Calf & Chick - Torrance

Sh*t, these sandwiches! Sub-size and sub-style, these carefully-crafted creations are crazy-good.

Check out the cheese in the Hot Grilled Beef. They add onion and green pepper, and the shredded beef is all juice. It channels a cheesesteak except they make the meat like they care. 

Try the Chicken Garlic if you’re looking for something whiter because that garlic paste does not make it lighter. It’s a balanced sandwich overall, but it’s the pickles that leave an impression. I've never had such crunchy, fresh-tasting pickles, and the brine has a unique tartness that is simultaneously more sour and less acidic. Great sandwich; I'll just take a jar of pickles.

Grab an Egg Sandwich for a breakfast plate between two slices of bread. All three eggs are over medium so the yolks ooze gooey without the mess. Turkey bacon tastes like hot ham, tomato adds the acid.

It’s not all about the size, but their Cinnamon Roll is far from compensating. Its feather-light layers encase a cavern of sugared cinnamon topped with a graze of glaze. Easily the best I’ve had this year.

Take a scavenger hunt for breakfast, lunch, or brunch. Calf and Chick is concealed behind a Wendy’s with a drive-thru, but believe me, they're worth getting out of your car for.

Yamari - Torrance

Don’t ya want a, want a matcha? 

Answer carefully because this may not be what you think. This isn’t green tea flavoring, this is MATCHA. Dark and bitter, this powder is a biter. The Matcha Latte is a powdery punch in the mouth, earthy and thick, smooth and soothing with a texture that feels forever dry.

The same flavor is infused in their soft serve, which swirls well with a diplomatic hochija. Neither is sweet, but the hochija is warmly roasted, an aromatic tea. 

They sell out of the parfait pretty fast so grab one before it’s gone. The Premium Mixed Soft Serve is a close second, missing only the matcha jelly. A scoop of sweet azuki adds a spoonful of sugar, and mochi balls bring on a textured chew.

Do ya, want a, want a matcha? If you like matcha, abso-f'ing-lutley.

Blufish Sushi & Grill - Torrance

4.5 stars on Yelp? Did we eat at the same place?

It's not bad. Good enough for the most part, but nowhere near 4.5 stars good. They mark up their prices on Ubereats, turning I'll pay into no way. I paid the extra because I thought it would be worth it, and I honestly didn't realize just how much they marked it up. 

Price aside, some things just aren't that good. The Mango Salmon Roll, for example, had salmon that wasn’t very fresh. It wasn't spoiled and seemed safe to eat, but you knew it wasn't a new delivery.

The Hawaiian Roll is alright, a thin layer of tuna covering a California. Worth the $6 menu price, but $8.75 on Ubereats is pushing it.

The signature rolls are where they get ridiculous. The Lemon Roll had so much potential as salmon and lemon do go togehter, but add a sauce of SALSA, and you have something that's bizarre. Not worth $14.50, and definitely not worth $18.75.

The King Dragon Roll is good. Gotta love the eel. But $15.50 is an outrageous price for this, and $19.75 is highway robbery. 

No complaints about the Blue Crab Hand Roll. It's baked warm and covered in a not unreasonable amount of mayo.

I rarely complain about the price of things, but I've cited every price here. I know third-party apps skim off the top, but increasing your prices by 30% is a horrible way to punish customers who can't get carry-out. Never mind the prices - quality is invaluable, but literally none of this was all that great. 

Bistro Beaux - Torrance

The best Torrance treats live in Eastgate Plaza. Japanese powerhouses like Nozomi's flown-in fish, Wadasumi's sushi and steak, and the skewers at Torihei make this singular strip mall the only place I want to be.

Add Bistro Beaux to the best. This one is off to the side, obscured by Mitsuwa and Matsui but still casting a strong shadow on the scene. 

Japanese-Italian means the best Spaghetti Carbonara, and the gooey ham-and-egg-cream combo leaves a rib-warming result. 

Go light and simple with a Basil, Fresh Tomato, Mozzarella; al dente spaghetti adds carbs to caprese.

Get whatever you want, pasta as you like, but don't leave without the Spaghetti Crab Butter. Thick white cream-sauce with chunks of sweet red crab, full flavor, seafood savor. It's thick and it's dense, and yes, it's intense, but you'll never want anything more. 

No need to go big or go home here. The smaller starters are less hard-hitting if you're feeling spaghetti-shy. The Proscuitto and Burrata are a sweet refresher,

and there's even a Caesar Salad if you're not feeling...anything. 

The toddler loves the Parmesan Cheese Scrambled Egg, but this scramble has sophistication.

The devil's in the details, and the fun is in the fusion. They get creative with the Mochi and Spicy Cod Roe Sauce Naan. Thin-crust naan smeared with spicy cod, gooey with cheese and striped with mochi for texture, it's a mouthful of fishy, salty, chewy, sweet, umami. Buyer beware, cod roe comes from a fish and it tastes like it comes from a fish so don't get this unless you like the taste of fish.

                                   

The Italian Pudding is a signature dish, and I love this hybrid of Italian cheesecake an flan. The take-home presentation is not so pretty, but the balance of sweet and creamy caramel is key. 

Eastgate Plaza --> Bistro Beaux. Don’t think, just go!

Sidecar Doughnuts UPDATE - Torrance

 

When it’s your birthday, you can have your cake and eat it. 

Have your Celebration Cake...doughnut and eat it! It’s cake in a better way, glazed instead of iced, and it still has all the sprinkles. 

A few other flavors: the fruity Susie's Blueberry Pancake finish like a concentrated muffin, Vanilla Bean Glazed is OG greatness, and Salted Malted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough has all the things. 

Strawberries & Cream is fluffy but rich, full of icing-cream and fresh strawberries FTW.

Know anyone with an upcoming birthday? Let them eat doughnuts. 

Eat at Rudy's - Torrance

 

Once upon a time, there were two BFFs named Rudy and Joe. They slaved over a hot stove side by side, dazzling their diners at Eat at Joe's, a South Bay landmark and Redondo Beach institution since long before I was born. Legend has it that the bromance fizzled and the rivalry sizzled, and Rudy no longer wanted to eat with Joe. He packed his bags and took off his apron, and threw it down in Old Torrance where he still cooks today. 

He does cook up a good Country Breakfast. A little brick of a biscuit topped with sausage and covered with country gravy can't go wrong, and there's even eggs for extra protein. I love how they smash the side of home fries so you get a crisp crust. 

The Rambo is a lactose-intolerance option, with French toast and eggs. The sausage patties will work, but you can also choose bacon or ham.

Get any breakfast in a tortilla if you're looking for easy-to-eat. The Breakfast Burrito will put you in a coma, but that cross section of bacon, eggs, sausage, and potato sure is pretty. 

I hate to say it, but the Rudy's Special is nothing special. Eggs scrambled with chorizo except the flavor of the egg is stronger than the chorizo.

Don't want to assault your arteries? Try the Healthy Quesadilla but don’t. It only saves calories because it's a something you won’t want to eat. The egg whites are bland, and the spinach cooks off a lot of water, so your tortilla gets soggy. Nothing is seasoned. At all. 

I love diners, and this one is alright. They do the diner things with finer things so it’s a little bit bougie but not necessarily bad. The food is fine, and I’d eat it again but it doesn’t really stand out.

Bay Cities Italian Deli UPDATE - Santa Monica

 

I wrote them off for five years because I didn't like a sandwich. Yes, I was an idiot.

Never judge a deli by just one sandwich, even if it’s their signature. Sorry, Godmother, you’re just not as magical as I wanted to believe, even on the second try. The meats are soft and salty, the mortadella almost creamy, and there is significant credit to be given for overall balance, but their other stuff is so much better. 

The Spaniard, for example, is a much stronger sandwich. The jamon is sliced so thin, and the accenting chunks of spicy chorizo are just...everything. The gruyere is melty, and the roasted tomatoes are next-level gooey and sweet. This is coming from a person who hates tomatoes.

“Pot roast should NOT be a sandwich!” 

“It’s too much.”

"I don't know about this..."

Shove it because I love it. Shredded chunks of soupy beef, braised to fall-apart tender, it’s loud and proud, a messy, soupy American dip. It's Sunday dinner in a sandwich, Phillippe's be damned.

Sandwiches are satisfying, but don’t stop there. Their deli counter is the best I've seen. 

Lukewarm Buffalo Wings don’t sound like they’d be great, but the sauce has a mouth-watering mix of spicy yet sweet and sharp - buy a bucket and make it a large.

The Mac n’ Cheese is the best stuff they sell, and the best I've had; big floppy elbows with the best bread crumbs, literally, ever.

The best stuff you can buy, just bring some cold hard cash. Great for Italian groceries, and check out all the cheese. Try all the sandwiches, too, and don’t leave without mac n’ cheese.