Sample of Best Ethnic in LA for a NYCer

ErinB · February 9, 2004

My friend is coming into town, and I want to give her a taste of the best LA has to offer. We have approximately 3 nights to go out to eat, and possibly one lunch.

I wanted to do: Japanese, Mexican, and Indian, but am open to Chinese and/or any other Asian. Dim Sum is also a possibility.

Here's what I'm thinking, so far:

Ita-Cho: Japanese
Guelaguetza: Mexican
Udupi Palace or Woodlands in Artesia

Possible backup includes Loteria Grill?

For all of you who have been part of the NYC vs. LA debate, definitely let me know what you think. I’m especially looking to go somewhere that we definitely can't get anything comparable to in NYC.

We’ve already done A.O.C and Jitlada.

mongo_jones · February 9, 2004

My friend is coming into town, and I want to give her a taste of the best LA has to offer. We have approximately 3 nights to go out to eat, and possibly one lunch.
I wanted to do: Japanese, Mexican, and Indian, but am open to Chinese and/or any other Asian. Dim Sum is also a possibility.
Here's what I'm thinking, so far:
Ita-Cho: Japanese
Guelaguetza: Mexican
Udupi Palace or Woodlands in Artesia
Possible backup includes Loteria Grill?
For all of you who have been part of the NYC vs. LA debate, definitely let me know what you think. I’m especially looking to go somewhere that we definitely can't get anything comparable to in NYC.
We’ve already done A.O.C and Jitlada.

for guelaguetza make sure you go to the original 8th street branch.

for indian i'd say go with udupi palace over woodlands in artesia. udupi palace is the one indian restaurant i've eaten at in the u.s that is in the same ballpark as its peers back home.

don't know much about japanese in l.a outside of sushi.

personally, however i feel no one who comes to l.a to eat ethnic food should go away without a trip to koreatown or to the san gabriel valley for chinese. if three is all you can do my advice would be to ditch the japanese and indian and do mexican, korean and chinese. these are the 3 cuisines (speaking very generally) that are represented MUCH better in l.a than anywhere else--there's better indian food on the whole in new jersey/nyc (though i don't know if there's tam-brahm south indian on par with udupi palace).

for chinese i'd say chungking in monterey park or hua's garden (both for fiery sichuan) or chinese islamic (for, well, what it says); or you could go to one of the big seafood houses for cantonese--someone else will have to advise you on the better shanghainese restaurants in the valley (i last ate shanhainese in rosemead/monterey park a long time ago and things have almost definitely shifted). none of these restaurants, however, are big on ambience (don't know if this is important).

for korean there's a host of bbq options (depending on how fancy you want to get chosun galbi--dong il jiang--soot bull jeep-shik do rak would be my recommendations in decreasing order of ambience).

guelaguetza is a good bet for mexican.

ErinB · February 9, 2004

Mongo_Jones, Thanks.

Don't want to do Korean BBQ, would consider Korean.

Ambience is not important, the food is most important. Ideally, i'd like casual inexpensive type places.

mongo_jones · February 9, 2004

Mongo_Jones, Thanks.
Don't want to do Korean BBQ, would consider Korean.
Ambience is not important, the food is most important. Ideally, i'd like casual inexpensive type places.

jschyun is going to be your best bet for korean (she knows way more about koreatown than i do)--you could also browse that jonathon gold article about koreatown that someone recently posted a link to.

places like chosun galbi and dong il jiang don't just have bbq on their menu, by the way.

my own koreatown comfort-food haunts (or rather my wife's) are places like hodori (vermont/olympic) and bcd tofu house (plus a bunch of specialty soup and casserole places). koreatown restaurants are really quite specialized. but i repeat, nowhere in the u.s is there such a trove of excellent korean food as there is in l.a. i do think it would be a shame to pick japanese or indian in l.a over it. jschuyn, help me out here.

but every place i named earlier (korean and otherwise) is casual and (with the exception of chosun) inexpensive. i would really recommend chungking in monterey park for sichuan (206 s. garfield--a block or so south of garvey). get their ma-po tofu, the prickly-ash sprinkled spare ribs, the hot sauced beef wontons and, if they have it, their heavenly whole pumpkin stuffed with spiced ground pork special. except the kitchen staff the place is entirely staffed by women, only one of whom speaks english-- but you'll do fine. if you do go, a tip: you can buy beer at the liquor store next door and carry it in with you.

hollywood · February 9, 2004

If you are going to do Indian, I'd recommend the Ludhiana Chicken at Ambala Dhaba on Westwood Blvd.

mongo_jones · February 9, 2004

If you are going to do Indian, I'd recommend the Ludhiana Chicken at Ambala Dhaba on Westwood Blvd.

is this place new hollywood? what exactly is their ludhiana chicken like anyway? never heard of such a dish-which doesn't mean much.

hollywood · February 9, 2004

If you are going to do Indian, I'd recommend the Ludhiana Chicken at Ambala Dhaba on Westwood Blvd.
is this place new hollywood? what exactly is their ludhiana chicken like anyway? never heard of such a dish-which doesn't mean much.

New to Westwood but not to Artesia. Check it out. http://www.laweekly.com/ink/printme.php?eid=46969

ErinB · February 9, 2004

Ok, based on posts, I'm now leaning towards definitely doing something Chinese. So, If anyone has any additional recs, let me know.

Probably won't do Korean, on second thought, I've had a lot of it lately.

And, probably definitely going to go to Artesia, but mainly for selfish reason, haven't had a chance to go down there yet, and I've really been craving Indian food.

dfunghi · February 9, 2004

Indian food is beter in NYC so pass on that.IMO

DimSum in SG Valley at any number of places. Seaworld for volume and price or 888 seafood for quality are our 2 standby's. There are many others.

Lake Spring on Garvey for Shanghai food. Hua's for the hottest tastiest food in America!

Go to east LA for Mexican. Try Denises on Olympic for Carnitas and Chicharrones. Or any number of places on Olympic or Washington blvd. This you will not find in NYC.

Go to K-Town late at night and be adventurous.

Go to Westminster for Vietnamese food .

Go to Hollywood for Thai. We like Ocha on Sunset and Kingsley.

Go to Mori or Sushi Sushi ( westside) or Go Sushi ( valley). The sushi here is better than NYC unless you spend $$$$$ in NYC.

Hit the farmers market in Hollywood ( or any big market) . Great stuff and people watching. NY'ers love to see fresh ripe strawberries in Feb. Plus all the fresh herbs etc..

Enjoy ,

D

Edited February 9, 2004 by dfunghi (log)

JFLinLA · February 9, 2004

Hit the farmers market in Hollywood ( or any big market) . Great stuff and people watching. NY'ers love to see fresh ripe strawberries in Feb. Plus all the fresh herbs etc..
Enjoy ,
D

I'm laughing. Before farmers markets were so prevalent, before Whole Foods, before all of that stuff, I used to find an excuse to stop into a Gelson's market when I was taking east coasters around in the middle of the winter. I'd just "stop by" the produce aisle and watch their eyes get wide and jaws drop.

Tee Hee :laugh:

Mayhaw Man · February 9, 2004

This thread may be helpful. Somehow I screwed this up when I tried to link this thread about Hidden Pleasures in LA to the thread.

I should stop working and just go to egullet full time :hmmm: :laugh:

jschyun · February 9, 2004

One of my favorite Indian places of all time is that Udipi Palace in Artesia. I used to read about idlis as a kid in the Time Life cookbook, and that was the first place I had one. I don't know how it's supposed to taste, never been to India, but Udipi Palace always made them so light and moist that I just couldn't stop eating. Very good service too. I don't know where to go for tandoori/Northern stuff because I always go to Udipi Palace.

FYI: I tried taking other people there, who didn't like it because they couldn't get their tandoori chicken and whatnot, even though I warned them that it was different from their usual haunts. Oh well, their loss.

Unless I'm smoking crack, I believe I ate at Woodlands a couple of times, with mom, but I forget if it was any good or not.

For an awesome snack after dinner, I like that Ambhala Sweets and Spices on the same street, Pioneer. Oh geez. The older man behind the counter never cracks a smile, as he patiently doles out sweets/snacks and rings up the sale. You can get a cheap good dosa if you're still not full from dinner and hopefully you will get there at the right time and get fresh hot jalebi. I love jalebi. It's sort of a small orange funnel cake but it has flavored syrup inside that bursts out when you bite it. It's very sweet. mongo_jones had a pic from india trip, in the india thread somewhere. Might post it later. Even stale their jalebi is way better than what I've had elsewhere. It's glossy and crunchy yet with liquid inside.

They also have a large selection of milk based sweets and lots of other snacky stuff. There's always a steady line of customers. I always get jalabi and something different each time.

I bugged mongo_jones for more recommendations one time and he said the doklas at jay bharat. It's not even a block from udipi palace so if you try it let us know. I meant to go there many times but either I got there too late or I was too busy to go out to eat.

mongo_jones · February 10, 2004

For an awesome snack after dinner, I like that Ambhala Sweets and Spices on the same street, Pioneer. Oh geez. The older man behind the counter never cracks a smile, as he patiently doles out sweets/snacks and rings up the sale. You can get a cheap good dosa if you're still not full from dinner and hopefully you will get there at the right time and get fresh hot jalebi. I love jalebi. It's sort of a small orange funnel cake but it has flavored syrup inside that bursts out when you bite it. It's very sweet. mongo_jones had a pic from india trip, in the india thread somewhere. Might post it later. Even stale their jalebi is way better than what I've had elsewhere. It's glossy and crunchy yet with liquid inside.
They also have a large selection of milk based sweets and lots of other snacky stuff. There's always a steady line of customers. I always get jalabi and something different each time.
I bugged mongo_jones for more recommendations one time and he said the doklas at jay bharat. It's not even a block from udipi palace so if you try it let us know. I meant to go there many times but either I got there too late or I was too busy to go out to eat.

ambala sweets and spices is good, of course, but if you don't want to go as far you could do worse than go to india sweet house on pico (between crescent heights and fairfax--opposite the savon). they have hands-down the best alu-parathas and saag-panir in town (the latter with nary a drop of cream and fresh, fresh panir--they also sell fresh panir). their sweets selection can also be very good, though it depends on how long ago things were made. their chola-bhaturas are also very good--make sure you add a spoonful each of tamarind sauce and mint sauce on the cholas and sprinkle some raw onions and green-chillis on top. their sev-puri is also excellent.

but whatever you do don't order dosas there, or for that matter at ambala sweets. you might as well order pad thai at a chinese restaurant. if you're going to artesia and want a dosa go to udupi palace. if you want a dosa and you aren't going to artesia go to artesia. while at udupi palace also try their uttapams--especially the dangerous green chilli uttapam. in my opinion their vadas are much better than their idlis, which while also good are a little sour.

ambala sweets and spices is good for north indian snack food and so forth and, depending on your luck, sweets. jai bharat--1/2 a block up pioneer from udupi palace--is good for some gujarati snacks, prime among them dhoklas. you don't get these easily even in india outside gujarat (unless you have gujju friends) so take full advantage.

for other artesia options there's shan (a few doors down from udupi palace) for hit and miss hyderabadi food. when it hits it is pretty good, when it misses it is still a lot better than the cookie-cutter indian you get in l.a. try the haleem, the baghara baingan and the lamb biryani with the mirch ka salan. also, this sounds difficult to believe, but they do a really good lunch buffet.

for more recognizable indian in artesia (albeit done much better) there's ashoka the great (opposite udupi palace). i haven't been to woodlands so can't say.

in l.a itself there's also some interesting bangladeshi options. my favorite is alladin on vermont (between 1st and 3rd). it is a deli counter style place and only one guy speaks english. it isn't the cleanest looking place and can be hard for non bengali-speakers but if you point and smile you'll get pretty good stuff. they have classic bengali parathas here--worth a trip just for those. get them with their shami or seekh kababs. also excellent is their bengali style biryani, their chicken curry and if they have it their shorshe-ilish. these guys also sell all manner of raw bengali fish flown in frozen from bangladesh. they also have a bengali sweets counter, but it is iffy at best.

on the whole, in my opinion, all these places (and also the vegetarian chandni in santa monica and culver city) are far superior food experiences to over-rated, over-priced places like all india cafe, electric lotus or bombay cafe. but that's my opinion and while it is unlikely there's a slight chance i'm wrong.

mongo_jones · February 10, 2004

mongo_jones had a pic from india trip, in the india thread somewhere. Might post it later.

here's the link to the pictures jschyun mentioned--the jalebis are in there somewhere.

http://home.comcast.net/~mongo_jones/indiafoodpics.html

i don't know if i would call jalebis funnel cakes. they are completely impossible to describe though. you have to see one and eat one, and ideally see it being made, to get it.

dfunghi · February 10, 2004

Sounds like I need a trip to Artesia. I miss really good Indian food. Dhaba on Westwood is only decent place I have found. Iv'e tried alot.

D

jschyun · February 10, 2004

Yes, yes, keep it up mongo_jones.

hollywood · February 10, 2004

I like Bombay Grill in the center at Fuller and Santa Monica Blvd. Zero atmosphere but good cheap food and friendly owners.

jschyun · February 10, 2004

Ita-Cho is decent. Been there several times. Mountain yam is kind of...sticky? Slippery? I don't know how to describe it. They have decent sashimi, at least when I've been there.

Someone showed me the little sushi place, Hirozen Gourmet, in WeHo, which I like too.

mongo_jones · February 10, 2004

Ita-Cho is decent. Been there several times. Mountain yam is kind of...sticky? Slippery? I don't know how to describe it. They have decent sashimi, at least when I've been there.
Someone showed me the little sushi place, Hirozen Gourmet, in WeHo, which I like too.

hirozen is great. for similar good quality, reasonably priced sushi there's also menori (robertson 1/4 block north of pico) and hide on sawtelle (1 1/2 blocks north of olympic). menori has a great lunch combo in particular.

mixmaster b · February 10, 2004

Ita-Cho is decent. Been there several times. Mountain yam is kind of...sticky? Slippery? I don't know how to describe it. They have decent sashimi, at least when I've been there.
Someone showed me the little sushi place, Hirozen Gourmet, in WeHo, which I like too.

I really like Ita-Cho. Best dishes:

Lotus Root

Eggplant with miso

Garlic Sprouts with pork (The best of all, IMO)

Enoki Mushrooms baked in foil

Long-Simmered pork with Mustard

Fried Chicken Nuggets are a big hit.

The sashimi is good but the cooked stuff is the reason to go.

scamhi · February 10, 2004

On a warm and sunny Saturday or Sunday early afternoon go to the Wat Thai Temple and eat really authentic thai food from stalls set up outside. You buy plastic coins at the entrance and pay the various vendors with those. On Roscoe in North Hollywood.

adobohead · February 10, 2004

What about Max's of Manila or Carousel (Armenian) in Glendale?

ErinB · February 10, 2004

I've never had Armenian food. What is it similar to, what are some traditional dishes.

I'm planning on going to Ita-Cho, mainly because I love Japanese food, especially cooked food that isn't sushi (Honmura An is my favorite restaurant in NYC) and also because mixmaster b recommended it a while ago.

We've figured out we can fit Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican into are schedule.

The thing I'm having the hardest time with, is where to go in the San Gabriel Valley. I have general ideas, but what's the best for a novice?

mongo_jones · February 10, 2004

The thing I'm having the hardest time with, is where to go in the San Gabriel Valley. I have general ideas, but what's the best for a novice?

the san gabriel valley restaurants are very specialized. so it really comes down to what you want to eat. the big cantonese seafood houses are good for that kind of thing but i'd suggest chungking or hua's garden for sichuan--both are perenially packed with overwhelmingly chinese clientele, for what that's worth.

jschyun · February 11, 2004

mixmaster_b is definitely right about the cooked dishes being better than the sushi. I had forgotten that. That said a couple of times, I had some really nice yellowtail there.

--I'm talking about Ita-Cho. my bad.

--hey ErinB, IMHO, you might as well get some dim sum before you go back to NYC. I was asking around and even NY people agree that dim sum here on the Left Coast is much, much better.

Edited February 11, 2004 by jschyun (log)

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