The Donut Man - Grand Central Market - Los Angeles

I would totally go to Glendora for something so special, but I sure am grateful they brought it to Grand Central. 

This legendary Strawberry Donut is surely the sweet soul of SoCal cuisine. Because SoCal cuisine is quite simple, but the devil's in the details. Those sunkissed strawberries are in season, and that's the only time they're used. The fluffy fried shell that holds them is this perfect fluffy yet substantial donut, covered in a single, smooth layer of glaze, just enough to make a thin skin, but not so much as to overshadow the dough in the doughnut. A smear of syrup gives those whole, fresh strawberries a bit of a boost as well and sticks them together to make the filling more cohesive. It tastes like a sweet, sunny SoCal day, stunning in its simplicity. 

They also do a nice Old Fashioned - the outside crust keeps its crunch, and the inside is firmly soft. A gentle glaze will give you the flavor of chocolate, but the donut still shines through. My favorite is their Tiger Tail, a brown baton of cinnamon stripes and glaze that's firm outside and plush within. 

We had our donuts mid-day, but I wish we'd come early. I loved every bite here, but hot and fresh out of the oven would have made something already super into something truly superb.

Sushi Gen UPDATE - Los Angeles

For OG Omakase, saunter into Sushi Gen. Saunter swiftly and saunter early because the line opens before the doors. 

Kazu is our chef, and he serves a corner counter with nine seats. He works like lightning and filets like magic, first with chopped bits of light, translucent Flounder in ponzu. Fresh and refreshing, vinegar adds a bit of a bite to these little white bits. 

A three-tone Tuna Trio starts with a lean and mean red for texture and taste progressing to a dab of tuna with pure buttery fat, with a half n' half in the middle. 

Sea Bream on the right is smooth, and Black Snapper is more meaty and firm. Both carry a generous squeeze of lemon to bring out the salinity and mollify the yuzu burn. 

Yellowtail Belly is better than any salmon I've ever seen, a slick, soft bit in a beautiful petal pink. 

Amberjack (right) is gooey, and Jack Mackerel is mighty meaty. 

Amebi (right) is superb, and you get the head back souped or fried. Sea Perch is silky sweet.

Ikura is less briny and more fresh than most, and Uni granules pop on the tongue.  

Amebi Heads hurry back from the fryer, crunchy shell housing gooey brain bits. 

Bitty baby Squids are perfectly tender, and Needle Fish is so light and sweet, elevated by a pad of pungent, slightly potent grated ginger. 

The Scallop (right) is so good, and I haven't seen a good slice of Mirugai in years. 

Aji (right) is that meaty horse mackerel, Albacore is whiter and lighter, polished by the ponzu. 

A Negitoro Hand Roll is so buttery and rich, with a satisfying nori crunch. 

Our last is Unagi and Anago, a denser freshwater filet followed by its equivalent, the satiny-smooth eel of the sea. To top if all off, there's a fluffy cube of Tamago, 

If you're looking for that sterile sushi encounter, don't come to Sushi Gen. The counter is clean, but it won't be that intimate, get-to-know-your-chef experience of Takeda or Tama - this counter gets rowdy and crowdy quick. What you do get is a classic and scrumptious serving of sushi...if you can block the side spectacles out. 

Lalibela Ethiopian - Los Angeles

Rain, rain, keeps everyone away so we get this whole restaurant to ourselves for our random Wednesday lunch. 

It's early enough for Coffee, and it's never too late for this bold, fruity brew. Add a spoonful of sugar to taste, sip slowly. 

Does coffee go with Doro Wot? A surprising but wholehearted yes. The fruity notes brighten the earthy notes of the spices, bold and bitter with bits of burning brightness. Confirmation bias be damned, this does taste different from any other doro wot I've tried, and though the spices check the boxes, there is something more memorable about these flavors. New angles are unlocked as you eat, and no two bites are the same. 

I can never resist the richness of a Kittfo. Is it meat-butter or butter-meat? At Lalibela it's delightfully hard to tell. Chopped so finely it turns to liquid silk on the tongue, buffered by a creamy cottage cheese, this is another dish that evolves as you eat, a gorgeous gasp of meaty steak and milk. 

It's impossible to finish a meal at any Ethiopian restaurant, but it all warms up so well. The trick is to melt the ghee without cooking the kittfo, but it all makes a beautiful morning-after meal. Come to Lalibela anytime you're around. It's unforgettable food and food for days, and it's all just so fantastic. 

Sakura-Ya - Gardena

A single, dimly-lit display case will greet you when you walk in, and a sweet old lady will greet you. Have cash on hand and don't be cheap. 

Order everything you can, but no more than you can finish. This stuff is made fresh every morning, and it's flash-fare; the fresher the more fantastic. Orange Mochi is like a Hi-C but less sweet with that same satisfying pseudo-citrus. 

Kiku Manju is a surprise favorite, a thin, sweet pancake, red beans and white mochi within. Kuri Manju is sweet simplicity, a flour bao with white bean paste. 

It's all beautiful, it's all amazing, but it's the namesake Sakura Mochi that is truly spectacular. Gooey grains of flower-pink encase a silky red bean, surrounded by a salty blossom leaf. The salt makes the sakura sing, releasing a new rush of tongue-tantalizing bliss. 

Chikara is only a few blocks away, but Sakura-Ya has the goods. Less fancy, far from frills, but full of real substance. 

Ichimi-An UPDATE - Torrance

 

The best soba. Never second guess. 

I always get the same Scallop Bowl with Zaru Soba, but a revisit is worth writing about. 

Those scallops are still fresh, the noodles are chewy buckwheat, a texture that is divine. 

There's a Tai Yuzu Special with gooey snapper that might be even sweeter than scallops,

And you can always get your soba hot when the days are cold.

Tai aside, I didn't try anything new, but as every other time, I come here seeking and always leave satisfied. 

Hatch - Los Angeles

What a Valentine's venue, with a luxuriously focused menu, and an intimate ambiance to make you forget you're in the middle of a mall. 

We want a strong start with their famous Black Chicken Karaage, a bowl of fried thighs brined for two days. It's a bowl of juicy coals, but I'm sad to say it's bland. The black garlic ranch dip is too creamy to compensate, and I conclude that it looks like coals but doesn't have the fire.

Broccolini is better, a perfect vegetable with glamourized garlic chips.

They're out of the beef tongue, a tragedy, and a skewer of Chicken Heart doesn't sub. It's tender but nothing special. Perfectly cooked, but nothing I need again. 

But the Chicken Meatball is such perfection, so tender the juices drip. Dip excessively in egg yolk for extra extravagance. 

Forget the sweets, the perfect ending here is savory. An entire foot of buttery Bone Marrow, sizzling from the grill, drizzled onto a garlic mochi bread with a crispy-chewy contrasting texture. 

It's so pretty, but almost too pretty, clean but a bit too sterile. The preparation is perfect but the flavors seem muted, and it dampens the experience of this beautifully sexy place. I liked it, but I didn't love it - give me the nitty-gritty of the South Bay's Shensengumi and the dark boisterousness of Torihei any day. 

Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine - Alhambra

They hope you like spicy because everything here has a little sass. Not enough to make you sweat but just enough to make you eat. 

Let’s be honest here, no one gets Chicken Sate for the chicken. Borneo’s sweet and savory peanut sauce is right on, simultaneously rich and deep. I do wish they had soaked the sate in it rather than keeping them separate - the meat was a little dry. 

Laksa is the curry king, like the khao soi of another country, sweet and smooth, with creamy coconut and a sniff of the sea. The egg noodles were like a dime-bag ramen so try any other instead. 

My favorite dish in any country is probably flat rice noodles, stir fried with a soy-based sauce. The Borneo Style at Borneo is wonderful, and I love the sweet sauce with a slip of shrimp. 

Roti Prata is bread and curry, competing for the title of best of Borneo. 

Nasi Lemak is a concurrent champion, with chunks of flavorful fried chicken, cabbage with a heated crunch, fantastic fried tofu and egg, and a spicy paste of peanut and tiny salty anchovies that will set you salivating.  Among all this, it's the rice that's the real deal. The coconut plays coy as the fragrant surrounding meats fill up the space. 

Delicious food, but I don't think it'd stand up to Simpang. I loved it all, and it didn't fall far, but I'm dying to try Ipoh as well.  

Hansen's Cakes - Los Angeles

I don't know much about this place, but they have photos of celebrities cutting their cakes. 

Their cupcakes are only $1.50, and impossible to resist in these days of massive inflation. 

They have so many flavors; apple pie is fun, sprinkles are a classic, and the blue velvet is whatever. I'd love for the cake part to not be the color of a swamp. All the cake parts are a little dry, but a better buttercream has never been. It's super sweet, but also so creamy, a great flavor that I'm wholeheartedly for. 

The inside isn't glamorous but it's what's inside the inside that counts. The cupcakes are cheap but they're tasty treats and fun, perfect for a post-Ethiopian dinner delight. 

ACC Chinese Fast Food - Alhambra

Have you ever seen a mom-and-pop more mom-and-pop than ACC? It literally looks like a food stall inside a small strip mall store. Mom takes your order (brush up on your Mandarin), yells it to pop, and goes to the back to help him. 

They whip it all up real quick, and if you're lucky, you'll catch a glimpse of the juices running down your duck as they one back to chop. Two orders of Duck Rice are more than two people need, but their duck game is strong and you won't want to share. The skin is crisp even after 40 minutes in my car, and the meat is tender with roasted fragrance all the way through. It's an inexpensive plate, and you get a nice quarter with a breast or a leg. 

She sold me on a stew, made with roast pork, silky-soft tofu, carrots and broccoli simmering in an orange-brown gravy with the slightest hint of sweet and sour. It seems like it's made from the pork they didn't sell, and this pork lives up to the hype. Even through the stew-sauce, the savor squeezes through.

The stir-fried Pork Kidney is one I had to try, but my mom makes it better. Thinly but too-largely sliced, the viscous brown sauce preserves the texture, though it's a bit over-fried and dry. 

A-choy cooks down considerably, and they had to add some tender veggie hearts to make up the volume, (with my permission).

Mom is sweet in that Chinese-mom way and gifts me some salt water duck wings and feet, to be eaten with my favorite TV show, and I know better than to not obey. A cold dish, not to be reheated, it's the perfect snack if you're not squeamish. 

It's called fast food for a reason; efficient, inexpensive, but really quite effective. I got all this for fifty dollars and it's been food for days. 

The menu is overwhelming so stick to the main meats. Made to be eaten immediately and fresh so don't delay and order your duck today. 

Roadrunner Grab+Go - Joshua Tree, CA

Roadrunner raised a red flag when I saw it was inside the visitor center. Nothing screams tourist trap like this location, and the prices didn't contradict. 

That said, the ingredients are good, and everything else is quite high-end so with shipping to the dessert, the weight loss from your wallet can be a little bit justified. 

Roast Beef with chimichurri is a cool combination, 

but this thick prosciutto with fresh mozzarella, balsamic, and sweet roasted peppers is where it's at. 

There's charcuterie for the road if you prefer gourmet salami and cheese. Not cheap, but it's local, and the ones we grabbed were great. 

Wash down with a lot of artisan kombuchas from the fridge. This root beer is not my favorite, but this brand makes a pear and a few other fruit flavors that are to die for if you're a fan of fermentation.

Want something lighter? The Mezze Platter is the real MVP. Plenty of pita, a scoop of slightly-bland hummus to offset the salty feta and olives. Artichokes are amazing, and there's pickled onions and roasted red peppers, all on a bed of spinach. It's the first good platter in a plastic box I've had. 

Kiddo loved this sugar-cookie cake, and I must say, so did I. Too soft to be a cookie, too solid to be a cake, enough sweetness to use up all your insulin. Irresistible if you like sugar cookies and cake and plenty of other options as well. 

Alright, it could be worse. It's expensive but it's great for grab-and-go, as advertised. We were living on cold cuts this trip, and these were the better ones by far.