El Comelon's Profile
Enough of the praise ... what's the 5 WORST of LA?
Ok, I know you asked for 5 but here are 2 and I owe you the other 3.
Roscoe's C and W. Overpriced flavorless chicken as well as the waffles (Try the Proud Bird on Slauson 5 blocks west of Crenshaw if you want real chicken and waffles)
El Tepeyac - Bland food. The hollenbeck is huge but it is watery and lacking any texture. They distract you with the size. For flavor, go to El Taurino on Olympic and Alvarado.
"Variety meats": dining on brains, intestines, and hearts in L.A.
I can't recall the name of the restaurant, but it is a Korean BBQ place on 6th (north side of the street) half a block west of Western. They have a lunch and a dinner special (A, B or C) and this includes the usual KBBQ fare, but the second serving is when they bring the goodies. You get stomach, intestines and others. Price is about $15 a person. I live 2 blocks from there and lunch time is the best time to visit. At night, it is madness. By the way, you grill your own meat in this joint so bring clothes you don't mind getting all "smoked" up. Enjoy
lobster festival@ redondo - any thoughts?
After reading this post last week, I decided to try out the one in Redondo. I would say it is pretty decent for $15.00. It is not a festival, rather a special at Quality Seafood (as someone correctly posted last week) I did get a pretty decent size lobster, corn and butter (no slaw, nor bread) Lemons are $1.00 each, so you may want to bring your own. Yes, seating is difficult to find, but San Peter is worse. Lobsters are fresh, since they have them in a tank ready to be plucked. Beer is $10 for a 60 oz pitcher (bud,miller)
Would I go back? Yes, but don't expect your palate to orgasm!!! Think of it as a quicky that hits the spot.
Best Thai food in LA?
I actually traveled to Thailand last November and ate my way through. Anyhow, as others have mentioned, Wat Thai is pretty good. Also, I have found that Thai BBQ has decent Satay's. But I can only recommend the one on Normandie and 3rd street in LA. I understand this is a chain, as I have seen them in the valley and other parts of LA, but this is the one that has decent satay's. Only problem is, on the other items it is a hit and miss. Also, in Hollywood, across the street from Sabor Y cultura there is a little thai rest. that has pretty decent food. I can't recall the name but it is 2 or 3 blocks east of Wilton (Arlington or whatever it the street changes to as it hits Hollywood blvd) if you are heading north.
Searchin' for Sangrita
Gosh, that's tough call. Not sure where you are located but the try Gigante supermarkets, also the Superior Warehouse (both have websites for locations) Usually I buy it in TJ and bring my stash for 6 months. Don't forget to put it in the freezer for 1/2 hour before drinking to get the ultimate tang..
Salud
ktown: 6th and western: mr coffee and western soondae
Hey, I went to the soondae place about a month ago. You are right about the waitress and menu. She actually told us that we probably would not like the food. We decided to stick it out and ordered some soondae and a soup (can't remember name). Anyhow, my girl was not impressed, the waitress was right about not liking the food. I tought it was OK, at least we tried it. For us non-koreans, I would describe soondae to a dark sausage (similiar to blood sausage)with rice in it. Not bad, especially if you throw some in a noodle soup (as I did). I'll have to try mr coffee. I've seen it but haven't wondered in yet.
friday night taco adventure - el taurino & kike's tacos (brief synopsis & pics)
You are correct, you should hang a right (head west) however, if you happen to hang a left you will find another taco cart before Vermont (on the left hand side).
friday night taco adventure - el taurino & kike's tacos (brief synopsis & pics)
Yes, el Taurino has been my favorite since the 80's, when the area was less than stellar (trust me, nowadays it is very tame). Anyhow, for those fellow adventorous Chowhounders, I can tell you that if you want your pick of taco carts (Which by the way are superior to a taco truck, since you get to interact more with the "Chef") take Normandie and head south to Florence avenue. Along Normandie (before getting to Slauson) you will find about 5 taco stands (the northemost is before you get to MLK Blvd), so after hitting every one of those, you have still not found tacos to your liking (which by the way each taco still sells for $50 cents), then when you get to Florence hang a left (heading west) and you will find 2 taco carts (one next to a night club) They have some of the hottest chiles I have ever tasted. They called them Chile Manzano, and the burn is very close to that of Habanero. Drive one more block, on Denker and Florence you will find another taco cart that has very good "tripas". This is the real deal, I mean, they dunk your tortillas in oil and lightly fry them before blessing them with your choice of 5 fillers (if my memory serves my while sober, they are asada, buche, tripas, suadero and al pastor. This is bliss. By the way, that salsa in El Taurino is unforgiving, problem is the more you eat, the more you crave it. Lastly, you are right, al pastor is prepared on the spinning rotisserie (called "trompo" in Spanish).
Tip, for the best Al pastor in the whole world, go to tacos el gordo in Tijuana. If you are truly in search of the wholy grail, let me know and I will give you directions there. The best this humble and unrefined palate has had the pleasure of processing.
REAL CUBAN FOOD
I would stay away from Xiomara. It is very expensive (4 of us went there for lunch and the bill came to $85 excluding tip) and the food was bland and took a long time to get there. The black beans were so-so. I do agree with you about Miami's Cuban food. Only in NY have I had Cuban food that is better than Miami's. Anyhow, to get something close to Cuban coffee, try Vietnamese coffee. It is strong and a bit sweeter but with a kick.
