The editors at Eater Los Angeles dine out several times a week, if not per day, which means we’re always encountering standout dishes that deserve time in the limelight. Here’s the very best of everything the team has eaten this week.
The garlic noodles from Crustacean in Beverly Hills
On a recent weekend,
I was lucky enough to snag a last plate of Crustacean’s iconic garlic noodles. Hopefully, the An family can secure a new location for their decades-old restaurant, which had its final sit-down service at the iconic Beverly Hills location in late September. Though Angelenos can still order takeout through October 31, getting to eat Helene “Mama” An’s signature dish in her longtime dining room was a touching “goodbye for now” for me. Fragrant garlic noodles remain a deeply influential dish that other Los Angeles restaurants have paid homage to on their own menus (Bleu Bird in South Los Angeles and the Kickin’ Crab, to start). I loved ordering them when sitting in the dining room or bar. The feeling is far more than lust for garlic noodles: It’s the community the An family built, which you could sense on any visit. As I removed the outer crab shell and got down with this dish, I shed a tear while looking at Mama An, who never stopped smiling. 468 North Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills, CA, 90210. — Mona Holmes, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
Citrus sundae from Skywalker Grill in Exposition Park
A first visit to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art also brought me to Skywalker Grill, a new restaurant whose swooping midcentury decor and panoramic views read more Jetsons than Mos Eisley Cantina. The restaurant, which likely gets its namesake from filmmaker George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch, where many of its meats originate, has an American bistro personality: pigs in a blanket, shrimp cocktail, a kaleidoscopic chopped salad, and thicc cheeseburger made with Skywalker Ranch wagyu on a sesame-pocked bun all make the slate, as well as pasta Bolognese, a Velveeta-coded macaroni and cheese, and chicken fingers that can be made $30 more expensive with the addition of a caviar quenelle in the ranch dressing. Everything I had was good, including the steak frites striped with a red jalapeño chimichurri, though my sense of taste had been dulled significantly by a lingering sinus infection (beware of that cold everyone is getting right now). The one thing that woke my taste buds up completely: Skywalker’s citrus sundae, a compact dessert served in a coupe glass with lemon curd, vanilla gelato, preserved citrus, and toasted meringue. A few spoonfuls of this were enough to make the medicine go down. 3800 South Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90037. — Nicole Fellah, Eater editorial manager
Pollo alla brasa from Loli Farms in Pasadena
Rotisserie chicken seems to be trending across the country, but has always been a beloved Los Angeles staple, with more upscale versions at places like Alphabet Bar and Grill in Pacific Palisades and Republique, to the ubiquitous Zankou Chicken. Los Angeles has always been and will always be a chicken town, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for reinvention. Pollo a la brasa, Peruvian wood-roasted chicken, finds new heights at Loli Farms, a former gas station on the corner of a busy Pasadena intersection, thanks to a stellar cook and compelling sides that go beyond the basic fries. I stopped in this weekend to take down half a bird by myself: jus puddles beneath the chicken as a blend of spices melds aromatic complexity with the whiffs of wood flames. You’re not getting the supremely crisp skin at something like Mister Pio in Arizona, which Eater awarded a Best New Restaurant last year, but the meat at Loli Farms will be juicy to the last bite. I liked the balance that came from fried yucca pieces and a black bean–quinoa salad, though I could have used a bit more flavor from the aji verde and huacatay, which are provided gratis in squeeze bottles. Still, for $18, this is an affordable feast par excellence in Los Angeles. 885 E. California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91106. — Matthew Kang, correspondent, Eater
Chicken-beef-lamb combo plate from Sincerely Syria (Multiple locations)
A 24-inch combination plate from Sincerely Syria can easily feed three people — and at $27.99, that’s a serious deal. I love getting a combination of chicken and beef-lamb: The chicken arrives succulent while the combination of beef and lamb comes well-spiced with a slight gaminess from the lamb. The slender wraps are toasted and rolled up tightly in a way that prevents them from falling apart, despite being sliced into bite-sized pieces. Each combination plate comes with fries, pickles, nutty tahini dressing, and Sincerely Syria’s unapologetically punchy and garlic-forward toum. If dining solo, you can also just get a wrap starting at $8.99. My advice: do as I did and order this as takeout to watch the MLB playoffs. Multiple locations. — Kat Thompson, audience editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
Maneki Tots from Far Bar in Little Tokyo
Crisp, golden tater tots remain an underrated bar snack, especially when they’re loaded with an array of fall-apart meats, zingy sauces, and alliums. Far Bar seems to understand that with its Maneki Tots, a tower of crispy potato cushions crowned with shredded pork, wasabi aioli, Sriracha mayonnaise, bacon, and chives. Loaded tots encourage the use of forks, making it easy (and much less messy) to share with a group. In this rendition, the tots’ craggy outer shell holds up well to tender pork, while its cascade of sauces clings to each bite, adding heat to balance the richness. Pair your tots with a crisp Sapporo or Asahi on draft and settle in at one of the bar stools to catch a Dodgers game. 347 First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. — Rebecca Roland, deputy editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
