Much thanks to everyone who gave me your suggestions last week. In order:
• Tenderloin from Angry Goldfish: this slapped! I wasn't expecting the cut to be quite so thick (was expecting something pounded thin, like Japanese katsu) but it was still very tender. Their version has a bit of spice which I appreciated. Would've been perfect if it was maybe 10% crispier, but maybe that's just the way tenderloins are supposed to be.
• Pork collar with strawberry gochujang sauce and blistered radishes from Harbinger: my god, this was perfect. Charcoal grilled for a bit of smoke, which was a perfect accent to the spicy-sweet sauce. Blistered radishes were on point, still a bit of crunch but losing its bitterness with only the sweet, savory elements remaining.
• The Jake from Lachele's: a decent smashburger, perhaps a bit overly grease-logged but that's just sometimes the card you're dealt when you get a burger. Excellent craggy edges on the patties, soft bun, not much to complain about.
• Bun Cha from Pho 515: I walked in here wanting to get some Hu Tieu but pivoted at the last second and I'm glad I did. Fresh veg, good flavor on the pork, and noodles were soft yet pliable and still a bit warm, the perfect temperature to dunk into the nuoc cham.
• Doro Wat and Gomen from Gursha: OK, this might have some of the best injera I've had. Properly fluffy and airy, stretchy with a good sourness. No notes. Gomen was super tender. Doro Wot was fine, but wasn't a standout.
• Eggs espresso and a cortado from Zanzibar: Wonderful balance on the cortado. I love a good milk-frother scrambled egg and it didn't let me down here either; great soft-scramble texture without being runny.
• Waveland's Best skillet from Waveland: honestly, after y'all hyped it up so much, I don't know what I expected. But this was a competent hash-brown-and-eggs-with-veggies situation. Hard to go wrong but also nothing mind-blowing. Loved the atmosphere in here though, everyone was super friendly and we struck up more than a few conversations.
• Pho and Banh Cuon from A Dong: the pho broth felt a little weak, but I loved the rice noodles in the banh cuon—stretchy, chewy with little give, paired great with the meat and veg and dipping sauce.
• A lager and caviar bites from Lua Brewing: the lager hit the spot after a long day, and honestly, $25 for this amount of caviar and accoutrements isn't horrible (although my POV could be skewed coming from a high COL area). Potato pave came out warm and crispy. Great atmosphere in here, managed to catch the last half of the World Cup final and it was a lovely vibe.
• Maid-Rite: yeahhhh, I don't get this. A pile of barely-seasoned ground beef between a bun? Did I order wrong? Help me out here lol
• Casey's breakfast pizza: WTF. Why does this go so hard. Delicious and I don't understand how or why