is studio city a culinary wasteland?

[VictorFiorillo]

can anyone suggest restaurants in the studio city area of L.A.? someone at my hotel just said, good luck... any suggestions, no matter the type, price range, ethnicity, appreciated.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Which hotel are you staying at?

Ventura Boulevard actually has some really great restaurants depending on what you pleasure is. I've had some amazing sushi at Katsu-Ya and one of the Pinot restaurants (Pinot Cafe, I think?) is there as well. For decent deli, you've got Jerry's Deli (I like their Duck Spinach Salad, but most people go for classic Jewish Deli food).

I think you are in an okay spot, actually...

[hzrt8w]

There is a very good Chinese restaurant right next to Universal Studio. I haven't been there for ages. Is it "Fung Lum"? (Or by some other English name). My impression of it is the food is very good. Even has a nice view of the San Fernando Valley.

[chuckyoufarley]

Pinot Bistro is a pretty good local place to eat in Studio City.

http://www.patinagroup.com/pinotBistro/

Max is also pretty good and local to Studio city.

http://www.maxrestaurant.com/index.html

Senor Fred is pretty fun, good, and local

http://www.senorfred.com/

Also If you can swing a 15 minute cab ride to west hollywood your options are limitless there.

Here is a looksie of what available in West hollywood...

http://www.calendarlive.com/dining/search-...words=&x=14&y=7

If I was going there I'd eat at Lucques, Providence or Meson g.

http://www.lucques.com/

http://www.providencela.com/

http://www.mesongrestaurant.com/

Any one of those places are worth the trip. Lucques hands down is worth the extra cost of the ride.

If thats out Pinot is a pretty good option where you are.

Good luck.

Shaun

Edited November 16, 2005 by chuckyoufarley (log)

[ScorchedPalate]

Good breakfast...

Good Neighbor

3701 Cahuenga Blvd.

Studio City

Also good breakfast... not studio city, but closeish (5 minutes away):

Jinky's

14120 Ventura Blvd

Sherman Oaks

Edited to add:

DuPar's for breakfast... and pie

12036 Ventura Blvd.

Studio City

(I swear, I do eat meals other than breakfast... just not in the Valley )

Edited November 16, 2005 by ScorchedPalate (log)

[rjwong]

ScorchedPalate, that must be a very long commute from Seattle==>San Francisco just to eat breakfast in LA.

Victor, Ventura Blvd. has a lot of restaurants you can choose from. There are a number of chain restaurants that are pretty good, like the Daily Grill. Sushi places are all along Ventura Blvd., including Sushi Nozawa. From what I heard, chef Nozawa can be dictatorial.

Cafe Bizou is really good. I've only ate at the one in Pasadena. The original one is on Ventura Blvd.

One high-end restaurant that I haven't eaten at in years is The Bistro Garden at Coldwater. The decor is gorgeous, definitely appeals to the "ladies who lunch" crowd. And they make wonderful chocolate souffles.

If you want to try a brand new place (just over a week), there's Boneyard Bistro. It just got a write-up (not a full review) by the LA Times food critic S. Irene Virbila. Here's the link to the article: Ribs worth waiting for

There is a weekend Asian seafood buffet at Universal (?) called Cafe Sierra. We're talking lobster thermidore, shark fin soup, prime rib, sushi, pasta bar, etc. We took our mother there for her birthday.

I hope this helps. Besides, you can always take your chances at Universal Citywalk.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I hope this helps. Besides, you can always take your chances at Universal Citywalk.

←

Aaaaaggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!

[canucklehead]

What about Firefly?

It is ridiculously trendy and it does the 'hidden non-descript' frontage - but I have heard decent things about the food. Maybe someone else has comments.

Good call and Jerry's - matzoh ball soup and boiled chicken dinner - so comforting.

[vinobiondo]

um... it's the center of the non- "actually in Japan" sushi universe. Seriously, flame away ... there is no better concentration of world class sushi outside of Japan than in Studio City. Please tell me if I am wrong. You know the names...

Edited November 17, 2005 by vinobiondo (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

um... it's the center of the non- "actually in Japan" sushi universe.  Seriously, flame away ... there is no better concentration of world class sushi outside of Japan than in Studio City.  Please tell me if I am wrong.  You know the names...

←

Slight disagreement -- I believe Gardena's sushi and Japanese restaurants are a tad better, mostly because Gardena is home to the corporate offices of Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda, etc... It is simply a larger Japanese community to support more authentic Japanese restaurants.

But I love Katsu-Ya and a few others I've eaten at in Studio City - they just tend to be more Nouveau Sushi (with foie gras and truffles) than more traditional offerings.

[JFLinLA]

Victor -- You still haven't told us exactly where you will be in Studio City. That will be helpful.

And, if I may be so bold, depending on where you are, you could have a variety of options that may make it easy to get around WITHOUT A CAR, really. If you are near Universal City, you are just a short hop away on the Red Line to the Noho Arts area which has options. Or, you can take the Red Line in the other direction and head into Hollywood proper, "east" Hollywood for Thai or Armenian, or all the way into downtown or even, dare I say, Langers for better Pastrami on Rye than at Jerry's.

(RJ-How did we let this one get away?)

[LarsTheo]

Try Amir's Falafel at 11711 Ventura Blvd.

I never thought of Studio City as a sushi mecca. More sushi to be had in South Bay (Torrance, especially) and WLA. Sushi seems to be everywhere these days, and there are excellent sushi bars in Venice and Marina del Rey, as well as Little Tokyo downtown. I get excellent sushi at my local grocery stores in MDR.

Sorry, but I don't know that much about Studio City, but I would look for Lebanese or Armenian restaurants, but from my experience, it is certainly not a culinary wasteland.

Edited November 18, 2005 by LarsTheo (log)

[rjwong]

I hope this helps. Besides, you can always take your chances at Universal Citywalk.

←

Aaaaaggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!

←

That's how everybody felt when we tried to take a little walk there after my mother's birthday dinner on a Sat. night in July. It was so crowded!!

(RJ-How did we let this one get away?)

Mea culpa! Mea culpa! I'll take care of it, JFL ...

Victor, with a $3 day pass, you can take the Metro Red Line from Universal City up to NoHo (North Hollywood) or down to Hollywood or all the way down to downtown LA. The restaurant possibilities are endless. Please help us help you by letting us know what you want (dives, high-end, etc.) and where you're staying (because LA is so spread out).

[johnnycab]

Tama Sushi, Sushi Nozawa, Asanebo. Ventura Blvd has a plethora of restaurants.