Hi @Mr_Happy,
Thanks for the great report back. 
I’m so glad you enjoyed your trip so far. Holbox, Villa Moreliana (there are more different types of Carnitas to try next time!) 
and Gjusta and beyond.
I wish you were able to try more of Gjusta’s offerings, but so glad you enjoyed the Fish Plate with the Smoked Salmon Belly (so good, right?), lox (yes it’s cold-smoked) and gravlax.
@Mr_Happy if El Ruso is still on your list, might I suggest the new Silver Lake location on Sunset.
Not only will you have opportunity for great carne asada and Chile Colorado tacos served on fresh fluffy flour tortillas, but you’ll also have access to some other delights within walking distance.
All Day Baby (all day breakfast and lunch concept with amazing cocktails!) is across the street and serves some of the best biscuits you an get in LA. The biscuits also heat up well next day or freeze well.
Across the street from that is Playita, a fast casual mariscos concept that has the approval of Chef Alvin Cailan of Amboy & Egg Slut fame. Fish/shrimp tacos, ceviche, and coctels.
Go south on Sunset, and you’ll hit Ototo, Tsubaki, Guidsados, Tartine, Konbi, Triple Beam…and a few others I might have forgotten.
Make your way towards Chinatown and you’ll have Pearl River Deli, Angry Egret Dinette, Wax Paper, and Howlin’ Ray’s.
Thanks! Me too, but I can only eat so much! Yes the salmon belly was so good.
Thanks for the recs and advice! I did make it to Angry Egret.
Some more meals:
Dinner at Luv2Eat in Hollywood. I had a bowl of the jade noodles here. Jade noodles are a green tinted wheat noodle, and at Luv2Eat they came with three meats as toppings - char siu style pork with the red tinted exterior, roast duck, and roast pork with crispy puffy crackling skin. On the veg side there were some slightly bitter gai lan (Chinese broccoli) and also some bean sprouts. topped with some crushed peanuts as well. Dry style without soup. They all came together as a very solid bowl of noodles.
Lunch at Angry Egret Dinette. Angry Egret is a walk-up counter from chef Wes Avila, located in Mandarin Plaza in Chinatown. There’s a bunch of tables and chairs in the plaza where one can eat. I missed out on trying Guerrilla Tacos when chef Avila was still there so I got the Tacos de Lengua from Angry Egret, which was on the specials list. Three to an order, they came with a somewhat smoky tomatillo salsa and onions and cilantro to add along with lime. Nice corn tortillas that I believe are handmade, and the lengua (beef tongue) was very good - beefy and a little bit chewy with fatty bits. I think there might have been some other beef cuts in there as not all of it had that lengua sponginess and tasted a bit more like/had the texture of suadero or something. Or maybe I’m just a lengua newbie and that’s how it’s supposed to be. Anyway some really good tacos here.
Also had a tepache to drink, which is a fermented beverage made with pineapple and pineapple rinds. Quite refreshing. Pineapple-y with a bit of that tangy fermented taste.
I had a slice of the strawberry cake with almond from Phoenix Bakery across the street from the plaza for dessert. A very nice, light, sponge cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, and almond slivers on the back. Not very sweet at all which was fine by me as I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.
I’m trying to catch up with reports. Next was a delicious sushi dinner at Sushi Hide, which I thought warranted its own thread.
I went to Langer’s for a lunch, this was my second visit. I got a seat at the counter and went for a pastrami sandwich (~$20), which was just their wonderful pastrami in between two slices of their rye bread. The pastrami was just as good as the other time I had it, sliced into medium sized slices, moist and tender and a little smoky, with just the right amount of saltiness - salt level was perfect. The rye bread was also quite good. Caraway studded rye with a soft interior and a crispy crust. caraway seeds. I applied some brown mustard from the counter between bites of the sandwich. Comes with half of a pickle, which was fine. Just a great pastrami sandwich.
Nice! Langers is the one spot I hit every time I’m in LA
SO jealous! We don’t get down to LA very often, and we’ve never made it to Langer’s. I love Canter’s, but I need to go to Langer’s too.
Hi @TheLibrarian28,
You’ll definitely want to try Langer’s next time you’re in town. It’s truly head and shoulders above Canter’s. Go for the classic Pastrami Sandwich (plain), which comes with their fantastic Rye Bread (soft and nice outside crust) and ask for some brown mustard. That’s it.
Yay, so glad you made it back to Langer’s @Mr_Happy.
And you got the OG Pastrami Sandwich! That’s all you need. Next time consider trying their Half Corned Beef, Half Beef Tongue. Pretty amazing as well. 
Sounds perfect!
You’re doing some amazing eating. If you ever make it back to Luv2Eat and can handle spicy, the crab curry is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever tasted (I think it’s the same curry they use for the fish curry?), although it’s been many yrs since my last trip there.
Yeah I don’t think we have anything near their level in the Bay, although I haven’t looked that hard.
Definitely worth seeking out. I haven’t tried Canter’s yet, maybe one of these days.
Sounds like a great combo too, I was having trouble deciding between that and the plain pastrami. Maybe next time!
Ah thanks, will keep that in mind, I think I saw some other tables having a crab curry.
A great dinner at Hayato, which I also thought warranted its own thread:
Next, I had a WFH (working from hotel) lunch at Surawon Tofu House in Koreatown, just a few minutes walk away from where I was staying. Surawon specializes in soondubu jjigae or soft tofu stew and is a bit unique in that they make their own tofu in house from black soybeans. In addition to the soondubu jjigae on its own, they also offer combo meals that have the soondubu jjigae and another item. I had one of these with the seafood soondubu and the black angus beef short rib/galbi ($26.99).
Banchan - fish cake, cucumber, seaweed, steamed egg, a scoop of potato salad, broccoli, trumpet(?) mushrooms in a soy based sauce, kimchi.
The soondubu was quite good. I think I could tell a bit of difference from their housemade tofu and other soondubu jjigaes that I’ve had, maybe more soybeany? I also fully admit this could have been due to a placebo effect. The broth was nice and savory, and the seafood inside consisted of a little bit of crab w/shell, clams, and shell-on shrimp. A good bowl of soondubu jjigae. Still haven’t had a bowl of soontofu that has blown me away yet though, they all usually taste pretty good to me.
The galbi was pretty good too. It was sliced a little thick and had some nice flavor from the grill and marinade. The connective tissue between the bone and the meat could have been a little more tender and less chewy though, not sure how some places get it to that softer consistency.
Damn that’s a hearty lunch - how much work did you get done after that? I would have taken a nap!
@Mr_Happy’s eating capacity is one of my favorite things about him, apart from his generosity in sharing what he eats!!
Yes I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach 
I think I would have normally just gotten the soontofu but I figured it’s not every day that I’m in Koreatown sooo… 
Haha I wish, I think it helps that I usually skip breakfast.
