Ramen Joint - Los Angeles

Oh I love it. A true-blue old Westchester joint serving up steaming bowls of everything good. 

Calamari is a solid start if you want something to share. 

Lovely but not so necessary as a hot bowl of their classic Shoyu Tonkotsu becomes a slurping sensation as a rich and creamy porky broth is hit with their hot sauce flavor-grenade.

Mazemen is a fine choice if you're not in the mood for soup. The ropy noodles mix with grainy ground pork for a crock of comfort. 

Ramen Joint is one of LA's many great ramen joints, and I love that it's an original. Ramen is probably LA's best cuisine, and here sits of the best. 

Tomat - Los Angeles

A sleek wood-work building pops out of a dystopian parking lot surrounded by an utterly random mishmash of old-Westchester mom-and-pops and conglomerate chains, a gentrified beauty among urban decay. Eater LA and Michelin were quick to call it a place with a penchant for greatness, and my curiosity was killing me. I just can't get there for dinner anytime soon, so I went for the daytime menu to try to sneak a peek.

For starters, they do know their tea. The Hochija Latte is a beautiful balance between tea and sweetened milk, subtle sugar with toasty-roasty undertones. 

The Smoked Trout is more of a toast than an open-faced sandwich. The fish is buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, and absolutely stunning, but $14 is a steep price to charge for something the size of your palm. Not your hand, your PALM...MY palm - I have tiny hands. 

Then the classic Croque Monsieur. Hoo boy, someone really messed that one up. Can barely taste the ham, can't taste any cheese, and there's supposed to be raclette so I'm PISSED. Between the mustard-hinted salt-goop on top which was overpowering even after scraping it off and the side of carrots with muddy-salty-something, there isn't much flavor left.

They do get props for the gorgeous case of pastries, all of which are baked in-house. Those morning buns look legit, and I wish I'd gotten that instead because those seem to know how to bake. They say they make “English-inspired” fare, which isn't known for its deliciousness, but I recently went to England, and they could at least make a sandwich there.

Again, they’re known for their dinner menu so I know what I had during the day isn't entirely accurate, but based on what I had for lunch, I absolutely will not risk paying what they’re charging for dinner. 

Hironori Craft Ramen - Los Angeles

Just a couple of guys, making the best ramen that they can. 

The devil's in the details, and they spare no attention. Everything they can reasonably make, they make, and these handmade noodles make all the difference. They're round-flat like linguine, neither thick nor thin, and have a just slightly uneven texture that brings out the al dente and makes the soups stick. 

The Tonkotsu is among the most balanced broths I’ve had. It's richly uniform and almost creamy with so much slowly simmered depth. A dollop of their fresh minced garlic makes it pop, and their spicy sauce gives it life. 

Summer calls for the Spicy Cold Dipping Noodle, a lighter but no less desirable dashi base, red with a chili oil to add an approachable level of spice. It's filling yet refreshing, and it makes you say "ahhhh" after the 80-degree walk from your car.

Appetizers seem promising, and we took a chance on these Eel Tempura Bao. The fried breading adds some crunch to a very tender fish and a soft steamed bun. Not necessary but enjoyable all the same. 

I used to have just one favorite for ramen, but now I'm not so sure. Nowadays there are noodles for every temperament and broths for every mood, and LA has only good choices for miles and miles. HiroNori is one of them, though, and I would gladly have it again.

Humble Potato - Los Angeles

If my husband had a spirit restaurant, it would be the Humble Potato. It's the artful combination of everyone's favorite comfort food covered in rich decadence, with an Asian zing and a Japanese mastery that makes every bite an unforgettable explosion.  

The Gold Finger wings are these sauce-drenched yet maximum-crunch concoctions that sizzle while they burn. The pungent garlic adds oomph to sweet sambal, and the yuzu is a sweet citrus that somehow lightens the burn.

Craving a burger? The Spam Musubi has the works and then some. A juicy cheeseburger patty is topped with a crispy hash brown, seared spam, bacon, and avocado, and a fried egg lends its yolk. HP sauce, which seems to be some sort of sriracha mayo oozes from beneath. 

Craving a soup-and-sandwich? Have both in the Katsu Kare Sando. The chicken breast katsu is perfection, and it's dripping with japanese curry, spiced by a yuzu-jalapeno slaw. 

It sounds like a lot, and it is, but it's never too much yet always just enough. Every item has a hardcore heap of heavy flavors and substantial savors, put together by a touch of genius, applied with just enough restraint to make it mesh. The menu may seem a bit much, but it's an establishment that excels.

Kanpai UPDATE - Los Angeles

Look no further for the best lunch in LA. 

Everything is fresh, the quality is fantastic, and they give you a dizzying quantity, especially at this price point. Even the simple set salad has a ginger dressing that is to die for, and their pickled cucumber is a dish you can't stop eating. 

The menu is long and overwhelming, but I don't know if any choice is wrong. The Fried Octopus app is already a favorite. The batter is perfect, the fry is crisp, and the tentacles are soft and chewy. 

Try the 3 Hand Roll set for starters. Go for the blue crab because they use the real stuff, but both the spicy tuna and spicy scallop also pull their weight.

Surprise me with a Sashimi Lunch; 12 pieces, 4 types, an assortment of salmon, tuna, and yellowtail that day. 

You can get a Mini Una Don as an add-on, one I highly recommend. It's a rather small rice bowl with general chunks of warm, tender eel, and many comfort-food chunks of sweet tamago. 

The Poke Don is a rich mix of assorted fish, and it looks like the same cuts as they use for sashimi. The special poke sauce is strongly sesame oil and soy, and it has a delightfully gooey give. 

There are heartier hot bowls if it's food coma that you seek. the Katsu Don is a crisp cutlet topped with spirals of egg. 

A Pork Cutlet Curry Lunch has pork and panko, topped with a rich, meat-broth slurry. 

I could go elsewhere to eat, but I never do. The deals are unbeatable, and the quality is unbelievable. Kanpai is only a short drive away now, and it's become my go-to for lunch, my happy place away from home. 

Kanpai Japanese Sushi Bar & Grill 2 - Los Angeles

The first one was so good they had to open a second one a mile away. 

The menu is the same overwhelming tome, but it’s full of fresh fish and every other can’t-go-wrong option Japanese cuisine has to offer. 

Dinner looks great, but it’s those next-level lunch sets you want to take advantage of. There’s a 3 Handroll Combination with miso soup and salad at an affordable $18. It’s a steal for three stuffed cones oozing with real blue crab or whatever fish you choose.

There’s an option to add a mini rice bowl to your lunch at a discount, and you’re missing out if you don’t spring for a chashu or unagi. 

There’s a lovely Chirashi Lunch as well if you don’t mind spending a little bit more. You get a lot for not very much, and today’s chef chose wisely though I imagine they always do. There’s a small unagi don, an entire little bowl of ikura over rice, and the center bowl has creamy slices of salmon and hamachi, sweet spears of ebi and tamago, a decent cut of tuna, and even a little fresh uni as an extra treat.

Good sushi, great lunch deals, huge menu with something for everyone. If you’re feeling any kind of Japanese food while in Westchester/El Segundo, Kanpai is where you go.

Humble Potato - Los Angeles

Whether you're starving on your way to the airport or starving on the way back, the Humble Potato won't let you down.

Tons of creative Asian-fusion burgers borrowed from the many culture of SoCal, get any of these thick creations, bursting with beef patties loaded with ingredients ranging from avocado to pork belly to spam. 

I wasn't feeling the burger than day, and the Obaasan was perfect. It's "grandma's" KFC, a scrumptious fried chicken sando full of dark meat and damp with spices. A single slice of cheese adds some contrast, and the citrus slaw has a cooling effect on the spices. 

The Kare Fries are the best fries, and they get better with an oozing fried egg on top. The curry is rich and thick and finishes on a sweeter note.

Give this place a try if you're craving In n' Out but a little different. Everything is better with a little Asian added, and the Humble Potato is no exception. 

Skewers by Morimoto - Los Angeles

The compulsory pre-flight meal. We lack the foresight to plan for breakfast so we always find a combination of something aggressively mediocre or just awful at LAX.

Japanese breakfast bowls seem to be a better option than soggy pancakes or generic egg sandwiches, and the Breakfast Ramen has some potential. The broth is decently rich, but it's hard to taste through the pound of pickled ginger. The fried egg on top promises a hangover solution, but the pork it sits on is chewy like the eraser on a pencil, back when we actually used pencils. 

Which came first? The chicken or the egg? Doesn’t matter in the Oyako Don, somehow both have the same texture and taste, that of sweet, soy-brushed gravel. 

Not the worst airport food, but when you're paying a premium for something carrying Morimoto's stamp of approval, you expect more than this.

Osteria by Fabio Viviani - LAX, Los Angeles

Oh good lord, what is this nonsense? I've been a die-hard fan of Fabio Viviani for a full decade now, and I even drove to Moorpark for Cafe Firenze. When I saw another of his creations at LAX, I knew I had to bite.

First bite and I knew I'd made a huge mistake. What is this pasty-white, mushy breading on the Fried Calamari? There's some detectable salt and pepper, but otherwise it's like crumbled wonderbread stuck to some frozen-not-fresh rings of immature (and tiny!) squid.

The Chicken, Pesto & Cherry Tomato Pizza has a solid thin crust, and the toppings are a combination of comfort food with lighter options. The chicken is tender, the the tomatoes are fresh, and the pesto is a nice blend. Overall not bad for a higher-end pizza, but this is really only a step above PizzaRev.

I expect airport food to be pricey, but you don't get what you pay for here. Even Panda Express is 1/4 the price but at least half the quality. The pizza isn't bad at all, but I expected so much more from Fabio.