Pizzeria Bianco - Los Angeles

I came in expecting greatness...with trepidation. Pizza from the country's best pizza chef is a tall order, but I didn't know if I'd be overwhelmed or under. 

I admit I was underwhelmed...in the best way possible. These pizzas are perfection but they stand out because they don't. 

The Wiseguy is my favorite, a simple, straightforward white pizza with roasted onion and fennel sausage. But the onion is cooked just to the brink of softness, the sausage is fragrant but not so salty so it blends seamlessly into the pie. Chunks of smoked mozzarella add a big cloud of smoke to permeate and amplify the sweet and savory. And the crust. Wow, what a crust. It's so thin it could be paper, so supple it can be both chewy and melt-in-your-mouth. 

The Sonny Boy is the classic pizza with tangy tomato sauce and stringy strands of fresh mozzarella. Soppressata shaved-thin blankets with a salty savor, and olives add the acid for a break from all that meat. 

The Rosa is a lesson in restraint. A generous bed of Santa Barbara pistachios plays on the nutty notes of parmesan, punctuated by a red onion crunch. 

The hype here is justified - it really is that good. The crust is incredible, the ingredients are superb, but it's really the ability to balance and refine that makes these pizzas exceptional. I've had good pizza in many places, but the pizza here is something else altogether. 

Mariscos Linda 4 - Los Angeles

 

Their Camarones Cucarachas once made the list of best dishes in East LA. These shrimp are fried in the shell and covered with a sweet and sizzling red sauce with pungent garlic, plenty of paprika, a dash of cayenne and anything else that burns. The flavor is there, the taste is great, but the shrimp are a bit mushy, which is the only thing I would change. 

Move on to an even spicier Camaron Aguachile Tostada, a bold green chile water with perky peppers and sour lime. 

Tacos Gobernador are a secret menu item, a cheese-filled taco of jumbo shrimp, fried on the outside so the cheese forms a crispy crust. Dip in a smoky, spicy black salsa that hurts so good. 

I love Mariscos Linda. Their food isn't fancy, but it is unapologetically theirs and that they're not afraid to make it the way it's supposed to be; full of spice and full of flavor. If you can't take the heat, get a glass of milk and order anyway.

Tacos Lionydas - Redondo Beach

They lit out of Long Beach and regrouped on the side of Hawthorne Blvd, near the cross-street of Artesia. Pulling over is a no-go, but there's plenty of parking in the lot behind the stand. 

Order in your best Spanish, and if you don't speak it, now's the time to learn because (repeat after me), Burritos de Pastor is where it's at. Pork slice straight off the spit stays so juicy, saturated with seared spice. Their burritos are to-the-point; more than half is meat with a small scoop of rice, beans, and "con todo". 

The Carne Asada Burrito makes a strong showing if you're not into eating pork. The steak tastes flame-seared, and the melty cheese holds it all together. 

Catch them if you can...before the health department can. They've been shut down before but now they're back and I'll be back for more. 

Ms Chi Cafe - Culver City

There was a lot of chatter about Ms Chi when she first came to Culver, but I have no idea why. I don't know if we came on an off night or if they started skimping on their ingredients to keep up with inflation, but most of what I had here was nothing special. 

With the exception the signature Jumbo Cheeseburger Potstickers, which are fun. They taste exactly like a burger in a wonton wrapper, though I wish they'd spread the cheese more evenly. I only got ground beef until the last two bites, where a gooey river of cheese ran free. I'm not sure how this won Top Chef, but I did enjoy those last two bites. 

The Wontons in Chili Oil, though, were terrible. Tender-ish pork filling, shrimp not detectable. A chili oil with chili flakes, neither of which was spicy, and it only tasted like oily oil. 

Lu Rou Mein is a decent main, but it needed more noodles as it was mostly an ample (and impressive) variety of pickles. Mix for more power...and maximum sour. 

Honey Walnut Shrimp: I think I've sense a pattern. Perhaps the problem could be solved with switching shrimp suppliers and it would fix their wontons as well. These jumbo prawns are the right texture but completely tasteless, and the plum sauce aioli is just a beige mayo. No salt, no sugar, no flavor whatsoever. Even the grapefruit pieces couldn't save this dish. 

Alright, the Tea Smoke Duck is legit. The meat is tender, and the smokiness permeates the meat, all the way down to the bone. I could do without the wrappers and the rest because it mutes the magic of the duck itself, and that's a flavor that shouldn't be suppressed. 

No dessert - I've had enough. I don't know what the fuss is about - Ms Chi has plates with potential, but everything is in need of a minor edit and a major audit. 

Lulu’s Restaurant - Los Angeles

I don't love surprises, but I love the ever-changing menu from Alice Waters' latest creation. Every day you have to wait, with no way of knowing which farmer's market offerings will make the next menu. 

You don't come here for the coffee, but sipping a picture-perfect Cortado and Cappuccino in an art museum is an irresistible magic. 

Cleanse the palate with an amuse of olives, rich and robust, a perfect prequel to the first course. 

A small circle of Baked Sonoma Goat Cheese is sweet and creamy, cut by crouton crumbs. Let the crumbles coalesce with the surrounding leaves of mixed lettuce, laced with oil and dancing balsamic, the freshest salad you'll ever eat. 

A White Bean Soup has notes of savor in an earth, thick puree, and drops of chili oil add a gentle lift to a dense dish. 

A Spicy Eggplant Banh Mi is substantial, the tenderest of eggplants between bites of potent pickles. 

The prix fixe plate has an incredibly soft grilled chicken, dripping juice. The asparagus is still almost crispy, the potatoes are just peerless, and even the lightly pickled pink lettuce is something to remember. All can be dipped in the tart lemon aioli and all should be dipped in the tart lemon aioli on the side. 

A Brown Butter Almond Cake would have gone best with one of those coffees, an uncomplicated concoction of nutty, crumbly cake. 

Chocolate Pave is simply a square of cake without flour, showcasing a pure chocolate without the distraction of milk.

My descriptions do no justice to the full and forgotten flavors of fresh vegetables and fruit farmed honestly and sustainably. There is a refreshing transparency in what they serve, no strong sauces to drown in, no fluff to hide behind. It's an exercise in honoring prime ingredients in their purest form, and through this, they make the most beautiful meals. 

Langer's Delicatessen - Los Angeles

An LA legend on the bucket list, finally checked off and done. 

One and done, I think. I liked it a lot, but I'm just not sure I loved it. Their pastrami is what they say it is, a tender, almost-buttery, melt-in-your-mouth meat-pile, but the #19 was suppressed by so much coleslaw. Hubby loved the slaw, and I do think it lightens the fat as it should, but the too-much-too-rich is the entire reason you're there. Kudos, though, for making the only rye bread I've ever not hated. 

I preferred the #54 - Hot Pastrami & Corned Beef. You can taste the pastrami, and the corned beef is truly no less tender. Just a little bit of mustard to showcase their two best meats. 

Maybe it's nostalgia, maybe it's something more, but I miss Second Avenue Deli, and Langer's can't compete. But it's been a long time since I've dug into a Twin Double, so maybe it's only my memories that taste better than Langer's hot pastrami. 

Ipoh Kopitiam - Alhambra

One of very few authentic Malaysian restaurants in Los Angeles, and I snagged three big bags of takeout. 

It's enough food for days and it all reheats beautifully, but I recommend getting sides with the Roti Canai as the best way to try more than one main without filling up too fast. The original curry dip sauce is surprisingly tart with tomato, a fresh breath on a fluffy bread. Eat that sauce-soaked okra with relish. 

The Beef Rendang is chunks of shreddy, tendinous beef. The braising melts the connective tissue to make it a gooey bliss. 

Chicken Curry is robust but smooth, a mild and savory delight. I'd order both again every single time.

But I wouldn't get the Char Kway Teow again - it's a generic drunken noodle done right, with small chunks of chicken and shrimp, emphasis on generic. 

Onto the main event, a Singapore Style Hainan Chicken Rice. The meat is tender, the skin has that delightful, almost-gelatinous slime. The rice is fragrant, and the sauces are boldly garlic, chili, and soy. Dip one, dip two, dip all three for the best of the bunch. 

Kaya Toast is like a dessert, a jelly spread that channels a tropical dulce de leche with a texture like red bean paste ending in coconut notes.

H.K Style Buns with butter are covered in a thick pineapple crust, cut and crammed with a mattress of butter so thick you think it's cheese. They're good buns, but I'd rather have more kaya toast. 

Yum yum, no wonder they made the Michelin mentions. I've had a lot of this stuff at Sampang, etc, but Ipoh makes them shine. The execution is exquisite, and their attention to detail is second to none. It's a street food-feel but with 5-star quality.  

Crustees Eatery - Los Angeles

A bad name for a fantastic place. I get it, there's crust on pies, but it's hard to take a place like this seriously at first. That said, there's also the "Pie Hole" and "Fat + Flour" to contend with, and I can only conclude that the pie places want you to think they're gross. 

The polar opposite of gross is Crustees, which churns out, obviously pies, but not so obviously chili and a Seafood Gumbo that tastes like it was scooped straight from the bayou. The shrimp and crab bring on the seafood savor, and chicken and sausage make a meaty mix. You get more chunks of sausage than any other meat, but don't worry, this is the opposite of a problem.  

A simple Apple Pie that still tastes like apple is an underrated thing. I love that they make theirs tart rather than sugaring it to death, so it still tastes like a pie full of apple. 

All the sugar they didn't put in the pie went right into their famous Banana Pudding, on the other hand, has all the sugar they didn’t put in the pie. I love me a good banana pudding, but I can't tell you which is better than the rest. This one's good. Super sweet for my taste, but it's good so get it to share if you caught a craving.

I'm not going to lie, nine dollars per pie is pretty steep when the pie's only 5 inches wide. But they are family owned, and good ingredients and rent are never cheap so if I'm supporting anyone nowadays, I'm glad to be supporting them. 

Jerusalem Chicken - Los Angeles

It's been a long time since I've really reminisced on my days in the Bronx. I think I've left it all behind but then I stumble upon a place like this and the memories come flooding back. 

It's assembly-line style, an original fast-casual, a set-up stolen by the likes of Tender Green and Chipotle. You start with your protein and build your bowl or pita as you go. The plates remind me of my beloved meat-and-two-sides platters you get on any south Bronx street, just easy-peasy pieces of perfection with so many not-so-simple savors. 

Sitis Original Chicken is this beautifully baked bird stuffed full of the best rice I've ever eaten, catching all the chicken drippings, aromatic with mushrooms and beef. It sits in a lemon sauce that tingles with its tartness, a wake-up for sleepy tastebuds to cut through all that fat. Sides of fried eggplant and pickled red cabbage are rad. 

A separate side of Cauliflower Fritters is impossibly crispy, fried with gooey rice flour. 

Lemon & Garlic Chicken is another favorite, a drier but no less juicy iteration with a fantastically chewy skin. The hummus is on the blander side, but they got those bitter greens just right. Slather every bite with their sharp and sour garlic sauce, and you might never stop eating. 

Wow, I really love good food. And while I do love my fine dining, I LIVE for buried treasures like Jerusalem Chicken. 

Little French Bakery - Redondo Beach

Never say I won't go the extra mile for my child. I went an extra two miles to the Riviera with a 40-minute time restriction to get a baguette for my never-accept-anything-else toddler and emerged victorious. 

I must admit, the baguette here didn't have the chewiest crust, but the assortment of human head-sized pastries more than makes up for plain bread. I'm told the owner wakes up at midnight to bake, and the display cases are full of beautiful, flaky creations, both savory and sweet. 

The Apple Cinnamon Puff Pastry is perfection, stacks of fresh apples upon a pond of marzipan. 

The Caneles aren't as springy as others I've had, but the custard flavor is there.

The Chocolate Custard Brioche is one I had yet to see, an S-shaped indulgence streaming with custard, studded with chocolate chips. 

But I think basics are best. The Chocolate Croissant is perfect, with so many chewy layers.

Pretty yet elegant, executed with flair and solid skill, yet still practical whether you're just looking for a sweet start to your day or need a goody box to butter up your colleagues. 

Like it a lot, love it so much. It's not all perfect, but it has a personal touch that the bigger, more commercialized bakeries lost. 

Urth Caffé - Hawthorne

I think we found a glitch in the matrix. It's Urth Caffe, Santa Monica's iconic, line-out-the-door main street magic copied and pasted. But the mouse must have slipped and dropped it in the middle of an industrial dystopia that is the Lawndale/Hawthorne border. 

Here it sits, serving up bowl-sized Cappuccinos and slinging sumptuous sweets, sandwiched between tile manufacturers and industrial kitchen outlets. Despite the no-traffic backstreet, the valet controls this tiny lot, and for the flat fee of five dollars, you can watch the valet drive your car into a spot ten feet over. 

Despite all this, there is a reason they are in business - they know good, clean eating. They make a mean Pancake, firm but fluffy organic buttermilk with an almost-crispy griddled crust. It's white-people food, undoubtedly well done.

The Breakfast Burrito, however, is a whitewashed one to avoid. Quality ingredients; scrambled egg, bland black beans, and runny guac, bundled together in extreme sterility, like a burrito with the soul sucked out. And this "salsa" or whatever on the side is an abomination resembling a ketchup puree. A bad one. 

I moved to Lawndale to seek shelter from Santa Monica snobbery, but I've always loved much of what Santa Monica offers in terms of quality food. Urth Caffe is just as good here, I think, but the location feels invasive, and the theme is positively bizarre. Maybe it won't last, but it's more likely a prequel of what's to come, giving us a gander at the early stages of gentrification. The truth is, I'd gladly come back to Urth Caffe sometime, but I just can't help thinking, "There goes the neighborhood".