The editors at Eater LA dine out several times a week, if not per day, which means we’re always encountering standout dishes that deserve time in the limelight. Here’s the very best of everything the team has eaten this week. Dry-aged beef burger at Pasjoli in Santa Monica I always love to see how a fine dining chef interprets the classic burger, and Dave Beran’s version at Pasjoli is tremendous.
Available only at the bar, you can smell the dry-aged beef wafting from the plate as soon as it arrives. Built around molten white cheddar cheese and rich bone marrow aioli, the brioche bun collapses fairly quickly but manages to contain the medium-sized burger. Ground in-house, the patty has a decent crunch from the griddle and the satisfying funkiness of dry-aged beef.
A whole grilled red onion provides a bit of sweetness with a peppery punch of “au poivre” seasoning. My only caveat is that this burger is so heavy that it might be best to split it with a friend. 2732 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405.
— Matthew Kang, lead editor Pig kidney salad at Sichuan Street Food in Pasadena It’s hard to believe that some of Los Angeles’s most exciting Sichuan cooking hides on Pasadena’s idyllic Green Street alongside dental and chiropractic practices a stone’s throw from Pasadena City College. Here at Sichuan Street Food’ s tiny, two-story walk-up, Chengdu-trained chef Yong “Leo” Zhu prepares the region’s greatest hits alongside deeper cuts made with bullfrogs an.