Silog - Torrance

Jollibee is Filipino fast food, and Silog is Filipino slow food. 

Appetizers like little Lumpia take some time to cook, and these meat and veggie delights are fresh from the fryer.  

Chunky cubes of Lechon Kawali Silog are cooked not once but twice, and the crisp crust yields to rivers of fatty, porky juice. 

Sisig Silog is so savory. Chopped, gooey braised bits with crispy chicharon for texture and garlic aioli to make it cohesive and rich. Mix in the soft-boiled egg with a gooey yolk, and it's the best rice bowl you'll have this week.

The Tocino Silog is bacon candy...candied bacon; sweet, thin, chewy cured pork, finished with tropical fruit.  

Desert is Halo Halo, which surprisingly survives the transit, just eat fast or the ice will be water. Scoop up the bits of red bean, combined with candy-fruit, add the milk and grab some ube ice cream on the way up. It's a sweet treat at the end or an excellent accompaniment to the meal. 

Get it fast, eat it slow. All the meats melt in your mouth, and you'll want to savor them forever. There's a delicate, exquisite quality to this classic comfort food with an unmatchable attention to detail. I've had good Filipino food, but this place even puts Lasa to shame. 

Dim Sum King - El Monte

In the valley of little China that we call San Gabriel, Dim Sum King lives among the greats. Hailing from El Monte where shrimp hargow are literally a dime a dozen, you have to make an impression to survive. 

I've had a fair amount of SGV dim sum, and I can confirm that the King ranks among the nobles.  

They make my favorites, a flavorful Shrimp Hargow with a crystal wrapper that doesn't disintegrate.

Shu Mai are standard, porky and dense.

Taro Cake is rooty-tooty and pleasantly edible. The cake is soft enough to chew and firm enough to enjoy. 

Baked BBQ Pork Buns are fluffy and filled, topped with a sweet and shiny glaze.  

Shanghai Pork Soup Dumplings are tender and light, from the same source as all the others. 

The Beancurd Roll has a chewy wrapper to contrast the core of sauteed veg. 

Steamed Beef Balls are tender and moist, like they've been stewing in savory soup. 

Pan Fried Chive Cakes have a paper-thin shrink-wrap peel that adds some al dente to a moist dumpling filling. 

Sesame Balls are cracklin' classic with smooth red bean inside.

Standard dim sum, all well-done. I had a significant sampling, and not a single dish disappoints. I haven't tried as much SGV dim sum as I'd like, so I'd go elsewhere next time I have a craving. So although Dim Sum King wouldn't be my first choice, I'd circle back someday and be glad I did.

Jame Enoteca - El Segundo

There’s an Italian bistro in El Segundo generating a bit of buzz and quite the fuss. It's tucked away in a main street strip mall, a small, elegant storefront.

I start with some skepticism, staring at a dish of Sprouts. I love a good brussel, but it's still just a brussel...or is it? Alright, Jame, you have my full attention. A single bite reveals that they are perfectly roasted, the bare minimum, IMO, but then you taste the drizzle, which is a flavor so divine I can only assume it's what balsamic is supposed to be. 

The DineLA deal comes with a glass of wine, and my Montepulciano pairs well with whatever, as if my unsophisticated wine palate would know. It’s a young wine, but it has some style and smoothness, which is more than I would expect for something comp'ed.

Meaty, meaty Meatballs, so moist. Topped with a thick tomato, creamy with a little cheese, offset by a sharp arugula. 

Paccheri is rich with savory sausage, pork permeating a simple, tart tomato and finishes with an aroma of fennel and fragrant sage.

I was prepared to love the paccheri, but the Spicy Rigatoni catches me by surprise. A simple-seeming sauce clings with the crannies of every rigatoni sleeve and leaves you breathless in a single bite. It's just pasta with a sauce, but you'll want to take shots of this vodka.

Dessert is a Meyer Lemon Pie, a tart confection in a cohesive cracker crust with crunch, topped with a baseball of fresh whipped cream that's almost as thick as ice cream. 

Every bite from Jame is simple yet exceptional, and though the food is familiar, it carries the signature of their own unique swagger. Italians are known to be playful, but this food has serious flavor. 

Heritage Barbecue - San Juan Capistrano, CA

Texas 'cue in Capistrano plucked from local celebrity and overall obscurity by Michelin's Bib Gourmand. It's a gift and a curse, having places like this one so close yet so far away. Instead of a sleep-in Saturday, we're out the door at 9 AM for lineup at 11 to compete for the meat.

They have a bit of everything, so check out this crazy tray. Big bites like the Beef Rib and Brisket are big on flavor and silky with marbled fat. Smoke is no joke for a star of dixie, and I will say they're a lot less smoky than my mail-order from Texas institutions like Truth and Snow's. Overall just fabulous, but under-all not as big as Texas. 

They may be big on beef, but don't forget the pork. Their Pulled Pork is perfection, an arguable equal when all is said and done. 

Ribs fall off the bone, and the seasoning has some style. Sides like this crazy-good cavatappi Mac & Cheese are boosted by chicharron, and the fluffy-fresh Biscuit is incredible.

I wish they had some sausage, but they have the Swedish Meatball instead. It looks real pretty, but it's loaded with salt and little else. That pretty gray gravy is more of the same, and I can't believe they skipped sausage for this. 

Roast Vegetables are our side, and they really made this into something special. The bed of gooey cheese makes it rich, and the smoke does a dance on the palate. On a menu full of rich, heavy things, I would have been fine with just plain veggies, though I do love what they did with these. 

Their overall smoke isn’t as strong but they do deliver a taste of Texas. It's a sampling of a Lone Star tradition from San Juan Capistrano, a standing Socal reminder that when it comes to food, you don't mess with Texas.