Smoky Doky BBQ - Wilmington

Good barbecue is out there, but you have to be willing to travel. It usually means getting way the heck out of the South Bay, but Wilmington’s Smoky Doky just might be the only exception. I’d normally drive any distance to pick up the good stuff, but a newborn blocks any path out the door. Fortunately there is Doordash, where you can pay someone else to venture out their door to yours.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Smoky Doky, but a lunchtime craving had to be fulfilled. One bite of the Brisket with a small swipe of their spunky bbq sauce to double the heat, and I know this place is legit. Wood smoke permeates the crevices between the marbled bits of tender meat, and the fat is nicely distributed so the meat falls apart. 

They have no shortage of sides, all of which are made with the same care as the meat. A side of Slaw cools the fat, and every order comes with Sweet Rolls from King’s Hawaiian to sop up the drippings.

You can’t go wrong with Baked Beans - they take on the rich savor of blended beefy bits. Potato Salad comes from the pitmaster’s mama, enriched by egg and lightened by sharp raw onion. The Mac n’ Cheese is a gooey carb, housemade cheese sauce coats completely and leaves no elbow room between the macaroni.

Try the Tri-Tip if you’re looking for something a little more lean and a little more like steak. It’s a fender cut, smoked all the way through, a beautiful medium-rare red. 

Pulled Pork is softly shredded, dripping savory juices.

I think there’s a lack of local barbecue because you can’t cheat the barbecue. Anyone can fire up a grill, but the real stuff takes time, and you get what you give. Smoky Doky makes theirs low and slow, and the time it gets to soak up the smoke does show. A lot of their food is made to order or at least on the day of, and their meat has been going all night. So if you want the real stuff, venture past your borders, both physical and self-imposed and give Smoky Doky a spin. See if you can’t taste the difference.

N/naka UPDATE - Culver City

There is too much darkness in the world these days. A deep sadness prevails and a frantic claustrophobia permeates in the midst of a pandemic we cannot control. 

Our daily delights are dampened, our hobbies put on hold, our passions set aside as the world has closed its doors. 

Few feel the effects as profoundly as the food industry as restaurants stay shuttered, their once-vibrant dining rooms dark. Even the permission to reopen doesn’t make it so.

The more resourceful resort to takeout, but few are able to soldier on like Culver City powerhouse N/naka. While most have to compromise on quality and/or availability, Niki Nakayama’s legacy lives on, in bento boxes as beautiful as they are scarce, bringing Michelin-quality food home for a fraction of the price.

Gone are the Sunday morning scrambles for a table; they’ve been replaced by a Saturday morning struggle for a Jubako or a Bento. 

I refreshed my way to the former after days of trying, and it was worth every minute. Even the packaging itself is a work of art.

We start with a still-warm Shiitake Mushroom Owan Soup before we break the seal on a box. The broth is clear, the dashi is light, and an infusion of mushroom tiptoes across the tongue.

I can feel my palate opening with every sip of the soup as I break the seal on my first Jubako box. There’s an American Wagyu Tataki Salad with supple slices of the beefiest of the beef. Ponzu Oroshi adds a dash of citrus to brighten the hard-hitting savory notes.

A selection of Sushi and Sashimi showcases lighter white slices to lead up to a meatier tuna and sweet and gooey shrimp. Sushi rice highlights, and that middle piece of toro clings and lingers.

On to the cooked stuff, still steaming in the box. A beautiful Braised Abalone is incredibly delicate and supple, and even the usually unpleasant sea-stink liver has a fragile grain and barely-there bile. The truffle sauce disperses an earthy fragrance.

Japanese Roasted Duck is so tender it could melt in the mouth, flavors delicate and smooth. A hit of spicy yellow mustard adds a pop. 

Lobster Uni Nikogori is all the sweetness of uni swimming in a succulent lobster gel. (Mine fell off in transit but it tasted just as good).

The bottom box is next, a menagerie of warmth. A Vegetable Takiawase is such sweet-of-the-earth, all of it perfectly cooked. A soft slice of eggplant, a crisp pod of snap pea, a tender mushroom bouquet. A dip in the smoky eggplant sesame sauce adds several layers of depth. 

The Grilled Fish is as soft and as buttery as a slice of foie, sweetened by a bed of sunchoke purée. Ikura evokes a slick, shining sea, and a slice of Tamago is a triangle of eggy fluff. 

There is a square of California and Japanese Rice to accompany the salt, and a proud Pickled Ume packs enough punch to pickle the bowl. 

The Crispy Lobster Nanbanzuke is the one I save for last. A beautiful tail, succulent in a light fry, brightened by a bit of pepper. 

I never want the meal to end but a trio of Desserts is all that’s left. A Matcha White Chocolate Cake is as dense as a flourless, as matcha stands its richness on top of the sugar and cream. 

Strawberry Daifuku is a smooth bean paste inside a chewy mochi skin. A whole summer strawberry surprises, a buried treasure of delight. 

Passion Fruit Chocolate is creamy, bitter notes of cocoa with an accent of the tropics, a bold bite of chocolate, both bitter and tart.

The meal ends but the after glow lingers. It’s a small brightness, a glimmer of hope in the viral dark.

Like N/naka and much of fine dining, we bend to the lockdown but we will not break. We simply choose to take a knee for the sale and safety of those we love until we can rise again. Our world will not look the same when we reenter but our eyes will adjust to the newer light. I’ll be waiting for my chance to sit at a new chef’s table when all this is over, but until then Chef’s Table will have to do, even if it’s just on Netflix.

Okamoto Kitchen UPDATE - Los Angeles

It’s a uniquely difficult time for restaurants, but Okamoto Kitchen continues to thrive. Their food is already on wheels, and they dispense and deliver with a level of mobility and flexibility that the brick-and-mortars will never know. 

Social distancing isn’t a problem if all you have to do is pick it up, and as an added bonus they deliver. They park and spread far beyond the borders of Los Angeles, availing their awesomeness all across the South Bay. 

There’s no wrong item to order, and you can start strong with the JFC. Okamoto style is great, with a soy/teriyaki-esque house glaze, and I’m curious about the spicy sauce, which will have to wait for next time.

A stand-alone side of Fries is so much more when they’re seasoned. The Japanese BBQ is like a sweet seasoned salt with an Asian flare and a mild fish finish in ample katsuo-togarashi.

Soy Garlic Butter is an equivalent choice, sweet and delightfully sticky.

Eat all the sandwiches. The Nom Bomb is a must, with a tender and savory naban style fried chicken, sweetened by teriyaki, cooled by cabbage, with peppers the add the heat. All sandwiches are served on a buttery brioche, a noteworthy addition in and of itself.

A crispier fried chicken oozes with a rich curry, with melty cheese to add to the goo. The Nom Bomb is my favorite, but the Katsu Curry deserves a try.

The Yanki Burger awaits those who don’t want chicken. A fried egg adds weight to a juicy patty drizzled with garlic teriyaki, a combination to combat the heaviest of hangovers.

This stuff doesn’t travel well. It’s meant to be eaten hot and steamy by the lights of a bustling food truck on a busy sidewalk on Saturday night. But as much as the fried bits may lose their crisp in transit, the flavors never fade, and the freshness barely falters. I know it could be better but it’s already so good I’ll just keep getting it delivered. 

Otafuku Noodle House - Gardena

I used to love my mornings in Gardena. Whenever I had a random weekday free, I would start at Meiji Tofu right before everything sold out and follow at almost-adjacent Chikara Mochi during the rare times they were open. I would use all my discipline not to eat anything I bought right away and find a little local something to slurp down a set lunch or noodle soup.

At Otafuku, I get one of the best noodle set lunches LA has to offer. Even Little Tokyo can only compete with Otafuku. 

A bustling background of the lunchtime rush creates a quiet repose at the small and crowded counter as I ponder their extensive menu. I can only get one thing when I’m dining alone, and the choice of the new-to-me seiro or kakoichi vs a tried-and-true udon or soba is agony. I start with Zaru Udon, as house-made udon is a LA unicorn. I’ll try the seiro or the soba next time and I’ll kee coming back until I’ve tried every noodle they make. No regrets. Their udon is ropy rolls with a perfect spring to the texture. The noodles are medium-thick in diameter and they carry the al dente all the way through. I dare say their udon is even better than South Bay legend Ichimi An.  

I select a basket of tempura to complete the set. They give you one of every good thing, a light shiso leaf for maximum fragrance and crunch, eggplant that chooses softness without the goop or slime. The shrimp is fresh, the onion sweet, the shiitake full of juice. I love the sweet potato and gooey kabocha squash the most.

It’s a filling lunch but the cold noodles keep it light. I leave refreshed instead of comatose and move onto the last part of my day: the narrow wooden bench outside Kansha Creamery.

I miss those Gardena days, and if I had known it would be months, if ever, before I could return to Otafuku, I would have tried all the noodles at once. Now I wait and cling to the hope that they stay strong in this lockdown and survive to later thrive.  Their noodles are just too precious to lose, and when they dining room opens again, you can bet I’ll be first in line.

Y’Not Burgers - Torrance

A fast-food-diner mash-up with a drive-thru is high on convenience, impressive in speed. Food gets onto your table in a flash and into your car almost instantly. 

They have a wide range of offerings, and you can get almost anything between two slices of bread. The Double Cheeseburger is a classic with thick patties and toppings in so many iterations. 

They also have lighter offerings, like a deli-style Turkey Sandwich

And a pretty juicy Grilled Chicken. 

The Gyro is my personal favorite, a flashback from the carts that line the NYC streets. The meat isn’t roasted on a spit, but I do like how they heat the pita and slice the onions paper thin. 

Every item works with a side of fries, though I feel I need to try some others. Given the half-mile convenience of a drive-by, Y’Not has consistently outranked fast food chains in my need-something-to-eat-now repertoire. Why Y’Not? Why not Y’Not?

El Barrio Neighborhood Tacos - Redondo Beach

Five dollars for a “street taco”.

But don’t let the price deter you. These street tacos and their prices are a reasonable reflection of the street they come from, the streets of Redondo Beach. Redondo is hardly a budget barrio, and neither are the ingredients at El Barrio’s.

The tacos are the major draw, and if you try the Birria, you’ll never eat birria anywhere else. There’s no coming back from this spectacularly seasoned wagyu brisket. Each strand of melty meat is encased in a fat suspension so rich it’s like a liquid jello. The beefy savor will linger, drizzled with a salsa “emulsion”, a gentle, acidic reminder between the globules of unforgettable fat.

The Mulito is a new one for me, a sandwich-quesadilla full of juicy wagyu steak. Blue corn tortillas are fluffy and perfect, and layers of chewy cotija ooze between the sheets. Add a touch of avocado cream and sharp green salsa and you have the best Mexican grilled cheese north of the border. 

They’re not cheap but they’re worth every penny. You taste what you pay for at El Barrio, and believe me, you won’t mind paying for it. 

Sushi Sumo - Gardena

Sushi Sumo. *shrug* 

Sushi Sumo? Sure, why not. 

Try some standard-mid-range-sushi-place rolls like the Pearl Roll, a generous stuffing of scallops under salmon stripes. If you’re looking for either the tuna or the tuna, the Red Dragon has it both fiery and fresh.

The Chirashi bowl is okay, fresh enough fish, not-bad cuts on sushi rice. It comes with from-a-mix miso soup and salad so you get a whole meal though it’s a bit pricey for the quality. 

Mid-range casual, conveyer-belt cuisine, fun for a eat-in, good enough for takeout on a whatever kind of night. You won’t remember what you ate and it won’t linger on your palate, but it’ll hit the spot when you want it, and as a moderate meal, you probably won’t regret it much.