The Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate This Week: October 19

The editors at Eater Los Angeles 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.

Ikura bagel from Mother Dough Bagels in Santa Barbara

There was a line out the door of Mother Dough Bagels the entire weekend I was in Santa Barbara, and upon tasting these plush sourdough bagels, I understood why. Find Mother Dough in an idyllic pink and white house on Santa Barbara Street with inviting outdoor seating bathed in sunshine and a cozy interior that feels like you’re dining at grandma’s. The menu is trim: You can opt for bagels and cream cheese, a lox box of bagels and lox with spreads and veggie toppings, or any of six specialty bagels. On a jalapeño-cheddar bagel I tried pearls of ikura plus tobiko cream cheese for a fish-egg-on-fish-egg option, which was creamy and briny without feeling overly fishy. Chopped chives and fresh dill provided freshness, while pickled red onions and cornichons supplied a welcome, tangy zing. I want to return and sample all six specialty options, which include an heirloom tomato bagel and one smothered in housemade jam. 604 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. — Kat Thompson, audience editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

Strawberry sando from Katsu Bar in Koreatown

Sometimes, picturesque Japanese fruit sandos are more about the looks than the experience, with an uneven spread of whipped cream and just a hint of the fruit of choice. Luckily, that’s not the case at Katsu Bar, a casual Koreatown restaurant. A pillowy layer of whipped cream arrives tucked between slices of plush milk bread; glistening hunks of strawberry embedded in the cream layer make a jewel-like contrast against their stark-white background. The sandwich is a textural wonderland — light cream, juicy strawberries, and soft bread form a bite like a gently sweet cloud that never treads into overly saccharine territory. Pair the sandwich with a spicy curry katsu plate or a portobello katsu sandwich. 3801 W. Sixth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90020. — Rebecca Roland, deputy editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

Roasted beet and fig salad from Alta in West Adams

Keith Corbin is a chef I’ve loved watching over the years. On Saturday, I sat at his counter overlooking the kitchen at Alta in West Adams to see him guide his team and greet guests in a way that keeps folks coming back. Corbin’s new approach at Alta reflects his international travels and some life milestones; it’s clear that the chef is in his lane and not looking back. He told me that some former customers have turned their backs on Alta, missing its former menu focused more specifically on Southern and West Coast influences. But I welcomed new dishes like the Middle Eastern-inspired roasted beet and fig salad with creamy labneh, a deglazed fig gastrique, and a hazelnut-rose spiced dukkah for added crunch. Figs are at their peak, and this new seasonal addition hits LA at just the right moment. The dish is refreshing in every way. 5359 West Adams Boulevard, CA 90016 — Mona Holmes, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest

Dry-aged burger from Tiny’s in Costa Mesa

It’s almost unfair that the most exciting fast-casual restaurant in Southern California is stuck on a quieter side of a mall, because I think it would be a lot more interesting on a busy stretch of Silver Lake, Venice, or even Culver City. But Father’s Office chef Sang Yoon opened Tiny’s, his ode to the Southern California roadside burger, at South Coast Plaza, and the burger here is a $10 marvel. It employs the same dry-aged ground beef used at Father’s Office, packaged in a plush toasted bun with a healthy smear of caramelized gochujang. Melted American cheese, pickles, grilled onions, and a handful of lettuce complete the dish, which adds up to something greater than the sum of its parts. The gochujang sauce and the dry-aged beef may mystify some customers unfamiliar with this level of umami, dank, and almost earthy. Tiny’s aims to please the masses, but can the masses handle it? 3333 Bristol Street, Suite 1000, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. — Matthew Kang, correspondent, Eater