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Could it be? LA doing something so much better than NYC? DineLA has been killing it in terms of restaurant participation, PR, cost savings AND menu disclosure.

Look West, young NYC.

@autumnwine based on dianping & shanghaist, I'd say that's only partially correct. Lin Long Fang gets so lazy that XLB is simply "XL" on the sales ticket, even though exterior signage clearly shows XLB. Ditto to Xi Sheng Yuan & Xi Yuan Wuxi. Here's SHAist's "SHA XLB week" for some picture references/English commentaries: http://shanghaiist.com/tags/shanghaixlbweek

Searching for XL on dianping yields 989 results in SHA: http://www.dianping.com/search/keyword/1/0_%E5%B0%8F%E7%AC%BC more than "XLB", or "XLTB" and you can see dianping'ers naming their pictures of XLB as simply "XL".

Sufficed, due to the nation's pure laziness, need for speed & expert acronym skills, XLTB/XLB has been shrunken to simply "XL".

Jia Jia is 1 of the few exceptions as they still name theirs "tang bao", which all just come "small". JJ was confusing at first, as I remember someone else (falsely) claiming one must order "XLTB" in Shanghai. But really, XL is all you need these days. FWIW, on the jumbotron across The Bund, where XLB is advertised as a Shanghai treasure, 3 words are used, not 4, not 2.

If SE wants to be hip and "authentic", this article should be renamed: "Where To Get the Best Little Basket in Chinatown", then we wouldn't need to discuss whether XLB is really a bao or a dumpling.

HTF is Chicago charging more for ramen than LA/NYC? GTFO.

You buncha New Yorkers picked Umami over In-n-Out. First, the SE book totally F's up the LA section (or lack thereof), now this? Y'all dead to me, save Kenji-Alt.

epic tools.

No!!! We want the tote! Although, would Kenji-Alt leave a lipstick kiss? Cuz that's gonna be priceless.

someone's eating in the dog house tonight...

Stella Rossa over Sotto, over Mozza; more lovable because it IS from Baker's Pride, using local-ish milled grains.

All the Neapolitan groupies are going to bitch about the lack of leopards, the center being too cooked, blah blah blah. But man, the initial crunch from the outer crust reminds me of that NY slice, until you hit the tasty kale, followed by the spicy chili oil (don't see it on your table) rounding off the flavor palate.

To think this pie is coming out of a "corporate" (LEYE) kitchen just boggles the mind.

Non sequitur PS: Chef Mahin needs to eat more.

@alrui totally agree. FOUL play.

That said, wish I'd known this place back in '05. Used to visit Schererville (and vicinities) monthly.

Mark another one for "really really like" Blue Hill @ Stone Barns. Dined alone, early in the evening, on a drizzly Sept day (11th). Their veggie of the day was tomato. Everything tomato. And they were the best gdamn tomatoes, ever. EVER!

100 comments and priced dropped.

KenjiAlt 1, Chang 0.

awesome.

Ondal2. Sorry, should've clarified. However, since you posed the Q, it's safe to assume you've already had 'em.

Rou song... o dear god...

Recently, I've discovered a new rou song bread at the local Taiwanese bakery. It's like a salty mix of rou song, egg, "man tou" like bao, all doused with mayo, then rolled up like a cinnamon roll. If I could, I'd send the OP one overnight from Los Angeles. It is freakin' tremendous, and kills all the rou-song topped cakes.