Fat + Flour - Los Angeles

Pie! Thick, slices, perfect fillings, beautiful crusts, all PIE! If Dean Winchester were a restaurant, this would be him, and what better way to eat him up?

Apple Raspberry Rhubarb is a signature, so sweet with a strong bit of sour and tart. The oaty crust makes it more like a crumble, which only adds to the impact. 

How do you make a good thing better? Give me more. More of that perfect, PERFECT flaky, crunchy, butter-layered crust! Load it on with the Double Crust Apple pie where carb and sugar hit harmony, and firm and gooey textures tango. 

Banana Cream Pie is more like pudding in crust. Another perfect crust containing a pudding-custard covered in a full two inches of very thick whip. 

Chocolate Chess Pie is 1/3 densely chess and 2/3 sweet, sweet cream. It's so chocolate and it's just so good. 

It's all about the pie so don't bother if you're not here to try the pie. Every slice is spectacular, just come earlier so they don't sell out.

UO Nigiri - Los Angeles

The owners of Torrance's Whitefin Market sell sushi and sashimi nationwide. Their website boasts of cutting edge preservation techniques, and the list of coveted cuts all sport a "sold out" sticker. So when these guys decide to open a casual sushi spot, I can't get there fast enough. 

Go big or go home. The a la carte menu holds a promising selection of all kinds of cuts, but of course UO's Premium lets you try them all. At $78, 10 pieces with a few extras is quite a deal. 

They start with some edamame, which I find overcooked and tasting like it sat in the pot too long, but no matter, I'm no bean counter. At least the Salmon Ceviche is fabulously fresh. 

I was so eager for the first round that I ate the Salmon and Bluefin Tuna before I remembered to take a photo. Fortunately, I did capture the pearly pink Hamachi yellowtail with the gooey, creamy Madai red snapper with a pop of yuzu pepper and a breath of fresh shiso. Lemon only on the Hokkaido Scallop, that one is meaty but buttery-light. 

There's a Hand Roll of eel and avocado in the middle, and I love the warm crunch from the freshly toasted nori. 

Next is Nodoguro, a fish the menu calls "black throat". It has a slick and buttery flesh, and it finishes super savory. King Mackerel is dense and meaty, Goldeneye Snapper is pretty and smooth. Toro has popping bubbles of fatty flesh, and Hokkaido Uni finishes impossibly creamy and sweet. 

The ending is sweet and simple, with a lovely roll of snow crab. 

They call it a casual sushi spot, but I'm not fully convinced. The quality would place it at solidly upper-middle, but it's also clear that two guys who sell fish opened a restaurant. For starters, the service feels too rushed. They bring out the next course before I’m even halfway through my current one. Then there are only two seated tables during a weekday lunch, what could be the rush?

The cuts of fish are good, but I don't think they know how to make good sushi. The rice has very little detectable flavor and does these prime cuts no favors.

I liked it but I'm not in love. Casual or not, their cuts could compete with even Sugarfish if they cleaned up a little more. Places like South Bay's Vanshow are much better only because of their rice so I hope I can return here someday to see that they've grown. 

Lawrence Barbecue - Durham, NC

I forgot how nice it is to have a lot of space. Everything is so spread out down south, even in settled cities like Raleigh and Durham. I absolutely LOVE the location of Lawrence Barbecue, the seemingly middle-of-nowhere Boxyard. Someone stacked a bunch of shipping-container shops selling everything from barbecue to pizza and beer to ice cream and clothes and created a courtyard with shaded picnic tables where you can enjoy your haul. 

Lawrence Barbecue is the main mission, and with two kids and a dad in the car, it was a regular grab and go. 

My tray is a sampler of everything but the wings, which I now wish I hadn't missed. First, the special, the Hoodoo Brown Crispy Skin Pork Belly with a skin so loud you swear you bit right down into a bone. You feel that crack deep in your skull, and the river of fat-juice that flows from the belly layers beneath is just so savory. The contrasting textures and the technique required to get them should not be overlooked. Stack on potato bread and eat with all the pickles.

It's been so long since I've had ribs fall off the bone, I had started to think they were going out of style. But quality is always in fashion, and they know how to make pork ribs properly. Lovely smoke, sosoSO tender. I always pick brisket over ribs, but these might be my favorite thing here. 

That's no reason to skip the Brisket, though. The smoke is solid on these fall-apart slices, and that pile of pulled pork in the corner is also sure to please. 

You're here for the meat, but the sides are strong, and you'll need at least some Slaw to balance out the meaty-meat. Theirs makes a crunchy contrast, and the vinegar dressing keeps it light. Baked Beans are beefy and smoky, a thick and meaty mix with bits of brisket in between. Too heavy to stand aside but too delicious not to try. They also get creative with the Brussels, which are darkly charred, burnt and bitter but finish cheesy and sweet with a pickled hit at the end. 

It's been a long time since I've had BBQ this good, and I think the secret is in small-batch. A peek around the corner reveals only three smokers so they have to make every bite count. Best BBQ I've had this year, top 5 for life.

LA Farm - Cary, NC

A bakery inside a Whole Foods, sold out of half their stuff by 11 AM on a weekday. Even if I didn't think they were good, plenty of others do. 

I do think they're good, though, lots of good baked goods. Chocolate croissants are a staple, the cinnamon roll is big and fluffy, with icing on the side so it doesn't get soggy. Strawberry bread is summery-sweet, and I love that densely-moist texture. And then there's Le Crookie, this crazy croissant draped with a layer of cookie dough. The crusty, doughy cookie contrasts the fluffy, chewy croissant, and say what you want, but it's undeniably delicious and fun. It's so good someone cut into one before I could even take a photo. 

Still a lovely bakery, great place to grab some baked goods before heading to a friend's house or to sit for a cuppa and a treat. 

Dim Sum Asian Asian Bistro - Durham, NC

Eater Carolinas called this one of the essential Chinese restaurants in the Triangle, and I can see the potential here.

Little plates, small portions, the way dim sum should be, and most of it looks housemade which is grounds for mad props. Unfortunately, much of that potential remains untapped on this day. 

To start, the service is scant. It's a small space, but a single server struggles when they're fully seated so be sure to submit your entire order sheet soon.

To start, my always-favorite Shrimp Hargow are so pretty, and the filling is a nice dice. But there's no shrimp flavor left - it's all crowded out by the unbearable amount of salt.

similar issue with the Shrimp and Chive Dumpling - the salt is all you taste.

The Pork Dumplings are shumai, and the thin, chewy wrapper encases a super-savory filling, and this one is seasoned just right. 

Creamy Salt Egg Buns have that lovely fine-grain filling with a sweet finish and none of the unpleasant sulfur that often comes with egg yolk. Ironically, this is one of the least salty things they make. 

Stuffed Bean Curd Skin contains mostly veggies and maybe a little pork. It's not for everyone, but I like their version well.

Beef Tripe is alright, definitely on the chewy side. 

Not much meat on those Pork Ribs but the flavor is alright.

Chinese Broccoli is perfectly steamed, but oy, do they drown it in oyster sauce.

They translate the Pan Fried Pork Buns to "sheng jian bao", but that's not what these are. They have no soup, and although the frying is nice, the filling is downright brackish. 

Com’on guys, the Stuffed Tofu with Shrimp is a joke. The tofu is stuffed with more tofu (because it's a solid cube of tofu!) and topped with a few pieces of diced shrimp, barely enough to be a garnish. Both components are quite good, but together, I don't know what they tried to do. 

Skip right over that Egg Pancake. It's an indecisive dish, just scallion pancake dipped in egg on what appears to be only one side, then pan-fried again. They also cover it with an extremely salty, slightly spicy sauce that should probably only be used in stir-fry. With it, the pancake tastes like nothing, without it, the pancake also tastes like nothing. 

Red Bean Sesame Balls are great, freshly fried, and I love the whole red beans that add texture to the filling. 

Love the Coconut Pudding. Cold, refreshing, gelatinous. Terrible plating - just stuck to a bowl, but I could eat at least three orders. 

I really wanted to love this place, but everything is just so salty. The fillings are inedible, the sauces smother, and it really sucks that a place that's only open 3 days a week doesn't make 25% of their menu on one of those days, especially since that includes rice noodles and egg tarts, which are dim sum classics. I can only hope we came on an off day because I would absolutely give this place a second chance. 

Quality of Bombay Indian Cuisine - Lawndale

So many red flags. The name, the sign, the strip mall...yet it consistently keeps its spot on Eater LA's list of best South Bay restaurants. 

How, you ask? The Dal Makhani is how. Black lentils and so many spices synthesize a flavor so deep and dark. Beautifully bold, surprisingly smooth, comfort food with a palatal pop. By far the most exciting dal I've had to date. 

Goat Curry is quite nice, with its  hard-hits of garlic and ginger. Not their best dish but no regrets whatsoever.

Opt instead for Butter Chicken. It's impossibly creamy, to a level I didn't think even butter chicken could achieve. 

Palak Paneer is the one thing I don't think they do well. The paneer is dense and hard, and the spinach is dark and dull, unlike neighbor Al Noor or Bollywood Zaika, which has the best.

That Chana Masala, though. Aromatic, smoothly spiced, earthy curry with a gentle nudge from the garlic and ginger. I can't describe it well, but it's just a lovely, well-balanced dish. 

My Garlic Naan is rather soggy on top, the garlic not so cooked. Skip in favor of rice, especially the Lamb Biryani. The lamb game is good, the meat is so tender, and every grain of rice has soaked up all the savor. 

There are only a few little tables inside this small corner stop, but it dispenses the best takeout in town. Call ahead then grab your bag and take it home to enjoy. I know all the Indian food is supposed to be in Artesia, but all, I've had here, I'm pretty sure Lawndale can compete. 

Great Full Gardens South Meadows - Reno, NV

It's one of those days. You long for the lightness of veggies stir fried, the moist but slightly dry shreds of chicken cooked correctly with not so much salt and oil not butter, the delightful surface-level desiccation of something minimally oiled and oven-roasted. But today you want that home-cooked charm without having to cook it. 

Enter Doordash with a bag full of Great Full Gardens. Straightforward, wholesome food that tastes like you could have made it...if you were an excellent cook. Simple and often understated, plates packed with veggies and fruit, mostly, if not all organic. Food so approachable, so utterly relatable that it all sounds a bit boring, but in this case, boring isn't bad. 

You get straightforward meals like the Teriyaki Bowl, a sauce-sweetened protein on a base of brown rice. There's no shortage of mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, and broccoli, and the pineapple rings on top are the best. It's the kind of thing you'd make after a farmer's market forage if you had either the time or inclination. 

The Stuffed Shrooms are not something I would normally make, but these leave me inspired. Portobello caps are always awesome, and my first encounter with Gardein makes me forget that these have no meat. They really do season it impressively well. Add some melted cheese to glue down the carrots and microgreens, and we have a winner. 

This is the most legit Grilled Cheese I've ever had anywhere. Hot, fluffy, sourdough bun-bread makes a 4-cheese hoagie, perfectly toasted, spread with a rich aioli. Grilled cheese is usually something you get for your kids, but this one is fully adult. 

I really like this place. Great-tasted everyday food made with fantastic ingredients so everything tastes like a farmer's market. Fine dining it is not, but for healthy homemade comfort it delivers every time. 

Atlantis Manhattan Deli - Reno, NV

Surprised. Pleasantly surprised. As someone whose Jewish upbringing consisted of homemade meals and deliveries from Second Avenue Deli, I didn't expect to enjoy a place called Manhattan Deli at a mega-resort in Reno. 

But here we are, this forced facsimile of something you'd find on a city street, and I find the food is delightful. There's this giant Corned Beef and Pastrami Double Decker, with heights of meat similar to what you'd get from Katz. You'd never get anything this size in NYC, and never for a reasonable price. Both meats are hot and thinly shaved. The corned beef is a bit more of a solid chew, but both are tender, and the pastrami is fall-apart quality. 

The New York Special is a lot lighter. The corned beef is cold, and savory equals creamy-sweet in a matching layer of coleslaw.

Both sandwiches are substantial, and either could be easily shared, but both are surprisingly easy to eat. Each bite invites another, and though you never forget you're in Reno, the spirit of New York is very much present in the hot, heaping generosity between both slices of bread. 

Atlantis Oyster & Sushi Bar - Reno, NV

Seafood in a landlocked city can only be so good, but Reno isn't so far from shore that they can't fly it or drive it in fast enough. 

It's best to stick to simplicity here - they do a fun Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, for example. Giant shrimp, nice and cold. Drizzle with lemon, dunk in sauce. 

The Sashimi Salad comes with so many slices of seared tuna, and what looks like most of a can of black tobiko. Lots of green stuff beneath, including seaweed salad, and it makes a pretty good lighter lunch. The tuna itself could be fresher, but it's fine. 

Prefer your fish cooked? Probably a better idea here. The Fisherman's Platter is great for sharing, and all that breading is so filling. There's cod, there's crunchy panko prawns, and even the oysters are a pleasant surprise - not even the least bit fishy. 

Plenty of solid choices here, and they have an AYCE deal if you want to stuff yourself with mid-level sushi. This oyster and sushi bar is a decent one if you're staying at the Atlantis. I wouldn't make a special trip here, but it's a good break from diner or fine dining. 

Atlantis Red Bloom - Reno, NV

Usually casino restaurants are pretty well thought-out, with everything strategically placed, especially at mega-resorts like the Atlantis. Their steakhouse is well-known, and they have a few trendier places that the grandparents love to frequent, including the newer Bistro Napa, but I'm pretty sure Red Bloom was an afterthought. Hey, marketing team, you named your Asian restaurant after the deadly algae that infects shellfish, rendering them unfit for human consumption. 

The food is not unfit for human consumption...only unfit for enjoyment, starting with a sad salad. This Vietnamese Chicken Salad has flavorless white chicken, and shredded things, all of which were so incredibly soggy. There was supposed to be a housemade fish sauce, but it seems to have drowned like the salad. 

Shrimp Hargow fell apart immediately. 

Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings are alright. They did taste freshly fried and were quite crunchy. Not much in terms of seasoning, but this was absolutely okay. 

Mongolian Beef and Beef Bulgolgi are interchangeable in flavor and appearance, one slightly sweeter than the other, and the former has some little crispy bits on top. It's fine, it's stir fried respectably, but PF Chang's it is not. 

Service is slow, but it's lunch on a Tuesday so I can cut them some slack, but what I can't forgive is the sake. We ordered it at the beginning, and it came as our dessert. Unfortunately, we did not order dessert so we were stuck awkwardly sipping sake with no food to eat. I have no idea what took that long - I doubt they ferment it themselves. 

Do not eat here. You will not be happy.

Atlantis Purple Parrot - Reno, NV

Oh boy, I never thought I'd have a problem with a greasy-spoon diner in a casino.

They are what they are, and usually that's just fine, but when the grease is so old it permeates all your food, then it becomes a problem. 

A Fresh Vegetable Omelet would have been good as the ingredients were actually fresh vegetables, but nothing could save it from the awful oil. The hash browns had the same aftertaste, like either the oil hadn't been changed for days or the griddle hadn't been cleaned for weeks.

The Biscuit with Gravy wasn't bad. Fine biscuit, fine gravy, hits your hangover like a Vegas buffet. Nothing special, but no complaints. 

I don't know what to think. A dirty grill? Bad oil? Whatever it is, I'm just glad I only ordered one thing. I won't be ordering anything else. 

Knife Pleat - Costa Mesa

What does a one-Michelin-star tea look like?

Small. Little bites, lithe and light, delicate, exquisite.

There's not a single ingredient that doesn't get to sing, and everything serves a purpose, whether it primes your palate, tickles your taste buds, or just makes magic in your mouth. No nonsense, no fillers, just a concise three-tier and some sandwiches that prioritize top-notch quality over uncomfortable quantity.

Start by selecting a single tea from a carefully curated list. I went Grand Earl Grey and got the cleanest, truest earl grey I've ever had. It's a shockingly straightforward cup of bold and woody, strong and simple, with a less harsh finish no matter how long it steeps. It's undoubtedly elegant and gracefully self-assured, but it's my bestie's Jin Xuan Oolong that floats with floral and fruity notes, a breezy bouquet as beautiful as its drinker.

Start with the sandwiches before you fill up on everything else. The Maine Lobster Eclair is a brick of a baguette, an all-butter shell with a shattering crust. It's reminiscent of a Red Lobster cheddar biscuit...if Red Lobster were run by Michelin-starred chefs. The filling has the full, sweet succulence of a delicate lobster with some crunch from small bits of celery.

Gravlax Salmon is a slick and meaty fish, sweetened by a sheet of cream cheese with a lift of dill on an earthy rye-caraway bread. 

Bright Persian Cucumbers crunch across an herby cream cheese, and even the Radish & Watercress has some pop, with a dry and bitter radish to offset the thick slab of butter beneath. It is a masterful chef indeed who can make radishes remotely interesting.  

Take that Deviled Egg from the top tier, and bite into that creamy concoction. The yolky mix is seamless, a balance of density with uplifting herbs offset by a few pops from the dill smoked trout roe on top. 

The middle tier has more savories; meet the Green Circle Chicken Barquette which holds the best chicken salad my bestie has ever had. There's savory chicken, crunchy celery, some sweetness from the apple, and just enough curry to give it some grit without turning it into a heavy hitter. 

The Winter Crostini is a pile of cold roots: celeriac, carrot, butternut squash, and yellow beet, all beautifully cooked and topped with some tangy pomegranate to sweeten the deal.

My favorite is always the Sunchoke, a sweet, roasted root with a simple, buttery tart shell and a dollop of cream on top. 

Desserts are very dessert-y, but the lower amounts of sugar show restraint. There's a simple little Strawberry Cream Puff, with a cake so fluffy and light. There's a Lemon Cake a la Sansa Stark, and my favorite is this Cacao Pod of chocolate mousse with fragrant hazelnut and a tangy layer of passionfruit. I've never seen anything so beautiful or tasted anything so complete. The Financier has a lovely pistachio with a base of brown butter cake. My least favorite has to be the Rhubarb Tartelette. This vibrant setting sun is more like a very light jelly, and it strips the rhubarb of a lot of its tartness. It might make it more palate-pleasing and far less jarring, but it takes the barb out of the rhubarb.

Just around the edge of a flawless black sesame Macaron sits a Diamant Chocolat Sable, basically a rich chocolate cookie, a perfect ending accompaniment to any tea. 

It's a lovely tea service that ends entirely too soon. I loved every moment and cherished every bite, and I left fully satisfied but felt like I could always have one more. It's beautiful but it's not cheap, and it's something most people can rarely afford to replicate. Still, I think I'd choose it again, even over other great tea services that might cost half as much. Afternoon tea is already very elevated, so why not splurge on the very best?

Mom Please Ukrainian Food - Playa Vista

Oh god, I hate sour cream. My loathing of mayo was converted by Kewpie, age and whipped schmear have softened my cringe at cream cheese, and my avocado aversion was annihilated by a single bite of guac. But I think I will always hate sour cream. It is neither sour nor cream, and it is horrid.

Mom Please did not make me hate sour cream any less, but they did make me want Ukrainian more.

They make so many dumplings, soft-and-chewy-wrapper, plump little tortellini-shaped Pelmeni. These have a firm filling of a lean ground chicken sweetened by onion aromatics.

Flatter, wider Varenyky have a cordlike closure, a change-purse containing a viscous liquid of sour cherry and some mint to freshen the gooey fruit. 

Both are lovely, both are beautifully crafted, a credit to any culture. But they are incomplete without the sour cream. This loathsome emulsion adds fluid where there is only solid, smoothness to coat the bumps of cherries and chicken, blandness to soothe the salt and temper the tart. It's objectively delicious all together, if it didn't have to be sour cream. 

This Deruny with Salmon is so pretty but it will cost a pretty penny. A round of three stacked potato pancakes are lightly fried and topped with a rosebud of perfectly-cooked, super-tender salmon, warm fatty fish and carbs topped with a cooling tzatziki that lightens things up a bit. 

Medovik is a multi-crepe honey cake, layers separated by a sour cream frosting that I don't detest. The fruit gives it some sweet and tart notes, and I like that it's not overly sweet. 

I know I slammed the sour cream, but there's nothing wrong with this traditional pairing. The problem lies within my palate alone. A wise restaurateur once said "you send wine back because it's bad, not because you don't like it", and there is not a single thing I ate here that I didn't truly love. The food is lovely and it's a strong statement that I enjoyed it despite the sour cream.