Hiraya Restaurant & Bar 1250 H St NE, Washington, DC 20002 202-388-7878 www.hirayadc.com Wed 02/21/2024, 06:40p-09:30p I've had a budding interest in contemporary Filipino cuisine ever since the first Lasa pop-up back in 2016. Thus, when I found out about Hiraya on my last trip to DC, I put the new tasting menu spot on my short list of places to check out on my next visit to the District. The restaurant is the brainchild of Chef Paolo Dungca--who actually started his culinary career in Southern California--in concert with partners Jeremy Canlas and Juan Canlas. About the Chef: Dungca ..read more

Astoria DC Bar 1521 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20036 202-754-0065 www.astoriadc.com Mon 02/19/2024, 09:45p-12:00a I recently found myself back in the nation's capital for another two weeks, and after landing far behind schedule at DCA, I made my way directly to Dupont Circle to check out a cocktail bar that'd been recommended to me by quite a few industry folks, including those over at Jônt, Trouble Bird, and Daru, among others. Named after the famed Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, Astoria DC is the sister bar to the H Street Corridor's Copycat Co. The team is led by barman-slash-chef ..read more

Zozo at Maison Midi 148 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036 323-746-4700 www.zozolabrea.com Sat 02/17/2024, 06:10p-10:40p Back in the late aughts, when I first began exploring the then-rising DTLA dining scene, one of my favorite spots was Chef John Sedlar's Rivera. The South Park eatery impressed me with its pan-Latin American fare, and soon became one of my go-to places in the area, so I was certainly saddened when it closed at the end of 2014. I had thought that Sedlar and LA had parted ways forever, and therefore I was pleasantly surprised when it was revealed that he'd be returning ..read more

Lutece Restaurant 1522 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007 202-333-8830 www.lutecedc.com Mon 01/29/2024, 07:55p-10:55p For the final meal of my recent visit to the District, I ventured out to Georgetown to somewhere that'd been highly recommended to me by a number of industry people, including those at Oyster Oyster and Jônt. Opened in February 2020 (and re-opened that August), Lutèce largely follows the neo-bistro mold, and serves a modern style of internationally-inflected French-ish fare. The place comes to us from the husband-and-wife team of Chef/Partner Matt Conroy and Pastry Che ..read more

Joomak Banjum 312 5th Ave, New York, NY 10001 212-268-7888 www.joomakbanjum.com Sun 01/28/2024, 04:30p-07:20p [4/15 Update: As of February 18th, the restaurant is temporarily closed, due to an unexpected rent hike. Chef Kim is apparently looking for a new location to re-open, and in the meantime, Joomak Banjum is popping up at DDOBAR.] For the final meal of this abbreviated NYC trip, I made my way to Koreatown to visit Joomak Banjum (주막 반점). The place has been around since June 2021, and ostensibly serves a modern interpretation of Korean Chinese fare, which immediately caught my interes ..read more

Bom Restaurant 17 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011 212-256-1368 www.bom-nyc.com Sat 01/27/2024, 05:30p-08:35p If you've read my last post, you'll know that I just visited Brian Kim and Max Soh's Oiji Mi in NYC's Flatiron District. Given the strength of that meal, I was curious to check out Bōm (봄, or "spring," but also an acronym for "Back of Oiji Mi"), their even higher-end dining experience located inside a room at the back of the restaurant. The place grand-opened on January 31st last year as a tasting menu-only modern Korean spot with a distinct focus on gogigui, one that achieved a Mich ..read more

Oiji Mi Restaurant 17 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011 212-256-1259 www.oijimi.com Fri 01/26/2024, 08:50p-11:55p If you've read my last couple of posts, you'll know that I was in DC for work recently. Now given that I was going to be there for two weeks, I decided to take a side trip up to NYC over the weekend. I've been on a bit of a modern Korean kick as of late, so after I landed at LGA, I immediately made my way to the Flatiron District for dinner at Oiji Mi (오이지 미). Named after oiji (a type of pickled cucumber) and mi ("beauty" or "taste"), the place comes to us from Chef Brian Kim (a.k ..read more

The Green Zone Bar 2226 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20009 202-579-9606 www.thegreenzonedc.com Thu 01/25/2024, 08:00p-10:30p You might recall that during my last trip to DC, I enjoyed a great Mideast cuisine meal at Michael Rafidi's Albi. Now the cocktails there were also quite delicious, and it turns out they were originally the creation of Chris Francke, so I decided to pay his cocktail bar The Green Zone (المنطقة الخضراء) a visit on my latest outing to the District. About the Bartender: Chris Hassaan Francke is a Washington area native of Iraqi-German descent, and graduated from Johns H ..read more

Pasjoli Restaurant 2732 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405 424-330-0020 www.pasjoli.com Fri 01/19/2024, 08:15p-10:55p If we're talking about iconic duck dishes in LA, the canard à la rouennaise at Pasjoli is definitely one that comes to mind. Unfortunately, Dave Beran's pressed duck has long eluded me, as it's a dish that must be ordered in advance, so one can't just drop in to the bistro and enjoy it. However, some friends and I recently made a concerted effort to rectify this situation. Shown above is Pasjoli's menu, which comprises Beran's take on elevated bistrot fare. There's also ..read more

Viaje Restaurant 5224 2nd St, Long Beach, CA 90803 562-833-9299 www.viajerestaurant.com Sun 01/14/2024, 07:20p-10:15p I was recently searching for a place to eat around the LBC, and decided to check out Viaje ("journey"), a contemporary Mexican spot in Belmont Shore. The restaurant comes to us from Jalisciense Julio Gutierrez, who actually co-founded Baja Fish Tacos back in 1996. The mini-chain grew slowly throughout the years, eventually expanding to Long Beach at the end of 2013. However, the location didn't perform as well as expected, and was thus shuttered in February 2019. Gutierrez ..read more