luke (@ljlom) on taste

lukeljlom

11 following106 reviews

luke reviewed Hui Tou Xiang17h

1643 N Cahuenga Blvd

●7.3

first meal back in civilization after spending the weekend in sequoia. I got the pork and shrimp dumplings which were solid. the broth was pretty good and the dumplings were tasty. i’ve def had better though. scallion pancake was interesting. very fried. like almost too much. felt like fried dough from a fair. tasted good but I feel like I may have lost a year off my life from eating these based on the amount of oil that much have been used. not a bad lil spot. not sure I would go out of my way to return tho.

300

luke reviewed Sierra Subs & Salad17h

41651 Sierra Dr

●7.0

ran to town on friday morning. planned on hitting a breakfast spot but it was slammed! settled for this spot which had decent sandwiches. at this point I was all sandwiched out tho. it was serviceable but wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here. views were awesome and prices were fair for the location!

200

luke reviewed West Coast Sourdough - Bakersfield17h

5450 Stockdale Hwy

●4.2

this was pretty forgettable. we went here simply due to convenience on the way to sequoia. not much else in bakersfield was calling us. my options were limited since I was avoiding turkey (since I had it the day before) and not much else looked appetizing. the sandwich was okay. I would say worse than jersey mikes though.

200

luke reviewed SUGARFISH by sushi nozawa17h

304 12th St

●9.3

catching up on reviews. after a lil wait, went to sugarfish for first dinner in LA. it was a day before a holiday so they were running low on some items. salmon and otoro were both out of stock which are prob 2 of my favorite of theirs :(. overall still a great experience. sugarfish always hits and is very consistent. omakase-esque at a reasonable price. my favorite other than the salmon and otoro is probably the blue crab hand roll.

312

luke reviewed SLAY Italian KitchenNov 27

1001 Manhattan Ave

●6.2

the wait at sugarfish was a lil longer than we were hoping for, so we ended up stopping in here to get apps and drinks. got the meatballs which were decent. nothing incredible but i’ve been spoiled by excellent meatballs growing up. sauce was solid tho. the garlic bread was good. the bread was okayish but the garlic/cheese/butter was top tier. I got an aperol spritz which was refreshing as usual. size was great but it wasn’t anything crazy taste wise. vibes and service were top notch.

520

luke reviewed Bread HeadNov 27

1518 Montana Ave

●7.8

my first true meal in LA this trip. I did a good amount of research and this place was listed on infatuation and fit the location/price range I was seeking for lunch. I ordered the turkey pesto (hold the pesto). the highlight of the sandwich was the bread. it’s made with some pretty incredible foccacia that was crunchy and tasty in all the right ways. however, the inside of the sandwich underwhelmed a bit. cheddar cheese was just regular old slices and cut too thick for my liking. wouldn’t have been a big issue, but there was only like 3 slices of turkey in the sandwich so the ratio was off. arugula was good, I enjoy it on a sandwich as it gives a bit of a zing. sauce was solid too. I think I pulled a manny since I ordered the wrong thing by getting turkey the day before thanksgiving. also got a sandwich which I had to modify the title ingredient out for my allergy. I think the bread is def carrying the sandwich; this could be a lot better if they upped the portion of meat they had in the sandwich (especially for the price).

540

luke reviewed Erewhon VeniceNov 27

585 Venice Blvd.

●7.0

approaching double digit trips to LA and decided it was finally time to step foot in erewhon. known for obscene prices and freshly organized produce, erewhon is not a grocery store for your every day civilian. this place makes whole foods look like a dollar general. on the grocery side, everything looked super yummy but sticker shock prevented me from even touching anything to consider buying. they have a wide assortment of goodies (fresh made sauces, soups, seasonings) you would expect at a luxury grocery store (imagine central market but 2-3x more expensive for some reason). $13/lb chicken breast, $70/lb steak, $19 pasta sauce. the list goes on. the main purpose of my trip was to try the infamous $18 hailey bieber smoothie. which, to my chagrin, is now listed at $20. after a confusing checkout experience, I received my blended fruit. the smoothie was visually appealing and decently sized. however, taste wise it was lacking. the standout was the lil bits of dates which was unique, but other than that it was a pretty ordinary smoothie. not bad, but not worth $20. not even worth $10. i’ll leave erewhon to the influencers and ultra rich. good to say I tried it, but not notable at all.

810

luke reviewed Buddy's BurgerNov 25

9001 Cameron Rd Ste 101

●8.5

not sure how this spot ended up on my list but I had it pinned on google and it was close to church so I checked it out. walking in, the entire staff says “welcome in” in unison which is kinda funny kinda creepy. service was great and the cashier was super friendly and chatty. i’ll compare the food to some similar fast food spots: culver’s and shake shack. burger: I would prefer this burger over both, slight edge above shake shack due to the size. super similar tho. better than culver’s due to quality and consistency in the melted cheese department. shake: the shake was better than shake shack, slightly worse than culvers. more similar to shake shack but it had a lot of oreo crumble which was great. side: i’d take shake shack crinkle cut and culver’s cheese curds over the seasoned fries here. they weren’t bad, just nothing special. would return if I was back in the neighborhood.

500

manny, Luke, and Jibraan went to Bartlett's

North Shoal Creek, Austin

mannyNov 23

●9.8

one of my new favorite restaurants in austin 🚨 a little up north but this place is a must. atmosphere, service and food were all elite i deeply regret not getting the french dip but it was good to have some variety notable dishes: french dip, and chocolate sundae a sundae can’t be that good right? wrong. i am still thinking about how good it was. they use melted belgium chocolate as the hot fudge that congeals as you pour it in the melting ice cream both are a must get. one of the best entrees and desserts🍨 across austin luke saw some disturbing things in the bathroom but i think it’s fine

lukeNov 25

●9.5

have heard a lot about this place online; on the austin food subreddit it gets recommended a comical amount. dragged manny and jibraan on a pilgrimage to check it out. ambiance and vibes were stellar. beautiful interior and surrounded by trees + a moat. hard to believe it’s located in a strip mall. wait staff was super accommodating and jovial. we were able to joke around with multiple members of the wait staff and they took care of things super efficiently. drinks were top notch. got a pear martini as recommended and it hit the spot. my only complaint with martinis is they are always smaller than I want them to be. I think the martini glass shape is an optical illusion to make you think you are getting more than is there. also got a estrella which came with a salted rim (on half the glass which was great as it gave the option of salt or no salt for each sip)! onto the food. we got the spinach artichoke dip to split which was super tasty. dip was gooey and yummy. I think a diff carb form factor would have been better but the tortilla chips did the job. I got the famous french dip as my main. it lived up to the hype. def the best french dip I have had. the meat was perfectly shaved and excellent. spread and dip paired well. bread was great although I would have preferred it slightly crispier on the inside. manny got fomo once he had a bite. fries were great as well (although I would have liked an additional sauce instead of just ketchup) finished it off with the sundae which came with pour over chocolate (the good stuff). whipped cream was incredible and def made in house. on the way out I saw an interesting situation in the bathroom but it added to the whole experience. 👁️👁️ will def be back. super awesome restaurant

522

manny and Luke went to Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar

The Domain, Austin

lukeNov 20

●8.5

needed nutrition mid domain shopping trip this weekend. the domain has very few acceptable food options. loro is one of them. tried some new stuff this time: pork katsu sandwich and salmon dip the sandwich was pretty good but I would prob stick to the chicken sandwich they do over it. salmon dip was interesting. looked almost like cat food. not sure why they had it so flat; it seemed pre prepared but I doubt it was. once I dipped in it was solid. rating is factoring in past visits (crispy potatoes and pork belly rice bowl is what I would recommend to a first time visitor).

mannyNov 20

●4.7

got the frozen hot chocolate ☕️ i liked it, great vibe i’m gonna take some home next time to make hot frozen hot chocolate

610