Sushi Gen - Los Angeles

#sushithursday. That's a thing, right? That's totally not a thing, but we're making it a thing because there's no way we're getting a weekend seat at Sushi Gen without a reservation.

What's so special about Sushi Gen that makes people line up in a random little strip mall? For starters, they have a parking lot with affordable, validated parking. And then the omakase says it all. 

Sushi bar seats are the only way to go, and we're off to a quick start with a light app of Seaweed and Tororo. An interesting mix of textures, a collaboration of sea vs earth.  

Oh look, my favorite...everything is my favorite. And they don't play: they start with the best and end with it too. A couplet of Chu-toro and O-toro hit us hard. No palate-warmer for these slick slices of cold, flavor-burst fat. Each globule sticks to the tongue and coats it, each one bursts and sinks and spreads its savor slowly, lingering long after it's gone. 

A double helping of Amebi, another sweet and sticky sushi. This one also gets a bit globular, and the texture just one step above viscous. The gooey, almost-stickiness is the best.

Uni from Hokkaido, my favorite location. It's seamlessly creamy, sweet and succulent with barely a touch of brine.

Oysters are an unexpected treat, and these are fresh, salted butter.

The reason for double shrimp is revealed. The amebi heads are served fried and in miso soup. The head adds a lot of flavor, and everything tastes better fresh out of the fryer.

Back to business. There's a slice of Yellowtail so fatty and fresh, it tastes as creamy as the toro. The Salmon is a sweet ending, also with some marbled fat. 

Scallop and Sea Bream are a dynamic duo. No soy sauce permitted on these citrus-brushed, salt-sprinkled succulents accented with a mild flash-fire yuzu pepper.

Spanish Mackerel is meaty like a raw steak with less fishy undertones compared to its cousin. Albacore is soft and periwinkle pink, a lighter piece of perfection. 

Last round, ending in Tamago and eel. The egg is sweet and mildly shrimpy, a dense yet fluffy closer. The Unagi is heavier and more solid in texture, slathered with a weighty sauce. The Anago is a contrast, more soft-spoken and of an airy persuasion. Different pieces of the same puzzle, both of them a piece of pure bliss.

Jiro's Sukiyabashi ruined sushi for me. I love the stuff, but I haven't found the same joy since that Tokyo trip three years prior. Sushi Gen is the first time I've been genuinely impressed in THREE YEARS and it is easily best omakase I've had since Tokyo. 

Salt & Straw - Los Angeles

I love Salt & Straw. I love it even more without the line out the door, and Thursday 2 PM is the time to GO! 

It's already hard to walk by the small-batch chocolate they're featuring, and it's even harder to try just three samples. Girlfriend decides Orange County Honey Rocky Road is the one. It's a nutty chocolate with a honey finish, a sweeter spin on sweet, sweet classic.

My third sample is for funsies - I've been dying to try this infamous Bone Marrow and Cherry ice cream...Oh what fresh hell is this?! I hate it and I am so impressed! A unique flavor profile for sure, greasy and meaty on the finish despite being made of milk. All sorts of smoky and strange with a touch of fruit at the end. Oh man, this is like a man-bun. It's not for me, nor should it be for most people, but unlike the man-bun it's a perspective worth sharing that I'm glad I got to see. 

All ice cream tastes better inside a giant waffle cone, IMO. This Roasted Strawberry and White Chocolate is dense and creamy with the occasional gooey-berry clump.

I love ice cream, but I don't think all flavors are suitable for ice cream, and there are many creative ones that I definitely don't want in a cone. I love Salt & Straw for this; they're not afraid to challenge my perception of what ice cream should be, and whatever they make, they make incredibly well, whether or not it caters to my whimsy. There's not a single thing they do that I don't madly respect, and I'll be back even if the salted caramel is the only thing I'll eat. 

Ding Tea - Torrance

Two words: CHEESE. FOAM. 

I've never had cheese foam before. It sounds weird, I know, and I definitely started at this pile of cream cheese fluff on top of my Jasmine Green Tea with a lot of uncertainty. It looks like shaving cream with air bubbles. It tastes like very mild cream cheese with a little bit of sugar and a dash of salt. It mixes with the sweetened tea in a salty flurry.

The boba are perfect, and they below in every cup. The Hokkaido Black Milk Tea is creamy with a caramel finish. It's rich and cold, a variation of the classic milk tea but better. 

There's a reason Ding Tea is expanding. It's probably the first and only truly authentic boba in Torrance. There are plenty of places that hit the spot when you've craving the tea, but...CHEESE FOAM!

Harajuku Taproom - Culver City

I don't know why I even bother to leave Torrance for an izakaya. I have literally not had a single izakaya exceed my expectations, and I haven't been to a single one that wasn't mediocre. 

I loved the ambiance at Harajuku Taproom, but the best part is definitely the taproom. I had the Teikoku IPA. It tasted fresh and finished with a polish. My friend got something Belgian that tasted like black cherry. I would have tried a couple more if it hadn't been a school night. 

The skewers were not my favorite. The meats were grilled to perfection, but they were bland. You get options with the sauces, but I don't appreciate having to add my own salt. They didn't come with any seasoning to speak of. The Chicken Heart is juicy and does have a nice texture, though. 

The Chicken Skin was crispy but could be more so. 

Chicken Gizzards paired well with yuzu.

Pork Belly is always a good idea, but the non-fatty parts got a bit tough.

The Miso Eggplant was my favorite - our server recommended it. Each chunk was tender, and the miso added a sweet finish.

A couple of classics: the Taproom Gyoza had a juicy pork filling.

The Onigiri Rice Ball had flavorful salmon flakes. 

Don't come here looking for authentic sushi, but we had so much fun with the Ecstasy Roll that we got it twice. A glorious hot mess of tempura shrimp and crab crammed into a thick roll can't go wrong! Ahi tuna, yellowtail, salmon,and scallop on top, like a rainbow row on crack. We may or may not have fought viciously over the scallop pieces. 

The Spicy Tuna on Crispy Rice was another fun choice. Filling, with freshly diced tuna and all the spicy stuff.

Desserts were simple, but they did have my favorite ice creams. Both the black sesame and green tea are creamy and dense, and seriously, what's not to like?

I'm pretty meh about Harajuku Taproom, objectively speaking, but I did leave happy. I rarely like a place this much for ambiance alone, but I had a truly great time. It's great place to grab a drink after work, on a casual date, with the girls...it'll do as long as you're trying to have fun. So I didn't particularly love the food, but overall Harajuku Taproom is definitely good enough to bring me back.

Animal UPDATE - Los Angeles

This has to be a different Animal. The Animal I went to five years ago wasn't bad, but it wasn't THIS Animal. The stuff I had this time is like a new species. Conceptually brilliant, expertly prepared, execution flawless. It all lingers on the tongue and burns a new memory. It's like the best what-the-f*** moment EVER.

The only thing I even liked the first time was the Chicken Liver Toast, and the creamy, lightly-biled open-faced fat-sandwich is a still a fave. 

Everything else is new, and the Chicken Hearts is a risk worth taking. A cold plate, thick pomegranate molasses on an elastic heart. A middle eastern spin with yogurt, leafy parsely, and baharat, more of a whispered influence than a blatant takeover. Confident and self-assured. And delicious.

Every meat-meal needs a vegetable, right? The Swiss Chard Welsh Rarebit on rye is not a vegetable. It's the most jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring not-vegetable ever, but don't get this if you're looking for a vegetable. It's a muscle-meat gravy with the a cheesy inclination and a couple of leaves that add a lot of emphasis on the savory wavy-gravy notes.

I usually don't go for the veal, but you don't see a lot of Veal Tongue, and I didn't bite my tongue on this one. The server describes it as a veryveryVERY soft and melty slice of pastrami, and I literally cannot think of anything more accurate. The ikura seems superfluous, but it does add a very interesting texture. The fishy finish almost reminds me of a kosher deli slicing station, where pastrami waits with the lox. By no means not enjoyable, but I assume this combo was for contrast as I don't see the synergy. 

I usually don't go for veal...whatever, judge me, they have tongue, tartare, and Sweetbreads on the same menu and no way self-righteous, gotta draw-the-line somewhere me isn't getting at least two of the three. The sweetbreads are creamy, savory stuff in a crispy shell with brown butter. They steep but they don't sleep in a bed of creamed spinach under a pile of hen of the woods mushrooms.

Foie Gras. Another three options, managed to stop myself at one. There's a flaky, buttery biscuit under a hunk of liver, but no one notices and no one cares. The maple sausage gravy is great stuff, but when those fat globules in the foie start to flavor-burst, the whole world stops. The foie gras is brushed with the thinnest layer of maple syrup sugar, and they've somehow made a better version of what is already the greatest thing ever. 

I'm two-for-two on second chances. Manhattan House went from good to great, and Animal went from whatever to WHOA. I don't know what's changed, I know it wasn't me and my stubborn taste, so either Animal has stepped up its game or if it needs to just serve this menu forever. This time, Animal lived up to its hype, and I am a FAN!