Please Help This New Valley Boy

Sgee, that list is right up my alley! And thanks for the rec on Go's Mart. I'd been trying to remember the name/location for a while...

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

Yes, Daichan is very strong, even better now that they serve beer! But it's popularity seems to be growing. Last two times I went I had to wait for a table...

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

Jim's sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. A bit of a schlep but at least I can double up and make a trip to Woodland Hills Wine Co. while I'm out there!

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

When I went to Raphael it was a Sunday night around 8pm. The restaurant was about 1/3 filled with a couple of stragglers at the bar. Impossible to judge anything based on that!

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

Ha! Still looking for that great butcher that carries hanger steaks and I can order fresh sweetbreads or kidneys... Harder to find every day :(

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

Had dinner at Amazing Thai this weekend. Excellent, even though I had to dumb it down on the spices because the gf was with me. We subbed tofu or gluten for meat and the dishes didn't miss a beat. Sri Siam up next!

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

I ate at Mantee last week after a few month hiatus. Nice to see they finally started serving beer and wine! Very solid meal and though maybe because I'm off meat for Lent, my brother's chicken kebabs looked outstanding.

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

Yes, I liked Raphael. We had 6 little plates and 3 were great, 2 good and only one was so-so. I'll definitely be back. Surprisingly, the one dish that missed was the one highly recommended by our server, the khao soi street noodles. Does anyone know what the scene is like at Raphael on weekend nights? It looks like they turn the place into a club...

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

Love Sattdown. I am happy to spread the word as they're such nice people and there's never enough traffic in the restaurant. I always worry about losing a place like that but they seem to do a solid take-out business. Thanks for the gumbo rec, I AM a huge fan!

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

Thanks, Servorg. Great advice, as always. But I didn't see a reply from you in the post. What's your favorite Thai spot in the Valley?

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

Ebethsdad, thanks! That's a great list to start...Pho So is my favorite pho spot in LA. I think I'll head to Mariscos Colima for lunch.

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Los Angeles Restaurants on The Daily Meal's "101 Best Restaurants in America"

This list is complete shite! Controversial comment #1, LA doesn't have 10% of the top 100 restaurants in America, not even close. All those places are good, not great (though I love Bazaar and Jitlada). And Mozza, can we get some seasonal specials and changes to the menu, please? CC #2, Melisse and Urasawa are the two best high end restaurants in LA (and I'll give a nod to Providence also), a town which does much better at the low end than the high end. None of those three made the list. CC #3, Italian food is generally a weak link in LA, and does anyone even put Valentino in the top-5 Italian restaurants in LA any more?

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help This New Valley Boy

I recently moved to Studio City. I love my house, love the neighborhood and love so many great restaurants on Ventura Blvd. (Asenebo, Lala, Nozawa, Mantee, Kiwami, Sattdown, Ramen Jinya, Amir's, Bollywood Cafe, Black Market Liquor and Ombra, just to name a few east of Laurel Canyon). But I haven't as yet ventured too far off Ventura. I'm looking for some great recommendations in the new 'hood, particularly Studio City, Burbank, North Hollywood, Toluca Lake area, though I will gladly travel anywhere for a great meal. While I'm an Asian food fanatic (especially Japanese), I love all ethnic food (fancy or extremely casual makes no difference) and really enjoy a great French bistro. Please don't hold back! Russian, German, Irish Pub, or Persian, even a burger or bowl of chili, I love it all! Bonus points for wine-friendly places that let me BYO or have reasonable corkage.

burglover in Los Angeles Area

ISO Russian "Brighton Beach" Style Dinner/Club

Thanks guys. Romanov sounds perfect. And I just moved to Studio City, but that's for another request/thread. I'll be sure to post a review as I don't see anything on CH and the place has been open 4 years (but I guess maybe that says enough in itself!).

burglover in Los Angeles Area

ISO Russian "Brighton Beach" Style Dinner/Club

I'm looking for a fun Russian supper club, one where the music is loud, the food plentiful and the vodka flows liberally! The food need not be the best (though great is always better than good!); I'm just looking for a fun spot for a group dinner away from the usual WeHo and Westside spots.

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Hound-worthy Mexican with good margaritas and ambience?

Tlapazola Grill on Gateway in West LA. Atmosphere is a bit dry, but the food is fantastic, the waitstaff friendly and they have a list of no fewer than 50 tequilas from which to choose. Not your usual taco/enchilada spot though they do have a few "traditional" favorites on the menu.

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Tlapazola Grill
11676 Gateway Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Very poor Ruen Pair experience

Ruen Pair? Why, when Ganda is across the parking lot?

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Anyone been to Craft lately?

And I'd bet never will! I work in the CAA building next door and still can't find a reason to set foot in the door anymore, at least beyond the bar. It's a mystery to me why Colicchio can't get his act together in this space... Even more of a mystery why people continue to frequent the restaurant -- I guess it's because of the location.

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Back In Time - The Classic American Dining Room of Jar [Review] w/ Pics!

Just because it's Jar, I always get the same items as straying usually leads to disappointment. Off the mozzarella menu I like the stracciatella, the eggplant involtini, and a burrata with guanciale and asparagus. And Exile, keep up the great work on the fantastic Japanese restaurants in Southern Cal...you're the best!

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Restaurants that Allow Dogs?

Thanks. Don't know how I missed this...

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Restaurants that Allow Dogs?

I'm looking for suggestions of restaurants in the West Hollywood that allow dogs. Our dogs are medium-sized to large and are generally well-behaved. We go to Joey's on Santa Monica for brunch on the weekends, which is great. Hugo's used to allow dogs but they don't anymore. We also go to the Cat & Fiddle with the pups, but unfortunately the food sucks.

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Back In Time - The Classic American Dining Room of Jar [Review] w/ Pics!

EK, once again you've nailed it -- as does Bob. Fantastic room but a lot of duds on the menu. That said, the pot roast is superb, the steaks are usually solid and the drinks are good. And on Monday nights they have a host of mozzarella presentations (appetizer size), a few of which are very good. I wanna love it, but I only go when I have a hankering for pot roast or drinks and apps on Monday. With a little tightening up, this could really be a top restaurant in West Hollywood.

burglover in Los Angeles Area

PLEASE POST YOUR VOTES HERE: Ultimate Los Angeles Restaurants 2009

Over $25:
Melisse
Osteria Mozza
Bazaar
Sona
Lucques

Under $25:
Santouka
Sea Harbor
Torihei
Jitlada
Mariscos Chente

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Sona
401 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90048

Santouka
3760 S Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Lucques
8474 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Mariscos Chente
4532 S Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Torihei
1757 W. Carson Street, Torrance, CA 90501

Marisco's
718 S San Jacinto Ave, San Jacinto, CA 92583

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Santouka Ramen will open in Bay Area?

I'm a devotee of Santouka here in LA...can't wait to compare the two when I'm in San Jose in two weeks. On that note, I'd love to host a dinner for a few friends at a great izakaya in the South Bay. Is there anything good? if not Japanese, any other awesome Asian that can compete with SoCal?

burglover in San Francisco Bay Area

Authentic Fish Tacos - San Diego

I'm staying in Del Mar for the weekend and am looking for the real deal, Ensenada-style fish tacos. Fried fish, cabbage, pink sauce... I tried searching the boards (I hate redundant posts/threads) but came up without a clear group of winners. Just for the sake of comparison, I'd also love to hear of some other styles of fish tacos in the area (but I don't eat marlin). Near Del Mar is great, but will travel for the best!

burglover in San Diego

Most influential restaurant

Bazaar is the best new restaurant in LA, hands down. We ate at XIV Saturday night; it was good, nowhere near great. The food was well-executed and the service was very good, but there was nothing new or particularly inspired on the menu. None of the passion of Bazaar. Pretty solid wine list, though, with some excellent relative values in a city of overpriced wine lists. Someone mentioned Gyenari. I ate there last week and I thought it was awful, but I went expecting Korean food. Stick to K-town!

burglover in Los Angeles Area

Please Help this LA Hound avoid a Chain Steak

Just checked out the website for Primehouse. Looks perfect! Has anyone had the 72 day aged ribeye?

burglover in Chicago Area

Please Help this LA Hound avoid a Chain Steak

I'm coming to Chicago for a biz dinner next week and I dread going to the default steakhouse. Don't get me wrong, I'm a full-fledged carnivore who loves a good steak, but I would like to find something equally fun but with more interesting food and wines. I've been to Chicago many times and have always taken advantage of your many topflight restaurants, though I haven't been in over 3 years. Ideally looking for a place that's new and still somewhat hip, not too serious and has a diverse and interesting wine list. Price isn't a major consideration. And I guess it would be helpful if the restaurant were somewhat proximate to the Loop.

burglover in Chicago Area

Monday Malaise - Where to go?

I'm looking for some restaurants that do something unique on Monday nights, like Lou's prix-fixe with wine pairing, for example. When I lived in NYC, many places had great deals on prix-fixe menus and/or dropped their corkage fees. I love the idea of no corkage, so that's a huge bonus for me!

burglover in Los Angeles Area