Last week I celebrated 20 issues of Bite Sized with some friends at one of my fave restaurants, Mazal. We took over the longest table in the back patio. My friend Lauren decked out the table in flowers + kumquats, and I made them all play food trivia games with me! If you follow me on IG, I’m sure you’re exhausted of the content by now — but just wanted to say thank you again to Tal for all the wine pours and the most delish Israeli food.
ALSO! I still have a wine deal going on with them! 🍷 Until September 30th, go have a meal and enjoy THIS BOTTLE 🍾 for just $30 bucks (usually $66) — just say you’re a friend of Bite Sized.
Fire the menu! Get the hummus, get the pita, get the fried broccoli! Definitely don’t sleep on the fennel. Cheers!
Wondering what to do with your coffee grounds? How about a zen garden.
Villas Tacos announced they’ll be opening at Grand Central Market in the former Belcampo spot. It’ll be the 4th Mexican restaurant at GCM — no opening date yet.
Kellogg’s is ditching cereal to focus on their ‘more attractive snacking segment’ like Pringles + Cheez-Its. End of an era.
La Fe Bar — brand new in the old Ostrich Farm location. “We’re just sort of seeing what our customers want,” she says, noting that the drink and food menus are still coming together in real time.” — more on Eater
Airliner Bar — if it has fries and yuzu kosho aioli on the menu, I’m there.
Budonokia — izakaya opening in Virgil Village 9/28
Just remembered Georgian dumplings exist — I scrolled deep in my phone to find this pic from Khinkali House in Glendale. They come served with literal deli cups of sour cream.
A List of Patios:
This was requested on IG :)
Salazar, an auto body shop turned patio, feels like Austin, but it’s Frogtown
Justine’s Wine Bar, a homey front yard feel for vegan eats + natty wine, Frogtown
ZaZaZa, the lunch time little sis to CDMX style Loreto, in Frogtown
Bar Flores, throwback cantina overlooking Sunset blvd in Echo Park
All Time, a hidden backyard in Los Feliz with greenhouse farm to table energy
Benny Boy Brewing, a glampy style beer garden + cider house in Lincoln Heights
Zinc Market + Cafe, if Pottery Barn was a restaurant in the Arts District
American Beauty, sandy patio for burgers + filet mignon in Venice
Le Great Outdoors, vibrant backyard bbq, lots of edible flowers in Santa Monica
A few others I haven’t been to but I see mentioned a lot: Cento Pasta Bar, De La Nonna, AOC, Slammers, Superba Hollywood, Everson Royce Bar, Ddong Ggo.
LMK if you have any suggestions for future lists / round ups…
LA has some of the best food I’ve ever had in my entire life, so ya, I was disappointed with my undercooked garlic fries and nacho bucket. Dodger’s fans are soooo proud! I feel like the food could represent the city a little better. Here’s what I think would be fun…
Villas Tacos — an obvious choice. Victor Villa is always sporting a Dodger’s hat. What once was a family owned backyard pop-up / street sensation is now a Michelin recognized restaurant, an LA dream come true. Plus all their merch is game day ready. 🧢
Wouldn’t be mad at Guisados or Mariscos Jalisco either… ? Imagine eating a fried fish sammie from Little Fish… or a lobster roll from Broad St.in the stands. Wings from Howlin’ Rays...? Perhaps a pizza slice from Prime? Eating chewy noods out of a takeout box from Woon would be fun too, just sayin!
Really excited about this series — Our anonymous reviews will be submitted by different authors each week serving unfiltered thoughts + scene reports. Not all will have photos, but we got lucky this time. ;)
San-tō is a sushi spot with a Mexican twist that just opened in Silver Lake.
“I caught myself driving along Sunset right at opening, 5pm, so figured I’d try to walk-in. Maybe risky on a Saturday, but sure enough, they were able to seat me right away at the bar as long as I’d be out by 6pm. No problem.
The ambiance was nice, dimly lot. Maybe 15 seats. Small menu, which I appreciated. I thought it was a little bizarre I ordered from a server while seated at the counter. But I quickly realized the sushi chefs didn’t take orders from any diners.
I had other dinner plans in a few hours, so I was planning on just having a taste. A couple Nigiri, Salmon + Otoro. I felt curious about their vegan fish option, so I ordered that as a hand roll too.
The nigiri came as one piece, not 2, just something to note. The fish was good. Maybe a smidge warmer in temperature than I’d like, but it was certainly good quality. The salmon had yuzu (which Kate talks about a lot). The chef sprinkled what I assume was flaky salt on the nigiri after placing it in front of me. I’ve never seen that done before. I like salt but I’m not sure that was necessary.
The Otoro came seared. I wish it hadn’t. I noticed 3 torches behind the bar. Looking at the menu again, I guess that’s their thing.
The vegan fysh hand roll was surprisingly delicious. Made with root vegetables and sea algae, seasoned like spicy tuna, the texture was almost fish passing. Apologies, I didn’t take a photo of that one.
They had a hefty sake list and a few wines — including Gulp Hablo Orange if you’re into that.
I ordered one more Toro Nigiri, one that wasn’t seared, before deciding I was satisfied. Everything was just okay. The total was around $40. (1 hand roll, 3 pieces of Nigiri)
A bit expensive, but it all felt fine enough until my server told me that I should come back when I’ll order more food and at least one drink.
Maybe they’re right. Maybe I wouldhave liked it better if I ordered different things, but that comment rubbed me the wrong way.
Igive San-tō a 3/5. I think I’ll stick with Kombu across the street. ” — Anon
DM me if you’d like to submit a review.
Recent Bites —
This issue is getting long so I’m only going to mention a few…
Juan’s Pambazos Pop-Up at Collage Coffee (This would be SOOO good at a Dodger’s Game too) You’ll have to follow Collage’s IG stories closely to know about when these are happening — they don’t do them often! These pambazos are all vegan too — papas con soy chorizo topped with yuzu crema.
Onigiri Fried Rice — a perfect use for yesterday’s onigiri that dried out in the fridge. Sort of like a bath bomb…but a fried rice bomb? I added maitake mushrooms, some saucy stuff + furikake. Perfection.
Toasted Challah from Dad himself with Miyoko’s and tomato. A couple slices of Sorella’s 2 year aged cheddar on the side— my absolute favorite cheese (and I don’t eat cheese that much).
If you see Alexis at a pop-up, I highly recommend buying whatever cookies she has. Funny enough, I haven’t tried her jam, but I know it’s good since she uses the jam IN THE COOKIES. Her next pop-up is 10/1 in Sherman Oaks.
I swear it’s better & better each issue
Omg the vintage commerciallll ☠️. Also love the coffee compost idea. More more more!