Thanks for the Baroo Canteen rec! That was excellent.

Okay, some more that haven’t been mentioned, at least recently.

Porridge & Puffs is for sure hipster-bait, but the food quite fantastic and their Thursday night dinners are an amazing value for $20pp (cash). But even if you can only make it to lunch, go. The (J.) Gold porridge is astoundingly good.

Speaking of Gold, Guerilla Tacos is a B&M now. Hey, remember when everyone got mad at $3 tacos a few years ago? Hahaha, good times. Allow me to introduce you to the $6 taco... and it’s vegetarian. Actually, that butternut squash taco was the one dud in our order — kind of bland and uninspiring. The rest was more than worth the price, though: Pork terrine taco, hamachi tostada (go for the uni add-on), and steak quesadilla were all memorably delicious. I wouldn’t hesitate to order all of these again, if available.

No one eats ramen anymore*. Tsukemen is over**. The new hotness is mazemen and the place to get that is Mogumogu. Nice fat noodles and very tasty sauce ingredients. I might even try the cheese version next time.

I’ve never made it to Chichen Itza, because Holbox is right there and so damn good. Very, very, fresh seafood, expertly prepared. And since as everyone knows fish > meat, I might not ever get to eat at CI.

If you’re in LA, you should eat lots of Thai food. The new place that everyone’s really excited about is Northern Thai Food, and it is indeed really good for khao soi, sai ua, jackfruit salad, plus whatever’s good from the steam table. Super cheap, too: pretty much everything is $7. But! It is a seriously tiny mom & pop place — I don’t think they even have a bathroom — and they’ve gotten a lot of positive press. If you’re upset about having to wait a long time to get your food or the check or can’t deal with a language barrier, this may not be the place for you. (Just putting that out here, since I saw two displeased, truculent customers on two distinct visits.)

By the way, has anyone here mentioned the weekend food festival at the Wat Thai Temple? This is a lot of fun and there is a wide variety of food, most of which is great. I’d probably even recommend it over Thai Town, especially on a nice day — where else can you feast on a delightful nam khao tod while a group of Thai singers belts out Hava Nagila? (Note: The latter may be a seasonal offering.)

Okay, SGV. So much great stuff (e.g., Chengdu Taste is so reliably good, although I’m sure all the locals are like, “Chengdu Taste, yaaawn” I’ve yet to have a mediocre let alone bad meal there, though I’m sure it’s possible, don’t @ me, etc.), but I want to highlight the Big Plate Chicken at Northern Cafe in Monterey Park (I’ve seen reports that other locations don’t have it). Not very spicy at all and I’d like more cumin, but otherwise pretty wonderful, especially with the delightfully thick knife-shaved noodles. Not as big as it should be but probably enough for two people with an appetizer, although it could also feed a single hungry slob (it me ).



*Everyone still eats ramen.
**Not really.

cilantro wrote: Speaking of Gold, Guerilla Tacos is a B&M now. Hey, remember when everyone got mad at $3 tacos a few years ago? Hahaha, good times. Allow me to introduce you to the $6 taco... and it’s vegetarian. Actually, that butternut squash taco was the one dud in our order — kind of bland and uninspiring. The rest was more than worth the price, though: Pork terrine taco, hamachi tostada (go for the uni add-on), and steak quesadilla were all memorably delicious. I wouldn’t hesitate to order all of these again, if available.

Seconded. That pork terrine taco is legit. (And the vegetarian taco had in early December, a play on baigan bharta, was the weak link, too.)

Just want to note that Tijuana-style tacos are having a major moment in LA right now. Tacos 1986, which has a brick and mortar in DTLA and a stand at the LA version of Smorgasburg, hyper focuses on grilled meat, doing just al pastor and carne asada styles at the market stand; both are pitch perfect, the carne asada especially. Teddy's Red, a truck parked south of DTLA, focuses on birria de res--i.e., beef. Tortillas are dipped in chile-stained beef consomme prior to hitting the griddle, hence the "red"; consomme is served with the tacos, and many dip their tacos in it. Got a "deluxe" plate, which featured a taco, tostada, quesadilla, and mulita--all with birria, all dipped. Here's where I'm still scratching my head: all featured almost exactly the same ingredients, and all that beef fat neutralized the flavors on three out of the four items. But, for whatever reason--the cheese? having two crisp tortillas?--it all comes together in that mulita: pure meat genius.

Tacos 1986 @ Smorgasburg LA
777 S Alameda St. (in The Row LA)

Teddy's Red
731 Slauson Ave.,
Los Angeles

cilantro wrote:Thanks for the Baroo Canteen rec! That was excellent.

Okay, some more that haven’t been mentioned, at least recently.

Porridge & Puffs is for sure hipster-bait, but the food quite fantastic and their Thursday night dinners are an amazing value for $20pp (cash). But even if you can only make it to lunch, go. The (J.) Gold porridge is astoundingly good.

Speaking of Gold, Guerilla Tacos is a B&M now. Hey, remember when everyone got mad at $3 tacos a few years ago? Hahaha, good times. Allow me to introduce you to the $6 taco... and it’s vegetarian. Actually, that butternut squash taco was the one dud in our order — kind of bland and uninspiring. The rest was more than worth the price, though: Pork terrine taco, hamachi tostada (go for the uni add-on), and steak quesadilla were all memorably delicious. I wouldn’t hesitate to order all of these again, if available.

No one eats ramen anymore*. Tsukemen is over**. The new hotness is mazemen and the place to get that is Mogumogu. Nice fat noodles and very tasty sauce ingredients. I might even try the cheese version next time.

I’ve never made it to Chichen Itza, because Holbox is right there and so damn good. Very, very, fresh seafood, expertly prepared. And since as everyone knows fish > meat, I might not ever get to eat at CI.

If you’re in LA, you should eat lots of Thai food. The new place that everyone’s really excited about is Northern Thai Food, and it is indeed really good for khao soi, sai ua, jackfruit salad, plus whatever’s good from the steam table. Super cheap, too: pretty much everything is $7. But! It is a seriously tiny mom & pop place — I don’t think they even have a bathroom — and they’ve gotten a lot of positive press. If you’re upset about having to wait a long time to get your food or the check or can’t deal with a language barrier, this may not be the place for you. (Just putting that out here, since I saw two displeased, truculent customers on two distinct visits.)

By the way, has anyone here mentioned the weekend food festival at the Wat Thai Temple? This is a lot of fun and there is a wide variety of food, most of which is great. I’d probably even recommend it over Thai Town, especially on a nice day — where else can you feast on a delightful nam khao tod while a group of Thai singers belts out Hava Nagila? (Note: The latter may be a seasonal offering.)

Okay, SGV. So much great stuff (e.g., Chengdu Taste is so reliably good, although I’m sure all the locals are like, “Chengdu Taste, yaaawn” I’ve yet to have a mediocre let alone bad meal there, though I’m sure it’s possible, don’t @ me, etc.), but I want to highlight the Big Plate Chicken at Northern Cafe in Monterey Park (I’ve seen reports that other locations don’t have it). Not very spicy at all and I’d like more cumin, but otherwise pretty wonderful, especially with the delightfully thick knife-shaved noodles. Not as big as it should be but probably enough for two people with an appetizer, although it could also feed a single hungry slob (it me ).



*Everyone still eats ramen.
**Not really.

The entire post pleases me so much. Especially on Thai Town. We go so much. Northern Thai Food (they renamed) is very good but I still prefer Pailin and Spicy bbq now that northern toned down their spice level.

For mazemen you’ve got to try Iki. Their ramen and other offerings are killer too. Opened by the GM at n/naka.

Chichen Itza is fantastic, I just get a plate and eat it at Holbox with whatever I get there , they’re related businesses so they don’t care.

On the topic of Los Angeles I see that we’ve got some serious work put in on this board. Kudos.

But are you guys hip to 106 underground? Our food has been emancipated and some of the best food is found away from restaurants.

It’s the best Mexican seafood I’ve ever had and done out of the chef’s backyard in Inglewood.

Click at your own risk of drooling

Our last visit

https://foodtalkcentral.com/t/sergio-s- ... 0?u=nemroz

WhyBeeSea wrote:.

pizzana west Hollywood - fantastic neapolitan style pizza here. The neo margharita was a modern take and that was great. Pepperoni was also tatty but was lacking a little acidity. But just being a little nitpicky. One of the best crusts on a pizza I've tasted.

Your whole post was fun to read, I live and work right by KTown

On pizzana you’re right. Crust is crazy. That’s because the dude is an obsessive 3rd generation baker who brought the mother dough when he moved here. We all hate the space in West Hollywood location, original is better.

Eat With Gusto wrote:
But are you guys hip to 106 underground?

That was our first stop after landing. Ceviche, marlin tacos, and langostinos were all amazing and very reasonably priced. Next time, snook (we wanted to try more stuff). Anyone who goes, there is 0 identifying signage other than the house number, so ignore Google Maps and just boldly stride into the back yard — don’t pace up and down the block several times like a pair of idiots I know.

Love Pailin too. Learned about Iki way too late; will try next time. LA has too much good food.

Eat With Gusto wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:.

pizzana west Hollywood - fantastic neapolitan style pizza here. The neo margharita was a modern take and that was great. Pepperoni was also tatty but was lacking a little acidity. But just being a little nitpicky. One of the best crusts on a pizza I've tasted.

Your whole post was fun to read, I live and work right by KTown

On pizzana you’re right. Crust is crazy. That’s because the dude is an obsessive 3rd generation baker who brought the mother dough when he moved here. We all hate the space in West Hollywood location, original is better.

Do you by chance have a forum like this for LA that you leverage? If so, I'm hoping it'd be a great resource for future trips.

See FoodTalkCentral (linked in above post). I believe TonyC first plugged it here; it’s very active and the best resource I’ve found for LA eats.

cilantro wrote:See FoodTalkCentral (linked in above post). I believe TonyC first plugged it here; it’s very active and the best resource I’ve found for LA eats.

Fantastic. Thanks!!

WhyBeeSea wrote:

cilantro wrote:See FoodTalkCentral (linked in above post). I believe TonyC first plugged it here; it’s very active and the best resource I’ve found for LA eats.

Fantastic. Thanks!!

Yep, that’s us. Enjoy. Get at me for any questions, normal or weird.

Thai, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican we do like nobody else in LA.

Current favorite is probably Jun Won

cilantro wrote:

Eat With Gusto wrote:
But are you guys hip to 106 underground?

That was our first stop after landing. Ceviche, marlin tacos, and langostinos were all amazing and very reasonably priced. Next time, snook (we wanted to try more stuff). Anyone who goes, there is 0 identifying signage other than the house number, so ignore Google Maps and just boldly stride into the back yard — don’t pace up and down the block several times like a pair of idiots I know.

Love Pailin too. Learned about Iki way too late; will try next time. LA has too much good food.

Cilantro knows! Have you tried Spicy Thai BBQ? It’s probably our best northern Thai for me. Grab a beer at the liquor store next door

Eat With Gusto wrote:Have you tried Spicy Thai BBQ?

Nope, never. Will try next time.

Northern and Pailin are the only two Northern places I’ve tried, but I’ve also had multiple meals at Sapp, Luv2Eat, and Jitlada (obviously), all of which I’ll be happy to repeat. Oh, and various Night + Markets, the Silver Lake location of which has predictably execrable service, but I can’t argue with the cooking. This last time, we also checked out Bhan Kanom Thai, which is a lot of fun (especially when your insides are burning from dinner).

cilantro wrote:

Eat With Gusto wrote:Have you tried Spicy Thai BBQ?

Nope, never. Will try next time.

Northern and Pailin are the only two Northern places I’ve tried, but I’ve also had multiple meals at Sapp, Luv2Eat, and Jitlada (obviously), all of which I’ll be happy to repeat. Oh, and various Night + Markets, the Silver Lake location of which has predictably execrable service, but I can’t argue with the cooking. This last time, we also checked out Bhan Kanom Thai, which is a lot of fun (especially when your insides are burning from dinner).

Yep, all of that is fun. But the Night Market original in West Hollywood where his parents ran Talesai is the best. Spicy Thai bbq maybe the tastiest northern. Certainly coziest.

I miss going to Bhan Kanom, not sure why we stopped.

Original Pa Ord next to Club is amazing as is Siam Sunset for congee etc

Oh duh and the Crab Curry at Noree/Luv2eat

Bummer food news out of LA. The world's greatest donut shop is no more.


Stan Berman is 90 years old and he's been running his donut shop for 55 of them. The man has definitely earned his retirement. I just hope the pandemic only sped up the timeline on a decision he had already made and was comfortable with.

I like Chicago's Stan's and may well swing by tomorrow since it's on my mind, but the gussied up versions just don't satisfy like the original in Westwood.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Stan Berman is 90 years old and he's been running his donut shop for 55 of them. The man has definitely earned his retirement. I just hope the pandemic only sped up the timeline on a decision he had already made and was comfortable with.

I like Chicago's Stan's and may well swing by tomorrow since it's on my mind, but the gussied up versions just don't satisfy like the original in Westwood.

This makes me so sad. Glad I was able to get one last PB & Banana this past December. Fortunately, Donut Man is still going strong (although the downtown location seems to be on hold), but this one really hurts.

Hello LTH friends:

Been a while. Hope everyone is well. I'm headed to L.A. in September and would love some recommendations, particularly for Mexican (duh) and neighborhood Japanese/sushi (not particularly interested in ramen).

I live in Brooklyn, so I don't get to eat excellent Mexican food as I once did in Chicago. I'd appreciate recommendations for Mexican seafood, a taco joint or two (would love some charola/DF style tacos, or a place where I can get good seso or tripa tacos; also a carne asada specialist). Is Guelaguetza still the place to go for Oaxacan food? Any good spots for real (goat) birria? New York has been overtaken by braised beef birria stuffed into quesadillas (I think this fad has hit Chicago, too). I miss the traditional dry roasted or wet braised birria de chivo that I ate in Chicago. Much more subtle and unique and not dripping in beef fat and cheese.

I would also love recommendations for Izakaya that isn't super trendy or expensive, and for neighborhood sushi joints where my friends and I can get a seat at the bar and just order whatever looks good.

Anything else that people love or recommend would also be welcome. I'll try to finally make it to Langer's. Who makes a good French Dip?

Thanks,

Habibi

Habibi wrote: Any good spots for real (goat) birria? New York has been overtaken by braised beef birria stuffed into quesadillas (I think this fad has hit Chicago, too). I miss the traditional dry roasted or wet braised birria de chivo that I ate in Chicago. Much more subtle and unique and not dripping in beef fat and cheese.

They also have quesabirria (both chivo and res), but you can get regular tacos or a plate full of chivo too. And a great seafood spot just down the street for an easy bang bang.

Tacos Y Birria La Unica
2840 E Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90023

Mariscos Jalisco
3040 E Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90023

Habibi wrote:I would also love recommendations for Izakaya that isn't super trendy or expensive, and for neighborhood sushi joints where my friends and I can get a seat at the bar and just order whatever looks good.

I think this fits the bill for your Japanese. Also not far from some great breweries...Monkish and Smog City.

Shin-Sen-Gumi Yakitori & Chanko Gardena
18517 S Western Ave, Gardena, CA 90248

The pop-up burger scene has exploded during covid. My favorite is Yellow Paper Burgers. Perfectly executed, quality ingredients, and a nice kick from a pepper relish they judiciously apply. Also great hand pies. Can follow them on Instagram for their schedule but they are usually at Walt's Bar in Eagle Rock on Wednesdays and then will do a random Sat or Sun. I actually caught them at the aforementioned Monkish Brewery on a Sunday after landing for a recent work trip.

You're not going to do better for Mexican seafood than Holbox. Really amazing place that should be on everyone's radar. Every meal I've had there has been even better than the one before. Surprisingly affordable, too, considering the quality of the seafood and the cooking skill and ingenuity.

106 Seafood Underground is slightly more of a pain in the ass -- hard to find (it's literally in a guy's backyard), parking is scarce, no prices listed -- but also very much worth going to. If I could only choose one, it's Holbox by a mile, though.

For unpretentious but excellent sushi, we usually do Sushi Sasabune or Sushi Tsujita. If it's more of a splurge, Go's Mart.

Habibi wrote:Hello LTH friends:

Been a while. Hope everyone is well. I'm headed to L.A. in September and would love some recommendations, particularly for Mexican (duh) and neighborhood Japanese/sushi (not particularly interested in ramen).

Lots of what you’re looking for can be found in these two reports from a couple years back (pre-covid).

http://chibbqking.blogspot.com/2019/12/ ... geles.html

http://chibbqking.blogspot.com/2019/12/ ... -tour.html

As far as mariscos goes I highly rec the Sinaloan owned Mariscos el Faro. My guy Javier Cabral (editor of L.A Taco and lead scout for Taco Chronicles on Netflix) took me there as it’s his neighborhood favorite and it was outstanding.

I was working in Irvine a few weeks ago and met up with a friend at El Rey del Sarandeado in Long Beach for pescado zarandeado. I haven't spent much time at all in California to be honest so I can't say whether this is better than any other place. I do know that I trust my friend's palate and out of all the places she could have taken me for dinner in the LA area, she was really excited to show me this place.

There was quite a wait for the fish--we were quoted an hour when we arrived, which stretched to maybe 90 minutes, but since we hadn't seen each other in 12 years it was no hardship to find things to talk about while waiting. They did bring us some marlin tacos to snack on while we waited, gratis.



The pescado zarandeado, when it finally arrived, was I thought worth the wait. A whole fish, butterflied and slow-grilled, the flesh was still quite moist and had a pleasing smokey aroma and flavor. It was served with tortillas, thick coins of cucumber, a fairly forgettable rice and vegetable mix, and some deeply caramelized onions that were spectacular on their own.



Just a hunk of fish, some caramelized onions, and a tortilla, and I was happy. YMMV.



It was cash-only FYI, so plan ahead if you do go.

Wow, all of these recs look amazing. Thanks so much. I'll take a lot of photos and report back!

Stops I can recommend from a recent trip to LA:

Not really in order other than Bulgarini, where the gelatos and sorbets are mind-bogglingly delicious.



Bulgarini Gelato
Teddy's Red Tacos



Hangari Kalgusku
Shiku (newish spot from former chef at Baroo)
Sari Sari
Sonoratown



Killer Noodle (same owners as Tsujita)
Sichuan Impression
Petite Peso
Sqirl

JimTheBeerGuy wrote: I was working in Irvine a few weeks ago and met up with a friend at El Rey del Sarandeado in Long Beach for pescado zarandeado. I haven't spent much time at all in California to be honest so I can't say whether this is better than any other place. I do know that I trust my friend's palate and out of all the places she could have taken me for dinner in the LA area, she was really excited to show me this place.

There was quite a wait for the fish--we were quoted an hour when we arrived, which stretched to maybe 90 minutes, but since we hadn't seen each other in 12 years it was no hardship to find things to talk about while waiting. They did bring us some marlin tacos to snack on while we waited, gratis.

The pescado zarandeado, when it finally arrived, was I thought worth the wait. A whole fish, butterflied and slow-grilled, the flesh was still quite moist and had a pleasing smokey aroma and flavor. It was served with tortillas, thick coins of cucumber, a fairly forgettable rice and vegetable mix, and some deeply caramelized onions that were spectacular on their own.

Just a hunk of fish, some caramelized onions, and a tortilla, and I was happy. YMMV.
{images snipped to save bandwidth, although that's not strictly necessary any more}

I quote this reply, because it mentions Irvine, and if you do swing into Orange County, somebody with whom I am familiar (and had photographs taken with), Keizo Shimamoto, is back in southern California. After a short turn doing a pop-up in HiroNori Craft Ramen, he has opened a new ramen restaurant, Ramen Shack, in San Juan Capistrano.

It looks like it is very close to the train station in S.J.C. I have not yet checked if it is near the route of the OCTD Route #1 bus (one of the more picturesque bus runs in southern California). I tell you, even without tasting it, it is likely worth a shot.

A few weeks ago we spent some time with family in the San Gabriel Valley. While we had some time to ourselves, we happened into a strip mall place called Kang Kang Food Court.







Given the big red banner saying that their Shanghai small pan fried bao had been chosen as one of the LA Time top 10 dishes, we had to give them a try. Since we had not done much advance research we were unprepared for these bao and the amount of soup they contained. When I took my first bite, soup actually squirted all the way across the table. In addition to the huge amount of soup they contained, the bao were very rich tasting with a nice scorched bottom.

Later I was reading about Kang Kang and discovered David Chang had a similar experience:

https://twitter.com/davidchang/status/970688482342592512

There is a lot to explore in the San Gabriel valley.

That place rules! Has anyone found anything else noteworthy to eat there? It's pretty much a one-trick pony for me, but maybe I'm missing out on something good.

Now I want sheng jian bao....

We also enjoyed the interestingly named Fried Chicken Roll Taiwan Style, which was spiced ground pork wrapped in tofu skin and fried. This was also very good.

cilantro wrote:Now I want sheng jian bao....

Yes. Absolutely!

It's been a few years since I've been in Los Angeles (funny how time still flies even when you're not having fun), but we'll finally be out there this July. Someone's turning 50, and I've been tasked with picking a dinner spot. Any suggestions? I think the bullseye is around $100 a person, and if it helps, we'll be staying in Sherman Oaks, but this being LA there's going to be driving involved regardless so I suppose the general location isn't really important, as long as it's not out in, like, Santa Monica or Malibu or something. Anyway, I'm all ears!