Counter: Charcoal, Target beer and Frito pie

Josian Citrin in the Melisse dining room on Nov. 8, 2013. (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)To recap: It's September, it's too hot, there are a lot more restaurants opening, The Taste is over (check out some of our favorite dishes) and Jonathan Gold has closed his office door while he works on his list of 101 best restaurants (out November, if you're wondering), so he'll be taking a short break from writing reviews. You can always read all the old ones — we'll put some of our favorites up on Facebook, just to make it easier for you.

This week, we've been checking out a lot of those new restaurants, including Josiah Citrin's place, a tiny Korean restaurant hidden in a crappy strip mall, a food…