Aunty Maile's Restaurant

🇺🇸 UNITED STATES (Hawai'i)
📍 19106 Normandie Avenue, Torrance, South Bay
🅿️ Ample parking in plaza

🚌 Torrance bus #2 and #6 🚏
🥤 No Alcohol

If you happen to come during a busy lunch rush at Aunty Maile's, when the weather is the right type of beautiful and sitting in the sun is still enjoyable, it might come as a surprise just how hopping the place can be. Just southwest of the busy 110/405 interchange in a fairly industrial section of town, the aloha you can enjoy when the sliding doors open also is a pleasant surprise.

If the wait is greater than normal, they will warn you at the counter, but grab a pre-made musubi or start with cake to hold you over, then grab a seat inside or out. If you are near the kitchen, which is open to the space, you will see a busy but untroubled whirl. One of the chefs has a University of Hawai'i hat, which tilts upward only when he glances at the more than a dozen hand-written tickets still waiting to be fulfilled.

As you enjoy a serviceable spam musubi ($3.25, below), you can take in the restaurant's atmosphere. At least half of the patrons seem to be islanders, groups of older Japanese women from Honolulu amongst many other Hawaiians. Despite being technically in Torrance, this feels more like Gardena when you are inside, the ohana is not just a sign on the wall.

In addition, there is a beautiful painted wooden Hawaiian flag up there as well as many photos from the many paradises the eight islands offer. Even if you were warned about a wait, the order will probably arrive in less time, unfortunately all in styrofoam even when dining inside.

While there are a few places around the South Bay that make better poke, the offerings here are still enjoyable. This Hawaiian style ahi poke ($10.95 small, above) is a sauce-less version that has kukui nuts, dried seaweed, onions, and Hawaiian salt. Aunty Maile's serves five styles, which are also available as bowls with rice and macaroni salad.

The loco moco ($13.95, below) fills about all the volume available in the container it is served in, rice, a burger patty, and two eggs served any style completely drowned by brown gravy. The patty has the charbroil taste from the grill, which really transports you into the moods of O'ahu diners like Liliha Bakery. If only they had counter seating here in Torrance.

For a transport straight to the Chinese-Hawaiian lunch counters of the islands, try a bowl of Hawaiian style saimin ($12.95, above), which does a fair replication. Noodle lovers that frequent the San Gabriel Valley and have not yet been to Hawai'i will probably not understand the allure of this simple dish, but you can tell it is enjoyed by those that call The Aloha State home.

While you are waiting for the order, and indeed while you are eating, the call from the dessert case is quite strong, with full cakes beautifully displayed. You can finish off meals with slices like haupia (coconut), guava, and lilikoi ($6.50, below), with whipped and sweet passion fruit frosting.

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Ramen Josui 如水

🇯🇵 JAPAN
📍 2212 Artesia Blvd., Torrance, South Bay
🅿️ Ample parking in plaza
🥤 Beer, sake, and shochu

If you have ever traveled to Nagoya, it is almost a certainty that you sought out the small ramen shop known as Tokugawacho Josui Honten, a chukasoba-style purveyor that specializes in simple shio bowls but dips its toes into many others. It was almost stunning when they decided to open a branch in North Torrance in the spring of 2019, and even more stunning that besides local South Bay communities this opening went fairly unnoticed.

Just over four years from their grand opening, Ramen Josui is still crafting delicious bowls of their signature dish and has other reasons to visit as well. The shop is usually full of a good mixture of patrons from all over Gardena and Torrance, with mixed families, non-Japanese, and always a few solo male diners at the bar coming after work nearby.

The 6 piece order was a "mistake" the first visit.

The 10 piece order is necessary ever since.

 

Even those customers that have never been to Nagoya or heard about this ramen shop will immediately see the connection, which is alluded to in a few spots on the menu. The large city in central Honshu is often passed over as people go between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka, but it has culinary treasures all its own and should not be skipped if given the time. Thankfully residents of the South Bay and Greater Los Angeles now have access to good renditions of the famous shop's food.

If you are debating a chicken appetizer, skip the karaage (a much better version is available at nearby Hakata Ikkousha Ramen and other locations) and go straight for the fried chicken wings ($6.75, above). More than other starters, these are a specialty of Nagoya and prepared in the style most popular there: full of white pepper and garlic and dipped in a seasoned, citrus-y soy sauce. These will beat 99% of wings in the area and are the real finger-lickin' good chicken.

The namesake Josui ramen ($10.80, above) has the pork and chicken stock the shop is recognized for, and is almost always the bowl underneath the Japanese men who come to solo slurp. This is a good indication that it should be your starting point on the menu, despite its very simple look and presentation. Plenty of extras are listed on the menu if you desire, but the bowl without additional toppings is just as good as anything.

The menu describes the stock being "finished with fish," but one sip will reveal a well-balanced niboshi depth. This complexity works very well with the shio characteristics, and the noodles are always skillfully cooked. Two pieces of very thin, buttery chashu are layered over the finished product, and are good enough that you might consider an extra order when you come again.

There are other worthy appetizers if you want more on your table besides the fried chicken wings, like the takowasa ($4.50, above), fresh raw octopus covered in zippy wasabi. This izakaya classic is especially good when paired with some of the shop's more rich and creamy bowls of ramen.

The gyoza ($5.50, below) come in an order of five and are quite small, leaving plenty of room in the stomach for the full bowls of ramen to be finished. They will likely not be the show-stopper of any meal, as gyoza never really are, but they do have their place and will not let you down.

When you come enough you might want to venture to other bowls, which other customers seem to be enjoying next to you. A bowl of miso ramen ($11.50, above) is supremely rich and creamy, combining their signature stock with miso and adding ground chicken, bean sprouts, and sweet yellow corn. A chunk of butter is laid on top and can be mixed in for an extra chance of heart attack, but really this can be removed if you feel the broth is rich enough.

The tantan men ($13, below) seemed especially popular with reviewers online, and comes nicely un-spiked with spice as it should. Many random ramen shops load this style with too much heat to cover up the lack of flavor, but this is more along the lines of the much more tame version that first arrived in Japan from China (filtered through notoriously mild Shanghai flavor palates). The bowl is heavy with sesame creaminess and a good depth of flavor, so it could use a touch more spice if you please.

Ventures to these other options unfortunately left a longing for the namesake bowls enjoyed on previous visits. When the shoyu is eventually ordered someday it will be added to this space, but if it were not clear already any first order should be the Josui ramen.

The overcast days and misty mornings of May in Los Angeles are perfect weather for ramen. Before endless summer arrives and other foods are more desired, get in a few trips for Nagoya-style noodles before it gets too hot.

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Brazilian Plate House

BRAZIL 🇧🇷

📍 4509 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, South Bay.

COVID-19 UPDATE: Ordering is done at a walk-up window, the only seating area is under a tent outside.

You could do an entire photo project or essay about businesses that have made their homes in former Wienerschnitzel A-frame buildings. This one in Torrance went out of business sometime in early 2012 and was then a barbecue restaurant for a couple years before turning into its current iteration as a bright green Brazilian spot.

While many Wienerschnitzels have closed, there are still quite a few around so it is hard to say that their food is not desirable. But no matter what you think of it, what they got right were these buildings that perfectly fit the lifestyle of Los Angeles. They mimic the walk-up burger stand while adding a little architectural flare, and it is wonderful that places like Brazilian Plate House and Mexican and banh mi spots in the San Gabriel Valley have enhanced rather than hid these buildings.

A small tented area is great for sunny afternoons with cool Torrance breezes, but since all food is packed to go no matter where you eat it, it also makes sense as a pickup for beach days if you are taking advantage of the South Bay. The menu is large and can go meaty or leafy as desired, with everything in between.

Weirdly, given the name of the restaurant, the plates are actually the weakest part of the experience here. As any good Brazilian meal should include black beans and white rice, the plates are a way to get both of these on your table, but unfortunately they are just not right here. There is a reason Brazilians eat rice everyday and that is because their rice is so damn good, laced with garlic and onions and very oily. The rice here is dry and tasteless.

The beans are not that bad, but are just ok and lackluster compared to the porky dish that most chefs are proud of serving. You also get a drink, fries, very spicy salsa, and ground yuca flour known as farofa. In the picanha plate (above) the prime cut was definitely the star of the show but was not medium rare as ordered and was just about average for this cut of meat.

You can also get "FIT" versions of these plates, which substitute the sides for boiled yuca, grilled zucchini, and salad. To be honest, those will probably satisfy someone trying to eat healthy a lot more than the standard sides.

Thankfully the non-plate bites here are much better. It seems a more rewarding choice to put your meat orders on a sandwich, like the x-tudo tri tip (above). The letter X is often used on sandwiches and burgers because in Portuguese it sounds a lot like the English word "cheese" and signifies the inclusion of that. Tudo as you can probably guess means everything, which here includes a fried egg, bacon and ham, tomato, lettuce, and mayonnaise. Tudo.

This full complement of ingredients, textures, and tastes is all between a crispy toasted bun, which rounds everything out. You can also get the picanha on a sandwich, or sausage, chicken, ham + cheese, or shredded beef.

Even better was the superb coxinha com catupiry (above) a fried salgadinho that takes you straight back to a lanchonete on the streets of Rio. This drumstick-shaped snack is full of shredded chicken and creamy catupiry cheese surrounded in wheat flour dough and mashed potato. Once the shape is perfect, it is battered and deep fried just a bit for a thin, crispy shell.

This is probably about as perfect as you can find a coxinha in Los Angeles and next time a box full of them will be purchased instead of just one. If you prefer cheese-less fried snacks, they come in smaller versions sold in a portion of four.

Like many Brazilian restaurants, you can get feijoada on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but given how mediocre the beans were this might be skipped. Always happy to be wrong, please mention it in the comments if that usually wonderful dish is actually worth enjoying at Brazilian Plate House.

You cannot go wrong with the full menu of desserts in the meantime, including this mousse de maracuja (above) which was small but hit the spot. The full flavor of passion fruit takes a bit to hit your tongue, but when it does it is really satisfying. A perfect companion to those cool salty South Bay breezes.

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Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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Hakata Ikkousha Ramen

JAPAN 🇯🇵

COVID-19 UPDATE: The dining room is fully open and usually busy. The staff are all wearing masks.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: The ramen bowls and side dishes for this meal were part of lunch combo specials. The prices listed are a la carte.

 

📍 21605 S. Western Avenue, Torrance, South Bay

When you walk into any one of the three Southern California locations of Hakata Ikkousha, you immediately get a sense for the recent history of the establishment and its chef, who has taken it to quite a few places around the world from its home in Fukuoka. A list of countries and cities it now resides in, and a brief history of this award-winning tonkotsu ramen graces one of the walls and is hard to miss.

While most of these branches are in East and Southeast Asian countries, Costa Mesa was selected as the first city outside of that continent to open a branch in 2015. This Torrance branch opened a few months later, followed by another in Little Tokyo downtown and then Lake Forest in Orange County, the latter location already closing. In fact it was this recent news that made a trip back warranted to get a sense how the ramen shop was faring six years after it burst onto the scene in Los Angeles.

For many, tonkotsu broth can be a bit overwhelming with all the porcine glory of bones and fat remaining in each rich bite, but here like in the Hakata Ward of Fukuoka the broth is clean and lovely. It is by no means light, but it has a care that does not go into many bowls thrown on menus in California. Even if you usually avoid this style of ramen, it is worth testing it out here for a truer taste of how it should be done.

A bowl of unaltered, plain tonkotsu ramen ($11.50, above and below) is far from plain and allows you to really appreciate the skill that goes into the broth and the thin, straight noodles that are both homemade. When you sit down at a table you are able to customize each order to your liking, with "normal" or "light" broth taste, addition of green onions, if you would like to pile on a wide variety of extras, and what firmness you prefer your noodles cooked.

Firmness levels go from "soft" to "very hard," with "normal" and "hard" in between, giving a customer maximum control. Unless you are a seasoned ramen slurper from Japan, a "hard" noodle makes sense because the broth continues to cook them a bit more as the steaming bowl sits in front of you. At lunchtime, when the shop is surprisingly bursting at the seams with wait times and all, you can get good value combo specials including your choice of ramen and one side.

After enjoying the shop's classic bowl, a natural second choice is the tonkotsu mentai ($12, below), which has the same bones and an added kick of a slightly spicy mentai (cod roe) paste and toasted crushed garlic. The bowl below also has an added flavored egg ($2); highly recommended.

The spiciness is rather subtle, but the addition of cod roe makes for a quite different umami in each bite. Other ingredients like the slices of chashu and wood ear mushrooms are the same in this bowl. If you end up loving everything and returning for multiple visits (very likely), you can also try some of their other specials like the black tonkotsu which gets its color from a fried garlic paste and the God fire, which as you can imagine makes a brow start to sweat.

None of these are afterthoughts and all seem to be treated with skill and care, just like their economical side dishes. Always a favorite is the chashu don ($4.50, below), which has chopped up pieces of seasoned pork belly over rice. There are other versions of chashu and pork belly bowls with rice available, and you can also get the cod roe in this format as well.

A definite crowd favorite is the excellent karaage, which they call Ikkousha fried chicken ($4.50, below), served with both Japanese mayonnaise and a salt and pepper dip. They fry up nice large chunks of the bird and serve the dish with kitchen shears so you can cut them down into more manageable pieces.

It does seem like wonderful meals are still going strong here in Torrance, downtown, and in Costa Mesa despite the closing of the Lake Forest location. Unlike the down-sliding of many chains that make their way to the states, Hakata Ikkousha has kept their quality control very high.

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Hisaya Kyoto Chestnuts

JAPAN 🇯🇵

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (05 March 2025) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/hisaya-kyoto-chestnuts-japanese-torrance

After about ten years of business in Kyoto starting in 2001, Hisaya started opening branches throughout Japan and the world. Torrance finally landed this tiny store in 2014, serving the famous roasted chestnuts harvested from mountain slopes surrounding Kyoto. In addition, the shop serves a wide array of chestnut-flavored and infused items like coffee, soft serve ice cream, donuts and other sweets.

Typically in Japan chestnuts are enjoyed in the first days of a new year, representing both success and strength. There are two other locations in Orange County that are seasonal for this reason, but this Torrance shop is open year round.

A wall of satisfied customers.

The featured products are of course the Kyoto chestnuts (below, sold in bags of 6, 10, and 20 pieces). These are roasted and then steamed to create an optimal char around the tender meat of the nut. They will tell you all about the nutrients of the chestnut as well, but really most people are coming for the taste.

In and around Kyoto at the right time of the year you will come across vendors on the side of the road that are roasted chestnut specialists. Customers seem to know the best ones, whose families have been in the business for generations, and have lines along the road requiring a decent queue.

Lovers of chestnuts will be happy to know they can chestnut cakes, donuts, cookies, and coffees as well, which all seem to be made with natural flavors.

 

The dense donuts, like many of the desserts, can also include black sesame, matcha green tea, and other flavors combined with chestnuts. They are served cold, perfect for their denseness and delicious when dunked into a chestnut latte.

Black sesame chestnut Snow Storm.

You can get a simple soft serve cone with their chestnut ice cream, but even more interesting is the variety of Chestnut Snow Storms (above), an obvious ode to Dairy Queen's famous Blizzard. They have the black sesame and matcha again, both blended with a few bits of candied chestnuts, but even offer Oreo and Butterfinger just like the Blizzard.

Nothing is overly sweet here, allowing a customer to sample a few different things without getting overwhelmed. Boxes of 6 or more of the cookies and donuts are also available if you want to bring a unique treat to your next dinner party.

📍 1757 W. Carson Street, Torrance, South Bay

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[CLOSED] Nadima's Sushi & Mongolian Express

🇲🇳 MONGOLIA
📍 23211 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, South Bay

EDITOR'S NOTE: This location has permanently closed. An updated version of this article (27 February 2025) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/nadimas-sushi-and-mongolian-express-closed

It takes a bit of sleuthing to find more than just a run-of-the-mill sushi takeout in this new-ish shopping center, not just because you have to first locate it around the corner from the lot and facing busy Hawthorne Blvd., but because from the outside it makes no other claims. As you walk in, the owner will hand you a paper menu with only options from the sushi counter.

But a glance over the counter shows trays of Mongolian food available for catering (unique holiday ideas for your gatherings!), and one laminated sheet tucked halfway under the register has a few options available daily. Grab this sheet and see if anything catches your fancy, but come without a tight schedule as these are all made to order and take a while.

If you want to eat in, it is possible although the entire restaurant has the feel of a hallway, with one counter and three chairs available to sit. The doors are open and the cool breezes of Torrance find their way through the place though, so it all feels very comfortable in the end. The enjoyable part of doing this is that the familiar smells of Mongolian cuisine, which are not apparent when entering, start to fill the space as the noodles are made and oils and meat fats are cooked.

This experience is the best explanation for $20 prices which may seem high to some customers, as it reveals the truly homemade nature of every Mongolian item and the labor that goes into them. The noodles and dumpling skins are made to order, combined with vegetables and meats, and presented at peak freshness.

One of those familiar smells was thought to be lamb, which permeates everyone and everything if you have ever spent any time in Mongolia. This must have been for a catering order because the country's dumplings called buuz ($20, above) are filled with ground beef. Often these are bite-size, but the versions here are plump, their juices falling out if not bitten into strategically.

The proprietor must have had people commenting on the subtle tastes of Mongolian food in the past, as she loads up each order with packets of soy sauce and Sriracha and calls the food a bit plain. While this can be the interpretation, there is still a lot of flavor to be enjoyed in the dumpling's meaty interior and juices, and the medium-thickness wrapper is supremely chewy and enjoyable.

Both the dumplings and the tsuivan ($20, above) are served with a side of baitsaanii salat, a simple salad of cabbage and carrots that is very mildly fermented. Vegetables do not play much of a roll in the diets of Mongolians, who live through much more winter than summer. The biggest difference between these noodles and other stir-fried dishes you may have tried is the lovely, springy noodles that have been made and cut right in front of your eyes.

While some items have been covered on the menu and are no longer available, other options include khushuur, fried dough with ground beef and/or potatoes inside, and guriltai shol, an intensely warming beef soup that also uses freshly knifed noodles. No matter what your order do not forget to eat your orange slices, a very typical dessert when eating in Mongolia.

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Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior

JAPAN 🇯🇵

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (29 November 2024) is available as part of the Free Friday Favorites section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/tendon-tempura-carlos-junior-japanese-torrance

Sometimes you visit places because the food is impressive, the best of its kind. Sometimes it is because of the backstory and the feelings it gives you when eating. And then, when the restaurant stars align just right, a place comes along and has a combination of an amazing kitchen and a story that makes the food even better.

This is the case in Torrance at Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior, the passion project of Carlos Pinto, a Peruvian that lived a good chunk of life in Japan and became a master of tempura in Tokyo and later at the branch of tempura specialist Hannosuke here in Southern California. Eventually his talents warranted a restaurant of his own, and in 2019 this restaurant was born in his favorite city Torrance.

A full page of the menu is dedicated to the story and the commitments that Chef Pinto promises to give each customer. These get into the secrets of his trade, and the terrific meal that you are about to experience, from the bowls of complimentary sesame oil-saturated pickled celery and pickled ginger with Japanese burdock (above) all the way to every piece of tempura sat in front of you.

There are pandemic-inspired appetizers and even sushi rolls on the menu now, foods that stand up better to takeout than tempura, but it is those delicately fried goodies that remain the draw. Two ways to enjoy tempura are available during a visit, in the form of a rice bowl topped with it (tempura don, shortened to tendon) or a more traditional plate with dipping sauce. The former comes with a sweet soy sauce-based special tendon sauce already drizzled over everything, but do not worry as this chef's exquisite batter will keep things crispy.

After a few visits, the more traditional tempura plate is preferred and therefore gets more ink. The regular plate ($15.98, above) is a grouping of favorites: Maitake mushroom, two plump and meaty shrimp, eggplant, seaweed, and shishito pepper. Each offers slightly different crisp and taste, an assortment that has a bit of everything. For six dollars more you can upgrade this to the premium set which includes eel and a seafood assortment that replaces some of the vegetables, but those are hard to live without.

Regardless of which of the eight or so options for tempura plates you choose, they will be served with a special savory tentsuyu for dipping that has grated daikon to mix in it. The pieces are all coated with Chef Pinto's perfect egg and flour batter (koromo), each fried just right to make sure you enjoy the crispy texture and the flavors of everything underneath.

The oil used for frying is laced with sesame, giving every bite a pleasant earthiness and enjoyment that might be considered difficult with a complete lack of animal products. With sips of miso soup in between and bites of rice as much as you desire, the tempura plate really is a crowd-pleaser.

In fact, a full article could be written just about the rice here. It is a testament to the chef, the kitchen, and everyone involved that it is always made so well, a shine that smiles back at you between each bite. There is also a partially cooked egg (Carlos calls it over easy but it is closer to poached) that begs to be broken over the rice and mixed in for even more flavor. In most sets it is also lightly battered and fried like the tempura.

For a meaty chaser, try the sukiyaki tempura plate (18.98, above), which adds a bowl of thinly sliced beef with roasted tofu over glass noodles. The assortment of tempura that comes with this is also satisfying with shrimp, excellent slices of pumpkin, shishito pepper, and seaweed.

Since 2019, and thankfully surviving the pandemic, tempura in Greater Los Angeles does not get better than here at Carlos Junior. The line has been drawn.

📍 1510 Cabrillo Avenue, Torrance, South Bay

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Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

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Saffron Food Mart

🇮🇷 IRAN
📍 3801 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance, South Bay
🅿️ Parking lot behind store
🥤 No Alcohol

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (28 October 2024) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/saffron-food-mart-persian-food-torrance

For many years this building has been home to a Persian market, first named Shayan back in 2008 and briefly changing hands and name in 2015 to Seaside Market. Since opening in the spring of 2018, and again having a new owner, this "food mart" now has just as strong a pull for their restaurant as for the market it lives in.

If you tried the prepared foods from one of those earlier markets and just thought it was so-so, come back to give the new place a try. The kitchen is talented and is really hitting its stride. Casual Persian food is not the easiest thing to find in the South Bay, so a place this good is an absolute gem.

If you are in the mood for a meal and head to the back of the well-stocked market, you will find a menu that reads the length of that of a restaurant. A peek over the counters reveals a large grill cooking kabobs of all sorts, big pots full of unknown wonders, and constant cooking even if the store is not full of customers.

This is because, as you will notice while waiting for your food, a good portion of the business is very large catering orders that will be bundled and then picked up by customers who phoned in. Seeing so much getting piled into trunks of their vehicles almost is enough to ask for an invite to whatever party they are throwing.

Leaving without at least one kabob (or the family special for $88!) would be a mistake here, as the meats are prepared and grilled just right. The beef koobideh ($15.99, above) is done with skill, ground meat mixed with onions and plenty of spices.

Kabobs come with a heaping portion of basmati, that is thankfully (especially because of the name of the place!) topped with saffron and no food coloring. A side of yogurt with cucumber and herbs called maast-o khiar comes with these orders as well, and the combination of everything in one bite is just about perfect.

Persian soups and stews come in many flavors and looks, many of which are available here on any given day, making well-rounded meals easy to put together. Ash e reshte, a thick lentil and vegetable stew with noodles is usually there, as is the less popular ash e jo ($5.99 small, above), a barley stew with other similar herbs and ingredients.

A thick white clump of kashk is sitting on top of any of these, and this is meant to be stirred in along with the spices. Some type of bread will come with most orders as well, and thick Persian stews are great for scooping up.

A final test of the kitchen with fesenjon ($16.99, above) is enough to awards all the gold stars. This complex dish of chicken, ground walnuts, and pomegranate paste is both sweet and sour at the same time, not overly so in either direction like many. Again an oversized portion of rice comes with it, and a stack of thin lavash.

The hints of cardamom and turmeric come through a bit, citrus peels and cinnamon maybe a bit deeper. It will only make you want to return as soon as possible for all the other stews you can find on the menu. After a couple visits, you start to understand why so many catering orders are filling the trunks of South Bay customers.

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