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Lunch. Yes I know this is a dessert. It is one of my favorite Taiwanese desserts. Shaved ice with soft boiled peanuts with sweet condensed milk. Made the peanuts from a package from ranch 99 and then pressure cooked it. It was yummy!! . . . . .
Korean BBQ at Genwa. Really good offering banchan. Beef was also good with the marbling. Wish they didn’t cook it for us since it was cooked so fast. Regardless I’d recommend and visit again. Make sure you have soju with your meal. . . . . . .
Tacos from Guisados. Fish tacos - grilled not fried. I love these tacos. Not a fan of fried fish tacos. Also got the 6 mini taco sampler for $8.50 - great deal. I forgot about this place. I think they are probably the best taco joint in DTLA, could go up against guerrilla tacos. . . . . .
BBQ in Chinatown. LA Brisket. We ordered the OG bowl with Beef Brisket. But it was a little too dry. And the brisket slices were unexpectedly thin. Not sure about the accompanying green salsa sauce. Reminded me of salsa verde. The slaw was really good and sour - just the way I like it. The pork ribs, seemed like small portion. They taste well and had good flavor and texture (that’s the CBJ in me). The loaded fries with brisket was quite hearty, yet seemed to lack enough fries, strangely. I liked the fries a lot. The single Texas toast was good, wish they gave us another slice. Not sure if I recommend, yet. But I’d return just to try others. Brisket 7 for taste, 8 for tenderness, 7 for appearance. Pork ribs 8 taste, 8 for tenderness, and 8 for appearance. . . . . . . .chinatown
Taiwanese food at Accomplice. Nice little neighborhood bar with Taiwanese food. Only tried fried tofu and the scallion pancakes. But I think the sauce is more Shanghainese with the sweetness. I am more used to a spicier and less sweet sauce for tifu. And the scallion pancakes, not sure of the vinegar sauce dipping sauce. I think this is more of a china flavor. Plus I think the scallion pancakes seems deep fried rather than the traditional pan fried. I get that this catering more to an American palate. Perhaps the chef is from china, instead of Taiwan. Next time I want to the other dishes. Regardless this is a cool car with a good selection of whiskeys. Almost had the full selection of Nikki whiskeys, they were missing the takesuru and days. I had a glass of the buffalo trace bourbon. They also had a really good green cocktail that was spicy. That was really good. . . . . . .
Happy Hour at Sara the Wine Bar. Bruschetta, margarhetti pizza, seafood pasta. Fresh pasta made in-house. Cool little spot that’s not too crowded. Would return and would recommend . . . . .
Seafood at . Great little place for oysters and seafood. Lobster roll was really good. The scallops were some of the best ever. The blue crab dip with ritz crackers were great. But the Santa Barbara uni with the white chips and fresh wasabi was some of the best ever!! . . . . .
Birria Torta with consume. From tacos y Birria La Unica. From the Boyle heights location on Olympic. I think a torta might be the best vehicle to eat Birria with consume. The bread soaks up the juices from the consume soup. Bread is like a sponge, where a tortilla doesn’t retain as much. Imagine it is like a French dip sandwich. Also, this place closes early - around 4:30ish. Wish they opened later. Next time I want to try goat Birria. . . . . . .
Kaiseki dinner at I-Naba. Excellent service and great experience. Lots of the dishes were quite good. The miso infused cheese, fish ball, soba noodles, green mochi were stand outs. Unfortunately the sushi rice, the some of the sushi was not. I’ve had great kaiseki experiences in Asia. So my expectations were quite high. I would love to try the set menu for the Sushi I-Naba next time. . . . . . . .
Pine & Crane vegan lunch. Dan Dan noodles, Sha Gua noodles (stupid noodles), tofu steam buns, bok choy fried dumplings, seaweed, and fried peanut salad. And of course the traditional Taiwanese shaved ice. Yummy and healthy. Popular spot with street parking only. Outdoor seating is best. . . . . .
This weekend’s event was amazing to meet fellow judges and the great people in the area. They were kind to a first time judge and a judge from LA. I taste some of the best barbecue ever. These were professionals who did chicken, pork ribs, pork, and brisket. Unfortunately I cannot take photos of the food to show. But I wanted to share my experience. Great capstone to my roadtrip. . . . . . .
First Walmart, now is the Walmart Museum. Interesting to see the history behind Sam Walton and the Walmart empire. Bentonville has so many Walmarts and related buildings, thought they should rename the city Walton . . . . . .