Andy Gavin's Blog, page 13
November 6, 2024
Eating San Fran – Che Fico
Restaurant: Che Fico
Location: 838 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117. (415) 416-6959
Date: April 1, 2024
Cuisine: Italian
Rating: Very tasty
_Another work trip to San Francisco.
Some modern Italian — so much better than the old red sauces.
Pretty interior.
Kitchen.
The menu.
Insalata Caesar. Little Gem Lettuce, Green Garlic, Cantabrian Anchovy, Pangratttato, 24 Month Parmesan.
Carne Cruda. Dry aged Flannery Beef, Burgundy Truffle, 24 month Parmigiano Reggiano, Aioli.
“Pizza puffs.”...
November 3, 2024
SGV Sunday – Yang’s Kitchen
Restaurant: Yang’s Kitchen
Location: 112 W Main St, Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 281-1035
Date: March 31, 2024
Cuisine: Chinese Fusion
Rating: Tasty, but pricey
_The press has been talking about Yang’s for some time as one of the new style SGV Chinese places — so had to try it.
The main street frontage.
The menu.
Very casual interior. Service was excellent, however, with an extremely knowledgable Somm.
Pickles. Nice and crunchy.
Cucumbers. Fabulous cucumbers with a bit of spicy.
Raw Oys...
November 1, 2024
Robo Eats – Grandma Kims
Restaurant: Grandma Kim’s Family Diner
Location: 8384 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Canoga Park, CA 91304. (818) 346-1590
Date: March 23, 2024
Cuisine: Northern Korean
Rating: Solid
_Finding yet another place in the western SFV.
Very casual Canoga Park Korean.
The huge menu.
Casual interior was crowded.
Banchan.
Potato soup.
Rice.
Beef Bulgolgi.
Fishcake soon tofu. Pretty good.
Not a bad family-style place.
October 30, 2024
Singapore Super Club
Restaurant: Singapore Super Club at Upstairs 2
Location: 2311 Cotner Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90064
Date: March 21, 2024
Cuisine: Fusion Southeast Asian
Rating: Interesting
_This was a popup located at:
The Wine House.
The menu. This unique dining experience will showcase an exquisite fusion of Thai and Singaporean cuisines, reimagined with a contemporary flair that promises to enchant your palate with bold and harmonious flavors.
In this private room where I’ve done a number of meals — and my I...
October 28, 2024
Shin Sen Gumi Skewer Night
Restaurant: Shin-Sen-Gumi Yakitori & Chanko Gardena
Location: 18517 S Western Ave, Gardena, CA 90248. (310) 715-1588
Date: March 17, 2024
Cuisine: Japanese Yakitori & Chanko
Rating: Surprisingly excellent
_Joe wanted to “derail” Chinese Sunday with some Japanese, so we headed down to this Gardena Shin-Set-Gumi which is Yakitori instead of ramen.
This is the “chanko” room of the shin sen gumi yakitori where you can actually make a reservation.
Wines.
Cheese “eggrolls” — ok.
Mushroom salad. ...
October 26, 2024
Quick Eats – Elephante
Restaurant: Elephante
Location: 1332 2nd St Rooftop, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (424) 722-8647
Date: March 14, 2024
Cuisine: American Italian
Rating: Tasty, great location
_I’ve been trying to go here for years — certainly since before the pandemic. It’s a bit of a pain to book, but made it for lunch with a friend from Singapore.
This is the more interior room. Through the door there is an ocean view.
The menu. Elephante has pretty tasty food for a “trendy view / scene” place. It was surprisingl...
October 24, 2024
Bistro Na avec Duck
Restaurant: Bistro Na’s [1, 2, 3, 4]
Location: 9055 E Las Tunas Dr #105, Temple City, CA 91780. (626) 286-1999
Date: March 24 and September 15, 2024
Cuisine: Chinese
Rating: Upscale Chinese, really improved
_Chinese Restaurants in the SGV are slowly going more upscale in a way that’s different than the Cantonese palaces of Monterey Park of yesterday. I’ve been here several times before, even celebrating a birthday, but Jeffrey wanted to go, and we figured we’d check it out post pandemic (10/9/2...
October 22, 2024
Yuan’s Hot Pot
Restaurant: Yuan’s Hot Pot
Location: 8752 Valley Blvd, Rosemead, CA 91770. (626) 703-4458
Date: March 10 and October 5, 2024
Cuisine: Chinese Hot Pot
Rating: Probably the best Hot Pot in the main SGV
_This high end hot pot place has a whole floor of nice private rooms.
The whole second floor is dedicated to private rooms.
This one was technically for 10, but really much better with 8. Had two pots. On another occasion I ate in a smaller room with one pot that sat 6-8 perfectly.
There is a ve...
October 20, 2024
Sushi Sonagi
Restaurant: Sushi Sonagi
Location: 1425 Artesia Blvd UNIT 27, Gardena, CA 90248.
Date: March 2, 2024
Cuisine: Japanese Sushi (Omakase)
Rating: Awesome
_Situated inside of a historic South Bay strip mall, Sushi Sonagi is Daniel Son’s 8 seat Omakase sushi restaurant that serves to highlight and celebrate the rich sushi culture of Japan, Korea, and California summed up in an omakase.
Sushi Sonagi is a call to honor the spirit of sushi by utilizing the highest quality local ingredients as much as p...
October 18, 2024
En-Joseon
Restaurant: Joseon
Location: 3709 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026. (213) 269-4698
Date: February 29, 2024
Cuisine: Modern Korean
Rating: Very tasty
_Joseon takes over the ill-fated space most recently occupied by Causita. It’s another take on modern Korean fusion.
The interior is stark.
Looks better from this angle.
The menu.
Amuse of crispy seaweed wrapped rice cake. Interesting chew, but a touch bland.
Kushi Oysters on the Halfshell, Kimchee Mignonette. Very nice and bright.
죽 J...
