PhoTasia - Irvine

 

Vietnamese food in Irvine, not Garden Grove. Close enough?

Close enough! Menu meets authenticity criteria; it's all numbers and has photos to match the food. The Pho is a pho-filling broth, P9 is pho-loating with juicy rare steak, soft tendon, and fall-apart brisket bits. 

Despite my poor pho-tagraphy, this stir fried veggie dish is well-made. Toddler loved the tofu, wouldn't touch anything else. Would recommend for vegetarians over 18 months, especially with the garlic butter rice. 

B12 Bun is noodle goodness, good noodle-ness. The shrimp on a stick is alright, the roast pork is sweet and pretty tender, love the egg rolls with the juicy ground filling. Fill with fish sauce, stir it all silly, and feast. Pho is better though, FYI.

The pho is just better when you go south of South Bay. Good broth, great steak, lots of choices. What's not to like?

Ojiya - Torrance

 

I drive by all the time, but I never go in. They're not one of the better known izakayas in Torrance, and I'm not sure why that is. 

They make solid staples - the Rice Ball with cod roe has a pretty presentation.

And their Baked Lobster Roll is so much decadence; all that gooey mayo baking into the crevices between the rice. 

The Horoyoi platter is a total win, an appetizer sampler for 3-6 people or a meal for 2 fat-asses if it's going to my house. There's a fresh grilled squid in its entirety, and I love the texture of the tentacles. Edamame to add a little green, fried chicken cartilage for the juicy crunch. The beef tongue is hard to see, but the big beef flavor-savor is hard to miss. They throw in some seared ray fin, which I haven't seen anywhere else, and it's like a soft, sweet jerky with a hint of fish. 

How did I drive past them for so long? Their menu goes deep, and I need to delve into it a little more. 4 stars for now, but I foresee a five.   

The Kettle UPDATE - Manhattan Beach

 

I liked it better last time, but I didn't hate it this time. 

It's my fault for not making better choices, but the Bananas Foster French Toast is all on them. Walnuts and banana sauteed in brown sugar sounds like a winner, but the walnuts are pretty raw, and, and the bread is extremely limp.

BBQ Pulled Pork Hash sounds like decadent fun, and the execution is pretty impressive inside a take-out container. Love the tater tots, and dumping some pork on top is a good idea. Break the eggs and give it a stir!

Sarah's Favorite...not my favorite. Not bad, though the fruit isn't very ripe.

The orange zest Muffin is nice, but I liked the blueberry better. That said, they still make a mean muffin here. 

No harm no foul. With a menu as myriad as The Kettle, what you order is so important, and it can be a hit or miss. At least at The Kettle, it's usually an even mix. 

Loqui - Playa Vista

I am loco about Loqui. 

And what’s not to like? Juice-dripping, shredded beef that melts in your mouth and does the merengue with your tastebuds. Add some soft beans and sharp chopped onion, and wrap it in a handmade tortilla for the win. 

The handmade flour tortillas are what you come for. They make a spunky, spicy, staccato pork. The tortilla is so good you almost don't need the meat. 

The flour tortilla is key, but the Pork on Corn Tortilla has pineapple! Sweet with savory, and pickled onions add the acid. It'll make your whole mouth salsa.

Get a Plate if you're going home - it keeps the tortilla from getting soggy. Load on the fluffy rice, soft and savory beans, and pile on the guac. Pay extra for the flour tortilla on the side. 

The handmade tortillas are an obvious stand-out, but Loqui pays attention to detail. Fantastic combinations, perfect meat, and just the right condiments to make the flavors dance.

The Trim Tart - Lomita

 

Lomita is full of treasures if you know where to look.

So far I've found a brewery and so many restaurant gems, and now they're brewing coffee as well. 

It's a traditional cuppa Cappuccino so be prepared. It's a concentrated ounce of milk-foam bliss so drink it up but sip it slow. 

There's a creative selection of sweets and savories, like this gorgeous Goat Cheese Puff with crumbs of gooey fig offset by a bitter burnt honey. You can't go wrong with a plain Butter Croissant - take a bite and feel the layers dissolve. 

A better breakfast for sweltering summer is the Tres Leches, a milk-sugar concoction of your wildest iced-coffee dreams.

The Spinach Ricotta Croissant is perfect. Enough spinach to make a point, not too much to belabor it. Ricotta adds a nice cream to the flaky croissant. 

Haven't had enough croissant? Try it in Bread Pudding form. Perfect dessert, so rich you can almost share this personal size. This one is bourbon brown butter, and it's the only one I need to try. 

No better way to start my day than at Lomita's best-kept secret. Just make sure it stays a secret or they're sure to be swamped. 

Northern Cafe UPDATE - Gardena

Location, location, LOCATION. Make sure you have the correct LOCATION!

Choose 15486 S Western Ave, Gardena on Ubereats and make sure you have the numbers right! The Northern Cafes are close together, and most of the food is close enough, but the difference is in the Dan Dan. The real deal is al dente, with juicy pork, crisp bok choy, and a little sauce with a little kick. The imposter bowl is a soup with the flavor and aesthetics of liquid mud.

The Cold Dishes here are alright. All pack a little heat except the tofu and the potato. The beef has a little chili, the fungus has a bunch of garlic, and the pork ear cleaves in sheets. 

I'm cool with the cold plates, but I'd skip those for the Cold Noodle with Sesame Paste. Not a fan of sesame paste, HUGE fan of this sweet and earthy sauce. 

There's no substitute for labor, and in the Pork Chow Mein it shines. A simple noodle stir-fry at surface-level, but the hand-made noodles make the dish. There's a distinct flavor from the dough, and the texture is terrific.

Stir-fried Baby Bok Choy because you need a vegetable. Not why you're here, but a necessary side. 

My new favorite dish, the Braised Chicken, Potato & Pepper with Sliced Noodle. It's an entire, three-day tray of steaming-hot comfort. Chunks of chicken soaked through with a soupy spice, giant hunks of noodle. 

Imposters beware, Northern Cafe in Tozai Plaza is the real deal. The soups are slurpable, the noodle quality is undeniable, and dumplings are delicious.

Xiang La Hui - Alhambra

 

Szechuan. That song-of-the-Chinese-south spice that simultaneously soothes while it singes, sending numbing shockwaves across all your senses.

When I see Szechuan, I see Toothpick Lamb. There's nothing like gnawing juicy little niblets of fire-game straight off the spear.

A real Szechuan dry pot is a very rare delight, and the Wok-Fried Spicy Pot Intestines are savory and supple, with an alluring afterburn. 

Garlicky green leaves of A-choy are a break from the burn, and they make their veggies well.

Don't pass up on the noodle soups just because it's take-out. These Wok-Fried Gizzard Noodles are cleverly packed so the soup steam warms the noodles from below without soaking them soggy. Here the dry-fried gizzard adds the texture to a radiant, red-hot soup. 

I'm surprised this place doesn't have more reviews. The food is fantastic, and it has a more home-made feel. I'm from the no-fun north when it comes to Szechuan spice, but the fiery flavors from Xiang La Hui are ones I will always crave.