The Chori-Man - San Pedro

For true-blue foodies, Chori-man makes every list. A pick-up window slinging succulent sausage puts this sweet little San Pedro street on many a foodie-destination map. The hours are odd, and it's a long drive from Lawndale, but it's one I may never stop making. 

They sit behind a closed door and a tiny takeout window, but they'll come right out to help you order if you need some help. I felt like family...maybe better than family because my family has never given me a Mexican Chocolate Horchata just for showing up. 

And this Breakfast Burrito is worth showing up for. The South Bay's best burrito lives here, and it is filled with juicy red chorizo nuggets which have a uniquely sweet and spicy chile finish and good hit of garlic. Crispy potatoes bring the texture, contrasting the ooey-gooey runny eggs. 

Chilaquiles Verdes are fun to try, but I like the burrito better. Get two if you must, but don't by any means miss the Tolucan green pork chorizo. The green is a godsend with aromatic herbs and earthy poblano.  

The Chori-Wings are an obsession at only $17 for the dozen, red chorizo drippings clinging to the crispy skin.

Both the best burrito and the best wings come from this South Bay institution. I dare say Choriman is a must-stop on the road to sampling the South Bay's best. 

Colossus - San Pedro

A branch of Long Beach's most beautiful bakery sits right next to Choriman. 

The display case is so small, be sure to snatch up multiple offerings before they're gone. 

The Country Loaf is their basic bread, best for...eating. This loaf is dense and moist, almost wet inside with an addictively sour finish that makes you immediately reach for more. Makes beautiful sandwiches, equally pleasurable to eat alone, free of any adornments.

Here lies the first Pecan Sticky Bun that has made me look since Boston, back when I could walk to Joanne Chang's flagship Flour. Then there's a Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Cookie, chocolatey but more bitter than sweet, perfect with earthy pumpkin. Classic Chocolate Chip is dotted with grains of sea salt which make the sweetness pop. 

Good bread, great bakes - you can tell they're made by a pastry chef. There's a polish to them, the way the flavors mesh and meld and harmonize, the way boldness mirrors restraint. The location may be subtle, but even the smallest storefront couldn't contain the greatness within. 

Che Vi - Garden Grove, CA

My favorite dessert is officially che! It's as cold as ice and as creamy as liquid ice cream but not so lactose-y and not so sweet. And I LIVE for all the gummies and chewies. 

The A12 Ube here has big purple balls in purple milk, and a little bit of everything I could ever wish to chew. Grass jelly slides down smooth, the ube balls are like mochi, taro pudding is a slurp, water chestnuts have a crunch, tapioca and crystal boba are firmer, and coconut jelly gives your teeth a squeak.

Like it? Love it. Colorful and fruity, so much stuff but also lovely and light. Ice cream is overrated. Skip the milkshake and pick up some che. 

PCH Noodles - Lomita

I wasn't sure what to expect from this replacement I rather resent. Nouilles of 3rds made one of the South Bay's best noodle soups, and I felt the loss quite deeply. 

As expected, PCH Noodles doesn't come close, and I knew right away when I saw the Roti Curry glistening wet with oil. The curry is a curry, and the roti is super crispy and fresh out of the fryer but they serve it immediately, without giving the excess oil a chance to drip. It's almost sippable once it quickly condenses on the bread . 

The Boat Noodles are a viscous murk, one in which sweetness substitutes for savor, and the broth simply lacks all balance and depth. I asked for wide noodles and got regular ones instead - they "forgot" despite us being one of two seated tables in the entire restaurant. To be fair, they immediately offered to remedy what was merely an honest mistake, but I declined, not wanting to waste food. New noodles may have made a difference, though, as the regular ones were almost gelatinous, sticking together and forming a rather unsettling texture for the soup. Just Ubon Thai if you want a good boat noodle soup. 

My friend's Drunken Noodle is so bland she has fully inverted the bottle soy sauce upon it, and even I, who cries over a jalapeno, can't taste the extra spice she asked for.

The only acceptable item is the Duck Noodle Soup. The clear broth has some savoriness, and the duck has some smoke which adds a little extra. If I get dragged here again, I will probably get this. 

The day's special of Tom Yum Fried Rice is my favorite, definitely the best thing they make. Dueling sweet and sour adds extra lift and life.

They were never going to replace Nouilles of 3rds in my head or heart but I had hoped they could come a little closer than this. Too many mediocre noodles - better to minimize the menu and focus on what they can do well. 

Mochinut - Palos Verdes

I don't love mochi donuts when they're no longer warm, but Mochinut makes a good box and keeps their dough tasting fresh. 

Original is always great, Matcha remains matcha even if it's icing-sweet, S'mores is fun but not all that necessary, Ube is my fave, and there's even a Dubai Chocolate one which doesn't approximate the real thing but is delightful all the same. 

A pleasant surprise for someone who had sworn off all mochi donuts since Modo shuttered their Mitsuwa stall, and the hot dogs look great as well. Will be back for a most deeply fried snack. 

Camelia - Los Angeles

Oh I just don't get it. LA has never been known for fine dining, but would it kill them to actually try? I get that the LA scene is too cool to care, but why do the fussy food if you don't want to fuss? 

Coming off a rave review from the LA Times, Camelia tops my list of pricey places to peruse. 

I made a reservation for 5:30 on a Sunday night, an early bird hour for two friends with kids, and it was immediately clear that the experience wasn't going to be part of the package. The decor was as expected for LA; naked tables, simple settings. The problem was that we were seated at one end of a series of 3 two-tops that were literally only two inches apart. Not bad for the people on the two ends, but a couple was later led to our almost-adjoining table and mercifully declined to sit - I suspect they did not wish to have 4 others join them on their date. The restaurant isn't roomy, but it's not so tight I can't take off my jacket without punching someone in the face. Would even 4-6 inches between tables be too much to ask? 

We opt for the tasting menu, a nightly tour of Camelia's greatest hits in smaller portions. 

Bluefin Tuna Toast is beautiful. Meaty, marbled marvels slide like silk, enveloped by fragrant shiso offset with a whiff of wasabi.

Chicken Liver Mousse Toast is a classic, a creamy billow of bile, fat against a sweet persimmon mostarda, lightened by a slice of daikon. East meets west for fusion at its finest. 

The salad boasts these beautiful leaves of pink radicchio, the bitterness of which a bit of vinegar mollifies. They are an enchanting contrast to a bed of creamy burrata and soft kabocha agebitashi, flavors that boldly contrast yet seamlessly float together. 

Hokkaido Uni Pasta. My three favorite words in the whole world. This statement is true...but only in the most literal sense. The only uni is on top, a creamy half-nibble, with a careless twirl of spaghetti so undercooked it couldn't cling to any of the "uni butter", which is so subtle it isn't there. 

I think they were going for understated but they forgot the “der”. The uni remained unstated except for the little bit at the top, though the pasta was notably unDERcooked. 

This Grilled Loup de Mer is a most perfect specimen. Crispy skin, tender white flesh, a ginger ponzu just assertive enough to brighten a naturally neutral fish, and bok choy because...bok choy is Asian. The stems are not the most appealing. No flavor there so eat with big bites of sauce.

If I could choose only one thing from my few and far between fine dining experiences it would be a perfect Steak. And this is the night they decide to serve a real New York strip. The steak is exquisite but the plating, just what the actual... 

A runaway onion ring settles in a spiral like a dropped bottle cap as the runner lowers my steak at an awkward angle of at least 50 degrees. My onion rings give some side eye as the swish of sauce smiles back. The steak is so perfectly done, but I feel like I'm eating someone's nose. 

Also, the tempura onion rings taste like butter. That's how you know it's French - even the tempura tastes like butter. 

Here is my friend's plate, in case you are wondering how the steak is supposed to look.

I expect dessert to be a throwaway, but this Tart will be among the best I'll have this year. The citrus asserts in a tangy yuzu custard, and it snaps against the sugar while contrasting the bold and bitter strip of matcha, which is just thick enough to make this tart exceptional. 

Service is just enough so you don't yearn for privacy but feel like you can have all the help you need. It's impersonal but professional, though it's pretty clear no one cares about their plating tonight. I don't know about this place. Maybe I should have tried the more unusual dishes on their menu or maybe I should have gone back to Bestia. Either way, I'll be staying in the South Bay when I want some real uni pasta. I'll at least get a proper plate at Spoon House. 

Chado Tea Room - Torrance

Wow, I don't know what to say. Chado has held a place on Eater LA's best afternoon tea list, but if this is among the best, I wonder how bad the others are. I can only assume the quality varies by location because what I had in old Torrance was the absolute worst. 

I suppose you get what you pay for, and $35 doesn't buy much these days. 

The elephant teapots are adorable, but my teacup has little chips around the rim. I supposed that gives it character? 

Most of the sandwiches are alright, fresh smoked salmon, chicken salad with cranberry on warm, toasted bread. Cucumber is a bit bland, and the green onions are confined to one cream cheesy end so you either start or finish with very abrasive bites. There should be an award for the egg salad - it's impressively bad. Zero seasoning, tasteless mush, so sulfuric the aftertaste is putrid. 

Even the blueberry scones tasted a little old, and mine had green dots on the bottom, the color of mold. They assured me that the flour can turn that color when baked, but the replacement apricot scone tasted significantly more fresh. No objections to the jam and clotted cream. 

Macarons are fine, but that butter cookie tastes a little stale. 

We ate at 11 AM on a Friday so I suspect our food wasn't all that fresh. Cute place to shop, but I would recommend drinks only if you're sitting down.