Gourmand quick tour of Los Angeles

Returned from a Los Angeles movable feast fatter, but content. Here are the elements of my contentment... Our first meal after arrival was Langer's, at 7th and Alvarado, where we groveled at the altar of the great pastrami god. Thick-sliced meat so tender and flavorful piled high (but not too high) on thick double-baked rye. Many people order it with cole slaw on the sandwich, but we are purists and the cole slaw has bell pepper in it, shame, shame. Had a refreshing egg cream with extra soda water for a fully traditional experience. BTW, the rye comes from Fred's Bakery on Robertson. I called before we left and brought home a couple of excellent loaves. A sick friend changed our plans some for the evening, but we still had an excellent meal at Yujean Kang in Pasadena. It's kind of a fusion Chinese and yet it's not! Make sense? They create variations on classic Chinese dishes but very Chinese. Highlights were the veal with matchstick yams, the Chinese polenta with shrimp and mushrooms, and silk squash Beijing style. Combination of flavors and texture were great and unusual. The tiny dumplings were nothing special. They're famous for their beef tenderloin but amazingly they were out of beef on a Thursday evening.

The next day allowed us to explore Italian headliners. Lunch at Pizzeria Mozza could not have been better. Fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta, arugula salad, pizza margherita (simple is best) and butterscotch budino left us plenty satisfied but able to have a great dinner that night at Campanile. Friday nights is wine pairing night, where 3 tapas-sized dishes are paired with 3 glasses of wine for $38. Grilled shrimp and sweet potato was paired with a Sancerre, Grilled pork belly paired with a Santa Barbara Pinot Noir, and lobster mushroom with bigoli pasta and kale was paired with a really wonderful 2001 Barbaresco. We had another glass of that. We finished with an excellent cheese cake and a highly recommended but not ethereal peach tarte tatin. Campanile does not rest on its laurels and has different theme nights during the week so one can always try something new.

Saturday was international day. Breakfast was at Nickel Diner, a perfect new downtown LA institution. Pulled pork hash was meaty, nicely spicy, mixed with perfectly cooked potatoes and topped with 2 perfect eggs. I had my Zocor the night before. Two eggs baked on polenta with spinach and garlic topped with parmesan made a defining breakfast, everything cooked to perfection and balanced. A shared maple bacon doughnut, housemade with brioche dough put the diner on our must return list. Food friends picked us up at our hotel to share a few favorites. We began with great Peruvian ceviches and causa (potato salad) from Mo-chica and added interesting panuchos (a Yucatan papusa) from Chichen-Itza. I prefer papusas, but the ceviches were first-rate. A driving tour of the San Gabriel Valley Chinese cornucopia made a stop at 101 Noodle Express, a totally nondescript place in a mini-mall in Alhambra, for perfect dumplings and an incredible beef roll, kind of like a Chinese quesadilla with thinly sliced beef, hoisin suace, ciliantro, and onion. No description equals the eating pleasure of it. Wow. And then onto dinner at Park's BBQ in Koreatown, where we could not quite finish exquisite marinated galbi (short ribs), prime ribeye, and assorted mushrooms accompanied by classic renderings of Korean banchan. Go with the marinade. The servers stay in charge of the BBQ, but got a little sidetracked and did some overcooking, but still very tasty. And valet parking in another mini-mall lets you know it's an in-spot. By this point, even I had had enough and my Zocor was calling me back to the hotel.

Before our plane left the next morning we stopped at an old favorite, the Apple Pan, with its excellent hickory burger and apple pie. Thinking of what I ate the day before, I passed on the fries. The place is so wonderfully consistent and charming and you feel you're in on great insider information eating there. An excellent wrap up to good LA eats.


















































































Below are a few of my favorites for your dining pleasure.


Sancho's, 491 Lytton Ave. Sancho's has the best fish taco and their other food is good too. The fish taco is $3.95 which seems like a lot but one taco with the free chips is enough for lunch. They will soon open another location in Midtown next to CVS.

Whole Foods Market-I've been able to do the salad/hot dish bar for $5-6. I go for heavier food that by itself would cost more than the $7.99 lb, so salad toppings like salmon, teriyaki chicken. I don't add plain salad or if I do I get it from the fresh veggies area where it's $6/lb. I'm cheap but thoughtful.

Paxti's-441 Emerson --Chicago style pizza, deep-dish. One piece for $4.99 is quite filling. Takes a while as it's made fresh, so order, do a task, and come back.

China Delight--461 Emerson-generous lunch plates with soup are $5.50-$6.00 and quite decent with a nice selection.

Rangoon--565 Bryant Street-Burmese and Chinese food with lunch specials from $5.95. Nice variety including a few Burmese specials like the coconut chicken noodle soup add an exotic touch.

Mi Pueblo--1731 East Bayshore, EPA-a great Mexican grocery with the best tortilla chips. Always some free samples. Sometimes on Fridays (I'm not sure when else), they have fresh or BBQed oysters for $1 each. 3-4 of those with a fresh tamale ($1.49) is a great $5 meal. They also have a very large prepared food counter and large burritos and tortas.