Q

DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times) 43. Q To sit at the counter at Q, a small, sedate omakase restaurant in downtown L.A., is to receive an education in edomae sushi, a mode of sushi-making that involves lightly treating the fish with some type of cooking or

curing element. Chef Hiroyuki Naruke is a master of the genre. At dinner, he guides you through 20 or so pristine bites, the fish manipulated just far enough to amplify its essential tones and flavor. The flavors at Q are thrilling in their precision, and

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José R. Ralat made headlines last fall when Texas Monthly, the “national magazine of Texas,” appointed him the publication’s first-ever taco editor. The role requires him to travel the state for about two weeks every month to report on the state’s...

Lisa Hanawalt — illustrator, TV producer, soup dumpling devotee — has dedicated much of her work to the subject of food and the working lives of chefs. “I love people who are really good at something, and cooking in particular,” Hanawalt said...

of the Q Joint, a new food stall at the SoCo Farmers’ Market in Costa Mesa, also has ties to the barbecue circuit—not as a contestant, but rather a judge. Benny Chang is a member of the Kansas City BBQ Society, a Master BBQ Judge and an instructor at

the art—or, as in the case of Benny Chang, without knowing what it takes for a judge such as him to award a first-place trophy. The Q Joint at SoCo Farmers’ Market, 3315 Hyland Ave., Costa Mesa; www.theqjointbbq.com. Open Sat., 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Judge’s

used to drive to Garden Grove regularly to eat the barbecued shrimp at this Vietnamese bistro. The pho here was incredibly sophisticated. I go elsewhere for those things now, but I always think of this place when I do. Barbecue brisket at Lillie’s Q

, now closed, in Brea (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG) 9. Lillie’s Q (2014-2017) Long before Heritage Barbecue came along and changed the game, this casual yet upscale urban honky tonk in Brea made the best smoked brisket in Orange

standing in line for smoked brisket, sausages and sides from Moo’s Craft Barbecue to take to a Super Bowl party. Closer to SoFi Stadium, our list suggests Woody’s Bar-B-Q, and slightly farther afield there is Maple Block Meat Co. in Culver City. Go for the

pickup and delivery. 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, shikulosangeles.com Q returns Advertisement Hiroyuki Naruke has resurrected his Michelin starred omakase restaurant Q downtown. The chef, known for the intimate dinners he orchestrated behind the sushi

it all. ... Everything is fresh and organic. You know what you’re putting in your body, and I’m big on that. Another place I go to is probably Nonna in Westlake. It’s a nice Italian spot I like out there. And 101 North. It’s right by Q sushi. Q sushi

until Q opened downtown last fall, there had been nothing like real edomae sushi in Los Angeles — plain-looking sushi that accentuates the flavor of the fish rather than of the rice or condiments, a universe of pickling and curing and aging whose culture

may edge closer to a great charcuterie counter than to the sushi floor show at a place like Koi, but so subtly as to be almost imperceptible to a senior accountant stopping by for a quick expense-account lunch. Q is a tiny, wood-paneled place on what

until Q opened downtown last fall, there had been nothing like real edomae sushi in Los Angeles — plain-looking sushi that accentuates the flavor of the fish rather than of the rice or condiments, a universe of pickling and curing and aging whose culture

may edge closer to a great charcuterie counter than to the sushi floor show at a place like Koi, but so subtly as to be almost imperceptible to a senior accountant stopping by for a quick expense-account lunch. Q is a tiny, wood-paneled place on what