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Lunch in L.A.?
Posted: 6:08 pm, January 7th, 2010 in Los Angeles Eating
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18 Comments
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in-n-out times 4
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Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles
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Kogi BBQ truck? Thats the only thing other than in-n-out that's talked about here I think.
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Hmmm. I know you say location is entirely flexible, but unless you're out there simply to drive around and eat it'd be helpful if you concentrated on a particular area of the city, if only to narrow things down.
Luckily Roscoe's has a few locations, even if the one on Pico is the best. That's a good recommendation. Not too far away are Pink's Hotdogs, and the even scarier Oki-Dog (2 Hot Dogs, Pastrami, Chili, Cheese, Mustard, Pickles in a tortilla). For a burger I'd try Father's Office, but they're only open for lunch Fri-Sun. The Apple Pan has its advocates, and you could try a late night Tommy's chili burger but you'll probably regret it later. When I was in college we'd eat a lot at Versailles, the mini-chain of Cuban restaurants. Their garlic chicken has gone up to $11 (I rememeber it being $8) but it's half a chicken smothered in garlic and onions with rice/beans/plantains/bread. You'll have leftovers, and smell like garlic, in the morning. If you're near downtown I'd definitely go to Orochon in Little Tokyo for their spicy ramen (I think it was in a Man v. Food), and there's an even better spicy ramen place I know in Torrance. Right in downtown is the Grand Central Market which is fun to wander and has good papusas. Phillipes, nearby, supposedly invented the french dip (I like their lamb dip best). If you've only been to Manhattan's Korea-block there's lots of great food in LA's Koreatown (Chosun is the clean Korean BBQ option, at Bull Soot Jeep you might catch on fire). If you're in Santa Monica most people really like the sandwiches at Bay Cities as someting to pick up for the beach. I hear Westwood is like Times Square these days, but it's always fun to grab a cookie Ice Cream sandwich at Diddy Reese. Finally, if I were you, I'd just eat mexican food the entire time. But you may be ruined for NYC mexican after. There's too many to mention but I particularly like the Oaxacan places. Guelaguetza has a Westside and Ktown location and numerous types of moles. Tito's Tacos is hardly mexican, but you may find yourself there, and it's a very Southern CA experience. Hope that helps!
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i second bay cities in santa monica for an amazing sandwich. there is great thai food in l.a. - much better than anything in ny. i like palm thai in hollywood - the food is pretty good and the thai elvis karaoke singer entertains.
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also, when you consider the traffic location is never flexible out there.
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Damn steveroller, nice list there.
Chip Beef, here is my take as a LA foodie at heart.Try and and stick to 2 types of meals. I'd say LA fast food and Mexican. You wont regret it.
Make a reservation for Guelaguetza (the best oaxcan food in california, save for a place i know in Nor Cal) Try and take friends as the plates are enormous and you'll want to try everything. Order the mole samplers and the neck bone, for sure.
A trip to LA is not the same for me without In n Out: double double with cheese, grilled onions and hand cut fries. And a Tommy's double chili cheeseburger. (Not all at once, or you'll go into cardiac arrest)
I love Roscoes, but I dare say make your 4th meal another mexican restaurant. Maybe a tamale place or a hearty mexican breakfast. I know a place, but the name escapes me... let me ask my best friend and get back to you.
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Ah! Tamales Liliana's
The place is packed, that's because it's delicious. Posole, birria, menudo, tamales, moles... I have been guilty of ordering a dozen tamales to go and freezing them then stowing them away in my check in luggage...
Try the mexican coffee there too... -
I haven't been here yet, but Esquire rated "Rivera" (1050 S. Flower street, LA) as one of the best upscale mexican in the USA for 2009. In particular, their wild striped bass with tomatillos and tempura fried chiles sounds drool-worthy!
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I thought about this over the weekend and came up with one glaring omission: Langer's Deli, near MacArthur Park. It's strange to suggest a Jewish Deli to someone coming from New York, especially one in the straight up ghetto, but no less than the New Yorker said they have best pastrami sandwich in the country, and I agree. Be aware it closes by sundown, and pioneered curbside service so you don't have to get out of your car (Savory sandwiches, unsavory neighborhood). But you can get there easily and quickly from downtown on LA's little used subway "system."
Also worth mentioning: Zankou Chicken (Armenian chicken chain, killer garlic sauce, mentioned in Beck song); Falafel King (distinct greasy shwarma sandwiches in Westwood, S. Monica)); The Pantry (cheap downtown breakfast at LA institution owned by Dick Riordin).
It's usually not cheap but you might want to try Persian food while out there, since you can't really get anything Shah-worthy out here. There's a strip of Ethiopian places on traditionally Jewish Fairfax, some of them have very inexpensive lunch buffets. Interestingly, LA's Persian and Ethiopian communities are both Jewish in significant part.
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Zach, is Chip Beef an alter-ego of yours? Are you collecting ideas for your move?
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If you want to get in on the food truck craze, you could always visit http://www.findlafoodtrucks.com/ which aggregates all the Los Angeles Food truck twitter feeds and see if they're close to where you're going to be. Locations vary from Santa Monica, Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, Downtown, Burbank, and Studio City.
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Wood Spoon (casual Brazilian) in Downtown on 9th St.
New Moon (Chinese) on 9th in Downtown
Langers Deli near MacArthur Park. Red Line takes you there
Phillipe's French Dip in Downtown near Union Station.
El Cholo (the original) on Western...get some homemade tortillas
Colori Kitchen (great Italian) on 8th St. Downtown
WELCOME to LA!
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I've got four lunches in Los Angeles next week, and location is almost entirely flexible.
If you were in my shoes, where would you go?