Ballast Point - Long Beach

It's a beautiful day, and our friends are visiting from out of town. Five adults and a small child in the throes of her terrible twos...where can we go for a Tuesday brunch? 

Ballast Point is the answer to our prayers. The outdoor patio is pretty, with plenty of room to run around, and the sea breeze blows as we sit on the lounge-couch to enjoy six hours of catch-up and beer.

Plus it's Taco Tuesday, and I'm famished, and I'm not about to turn down tacos that come with a free side of beer...boo nevermind. The Carnitas Tacos are dry dry dry, and I had to go through most of that beer to wash down a single taco or it would stick in my throat forever instead of going bye bye bye! The Fish Tacos are better, and with chunks of fresh-enough filets and a creamy sauce with a kick.

There's plenty of beer to go with tacos, though. The menu is mammoth, and nothing is off limits here. They pull from every category; lagers and ambers and pale ales, oh my! There's an entire section devoted just to fruit, though venturing beyond the Grapefruit Sculpin that put Ballast Point on the map is...pointless. They even have on-site sours, which are a nice way to end. 

Beer goes good with...Spicy Soba Noodles! Okay, not really, but this what my all-organic, can't-have-any-fat friend eats. It tastes like the kind thing you scoop from the Whole Foods salad bar (I love that salad bar!); refreshing and cold with al dente soba and a Thai-style spice. Pay extra for the seared tuna - it's pretty good quality and works well with the noodles. 

The beer is good, and the selection is impressive, and the outdoor area has an unbeatable view. The service was quite friendly, and despite the patio not having any waitstaff, the bartenders were still happy to deliver us multiple rounds. I've never seen such proactive service - apparently Ballast Point brews beer and a bunch of really nice guys. It's unfortunate that the food is subpar; just drink on an empty stomach and Uber somewhere else to eat. 

Simpang Asia - Culver City

The valet lost my car. Just HOW they managed to lose one of the five cars they parked in a lot that has less than 20 spaces is beyond me, but this was no ordinary FAIL. For starters, they placed my keys with the wrong ticket, and I wish I hadn't told them as much. Considering my car is legally an adult, this error might have earned me a free upgrade. 

Well, the nice thing about a small parking lot is that it's not so hard to spot my car. Found it! Except they didn't believe me so it took several minutes of arguing to convince them to shut up and test the keys.

They did eventually find my car, and despite the hassle from their private valets, I can't hold any of it against the restaurant. Major lapse of judgement in hiring, but that's where the subpar service stops. The staff are awesome, and there was not a single person who isn't smiling, not a single person who isn't genuinely happy to help. 

I'm very new at Indonesian food, but their Chicken Sate will put a smile on anyone's face. The chicken is tenderly grilled, and the peanut sauce is uniquely thick and sweet.

The Batagor is like nothing I've ever had, a street food that has managed to escape the mainstream. The chewy fried-tofu wrapper has a firm bean-curd texture, which soaks in more of their signature peanut sauce. If you don't like fish, you may want to look elsewhere, but here the fish makes the denser chicken finish light and sweet. A lot of different flavors in one place, but every flavor has its place.

I expect southeast Asian curries to be sweeter, but the Laksa is a different kind of sweet. The soup is yellow and thick, the texture of a concentrated coconut milk. The saccharine curry complements the shrimp that stews in it, and it beads upon each ropy yellow noodle.  

The Bihn Goreng Special lightens things up a little, with al dente rice noodles, fine strands of spice snaring chunks of shrimp and balls of beef and fish. The medium-level heat is cooled by a bit of crunchy cabbage and greens. Asian sausage adds its extra savor, and bits of egg keep the noodles moist.

The food delicious but you gotta have a car to put your leftovers in when you're ready to leave. There was not a single bite that didn't resonate and tingle, and just basking in the undeniable joy that permeates this place warmed me from the inside out. If my car had stayed lost, I would probably walk right back in to eat more. The food here is not to be missed, but it probably wouldn't hurt to try to park your own car and park it somewhere else.

Made By Meg - Redondo Beach

Meg makes good things for catering, if her Yelp reviews are to be believed, but not everyone has been kind about her sandwiches. The counter is cute, but it only seats two, and with only three other tiny tables, you're better off getting it to go and eating by the beach...assuming you can catch them during the brief 3-and-a-half hours they're open. 

The menu looks mundane. The sandwiches are simple, but the ingredients are household, and the combinations are the ones we know will work. But these sandwiches are their best selves, the best their breed. I've had many a Portabello Mushroom Sandwich, for example, but I've never had such tender mushrooms, such fresh spinach, or such sweet sauteed onions. A slightly-sweet touch of balsamic brings it all together, and suddenly, this sandwich is exquisite.

Steak between two pieces of bread is a personal favorite, but this steak is so beefy, a meaty medium rare to perfection. Guac will never go wrong, and the avocados are so ripe.

Even a saran-wrapped Chocolate Chip Cookie tastes like it was made by the best baker in the best oven in the world.

I've always felt that good food has nothing to hide. It needs no gravy, and it needs no sauce. Meg clearly knows how to use the finest ingredients and harmonize them in perfect proportion. 

Take away the sandwiches from Made By Meg, but also take away a lesson learned: Never doubt the power of a good sandwich, and never doubt the chef's ability to turn simplicity simply exceptional!

Jasmine Market - Culver City

We've gone to an auntie and uncle's house for a dinner party, and they've put out a folding table for the kids. And the auntie and uncle are the warm and sweet kind. They're busy cooking all the comfort foods of their country, but they're never too busy to make sure you're enjoying your meal. 

I cannot go to a restaurant that serves Goat Curry and not get goat curry. So we got goat curry. Because I have no self control. 

It comes in a combo with jasmine rice and a hearty side of veggie stew, a definite plus.

I am no stranger to Chicken Briyani so I can say with conviction that theirs is good. This one is lighter than I'm used to because they go easier on the spices and make it easier to eat. But the rice. Wow, the rice. It is incredibly savory, having soaked up so much chicken-juice, yet it stays firm and decisively delicious.

Something old, now something new. The Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup must be more Burmese because it's one I haven't had before. Tom ka married chicken ramen and spawned a creamy stew, thick with coconut and chicken-oil dripping from ropy Chinese noodles.

When should you come to Jasmine Market? Not when it's Saturday night date night and you washed your hair and put on a dress and heels. There are many lovely places to go, and you will look lovely in any place, I recommend Jasmine Market for take-out if you're dolled up for a night in, but if you're looking for intimate, romantic, upscale, or formal, you should save Jasmine Market for a different night. It's impossible not to soak in the warmth and joy that goes into their cooking, but you will enjoy it much more if you're mentally prepared for a casual folding table and styrofoam plates.

Bettolino Kitchen - Redondo Beach

A slow Sunday night, winding down a weekend. A beach breeze blows, as we breeze into Bettolino Kitchen. I've wanted to try this place since it opened, one of the first of many new kids on the fancier blocks of Redondo Beach Riviera. 

A kitchen with potential, that much is true. I usually skip the salad, but they had a Figs & Zola, and I was weak. The greens are a sharp mix, and there are slices of not-the-sweetest figs chillin' on cool pears. Gorgonzola brings its gentle pungence to a sweet smatter of caramelized walnuts. The ability to make a perfect salad is very underrated. This one has balanced proportions of all ingredients, so each bite is as colorful as the last, and the shallot vinaigrette dressing enhances rather than hides. 

The Pomegranate Apple jives just as well; arugula is delicately bitter against crunchy pomegranate, and goat cheese brightens a tart Granny Smith. Avocado adds smooth substance, and the a simple balsamic pulls it all together. Bettolino Kitchen may be the first restaurant that doesn't overdo the dressing.

By the beach, from the ocean. The Calamarata is a clever concept, al dente pasta that mimic the calamari ring. The actual calamari tastes a bit fishy, but the white wine sauce works well enough with the clammy brine.

Heavy and hearty comes next with Tagliatelle all'Antica. The pasta is perfect, but there isn't enough, and the duck is weighed down by olives and tomato. Love all the pasta, just meh about the sauce.

It's A-OK, Bettolino Kitchen. Italian comfort, great salads, good pasta. I'll keep looking for better because I know there's plenty, but Bettolino Kitchen isn't bad.

Rice Man - Torrance

The farmer's market in Torrance is my favorite place in the South Bay. In all of LA, it joins ranks with the LA Flower Market and the Getty and Getty Villa. There is something soothing about the bright, open-air stalls, brimming with everything fresh, organic, and homemade. 

My Asian food craving hit right around Rice Man, and a duet of stamped Spam Musubi hit my craving hard. This popular Hawaiian snack is right on point, but despite the obvious benefits of certified organic rice, the texture is a little too mushy for my liking.

Same goes for the Juicy Beef Don. The thinly-shaved beef on top is soft and savory, but the onions are overcooked to a pulp and bland. The "juicy" component sogs up the rice, and though the flavor is right on, the texture of the rice is downright off-putting.

The farmer's market is retail therapy in its finest form, and edible shopping is my favorite guilty pleasure. I'm looking forward to trying that lamb sausage we bought, and those organic eggs are worth every penny, but Rice Man is one food stall I can skip.

Mayura Indian Restaurant - Culver City

I haven't had good south Indian food since medical school, and I wasn't prepared for Mayura. All this food comes with a flood of memories, of so much heritage and culture fed to me by friends. The recipes were definitive, but they were never set in stone. My friends would make the recipes their mothers and grandmothers had passed down, adding an occasional extra shake of the spice spoon to add their own personal touch. Impromptu post-exam dinner parties, idly on a whim, I had almost forgotten all that, and I almost forgot how much I miss them all.

"ID-LEE. Think Freud meets China." My first pronunciation lesson, and my favorite south Indian staple. Idly doesn't look like much, just round white-flour cakes of lentils and rice (pictured on on the appetizer basket below). Steamed with varying degrees of fluff, dipped in a hot, spicy Sambar and cool Coconut Chutney; warm, wet bites interspersed with comparing our answers for questions #42.

Someone says C, but I think the answer is A. A for Assorted Appetizer Basket, a plate of all things deep fried. The onion pakora could top a delicious veggie burger, the mixed vegetable pakora are pillowy fritters of orange and green. There is a samosa with peas and mashed potatoes encased in a chewy skin. The vada are new for me, dense, deep fried, savory lentil donuts.

5 Cocktail Uthappam is a platter of minis topped with variations on a theme; tomato, carrots, green onion. It comes with channa, a dense stew of chickpeas, a thicker, equally spice-ful variation on the sambar theme. I used to literally break this bread with my med school BFFs, and now a table full of residency BFFs break bread again. Same uthappam with the same camaraderie and warmth; the bonds of those who trudge the trenches together are not so easily cracked.

The Masala Dosa is a must. A crispy crepe with spiced mashed potatoes; what's not to like? Theirs is good, but the last dosa I had was made by my friend's mother, and I'm pretty sure her spices had crack in them because I still dream about her dosa. 

Still, I can always handle an extra dose of dosa, and I'm never had Paneer Burji Dosa before. The sweeter, milder Indian cottage cheese has a Tempurpedic pillow-y texture, filling but light.

The carnivores must have the Chicken Tikka Masala. It's a staple of the north, and it is textbook.

A sizzling platter of Tandoori Mix & Kebab is full of flavorful chicken, glowing red-hot next to thick chunks of spicy kebab.

The Kerala Special is new for me, and it is exceptional. The kerala chicken curry is spicy, an indescribable spice-mix in a savory curry. It fills every nook and cranny of the fluffy rice pancake it comes with.

The Bhindi Masala breaks up all that meat. The okra is stir-fried dry (in a good way), and the tomatoes suck out the slime.

Dessert is a round of take-home boxes. Like every south Indian I've ever known, they are very generous at Mayura. They dish it out, and they pile it on, and everyone at the table has a light lunch. Indian food tastes just as good the next day, as each cube of chicken soaks in all its spices. 

Unlike north India, south India is mostly vegetarian. You can stuff anything into a dosa, and they can cook a good chicken, but at Mayura you don't really need the meat. Every dish is will leave you wanting more, and if you've never had south Indian food, you really need to try it.