Oki Doki Sushi - Hermosa Beach

 

The sushi is alright. Decent quality, pretty fresh. Never had a problem, can always rely on them to deliver the mid-range goods. 

Harbor Combo if you're hungry. Eight pieces with a choice roll, spicy tuna will work. The chef will choose all the standard sushi, and you have a nice, expected mix of salmon, tuna, and yellowtail, and shrimp. 

Oki Doki Combo if you're starving. Same sushi, extra pieces. A couple extra to fill you up. Opted for the Cali roll, no wrong decisions here.

Tokyo Combo if you'd like a little less. The Crunch Roll is filling as it's stuff with shrimp tempura, and you get five pieces to munch. Not bad for dinner, perfect for lunch. 

Tempura if you prefer-a. The shrimp and veg come with five of each to scratch your deep-fried itch. 

Be a sushi snob if you will, but I'm quite fond of Oki Doki for the consistent quality at a consistent price. Slurp into a sushi coma without going broke on a Netflix night, and have fun with the rolls if you're feeling a little fusion. 

Jack Stack vs Snow’s

A Texas treasure facing off against a Kansas City king. Same meat, different approach, winner takes all. (All of what? My respect, I guess...whatever that's worth...) Who will it be? Southern smoke or Midwest magic?

Ribs: Snow's

Inconsistent with the quality, but decisively better at all levels. That said, when Snow's sends a good rack, they steal the show. Shake a pink-smoke rib and watch those morsels of moist meat slide right off the bone. 

Jack Stack got two chances, but neither is a go. The Pork Spare Ribs are savory, but nothing I can't cook at home. Not better are the Baby Backs, forgettably forlorn and slathered surface-level with a sugary sauce.

BBQ Sauce: Snow’s 

Perfectly balanced, a light slurry with zero goop, an incredible balance between the sweet and sour. Jack Stack packs too much sting, and vinegar sours the mix. 

Burnt Ends: Jack Stack

Snow’s didn’t make this speciality, and I doubt they’d come close if they did. What witchcraft! It’s those bits of brisket that make you forget the rest; meat Gushers filled with fat juice. Pan-sear the crispy crust back onto these magic cubes, and let the marbled fat melt gooey and thick as you crunch. 

Brisket: Snow’s

The ribs are nice but for the brisket, you come running. Snow’s edges out Jack Stack by a narrower margin, but there's no contesting the win. The smoke and the sear are melt-in-your-mouth magic. Not much else to say; don’t mess with Texas.

Jack Stack makes it soft, and Jack Stack makes it well, but it's that sauce that doesn't do it any favors, and you can taste the tender but you don't taste the smoke.

Sides: Jack Stack

Only Jack Stack sells sides, but the Baked Beans deserve the wine. Braised with little bits of everything from the depths of the pit, the flavor is better than anything I’ve ever tasted and it's a better bbq sampler than their sampler.

There's some fun to be had with the Cheesy Corn Bake, and I imagine it goes well with some beer. Sweet corn, so creamy and cheddar cheesy, with smoky chunks of ham. But it is heavy. So heavy. 5 bites max before it’s too much. 

The winner: everyone. Everyone wins for the experience. But I'd pick Snow's. 

Everyday Eatery - Irvine

It's exactly what they say it is. An eatery where you go for your everyday eats. 

The Nutella French Toast is a choco-nut butter sandwich with syrup and a garnish of fruit. 

There's a Green Brekkie Bowl if you're looking for filling but light. A gooey egg drizzled with pesto and a flourish of feta bleeds into the only quinoa outside of Peru I was willing to eat. 

It's good, this eatery. Good for your every needs, good for your every day eats.

Jiayuan Dumpling House - Redondo Beach

A Canadian powerhouse quietly opened its doors in a forgettable strip mall along the PCH. Redondo's Riveria may be gentrifying left and right, but the small beach city itself still has some buried treasure left. Jiayuan Dumpling House just dug a little hole in the wall between a Mathnasium and an empty shop, and they let their cooking speak for itself. Staffed by a small crew spanning multiple generations, this little mom-and-pop place was wholly unprepared for the publicity they would receive. 

The wait time for take-out is at least an hour if you go during any time a reasonable person would eat. Don't even think about calling in - their phone rang off the hook so much that they had to take it off the hook. My advice is to order for pick-up in several hours and spend that wait time at the beach or chatting over ice cream at Handel's. 

Worth the wait? Very. 

Every Dumpling is exquisite, a pocket full of savor. Every filling is so juicy that each bite is a sip of soup. The Chicken Corn is delicate with a sweet surprise, and the gamier Beef is neutralized with wisps of carrot and daikon. Pork seems so common, yet their filling is so much better than all the others. The meat is impossibly tender and sweet. Even the Shrimp is subtle, with chicken to offset the shellfish.

I haven't seen Fried Chicken Stuffed Eggplant outside my mother's kitchen, and it's a deeply traditional dish worth trying. It's a pain to make at home, and here they do an admirable job keeping the eggplant light with a golden batter and morsels of juicy ground.

Get a Fried Noodle if you’re craving more carbs, but they shouldn't be the reason you’re here. 

I wish they'd make it easier to order, but it is worth the trouble and the wait. The South Bay had no great Chinese food until Muodu so Jiayuan brought their dumplings during a time of sorest need. Go and get them - they fill a void and a craving you didn't know you were missing. 

bb.q chicken - Lomita

Wings n' things, come for the wings. 

Gangnum Style is the coolest-sounding, and the black pepper sauce has some swag. 

Galbi is sweet and saucy, Spicy Galbi is smoky and sweet.

Soy Garlic is simple, but don't count this one out. There's a stiff whiff of garlic, and the sauce is balanced well. 

The BB Wings look benign, but they do have a serious kick. They don't quite equal the Wings of Fire, but all the spice here is easily tolerable, even for the weak. 

What you get won't look like the pictures on their website, but the taste is far more appealing. All their sauces tend to be sweet, but don't worry, the savory is hardly missed. Forget you, Colonel Sanders, this should be the only kind of KFC!

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams - Playa Vista

A newer complex opened in Playa, and Playa wasn't playin' when they picked which shops to start. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is available in many a grocery store, but there's a big difference when you're getting fresh, seasonal flavors in a brick and mortar. 

The Sweet Cream Biscuits and Peach Jam tastes sweet and wholesome like a sunny, southern, summer day. Lady Antebellum's "American Honey" plays in my head every time I take a bite. 

Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate Flecks is a classic. It's not too sweet, but it's the right kind of sweet, and nuts and chocolate are a well-known win. 

Jeni's ice cream errs on the denser side, and it's sweet without tasting full of sugar. It's not too hard like grocery store ice creams can get, and it's nice to get a packed pint with some real weight to it. They have a mix of traditional flavors with more creative ones that don't get too weird - it can be different, but it's still unmistakably ice cream. I don't have a favorite ice cream place yet, but Jeni's is on my list of loves. 

Ichimi Ann Bamboo Garden UPDATE- Torrance

I’ll never know what the extra “n” stands for...extra-good noodles?

Doubtless that they make the South Bay's best soba, and there’s nothing the hubby wants more than a steaming bowl with Unagi. 

I prefer mine Zaru, cold with a hot slab of eel on the side. 

They also have rice bowls if you’re feeling so inclined. Have at it - the Beef Bowl is divine. 

Mochi Tempura is another add-on that adds a little something to just about anything. There's nothing more satisfying than a golden crunch giving way to a chewy mochi, most refined.

If you’re looking for an extra app, they make an A+ Agedashi. The fry is extra light, the tofu is just so silky, and it all turns gooey in a lightly-slightly soup. 

They say if you ever plant bamboo it will take over your yard. It makes its roots and replicates faster than it can be removed. You'll never get over bamboo. You’ll never get over Bamboo Garden either. Sow their soba and you’ll never settle for any other. 

Raising Cane's - Torrance

 

"Why is it that every time a restaurant opens, the entire South Bay has to go get it?"

My husband has a way of summarizing a situation in a single sentence. His ability is directly proportional to the absurdity of the situation with a rate of exponential growth. He said this as we sat in a 5-block line for Raising Cane's weeks after they dropped their fried chicken boxes near Hawthorne and Lomita. 

They have every permutation of tenders and fries available, just try to gauge your hunger. Their tenders are breaded crisp, their chicken is clearly all white meat, and the flavors are pretty good. Fries are an afterthought, and so is the slaw, but the slaw helps break up the carbs. Whatever, I'm just here for the Texas Toast: big, fluffy, buttery bread, good with chicken drippings, just fine to stand alone.

Is it good? Oh, yeah. It's the In n' Out of chicken tenders. Fast food of acceptable quality, made fresh because they can barely keep up with the daily demand. Good enough to stop a lane of traffic on a major Torrance highway? Nope, not at all. I like, I want, I will return when I want, but I will never have a want for this stuff that goes 30 cars and 3 blocks deep. 

Lodge Bread Company - Los Angeles

Carbs for breakfast, carbs for lunch. Carbs for dinner, have a bunch! 

I would eat every single meal of every single day at Lodge and never get bored. I would get fat, but I would never get tired of waking up to a Cinnamon Roll the size of a yoga block and swiped with some that the lightly-whipped, barely-cheesy, touch-of-citrus cream. Bonus that it’s big enough for 2-3 mornings.

A lighter lunch can be just a fluffy, crusty Focaccia. This one has ripe tomatoes, bold basil, and toasty cheese.

Their Hummus might be a must-have, but their Pita is the best bread in the world. It has the softest hint of sourdough and a pocket full of air. Pull it apart to reveal a most supple and chewy texture. 

Their pizza is basically pita with some toppings, and the world has never known a better crust. The Wild Mushroom has a creamy taleggio to surround fragrant mushrooms and pungent slices of sweet roasted garlic.

Switch it up with the Spicy Sausage Pizza: a smudge of tomato sauce, a touch of garlic, and a soft, sweet sausage with a little bit of sass.

Never leave without the Wood Fire Romanesco. It’s roasted with a sear and a char, and the creamy tahini is heaven. Golden raisins add some sweet, and a dash of lemon brings balance.

Have a charcuterie with the Country Loaf, have it as a side with soup, or eat it however the heck you want.

Bag up some cookies for after. The Chocolate Chip Miso is the best, the perfect sweet n’ salty.

The Everything looks like birdseed, but the nutty and savory notes are nice.

Double Chocolate Chip! A little bitter and burnt at the end, but it sure is pretty.

I don’t just like Lodge, I LOVE it! There is not a single thing that doesn’t blow my mind, and as much as I hate LA traffic, I’d gladly drive through it to go count carbs at Lodge.