4 Nights in Tinseltown

Next month I will have 4 nights in LA. I have dinner booked at Lucques and AOC. Would love to find an LTH type Chinese restaurant. Great sushi could be an option. Someone from the food board that shall remain nameless mentioned Taiko, which makes fresh soba noodles every day. I've been to Border Grill in Vegas and loved it. Would consider that or their flagship restaurant downtown called Ciudad. Any opinions?

I'll post a couple more things later, but here's a bit:

I've been to the Border Grill in Santa Monica and enjoyed it. It's not as interesting menu wise as Frontera, but the food is wel prepared and good quality. I'd go back for sure. (I also liked my meal at Border Grill in Vegas).

The place that is really, really intriguing me in LA is Teriyaki House Pico. 10610 W Pico Blvd. 310-838-9881. The word on the street is it is ULTRA secret, and no joke, you cannot get in without a referall. Maybe Erik can help. It is a very high end Japanese grill. Kinda like Korean BBQ but with Kobe style meat. It's about $100 per.

Rob

Rob said: The place that is really, really intriguing me in LA is Teriyaki House Pico. 10610 W Pico Blvd. 310-838-9881. The word on the street is it is ULTRA secret, and no joke, you cannot get in without a referall. Maybe Erik can help. It is a very high end Japanese grill. Kinda like Korean BBQ but with Kobe style meat. It's about $100 per.

Rob, I'm intrigued. Erik if your out there, I'd love your input. I know your name is golden in Chicago-does it have the same cachet in LA?

I am not a great fan of Border Grill - I would go to Serenata downtown for nouveau-ish Mexican.

I have never found great Chinese in town, although I did recently enjoy a visit to Hop Li on Pico near Westside Pavilion. Reminiscent of DC's Full Kee, which has always been a touchstone of Chinese Seafood for Zurers. There are inumerable places east of Downtown, but regrettably I have not explored them. That other foodboard can probably be of use for some suggestions for Chinese in the near-eastern 'burbs.

I like Sushi Ryo on Highland north of Melrose, even under new management, and Sakura down on Centinela has yet to disapoint at a very reasonable pricepoint. If you go there, try to park behind the restaurant!

for truly life-transforming Chinese in LA, hop in your car and drive out to San Gabriel/ Monterey Park, the 'Beverly Hills' of the expat set. There are incredible restaurants out there. If you have time for Dim Sum you have to try Ocean Star, which has been consistently amazing for years and a local favorite. Maybe the best I have had in the US - and I'm a huge dim sum fan/eater thanks to growing up in a city with great Dim Sum. It is worth every minute of the drive.

Ocean Star
145 N Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754-1581
(626) 308-2128

But that's just the beginning. Here's a citysearch guide to Monterey Park, which is chock full of amazing Chinese goodness from various regions. I recommend driving around and checking out as many places as you can. There are some fantastic Chinese supermarkets out there too - just as nice as any you might find in Hong Kong or Taiwan. After living out there, I found Chinese Markets in other US cities to be quite dark, smelly, and depressing by comparison.

LA has been discussed here fairly extensively by Erik, GWiv and to a much lesser extent me and some others. Thai Town/Little Armenia/Silver Lake/Los Feliz is a relatively compact area that is my favorite part of the city (and where my in laws are), far from what many people think of as LA. Up on the hill you've got an idyllic neighborhood with lovely houses, in the middle you have atmospheric old theaters and hipster bars, and down low you have a Lawrence Avenue type density of quality ethnic dining. For starters, look for Samanluang, Sahag's, the Hollywood Farmer's Market (Sunday, and a little west of my area) and the Good Luck Bar.

Langer's is worth a trip also.

A couple of high-end choices:
Campanile, http://www.campanilerestaurant.com/
624 S La Brea Ave
California/French, delicious, in the building that housed Charlie Chaplin's offices, and also shares the building with La Brea Bakery, not to be missed for stocking up on picnic or airplane fare.

Ummm. I thought I knew the name of the other place I'd been to... but it escapes me.