Most Kick Ass Thing I Ate Last Week - Yakiniku Sando (Humble Potato)

Week Of: 10/28/12 - 11/3/12

Restaurant: Humble Potato

Address: 8321 Lincoln Blvd, LA (Westchester/LAX)

The Kick Ass Thing: Yakiniku Sando

Price: $8.95 (sandwich) + $1.00 (cheese) + $2.75 (fries) = $12.70

Thoughts: Humble Potato, a new spot on Lincoln just past Loyola Marymount in LAX-adjacent Westchester, advertises itself as "American comfort, Japanese kick." While it is certainly not the first LA restaurant post-Roy Choi to mimic the chef's amalgamation of classic fast food with Asian influences, it certainly stands as one of the better examples of the trend. While the restaurant's signature Hambaga will certainly garner most of the attention and accolades, I beg you to not overlook Humble Potato's version of the Philly cheesesteak, the Yakiniku Sando. This sandwich will perfectly fulfill your sweaty cheesesteak withdrawals - and do it thrice the flavor of the normal sub-standard LA versions. Fresh rib-eye beef (compared to the normal frozen used for most 'steaks) marinated with housemade Yakiniku sauce (Japanese soy sauce-based BBQ sauce), the flavor-packed sandwich comes topped with grilled onions, scallion and shichimi pepper, all in between a "garlic butter roll." For an extra dollar I added provolone cheese because, well, I'm a glutton and the mere thought of a cheesesteak sans cheese gives me a headache. I also got a side of fries, which were decent, but not exemplary. The accompanying HP dipping sauce was good though. As for the cheesesteak, is it LA's best cheesesteak? No. But is it an incredibly tasty new contender to the throne? Absolutely.

Awesome: Finally there's an above average spot not named In 'n Out to stop for a quick bite on the way to LAX.

Annoying: The name doesn't really make sense if you serve only average fries.