New to the Westside: what's good to eat?

[ayana]

Hello all,

I just moved to Santa Monica from West Hollywood, and realize that I am astonishingly unfamiliar with Westside restaurants. I tend to eat out a lot, but not at pricey places, and to go out a lot for breakfasts, & for coffee & cake. Also I tend to eat later than most people so places that are open late are especially good for me.

To give you an idea, back in WH I was a regular at Doughboy's, Sweet Lady Jane (ridiculously and dangerously close to my house), Susina, Mishima, Loteria and Monsieur Marcel in the Farmer's Market, Boule for ice cream, Tuk Tuk Thai, Magic Carpet (I'm Israeli), Hirozen, Basix for the muffins, Urth Caffe for the gazpacho, Kings Road Cafe for the coffee, Fat Fish for the late-night sushi happy hour....

I'm certainly willing to drive further away for yummy food, but I need some new staples to replace my old ones.

Really appreciate your help. If you need West Hollywood recommendations just ask.

[rjwong]

ayana,

Welcome to the eGullet California forum!

Congratulations on your move to Santa Monica. For this Glendale resident, SM is soooo far away, I need to bring my passport.

Obviously, I don't frequent over to the Westside that much. Mind you, I know of someone who might help you ... JFLinLA, HELP!!!

BTW, I love Sweet Lady Jane. Great desserts, and they're open so late!

[ayana]

Thanks for the welcome!

I've been getting so hungry reading these posts, I need some help with the restaurant search ASAP...

Sweet Lady Jane is insane. And for cheapskates like me who happen to (formerly) live a block away, after 7 pm all their breads & breakfast items are half off. And at 11 they start giving stuff away for free. Oh but their cheesecake... and their rugalach... and their bread pudding... and their walnut bread...

[Radio7]

At Third street and Wilshire, just across from the Barnes and Noble, is a restaurant called "Monsoon" that I like. It's an asian fusion place. And the restaurant has a really interesting decor.

I realize you said you eat later than most, but just so you know - they have a reasonably-priced happy hour menu which features the Yummiest Egglant dish.

I reccommend it.

[JFLinLA]

Ayana -- Okay, since we are getting specific, how far east are you willing to go for everyday places to eat? Obviously WeHo and BH are too far. Are you willing to cross the 405 into Westwood-ish area (not just the Village)? Cross out of Santa Monica into West LA? Mar Vista? What about Venice? Culver City?

[ayana]

Ayana -- Okay, since we are getting specific, how far east are you willing to go for everyday places to eat?  Obviously WeHo and BH are too far.  Are you willing to cross the 405 into Westwood-ish area (not just the Village)?  Cross out of Santa Monica into West LA?  Mar Vista?  What about Venice?  Culver City?

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Let's say for the purposes of SO-and-I-are-hungry-it's-9-pm-and-we-better-get-something-to-eat (hmmm, that's true RIGHT NOW!), I'm willing to drive anywhere up till the 405, a little past the 405 to Westwood, a little past the 10 to Venice. Culver City might be pushing it.

I have restaurant recommendations further afield, and of course I'm always willing to drive further away for things like good Middle Eastern food or dim sum, but I need some good staples relatively nearby that I can pillage on regular occasions.

[Carolyn Tillie]

At Third street and Wilshire, just across from the Barnes and Noble, is a restaurant called "Monsoon" that I like. It's an asian fusion place. And the restaurant has a really interesting decor.

I realize you said you eat later than most, but just so you know - they have a reasonably-priced happy hour menu which features the Yummiest Egglant dish.

I reccommend it.

←

A great place for insects (seriously)!!! I really miss Monsoon!

[FoodZealot]

Welcome, ayana. West-siiiiiiiiiide!! Here are some of my humble suggestions to get you started.

Yashima is somehow related to and almost identical to Mishima. It's in the Olympic Collection at Sawtelle and Olympic, a bit hidden on the second floor. I also like Yabu and Sasaya for small plates, and Asahi Ramen. Musha has some really good small plates, but some less successful dishes as well. Nanbankan has great kushiyaki (grilled, skewered items). For sushi, there are many options at each price level. Hirozen might be comparable to Hide Sushi on Sawtelle. I also like Noma on Wilshire.

I'm a big fan of Lares on Pico for Mexican food. Juquila on Santa Monica is also good, and open fairly late, I believe. I also like Gilbert's El Indio on Pico, although it's a little different in style.

Amandine on Wilshire is a pleasant French style bakery. Pain du Jour on Pico has excellent bread, but it's only open in the morning, and it's take away only. French Market Cafe on Abbot Kinney is a little farther, but has a great patio and boulangerie staples.

There's a relatively new location of Urth Caffe on the northern end of Main street. Snug Harbor and Bread and Porridge on Wilshire do good breakfasts.

Although not Israeli, Sunnin (Lebanese) on Westwood and Sham (Jordanian) on Santa Monica near Lincoln are my preferences. There's quite a few Persian restaurants in the area, but I haven't found one that I love yet.

BTW, be aware that there's Monsoon at the Promenade and Typhoon at the Santa Monica Airport, which aren't related except for being named after weather phenomena. Of the two, I prefer Typhoon - as a restaurant.

Hopefully others will fill in the gaps.

~Tad

Hello all,

I just moved to Santa Monica from West Hollywood, and realize that I am astonishingly unfamiliar with Westside restaurants.  I tend to eat out a lot, but not at pricey places, and to go out a lot for breakfasts, & for coffee & cake.  Also I tend to eat later than most people so places that are open late are especially good for me.

To give you an idea, back in WH I was a regular at Doughboy's, Sweet Lady Jane (ridiculously and dangerously close to my house), Susina, Mishima, Loteria and Monsieur Marcel in the Farmer's Market, Boule for ice cream, Tuk Tuk Thai, Magic Carpet (I'm Israeli), Hirozen, Basix for the muffins, Urth Caffe for the gazpacho, Kings Road Cafe for the coffee, Fat Fish for the late-night sushi happy hour.... 

I'm certainly willing to drive further away for yummy food, but I need some new staples to replace my old ones.

Really appreciate your help.  If you need West Hollywood recommendations just ask. 

←

[JFLinLA]

Food Zealot gave you lots of good stuff. Here's one I would add -- The Counter for good burgers, fries, etc. It's on Ocean Park and something. 20-something I think.

Brentwood -- along San Vicente -- is now reknown for a plethora of Italian restaurants. I haven't sampled even half of them. It's everything from California Pizza Kitchen (if you could call that Italian) to way, way more expensive places . . . Vicente, etc.

Don't forget Montana Avenue shops and cafes too.

As for Culver City . . . OK, you probably don't want to run over there at the last minute if you just decided you are hungry but . . . La Dijonnaise for breakfast, lunch or dinner had good french bistro stuff. Cafe Beacon is a little more expensive, great Pan-Asian (gotta get the black cod, yum!) and probably only for lunch and dinner. They are both in the Helms complex, across the street from each other at Washington & Helms. Oh, and here's some breaking news, Father's Office is also opening up it's "eastern outlet" there. Montana is closer to you for that. Of course, if you're in the area . . . be sure to stop at Surfas at Washington & National.

At the "other end" of Culver City is Sorrento Italian Deli. No, don't run over there to sit down and eat but go to shop. The best. On the east side of Sepulveda, near Jefferson.

[Carolyn Tillie]

A few quick remembrances of my old neighborhood include the bevy of beauties on Sawtelle. There are some truly awesome Yakitori joints in that neighborhood. Also, down the road a bit, towards Venice, is Empanadas Place. When horribly poor, it was a great place for my ex and I to eat for around $10 as the empanadas were about $5.00 each two would fill us up. Make sure to ask for the green sauce; they never put it out and is extra special.

[ayana]

thanks everybody, these suggestions are great!! i'll put them into practice right away.

[JFLinLA]

thanks everybody, these suggestions are great!! i'll put them into practice right away.

←

And, of course, we expect you to report back on any of our suggestions and also share any of your finds with the rest of us. OK?

[ayana]

And, of course, we expect you to report back on any of our suggestions and also share any of your finds with the rest of us.  OK?

←

oops. didn't see your last little bit until now.

Yes, sir, okay!

For one thing, I took somebody's advice from another thread and went to the Fresh Corn Grill in Westwood. Quite cheap & cheerful (though empty - but I think it's new), and the corn chowder was (as you might expect it to be) especially nice.

I also went to Gilbert's El Indio, which I liked all right, nothing to write home about, but I suspect I'll be back because it's open late.

I attempted to get into Father's Office for the second time, and failed yet again. I'm just going to get take-out next time.

I have a feeling that Famima on 3rd St Promenade is going to be my late-night nemesis. Open till 2 am every night! And those chicken curry fried bread thingys are pretty tasty, damn them!

Yesterday I went to Cora's Coffee Shoppe on Ocean/Pico for breakfast. They're on the pricey side for lunch, but breakfast is quite reasonable though they don't have a huge selection of dishes. However, the orange-blueberry pancakes were really fantastic. They are of the huge, doughy variety of American pancakes which I don't usually care for too much, but the intense orange flavor and the freshness of the blueberries more than made up for it. My SO had the burrata-caprese omelette which was pretty good, but the best part is that it came with toast and 3 homemade jams: strawberry, orange marmalade, and something that I thought was pluot and he thought was peach and actually turned out to be green tomato jam! Delicious. Cute little patio with Ladies Who Lunch on it (of course I ate breakfast at noon).

Not on the Westside, I served jury duty for one day downtown last week and walked over to the Chinatown Mandarin Deli for the first time. Old news for most of you, most likely, but quite the revelation for me. YUM!

And just a few days ago I made a Food Pilgrimage to East LA, where I've never been before, to Tacos Baja Ensenada for the fish tacos. It was worth it, I'll definitely go back. If you like fish tacos in Ensenada as much as I do (and you SHOULD) it's worth the drive to East LA to try this place out. I would only suggest that you ask for the crema on the side, because they put on too much for my taste. And that was the only thing - unlike in the Ensenada fish market, where the goblets of crema/different salsas/cabbage/limes/etc are on the table and you get to put them on yourself, here they make the taco for you. Too bad, but the fish was damn good. So were the shrimp tacos.

The restaurants you all suggested are on my list and I will try them all at some point. Especially looking forward to the Sawtelle places. And I really want to try that Beacon Cafe, I love black cod. I go back and forth on the 10 to downtown all the time so I'll figure it out. Also that Sorrento market sounds great. Is it better than Bay Cities? (or Domingo's in the Valley?)

Ayana

[rjwong]

In the 3 May 2006 edition of the LA Times Food Section Digest, LA Times food critic S. Irene Virbila wrote an article titled, "Something's cooking":

The chefs are coming -- and so are the bakers, wine bars, foodies, cafes. Culver City is hot.

It's a really great article! It gives a little history of the old Helms Bakery back in the '30's and the current Culver City scene. And it all started with Kazuto Matsusaka and Beacon Cafe.

It sounds like Culver City is worth checking out.

NB ayana, JFLinLA is not a sir. Right, JFLinLA?

Edited May 5, 2006 by rjwong (log)

[gaines]

Ah, Santa M,

Welcome, Ayana, to my home town. I have spent most of my life here. I like

iCugini: Brunch is spendy ($50 each), but the nice jazz, and a huge selection of great food, make it a favorite destination. Note iCugini is owned by the same restaurant group as Ocean Ave Seafood (and Kings down in LB, and the Water Grill downtown, and a few other places I don't go to). They have a great happy hour (until 8PM) with lots of reasonably priced tasties.

Typhoon: This is where I think of when people mention eating insects. The owner, Brian, keeps the food close to its origin - this is not PF Changs. Jack G is one of the managers there, and a great person.

The Hump: Upstairs from Typhoon, a truly beautiful sushi bar. High end, so bring your cc. The omokase can get very expensive if you start getting the live crab (seasonal) or some of the more outre things. I just ask them to make me some sashimi, then some sushi - one piece for the sushi.

Mori: While not in SM (WLA, on Pico), this is the best sushi bar in the area (actually, I think it's the best in Southern California, but I haven't been everywhere). The style is very minimalist. I saw Irene Virbila eating here once, and I believe it was a non-review night. Again, expensive, but worth saving your money for.

Broadway Deli: You mentioned Cora's. Same owner. I like the thin pizzas, and during their happy hour, they are very reasonable. They also have a Wine Bar, which has both red and white flights, and changes weekly.

Ocean Ave Seafood: Excellent food. Ate there last night. All of their entrees are good, although the whitefish is boring. They have a happy hour, but it ends pretty early. If you like Oysters, this is the place to go.

Sushi Roku: Next door to OAS, you're probably familiar with this place. It's SM branch is a little small, and hard to get into. I prefer the one on 3rd.

Boa: Across the street from SR, an excellent steakhouse (I don't eat steak, but I can tell a good one when I see it). I had the grilled Salmon last Sunday, and it was excellent. On Sunday (nights at least) if you order an entree, wine by the bottle is half price off.

Father's Office: I used to live a few blocks from there, and was a regular. It's too crowded now, so if I go, it's after 11PM. Food is good, but you have to buy into the "no changes" thing, hard for many westsiders to do.

On Wilshire between 4th and 5th is a Japanese "Tapas" place. I want to go, but it's always crowded. Also open late.

I love the Famima too. Neat food and drink.

Sorry for going on so long, but there's a lot to say. I would continue, but I have an 8PM reservation at Michael Mina (I'm in San Francisco).

Good Eating!!

[JFLinLA]

Ayana:

RJ is right. Definitely check out the LA Times Food Section from this week. (Damn them, now all my Culver City secrets are out!)** And, while the article mentions the mysterious 3rd restaurant coming into the Helms building, I had mentioned in my earlier post that it will be a brand new Father's Office. So, if you can't make it in at the Santa Monica location, just hop off the 10 at Robertson and you're there. Oh, it's not going to be called Father's Office . . . it will be Father's something else. I don't remember the second word in the name (which I was just told today) and I don't know when it's opening up but it's coming.

Since you mentioned Monsieur Marcel in your original post (one of my favorite places), let me mention that while I like La Dijonnaise (across from Beacon), the mussels at MM are better but give the place a try.

And, I think Sorrento is better than those other places you mentioned. Can I rave about the fresh mozzarella? Did I mention the most delicious mortadella I got there and brought home for sandwiches? I could go on. This area is not as trendy as the part of Culver City mentioned in the LA Times article -- which even dissed Sorrento -- but you won't go wrong with the food there. One exception -- I've had better Italian bakery stuff at other places but, that's not what I go to Sorrento for. Let us know what you think.

And yes, I'm usually not a "sir," but I'll take it as a term of respect so we're cool.

** PS -- Just kidding. I was with several Culver City officials and others today and everyone . . . EVERYONE . . . is just thrilled about the article.

Edited May 6, 2006 by JFLinLA (log)

[Captain Hongo]

Nobody has mentioned Venice and its medium range cafes. At the Venice Pier is the Terrace Cafe for breakfasts and beach watching.

Across the street is Bite, a local sushi bar with a nice fireplace.

The Beeachwood, on Washington, is an excellent casual restaurant.

Just thought I'd give a shout out.

Da Captain

[rjwong]

Thanks for the shout, Captain. And here's a discussion thread link: Food in Venice

One of the best places in Venice is Joe's. The restaurant is great, parking on your own is an adventure!

From what I heard, Beechwood is an ideal place for late-night drinks and great food.