For my birthday this year I went to Holbox to try their tasting menu. I’ve been eating at mercado la paloma ever since Chichen Itza moved there so I was lucky enough to eat at Holbox the first week they opened. Ever since it’s been one of my favorites so I was psyched to finally do the tasting menu.

It was excellent. Every course, there were 10, was great. The “worst” one was still very good. Per usual the raw food was better than the cooked but again, it was all excellent.

The tasting is for 8 people which surprised me because when I was booking it sold out within a few minutes, so if he wanted to I’m sure he could have more seats.

Here’s the menu:

Conchas

oysters, blood clam and geoduck

Ceviche de Erizo con Corvina

Live santa barbara sea urchin and local white seabass ceviche

Raspada de Atun

San Clemente Island bluefin tuna ceviche, housemade tostada raspada, avocado puree, arbol-peanut sauce

Aguachile de Camaron

Deep water Kauai prawns in green achuachile, crispy head

Tostada de Pate con Callo

Kanpachi head pate, diver scallops, almond chili oil, chives, lime juice

Kingfish Crudo

Tamal de Abulon

Local abalone, liver mole

Taco de Jaiba

Dungeness crab taco, crab butter salsa macha, local oaxaca cheese, salsa cruda

Langosta al Carbon

Mesquite grilled local spiny lobster, lobster saffron rice, sausage stuffed squash blossom

Churros

churros and chocolate sauce

Unsurprisingly, my favorite dish was the shrimp aguachile because my favorite dish on the menu is the scallop aguachile. The shrimp are a very rare kind that's only found on Kauai and only one family has a permit to fish them. The scallop and pate was also one of my faves and was super unique.

Almost all the seafood was local from the Channel Islands and caught by Sea Stephanie Fish. The chef would introduce each dish and give some insight into it, from where it was caught to the process of making the tostada to staying sustainable by finding new ways to use the bones and fish parts (they made the kanpachi head pate and the seafood sausage from the menu with these parts).Overall, it was excellent, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Note: my crab taco photo is terrible because forgot to take a picture until I was about to eat it so I quickly snapped it

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I'm looking for a place to take my dad for Thanksgiving dinner. I'd like it to be somewhere reasonably quiet so that he can hear. We're in the north Valley but I'll travel a bit for a good meal.

I've been active in this and similar subs for quite some time, and I've noticed sort of a divide between two types of users of this sub.

On the one hand there are those who we might call foodies. As one of them put it to me themselves, these are people who think they focus of the sub should be on finding "the best" of what LA has to offer in terms of food. They want to dictate what they perceive to be a standard of quality that all should adhere to. If you've ever posted something here and had someone comment something like "looks awful" with no elaboration, that's who I'm talking about. They like food that is highly photogenic, Instagram-friendly. They are concerned with the "latest and greatest," so to speak.

Then there is a second group who I believe is in it more for cultural appreciation. These are people who aren't necessarily concerned with finding "the best," but with celebrating places that just are uniquely what they are. They share photos of classic places not to say they are the best of what they do, but to provide an outlet for people with shared memories and experiences of a certain place to reminisce and commiserate. A lot of these places make food for a different reason than posting on social media; or at least, this did not factor into their original raison d'etre.

I am interested in what you could call culinary semiotics. I'm interested less in determining who makes the best of what or gatekeeping a certain standard, but in discussing what food means to people, how food can serve as a locus of community and as a medium for cultural criticism. This more philosophical approach to food is, I think, what made Jonathan Gold so interesting. Most of his reviews from the 90s and 00s did not feature photos of the food, but they did much in the way of contemplating how these foods contributed to the cultural fabric of the city.

Now I personally don't believe this sub SHOULD be about any one approach. I think there should be room for both viewpoints, and any more that I'm leaving out as well. But there is a current of nastiness from the foodie crowd that compels them to react against anything that is not their particular perspective on food. I think that's pretty lame. But I also think it comes from a place of not understanding that there even are other kinds of perspective on food. Now maybe there are other reasons - maybe they really do have some sort of ideological opposition to the kind of approach Gold had. But to me, I think the pursuit of "the best" is pretty nihilistic. I think it's good to have BELIEFS about food, you know? Really firmly believed positions about why it is worth attention and discussion. I hope that this post simply serves to let people know that there ARE different ways to approach this sub, and that there is no one way that it has to be. Thanks :)

Did anyone else go to Eataly’s Holiday Festa event yesterday? I gave it a shot due to hearing good things about previous ones but felt underwhelmed. Seems like they normally host it inside Eataly but this time it was outside on the Terra rooftop.

Range of food was crudo (which they stopped serving around 10:30pm), individual-sized lamb chops (I only saw them come around 1-2 times but it was crowded), pasta they were mixing in a cheese wheel (which only started being served around 10pm), cheese and charcuterie, the classic Eataly pizza square slices, roast beef, French fries (these felt from frozen IMO), mini burgers. Small portions of everything so you can imagine flagging someone down in a crowd is difficult. Wine and some cocktails were also avail.

Not worth the $92pp price tag food-wise but I guess you can make up that value up in alcohol.

Please where can I get an amazing Cuban sandwich near East Hollywood

Open too all and any styles/types of food ive been here awhile wondering if there are any hidden jems i dont know about

I live on the westside in culver city. Looking for recommendations on where to get vietnamese iced coffee in LA! Talking about mostly LA area, like from santa monica to east LA. I'm not really looking to drive that much farther or more than about 30 minutes just for a coffee fix and i'm not necessarily looking to go to a sit down restaurant when all I want to get is iced coffee.

Also, I know there's amazing vietnamese coffee shops in the OC - i've been to a handful of them, but i'm not looking to go on an adventure every day just for iced coffee haha

any suggestions welcome! and yes before some people ask, i also buy the lee's coffee concentrates from costco.

Anyone know a good grocery store to buy blue corn masa harina? I used the Masienda brand before and it’s good, but expensive. Seeing if anyone wants to share their plug. Thank you!!

Need to find something to bring to a breakfast potluck in Long Beach.

Any great items I could pick up between the South Bay and LB on a weekend around 8 am? Need to have enough for about 15. Anything goes.

I’m tasked with ordering lunch for my office of about 50 people in DTLA. Any good recommendations?

When you’re tired of tongue, check out them feet. I know y’all feet guys/gals anyway. $22 dimsum for 1, Wah Dim Sum, SG.

I would like to take the kids to a Chili's / Friday's / Houston's / Wood Ranch type place near me, and would prefer not to have to drive to Beverly Hills for South Beverly Grill etc. Ideal area is Larchmont to the east and the Beverly Center to the west. Any suggestions?

UPDATE - thanks for all the suggestions! We hit Granville tonight. Was decent, probably overpriced. I feel you can get better food and better ambiance at South Beverly Grill.

Made a reservation (!!) at Cheesecake Factory for next weekend. And will definitely go to Swingers and Du Pars soon.

I just got a job by Union Station - what are some good places in the area I should check out?

I take the Metro to work from Long Beach, so if there are places close to the blue line that would work too.

hi! i am going to la area in a couple months so thought i would come on here early to get an idea of what i can eat. i have celiac and was wondering if la is good with that/has many options? i live in the middle of nowhere illinois rn and it is brutal trying to find things to eat. i did see that there's a fairly decent amount of gluten-free places but was also wondering if most restaurants offer gluten free options/menu? also, if anyone has any recs that would be great!

Hi, wanted to share https://losangeles.goldenbuzz.social/

It's a Happy Hour guide with over 200 Happy Hours in LA.

You can filter by time, day, area, food, and drinks. I use it all the time personally, wanted to spread the love. Happy Hour menus can be downloaded directly from the site too.

Can’t find a place where I can buy this Hispanic dish by the pound to pan fry at home. Please help!

With everything going on, I wanted to treat myself to some comfort food yesterday. Y’all were not lying about the #19! What a delicious sandwich. The rye bread was super flavorful and I’d say very balanced, both in ingredient ratios and fattiness/acidity.

It’s not a cheap sandwich, but it was what I needed.

Sandwich + tax: $29.57

Happy Friday y'all! What are your plans for the weekend? Check out the top posts of the week for some ideas!

THIS WEEK'S MOST UPVOTED POSTS:

1. I think it's a great business decision to advertise your political leanings with your restaurant...

2. helms bakery in culver city - finally open after 55 years

3. Apollonia’s - Square pepperoni with burrata and hot honey

4. Quarter Sheets - Don’t sleep on the Bar Pie

5. Zhengyalov hatz @ Zhengyalov Hatz (Glendale, $)

THIS WEEK'S MOST COMMENTED POSTS:

1. I think it's a great business decision to advertise your political leanings with your restaurant...

2. What's a place that serves Mexican that I can take my parents from the midwest who probably don't want to eat at a hole in the wall place

3. I’m planning to be in LA with my GF next month. I’d love to take her to an awesome middle eastern restaurant. Hoping for some good recommendations. I’ll be Whittier in and willing to drive out a bit if that matters. TIA 👊🏼👨🏻

4. Sunday Afternoon in LA

5. helms bakery in culver city - finally open after 55 years

Any idea what type of “pastry” is used? It’s unlike most bourekas I’ve seen/had. It’s a laminated dough but has more structure than puff pastry or croissants. Any recipe suggestions?

Just moved out here to Santa Monica 2 months ago from the east coast. Ive noticed where Im at that a large majority of thai food places dont include rice with curry dishes and is extra? Is that normal in LA? Or am I paying the transplant/tourist tax cause its the westside?

If folks have recs for places that include rice please list!🙏

Thinking something like Blue Hill in NY.

I have been to Gjelina, Rustic Canyon. I enjoy restaurants that think a lot about sourcing ingredients, and probably source at the Wednesday Santa Monica farmers market. Preference for the west side but I would love to hear the best!

I've lived here in LA my entire life, but for once Im a tad stumped as I don't "do" lunch on a Saturday. I have people I do business with coming from China for the first time and Im racking my brain on where to meet them. I have my favorites, Apple Pan, Howlin Rays, etc. so I have the "LA" essentials (to me) covered, but I do do mid level lunches really. Any suggestions? Im east and they'ret n the westside, Selfishly (traffic and I don't like the westside on a weekend) I want to meet in the middle, more towards me, or downtown. Any ideas?

Is it worth visiting?

Budget is about $300 for 3 people! None of us drink so no alcohol will be part of the bill. Just avoiding oysters but will eat everything else!

Looking forward to your recs! (Including dessert)

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