Hi @honkman ,
Ah, sorry I should clarify: Now that Jeremy Fox is primarily at Birdie G’s (and working on another new concept as well for the restaurant group). I think he probably drops in and consults, but he’s not the main CdC there anymore. Thanks.
Bulgarini Gelato
Good reminder to revisit
Thanks for the thoughts on Rustic Canyon. 
I definitely want to return.
Also good to hear Izakaya Hachi is solid still.
You are very observant! 
We were chatting with our good friends from Tokyo, and they feel the same. There is no great Izakaya in So Cal right now(!). 
It’s a bit of a shock, but also with COVID, and it not really being conducive to super crowded, rowdy, “Kanpai!”-cheering Izakaya environments, I suppose it’s not a surprise as well. I’ve heard from K K and others that the Japanese Sake industry is not doing that well since COVID, which also ties into going to places and enjoying Sake / festivities, etc., and that’s all down in general, but maybe we’re recovering?
But yah, the closest I’d say locally is Torihei (go when Sasaki-san is cooking (you can call and ask)). On those days, it’s a lot of fun and I’d say it’s about ~75 - 85% of OG Torihei (since Masa-san the OG Yakitori master isn’t cooking these days (just running the business side sadly)). Their current Yakitori staff trained by Sasaki-san and Masa-san are decent to very good (depending on which folks are cooking). But as long as Sasaki-san is in, he’s watching over everyone so that helps, and he mainly focuses on the Cooked dishes, Agemono (Fried stuff) and more, which are great!
Hi @chienrouge ,
So besides Bulgarini Gelato, if by “desserts” you mean anything sweet and dessert-like, also Republique for Breakfast, Brunch & Lunch time pastries and pies! You can see my thread on pics. I’d eat their Creme Brulee Bombolini any day of the week! It is SO GOOD! 
Or a slice of their Mango Passion Fruit Cream Pie (fantastic!), their Peach Pie, Hazelnut Paris Brest, the Calamansi “Twinkie”! And so many other things. Pastry Chef Margarita Manzke and team are pretty great with various morning treats (but not the Croissants).
Nice. Some aren’t fans but I personally love the strawberry tiramisu dessert there, the bombolini needs to drop never tried it.
Hi @chienrouge ,
! You definitely need to get over there and try the Creme Brulee Bombolini (there are 2 Bomobolini pastries usually, get the Creme Brulee one). They usually sell out by mid-Lunch, so maybe try getting there a bit earlier?
Roasted chestnut mochi at Here’s Looking at You.
Sunset Mess at Horses
Not sure if I agree that a EC being less involved in the day-to-day operations of a restaurant means the quality has to automatically drop (I think that is more of a problem with (international) chains, e.g. ramen etc but much less with independent restaurants). It is part of the job profile of a good EC/owner to build a kitchen team which performs on the same level with him/her daily on board or not. There are many examples like Benu/ Mr. Benjamin (Lee), Per See/Bouchon/Ad Hoc (Keller) (just to name a few) where we had great visits without the EC/owner around. And following Fox’s story after he left Ubuntu he will particularly look into building good teams without him the center
Hi @honkman ,
I never said Rustic Canyon went “bad” or anything, see my question. I think there’s nothing wrong in wanting to try food made by a specific chef (e.g., Birdie G’s, Chef Fox was there consistently, on the line from grand opening for well over a year or more, the last time I visited). So I was just asking how Rustic Canyon was after he stopped cooking there. Thanks.
Stevie’s on Pico has some friendly folks and good (by Los Angeles standards) gumbo and catfish fingers.
Is that a hoodfish lunch ? Where did u get it?
So many spots like that along pico, Crenshaw, etx
No, actually down south.
Point Loma Seafood in San Diego.
nice looks good !
handmade gyoza and terrific shrimp fried rice are what I always get at VR.
never would have leaned toward the fried rice but was told by a Japanese chef to try it.
I don’t mind the ramen but almost never get it
Utterly disgusting.
ARGH!!! I keep forgetting to try this place. Maybe once the heat dome resolves…
