Supping at Sesame Moe’s - Manhattan Beach

Let’s start with a disclaimer: Sesame Moe’s décor is a down-to-earth mood-lit middle eastern. The key word here is MOOD lighting. Don’t let my poorly-lit photos fool you. The food is prettily presented, and I swear it’s not all one color. Now on to my actual review…

When Ali Baba shouted “Open sesame!” he got a cave. When I shouted “Open sesame!” I got a restaurant in Manhattan Beach. And when you think about it, Sesame Moe’s wasn’t so different from sesame cave. After all, both hail from the Middle East, and when you think about it, both were troves of hidden treasure. One of them just happened to be the edible kind.

Since I’m spilling my guts about this buried treasure of a restaurant, I might as well start with some truth serum. The Almaza is a good authentic middle eastern beer, according to my friend who would know. It’s light like the Chinese beers but smoother and actually goes really well with the food.

If you’re hunting for a Mediterranean treasure of an appetizer, start from the west and work your way east. Remember the last time you had Spanish tapas? Did you like the patatas bravas of the west? If yes, then you’ll love the Fried Potatoes of the east. A crispier version of our beloved home fries plus some cool cilantro and a dash of garlic. Tasty but palate-neutral, this one’s a crowd pleaser all around.

The fried potatoes were sweetly familiar, but the Kibbi was like a precious stone I’ve never seen. Meat in a shell of more meat? Yes please! Just shout “Open sesame!” at the shell of beef and bulgar, dip it in the yogurt sauce, and take a bite to unearth the spicy, flavorful ground beef and pine nut mixture inside.

Enough with the apps, let’s move on to the meat of the story. We stuck to the classic entrees, but the value of every diamond depends on the quality, and the Beef Shwarma with thinly-sliced strips of steak and a side of heavenly Hummus is definitely not a diamond in the rough.

The beef is a stone that shines, and the Chicken Tawook glows just as brightly. These chunks are juicy off the skewer and covered in fluffy clouds of the greatest garlic sauce ever. If Ali Baba had found nothing but that garlic sauce recipe in his cave, it might have made him richer than all that treasure.

Like any good story, my meal at Sesame Moe’s has a strong beginning, a juicy middle, and a sweet ending that doesn’t leave you hanging. Ali Baba’s ending was a happy one, and for me, my ending of Pistachio Ice Cream with a flaky crust of Baklava left no room for complaints.

I may love the finer things in life, but I’m definitely a lot nicer about it than Ali Baba was. That guy found his treasure and shouted “Close sesame!” so that no one could ever claim what was now his. But I wouldn’t dream of letting something so special go unnoticed, which if why I’ll be telling everyone how much I love Sesame Moe’s. Don’t close Sesame, don’t ever close!

Nong La Café – Los Angeles

When Nong La first opened on Sawtelle, skeptics probably thought it wouldn’t last. A cute, clean little café roaming on a road of ramen, this place serves a different kind of noodle. I had my doubts too when I glanced at the affordable menu, which was as short-n-sweet as the cafe. But sometimes good food does come cheap, even on a street like Sawtelle in a neighborhood like Westwood.

The Goi Cuon, or spring rolls are loaded full, and unless you have a friend with whom to share this so-called “snack”, these refreshing rolls will fill you up in no time. I’ve never had Vietnamese fresh rolls with pork before, but from now on that’ll change. The combination of pork and shrimp is a little more savory, the lettuce keeps it light, and the herbs can only help.

It was too hot for pho that day and for once I’m glad it was. I never would have tried the Bun otherwise. Pho is always good, but this bun with Bo Nuong was better.  Flavorful steak with a sweet sesame/lemongrass marinade blends so perfectly with the fish sauce. Mix it all together with chewy vermicelli and crispy vegetables, and you have a bowl of blissful cool on a hot summer day.

Nong La may seem like a standard Vietnamese place at first glance, and the food is just the staples, but something but the polish and crisp composure with which each item is put together turns a seemingly mundane meal into something memorable. Just watch out for the food coma that comes with consuming so many affordable carbs. 

Fiesta Grill – Torrance

I think people live longer on the Mediterranean diet because people who eat food this good are just happier. And plenty of studies will attest that happier people live longer. If all that is true, I think I’d live forever on diet of Fiesta Grill.

I could almost happily hum after a bite of this Hummus. The blend of tahini, sesame, and spices is spectacular, and the texture is perfect– softer than Sabra and sweeter than sesame.

Good food doesn’t have to break the bank, and sometimes great food doesn’t either. At $9.95, the Beef Shish Kabob is possibly the best deal in town, with tender, juicy flame-kissed filet on a bed of basmati rice.

One is alone and two is a fiesta. And at Fiesta, $7.95 buys you not just one fantastic Falafel Wrap for lunch but two. One is plenty for one to lunch. Take the extra home, and you have a grainy-wholesome deep-fried-chickpeas-in-a-cool-white-sauce delight for dinner as well.

Stay healthy but stay happy while you’re at it. Don’t punish yourself with a diet of mostly lettuce unless it’s lettuce go to Fiesta Grill…I hope that pun wasn’t too cheesy – you really shouldn’t have cheese if you’re on a diet.

Speculating on Sanaya – Irvine

You know the ethnic food is good when people of that ethnicity eat there. You know the ethnic food is great when people of that ethnicity bring their friends to eat there. Judging by the table of multiple Indian families and another of married men having a boys’ night, clearly I’ve come to the right place.

The only thing better than breaking good bread is breaking bread with good company. I had the company, and we had the Garlic Naan. Thin and slightly fluffy, with a coat of killer-breath, this naan is exactly as naan should be.

I think I love naan enough to make it the main event sometimes, but what’s bread without a good sauce to dip? Nothing like creamy-smooth tomatoey Paneer Tikka Masala to put butter and jam to shame. Oh, and it comes with rice too…does anyone else think rice is royalty and Basmati is their king?

My Bindhi Masala didn’t have much for dipping, but it’s been a while since I found an Indian restaurant brave enough to make okra. It’s been even longer since I found an Indian restaurant good enough to make okra well. This bindhi was a perfectly spiced mix of okra with slime-removing tomato for a chewy concoction with a kick.

To be perfectly honest, I had pretty low, if any expectations for a restaurant in a commercial shopping center off the highway on my way back from the Del Mar Racetrack. But I was craving Indian, and that’s what Sanaya had. Turns out, I’m as bad at predicting restaurants as horse races, if not winning a single bet in 6 races is any indication. But after a whole afternoon of losing, Sanaya was the only bet I made that paid off. Lesson learned, put your money where your mouth is.

Animal is A-Okay – West Hollywood

My grandma saw an American grocery store for the first time when she was 64 and I was 12. A little old lady raised in rural China, her eyes shone brighter than the fluorescent bulbs when she saw the piles of pristine produce and the sheer selection that stocked so many shelves. As long as she stayed here, her choices were no longer limited by what the local farmers could grow. Berries were no longer scarcely shipped, and she could defer her fight against the squirrels and bugs for now.

But her face fell when we made it to the meat. “Where are all the good things?” she asked. And she wasn’t talking about this boneless, skinless, flavorless white meat, white-bread chicken breast we call high-end. She wanted offal, which isn’t nearly as awful as it sounds, and a hearty helping of all those body parts that remind us of what we’re really eating. Head, tails, and feet, oh my.

“Grandma, we don’t eat those things here,” I whispered. She understood but then her brow furrowed and she asked the question I couldn’t answer, “Then where does it all go?”
It took me 16 years to find an answer to her question: Animal. Turns out, the parts those stores won’t sell, those parts end up at an unmarked West Hollywood restaurants that still insists on having a name.

Animal doesn’t beat around the bush – it cuts right to the chase with Chicken Liver Toast, the smoothest mousse in town with a sweet berry compote on top. If I’d had a drink that night, I would gladly toast to that no-foie-gras spinoff.

Then there’s nothing like pigs in a blanket to get my southern girl spirit spinning…except this is Pig Ear in blanket, tucked protectively under an earmuff of an egg. I’ve seen plenty of pig parts, but this is the first time I’ve seen a non-Chinese restaurant lend me their ears. Interesting use of it here, but as someone grew up on the crunch of copious cartilage, I can’t help but feel like this particular preparation removed everything that made it an ear, turning textureless and tasteless, while soaking it in a vinegar that stings and a chili that burns.

Sure you gnaw off the meat, but there’s a reason we make broth from stock and leave the bone in our ribeyes. All the flavor seeps from inside or lies beneath if you dig deep, and the Marrow Bone with a little kick of chimichurri and some sweet caramelized onion didn’t disappoint.

My dining companion gave me a lot of…stuff you find in intestines, another organ no one orders, for ordering something else that no one should order at a restaurant called Animal: the Shishito Peppers. Drowned by a bizarrely fishy gray paste with way too much lemon and an even more bizarre, leafy katsuobushi didn’t win any points from my palate.

It’s not a good meal without a nice piece of tail towards the end. The Poutine with oxtail gravy is pretty good with all that melty cheddar, but I just never really got into fancy poutine. I get that fries drenched in gravy are awesome, but fries make poor spoons so when you’re scooping shredded stuff it’s becomes an ordeal to eat.

You can’t make a meal solely out of the bizarre and the uncommon. These Barbeque Pork Belly Sandwiches are a family favorite…because they could come from any table and be made by any family. The sauce is sweet, and the fatty belly is so juicy it practically drips off your chin but neither is unique or memorable. I already don’t love slaw, and this stuff was dripping with liquid mayo and looked like something that goes straight from bulk bucket to lunch line. I scraped it off.

No one throws away bacon, but Animal still manages to make it in a way that few people would dare. The Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar combines savory with sweet and chewy with crunch. The ice cream adds a bold bite of black pepper, and what could have been a boring dish turns into the most exciting thing I’ve had all night.

All those years ago, when Grandma asked me where all the good things go, I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth. Because I think the truth is cat food, but now thanks to Animal, I’ll never need to tell her that. But Grandma was right, we do throw the best parts away. And although I wasn’t blown away, I can say with some conviction that Animal is a damn good example of just how good the best parts can be.

Bonaventura Gelato Lounge – Marina del Rey

I just spent an hour at the gym. And I wasn’t about to let that well-spent hour go to waste. In fact, I planned to negate that hour completely…which is why I ended up at Bonaventura facing a large cup of gelato.

Why did I get a large cup, you ask? Why didn’t I get a small reasonable cup of gelato to enjoy instead of gorging, you ask? Because you can try four different flavors when you get a LARGE. So go large or go home. Give me that entire conglomerate of creamy Panna Cotta, cool Cannoli, indulgent Dulce de Leche, and Tiramisu so close it’s terrifying. Totally worth it. Totally worth every sinful spoonful, every belly-fat-fanning, pudge-packing bite. 6 dollars to negate a 25-dollar workout? Priceless.

Some things really are so cute you could eat them up. How about some Spaghetti Gelato? This one is made with nutella and topped with strawberry sauce. I almost ate this too, but I let my friend have it. I’m so nice. It’s not like he ordered and paid for it or something.

So if you’re like me, and you have the Bonaventura (“good fortune” in Italian) to stumble into Bonaventura, make sure you take a large-cup-of-gelato-long moment to indulge…like me. And for once in your life, be prepared to can have your cake…or spaghetti and eat it. You can always work out again tomorrow.

In the Slammer at Soleil – Los Angeles

I love it when places have themes; subtleties and not-so-subleties that give a place its purpose, and little unifying touches that tactfully tie them together, The bigger the better, the crazier the cooler, and nothing hits the spot for me like cuteness on crack. (I was in heaven in Vegas.)

I don’t require restaurants to have themes, but I can’t say I don’t smile…a lot…when my pasta plate is placed on a table featuring the Italian flag. As for Soleil, despite the distinctly French feel, this place stands as my shining example of why not all restaurants should be themed. Because Soleil had a theme and that theme was Bastille.

The first thing you lose when you go to prison is your freedom, namely your freedom of choice. You’re free to brush your teeth, but only at a time chosen by someone else. You’re free to jog around the yard, but only during the time someone else lets you go outside. At Soleil, you’re free to choose whatever entrees you want, but only if you pay the extra $1.50 to add a soup or salad because our server chose not to leave our table until we did.

My Potato and Leek Soup (du jour) tasted like it went from can to microwave to bowl. Not bad, but Campbells is cheaper and you get more in a can. The salad was a nice array of mixed greens in plain vinaigrette. As a $1.50 add-on, you get what you pay for. What we paid was for our server to leave us alone.

The Mussels special went right along with that prisoner theme, as mussels are rather unfortunate bivalves who serve a life sentence chained to a seaside rock. Just be wary of specials – it seems these mussels waited for quite a while between the ocean and my table because they weren’t the freshest I’ve had, despite the decent white wine sauce.

Unlike our server’s coercive behavior, the Canard a la Jeff was almost okay. The duck was on the dry side, and the orange sauce wasn’t enough.

To be fair, the food at Soleil, while not amazing, was likely better than what they served to anyone staying at the Bastille. So perhaps a fairer comparison would be to a rather restrictive hotel…the Hotel California, for example, where “you can check out any time you like but you can never leave”. Because that’s what happened when we tried to get the check and get out. We politely declined the dessert menu but found it pushed into our hands anyway, with the words “just take a look”. Then we were ignored by our server who walked by multiple times. We had to flag someone else down for our check.


The only real difference between Soleil and Hotel California is that we were clearly not prisoners here, of our own device. The only device we wanted was one that let us leave, and after just narrowly escaping the first time, I’m not foolish enough to attempt a second.