Scratch Bar has been on my radar for a while. I love out-of-the-box food creations and multi-course prixe fixed menus, and this restaurant had both of those. It’s relatively new, and it was not even packed at all. I ventured out here by myself after work, and I’m glad I did for an unforgettable night.

This is #16 of 52 on my 2014 LA food expedition.

Note for 2022 migration: this is an old post from my other defunct blog. This restaurant ended up closing, but it moved out to Encino with a similar theme but even more accessible.

Hinoki and the Bird has been featured on a lot of lists. I thought this place would be similar to The Hart + The Hunter, but I was pleasantly surprised. Like many new cuisines that have opened, this is yet another one of those Asian inspired fusions. But unlike many that I’ve been to, I put this pretty high on my list for taste, decor, and decent prices.

At a whim, it was the end of the day, and I completely forgot to pick a place to go for this week. I saw this was on my list, and I figured why not? Mind as well try it. I sure didn’t regret this decision. The Hart and The Hunter is a pretty interesting place.

This is #14 of 52 on my 2014 LA food expedition.

POT is Roy Choi’s newest establishment for LA Korean food. According to the site, “Koreatown and Korean food through the eyes of an American with Korean blood. Hot pots, blood soups, frenetic energy, BBQ. It’s the late nights on the streets, it’s a joyous celebration of life. Most of all, it’s good times and good food in the hood.” I wouldn’t say it’s a celebration, but if you are yearning for a new hip Korean place, then this is it.

This quaint place in downtown Culver City has a pretty good sized menu with tons of French dishes. However, this made it onto my list simply because it has 16 different types of mussel dishes along with the fact that it was AYCE (all you can eat) mussels on Tuesdays/Wednesdays.

This is #12 on my 2014 LA food expedition.

I was hoping to order all 16 at one time and have it served in individual portions, but the waitress informed me that they come in big bowls. For the night, I ordered 3, and my buddy ordered 3. We have 6 covered out of 16 and will definitely go back for the rest in the next few weeks. However, I am very sure that the ones we’ve tried are the best, so I won’t talk about the other ones in a future post.

East Borough is a new Vietnamese spot that opened up its second location in downtown Culver City. I was expecting to order a banh mi for dinner, but surprisingly the dinner menu and the lunch menu are pretty different. The dinner tends to focus more on small plates that are shared with your table.

This is #11 on my 2014 LA food expedition.

Note for 2022 migration: this is an old post from my other defunct blog. This restaurant is unfortunately closed.

On Friday, 3/14/2014, it was national “pi” day. Yes, that infamous 3.14 blah blah number that terrorized area and circumferences of objects. This place surprisingly has the letters “pi” in the beginning and is also on Jonathan Gold’s top 101 LA restaurants. It is best described as a peruvian-fusion tapas place.

This is restaurant #10 of 52 on my LA 2014 expedition.

Note for 2022 migration: this is an old post from my other defunct blog. This restaurant is unfortunately closed.

Culver City is suppose to be an up and coming place food, but this particular Culver City gastropub has been around for around 4+ years. From the reviews and my initial impression of the menu, I thought Waterloo & City would be a good place to try. I’ve always drove past here on my way to the marina, and I’ve always noticed a full parking lot.

This is restaurant #9 on my LA food expedition.

Lombardi’s or Grimaldi’s? That’s the age old question when it comes to pizza in New York City. Grimaldi’s is the other gourmet pizza place that often rivals Lombardi’s (see my post of it here). Grimaldi’s opened up another new location in Los Angeles (El Segundo), and I went to try it out.

This is restaurant #8 on my 2014 LA food expedition.

Note for 2022 migration: this is an old post from my other defunct blog. I remember being excited of this NYC pizza chain making its way to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, I don’t remember it being that good. Maybe it’s the LA water, but there were definitely better pizza pies back then. Not surprisingly, this restaurant end up closing in 2021.

As a borderline 2 month anniversary of my abysmal attempts at eating a LA restaurant every week, I decided to try out this place called N/Naka in Palms. The owner of this kaiseki-style restaurant, Chef Niki Nakayama, is very meticulous with the menu and presentation in her dishes. Reviewers like to compare this place to Urusawa (a very high end Japanese restaurant which is on my list before the end of the year), and they also often say the food is by far the BEST Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles. Like some of my past experiences, Fox W, a well known Foodspotter, provided pictures.