Had a long layover in LA after my flight to San Francisco got canceled, so instead of sitting at…read morethe airport for 6+ hours, I decided to finally check out Pine & Crane in DTLA. It's been sitting on my saved list for a while, and honestly, this turned out to be the perfect opportunity. The space itself is bright, clean, and welcoming with warm woody tones throughout. Casual setup where you order at the counter and they bring the food out to you. I had already looked through the menu beforehand, so the real challenge was narrowing down what to order for one person. I failed at that... and I'm very happy I did. Started with the Pig Ear Salad 滷豬耳朵. Braised thin sliced pig ears dressed with soy sauce, chili oil, sesame oil, scallion, and cilantro. OMG. So good. Tender, flavorful, perfectly braised, with that satisfying chewy texture done right. Also got the Fried Peanut Salad 五味花生 with garlic, cilantro, scallions, vinegar, and Thai chili. Super crunchy, bright, refreshing, and honestly addicting. I added a cup of the Hot & Sour Soup 酸辣湯 too. Organic tofu, beech mushroom, carrot, bamboo, woodear mushroom, and egg. Super comforting with a really balanced tang and peppery heat. Not overly thick or heavy like a lot of Americanized versions can be. Exactly the kind of soup you want during a long travel day. For noodles, I ordered the Dan Dan Noodles 擔擔麵. Sesame-peanut sauce, cucumber, cilantro, crushed peanuts. Delicious on its own already, but I ended up adding some of the fried peanuts from the salad into the noodles and it became even better. Then the Three Cup Chicken 三杯雞 with sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine, and Thai basil. I do wish it had a little more wok hei, but overall the flavor was still really comforting and savory. Extremely good with rice. Had a glass of Gewürztraminer alongside everything, which paired surprisingly well with the spice and aromatics. Their wine list leans more organic / natural wine focused, which felt very LA in a good way. Ended up sitting at a high top next to one of the managers and had a great conversation throughout the meal. She ended up hooking me up with the Traditional Shaved Ice 傳統刨冰 with grass jelly, red bean, boba, sweet potato balls, taro balls, brown sugar syrup, and condensed milk. I was already planning to order it anyway, and wow... I finished the entire thing. The brown sugar syrup was incredibly fragrant. Packed the leftovers to-go, and that ended up becoming my dinner after landing in San Francisco later that evening. Flight cancellation somehow turned into a really great food day.

Came here today and enjoyed it. We ordered the mapo tofu, Chinese broccoli, popcorn chicken, and…read moredan dan noodles. The food was good overall, although I've had better Taiwanese food elsewhere. The modern design, trees, lighting fixtures, and casual environment made it a great place to sit and enjoy a meal. The cashier and our server were both very friendly and welcoming. I'd come back for the ambiance and service alone if I'm in the area.

I often take the Metro E line toward downtown, and so I always noticed the sign for this place…read morewhile passing by the lattc ortho institute station. It was a chilly day, so some hot soup sounded nice at the time, so I finally decided to find it a go and stop in. The ambiance felt very modern Chinese, sleek with white and accents of orange all around the inside. Like other malatang places, you grab a bowl and tongs and toss whatever ingredients you want in it, and then bring it to the counter where they weigh it, and you pay by the pound. Then they take it into the kitchen to cook it up in whatever soup you choose, and once your buzzer goes off it's ready to grab and eat. They have a couple different sections, including a little fridge section with meats and veggies, a section with instant noodles and cured/preserved meats like sausages and such, and a section with things like bean curd strips and tofu. You can also make a little bowl of dipping sauce from their sauce bar that has things like soy sauce, chili oil, minced garlic, vinegar, and green onions. For my bowl, I grabbed some noodles marked as ramen noodles, some cabbage, some slices of beef and lamb, lotus root, a soy sauce egg, some mushrooms, and some fried tofu. It came out to be a little more than a pound, costing me about $18. I opted for the spicy beef bone broth, medium spicy. The heat level was noticeable but comfortable, and the broth was packed with flavor. The meat was tasty, and the veggies were reasonably fresh. The noodles had nice body to them, and soaked up the broth nicely. I would probably skip the soy sauce egg next time though, it was okay but didn't really work that well with the soup. Overall nice value for money, both in quality and quantity. Great place to stop in for a quick comforting lunch on a chilly day.

The good: Malatang is great and simple to execute. YGF does that well. The flavors were all pretty…read moreauthentic and I definitely felt the spice. The mid: Went when it was busy so my order took a while. Probably waited 20 minutes. The bad: The restaurant is pretty small and the parking lot is a bit jank. Typical for the area.

Friend lives nearby and dragged me here, and wow, awesome place for a quick bite! Fast service,…read moresuper time-saving, great for takeout on a busy workday. Classic taste, portions are solid, definitely good value. In, out, happily fed :)

Friend dragged me to Northern Cafe after work and wow, very fast serving, barely sat down and food…read morewas out :) Big portions, super flavorful, everything tasted fresh. Staff was chill and checked on us without hovering. Solid spot for a quick, satisfying bite!

I've now gotten both takeout and eaten here and this is such a great addition to the area. The beef…read morepancake is delicious. The ratio of beef to pancake is great. This last visit I also got the pan fried dumpling and it was so hot and crispy on the bottom. I love that I can get a little taste of home here instead of driving all the way out to the SGV.

Weekend LA visit and I was walking around USC when I spotted some people with these! Had to go…read more It's a small interior with just a couple of tables, but it is designed more for grab 'n go anyway. There's a kiosk to order by the counter and food comes out relatively quickly. A tea/soda + the mini dumplings on top is $21. Not too bad. My thai iced tea was yummy and helped tame all the chili oil. Delicious mini dumplings too!

Best. Experience. Ever. My family was headed to Komal on a busy Saturday but hit a glitch with the…read morepaid-parking app. Out of nowhere, a worker is walking by, somehow senses our trouble, and tells us where/how to park (for free). I noticed he's wearing a Komal shirt. We headed inside to find a short and efficient line at Komal. Perfect b/c it was hard to choose from the perfectly curated menu. We ordered too much and yet not enough, only b/c we wanted to try it all! Total for family of 4: about $100. Money well spent! The staff was impossibly helpful, the food was beautifully presented and came quickly and efficiently, and very much with a smile. Beyond the food, they are doing something right at Komal: every aspect had such good juju. I wish them continued success!

I split a Flor de Calabaza Quesadilla here with a friend and it was decent, not super mind-blowing…read more What was disappointing was the lack of cheese in my half (my friend had more cheese). So it was pretty much just tortilla, corn, and the squash blossom that I was consuming. The ingredients were good, but the cheese was definitely needed. The corn was flavorful on its own. I did enjoy the side chipotle sauce though. It added a lot of needed flavor and heat. The presentation was pretty. They just need to work on cheese ratio and consistency. This is a food stall located within a bigger food hall in the USC area. Parking can get competitive since Holbox is also located here. I think I would try this spot again and get other menu items since the quality does seem to be pretty good.

I stopped by here randomly just to get a quick bite before heading to a concert at the Shrine. I…read morecouldn't make a decision on what to choose, so the owners suggested a few different options. They ended up being incredibly helpful and friendly. I really appreciated the welcoming atmosphere they created. Based on their suggestions, I ended up choosing the chicken teriyaki. When the food came out, I was incredibly surprised at how big the portions were! The amount of food you get for the price was well worth it. I definitely left feeling full and satisfied. The chicken was cooked to perfection and had such great flavor. I couldn't even take a second to breathe when I was devouring it. Needless to say, I will be coming back whenever I'm in the area!

Great sushi and teriyaki bowl spot near USC! This place offers excellent value for your money. The…read moresushi is fresh and delicious, and the California roll is a classic done right. For a small sushi joint, it really exceeds expectations. Will definitely be back :)

Look, I've tried a lot of BBQ in this city, and this place finally got it right. The brisket is…read moreridiculous, super tender, smoky, that perfect fatty edge. I legit didn't want to share. Everything else on the BBQ menu is solid too, but the brisket is why you come here. No fluff, just really good meat. If you want dry, overpriced BBQ, go somewhere else. If you want the real thing, this is it. Definitely going back.

I had brisket with mango slaw and beans Brisket was on…read morepoint fat to meat ratio tender soft .the sauce was so freaking good!!!! I wanted to send to lab to get the recipe I even played country music to tie my experience. The meat it self (Needed more salt,sea salt flakes the meat flavor by it self was a bit dull salt should bring it right on out. The mango slaw was wonderful cut right through it all/but I did find my self looking for bits of mango that were not there ;) The beans were perfect in my opinion. I got served fast ,grateful to experience this place thank you

The food was 10/10 delicious and tastes very fresh. The young lady behind the counter helped us…read moredecide what to get by making suggestions and explaining what each bowl included. Service 10/10 Their dumplings were the best! They came with a dipping sauce. You can also build your own bowl if you prefer. Their drinks are refillable.

Fast food kBBQ. The place was clean and had a decent line during lunch. Had the beef bulgogi which…read morecame with sweet corn, cucumber kimchi, and noodles. The meat was sweet and tangy with the veggies were refreshing. It came in a nice box that was somewhat reused able and recyclable which is a nice touch.

Great Service. Nice staff especially Felix. Very clean restaurant they always behave well.read more

First time at Cava! A friend recommended it since I was craving something healthy. The line was…read morepretty long, but I stuck it out, and it did not disappoint. The mix of greens, protein, and toppings was so well-balanced. Everything tasted super fresh, but the real star was the yogurt sauce--it was so bright and tangy! If you're looking for a fresh, satisfying meal, this is the spot. Five stars!

Came for a work happy hour…read more It wasn't crowded after work, and since there was no game at LA live it wasn't that busy either. Chips and salsa at table. Chips lightly seasoned. We filled up! Got the Mar y terra bowl and it was just the right size. The shrimp was succulent.

Service: Staff is nice, however, they do a poor job of explaining anything to new first time…read morecustomers. They only explained to grab menus, sit anywhere, and order at the bar. Food: we ordered, 2 rib eye plates, taco sampler, two tacos one senora style and one TJ style, and Guacamole with chips. I asked the employee if the Guac came with chips she said yes, when it came to the table only two chips arrived. The food overall is bland and not worth the price, another interesting thing is that they put what I believe is either smoked paprika or smoked chipotle powder on EVERYTHING we had, from the chips to the rice to the corn and it was so overpowering, ruined the experience. Corn was bad, small and not sweet, tried on the Cobb and shaved off both were terrible. You can get more with flavor from a street vendor. The only thing that was good was the pina colada margarita. I asked another staff about the Guac and how it came with just two chips and he said that chips are bottomless. Again how are new customers supposed to know? Very poor training of the staff. Ambiance: Looks nice, music is too loud. Overall, this seems to be just a good bar maybe that's why there are better food reviews bc they already had drinks. Definitely needs to improve customer service on how their business model works and how their food is served and what it comes with, and if certain things are 'bottomless'. Do NOT recommend not worth the 200 spent.