Hombre's Profile
Best soups along the strip
I'm looking for places that serve great soup along the strip, humble or fancy. I love soup, and in fact the dish that first got me thinking seriously about food was an amazing white bean soup at Postrio I had about 12 years ago.
Any soups I should try on my next trip?
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
Thanks for the tip, Servog. Bulavinaka also suggested a Ramen crawl in South Bay which would be fun if we get enough time off.
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
You've convinced me. Gotta have 'em. And it's not far from where we're staying. :)
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
Our tentative list so far.
Mei Long Village - XLB
Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant - dim sum
VK Tofu
Noodle King - dan dan mian
Santouka - ramen [nix Daikokuya]
Nha Tran - pho/bun bo hue
Rajdhani - thali
Bhanu Indian Grocery & Cuisine
Kobawoo House - Korean, bossam
Golden Triangle - Burmese
San Gabriel Superstore - Vietnamese pancakes
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
Thanks, chezwhitey. In Phoenix I stick to pho since other dishes I've tried have often been disappointing (at least in comparison to pho). I'll take your advice and try something new. And so Mei Long is now on the list -- and pork fat is right up my alley.
It's just my wife and me, but I'm sure we'll order family style anyways.
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
In that case, I'll have to try both thick and thin XLB.
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
Thanks, VK Tofu goes to the top of the list! We have decent Vietnamese in PHX, but of course you always hear that there's no comparison to the LA scene, so we'll do Vietnamese at least once.
I love the sound of those pancakes. Our original plan was to arrive early Thurs, but now we're considering making a full week of it since our list of "must tries" is already longer than four days will allow for.
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
I'm willing to drive for Ramen. Daikokuya sounds like a good option and a chance to explore Little Tokyo.
I must admit, I love pho and ramen, but am not familiar with Chinese noodles outside of the lo mein in American-Chinese joints. We'll definitely put Chinese noodles on the list.
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
I must admit, I'm a little intimidated about driving in LA, which is why we were originally going to rely on public transportation. Watch out for the dude in the beat up Civic with AZ plates going 15 mph in mid-July. :)
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
Thank you so much for the great information! My wife is very excited about the prospect of fresh tofu, and I'm going to rewatch Tampopo for the 43rd time to get my Ramen juices flowing. Great idea to take home some frozen XLB.
We've settled on an inexpensive hotel (Rodeway Inn) in Rosemead. We're going in mid July, and I'll report back on our experience. Thanks again.
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
Thanks again. So we're thinking we're going to drive to L.A. (from AZ) and most likely stay in San Gabriel Valley. Any suggestions on the following, even if it means driving a bit?
1. Ramen. Gotta have it.
2. Xiao long bao. Ditto. Had it in Vancouver, best bite of my life.
3. Dim sum in general.
4. Fresh tofu.
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
Thanks, I'm beginning to think we will drive (from AZ) to have more flexibility, so this is beginning to sound like the right option.
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. San Gabriel Valley sounds perfect for what we want.
Do Little Tokyo and Chinatown live up to their names? I just found a Japanese hotel (Little Tokyo Hotel) in the area for $40 a night if I can talk my wife into the shared bathroom/shower concept, though I think she'd prefer the Hilton chezwhitney suggested.
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
Just to clarify, we're not limited to LA, a suburb would be fine too. This is purely a pleasure trip, and solely for the food. We won't be doing any sightseeing.
Where to stay for cheap eats weekend in LA?
My wife and I are planning a trip to LA later this year just for the food. Where would be a good place to base ourselves for access to inexpensive Asian places, esp. Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese? A cheap hotel within walking distance of some good places would be ideal, but we would also be willing to use public transportation to get to other interesting areas, like Mexican taco trucks or anything else cheap and good.
Where would you stay and eat if you had three days in LA and a limited budget? Even just a general area in which to base ourselves would be helpful. Thanks!
Cheap eats in the area?
In Chandler, Chodang Tofu & BBQ does good Korean food. Portions are large so you can share. Also Elmer's Tacos (decent, cheap and why not when in AZ). Si Senor Restaurant does New Mexican food at reasonable prices, anything with the green chile sauce is good. It can also be fun to drive down Main street in Mesa for some interesting Mexican dives.
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Chodang Tofu & BBQ
1501 N Arizona Ave, Chandler, AZ
Elmer's Tacos
355 N Arizona Ave, Chandler, AZ 85225
Cork(Chandler) - Likely lone in my dislike
My wife and I have been to Cork a number of times for the tasting menu and happy hour, and have almost always been happy with the food and service. We did have one bad experience with a particular waiter who gave us inaccurate information regarding the menu and prices (we wanted to wait for a seat at the bar for the happy hour menu, he told us the prices were "a couple dollars more" -- not true). He also just seemed disinterested, which is somethign we'd never experienced at Cork before. Both my wife and I left feeling he'd was either very careless or delibertately disingenous. We dread being seated now in case we get "the guy."
Gujarati Indian restaurant in east valley?
Anyone know of a Gujarati restaurant offering thali in the east valley (or anywhere in the Phoenix area)?
2 week visit to Phoenix-- must eats?
Lee's Sandwiches just across the street from Phoenix Palace Buffet / Lee Lee's does Banh Mi Sandwiches starting at 2.50, and fresh Vietnamese baguettes (baked every half hour) for a dollar. Custard-filled french horns for 1.25.
2 week visit to Phoenix-- must eats?
For New Mexican, Los Dos Molinos (Mesa) and Si Senor (Chandler) are both very good. Love the green chili sauce and bean dip at Si Senor.
Opposite Mekong palace, Asian Café Express has good, cheap, authentic (so I'm told) Hong Kong style food. For some reason, anything with black bean sauce is identified as "black pepper" on the menu. The noodles with spare ribs in black bean sauce are great.
For Thai, I think Latitude Eight (Chandler) has the best Thai food in the valley. In fact, my Thai wife and I think it's better than Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas (L8 fish cakes make LoS fish cakes look like hockey pucks). My favorite dish is the Phad Kra Pao, pork/chicken sauted with basil and garlic, and topped with a soft fried egg (just checked this on the menu, and it's Basil Leaf Chicken). L8 is more expensive than the typical Thai place.
PHX Los Betos, Filibertos, et al. - What's Good, Not?
Thanks for recommending the taqueria on Alma & Warner (the name on the sign now is Taqueria MiCasa). You're right about the guys being *very* friendly. Good, authentic carnitas and chicken tacos for $1.18 a piece. They have fish, beef tongue, and some other options as well. I work nearby, so I'm sure I'll go back often.
Great Thai experience, Gilbert AZ
My wife (from Thailand), and I have eaten here three times and really like it. The people who run it seem like a sweet couple. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.
Steak frite
Zinc for me too. Had steak frites at Bouchon in Las Vegas, and my immediate thought was "Thank goodness for Zinc Bistro."
Best Restaurants Close By Us? (Chandler, AZ)
Ziggylu, you're spot-on regarding Si Senor. The Hatch and the spicy bean dipping sauce are delicious. At first I was disappointed with my combo plate (swimming in sauce and cheese), but man was it tasty. Great green and red chili, good beef taco, solid beans and rice. The enchilada just got lost in the sauce. Next time I go back, I'll ask them to go easy on the cheese and sauce.
Mesa, AZ Mini-reviews: Asian Cafe Express and Grill El Quetzal
I stopped by today hoping to try some pupusas, but it looks like El Quetzal has closed. Instead, I had an excellent mo pa tofu at Asian Express. I’ll go back to try some of their noodle dishes.
There’s a Mi Pueblo market opening in the same strip mall.
What is the best dip you ever had and the recipe?
The Elote (corn) dip from Elote Cafe in Sedona, AZ. It's one of those dishes my wife and I had to try to replicate at home. Our take is this: About a cup of mayo thinned with water and a touch of vinegar, diced shallots and chili peppers, a dash of honey, and fresh or frozen corn kernels (small bag) roasted on a skillet. Lots of interesting variations are possible, like adding smoked paprika, cilantro, chipotles, etc.
Edit: I just checked the website, and they use lime and cotija cheese. We generally use sherry vinegar cuz we love it. Need to try this with the cheese now....
http://www.elotecafe.com/sedona-restaurant-dinner-menu.html
Sedona with family
My wife and I did our best to re-create the Elote at home. This led to all kinds of wonderful corn salads, and our version of the Elote is something we now serve every time we have guests. I could go Elote Cafe and just order three buckets of Elote and some margaritas and be completely happy.
Cafe Krishna in Chandler (PHX)
Thanks for the recommendation. I stopped by for lunch yesterday and liked it. The vegetarian dishes and dosas are a nice break from the standard Indian buffet. Everything I tried was quite good, I'll definitely return. Lunch buffet is just under $10 with tax.
