The Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate This Week: July 28

Eater

a day ago

The editors at Eater LA 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.
Xiao long bao tortelloni from Kato's Summer Series with Funke in Downtown LA
Xiao long bao tortelloni from Kato's summer series with Funke Rebecca Roland
The latest installment of Kato's Summer Series, a dinner collaboration series bringing chefs from across LA to Row DTLA to collaborate with the restaurant, welcomed Evan Funke. On Sunday night, Funke could be spotted in the corner of the spacious tasting menu restaurant, clad in a denim shirt and apron, rolling out sheets of pasta by hand. Each dish channeled a bit of Funke and Yao, like chile crisp-topped burrata and tomatoes, and cacio e pepe tossed with zingy Taiwanese pepper. But the xiao long bao tortelloni stood out among the other dishes, with its carefully folded edges holding back rich broth. The outer was thinner than most pasta and slightly chewier than the usual xiao long bao, filled with pork and prawn. There was only one in the dish, but I would've been happy if the entire meal were just a steamer full of these. It's nice to see a fine dining restaurant let loose a little at collaborations, with hip-hop blaring over the speakers, and menus that read like a chef's fever dream. 777 S. Alameda Street, Building 1, Suite 114, Los Angeles, CA 90021. — Rebecca Roland, deputy editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
Dry pepper fried tofu from Mala Class in Highland Park
Dry pepper fried tofu from Mala Class in Highland Park. Rebecca Roland
There is something about hot days that makes me crave spicy food, specifically Sichuan spice. On a recent afternoon when the sun was beating down on the city, I found myself in Highland Park looking for some heat. I tucked into jewel-boxed-sized Mala Class, a neighborhood Sichuan restaurant that punches well above its weight, and price point. The tight menu comprises mapo tofu, dumplings in chile oil, dan dan noodles, and a handful of other dishes. My favorite from the lineup was the dry pepper fried tofu, with crispy pieces of tofu dotted in numbing Sichuan peppers. The spice mix was flavorful, while still packing a punch, and the tofu cubes were fried until crispy on the outside with a still-soft interior. Each bite just made me want another, chased by bits of rice and dumplings every so often. 5816 York Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90042. — Rebecca Roland, deputy editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
Smoked double-fried chicken wings from Happies Hand Made in the Arts District
Smoked double-fried chicken wings from Happies Hand Made in the Arts District. Matthew Kang
By now, the word on Joshua Skenes' Happies Hand Made has shown up on multiple social media accounts touting the fried chicken, like Hungry in LA's Eddie Sanchez declaring it his new favorite fried chicken in LA. While declaring anything comprised of chicken tenders (the least-interesting part of the bird) as the best fried chicken is initially suspect, Skenes does make a really delicious bird coated in a salsa macha and dried chile seasoning. Skenes quietly rolled out his double-fried cherrywood smoke chicken wings last week, served over a golden-brown waffle that he once topped with caviar at his temporarily closed Leopardo on La Brea Avenue. The wings are juicy and sweet with smoke flavor, cracker-like on the outside, and incredibly satisfying to eat. Skenes himself is often mixing drinks or prepping orders up front, with the line of customers not realizing the former chef of a three-Michelin-star restaurant (Saison) is making some of the best comfort food in Los Angeles right now. Or maybe they do realize that Skenes has poured so much energy into simple, reasonably priced food, and that's why they're willing to wait. 427 S. Hewitt Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90013. — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
Baja tuna tower at the Koast and Crossroads collaborative dinner in Hollywood
Koast. Wonho Frank Lee
It's always a delight when a dinner collaboration goes right; I always appreciate the effort brought about by chefs and operators preparing a meal together, but the meal is not always a great fit. But when Crossroads chef Tal Ronnen joined Koast chefs Kevin Meehan and Michael Kerner on July 24, everything hit. Ronnen created dishes that reinvented some of Koast's most memorable bites through a vegan lens, like a dreamy watermelon crudo, spectacular lobster mushroom cake, and citrusy rambutan ceviche. My crew nabbed a few Koast dishes a la carte, and all agreed that the Baja tuna tower filled with Baja bluefin tuna, avocado, and tons of tobiko fish eggs is worth returning for. It's as creamy as one would hope and bursting with roe. In short, it's a gorgeous bite of the ocean from the two Koast chefs served in a stunning and intimate room with an entry that's dramatic and fitting for the concept. I've been admiring Ronnen's menu at Crossroads for years, and now it's clearly time for me to make regular stops at Koast to try the rest of the menu. 6623 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90038 — Mona Holmes, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
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