Sue’s Kitchen
The Skinny: Sue’s Kitchen is a tiny hole in the wall Taiwanese restaurant found in the South Bay and I’ve been driving right pass it for the last 20 years. From what I read on Yelp, the place is known for it’s Beef Noodle Soup and the workers not speaking a lick of English. The place also serves other Taiwanese and Northern Chinese dishes….stuff I’m not familiar enough with to explain.
The Good: The Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup with Tendon I ordered was simply delicious. I’ve only had it at least 4 times in my lifetime, but I never really took a liking to it or found it to be a special treat. But for some reason, that day at Sue’s Kitchen, it just all made sense. The Beef Noodle Broth seemed tastier than usual with the Star Anise and other spices being more pronounced. There was a nice heat to everything and both the beef and tendon melted away easily in my mouth. The long noodles weren’t as thick as I had hoped, but they did have a nice bite to them. It could have been that I was just in the mood for hot Soupy Noodles on a cold rainy day, but as of now I can understand how people can be as obsessed with Beef Noodle Soup as others are with Pho.
Along with that Beef Noodle Soup, I did get a side dish of cold Pig Ears. I’m not sure why I got it, but I just felt like eating something odd. The thin slices of Pork Skin and Cartilage tasted neutral on their own with subtle reminders that I was nibbling on a Pigs Ear. If it weren’t for the Chili Oil that added another layer of flavor, I don’t think I would have continued eating it. It wasn’t bad and I kind of liked it the more I ate it.
On top of the food being good, the people working at Sue’s Kitchen were nice and they did understand English, they just couldn’t speak it well.
The Bad: Nothing really.
Would you come back? Yes! I have other stuff to try!
More Info: Yelp | 23918 Crenshaw Blvd. Torrance, CA 90505 | (310) 539-1992 | They do accept credit now! Yelp needs to update that bit of info. | Beef Noodle Soup only cost around 6 bucks.
– MJ
El Gallito y Sinaloa #3 Tacos
The Skinny: El Gallito is a taco truck that can be found almost anywhere in Los Angeles. The one I went to was on Pacific Coast Highway in Lomita and on Washington Blvd near Culver City. Taco Sinaloa #3 is a sit-down restaurant in Torrance which I found on Yelp. Reviewers recommended the Pastor, so I got that along with their Buche (pig stomache), which is my favorite meat of choice. So I got the Buche at El Gallito’s, along with their Carnitas and the little more expensive Tripas.
The High: El Gallito’s Buche and Tripas were great, both texturally and in flavor. The Tripas were chewy and the amount of Buche was plentiful. I just wish the Tripas were a bit crispy around the edges.
The Low: El Gallito’s Carnitas wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. The pork was a bit dry and lacked flavor, even with the chopped onions and red salsa I put on top. I would have used the green salsa they provided, but it was frozen….so I couldn’t.
Taco Sinaloa #3’s version of the Buche taco started off well because some of the pieces were crispy and it was packed with flavor. The second bite I took felt like I was chomping down onto a soft salt lick doohickey. I could literally feel my brain fluids be sucked out by all the sodium that was in that taco.
The Pastor that people raved about on Yelp was a complete disappointment. I ordered two of them but only managed to finish one. My biggest problem with it was that it just tasted like bland pieces of pork puffs that got re-hydrated by the amount of oil used to cook it. I was expecting chucks of pork that were sliced off a gyro looking hunk of mystery meats….but got mushy blobs instead.
Would you come back again? Yes to El Gallito and no to Taco Sinaloa #3. I just hope I went to Taco Sinaloa on a bad day because their Buche could have been my favorite
More Info: El Gallito – www.tacoselgallito.com // Taco Sinaloa #3 – Yelp
– MJ
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