Mid-way between SM & NB would be Long Beach/Seal Beach if taking the 405 all the way, or Lakewood/Norwalk/Downey/Cerritos if taking the 10->5->605->405. (the latter route is a perfectly good route and not much further distance-wise). I'm not at all familiar with the dining scene in Long Beach but you could search the board for it. Or you could just go to La Casita in Bell for casual Mexican.

holy shit! this is my mom's friend and her daughter. i used to eat there often growing up. had no idea...good for them for building a whole brand/business around it

yeah, no.. i'm just not feeling it for this place. the broth lacks flavor, the pork is too lean and hard and has an unpleasant texture, the egg is cooked completely hard. i do like the thicker, chewier noodles, but that's not enough to overcome the other major shortcomings. their gyoza is pretty good, but unlike you, i didn't care for the miso dipping sauce, which i found oddly sweet (reminded me of thai sweet chili sauce) and didn't find it complementing the gyoza at all.

the jjigae ramen was a joke and should not be called that.

For something really homey, consider Beachwood Cafe, right in Beachwood Canyon/Hollywoodland. The food is about average, but it's a nice, sun-filled space with a room off to the side away from the main room that is quiet and quite pleasant. Feels like home. http://beachwoodcafe.com/

Nanbankan

Animal's website also says:
"To reserve a table at Animal please call after 2pm seven days a week to speak with a reservationist or hostess."

Did you call during those hours? Did you talk to a live person? That is what I did because I wanted a confirmation on the spot. That was ~1 week before my reserved time. They did, indeed, call me the day before to confirm, as do many other restaurants. If you left a message, did you assume that they will not call you back within a day or two to give you a time slot, rather than the day before your requested time? If so, your bad for jumping to that ridiculous conclusion, because I highly doubt that is their policy. This is a pointless rant.

take a bao is the mcdonald's of asian food, which is to say that it is wretched.

since the OP said that the GF is not a big eater, i would skip Animal and keep Son of a Gun. In fact i just prefer SoG over Animal, period, because while tasty, I find the food ultimately too heavy for me, and I don't consider myself a light eater by any means. I just can't do the super rich fatty fried porky bacony food for an entire meal. Although I tried to order light(er) at Animal (like the octopus, hamachi & some kind of salad interspersed w/ fatty items like pig tails & maple bacon whatever), i still could not sleep that night due to heaviness of the meal.

OM & ink on OP's list are probably the top 2 in my book. That said, I would go to Alma over any of the above. and I actually dont think n/naka is a crazy amount of food so it would be a decent option even for a light eater.

sycamore kitchen

i'm really shocked by the popularity of upper west. I think i've been there 4-5 times for various work events and think the food is mariginal. it is also far from boring old ameican. i would actually prefer boring old american to upper west's sad attempt at being "eclectic" or "modern" or "blank-inspired" or whatever. They seem to use middle eastern spicing on a lot of things - eg their veggie burger has an overwhelming curry flavor such that all you get is a mushy texture w/ curry flavor and their brussels sprouts w/ "moroccan" flavors have zero brussels sprouts flavor due to the overpowering spicing. They also make some really pathetic attempts at asian "inspired" items. almost everything i've tried w/ asian flavors have been overdone & overly sweet - eg their ahi tuna tacos, HH wings, etc.

As to OP's inquiry, i think Daily Grill should suit grandma's needs just fine. They do some non-traditional American but also have really traditional items like mac & cheese, meat loaf w/ mashed potatoes, chicken pot pie, hell, even a chopped steak. And they have excellent bread.

tried it again today. this time got 2 tacos and a coctel. that was about 15 bucks. drank water (free). felt slightly fuller and the tortillas were much better. i think they must've run out of tortillas last time and used store-bought. they didn't get mushy and had great texture. coctel was too salty and was served w/ saltines which didn't help (i didn't eat them all). again, fish sauce flavor permeated the meal and i smelled fish sauce just walking into the place. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but i do think it detracts a little from the delicate seafood flavors. ingredients are indeed very fresh and i love the colorful presentation of the tacos.

This. Kalbi is usually the most expensive item on a kbbq menu, esp the long strips which takes a decent amount of knifework.

I doubt any part of a pig or squid costs more than short rib meat unless it's best quality pork vs. USDA Select.

i find it similar to 800 degrees but with fewer (and much more traditional) choices for toppings. why did you expect something Asian? it's not a fusion pizza place. maybe i'm just a purist but I generally find the likes of Thai BBQ pizza, Szechwan pizza & tandoori pizza strange and unappealing. gimme a neopolitan pie any day of the week, although Clusi isn't exactly neopolitan. But for those who find 800 degrees' soggy middle unappealing, Clusi might fit the bill. I, for one, don't mind the soggy middle. I like my neopolitan pizza the most authentic traditional way with minimal toppings with a super thin, almost see-thru crust. I also like milo & olive/mozza style, new york, chicago, standard "american" (eg Abbott's) for what they are, just for different reasons.

Been there twice now and tried 3 of their pizzas: margherita, Clusi favorite & spicy meatball. I really like the crust--chewy but not overly so, and doesn't toughen up as it cools. They tend to oversauce their tomato-sauced pies, but that's not a major deterrent for me. It's cheap & fast, and a great alternative to all the mobbed Asian places in that block (actually, just that building). At prime time last night, we were sadly one of only 2 occupied tables... I think they deserve a bit more love.

If most people don;t think it is a big deal, then it does not make them an asshole to fail to call.-->

I would say that just means most people are assholes.

i think we're getting lost in the trees conjecturing about whether the uncle excuse was true or false. to me the broader issue that the tweet raises is: "Are some people assholes - yes. And should assholes be publicly shamed - question mark." if it had been just that one person whose uncle may or may not have died, chances are RM would not have tweeted. there is no way that all those people he named had a similarly compelling excuse. but if it were me, unless i was with the uncle giving him CPR in a vain effort to save him at the exact time of the reservation, i still would have called the restaurant. Being distraught is no excuse for behaving like an asshole and making your problem someone else's problem, unless the state of distress is creating an insuperable physical barrier. but in any case, i'm voting for BS on this one.

the slight vigilante streak in me applauds this. the world is full of a-holes and d-bags; doesn't mean the rest of the world has to accept their bad manners. is what RM did immature? maybe..but on the most base level, there is a reason that kids in the playground yell "but Johnny started it!" It's about fairness. If somebody slights you, is it better to always take the high ground and accept it or walk away? Sometimes it takes a bit of.. nudging (or a smack on Johnny's head if he smacked you first) to change people's behavior. 2c.

I assume you are aware that kbbq is nothing like southern bbq. it isn't even technically bbq in the traditional sense. But short rib (i like marinated) and brisket are good. Brisket is unmarinated and thinly sliced. Cook lightly, dip in seasoned sesame oil, put it on a rice wrapper, put a a piece of kimchi on it, roll it up and pop it in your mouth. One of the best bites if you ask me. Finish the meal w/ a bowl of cold noodle soup (naeng myun) as a palate cleanser.

did I fail to notice the closing of the Larchmont Larder and subsequent remodeling/reopening as Lemondade on my occasional drive through Larchmont Village? Or did it just happen really quickly..? I can't say i'm surprised; I was there ~late summer/early fall of last year and it was oddly empty for Sat lunchtime. Food was just ok, coffee barely warm & the service lackadaisical. Haven't been inside since the switch but it's a tiny space so I have to wonder how they are able to fit all the salads & lemonade "stand" in there..

This looks fabulous. How prominent is the uni flavor (which I'm not a huge fan of but I don't mind it if i'ts not the main event)?

Yes, this is so delicious. So is their Jerusalem bowl, which just makes me feel like it's curing all my ailments as I'm eating it and comes with the same perfectly cooked eggs.

I had lunch there a week ago. Got the grilled fish lunch special plus 4-5 pieces off the sushi menu. Wasn't impressed by the sushi, though it was better than what you get with the lunch special, which indeed sucks. The whole thing came to about 40 bucks. Yeah, I'd save it for dinner.

FWIW, I think if you want "bargain" sushi at lunch time, Kiriko probably has the best lunch specials.

I've been to Kotoya at least a dozen times and I've never had service issues. But I tend to time my visits to avoid the lunch/dinner rush so that could be the reason.

There was one time when the broth wasn't quite up to snuff but that's it. People have complained about their egg being cold (true) but I just split it open as soon as i get it and let it sit in the hot broth to warm it up. It's never bothered me enough to dissuade me. Oh, and I think some people were complaining that there wasn't enough broth.. this was indeed true in the beginning but for the last several visits I got plenty of broth. And yeah.. their pork is fantastic and the porkiest of them all.

Incidentally, I tried Hayatemaru last week, and wasn't terribly impressed. I got the Hokkaido ramen and potstickers. Iiked the thicker noodles but the broth didn't have much flavor. The potstickers were good but overly salty. I'm wiling to give it another go but given that it's pretty much equidistant from my office as Kotoya, Kotoya will probably win my business most days.

I bought that very brand of hoisin sauce at Silom Thai market in hollywood, if you ever find yourself in the area. Im sure 99 Ranch markets also carry it. Japanese markets tend to have a poor selection of non-Japanese ingredients.

yes, i'm aware of the recent developments. i'm assuming (hoping) he sets up shop somewhere else.

Meh... just tried this place and was not impressed. Tacos are not that large once you peel away the slaw. I get full on 2 Ricky's fish tacos. I had 2 fish & 1 shrimp here and I'm still hungry and out 11 bucks. I detected fish sauce on the slaw which detracted from the fish flavor. Also was not impressed with the tortillas. They looked hand-made for sure but didn't have any toothsomeness and just sort of disintegrated. Also, the tempura batter was not sturdy enough to stand up to the slaw so by the second taco, it had become soggy throughout except for the 2 outermost ends. The fish pieces were pretty small. Ricky uses bigger ~5" tortillas and the fish often sticks out. These were ~4" tacos with the fish demurely tucked in. I would guess you really only get about 1/2 of the fish you get from Ricky.

It's a 3 minute walk from my office so I'll probably eat there now & then but overall not sold on it.

Now, I need a snack to get me through the rest of the day.

agree completely. It's good if you happen to be in the south bay but not worth going out of the way for. There's plenty in LA proper that does similar food for less money & equal to better execution.

In order of preference:
Kotoya (best chashu, convenient, rarely a wait)
Yamadaya (a very close second, could be first but for the crowd)
Tsujita
Santouka
Jinya

was desperate for sushi for lunch on Sat and this happens to be the only "respectable" sushi place open for lunch on Sat. did the omakase w no exclusions despite the fair warning I had read about his penchant for truffle oil.

i ate:
okra and baby squid apps
4 white fish (bring on that truffle oil...)
3 tuna
sweet shrimp, uni, scallop, one other thing I can't recall
3 mackerel varieties
2 eels
blue crab hand roll

Likes:
-ultra-fresh fish
-tunas were really fabulous (despite too much soy sauce)
-good variety
-excellent rice--really good, a vast contrast from my 2 previous sushi meals at sugarfish(disgusting rice, good that I wasn't paying) and echigo (only slightly less offensive than sugarfish but at twice the cost)
-traditional style some w non-traditional twists and flavor combos

Dislikes:
-the aforementioned truffle oil
-over-saucing of tuna pieces and unagi, over-salting of some of the white fish
-chintzy rice portions (as in, the size of a kidney bean--some might think this a plus but I love rice. and I mean I freaking LOVE rice. so I like a decent mound. and it seemed to get smaller and smaller as the meal progressed)
-okra w bonito flakes--a total throwaway of an appetizer
-the fact that he didn't serve me a Santa Barbara spot prawn. was going to ask but decided to leave it completely up to him
-pricing a bit high. would have preferred to to pay ~100 instead of over 140 plus tip for what I got which left me less than full
-blue crab hand roll--ugh, I think I'm just not a fan of the mayonnaisy blue crab thing

I think I'll go to Kiriko for my next sushi hit.

Sycamore Kitchen for the buckwheat blintz and pork hash would be a far better choice than BLD but BLD does have better coffee. never been to Griddle. the buckwheat blintzes are some of the most delicious sweet breakfast items I've had in a long time. Karen Hatfield does sweets right.