Eating in Los Angeles
Here are some recommendations for eating out in LA, ranging from very cheap to very expensive.
Versailles, various locations (1415 S La Cienega Blvd; 10319 Venice Blvd; 1000 N Sepulveda Blvd; 17410 Ventura Blvd):
Despite the name, this is a Cuban restaurant and may be the best deal in LA. The two best dishes—their specialties—are roast chicken and roast pork. You will be filled up and then some for around $7. You get either half a chicken or a good portion of pork, both marinated in a wonderful orange-garlic sauce. The smell of this sauce wafting into the street was what first drew me to the place, and I am not alone in this since there is almost always a line. Accompanying the chicken or pork are black beans, rice and fried bananas. The paella is also supposed to be good, but don’t bother with the steak. The mango and papaya shakes are great.
Koutoubia, 2116 Westwood Blvd:
Wonderful Moroccan food! This is my gold standard for Moroccan food. The service is excellent and the decor exotic, attempting to recreate the inside of a Berber tent. Sit down, but if you are a couple, sit side by side on the couch, because the chair is for the owner Michel (sp?) to come by, sit down and chat. He likes to see couples get close. Ask him for suggestions, but whatever you do order the bastilla for an appetizer or main course. It is the best thing here and is also one of my all time favorite foods. It is finely chopped chicken and nuts, elaborately spiced and wrapped in a large philo dough shell. After the bastilla, it is hard to pick out favorites—it’s all good. I am partial to the lamb, but have also enjoyed their chicken dishes. But the main thing is to settle in and take your time. This is a place to relax and luxuriate in an excellent meal. It is expensive, around $25 range as I remember, but worth it.
Mexican Food in LA:
Next to San Diego, Los Angeles is my favorite place in the US for Mexican food—the real Mexican, not Tex-Mex. For that New Mexico and Texas are best, though Santa Barbara has a great place called Left at Albuquerque. But in LA go for the real Mexican, and any cheap hole-in-the-wall place is likely to be great. One particular favorite is Tito’s Tacos in Culver City. This place ALWAYS has a line, even after midnight. The tacos are the best, and are still only $1.10 (cheese is extra). I usually go for 3 or 4. The meat burrito is also very good, though a tad salty for my tastes. The tamales are good, but nothing special. Avoid the slimy, thin guacamole.
India Sweets and Spice, various locations (9409 Venice Blvd; 1245 S Fairfax Ave; 18110 Parthenia St; 22011 Sherman Way) :
In general, Indian food in LA is good but all places are about the same. This is one exception. It is really an Indian market, but they also have prepared foods. Dirt cheap, quite spicy and very good. I have often ordered a samosa and pakora for a few bucks. Sometimes all I get is the samosa and pakora (a good deal) but often they seem to randomly throw in some spicy chick pea soup for the same price. Very, very authentic.
Bombay Grill, 7306 1/4 Santa Monica Blvd across from Plummer Park, next to the Trader Joe’s:
This place is a cut above the average for LA Indian food and is very reasonably priced. It also has some unusual South Indian dishes that are somewhat hard to find elsewhere. But the standard fare is also good—samosas, mango lassi, chicken tikka, lamb curry, etc. The best part, though, is the wonderful Indian family that runs the place. They are friendly and attentive and represent the best of what "family run" means.
Chinese Food in LA, various locations:
Good to excellent Chinese restaurants abound in LA, but the highest density are in Chinatown (of course) in downtown or in Monterey Park. If anything, the latter region is a better bet than Chinatown, but it is more distant and I don’t remember particular names of restaurants. In Chinatown, almost any hole-in-the-wall place will be good, but Ocean Seafood (747 N Broadway in Chinatown, downtown) is a somewhat fancier favorite and is always crowded on Sundays (expect 30-60 min waits). Sunday brunch is when everyone goes there for Dim Sum. This can be intimidating if you don’t know or aren’t with someone who speaks Chinese and is familiar with all the items, but just look carefully at what is on a cart as it comes by. If it looks good stop them and ask for some. If it doesn’t look good, just say no. Standards are (forgive any messed up spellings) shumai, hang chow and pork bao. But also try some of the large rice noodle dishes and the stuffed banana (?) leaves (don’t eat the leaves, of course, just what’s in ‘em). Some of the stuffed leaves have a wonderful brown rice and meat filling. One warning: some items are things that I, at least, prefer to avoid, such as intestines. Keep an eye out for those.
Rockenwagner’s, 2435 Main St, Santa Monica:
Main Street in Santa Monica is a pleasant area which is also near Venice Beach—a very funky area indeed. Along main street are many good eating places: Ben and Jerry’s, Guilliland’s, etc. But one of the best is Rockenwagner’s. They are known for their bread, so indulge in the rolls served before dinner. Everything is good here, from my experience. My particular favorite is the air-dried duck. I know it sounds strange, but it is the best duck I have ever had and it isn’t greasy like most duck. For dessert by all means go for the chocolate tart. It may well be the best chocolate I have ever experienced—kind of Valhalla for chocolate fanatics. As my brother put it: this is a dessert worth going to war over. Rockenwagner’s is also where I first discovered the joy of good port. Most port is sickly sweet, but here they have a good selection (to my untrained palate, anyway). This place is not one of the most expensive places in LA, but it is up there, depending on how elaborate you get. Probably $30-40 range.
PASADENA and SAN GABRIAL VALLEY AREAS:
I am not so famililar with these areas, which are East of LA proper. In general, the San Gabrial Valley lacks good restaurants, but here are a few places that really stand out:
Saladang: 363 South Fair Oaks, Pasadena, (626) 793-8123.
Industrial decor, superb Thai food and quite cheap prices. I’d consider this one of the better deals in LA. The Thai dumplings were a wonderful appetizer. For dinner, the BBQ pork (really kind of a curry pork chop) was quite tasty. And I highly recommend the black pepper beef—lots of black pepper and garlic more than make up for the fact that they use a slightly tough cut of meat. The prices really can’t be beat for this quality of food—about $10-12 per person for dinner.
Devon: 109 E. Lemon Ave., Monrovia, (626) 305-0013.
Monrovia is not known for its food. But Devon gets a high rating from Zagat’s and it deserves it. I might not give it quite the "25" rating for food that Zagat’s does, but it is definitely worth trying if you are in the area. I liked the wild boar ravioli with morel sauce appetizer and the elk with sage and red wine sauce. They also had a nice fish special. For dessert their creme brule was wonderful, if a bit unconventional. The prices are reasonable for this kind of restaurant--$25-30 per person for dinner. The atmosphere is pleasant, if a bit stuffy. The decor is quite artistic and pleasant.
Hannah’s BBQ, Monrovia.
I don’t have the address of this place but it is right off the main drag area of Myrtle. This is not the best BBQ I have had but it is damned good, the portions are generous and the service quietly friendly. The hot links have a kick to them, the baked beans are very good and the collard greens are surprisingly good. The also have quite good sweet potato pie. Next time I’ll try the pecan pie and get back to you on it. Again, if you are in the area, by all means give it a try. It’s about the best Monrovia has to offer at a low price. Around $10-12 per person for dinner.
In Westwood:
I know this area particularly well, having gone to grad school at UCLA. None of the restaurants here are spectacular, but there are many good places in close proximity. For very good Italian, go for Piccolo Mondo (10917 Lindbrook Dr). Particularly good are the penne al vodka and the gnocchi, but my favorite is the cannaloni. In my experience, all the pasta is good here, but one friend claims she got sick from the linguini with clam sauce. I don’t do clams, so it’s no loss to me. For dessert, if they have it, try the cannoli. It has a florentine cookie shell which is unusual and wonderful. Prices are not cheap but are very reasonable: around $15.
All around LA are cheap, very good Thai restaurants. It is hard to go wrong with them. The one in Westwood is called something like Thai Flavors. The service is generally rude, but the food is great. All the standards are good—Pad Thai, Musman beef, the spicy coconut soup, etc. Priced in the $10-15 range.
For good beer and pretty good food try the Westwood Brewing Company (1097 Glendon Ave). The beer is generally quite good, but the selection is limited and varies from time to time. I have often gone to find no stout being served! Be careful also of the strength of the beers. They often have very strong beers that’ll knock you on your butt—-as high as 8-10% alcohol.Check out their website
Here’s one you won’t expect: Roscoe’s Fried Chicken and Waffles. They have several locations (1514 N Gower St; 5006 W Pico Blvd; 106 W Manchester Ave; 830 N Lake Ave). The fried chicken is greasy and delicious. Don’t bother with the waffles—I mean, how good can a waffle be? Stick with the chicken. My favorite thing here, though, is the sweet potato pie. They use a graham cracker crust that makes this an unusual version of this treat. Inexpensive around $10-15.
Best ice cream ever: Robin Rose Ice Cream on Rose Ave. near Main Street, Santa Monica, and Venice Beach. My favorite (my favorite ice cream, period) is the raspberry chocolate truffle. The butterfat content is probably astronomical, but if you gotta go it might as well be this way.(NOTE: This place may be closing soon!)
If you walk along Venice beach, you’ll see a lot of very good street performers and it is a great place for people watching. And while you are watching all the strange people (and they are probably watching you back!) stop at the south end of the "boardwalk" and pig out at Jody Maroni’s Sausages. They are the best sausages around unless you spend more than a sausage deserves to be worth. There is an enormous variety of sausages offered here, but they give out tastes, so try a few before deciding. The basic hot Italian and Polish are very good, but a little mundane on this menu. The Moroccan are excellent as are the Portuguese (with fig and pine nuts). The Yucatan is a cilantro lover’s dream. The sausages are served with a wonderful layer of peppers and onions all served on a lousy roll…don’t worry, you won’t notice the roll much. Cheap fare, though a little steep as sausages go. About $5. Check out their website
Okay, for those who really have money to burn or someone to impress, go for Citrus. Valentino’s is also wonderful, but I have only eaten there at a private party, so I can’t judge it’s daily menu. Of all the super expensive LA restaurants, only Citrus struck me as genuinely worth the money. Again, I never really ate off their regular menu, but I have been there enough times to know that they serve quality food very exquisitely and subtly prepared. Probably over $50.
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Email: michad03@mcrcr.med.nyu.edu
