KinKan Bento Boxes

I spent Christmas in Los Angeles with my siblings and niece and nephew, and one way we treated ourselves was with KinKan Bento Boxes they offered for the holiday. This half-Japanese, half-Thai restaurant is a favorite of my sister who raves about the omakase there and I hope to return on a trip to dine at the counter. Until then though, we enjoyed the KinKan holiday bento boxes as one of the most beautiful takeout experiences I have ever had. Make sure you follow KinKan on Instagram to be in the know when special boxes are available!
KinKan Bento Boxes - holiday bento boxes from KinKan LA for takeout, Chirashi Heaven Bento KinKan Bento Boxes - holiday bento boxes from KinKan LA for takeout, Unagi Lover

We enjoyed the Unagi Lover ($15) and the Stairway to Chirashi Heaven Bento ($300) that comfortably fed 5 of us. I have a reel of the unboxing on Instagram, but for still photos of the details, check out below
KinKan Bento Boxes - holiday bento boxes from KinKan LA for takeout

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Perfect Pasta at Maccheroni Republic

While I was in LA a week ago helping to host my youngest sister’s baby sprinkle, my 2 sisters and I, as well as my brother in law and niece, went on a lunch excursion downtown to Maccheroni Republic.
Maccheroni Republic in downtown LA offering homemade fresh organic pasta

There are so many delightful eats in LA, and Maccheroni Republic stands out for its homemade pasta being made fresh and that it is all organic, made with organic flour and organic semolina. I wanted to order the whole menu. In fact that’s partially why we went with us 3 sisters, to give the opportunity for my LA resident sister to rationalize ordering even more pasta!

It was a mind-blowing pasta meal. I hold the same opinion as my sister that if this was closer to me I would definitely be a weekly regular. There’s enough on the menu plus throw in the daily specials to keep you coming back all the time for favorites and what’s new.

Menu at Maccheroni Republic in downtown LA offering homemade fresh organic pasta Menu at Maccheroni Republic in downtown LA offering homemade fresh organic pasta

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Cousins Maine Lobster

I’ve visited Cousins Maine Lobster before, at their food truck in 2013, and since then the Cousins (yes, they are two cousins who founded this, plus backing from Shark Tank) they have expanded the number of cities for which they have food truck franchises (20 trucks in 13 cities throughout the US, though no location in Portland Oregon), and also opened a brick and mortar restaurant location in Los Angeles in the West Hollywood area. You can get their lobster goodness to eat there at the restaurant, order to go, or even get it delivered via Postmates or UberEats. Being a lover of eating lobster, of course I had to check it out!
Cousins Maine Lobster in West Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, the only brick and mortar restaurant location besides the food trucks.

They still offer three seafood rolls- the classic Maine lobster roll that is served chilled with mayo, the Connecticut which is lobster served warm with butter, or the Crab roll that is the Maine lobster roll but with crab meat instead of lobster meat.

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Trust Me at Sugarfish, Los Angeles

One of the other lunches I got to enjoy while on my recent trip to LA was the Trust Me at Sugarfish. You can order some items a la carte, but the best option will be to order some of the omakase set menus where they decide what to serve best based on what is fresh and in season. All the sushi at Sugarfish is traditional, so don’t expect crazy combinations and sauces, there are no fancy rolls, including no California Rolls. Just simple sushi and hand rolls. I ate little slices of ginger and a smear of wasabi but never needed or even poured a drop of soy sauce.
We ordered the Nozawa, or Trust Me at Sugarfish Nozawa, or Trust Me at Sugarfish with courses of Organic Edamame, Tuna Sashimi, Albacore Sushi, Salmon Sushi, Yellowtail Sushi, Harame Sushi, Snapper Sushi, a Daily Special, Toro Hand Roll, Blue Crab Hand Roll

We each ordered The Nozawa, the Trust Me. At $37, it is the most expensive of the three options (the other two are the Trust Me and the Trust Me Lite, which take out the Daily Special, Snapper sushi, or more for the Lite so that there are less courses.). But, for the amount you get and quality it is very reasonable. And lunch is the best deal, the same menu is more expensive at dinner or without the special for the to go version. After my sister birthed my niece, Trust Me at Sugarfish To Go was her choice after denying herself sushi all that time… how cool is the to go box?

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A lunch at Angelini Osteria in LA

While on the plane from Portland to Los Angeles, I was reading Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford. Reading as he tries to master pasta in Italy was giving me crazy cravings for pasta which I got my fix at Forma Restaurant as I wrote last week, but also for the simple seasonal food he writes about that Italians are known for there despite the Italian American images of hearty pastas and red sauce and meatballs with garlic bread. My sister recommended we try out a lunch at Angelini Osteria, and it was incredible. It really felt like it was airlifted from Italy to this street in LA, bringing both the food and atmosphere and accented waiters all with.

The menu is pretty extensive. You can nosh on some tasty flatbread as you consider your many options.
Example lunch menu from Angelini Osteria in LA Crispy flatbread as part of the bread service from Angelini Osteria in LA

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