Kagura - El Segundo

Go for Gozen, the Gindara Gozen, to be exact. 

The grilled black cod is sweet, sweet butter in saikyo miso. It's all sugar, no spice, and everything nice. You'll want to order more from the myriad menu, but this combo alone is almost enough to share.

The fish is filling, full of flavor and fulfilling, but you can equally enjoy your side of katsu pork if it's heavy protein that you're feeling. The panko is crisp, with breadcrumbs that keep their crunch even in the back of your Doordasher's car. You also get golden tempura with all the good veggies; my favorite squash and sweet potato, a bit of broccoli, and they even throw in a juicy shrimp. 

There's a bit of soba to curb a carb craving, though they make a decent Curry Udon as well. The chunks of chicken are juicy dark meat, and the curry is a bit surprising, dark but tasting light, finishing a little sweet and not so spicy. The wheat noodles are more hearty and earthy like the soba, and although it's not my favorite, I have nothing to say against it.

Spring for the Chicken Sand if you're a sando fan...or if you're married to one in my case. A white chicken breast and crustless white bread sandwich a light brown breading. Tonkotsu sauce soaks every surface, and it gets better with every bite. 

They have sushi too, if you're somehow still hungry. A Dragon Roll is topped with fall-apart fresh water eel, and the Blue Crab Roll is real sweet crab. There's a few slices of fresh sashimi from the gozen as well.

I may have over-ordered again, but it was so good we ate it all. Yes, two people ate an entire set meal with multiple courses big enough to two, two sushi rolls, a sandwich, AND a bowl of udon. Fantastic food and not a single thing I didn't like. I can confidently say they do a fantastic job with everything on their menu now...because I've pretty much tried the entire menu. And it was AWESOME!

The Kettle UPDATE - Manhattan Beach

Imagine it. The worst hangover of your life. The head-pounding, eye-bulging, can-hear-an-ant-breathe-in-the-next-room, even-your-hair-hurts kind of drank-like-you're-still-21 walk of shame. 

Now imagine the best case scenario. Your whole day is gone no matter what you do, and there's no way the nausea will abate before bedtime. But there is something that might get you through the next hour if your sunglasses are dark enough. 

Have a seat on the patio at The Kettle. Wear your mask until your food arrives, and believe me, you'll want to because hangovers make everything smell just that much more. Stay away from the people you didn't come with because they are just too loud. Order Banana Pancakes. These pancakes are fluffy but thin enough to make a manageable stack. There’s something about passing the side of your fork through all five layers and seeing them rebound as your molars cut through the stripes. They're soft enough that you don't need a knife on those mornings when you just can't do the extra work, and they do taste like real but slightly sweetened banana. It's the right mix of sugar and carbs to settle your stomach and fuel the rest of a painful day. 

Need protein? Try one of their 6-egg omelets. I don't really know how many eggs they use, but this rock of a Crab Omelet isn't exactly stingy. It really does taste crabby in a fishy manner so I opt for veggies or pork if you have a hangover or are not accustomed to fishy flavors. Just don't skip the side of home fries. They’re well-seasoned and nowadays, that seems to be a miracle. Plus they got the potato just right; soft but not too mushy. Potatoes are a lost art, but The Kettle seems to have found them. They also throw in a muffin. Mine was blueberry. It was TO DIE FOR. Seriously, I could have just eaten 6 muffins.  

I normally hate brunch, and breakfast is a part of the day I usually skip. But The Kettle does cook a good one if you're in the mood, and you'll leave satisfied and way too full even if you're not. I was lukewarm in my previous review, but I think I got a new appreciation for their pancakes and potatoes. 

Blessed Tropical Jamaican Cuisine - Inglewood

I’ll go Michelin if I want something pretty. But today I want to be Blessed so give me the nitty-gritty. Skip the little flowers and garnishes that can be garish and spoon me up some of that strip-mall chic. I don’t want portion control and a coursed meal with wine pairings and pacing. Just leave me with a heaping platter of something real. Give me those island flavors that got lost when I left the Bronx. I want some of that spice, that tickle, that dig-deep sizzle and burn. 

They’re not so shy about the spice. The Curry Goat is raging wave of gravy that taps the peppery notes and pounds the turmeric. The spice is a tiny bit sweet, and I hope it’s scotch bonnets doing the scorching.

Their goat may fall right off the bone, but their Oxtail melts in your mouth. The meat is so tender it’s practically the texture of the gravy, and there’s even some marrow in the bones. 

They were out of jerk chicken so this flaky-pastry Beef Patty and a side of Plantains will have to do. This patty packs some punch, filled with a pasty, beefy, spicy schmear.

Now THIS is Jamaican food. Down and dirty, gravy  and curry. Sauce dripping through the rice, all the fat and oil stewed all day and night. They make it real and they make it with heart and you can tell. No matter where you’re from, all the food at Blessed will taste like home.

Natraliart Jamaican Restaurant & Market - Los Angeles

Good food is an art, and Natraliart employs some in making Jamaican food in a way that is healthy. 

Fortunately, it is healthy. They minimize their use of grease, and you can gorge to your heart's content and still feel like you did okay. 

Unfortunately, it is healthy. Too healthy. The rice is dry and the peas are bland. The Oxtail is juicy and flavorful, but there's no grease drippings for the rice to catch. Meat is tender and it does fall off the bone with minimal help. Always love a side of plantains, and the greens are bright and refreshing.

A crusty Beef Patty is a must, and I must say it is delicious. The filling has a spice mix, and it's on the mild side for those who sweat at a little spice. 

The Curry Goat is a personal favorite, but this one lacks the spice and sass. The color is almost the same as the oxtail, which already says that something is wrong. I still like it, but I wouldn't call it a standout. 

It’s pretty and it’s clean with straightforward flavors, but somehow it's a little too clean. The minimal grease is a buzzkill, and it robs the food of the depth and breadth of flavors that make it truly island. That said, I've never seen anyone get so much flavor into a chicken breast. The Jerk Chicken is impressive, sharp spices that nip at your tastebuds, a profile that will dally and dance. I really hate white meat, but their white doesn't mean vanilla. 

Natraliart is nice. Maybe it's a little too nice. Jerk Chicken aside, I don’t want my island food to be nice. I want the warmth of the sand and sun, and I want the golden rays of grease. The fat is supposed to be in the stew, and the sauces and gravies should have a bit of color, preferably a color that looks a little bit off. I wouldn't dissuade you from Natraliart, but I've already found a place that's better. 

Painter’s Tape - Gardena

Painter’s Tape. The name confuses me as much as the menu. What exactly is all of this? It’s not a specific cuisine, it’s not a specific style or theme, it’s just a list of food. But it’s a list of fantastic food so I’m too busy eating to ask too many questions.

There are some themes, sections of the menu that move along a similar vein. You have your meat and potatoes menu, for example, with these show-stealing Patatas Bravas. Chunky potatoes still crunch a little after half an hour in a car as they bathe in tub of garlic mayo with a bath bomb of paprika. The poached egg is fluffy like egg-white water (but not at all raw) and the yolk breaks into a gooey runoff.

Like meat and potatoes for breakfast? Put it all together in a big Breakfast Burrito. Open wide to get it all into one bite. There’s crispy-crust-creamy-core hash browns, scarlet-red bacon cured in sugar, eggs in a scramble, and cheddar cheese as the glue.

That’s a brick of a burrito, built for brawn, but you also go bougie if that’s a bit more your speed. Their Creme Brûlée French Toast is dessert on a slice of bread, a literally ladle of the good stuff.

The Texas Toast is the sugar without the cream. A sizable slice stays chewy despite being soaked through with milk n’ honey. It didn’t sound like much but condensed milk with honey is the nectar of the Asian gods.

It gets a little more Asian from here with sides like Honey Butter Chips. Thick crisps hold up under a gooey layer of honey, and every chip is laced with cayenne so every bite will nip you back. 

All cuisines have some iteration of fried balls of dough, but none more memorable than the Okinawa Hush Puppies. They’re fried with sweet flour the size of a baby’s fist, and the finish is a texture and taste  that channels mochi with a little less chew.

Green Beans are sweet with ginger and sesame, even sweeter with grated apple. Also Asian-inspired but a bit more creative than what you’d get from mom.

It circles back to American when you get to the section of sandos. The Fried Chicken Sandwich is their signature, and it’s everything you’d want in a sandwich. The chicken is impossibly juicy wrapped in a breading never sogs. It falls apart when you eat it, and you’ll never keep your fingers clean. What you will do is try to catch every drop of creamy honey mustard as it runs down the lettuce and plays off the pickles.

What’s more classic than a Chopped Cheese from NYC?  A dice of soft steak suspends in a latticework of cheese, a literal nod to the greatest hits of every deli and gastropub.

What is this food? It’s South Bay. Not Californian, nor is it Asian, it is South Bay. It’s that unique mix of all the cultures that coexist in this unique community, a taste of their inspiration combined. What is this food? Does it need a name? I call it fantastic food and that’s all you need to know.

Aunty Maile's Hawaiian Restaurant - Torrance

Every ethnicity has an auntie. They all look a little different on the outside, but on the inside they’re all the same. That auntie is always your family, though not necessarily by blood. Portly and sweet, she cooks like a five-star chef but her plating and her palate speak in softer, more familiar tones. She's just a little better than your mom, which you would never EVER admit to your mom, and unlike your mom? her job isn't to keep you healthy; it’s to challenge the waistbands of all of the pants your mom just bought. She’ll spoil you just like a grandma but she’s a little younger and a little bit cooler, and she has a smile that can melt an iceberg and a glare that can turn bread to toast. 

I don't know what Auntie Maile looks like, but I do know what she cooks like. She’s an auntie that will start your day right with a rock of a Loco Moco every time you spend the night. Little kid you couldn’t wait to peek under the cover of this over-easy egg, and adult you would gratefully half-heartedly stab at that baseball-sized beef patty beneath.

You’ve barely finished breakfast but she already has her mind on lunch. She fries you up some Chicken Katsu as a “light” option...until she douses that crisp panko-crumb concoction with a hearty helping of her homemade gravy. 

Or you get Furikake Chicken, depending on what she wants to make. She always uses dark meat for a fiercer flavor, and the meatier qualities cluck through the furikake glaze. You get a mix of salty and sweet with a sprinkle of seaweed and sesame.

Her weekly Costco trips always include an industrial vat of furikake, and in her hands it’s more versatile that salt. She even uses it to make Poke, seasoning scarlet chunks of the other red meat.

Saiman Noodles are a taste of after school nostalgia, a bowl of bagged ramen noodles in clear broth. Made with whatever is in the fridge, this bowl is a chop suey of layered egg chunks, fish cake, and chashu. A couple guise and a bushel of bok choy sneak their way in as well.

Dinner get even more meaty, if that’s even possible. Kalbi Short Ribs are sliced super-thin so they soak through with sauce. You can peek between the web of marbled fat on these, but be prepared to chew as the connecting cartilage can be a little tough.

I prefer the Kalua Pig and Cabbage, with a pork is so soft and juicy it's like a soup inside the shredded meat. Smoky savor permeates the plate, subtle yet so very there.

Every order comes with a Macaroni Salad, and it’s the only thing that isn’t quite enough. Her recipe  seems so simple with just salt, pepper, and an even coat of mayo, but every bite begets another.

You'll never go hungry in Auntie Maile's kitchen. The portions are generous, the ingredients are fresh, and the love in palpable with each delicious bite.