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.
Dinner at République, a Cal/French restaurant from chef Walter Manzke. The building the restaurant is housed in was built for Charlie Chaplin in 1928 and is quite striking. Kind of looks like an old church or something with the high ceilings and arched doorways.
I was seated outside in the patio. Dinner started with a complimentary cup of a very nice sweet corn soup with a little olive oil drizzled on top.
I had the
"EGGS ON TOAST" (2 for $24)
soft-scrambled eggs, santa barbara uni
Which was more accurately eggs and gonads on toast I think. And some lime zest on top. These were some nice bites, with the toast foundation - I think a piece of their baguette toasted, some custardy scrambled eggs, and a layer of sweet uni on top. The lime zest gave it a little zing as well. Kind of expensive.
and the
bread with RODOLPHE LE MEUNIER BUTTER ($9)
Other possible choices for a bread condiment were extra virgin olive oil and pan drippings. This was an excellent baguette, really good. Served warm with a crispy crust and a soft interior. Really nice texture on both. The butter, from French cheesemaker Rodolphe Le Meunier, was also very good. Soft and spreadable with good flavor. I ate up the whole half baguette and they gave me a refill.
Then came another freebie! A choux(?) pastry stuffed with I think cheese, and I forget what was on the bottom but it was a puree of something savory.
for a main I had the
SWEET CORN AGNOLOTTI ($32)
parmesan
Agnolotti are a stuffed pasta a bit like little ravioli. This was really good. Nice toothsome wrappers around a smooth corn filling that was sweet and creamy. A guy came around with some black truffles as an option, I think they were $5 a gram but I don’t think I actually got charged for it. Added a bit of truffly perfume as well.
Finally for dessert I had the
STRAWBERRY TIRAMISU
harry’s berries, caramelized white chocolate sabayon
Which was very pink and served in a glass. Maybe a little more like a strawberry trifle than a tiramisu. Creamy filling that was light and not too sweet, with sweet ripe berries and I think some strawberry sorbet in the center. Nice dessert.
Good meal, great bread.
Next, a Friday lunch in Silver Lake. Thanks @attran99 for the recommendation upthread. I hit a few places for lunch that were right across the street from each other.
Started at All Day Baby, where I got their
ADB Biscuit Sandwich ($14) (also h/t to @A5KOBE for the rec for this)
scrambled eggs, american cheese, strawberry jam, bacon or sausage (I had it with sausage), buttermilk biscuit
Great! I had uh, imbibed a little bit too much the night before and this really hit the spot. Like a McDonalds sausage biscuit with egg, but on steroids. The biscuit was lovely, tender on the inside, buttery and flaky. Nicely spiced meaty sausage. The jam was an interesting addition but the little bit of fruity sweetness really worked against the greasiness and richness of the fillings. And the scrambled eggs were good too, nicely cooked and much better than the dry sponge like eggs you get at McDonalds. This was kind of like eating a breakfast plate with sausage, eggs and a biscuit with jam but all smushed together into a convenient package.
Then I walked across the street to Playita, a seafood taco stand with some outdoor seating under a canopy. I got a single taco de pescado ($3.75) on a corn tortilla (you can also have it on a flour tortilla). A very nice Baja style fish taco with slaw and salsa. Nicely fried beer battered white flaky fish.
And then finally across the street again to El Ruso, which is a taco stand specializing in tacos made with flour tortillas. I had a single taco here with chile colorado, a beef stew flavored with red chilis. I added beans and cheese for a little more (~$3.50 total). It came with some spicy red salsa, guacamole, cabbage, radishes, lime, and some cilantro and onion. The tortilla in the taco was quite good. Always a good sign when the tortilla has when you can almost see through it due to clear-ish spots from lard or other fat in the dough. Sturdy and pliable. The chile colorado was a little thin in the sauce but quite tender and spicy. Another solid taco.
So glad you enjoyed the corner of fun in Silver Lake, @Mr_Happy!
Isn’t that ADB biscuit a dream?
Hope your trip to LA continues to be a delight.
I don’t know why, but beans in my tacos, esp. carne asada tacos, just seem like an affront to nature to me.
And they put those fcuking beans in all of their goddam tacos.
I don’t care how good your flour tortillas are (and they’re good, but not revelatory), beans just ruins the whole taco ambiance.
Almost like when your date farts right when you’re about to go in for that first kiss.
to be fair, they asked if I wanted beans (and cheese) in there and I said yes!
Glad you also were able to stop by All Day Baby for the biscuit sandwich.
El Ruso’s only standout protein is their Chile Colorado (glad you didn’t get their Carne Asada). Their handmade flour tortilla is definitely the main highlight.
Catching up w/reports! Next, a late dinner at Osteria Mozza, from chef Nancy Silverton and Joe Bastianich, who also run the restaurants Pizzeria Mozza and the meat focused Chi Spacca close by.
I had dinner at the mozzarella bar. Started with a cocktail - a
Sculaccione ($15)
tequila, Campari, grapefruit, bitters
Quite nice, citrusy and a little bitter from the Campari.
And then
Nancy’s Caesar ($19)
egg, leek and anchovy crostini
A deconstructed (or maybe reconstructed?) Caesar salad. Pristine leaves of romaine lettuce dressed in a Caesar dressing, along with a crostini where the toppings are the components of a Caesar salad - eggs (hard boiled rather than raw), and whole anchovies. The leek on the bottom gave it a bit of sweetness as well. Pretty good, it tasted like what it was.
Next, from the mozzarella bar, the
Burrata and Bacon ($18)
with marinated escarole and caramelized shallots
Kind of have to get a mozzarella dish sitting at the mozzarella bar at a place called Mozza right? This was really great, interesting mix of textures and flavors - the slightly bitter escarole, salty smoky crispy thin slices of bacon, cool creamy burrata cheese, some sweet shallots on top, and the toasted bread as a base. Tried to get all of the components into each bite. Delicious.
For my main I had the
Ricotta and Egg Ravioli ($22)
with browned butter
A bigass ravioli (raviolo?) stuffed with ricotta and a barely cooked egg, sitting in a pool of toasty nutty browned butter with a sprig of sage. Super rich. After cutting into it the yolk made a buttery eggy sauce. Wish I had gotten some bread to mop it up. There’s a version of this dish served up here in SF at Cotogna, in which the raviolo is flatter so I think the pasta to filling ratio is maybe a little more balanced? Both dishes are great though.
And for dessert I had the
Peach Melba, Raspberries & Almond Sbrisolona ($16)
Which was quite nice and summer-y. A sbrisolona is apparently an Italian type of crumbly cake, and this was a little bit like a peach cobbler with a warm peach, crumbly bits, some vanilla ice cream and whipped cream that was just a little sweet, and a light drizzle of strawberry sauce.
Lunch at the original Petit Trois, a French bistro from celebrity chef Ludo Lefebvre. Petit Trois is in a strip mall next to a donut shop and a pizza place. Right down the street from Osteria Mozza where I had dinner the night before. There’s also a second location in Sherman Oaks.
I sat inside at the counter along the wall and had the
BURGUNDY ESCARGOTS ($25)
butter, garlic, parsley, baguette
This was quite good. Plump snails swimming in parsley and garlic flavored butter. The half baguette was handy to soak up some of the butter. I kept the rest for my main.
Snail extraction tools.
For my main course I had the
OMELETTE PETIT TROIS ($20)
black pepper Boursin cheese, Boston lettuce
Petit Trois and Chef Ludo are kind of known for this omelette, which is a classic French omelette filled with boursin cheese, which is kind of like a flavored cream cheese. I saw them prepare the omelette using a piping bag to dispense the boursin. A really good omelette! Perfectly creamy in the center and the boursin gave it a nice flavor. It is served with a simple salad of butter lettuce dressed with a light vinaigrette. I’ve tried making this omelette at home a few times and I need some more practice.
And for a dessert I had the
NAPOLEON ($12)
puff pastry, Tahitian vanilla pastry cream
Which was surprisingly light. The pastry was very airy and shattered when you took a fork to it. Pastry cream was also nice and light and not too sweet. A very good and unconventional Napoleon.
Also an ESPRESSO ($5) which came with a little financier.
Dinner at Pasjoli (French for notpretty - thanks high school French), a French restaurant from chef Dave Beran in Santa Monica, which was very lively on a Saturday night. I sat outside in their parklet.
I started with a
camus daiquiri
rhum blanc, dolin génépy, lime, grapefruit, orange blossom water
Nice and refreshing, and a little herbal, I guess from the génépy.
And some bread.
demi baguette ($8)
beurre de baratte
A nice baguette, served warm warm with a crisp crust and tender crumb. I think the butter might have been the same Rodolphe Le Meunier butter I had a few nights ago at République, but maybe whipped a little as it was lighter and airier.
And for a starter I had the
foie de poulet à la Strasbourgeoise ($18 for a petit portion)
brioche filled with chicken liver mousse, with a jam of périgord truffle & shallot
This was delicious. Cool creamy chicken liver mousse that I think had some truffle in it, surrounded by a light and buttery brioche. On the side was some sweet shallot jam that had more truffle flavor.
For my main I had the
halibut meunière ($52)
pan-roasted halibut, roasted market greens, hazelnut, brown butter & lemon sauce
The twig looking things are charred chives, and underneath the fish were some kale with gruyere cheese. Not a very traditional Meunière I think.
This was ok. Actually most parts of this dish were quite good, the meaty halibut was cooked well and had a nice flavor, the greens (two types of sautéed kale) and charred chives were all good, and the crunchy hazelnuts, but in or on the vegetable layer there was something that had a lot of acidity in it - not sure what this was maybe more of the lemon brown butter? Or tanginess from the gruyere? I should have paid more attention to the description. This kind of pushed it into too acidic/tangy territory. I think it would have been a lot better if there was less of whatever that was.
For dessert I had the
soufflé au chocolat ($24)
bitter chocolate soufflé, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce
This takes around 25 minutes to prepare so let them know a little in advance if you want one.
It came with ice cream with cocoa nibs on the bottom and a chocolate sauce on the side. I poured some of the ice cream onto the soufflé and added chocolate sauce on top of that. The components tasted good but texture-wise it was a little underdone, and the interior was a little too wet. I think you can see from the picture that it could have risen a bit more.
I initially had a little bit of sticker shock from the prices but I then saw that they include service which made the prices more palatable. Overall a mixed experience at Pasjoli. Started strong with the bread and starter and then kind of went a bit meh from there.
