Category Archives: Dining Out

Church & State (Los Angeles, CA)

Posted on by November 11, 2015

Church & State
1850 Industrial St
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Dining date: 11/6/15

Church & State

Church & State was one of the first really exciting restaurants to open into the reinvigorated Arts District of downtown. With Walter Manzke in the kitchen, the restaurant was an immediate success. The neighborhood has had a ton of new development over the years, but Church & State has been a standby serving classic French bistro food. The restaurant celebrated its seventh anniversary last week and rolled back prices to 2008 levels in celebration. It’s been a long five years since I dined at the restaurant, so a revisit was long overdue.

Kitchen

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Maccheroni Republic (Los Angeles, CA) [2]

Posted on by November 8, 2015

Maccheroni Republic
332 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Dining date: 3/5/15 and 10/27/15

Maccheroni Republic

I’ve been to Maccheroni Republic a number of times for their fresh, housemade pastas at great prices. The restaurant quickly gained in popularity since opening in late 2012, drawing lengthy lines at the no-reservations spot. I still stop in once a while, though primarily for an early weekday lunch in order to avoid any wait. This post recaps two of my previous lunches.

The free corkage policy is now gone; the restaurant has their beer & wine license with a limited selection of beverages. However, corkage is still very reasonable (I think it’s like $5).

Patio

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Petty Cash Taqueria (Los Angeles, CA)

Posted on by November 1, 2015

Petty Cash Taqueria
712 S Santa Fe Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Dining date: 10/21/15

Petty Cash

Petty Cash’s Arts District location officially opened a couple of months ago. I’ve been there once during its soft opening when Javier Plascensia and Tim Hollingsworth were guest chefs. I’ve also been there for post-dinner drinks, but this was my first time having a full meal.

In a city full of cheap taco options, one of the primary criticisms is that Petty Cash is too expensive. It’s definitely above average pricing at $4-6 apiece, though the quality of the ingredients is a differentiating factor. Sustainable fish for the fish tacos, Cook Pigs Ranch pork for the carnitas and prime grade ribeye for carne asada are a few examples. Happy hour (weekdays 5-7) is a great time to score some of these tacos at more approachable prices. On top of a couple of drink specials, tacos are 2-for-1. On this visit, we just made the cutoff coming in at 6:45.

Bar

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Sushi Tsujita (Los Angeles, CA)

Posted on by October 25, 2015

Sushi Tsujita
2006 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Dining date: 9/20/15

Sushi Tsujita

Sushi Tsujita opened about a year ago and was the third LA restaurant from the Tsujita group. The first two restaurants are popular noodle bars; I’ve been a huge fan of the tsukemen they serve (even trying it in Tokyo a few years back). However, this restaurant is something a little different – a refined sushi bar. Reviews of the restaurant have been strong thus far, so a visit was in order.

The dinner menu is omakase-only at three levels: $120, $150, and $180. We went right in the middle. While sushi made up the bulk of the menu, there were a scattering of small, plated dishes throughout.

Interior

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Daniel (New York, NY)

Posted on by October 18, 2015

Daniel
60 E 65th St.
New York, NY 10065
Dining date: 9/10/15

Daniel

Daniel Boulud is one of America’s most notable chef/restaurateurs with 16 restaurants in 4 countries around the world. I’ve tried a few of his restaurants with mixed thoughts, feeling like he’s spread himself fairly thin. However, I’ve always wanted to try Restaurant Daniel – Boulud’s flagship restaurant in New York City.

Since opening in 1993, Daniel has been regarded as one of the top restaurants in the city. Recently, the restaurant has lost some of its top accolades. It started in 2013 with a downgrade in the NY Times from four stars to three. Food critic Pete Wells cited very different dining experiences between the restaurant’s regulars/VIPs and other customers. Last year, Michelin dropped Daniel from the three-star ranks to two, something it re-affirmed in the latest 2015 guide. Michelin referred to inconsistency and a decline in food quality. Less importantly, the restaurant also dropped for the fifth straight year in the world’s best restaurants list, a precipitous drop of 40 spots down to #80 in 2015.

I was very indecisive on whether to invest a meal at Daniel. Would I be trying a restaurant on the downhill? Or a restaurant with a renewed focus on its food and service?

Bar

Dining Room

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Aburiya Raku (Los Angeles, CA)

Posted on by October 11, 2015

Aburiya Raku
521 N La Cienega Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90048
Dining date: 10/3/15

Raku

Raku is one of the year’s most exciting restaurant openings for me; I never expected to see this place in Los Angeles. I’ve enjoyed the restaurant a handful of times since it opened in Las Vegas’ Chinatown 2008. In its early stages, it was a fairly unassuming ‘locals spot’ in a Chinatown strip mall. The restaurant steadily gathered a very devoted following and national acclaim, following up with a Raku Sweets concept in 2013 and this second location of Raku that opened just last month.

The menu at this West Hollywood location is virtually identical to the original, with a long list of menu items and a chalkboard of daily specials. We ordered up a couple of daily specials (bluefin tuna sashimi, iberico pork skewers), a few old favorites and some new dishes.

Interior

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