Andy Gavin's Blog, page 30
September 2, 2023
Roscioli at Mozza
Restaurant: Osteria Mozza
Location: 6602 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 297-0100
Date: February 6, 2023
Cuisine: Italian
Rating: Strange meal, but some great dishes
_This was a special Roscioli dinner hosted at Mozza by Nancy Silverton (shown below). While the food was very good, and it was a fun evening, it turned out to be a bit of a money grub. It was $250 and most of what is shown was shared between two people. The highlight was two plates of very simple pasta.
Roscioli is a casu...
August 31, 2023
DimSumQuest – Chef Tony
Restaurant: Chef Tony Dim Sum
Location: 1108 S Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007. (626) 623-6668
Date: February 2, 2023
Cuisine: Chinese Dim Sum
Rating: Most dishes quite good
_Continuing our group survey of LA’s best dim sum is Chef Tony, the original Arcadia location. I once went to the Pasadena branch, now shuttered, but I haven’t been here.
Frontage is strip mall.
A much smaller, pleasant, but less upscale dining room than the Pasadena location.
You can see into the kitchen and the steaming...
August 29, 2023
DimSumQuest – ixlb Dimsum Eats
Restaurant: ixlb Dimsum Eats
Location: 5900 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028. (323) 848-4766
Date: January 30, 2023
Cuisine: Chinese Dim Sum
Rating: Meh. Horrible takeout focused format
_ixlb is a mom and pop takeout oriented dim sum spot in Hollywood. The owner is incredibly nice and dedicated to his craft. The kitchen is great and the older dim sum chefs make everything in house right there. You order at the counter and they bring everything in takeout containers. Drinks, plasticware, napki...
August 27, 2023
Monarch Madness
Restaurant: Monarch
Location: 1212 S Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007. (626) 596-2818
Date: January 29, 2023
Cuisine: Hong Kong fusion
Rating: Very good, but I like Chifa better
_The Leon family knew within the first week of opening their Peruvian Chinese restaurant Chifa in late 2020 that a sophomore effort was in the cards. Though no one in the family was especially well-versed in food service or hospitality, the tenacious squad that includes Humberto Leon, the co-founder of fashion brand Openi...
August 24, 2023
Food as Art – Corridor 109
Restaurant: Corridor 109
Location: 727 N Broadway #207, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Date: January 28, 2023
Cuisine: Fusion
Rating: Delicious, minimalist
_Corridor 109 | Test Kitchen is inspired by Chef Brian Baik’s passion for sourcing and experimenting with the world’s finest seafood ingredients. Influenced by experiences at high caliber establishments such as Bouley, Eleven Madison Park, The Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, and Sushi Noz, Chef Brian begins his West Coast journey with an intimate tast...
August 22, 2023
Ray’s Duck House
Restaurant: Ray’s Duck House晶瑞轩海鲜酒楼
Location: 4721 Chino Hills Pkwy, Chino Hills, CA 91709. (909) 606-9046
Date: January 26, 2023
Cuisine: Cantonese (and more) Chinese
Rating: Quite excellent, but really really far
_So strong is my commitment to Chinese food that I was willing to drive a small group of us ALL the way to Chino Hills (roughly 1.5 hours each way) just for the chance to try this newish recommended Peking Duck and dim sum restaurant.
The aforementioned hills.
It’s unusual for a Ca...
August 20, 2023
Can there Bee too many Tacos?
Restaurant: Bee Taqueria
Location: 5754 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016. (323) 452-9575
Date: January 25, 2023
Cuisine: Mexican Taco
Rating: Delicious, but a lot of tacos
_Bee Taqueria was opened and operated by Alex Carrasco. He’s worked in the kitchen at some notable restaurants such as Viceroy, Joe’s Restaurant, Paiche, Mo-chica, Red Medicine, and Mozza. Carrasco caught the attention of LA foodies with LA’s first taco omakase menu — which is what we shall be trying tonight.
Normally, Be...
August 18, 2023
DimSumQuest – Monterey Palace
Restaurant: Monterey Palace [1, 2]
Location: 1001 E Garvey Ave, Monterey Park, CA 91755. (626) 571-0888
Date: January 24, 2023
Cuisine: Cantonese Dim Sum
Rating: Many good, some great items
_The DimSumQuest continues with Monterey Park classic Monterey Palace.
It’s right there on Garvey with that classic 90s look.
And the classic Monterey Park dining room.
Hanging roast meats.
Menu.
You have to pay for the basic sauces at $1 a plate.
We ordered this twice and it cost $1. They were out of...
August 16, 2023
Crudo e Nudo
Restaurant: Crudo e Nudo
Location: 2724 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 310-2120
Date: January 20, 2023
Cuisine: Raw bar & crudo
Rating: quite tasty!
_I’ve been meaning to try this place since it opened. They serve very fresh modern seafood, mostly raw. But it’s not Japanese at all.
The seating is basically outside (although weirdly I’ve heard that recently they got rid of that, maybe stupid rezoning).
Inside there is nothing but a counter to order at.
The menu is on the board.
Stri...
August 14, 2023
Eating Ohio – Texas Roadhouse
Restaurant: Texas Roadhouse
Location: 4314 Milan Rd Unit #750, Sandusky, OH 44870. (419) 624-8407
Date: January 18, 2023
Cuisine: American Steakhouse
Rating: Better than the hotel restaurants
_Traveling in Ohio with my son for a robotics conference is not exactly conducive to great eating, and our ONLY meal on the trip — not kidding, the rest of the time I ate protein bars — as at this low-to-medium American Steakhouse chain.
Peanuts on the floor at Texas Roadhouse in Sandusky OH.
Fluffy roll...
