Definitive L.A food experience

[Jason Perlow]

Russ, thanks so much for participating. It's great to have you here, as always.

If I had a week to spend in L.A., given that I had unlimited budget, what restaurants and food items should I seek out to have the definitive Los Angeles food experience? Assume I want ethnic as well as fine dining.

[russ parsons]

That's an impossible question to answer. There are as many ultimate weekends in LA as there are visitors. And certainly no two days could reveal everything (Los Angeles is a wonderful city that gives up its best only over time and intimate conversation). I'd say you'd have to visit at least one farmers market: if it's the weekend, probably Hollywood, which is such a scene in addition to having some great growers. You'd probably want to eat somewhere that would (as an old friend used to say) change your hair color. Right off the top of my head (bald joke), I'd suggest Palms Thai, where the food can be absolutely terrific and where Friday and Saturday nights they feature an irony-free Thai Elvis impersonator. If you're a glitz guy, probably hit Spago. It's like the Love Boat. For something more quiet, maybe Bastide. For a total dining experience, probably Valentino (but ONLY if you let them do the menu and are prepared to drop some good money on wine). My favorite all-around Italian place right now is Osteria Angelini. Get the tripe. My favorite French bistro is Mimosa.

But really, I'm not much of a restaurant-goer. I probably go out for a big-deal meal less than once a month. For me, a perfect LA weekend would be having a picnic on the beach, going to a farmers market, and then coming home and cooking dinner for friends.

[Jason Perlow]

Dodger Dogs? Yes, No?

[russ parsons]

Dodger dogs are beyond a doubt the worst excuse for a cult food I have run across. Bad team, worse hot dogs.

[Jason Perlow]

Dodger dogs are beyond a doubt the worst excuse for a cult food I have run across. Bad team, worse hot dogs.

So where's the best Hot Dog in L.A.? That freakish one with the pastrami on it?

[russ parsons]

best hot dog in la .... tough call. i have a very nostalgic longing every once in a while for pinks. my daughter and i used to go there when my wife had to work on saturdays. it's a real hollywood trip. stand in line and you never know who's going to show up. not really something you EAT, though. i'm much more comfortable with questions about the best carnitas. or, the best pastrami.

[Jason Perlow]

Wait, you have decent pastrami in L.A.?

[russ parsons]

we have totally killer pastrami. well, at one place at least. there's a deli near downtown called langers and it is the only place i've ever tasted pastrami that i understood why people get so crazy about it. hand sliced in thick, moist slabs. good bread. oh boy.

[hannahcooks]

best hot dog in la .... tough call. i have a very nostalgic longing every once in a while for pinks. my daughter and i used to go there when my wife had to work on saturdays. it's a real hollywood trip. stand in line and you never know who's going to show up. not really something you EAT, though. i'm much more comfortable with questions about the best carnitas. or, the best pastrami.

Have you been to Skooby's yet? They'd be my new nominee for best hotdog in LA- and best fries.

Where do you get the best carnitas?

[russ parsons]

where is skooby's? i don't know htat. My favorite carnitas are the crisp outside, creamy inside and though it may sound awfully funny, the best I've found are on Olvera Street at La Luz del Dia. Also homemade tortillas. Nopalitos are good, too. Don't eat anything else, though.

[hannahcooks]

Skooby's is on Hollywood Blvd, right across the street from Musso and Frank's. The fries are a mix of fries and more potato chip cut potatoes, well seasones, and served with a mayonnaise based sauce. SO good.

[jschyun]

Langer's beats the pants off the New York places. Believe it or not. I think Katz's is the only hand slicer left in the Big Apple. Everyone else slices theirs on a machine. Feh. Also Langer's does something to their bread (I think they throw it in water and recrisp it before serving) so everything is nice and fresh.

It is my belief that Langer's is the best pastrami in the nation. I am not alone. Jonathan Gold also thinks so.

Edited October 17, 2003 by jschyun (log)

[marlena spieler]

Ooooooh YES YES YES!

I check into egullet after a lull of several months and immediately I find a recommendation for the BEST (and handsliced) PASTRAMI in the nation (Langers, better than Katz?! ) and my heart races in a way that my husband says he remembers, vaguely, from "the old days". That, combined with a recommendation for LA's finest carnitas and nopales (really? Olvera Street?) have prompted me, this minute, to book a flight to LA (from Europe).

Its good to know what my priorities are in life.

Thank you egullet, russ parsons, kiss kiss kiss,

marlena

ps good pickles too? pastrami without them is an incomplete experience though i am looking foward to that soft warm rye bread with pastrami juices soaking in. i'm a devotee of Guss' half sours on the lower east side, though i truly believe that no-one makes pickles as well as my brother once did. If anyone wants to read a piece on pickles I wrote a couple of years ago, http://sfgate.com has it stashed away somewhere in their archives.

[jschyun]

Pickles? I always thought that was a garnish to be thrown away if present on the plate. Honestly, after eating the canned pickles as a child, I never took to them.

Oh no, what if the pickles are bad! Ahh! I'll have to revisit Langer's and I'm going to New York in a couple of months, so I'll reevaluate then.

[JFLinLA]

So, I work downtown and I think Hollywood does as well, right? Once the transit strike is over, how about heading out to Langer's for lunch one day? I love the pastrami but lately have been getting the sweet & sour cabbage soup. Got to watch the girlish figure you know.

What do you think and who else wants to come along?

[jschyun]

Hey how bout I put this in the California forum. Sweeeett.

[hollywood]

So, I work downtown and I think Hollywood does as well, right?  Once the transit strike is over, how about heading out to Langer's for lunch one day?  I love the pastrami but lately have been getting the sweet & sour cabbage soup.  Got to watch the girlish figure you know.

What do you think and who else wants to come along?

Right. Ok. All right.

[monkeymay]

My favorite carnitas are the crisp outside, creamy inside and though it may sound awfully funny, the best I've found are on Olvera Street at La Luz del Dia. Also homemade tortillas. Nopalitos are good, too. Don't eat anything else, though.

Just had dinner at La Luz the other nite (was on Olvera St .getting an early jump on sugar skulls for day of the dead) and the carnitas and nopales were as rocking as always. One thing I noticed different- they used to hand shred the pork and now use a machine. I like a few chunks of pork mixed in and the machine gives it a more uniform shred, so the contrast between the crispy/creamy is not as apparent as it once was. (To me at least). Still it's a great place to go, especially late aft/early eve. sitting out on the patio overlooking the Plaza. I think that will always be part of it's charm.

BTW Russ, have you noticed your fish article posted on the front of Pete's Fish truck at the farmers market?I smile everytime I see it-it's so proudly displayed!