LA Food: Eating Through Jonathan Gold's Recommendations
I'll be down in the beautiful city of Los Angles more over the next few years. And I am SO excited. Every time I'm down there, I feel like I can act like someone else... like a CELEBRITY. Alas, I've turned into an SF hipster and now almost exclusively wear army jackets and sneakers... I don't think it's going to work out. I digress.
Recently I've been kind of burnt out by Yelp and the fake reviews & the people who don't know food. It's a real bummer. So I've taken to following food critics. They're not always right, but you have a better shot at getting a good meal when you listen to them. So here's a review of a reviewer by a girl who makes boba among other food.
Tsujita Ramen la Artisan Noodles
BOMB. I got full halfway through my bowl. And continued to power through while the sodium bloat got me. I walked out feeling like my stomach was going to explode. The portions are large. I love that they give you a variety of condiments so you can customize your meal.
This shop specializes in Tsukemen, which is a different style of ramen where you dip the noodles in the soup and eat them.
The service is great and knowledgeable about the food. Our server mentioned, "Half way through the meal, squeeze the lime on the noodles and notice the change in flavor." I LOVED that. It was like two meals in 1. Had she not mentioned that, I would have squeezed my like at the get-go. #IloveLimes
Would I recommend? Yes.
Would I come back? Yes
Mayura Indian
I HAD to try an Indian food place on the list. This place was not my fave. I would not recommend getting North Indian food here. The rasam was good. The Mysore stuffed dosa was solid and flavorful. The biryani was meh.
I'm a big proponent of restaurants focusing on a niche cuisine rather than trying to do it all. The menu had a million dishes and I'm not sure how good all of them were. If I only tried the South Indian food, I may have come back, but the biryani was just meh.
Would I recommend? No.
Would I come back? No.
Connie & Ted's
It was dark so beat with me on the photos. This place was AMAZING. Easily one of my favorite meals down in LA. I ate a mussel stew and it was drool. The mussels were perfectly cooked and the tomato sauce was complex but balanced. I died. This meal was bomb. Each dish was unique and the portions were large. Per Gold's suggestions, we didn't get the grilled catch of the day.
Would I recommend? Yes.
Would I come back? Yes. (Er meh gerd)
Smoked Yellowtail. Loved the texture.
Sqirl
I was the most excited to visit this place. It looked super cute and fresh. Here's the thing: the food had a lot of diverse, great flavor. The crispy rice was limey and oniony. The burger was tomato-y and full. The horchata was not too sweet and refreshing. I just thought the food was kind of heavy but pretending to be light healthy. (SORRY- unpopular opinion.) I felt kind of sluggish after the meal.
Would I recommend? Yes. I would recommend that you try it. The have some great options for brunch.
Would I come back? No. I feel bad saying that, but I would rather try a new place rather than return here.
The jams are bomb. And the biscuit was perfectly flaky.
The fist few bites of the crispy rice were good, but then it was too much.
Burger had a lot of flavor.
YES to the chocolate chip cookie and horchata.
