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The 10 Best Things I Consumed in 2022

My New Year’s resolution is to post more in 2023, but for now please enjoy my annual year-end list. Here are the 10 best things I consumed and posted about this year. Have a happy, healthy and delicious New Year!

Pretzel Bread and Mustard Butter

10. Pretzel Bread with Mustard Butter at Catch LA in West Hollywood. These incredible rolls are served hot-out-of-the-oven with a sweet mustard butter, and prove that sometimes the best things in life really are free (or, at least, complimentary with your meal).

Assorted Bourekas, Hard Boiled Eggs, Pickles and Tomato Dipping Sauces

9. Borekas at Bo-re-kas in Sherman Oaks. These savory Sephardic Israeli pastries with fillings such as potato & brown butter and cultured cheese & za’atar are one of the best things you can nosh on in the Valley.

Bahn Mi

8. Bahn Mi at Bahn Mi My-Dung in Chinatown. This perfect version of the classic Vietnamese sandwich is made and sold in a tiny, unassuming grocery store.

Brisket, Pork Ribs, Pulled Pork, Korean Sticky Glazed Pork Belly Burnt Ends, Jalapeño Cheddar Sausage, Mac n Cheese, Slaw, Red Potato Salad, Pickles, Onions and Tres Leches Strawberry Bread Pudding

7. Barbecue at Moo’s Craft Barbecue in Lincoln Heights. It’s hard to pick just one menu item for this list from my new favorite Texas-style barbecue joint in town, so I’m just going to recommend all of them.

Green Slice with Caciocavallo, Spinach-Cream Sauce and Parmigiano Reggiano

6. Green Slice at Pizzeria Bianco in Downton. Believe the hype.

Double Cheeseburger

5. Double Cheeseburger at The Win-Dow in Venice and Silver Lake. Smashingly delicious!

Prime Beef Bulgogi

4. Prime Beef Bulgogi at Woo Hyang Woo in Koreatown. This Korean BBQ staple is elevated to a whole new level at a great, new-ish, high-end eatery in the heart of K-town.

Cacio e Pepe Bagel

3. Cacio e Pepe Bagel at Belle’s Bagels in Highland Park. Jewish meets Italian and the result is possibly the best bagel ever.

Lobster Hand Roll

2. Lobster Hand Roll at Kazunori in Westwood, Studio City, Downtown, Mid-City, Santa Monica, Downton and Marina del Rey. Shello, uber-delicious hand roll. You are clawsome!

Banana Leaf Flan with Sesame and Caramel

1. Banana Leaf Flan at Damian in Downton. Upscale Mexican restaurant Damian is one of my favorite new places and this dessert is flan-tastic! It’s the best thing that I consumed and posted about this year!

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Filed under Chinatown, Downtown, Highland Park, Koreatown, Lincoln Heights, Marina del Rey, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Silver Lake, Studio City, Venice, West Hollywood, Westwood

The 10 Best Things I Consumed in 2017


As we bid adieu to 2017, let’s just focus on the good stuff. And by “good stuff,” I mean the food we consumed to tantalize our taste buds, lift our spirits and provide a bit of pleasure in these ever-changing and uncertain times. Keeping with tradition, here is my annual list of the ten best things I ate and wrote about during the past year:

Shul Lung Tang (Korean bone broth) from Han Bat

10. Shul Lung Tang from Han Bat. Is bone broth a miracle elixir that will cure all your ailments, align your chakras and balance your chi? Probably not, but there’s nothing better than a hot bowl of this soup on a cold rainy day.

Pork Chop “Niman Ranch” from Salazar

9. Pork Chop “Niman Ranch” from Salazar. The penultimate dish on my top ten list is smoky, fatty and juicy. As excited as I am about this pork chop, I’m equally excited about using the word “penultimate” in my post.

Flaky Bread with Labneh, Preserved Lemon and Honey from Kismet

8. Flaky Bread from Kismet. The servers at Kismet are flaky and so is the hipstery restaurant’s best dish: a melt-in-your-mouth pan-fried bread served with labneh, preserved lemon and honey.

Banchan from Genwa

7. Banchan from Genwa. We all like free things, and the ridiculous amount of complimentary banchan (side dishes of fermented vegetables, fishcake, seasoned peanuts, braised beef, scallion pancakes and other Korean delicacies) at this Korean BBQ joint has the additional benefit of being exceptionally tasty.

Ceviche Tostada from Holbox

6. Ceviche Tostada from Holbox. How do you make an octopus laugh? With ten-tickles. The Ceviche Tostada at Holbox is a lot better than that joke.

Macarons from Ladurée

5. Macarons from Ladurée. The French know a thing or two about creating incredible baked confections. I know a thing or two about eating them.

Marinated Short Ribs from Chosun Galbee

4. Marinated Short Ribs from Chosun Galbee. I know what you’re thinking: Where’s the beef? It’s right here at #4 and it’s amazing.

Fresh Uni in the Shell from Jolly Oyster

3. Fresh Uni in the Shell from Jolly Oyster. Fun fact: uni is actually a sea urchin’s gonads. These gonads are especially delicious when eaten right out of the shell at the Jolly Oyster stall at DTLA’s weekly Smorgasburg.

Pastrami Sandwich from Ugly Drum

2. Pastrami Sandwich from Ugly Drum. “Oy gevalt!”…is something you will not be saying when you eat this pastrami masterpiece (which is also found at Smorgasburg).

Carrot Mole Enchiladas from Trois Familia

1. Carrot Mole Enchiladas from Trois Familia. You haven’t really had carrot mole enchiladas until you’ve had the ones from Trois Familia. They are insanely good and the best thing that I consumed and wrote about in 2017.

If you enjoy Consuming LA, please subscribe, like me on facebook and follow me on twitter and instagram at the top right of this page. And please forward to your friends!

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Filed under Beverly Hills, Frogtown, Koreatown, Los Feliz, Mid-City, Silver Lake, South Los Angeles

The 10 Best Things I Consumed in 2016

best of 2016
As we prepare to say so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye to 2016, it’s time to look back at the LA gastronomic highlights of the year. If you haven’t tried all of these things, I’m sure they’ll still be around in 2017 for you to stuff in your pie hole. Here is my annual list of the ten best things I consumed and wrote about during the past year:

"Big Mec" Double Cheeseburger

“Big Mec” Double Cheeseburger from Petit Trois


10. “Big Mec” Double Cheeseburger from Petit Trois. The “Big Mec” is the only burger to make my list this year. It has foie gras in it, so basically they’re not playing fair.

Maguro and Toro

Maguro and Toro from Sasabune in Beverly Hills


9. Sushi from Sasabune in Beverly Hills. Sushi is an expensive habit. If you’re looking to save some money in the new year, don’t even try the insanely good and addictive sushi at Sasabune in Beverly Hills.

Bosam

Bossam from Kobawoo House


8. Bossam from Kobawoo House. If you read this blog regularly, you knew there was going to be some awesome Korean food featured on this list. This is it.

Noorook from Baroo

Noorook from Baroo


7. Noorook from Baroo. There are a lot of o’s in the name of this vegetarian dish and also a lot of ingredients, including something called “Job’s Tears,” which I’ve never heard of before but am going to start eating regularly.

Hot Chicken

Hot Chicken from Howlin Ray’s


6. Hot Chicken from Howlin Ray’s. I know what you are saying: enough with the healthy stuff on this list. So, here’s some deep fried awesomeness.

Foie Gras Funnel Cake from Otium

Foie Gras Funnel Cake from Otium


5. Foie Groas Funnel Cake from Otium. This is what carnies eat when they’re trying to act all sophisticated.

Nona Elvira's Lasagne Verde

Nona Elvira’s Lasagne Verde from Angelini Osteria


4. Nona Elvira’s Lasagne Verde from Angelini Osteria. This is the best lasagne ever. No exaggeration. It’s made with beef, veal and chopped chicken livers — each of the three major protein groups.

Garlic Cheese Bread from The Smoke House

Garlic Cheese Bread from The Smoke House


3. Garlic Cheese Bread from the Smokehouse. I updated my best restaurant bread list this year, and guess who came out the winner again. Yes, it’s of a color that doesn’t exist in nature, but don’t let that stop you from experiencing garlicky, cheesy nirvana.

Butter and Salt Doughnut

Butter and Salt Doughnut from Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee


2. Butter and Salt Doughnut from Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee. Is it “donut” or “doughnut”? I don’t know. Does it really matter? Go to Sidecar and prepare to be blown away.

Tempura Uni

Tempura Uni from Tempura Endo


1. Tempura Uni from Tempura Endo. I dare you to find anything better in this town to put in your mouth. It’s my favorite thing that I consumed and wrote about this year.

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Filed under Beverly Hills, Burbank, Downtown, Hollywood, Koreatown, Mid-City, Santa Monica