What is "can't miss" right now in Los Angeles?

I have done a few searches on Los Angeles on LTH and the pickings have been surprisingly slim - mostly short threads with very few posts talking about one or two places and posts that are 3 or 4 years old. So I am trying this one to see what I can find.

If you know of a good thread that my google searches did not turn up, please feel free to point me to it, and maybe link it here.

The son and I are heading to California for a baseball fiesta in late July - two games in 4 days in LA and then 2 games in 3 days in the Bay Area. And I expect to get a little dining in, too. In LA I am thinking there will be a Vietnamese or Thai meal in Westminster or thereabouts after the Angels game. And I think there is must-go Chinese seafood place in Monterey Park or thereabouts, but I have not found it, yet. Roscoe's and Langer's are both on my radar, too - the son loves waffles, and my failure to visit Langer's so far is a little bit of an embarrassment.

Might pick up a crispy burger at In-N-Out.

As it has worked out, we are getting in on my birthday, to I would not mind a fancier dinner that night. Any places in particular you would consider? How about a good joint to catch some SoCal Mex (not fancy, I figure)?

Any info you have would be welcome. Will post on my experiences, too.

I have had really good experiences with Siete Mares or (7 Mares as the sign out front says), especially the deep fried fish tacos and sopa siete mares, in of all places, Whittier when conducting business nearby. I know that VI has waxed poetic about El 7 Mares in Silverlake. I haven't eaten at that one. But, I do always trust VI's good judgment on such things.

El 7 Mares
12706 Philadelphia Street
Whittier, CA

El 7 Mares
3131 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA

In my opinion, no trip to LA proper is complete with out a a Tommy Burger, the burger treat whose taste you enjoy for hours, maybe even days after eating it.

Tommy's
2575 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA

I've been traveling to Anaheim on business for the better part of three years now. I'm still mystified as to why the locals only seem to eat at Denny's there. The good news is that, around Disney, the glut of all you can eat buffets like Old Country are being pushed out by some higher end chain places like Morton's and/or McCormick and Schmicks. Not great, but certainly better than Denny's. My recommendation would be to take the 10-15 mile ride to Westminster and roll the dice on some good Vietnamese. I enjoy Pho 54 more for its non-pho dishes than its pho. I am sure that a more experienced local could send you to a better place for pho. I would be remiss in noting that, in the strip center behind Pho 54, is a little place that serves great steamed fresh crawfish to a largely Asian crowd despite advertising itself as "cajun".

Pho 54 and the Crawfish Place
15420 Brookhurst
Westminster CA

There is a fairly good bar restaurant right across from the Pond (and a few blocks from the baseball stadium) in Anaheim called JT Schmids. Cold bar drinks and a somewhat upscale bar food highlight the menu here. Think a Wrigleyville bar with serviceable food. Nice burgers, ok California style pizza, very good regional beer selection.

JT Schmids
2610 E. Katella
Anaheim
www.jtschmids.com

If you have no real aversion to the 5 at rush hour, there's a local mini-chain called Elephant Bar that serves a passable version of California style thin sliced tri-tip and some very good braised veal shanks. It's a place that caters to the Disney crowd. It's located right off the 5 in La Mirada.

Elephant Bar
14303 Firestone Blvd.
La Mirada, CA

Anaheim, to be frank, is a challenge for the culinary adventurist. If all else fails, there is a Portillo's in Buena Park which seems to be quite popular there.

Have you seen this? The return of Renu Nakorn?

If you want to male bond over red meat, Wolfgang Puck's Cut is supposed to be very, very good. The Vegas version, at least, is on my short list.

The other place of my LA short list, for sure, is the San Pedro (said with a long eeeeee) fish market. It may or may not be worth it, but for a variety of reasons, not the least it aint like anything in Chicago, it appeals to me a lot.

It's not new, but I've been dying to get to LA and eat at Lucques.

http://www.lucques.com/

Best,
Michael

He isn't posting here anymore, but Erik M. has been busy since moving to L.A.

And of course, there's his big L.A. discovery, which has since arguably become the darling of the nation's Thai scene (certainly of Jonathan Gold's Thai scene, anyway -- which is almost the same thing), Jitlada Thai.

Where will you be staying in LA?

Right now, I'm loving Palate, which is located in Glendale. (Not intolerably far from Dodger stadium, but really not close to the beaches.)

Dom--thanks for the Erik M. cite. Sure miss him.

Geo

IN 'N Out is of course a must....but if you like these, the Hickory Burger at the Apple Pan is several levels above....in terms of both quality and old school, "only in LA" lunch counter atmosphere.

Apple Pan
10801 W. Pico

eatchicago wrote:It's not new, but I've been dying to get to LA and eat at Lucques.

Michael,

I was there several weeks ago. Very nice place, good seasonal/local foods. I liked it a lot. That said, I found it very similar to and not quite as good as (on that given day) the usual suspects here in Chicago (Blackbird-ish spots). Certainly not a reason not to go. I just like my meals in LA to focus on things that are not easy to come by here.

cjla wrote:Where will you be staying in LA?

City of Industry, I think. Got some great deal at a golf resort, though I really only plan to treat it as a bed. I expect to spend more than a little time driving around for better and worse. Anyway, do not restrict recommendations based on that location.

Can someone explain to me why there are these glowing recommendations for Thai places, but no one seems to step forward and say there are any equally wonderful Vietnamese places? When I went last year I had a similar challenge in finding which Viet place I absolutely had to visit, and just ended up stopping at one that looked promising (it was pretty good).

I only expect to spend the one day in Anaheim when we go to the ball game. And then the one evening around Dodger Stadium. Not sure where we will go the rest of the time, though the son has now declared that he would prefer to walk around outside rather than inside (I believe this is to be a subtle, preemptive strike in response to my comment that there are a couple of museums I would not mind visiting). So I am thinking some Socal beach culture and a wander downtown might be in the cards, but I have not really begun considering which sights I want to see beyond the ballgames.

Thanks for all the tips, but of course don't feel constrained to stop. We are going in late July so there is plenty of time for others to weigh in. Not sure I have gotten a great rec here for the birthday dinner, but perhaps one of the Thai places is the best choice.

d-- you *might* want to visit Venice, esp. if you haven't done so before. Weird and wonderful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice,_California

Geo

dicksond wrote:
City of Industry, ..... Dodger Stadium .... some Socal beach culture and a wander downtown might be in the cards

First time in LA? City of Industry is about how it sounds, though I have no need to stay at the Peninsula myself, so I could see it. Dodger Stadium is relatively close to the places you need to be for the food -- Thai Town, Koreatown, Little Armenia, Langer's. Wandering around downtown LA I'd put at the end of the list, though specific things can be worthwhile. Seeing Santa Monica/Venice/whatever is something you should do if you want to get a feel for the LA that everyone knows from TV. But even if you've never seen Chips or Melrose Place, the beaches in LA are well worth seeing. Take the subway -- no one else does, but the main stops are close to things you'll want to see as a tourist.

Have you or your son been to LA before?

As for beaches, Santa Monica and Venice are crowded and touristy, and remind me of Navy Pier, but a little more rundown. Depending on your cultural reference points, you might want to drive up the coast a little to the Malibu area. I particularly like Point Dume, which is where the final sequence of Planet of the Apes was filmed.

I love wandering around downtown--the Bradbury building is right across the street from Grand Central Market, and a hop, skip and jump from the Biltmore Hotel (old LA!) and the main library. (Also gorgeous, and free, and air conditioned, which will be very attractive in July.) All of this is reasonably close to Chinatown (which has some cool bars and art galleries, and is getting a younger vibe, especially at night, if interested, wander around Chung King Alley).

Up the hill, but still downtown, is the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and MOCA.

As for food, well, the Chinese food in Chinatown is nothing that you can't get at Panda Express, although I think there's more Viet immigration south of Spring st, so maybe there's something of value there that I haven't explored.

West of the 10, from City of Industry, you'll be in the San Gabriel Valley, which has an enormous amount of Asian cooking, food, and population.

One more thought--how about Korean? There are a ton of places, I can attest to Soot Bull Jeep, and have aspirations to try Park's BBQ...

On the much more casual, and less expensive side, there's also Kyochan Fried Chicken.

dicksond wrote:Can someone explain to me why there are these glowing recommendations for Thai places, but no one seems to step forward and say there are any equally wonderful Vietnamese places?

Thanks to Tony C, I can step forward to offer a glowing recommendation for Pho Le Loi. This unassuming San Gabriel Valley storefront has excellent food including this cha ca thang long (dill and turmeric seasoned fish) and canh chua ca (soup with spongy bac ha stems). I'll try to post soon on twenty-some other places from a January visit to Los Angeles.



Pho Le Loi
107 E Valley Blvd
San Gabriel CA

Dmnkly wrote:He isn't posting here anymore, but Erik M. has been busy since moving to L.A.

And of course, there's his big L.A. discovery, which has since arguably become the darling of the nation's Thai scene (certainly of Jonathan Gold's Thai scene, anyway -- which is almost the same thing), Jitlada Thai.

Erik M. is certainly thorough, thorough, thorough. Thanks for the link and the memories.

Regards,

As a matter of reference, TonyC has a deep library of 284 restaurant reviews on Yelp.

http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid ... dj3Gdu6OYg

cjla wrote:Have you or your son been to LA before?

Yeah. I probably have spent at least a week or two in and around LA every year for the last 10. So I have done most of the standards, but not all. It is a big place, and it seems like I get stuck in one little area or another each time I go there (usually business-related so I am limited to a day or so of time to wander around most often). And I am always interested to hear what others are excited about.

Anyway, on this trip I am avoiding theme parks like the plague and probably spending less time than I might like at museums because of the preferences of my son.

Great thread, though - I already have more ideas than I have time, but that is all good .

I must admit that despite all that LTH has given to me, when I found out I'd be staying in Whittier, CA with limited time to eat, it was without much optimism that I typed "Whittier" into Search. My glass-half-empty attitude was way off. This thread led me to some terrific guacamole and good fish tacos at Siete Mares, to a phenomenal meal at Renu Nakorn, and - tangentially - to a huge, festive Wednesday night Farmer's Market..

Whittier's Siete Mares was a 10 minute walk from my hotel, so that was a no-brainer choice. The walk took me right through the 5PM-9PM Whittier Farmers Market, with vendor after vendor offering samples of some of the best peaches, plums, nectarines, and grapes you can have. While the fish tacos at SM have been lauded, I thought the real highlight was the guac - chunky, fresh, and with a potent hit of lime and cilantro. The tacos were good, but not transcendent. The fish was fresh, hot and crispy, but the tortillas were store-bought and uninspired. I'd have rather done without them altogether. Overall though, washed down with a Bohemia this was a much better meal than I ever expected to have on this night.

Even better was the meal at Renu Nakorn. I'm a huge fan of Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas, so when I read VI's post upthread that the same owners had a place just a few minutes from Whittier, dinner plans were made. RN's Koi Soy was one of the best things I've eaten in quite some time. Fresh, raw lean beef marinated in lime, rice powder, chili, and lots of herbs. On a hot Socal day this was oh so refreshing. I have no idea what I ate next, as once the server realized that I was open to anything, she said "let me bring you something special." What followed was a complex pork stew - tender meat in a spicy, yellow-hued, thick herbaceous curry and a side of sticky rice. Much as I love many of Chicago's thai places, this meal beat 'em.

I'm pleased to hear that you liked both of those places, Kenny. As great as certain parts of LA are for interesting ethnic dining, it seems like there are huge pockets of places only served by Denny's and fast food. Finding good places in Norwalk and Whittier can be a bit of a challenge.

I have ruined many a good tie with Siete mares fish tacos.

The visit went well, thanks to the assistance here, as well as advice from LA-based LTH friends, Erik and Tony C.

Since food was a major focus, I have a lot to report and will break it up semi-thematically.

Today we start with the LA standards. As an LTH'er there are many gaps in my eating experiences that I find embarrassing. This is not one, but it is the first stop the son insists upon on the way out of LAX, and he is no fool.



The fries at the top are the "secret" Animal Fries - covered with grilled onion bits, cheese and the sauce. Not as good as Max's infamous Ghetto Fries, but the son swears by them. This is the one at 9149 S Sepulveda, and as it happens right next to the Parking Spot which has a shuttle from the LAX terminal, so if you have a stopover and a hankering for In N Out, you can easily fill up here.

Not deserving of a photo, IMO, is Roscoe's. Some urged me to go, while others told me it was a waste of time and money. Dry, overcooked chicken, limp industrial waffle. The cinnamon in the syrup was the only thing of even mild interest for me, and I feel no inclination to ever return.

On to much happier topics.

What is LA about, if not donuts, mountains and automobiles?



But not just any donuts.



A promise made and fulfilled.



It would be difficult for me to expand upon how wonderful this donut was. Fresh strawberries with a touch of syrup in a fresh, glazed donut. It is what strawberry shortcake aspires to be on a warm summer day at the height of the strawberry season (the strawberries were excellent on their own). I could not resist sampling some of the other offerings and can report that the glazed donuts were large and pretty much perfect. The apple fritter and buttermilk donut with raisins did not attain the same perfection, sadly. The fritter was crispy and overly chewy in places, and while better, the buttermilk donut was a weak shadow of the glazed donut. This place is not exactly on the beaten path, but it is very, very good.

The Donut Man
915 E Route 66
Glendora, CA 91740
(626) 335-9111

What better way to finish my recap of LA standards than with the one other spot that I was ashamed to admit I had not visited, Langer's?



Unlike Roscoe's, this place exceeded my expectations and truly delighted me. A simple sandwich, but great care was put into each component. The rye bread is delicious, and has a wonderful, just wonderful, chewy and crisp crust. I admit to being a sucker for a good crust, and this was the best rye crust I have ever enjoyed. The pastrami was pillow soft and tender, almost like they pumped it up with air and then inserted a touch of brine. Flavor was strong and on. Note the Russian Dressing on the side - I did resist the tarted up sammies that Langer's was touting. Good Russian Dressing, certainly but I cannot say that I am convinced it belongs on pastrami.

More to come when time allows.

Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles
1540 N Gower
LA (Hollywood)

Langer's Deli
704 S Alvarado
LA

Hi Will! Hi Dicksond! Hi ReneG!

nota bene: Erik M found Pho Le Loi

my current fave pho in all of SGV is Pho Minh, backed by Pho Filet at close second.

The newly reopened Renu Nakorn is just craptastic. They've shifted focus to the local Mexican diners and completely lost touch. For SIIICK Issan Thai in the (562) area: to Kennyz, Cancoon Thai still rules the roost. They kicked butt when Renu Nakorn took its extended "vacation" and still does a far superior kaeng liang, sai krawt Issan, soup nor mai, etc. The place is no joke, I carry their translated menu wherever I go. Ask for Eddie (father) and VJ (son)

The other Laotian-owned, Thai staffed joint which we like is Rachada, also in the (562) area, still better than Renu Nakorn. Great fried squab.

The various Siestes Mares have different ownerships (my hair "stylist" is the nephew of the E. LA branch's part-owner). No one dares to eat at any locale other than the E. LA spot. caveat emptor. In Norwalk, there is a half decent Baja-style fish taco joint:

Senor Baja
11833 Alondra Blvd
Norwalk, CA, 90651

Finally, still in Whittier, there is Golden Triangle Burmese food. I didn't find it particular great after sitting through a 12-plate dinner, but it is 1 of the few Burmese joints in greater LA:
7011 Greenleaf Ave
Whittier, CA 90602-1305
(562) 945-6778

Hope that helps folks, sorry I didn't check in earlier!

PS: as Erik has expounded earlier, LA is obsessed with burgers. I haven't had a bite of In-N-Out since returning to City of Angeles.

Hey TonyC. Nice to hear from you! I'm always interested in hearing about ethnic spots in LA. I get out there 2 - 3 times/year and I like to be ready!

I've been too much of a lazy loser to post about it yet but Erik and TonyC took great care of me and my family when we visited L.A. this past March. The food we ate was really incredible. These guys really have the area covered and, from my experience, their recommendations are solid gold.

Thanks again, guys,

=R=

p.s. I will definitely post about this trip. I promise!!

ahoy ronnie! hola stevez!

current list of Hunan/SZ hotspots in Monterey Park and surrounding (Hunan is in, Canto is out):

Hunan Chili King (dicksond + company were here)
Hengyang Chili King (2nd branch of Hunan Chili King, opened July 28th)
Hunan Seafood
Chung King (MPK location only)
Lucky Dragon (pickled spicy pepper dishes.. extremely hot, extremely sour, bunghole burner - not for the weak)
Szechuan Best (ronnie + company were here)
[we try to take care of all Chicagoans ]

Tianjin resto's just opened this year:
Tianjin Bistro [August 8 debut, funky FUNKY stuff... "pulled skin" cold noodle (corn starch based), lots of saucy salty fish items, etc. completely useless English menu]
818 Shaokan (Tianjin style lamb skewers. again, funky items such as salty tofu brain, etc.)

current "new" (less than 1YO) list of what I'd like to call: rustic NE Chinese carb cuisine -
Northern Dumpling House (just closed)
Mama's Lu
Dean Sin World (my fave xiao long bao, cheap, extremely soupy, chicken based aspic)
Delicious Delicious (my fave jing dong pork pockets: )
Kam Hong Noodles
Noodle House
(not inclusive of the old guards: Mama's Kitchen, Luscious Dumpling, Dumpling 101, Mandarin Noodle Deli, Dumpling Master, Pearl's Kitchen, etc.)

New Taiwanese joints:
Snack Pop
Uncle Chen's
Kingburg (interesting fish & dill steamed dumpling, equally great niou rou mien, )

Current faves of Greek-diner burgers (house made thousand-island, hand formed charbroiled patties, house made chili):
Yanakis (City of Industry)
Nick's (in E. LA)

Current faves of ghetto burgers:
Mom's Burger (Compton) - menu features "Soul Cheese" and "Chronic Chesee" burgers.
3 Bears (Compton)
The Big Burger (Carson)
The Burger Stand (S. Central)

Oh, god, Tony. Now, i cannot visit LA without trying a Chronic Cheeseburger in Compton. Nice (and funny) find.

I'm happy you made it out to Donut Man. I'm thinking about making the trek this weekend--but want to phone ahead and make sure they're serving the peach doughnuts!

And Langer's, ah Langer's! My order is a half of #19, with a cup of matzoh ball soup. (The #19 is pastrami, with swiss, cole slaw, and Russian dressing. It's awesome. Believe.)

Hope you got to go to the SGV, or up to North Hollywood, to troll for Thai along Sherman Way.

Any discussion of LA has to include the area near the airport, particularly the rental car area. There you will find Randy's Donuts. It's kind of hard to miss the place if you're close:



They don't have a very complicated menu:



But Randy's offers some really excellent donuts. On this visit, I opted for the buttermilk donut and apple fritter. The buttermilk donut is as good a buttermilk donut as I've ever tasted - moist, dense and really great flavor. And while I'm a big fan of Old Fashioned Donuts, I prefer the apple fritter at Randy's. It's smaller (maybe only 1/4 of the size of OFD's), but it's packed with more apple pieces and has a great texture (slightly crisp on the outside, moist and dense inside). Here are pictures of both:


buttermilk donut


apple fritter

So next time you're in LA and right before or after picking up the rental car, don't forget to indulge. You'll only be sorry if you pass up the opportunity.

BR wrote:Any discussion of LA has to include the area near the airport, particularly the rental car area. There you will find Randy's Donuts. It's kind of hard to miss the place if you're close:



. . . But Randy's offers some really excellent donuts. On this visit, I opted for the buttermilk donut and apple fritter. The buttermilk donut is as good a buttermilk donut as I've ever tasted - moist, dense and really great flavor. And while I'm a big fan of Old Fashioned Donuts, I prefer the apple fritter at Randy's. It's smaller (maybe only 1/4 of the size of OFD's), but it's packed with more apple pieces and has a great texture (slightly crisp on the outside, moist and dense inside). . . .

Los Angeles is big on donuts. Your picture of Randy's looked awfully familiar but something didn't seem quite right to me. I didn't realize until now there's more than one monumental frycake in the area. Here's a picture of Kindle's I took earlier this year while visiting Los Angeles.



We were just passing by and didn't stop. For whatever it's worth, this old report on Randy's and Kindle's gives the edge to Kindle's apple fritter. Further investigation is clearly required. It seems that several other remnants of the Big Donut Drive In chain still exist including Donut King II in Gardena. Great as these examples of mimetic architecture are, they pale next to The Donut Hole in La Puente (be sure to look at all the photos). This astonishing structure features a pair of drive-thru donuts!

Kindle's Donuts
10003 S Normandie Av (corner of Century)
Los Angeles CA
323-756-8548

Never been to Kindle's, but I'm certainly impressed with the vast donut architecture in LA . . . now if they only had a football team! Having not been to Kindle's, I can't compare the two shops' respective apple fritter entries, but I really love lots of apple chunks in my fritter, so my preference would be for the shop with the most apple chunks in the fritter. But when it comes to texture (crisp exterior, moist interior), Randy's apple fritter was excellent and would be hard to improve upon.