countdeville's Profile
SOS - Need a restaurant that does catering near Paramount Studios
I'm in charge of choosing the lunch spot this week. I need to feed 35 people for no more than $750 (tax & tip included). Geographically, I'd say we can't go further west than downtown Culver City, and probably no further east than MacArthur Park. We typically do BBQ, Italian, Greek, Mexican and Chinese, so I'd like something new. I'm especially looking for something fresh and light (something along the lines of Clementine's). Any ideas? Thanks!
Mr Taster requests the *impossible* (or just improbable?)... Office holiday party for $25 per person (including tax+tip) at or around the Grove/Miracle Mile
How about Golden State? Bloom is one of my favorites in the neighborhood. We often bring our own wine (no corkage), the only rule being that you can't drink on the patio. I'd confirm this with them, though, if a lot of people are going to be boozing.
Best Po' Boy Sandwich in LA?
Little Dom's oyster po' boy is really tasty.
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Little Dom's
2128 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
PLEASE POST YOUR VOTES HERE: Ultimate Los Angeles Restaurants 2009
Over $25
1. Chameau
2. Babita
3. Hungry Cat
4. Lucques
5. Boss Sushi
Under $25
1. Bloom
2. Tamarind Ave. Deli
3. Vegan Glory
4. Golden State
5. Singapore Banana Leaf
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The Hungry Cat
1535 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Chameau Restaurant
339 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Vegan Glory
8393 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Lucques
8474 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Boss Sushi
268 S La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Tamarind Ave. Deli
1471 Tamarind Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Wedding Rehearsal Suggestions - Westside/Culver City $30 pp
We had our rehearsal dinner at Chameau on Fairfax. It was great because it's a small restaurant and we got the entire place to ourselves (around 50 people). The food was amazing and easily enough to feed 20 more people. We just picked our favorite items off the menu (including the merguez, duck bastilla, lamb shank, bass with preserved lemon and spring onion shavings (super yum), vegetarian tasting platter, onion and raisin couscous, roasted vegetables, cookies and moroccan mint tea). We spent $100 pp, with tax, tip and alcohol included in that price. It was a bit more than most people spend, I'm sure, but really the food is so special there and you aren't stuck in some back room. Highly recommend.
Which Wedding Venue has the Best Food?
I just got married in May at the Wilshire Ebell in Los Angeles (not the one in Long Beach) and everything was fantastic. We did five passed appetizers -- a duck confit crepe, a fig and goat cheese crostini (which was a "safety" choice, but actually turned out to be delicious), a crab cake with tomato jam, gravlax on a potato chip (also awesome) and lamb skewers with mint pesto. Really all of the appetizers were great.
We did a pear carpaccio salad with a lime vinaigrette -- light and refreshing. For entrees, we had a sea bass with kalamata olive and sundried tomato sauce and a beef tenderloin with horse radish remoulade. Both entrees were incredible. Most brides don't eat, but I killed my tenderloin and ate a good deal of my hubby's sea bass too.
We brought in our cake from Susina.
I don't know if the Ebell is in your price range, but their food is really tops. I also like the Old Hollywood feel of the place. Melissa Allen, who runs things there, is true professional.
list your favorites for a new los angeleno
best butcher: huntington meat market or the other one in the original farmers market (Fairfax and Third). Also really like Bristol farms.
best fish monger:
best general grocery store: Trader Joes. I think Vons is better than Ralphs, service-wise.
best farmers market: Hollywood
best kitchenwares store: surfas or sur la table
best icecream: hmmm. i like gelato. Specifically Gelato Paradiso, which used to have a shop in Hollywood, but no longer. I believe the closest one is in Newport.
best candy store: Ada's. Riverside, CT. R.I.P., Ada.
best gourmet/specialty store: Monsieur Marcel.
best italian grocer: Bay Cities
best spice shop (like, where can i find culinary lavender?): Monsieur Marcel
best cheese shop: Beverly Hills
best baguette: Maison du Pain on Pico
best health food store: dunno. Whole Foods?
best french pastries: Maison du Pain
best japanese bakery: The one in the plaza in Little Tokyo. I love their big, fluffy "English-style" bread. It's like Wonder Bread on crack. Great for grilled cheese and French toast.
best asian grocery stores: Mitsuwa
best indian chaat/snack foods: India's Sweets and Spices
best indian restaurant: India's Grill (San Vicente & La Cienega)
best cheap/authentic thai: Tuk Tuk. Not super-cheap, though. I like that they're not afraid to make things spicy.
best cheap sushi: Love Boss Sushi on La Cienega.
best sandwiches: Moe's on the Fox Lot. Boar's Head sammies for only $6, fully-loaded. There's also a cafe in the middle of Park La Brea that has good sandwiches. Their bread is delicious... I wonder where they get it from.
best burger: Indulge Cafe (Pico). Pie & Burger. Mary & Robb's. Twenty-five Degrees.
best gourmet pizza: Mozza, Bloom Cafe (Pico) -- love their lamb sausage added to the butternut squash/blue cheese pizza
best cheapo pizza: Village in Larchmont.
best funky vegetarian restaurant: Vegan Glory
best hot dog: The Stand
best shwarma: Haven't found it. Think it's probably at that falafel place on Beverly (?)
best schnitzel: Had a good one at the big restaurant in Alpine Village.
best falafel: Same answer as Shwarma
best bbq: NY BBQ on LaBrea.
best fried chicken: Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken in Culver
best LATE NIGHT eat: Swingers
Best burger and beer in LA? (PJ Clark's in LA)
Those burger prices at Boneyard Bistro are ridiculous. What's great about the NYC burger joints like PJ Clarke's, JG Melon and Corner Bistro (the love of my life) is that you can while away a cold Sunday afternoon, drinking beers and eating cheeseburgers and fries to your heart's content without spending more than $40. I'd say that same experience at Boneyard Bistro would run you well over a hundred bucks. You just can't argue with a $6.50 bacon cheeseburger (Bistro burger) and $2.50 mugs of frosty McSorleys.
Salad and white wine on a hot night?
I don't know how deep you are in Hollywood, but I enjoy Bloom on Pico (just west of Hauser). They have a great salmon salad. Greens, pink grapefruit sections, shaved fennel and a nice hunk of salmon with delicious crispy skin, dressed with a citrusy vinaigrette. Very refreshing on a hot day. It's also BYO, no corkage.
Trendy, Hollywoodish, reasonable place for visiting 13 year old from KY
The Griddle?
Defining "The Burger" Best in LA
I'm a burger nut and am always looking for substitutes for my favorite burgers (Corner Bistro in NYC and Dottie Dumpling's Dowry in Madison, WI). Here are my choices:
1. Fast food burger: Indulge Cafe. Pie and Burger.
2. Home Cooking Burger: Hinano. Tastes like a really good backyard burger to me. I also like Mary and Robb's in Westwood.
3. Gourmet Burger: I guess I innately don't like this kind of burger. I tend to walk away feeling like I got robbed. That said, I recently tried 25 Degrees. It would've been great if they hadn't overcooked my burger. I was not impressed by Lucky Devils or Redwood. Haven't had Father's Office in five years or so, but I wasn't too into it when I had it.
Here's the thing: I can make a better burger than 99% of the places people tout on these boards. Go to Bristol Farms. Get fresh ground lamb. Add fresh mint, feta, some smoked jalapenos, spices, etc. Make a yogurt mustard sauce. Serve with crisp iceberg, tomato, and red onion on a toasted egg roll. Or go to the Original Farmers Market. Get the Nancy Silverton hamburger blend from Huntington Meat Market. Add diced Stumps hot olives, a little garlic and some grated Wisconsin Harvati. Serve on a good roll (also to be found at the o.g. farmers market) and the usual fixings. So good. I'm sort of sick of going to a restaurant where people say the burger's great, blowing $40-plus bucks for two, and leaving disappointed (I'm talking to you, Redwood).
Veg and Drinker Friendly on the Westside
I think Kay and Dave's is awful. I had a boss who always wanted to eat there. It drove me nuts. That place is so bland.
Kinda like In / N / Out but something more
Indulge Cafe (Pico, just west of La Brea), the new incarnation of Mo' Better Meaty Meat Burgers. Tasty burger that's nicely seasoned. Awesome fries. So good, so good. Combo of burger, fries and a soda will set you back about $9, though. I think it's worth it. Better quality burger and fries than you get at In N Out. I also will always love Pie & Burger.
Bamboo on Venice Blvd in Culver City
Yeah, this is one of our regular lunch spots at work, and I never get sick of it. I love the black pepper salmon or chicken, mango chicken, and the aforementioned swordfish. Their soups are also really good, especially the corn chowder. It's not heavy like most corn chowders. They must use milk instead of cream. I also can't complain about the $6 cocktails (not whilst working, of course).
Best burger and beer in LA? (PJ Clark's in LA)
I'm a Corner Bistro gal (West Village), personally, but I feel your pain in looking for a NYC-style beer and burger joint in LA. I've tried most of the spots that have been recommended on this board. Hinano is good, but it's basically like a beach burger. Lucky Devils is too expensive. By the time you get a burger, fries and a couple of beers (not to mention if you have to pay $10 for lot parking), you're out forty-plus bucks. The burger I had there was just eh, too. I actually enjoyed 25 Degrees in the Roosevelt. My burger was a tad overdone, but the portions and prices were spot-on. Big burger and lots of fries for eleven or so bucks. You can also park at Hollywood and Highland and get your ticket validated at one of the shops in there. I like HMS Bounty in K-town. Good burger. Divey bar. Strong drinks. Also, in Toluca Lake there's a spot called Timmy Nolan's. Good burger. Seriously cold Guinness (which is the way I like it). Mary and Robb's in Westwood has a good burger, but I don't believe they have beer. It's a little geriatric, too.
Authentic Moroccan restaurant in Los Angeles?
Chameau is awesome. Their duck bastilla is wicked tasty. Having never been to Morocco, though, I can't attest to its authenticity.
Road tripping San Diego to Catalina
There's a good breakfast burrito at the Downtown Long Beach ferry station. In Avalon, I'd recommend doing the early bird dinner out at the Catalina Country Club.
Have any Chowhound Faves Broken Your Heart
I've been burned in my quest for a great burger (not Cali-style, but NYC's Corner Bistro-style). Most recently, Lucky Devils and Redwood stick out as Chowhound-praised disappointments. Sorry, but it's just sad when a meal of burgers, fries and beers for two costs over $50 and isn't even that good. On the plus side, I just tried the burger at Mary & Robb's in Westwood, and I heartily recommend it. Sweet potato and waffle fries are also good.
Robin Hood
My fiance used to live a couple of blocks from here, but since we moved in together we've only been infrequently in the past two years. We only hit up the Robin Hood when we take our cars in to be serviced in the Valley. I think the last time we went was six months ago (when I got the roast and Yorkshire pudding, and incidentally I sprained my ankle that day... I think it was all related... too many pints), so I can't attest to a quality decline in recent days. I'd definitely recommend getting the FEB or the bangers and mash (anything involving bangers, really). I think they deep-fry them... whatever they do, they're far superior to what I've had at other pubs in town (Cat & Fiddle, Fox & Hounds, Kings Head, etc.) Don't let them pawn off that A-1 steak sauce on you, either. They try to do that. Specify HP sauce, and a side of English mustard.
Fish and chips are a little tempura-like -- not what I was used to, having lived in London, but still tasty. Anyplace that serves mushy peas is A-OK with me, though.
Robin Hood
I'm a big fan of Robin Hood, but I have to say the roast and Yorkshire pudding were a bit disappointing. The Yorkshire pudding tasted like it had been pre-made and then warmed up or held under a heat lamp. It was a bit dry and stale. The roast was a little overdone too. I highly recommend going for the F.E.B., though. They have the best bangers in town. Fish and chips is also good.
Poll: What restaurants do you eat in most often?
Wahoos
Singapore Banana Leaf
Moishes
Gumbo Pot
Bloom Cafe
Vegan Glory
Boss Sushi
Joy Mart
Bamboo (Culver City -- We always order from here at work. It's the one place I never get sick of)
Maison du Pain
Susina
Chameau (or I would eat here all the time if I had the $)
Ce Fiore
Papa Johns (hate to admit it, but it always satisfies after a long day of snowboarding)
Village Pizzeria if I'm willing to pick it up myself
Casual but good dining in Mid-Wilshire / Miracle Mile?
Bloom on Pico (just west of Hauser).
Bars/Nightspots in Beverly Hills area...not 'too cool for school'...
I really like the bar at Maison 140. It's a cool boutique hotel on a side street called Lasky that's just east of Little Santa Monica. The drinks are on the expensive side, maybe $15, but it's all premium ingredients and well worth the cost.
