Have you dined outside at Anajak? I’ve done that and don’t recall the music being too loud. I loved the fried chicken but my wife wasn’t especially impressed. I think it’s because I had the wonderful dipping sauce and she did not (since she thought it might be so spicy).
I have dined outside there, and it was less noisy, but I was freezing and the whole alley thing wasn’t so much for me.
Interesting you like the sauce with the chicken. We were making fun of it at the table as maybe they ran out and had to borrow some packets of “duck sauce” from the Chinese place down the street. In other words, we thought it was a little embarrassing. No one ate it, and we pretty much devoured wvery other sauce.
I don’t think it’s unusual to be divided on the food at Anajak. Among my LA foodie friends, some adore it, others think it’s just an okay Thai restaurant with a great wine list and IG following. I fall somewhere in between.
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This is far from being just a Sarah Problem. I f***ing hate when I have to raise my voice for my dining companions to hear me; and if I have to raise my voice to be heard, odds are extremely high I’m going to have a hard time hearing others at my table. Many restaurants with food I like have kept me from returning on account of their apparent desire to simultaneously masquerade as a concert venue. Thank you for the warning about this, Sarah; as much as I also don’t like to eat outside, it sounds like that’s what I’m going to have to do when I eventually get around to visiting Anajak.
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Finally hit Lasita and we really loved it. For those that don’t know it is Filipino-American with an all natural wine list. The rotisserie chicken is excellent. I thought I was seeing things from across the room as a table of four had a magnum of what looked like Beta. I stopped by and sure enough it was! They kindly sent a glass over. We will definitely be going back.
We hit Majordoma last night and it was once again outstanding! I learned that on Tuesdays they have a $63 Steak Frites pre fix, we don’t eat steak; however, after seeing the spread at the table next to us I would order this in a heartbeat if we did as it looked wonderful.
We had the snap peas, citrus salad and the kitchen sent out a new dish that was still in R&D mode barbecued tofu that was great and then of course THE chicken! We love Domo so much! We usually go with a large group as I think it is perfect for that type of occasion this time it was just the two of us which was really nice as we could really focus on the chicken!
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the ultmate example was what I posted in by Pierre Gagnaire criticism.
Like I said , there was a table of 10 businesmen carrying on./laughing so badly that I had trouble hearing the service staff. A three star restaurant, not Hooters.
This would not have happened at a restaurant of this supposed level in the old days.
Lasita was supposed to be up but went to Pijja Palace instead to catch a game. Thanks for the review. I’ll make sure to stop by
We really liked it!
A great 4.5 days of eating in Los Angeles around some intense work days.
Another great meal at Anajak, we sat outside and I noticed the music was much lower. I also got control of the playlist at the end of the evening for an impromptu DJ set. Please don’t tell Chef justin!
As is now our ritual we hit RvR before our flight. We loved it even more than the first time. Perfect wine list. The Izakaya staples are very good but the California inspired vegetables are the stars. Excellent music. We just love the place and it is now firmly in our top 5 LA rotation!
Also special note we love the current Chef at Melody. Nigerian cuisine. I think she will be there Thursday - Saturday for the next three weeks. It was excellent.
Oh I almost forgot we hit Long Beach! Gusto Bread which is very good and Buvons. Really liked both and will be back.
Oh we also hit Yangs for breakfast which was once again great!
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Great to hear you have the same opinion of RVR as I. It really is a unique and tasty place. The energy in there is unmatched. ** @Sarah_Kirschbaum , et al.-avoid-it’s pretty noisy (music+talking with very little sound dampeners).
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Au contraire! Scan above for my brief review. We loved it, but made a point of sitting at the front at the bar where I believe it was much quieter.
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Ha! Maybe brunch is less boisterous, but glad you enjoyed it as well!
Anyone been to First Born in Chinatown? Thinking of dining there tomorrow before the Kings game but can’t find anything on corkage policy and they aren’t answering the phones as they’re closed today.
Just booked the RVR rooftop. Only 7 seats apparently. Not sure what to expect, but the rooftop when the space was Valle was fantastic.
That sounds great.
Thanks for the post, Robert! What did you try at Gusto? Long Beach is pretty much in my backyard, so you have my undivided attention on this one … 
We had the Mole Empanada and the Pastelito De Guava. The former is savory and the latter sweet. I preferred the savory but both were good.
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Firstborn was great for anyone curious enough to venture to Chinatown. Chef Wang, previously at Auburn and Destroyer, has a really interesting menu that drew my attention initially. Really elevated take on California/Chinese cuisine with a heavy focus on farmers market produce. Lots of interesting preparations and textures throughout. Flavors were bright and fresh. Food was really wine friendly. Will definitely be heading back to explore the rest of the menu and the cocktails as well which looked great. If the location was better this would be a more talked about restaurant IMO…
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Firstborn looks great. Curious what the bill was like - the website has a menu with no prices on it.
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Thanks for that - and how was the Blain-Gagnard? I’ve had a few Blanchots Dessus from various producers but never a Criots.