t hold a candle to Mitsuwa or H-Mart. Once you find the mall, which isn't all that hard, Mottainai is located in the SW corner, but there isn't a sign visible from the parking lot.

Mottainai Exterior


As a landmark, Mottainai is located directly next door to Fukagawa, which not only has a sign, but also serves Japanese breakfast. It's only when you get closer to the entrance that you can actually see signage for Mottainai.

Mottainai Signage


But enough about how hard it was to find the place, what about the food? In a word, great! Granted, my ramen experience isn't as broad as Pigmon's, who has done extensive research on the subject as chronicled here, but until I find something better, Mottainai's ramen is the standard by which I will judge all other ramens.

I started off with some gyoza. These gyoza were prepared in an interesting manner where a thin layer of egg white or perhaps some type of starch mixture was cooked on a flat top, the gyoza added on top, and then covered and steamed ala pot stickers. When served, the gyoza are bound together by the egg whites and separated for eating.

Mottainai Gyoza




Next up was a bowl of Sapporo Ramen. What sets this bowl apart is the fact that they wok toast all of the ingredients before adding them to the delicious pork-based broth.

Wok Toasting Ingredients


This results in an almost smoky, breath of the wok taste infused into the broth and gives this bowl of ramen some real character. As if this weren't enough, they offer optional "flavor bombs" that you can add to taste. There is a red flavor bomb that is spicy and a white flavor bomb consisting of pork fat and garlic. I opted for the red, but next time, I’ll get both.

Mottainai Sapporo Ramen


Red Flavor Bomb


Although there are other ramen options in LA, a visit to Mottainai is now something I won't miss on any future trips if I can help it.

I met up with some friends for dinner that night at one of their favorite places, Lala's Argentine Grill. Lala's is a bustling place in the midst of the Melrose Ave. strip. Although the purpose of our dinner was to visit and catch up, the food wasn't bad, either. We started off with an assortment of house made empanadas for the table, which were very good and followed that up with steaks. I don’t think they actually source their beef from Argentina, but the skirt steaks topped with chopped garlic and parsley were tender, tasty and cooked as ordered. Decent Argentine wine list, too. Sorry, no pictures (it was very dark in there).

For a "nightcap", I stopped at a random donut shop on the way back to my hotel and was quite impressed at the couple I tried.

That’s it for now. I’ve got more to post later.

Urusawa
218 North Rodeo Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 247-8939

The Apple Pan
10801 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 475-3585

Mottainai Ramen
1630 West Redondo Beach Blvd # 9
Gardena, CA 90247
(310) 538-3250

Fukagawa
1630 W Redondo Beach Blvd
Gardena, CA 90247
(310) 324-4306

Lala’s Argentine Grill
7229 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 934-6838

stevez wrote:As a landmark, Mottainai is located directly next door to Fukagawa, which not only has a sign, but also serves Japanese breakfast.

And it's a heckuva good brekkie at that, Steve. Cereal was the worst thing to happen to the most important meal of the day. The world has so many better ways to start the day, and the Japanese full breakfast is one of my very favourites (though i will say a good Southern American breakfast will hold its own ). It's a nutritionally complete meal with a variety of savoury and satisfying offerings that wake up each and every taste bud.

I seem to have lost most of my pix from a couple of years ago, but I'm sure PIGMON, trixie-pea or Rene G will be able to better recollect the details of Fukagawa.



(turrble photo - but eggs, rice, tofu/bonito, codfish roe, miso soup, aji, tsukemono, nori)

So glad you enjoyed Mottainai, Steve, but I would find it almost impossible to believe anyone who enjoys a tonkotsu-style ramen wouldn't love this place. As far as missing out on Urasawa, that's a real tough loss.

When you were asking me before your trip which ramen place to hit up while in L.A. (between Ramen Mottainai or Ramen California), it was fortuitous that we opted for Mottainai. Apparently Ramen California's creative maestro, Sean Nakamura, left in the early part of this year to help open up a new ramen/tsukemen+ place in Hollyweird called Ikemen. Although I have not yet been, raves about it are coming from both hardcore ramen-philes and casual noodlers alike. Apparently, Nakamura has also recently opened Ramen Lab in New York, a culinary school for ramen professionals.

Ikemen
1655 N La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA (Hollywood)
(323) 800-7669

I woke up hungry early the next day and headed over to the Farmers Market on Fairfax to one of my favorite breakfast places in LA, Du-Par’s. Du-Par’s has been around since 1938 at the same location. Ownership changed hands a few years ago, and the place was closed for renovation, but despite those ominous signs, Du-Par’s has remained the same as it’s ever been. Even though some other branches have opened, I’ve only been to the original at the Farmers Market and can’t comment on the other locations.

Du-Par’s at the Farmers Market


Besides being open 24/7 and serving up great breakfasts and diner classics, Du-Par’s is also a bakery, with a stand in the Farmers Market. Their pies are noteworthy and on this trip, I tried one of the best chocolate brownies I’ve ever encountered in a commercial bakery.

Du-Par’s Bakery Stand (File Picture)


But enough about dessert, I went for breakfast. Du-Par’s is justifiably famous for both their pancakes and their French toast. Last time I was there I had the French toast, so this time it was pancakes for me. It was going to be a full day of eating, so I opted for a short stack, patty sausage and a glass of squeezed-to-order orange juice; just the way I like it. Breakfast was served by my lovely uniformed waitress.

Du-Par’s Friendly Service


Du-Par’s Pancakes


These pancakes are as light and fluffy as they look. Pancakes aren’t something I order very often, but these are good enough to make an exception. The sausage was from a provider in the Farmers Market, I believe, and it was very good.

Speaking of the Farmers Market, even though the Fairfax Farmers Market is now nearly engulfed by The Grove located directly next door, and there are other more fashionable markets around LA, this one remains my favorite. It’s exactly what I wish we had here in Chicago. There are multiple butchers, fish mongers, produce stands, restaurants and other vendors. Every time I see a market like this in another city, it makes me want one in Chicago even more.

Typical Farmers Market Produce Stand (File Photo)


I had some business to attend to for the rest of the morning, but the afternoon gave me the opportunity to head to the San Gabriel Valley in search of Dim Sum…Xao Long Bao in particular. My plan was to head to Din Tai Fung to try their soup dumplings in order to compare them to the great ones I had at a DTF branch in Toronto that may or may not have been legitimate. Unfortunately, it was not to be. It was a beautiful Saturday in LA, with perfect temperatures and one of those clear days that happen every once in a while where you can actually see the hills unencumbered by brown haze. It seemed that everyone was out and about that day. As a result, despite having two locations within a block of each other, the wait at Din Tai Fung was well over an hour and my party of one didn’t want to wait that long. If I had more ordering power, I surely would have waited, but a single person can only order so much and it just didn’t seem worth it for such a small sample of items.

Instead, I headed to Dean Sin World in Monterrey Park, another Pigmon recommendation.

Dean Sin World


Ding Sin World is a little strip mall gem of a place serving dim sum. It’s a family run joint with only a few tables. When you sit down, the small menu is right there encased in the glass covering the table. There is little English spoken by the staff besides Thank You, but they are friendly and aim to please. I was the only Non-Asian in the place. You can easily get by with a minimum of Restaurant Chinese and pointing.

Dean Sin World Menu


I started off with an order of XLB and a pork pastry that I saw in a tray off to the side.

Dean Sin World Xao Long Bao




Dean Sin World Pork Pastry


The Xao Long Bao were very good; easily better than anything I’ve ever had in Chicago. The “soup” was rich and very flavorful and the filling was great. My only complaint was that the wrappers were not nearly as delicate as those served at Din Tai Fung, so in that regard, I was slightly let down. I’ll have to get to the LA DTF branch on my next trip to do the Toronto comparison.

The staff took particular interest in the fact that I was taking pictures and enjoying the food, so the Matriarch of the family brought me out a few other things to try including a black bean filled pastry and another similar one filled with turnip. I had never seen one of these filled with turnip before and it turned out to be a real treat.

Dean Sin World Host


Dean Sin World Pastries






After a stop for some culture at the Griffith Observatory, it was back in the car for the return trip to my hotel.

James Dean at the Griffith Observatory


On the ride back, I was listening to NPR and Jonathan Gold came on with his “Pick of the Week”. He was talking about one of LA’s food trucks called the Flying Pig that had recently opened a brick and mortar store with popular items from their food truck along with some new items. He was waxing poetic about Pork Belly Buns and Tamarind Duck Tacos and other stuff, which was drowned out with a vision of me eating those two items. Here was Jonathan Gold, a food writer whose writing I admire greatly doing a feature on the radio, talking to me and telling me to go to the Flying Pig. Who am I to resist such a recommendation?

All I can say is, Jonathan, you may have won a couple of Pulitzers and a Beard Award for your writing, but your radio work sucks. This was easily the worst meal I had during my entire trip. No redeeming value at all.

The Flying Pig Café


Immediately upon entering, I smelled the distinctive acrid smell of bottled BBQ sauce that has been boiling for a while. I said to myself, whatever that is, I don’t want to order that! It turns out, I didn’t have to. They brought out an amuse consisting of a couple of "BBQ" baby back ribs, which were actually exactly the type of Chicago style baked ribs I detest…oven baked and slathered in sauce. To their credit, they weren’t cooked to meat jello consistency. They still had a little tug left to the meat, but beyond that I’ve got nothing good to say about those ribs at all.

The Flying Pig Café Amuse Bouche


I ordered the above mentioned items, a pork belly bun and a tamarind duck taco. The pork belly, while a good recipe, utilizing the same type of bun that Sun Wah uses for their Peking Duck service, was poorly executed. The pork belly was so overcooked that is was dry, tough and stringy. I took a couple of bites and gave up.

The Flying Pig Café Pork Belly Bun


The tamarind duck taco fared slightly better, although the flavors didn’t harmonize together at all. In fact they clashed so much, eating that taco reminded me of a brass band tuning up; loud and discordant. At least in this case the duck was cooked properly, though the stale store bought tortilla was a real letdown.

The Flying Pig Café Tamarind Duck Taco


So, although the day was pretty good, it ended on a bad note, but there were more days ahead and I hoped ‘La Feria de Los Moles’ Puebla vs Oaxaca (The Mole Fair) being held the next day would more than make up for The Flying Pig.

More later.

Du-Par’s
6333 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 933-8446

Din Tai Fung
1108 S. Baldwin Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626)574-7068

Din Tai Fung
1088 S. Baldwin Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 446-8588

Dean Sin World
306 N Garfield Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 571-0636

Griffith Observatory
2800 E Observatory Rd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(213) 473-0800

Flying Pig Café
141 South Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 621-0300

stevez wrote:The Xao Long Bao were very good; easily better than anything I’ve ever had in Chicago. The “soup” was rich and very flavorful and the filling was great. My only complaint was that the wrappers were not nearly as delicate as those served at Din Tai Fun, so in that regard, I was slightly let down. I’ll have to get to the LA DTF branch on my next trip to do the Toronto comparison.

Very nice post - and yes, while the XLB might have been very tasty, those wrappers look awfully thick . . . so while over-steaming and "leakage" issues are solved, perfection is missed . . . not the worst issue in the world though, as even a delicious yet imperfect XLB is better than none ... in my opinion.

stevez wrote:Ding Sin World is a little strip mall gem of a place serving dim sum. It’s a family run joint with only a few tables. When you sit down, the small menu is right there encased in the glass covering the table. There is little English spoken by the staff besides Thank You, but they are friendly and aim to please. I was the only Non-Asian in the place. You can easily get by with a minimum of Restaurant Chinese and pointing.

I started off with an order of XLB and a pork pastry that I saw in a tray off to the side.

Dean Sin World Host

I see you met Mrs. Lu. At DSW's price range, I don't think anyone can be genuinely disappointed by any aspect of their offerings. Chalk up the thicker wrappers as creative license?

Also, of note, a recent "interview" with Mrs. Lu.

And Steve? DSW is 4min away from my house. Ring next time.

TonyC wrote:At DSW's price range, I don't think anyone can be genuinely disappointed by any aspect of their offerings. Chalk up the thicker wrappers as creative license?

We could call them "tasty diapers," as the thickness helps prevent leakage ... I'm really just playing around ... I don't doubt that they're good, even if imperfect.

Looks like you're doing LTH proud out there on the left coast, Steve.

Your photos of the gyoza and ramen at Mottainai in particular make me want to get back to LA sooner rather than later.

Rich and I were in Los Angeles the same weekend as Steve (who joined us for a great meal at Jitlada), and based on the collective strong recommendations from Pigmon, Trixie-Pea, and Steve, we stopped at Mottainai on our way to the airport. Mottainai, in fact, is close enough to LAX, that I can't imagine not stopping there for a bowl of Sapporo ramen the next time I'm in Los Angeles.

I don't consider myself a ramen expert. I've only had a two bowls that I'd consider noteworthy (Kintaro in Vancouver and some dark alley Tokyo spot where you bought ramen tickets from a vending machine). Mottainai's Sapporo ramen blew them both away, and for the first time, I had a bowl of ramen that I'd consider destination-worthy and would seek out on a future trip.

The gyoza were also good, but the ramen was really something special. As the weather is getting wetter and cooler here, I've been thinking about how much I'd like another bowl.

Ronna

When I visitied Mottainai shortly after they opened, they had imminent plans to make their own noodles - hard to tell from the pix above if they've started doing that now. REB, Steve, Tony, others - ?

The white bomb is indeed worthy of the name - it blew me right up, to the extent that I had to take a 1-hour timeout in the parking lot before getting to my next destination. I recall being on the phone with PIGMON at the time, asking him to stay on the line with me in case I went silent.

My driving abilities from Mexico have helped me get through Hollywood. – Salma Hyak

That quote from Ms. Hyak describes the beginning of my next day. I wish I had her skills, or that she was accompanying me (a guy can dream), because as I was attempting to make my way downtown, the streets were being closed off for something called CicLAvia, which is an event where a couple hundred granola munching bicycle riders commandeer all of the streets of downtown LA for their own enjoyment and close them off to car traffic. Now, normally an event like this wouldn’t bother me, but this was an unorganized cluster f*ck that seemed to be made up on the fly. If this was happening in Chicago, I’d know the back way to get around the closed streets (or at least know where to park to get as close as possible to my destination), but here in LA I was hampered by my less than taxi driver knowledge of the streets and the above mentioned disorganization. At one point I got to within a block of my first destination, Philippe’s, when a guy literally put a barrier in the street two car lengths in front of me, leaving the long line of traffic I was in to twist in the wind.

Sadly, I neither made it to Philippe’s for a lamb French dip or to The Mole Fair. There was simply no way to get there and no place to park. Instead, I backtracked and headed to Canter’s Deli for breakfast.

Canter’s Deli





Canter’s is one of those places whose best days are in the rear view mirror. Nevertheless, it remains part of a vanishing breed of Jewish Deli’s born in the 1940’s that became a vital part of their community. Canter’s is still open 24/7 and “The Kibbitz Room” still features local musicians once in a while. These days, the clientele consists of mainly old timers and tourists like me.

Breakfast consisted of a classic lox, eggs and onions scramble, served with latke’s instead of hash browns.

Canter’s Deli Lox, Eggs & Onions


This wasn’t the best version I have ever had, but the nostalgia factor made it worthwhile. There are better delis in LA, but Canter’s is worth a visit because it won’t be there forever.

For dinner that night, I met up with REB and RAB who happened to be in town at the same time. Along with a couple of their friends, we made our inaugural trip to Jitlada.

Jitlada Restaurant




Jitlada was first brought to our attention by Erik M, but has since taken on a life of its own, becoming a destination for Thai food lovers. Jitlada specializes in southern Thai cooking and they have a bunch of dishes not found on menus here in Chicago. We managed to order quite the cross section of items and still barely dented the extensive menu. Here are some pictures of what we ordered and a few comments. I hope my dining companions will weigh in with any corrections to the names of dishes and their own impressions of this dinner.

Jitlada Restaurant Ox Tail Soup




Jitlada Restaurant Hua Sai Spicy Prawns


Jitlada Restaurant Blue Crab Salad


Jitlada Restaurant “Dragon Eggs”


Kaeng Khaew Wan Khai "Mang-Kon" (Dragon Eggs) green curry with zucchini, bamboo, and salted egg-yolk-stuffed fish balls.

Jitlada Restaurant Spicy Minced Beef Stir-fry with Lemongrass


I’m not 100% sure if this was what we were actually served. This was an issue with a few dishes, which appeared to be something other than what we ordered when they hit the table, not that any of them weren’t good.

Jitlada Restaurant Kaeng Hawy Bai Cha-Phluu: Spicy, Turmeric-Seasoned Curry With Baby Clams And Wild Tea Leaves



Jitlada Restaurant Stir Fried Pumpkin



Jitlada Restaurant Stir-Fried Sator Beans With Shrimp, Pork, And Squid


We ordered the above captioned dish, but this is another one which I think is different from what we were actually served. The shrimp, pork and squid were MIA. I think the protein was actually chicken, although the sator beans were there. The sator beans were the main reason for ordering the dish, so no harm, no foul.

Jitlada Restaurant Crispy Morning Glory Salad


This dish was basically the same as the crispy ong choi served at TAC Quick, although I give a slight nod to TAC’s version.

As you can see this was quite the feast! I was glad to have finally visited Jitlada after reading about it all these years. Although Jitlada was great, it just reinforced to me once again how fortunate we are here in Chicago to have such a plethora of great Thai restaurants. If Jitlada were located here, it would certainly be in the top tier of Thai restaurants in town, but many of our favorites easily hold their own against Jitlda when it comes to the quality of the food. The fact that Jitlada is southern focused added a nice dimension, though.

The next morning, it was time to fly home, but not before a visit to another LA classic diner, Pann’s. Pann’s was founded in 1958 and is one of several classic “Googie” style diners in LA.

Pann’s




To the outside world, Pann’s claim to fame is the fact that a seminal scene from Pulp Fiction was shot there. To an LTHer, their claim to fame is the fact that they serve up a killer version of chicken and waffles.

Pann’s Chicken & Waffles


Their version is a Belgium waffle with your choice of either 4 or 6 chicken wings. Sides include little cups of melted butter and both “maple” and strawberry syrup. The wings are excellent, with a slightly spicy breading that goes really well with the waffles. Pann’s is located close enough to the airport (and right down the street from the rental car return area) to make it an easy stop before blowing out of town.

I really enjoyed my brief visit to LA. I really hope to get back soon because there was much I didn’t get a chance to check out. Decent Mexican food still evades me. Maybe on my next visit I’ll try again.


Philippe’s
1001 North Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 628-3781

Canter’s Deli
419 North Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 651-2030

Jitlada
5233 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 663-3104

Pann’s
6710 La Tijera Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045
(310) 670-1441

TonyC wrote:I see you met Mrs. Lu. At DSW's price range, I don't think anyone can be genuinely disappointed by any aspect of their offerings. Chalk up the thicker wrappers as creative license?

Also, of note, a recent "interview" with Mrs. Lu.

And Steve? DSW is 4min away from my house. Ring next time.

Mrs. Lu is a sweetheart! I'll be sure to ring you up next time.

tatterdemalion wrote:When I visitied Mottainai shortly after they opened, they had imminent plans to make their own noodles - hard to tell from the pix above if they've started doing that now. REB, Steve, Tony, others - ?

I don't think they were making the noodles in house. If they were, thay had been premade and held for service, but I don't think so.

The Dragon Egg and curry with clams dishes look wonderful--thanks for the great post and pics.

Great pics, great writing - thanks Steve

Thanks, Steve, for posting the Jitlada pics.

For future diners, I'll try to provide a bit of detail on the correct names of the dishes, but agree that we didn't get what we tried to order a few times, even though I don't know how we could've been much clearer in ordering.

** The oxtail soup we tried to order was sup hang wua. I'm not sure if we got the right one as I thought we were ordering a mild soup, and this one packed a punch. This soup was one of my favorite dishes of the meal, with a wonderfully sour broth and tender oxtail bits.

** I thought the spicy prawns were good, but not great, and a terrible value. One order was barely sufficient for a bite or two each, and the dish cost more than $20. I wouldn't order this again.

** The blue crab salad appeared as puu pen phla on the menu. I really liked this, but having had Aroy's blue crab salad a few times in recent months, I prefer Aroy's. The raw crab at Aroy has a more flavorful marinade.

** I liked, but didn't love, the dragon eggs dish. I'd seen so many photos of it and expectations were so high, that by the time the dish arrived (when I was already full), I wasn't wowed. I'd like to try it again on an emptier stomach.

** The clam dish, which I'm pretty sure was what we ordered, was my favorite of the night. The clams were tender and the curry was perfect. This would be a must-order for me.

** I agree with Steve's assessment of the morning glory salad. It was good, but not as good as crispy on choy at TAC. TAC's breading is lighter and crispier, something I prefer.

** The pumpkin, sator beans, and minced beef dishes - - I don't think any of them were what we ordered. The sator beans were pretty great, but the other two were pretty forgettable to me.

Bottom line: I agree with Steve - - I liked Jitlada and think we'd be lucky to have it in Chicago. But, I wasn't blown away by the food. If I lived in LA, I'd love to work my way through much of the gigantic menu (I think you could combine the menus at TAC, Aroy, and Sticky Rice, and Jitlada would still have more dishes).

Ronna

I'm most curious about the Dragon Egg dish--from the description, it sounded like what would result from adding a thai version of a scotch egg to Aroy's bamboo curry dish. From the picture, that doesn't appear to be close and knowing how much you love the Aroy bamboo dish, doesn't sound like the flavors were either. Not that that's bad--just dashing my scotch-thai funkfantasyl!!!

REB wrote:I don't consider myself a ramen expert. I've only had a two bowls that I'd consider noteworthy (Kintaro in Vancouver and some dark alley Tokyo spot where you bought ramen tickets from a vending machine). Mottainai's Sapporo ramen blew them both away, and for the first time, I had a bowl of ramen that I'd consider destination-worthy and would seek out on a future trip.

The gyoza were also good, but the ramen was really something special.

I have to agree with this 100%. Of everything I ate on this trip, that bowl of ramen is the one thing that sticks in my mind and was clearly the best thing I ate the entire time I was in LA. I wish we had a decent ramen place here because plane tickets to LA aren't cheap these days.

stevez wrote:Jitlada Restaurant “Dragon Eggs”

This drives me apesh*t. Once upon a time, when there wasn't a $30 "MP" fish plate to be found on Jitlada's tome of a menu, this dish was "simply" green curry with duck egg stuffed house made fish balls.

I suspect this insanity may have something to do with all the current craziness at Jitlada.

BTW, I used to love that green curry, served as a khanom jiin, seen here: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/OwheKHCd ... pbpt4LRI4A These days, I just go buy prepared curry paste from LAX-C and boil up the damn noodles myself, with a can of tuna, randomly throw dollops of misshape fish cake into the pot, and call it a day.

I've said it a few ways here and there over the years, but I never considered Jitalda to be "the" Thai destination that it became when compared to some of the other swell options over there in Thai Town. The southern menu is kind of remarkable, sure, but the cooking never blew me away. Jitalda is to Thai Town as Tank is to Argyle here. A jarringly crowded and "non-ethnic" patronized (thanks, Plotnicki) annointed spot surrounded by many overlooked and under-patronized places. All thanks to Erik's efforts, and despite the fact that he said as many good and interesting things about other spots in the vicinity. It all sort of depended on who was "borrowing" which of Erik's stuff to meet deadlines back in the day, I guess.

Tony... do you think they've slipped, or is it just a matter of it being not worth fighting crowds when there are other great options nearby?

I know that prices have been creeping up as the hype has gotten ever more unbearable, but if some other place is making fish balls as great as Jitlada's, I'd love to know so I can go there. Ditto the seafood dishes (mussels, softshells, plaa pear), rice salad, etc. I'm definitely in the "better than TAC, et al" camp, although to be fair, at Jitlada I generally order stuff that I can't get around here. Plus, familiarity, contempt, etc.

By the way, Erik didn't just just say good things about the place. He wrote that (at least at the time) it was *the best* Thai food he's eaten at a U.S. restaurant.

That was a long time ago and he unlocked the secret menus at many other places too. I didn't say it was bad or anything. I just haven't captured them at the magical moments in my various visits. Fair point though. I was commenting more on the phenomenon that is so similar to what happened on a more local level at Tank.

Dmnkly wrote:Tony... do you think they've slipped, or is it just a matter of it being not worth fighting crowds when there are other great options nearby?

Both, though I'm not sure I exactly agree with JeffB. It's been over a year since I've sat down to a proper Jit meal. Last time, I was coerced into eating a "Thai Burger" made from beef selected from the best of Ralph's [supermarket], doused with honey mustard sauce, just because Jonathan Gold wrote about it. Seriously, this is LA, where dudes wear 28" skinny jeans. My freakin' calories are pretty precious; I never spoke to the dinner host again.

On a rare peaceful weeknight, when I'm able to study the menu, re-read Erik's translations, my own notes, I know I can get an incomparable meal, as long as I don't settle for the hawked, media-approved dishes. And always, ALWAYS, confirm the seafood prices. My understanding is Thai people stop going because... they're just not going to pay $30 for a whole fish. Or so says our Thai nanny.

These days though, I have no desire to rub elbows with Matt Selman, so I default to Crispy Pork Gang instead.

stevez wrote: These gyoza were prepared in an interesting manner where a thin layer of egg white or perhaps some type of starch mixture was cooked on a flat top, the gyoza added on top, and then covered and steamed ala pot stickers. When served, the gyoza are bound together by the egg whites and separated for eating.

Did it taste like egg whites? I'm curious what this is. Some Chinese cooks I'm aware of will scatter a little flour into the pan before cooking, so that there's a thin layer of crispy bits in between and around the potstickers.

stevez wrote:wish we had a decent ramen place here because plane tickets to LA aren't cheap these days.

Santouka is, to my mind, decent even judged against places in Japan (I haven't been to Mottainai). The main gripes I have against Santouka are the overcooked egg and the lack of a potsticker option.

Hao wrote:

stevez wrote: These gyoza were prepared in an interesting manner where a thin layer of egg white or perhaps some type of starch mixture was cooked on a flat top, the gyoza added on top, and then covered and steamed ala pot stickers. When served, the gyoza are bound together by the egg whites and separated for eating.

Did it taste like egg whites? I'm curious what this is. Some Chinese cooks I'm aware of will scatter a little flour into the pan before cooking, so that there's a thin layer of crispy bits in between and around the potstickers.

stevez wrote:wish we had a decent ramen place here because plane tickets to LA aren't cheap these days.

Santouka is, to my mind, decent even judged against places in Japan (I haven't been to Mottainai). The main gripes I have against Santouka are the overcooked egg and the lack of a potsticker option.

Hao, thanks for the lead on Santouka. I'll have to check it out.

The coating on the gyoza didn't really taste of egg (or anything else, for that matter). It wasn't a sprinkling of flour, though. It was definitely some sort of liquid that was used. As I said, it might have been a corn starch slurry or something similar.

stevez wrote:

Hao wrote:

stevez wrote: These gyoza were prepared in an interesting manner where a thin layer of egg white or perhaps some type of starch mixture was cooked on a flat top, the gyoza added on top, and then covered and steamed ala pot stickers. When served, the gyoza are bound together by the egg whites and separated for eating.

Did it taste like egg whites? I'm curious what this is. Some Chinese cooks I'm aware of will scatter a little flour into the pan before cooking, so that there's a thin layer of crispy bits in between and around the potstickers.

stevez wrote:wish we had a decent ramen place here because plane tickets to LA aren't cheap these days.

Santouka is, to my mind, decent even judged against places in Japan (I haven't been to Mottainai). The main gripes I have against Santouka are the overcooked egg and the lack of a potsticker option.

Hao, thanks for the lead on Santouka. I'll have to check it out.

FYI, Steve, Pig wrote about Santouka as well. Great stuff.

stevez wrote:The coating on the gyoza didn't really taste of egg (or anything else, for that matter). It wasn't a sprinkling of flour, though. It was definitely some sort of liquid that was used. As I said, it might have been a corn starch slurry or something similar.

Well, in the Chinese method I've seen, you would sprinkle some flour on, and then you'd add water to the pan, so that you are in effect creating a slurry, but the steps are generally done separately as they combine easily in the pan anyway. On a griddle, I can see how you'd need to create a slurry in advance. Enjoyed the report, BTW.

I can also confirm no egg taste (and I have an intense dislike of the taste of egg, so I'd have noticed). Probably a premade slurry as you suggest.

We ate extremely well, but Mottainai is still my favorite meal from LA. Beth is about equally split between Mottainai and Guelaguetza.

stevez wrote:To the outside world, Pann’s claim to fame is the fact that a seminal scene from Pulp Fiction was shot there. To an LTHer, their claim to fame is the fact that they serve up a killer version of chicken and waffles.

It's come to my attention that despite claims to the contrary on Pann's own website and some production pictures displayed on the walls, Pulp Fiction was not shot at Pann's. There were, however, a few other films that were shot there.

movie-locations.com wrote:Pann’s Restaurant, 6710 La Tijera Boulevard at La Cienega and Centinella, becomes the ‘Las Vegas’ diner where cheesy nightclub magician Cris Johnson (Nic Cage) waits for girl of his dreams Liz Cooper (Jessica Biel) in oddball timeshifting thriller Next, and it’s where Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) faces a test from Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L Jackson) in Rob Cohen’s xXx. Wonderful as it is, Pann’s is not, as many people seem to believe, the diner held up in Pulp Fiction (that was the old – now demolished – Hawthorne Grill)

This in no way changes the fact that Pann's serves some great chicken & waffles.