Son of a Gun (Los Angeles)

  • Tuna Melt (cheddar, tomato, crème fraiche, rye): pretty basic sandwich

  • Lobster Roll (celery, lemon aioli): about three or four bites. Kind of enough for me, but overpriced for sure. Solid lobster roll.

The service was unspectacular, and then when the check came, it had an 18% “service fee” that said very plainly that it is not the tip. Then I had to scan a QR code and pay through the Toast app. It auto recommended 20% tip on top of the service fee—ridiculous. I’m not paying 38% over what the menu prices say.

Rating: 4/10

andSons Chocolates (Beverly Hills)

  • 12 piece box (six bonbons, six chocolate squares): the first two that I tried, I was like oh no, these aren’t really doing it for me. Then I came back to the box later that night and had another two, and it blew my mind. People who recommend eating these in one bite are maniacs. I greatly enjoyed eating each one in about three bites. The subtlety of flavor…

Rating: 9/10

Osteria Mozza (Los Angeles)

Amaro Bar Pasta Tasting Menu

  • Small starter that wasn’t listed on the menu: fun little thing, very much not fine dinning, meat wrapped around a bread stick.

  • Spaghetti (marinated anchovies, Calabrian chile & parsley): great, but in the end, I’m not a spaghetti man. I love me some anchovies, though. About as good as spaghetti (the worst pasta) can get.

  • Bauletti Ricotta (English peas, Spring onion & lemon): very good, and I’m slightly inclined away from lemon pastas. The lemon sauce was very buttery and smooth rather than acidic.

  • Torchio (pepperonata, Sicilian oregano & Taggiasca olives): ultimately did not like this one, though it’s definitely personal taste. Olives work for me when they’re embedded in a meal well, but I have never had a pepper in a course that hasn’t taken away from the experience. The only course I didn’t finish completely.

  • Doppio Ravioli (brasato, sunchokes & morels): this was definitely the best in the tasting menu (and not-coincidentally the only one that is also on the a la carte menu). They could have easily done this with mushrooms, but the morels take it to the something special category.

  • Meyer Lemon Posset (vanilla meringue): delicious. Also really good looking presentation.

Rating: 8/10

Saffy’s (Los Angeles)

  • Challah French Toast (maple syrup, fried sage, vanilla, vermont butter): this is a simple food, but they delivered. Just barely middle eastern. Considering it cost the same as french toast you’d get literally anywhere else (and I’ve had much much worse for way more money in NYC), this gets a big thumbs up. I should not have eaten the whole thing.

  • Chicken Shishlik Pita (grilled onions, green chutney, tahini): I think they over did it with the greens and sauce. It would be the best pita of all time if it were about half the price, but it didn’t wow me in any way. Maybe chicken pitas have a ceiling.

Rating: 7/10

Found Oyster (Los Angeles)

  • Maine “Lobstah” Tostada: this was a part of a collaboration with Benny Blanco (he released a cook book; he’s an unusual guy, written many number 1 hit songs, dating Selena Gomez currently). He was outside talking to a few people. I ordered the food and then realized I knew who the guy was (and by coincidence had been looking at his wiki page last night). This was very well prepared and quite good. Only about the size of the palm of my hand, but definitely enough food. I liked the crunch.

  • Six Oysters: I haven’t cracked the code on the different varieties of oysters yet. There were two kinds, three of each. One kind was much smaller than the other kind. I could not detect a difference in taste between the two.

Rating: 8/10

The Cheese Store (Beverly Hills)

  • Le Gourmand Sandwich (house roasted turkey, triple créme, maple onion confit): First took me off guard that it was a cold sandwich, and also how small it was, but this is one of the best sandwiches I’ve had up to this point (up there with Foxface). Perfect amount of food. No chips needed. Not usually much of a turkey fan, but the four ingredients (including bread) worked together effortlessly. Note—I was very hungry.

Rating: 9/10