Archive for 'Sapp Coffee Shop'

4 New Bits of Thai Town News You’ll Want to Know About

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1. Pa Ord has now taken over Ganda –  Since opening in 2010 Pa Ord has been on an expansion tear.  First they doubled the size of their original location on Sunset and Hobart by taking over the empty space next door. Then, they moved west into the heart of Hollywood- taking over Thai Foon, on Sunset and La Brea.  Turns out they weren’t done, and their latest takeover is the most shocking.  Yesterday Ganda, the steam table place famous for their crispy catfish, became a 3rd location of Pa Ord… just one block away from the original!  I love Pa Ord as much as the next guy, but did they really need to get rid of my favorite place for crispy catfish!?

Or did they…?

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Sapp Coffee Shop Beyond The Boat Noodles

Sapp Coffee Shop

Last month I indulged my new-found craving for Thai boat noodles by embarking on an epic crawl across Hollywood’s Thai Town.  My goal? To help people determine which boat noodle soup was right for them based on personal taste.  The conclusion?  After 9 bowl of boat noodles, eaten at 5 different restaurants, in less than two weeks, I could conclusively say that… I probably wouldn’t need to eat boat noodles again for a long time!  Or so I thought. I’ve been finding it hard to stay away from Sapp Coffee Shop since then… the bare bones boat noodle spot on Hollywood Blvd. that was featured on No Reservations and comes highly recommended by The Guru.  And yet, it’s not the boat noodles that keep bringing me back (even though their version is arguably the best.)  It’s actually the rest of the stuff on the menu that has me going back to Sapp again and again.

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How To Decide Which Thai Boat Noodles Are Best For You

It’s official… my new favorite thing about Los Angeles (and more specifically L.A. over NYC) is Thai boat noodles.  I can’t say for sure if there are or aren’t “boat noodles” in New York City (I’m guessing you can get them somewhere) but it isn’t like it is here.  Here, boat noodles are a thing. And like most regional specialties in L.A. (be it Thai or whatever) there are quite a few restaurants that specialize in this one dish.  For those of you who have never tried boat noodles (aka me, three weeks ago) it’s a beef noodle soup that got its name from being served off of boats in the rivers and canals of Thailand.  It is traditionally made with bits of beef, liver, tripe, and whatever else is on hand… but for those of you who aren’t into the offal, most restaurants in L.A. have a version that’s just pieces of plain old beef.  The one thing they can’t go easy on (or else it wouldn’t really be boat noodles) is…brace yourself… the blood.  (Please don’t stop reading.)

That’s right.  The not-so-secret ingredient in boat noodles is blood- but now that I’ve told you that, I want you to completely forget you ever knew it.  Because if nobody told you about the blood, and pushed this sweet and sour, savory and spicy soup in front of you and told you to drink, you’d love it. And why should a little blood get in the way of you tasting one of the best foodstuffs ever. I guarantee you will love it.  Well, maybe you wouldn’t love every version.  But some boat noodles are… let’s say… easier than others.  So the trick is to find the bowl that is right for you.

And if you thought department of health ratings or willingness to accept credit cards is a factor, it isn’t. They all get Bs and none of them take plastic.

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