clearly's Profile
Little Tokyo, Sawtelle, Thai Town Christmas Eve/Christmas Day
lots of places in thai town will be open. call to find out though. that's the easiest way to avoid disapointment. my favorite thai place (bua siam) is open - they are in north hollywood though.
Bayou Worthy Oyster Po Boys: Big Mama's in Pasadena
what in my post makes you think i didn't comprehend what he wrote?
Decent Thai Food - South Bay (Near El Segundo)
i'm not sure this is possible. i work in the south bay and don't even bother.
i eat regionally - when in the south bay (torrance, gardena) i stick with japanese, korean, and certain mexican places.
i would never in a million years even attempt to get good thai in manhattan beach. energy is just better spent on driving to thai town or north hollywood for the good stuff.
sorry.
Jitlada's amazing Southern Thai menu
jitlada = overrated thai restaurant
i prefer sapp's or bua or swan or even some of krua's dishes.
they all have dishes that jitlada have but do them better. the finely shredded catfish with the papaya or green apple at bua siam is waaaaayyyyy better than jitlada. that's just one example.
jitlada has a few dishes that you wouldn't find at other places or are more difficult to find. but, that doesn't make up for poor execution of dishes. been here three times. all times was disappointed.
Bayou Worthy Oyster Po Boys: Big Mama's in Pasadena
i probably shouldn't comment because i've never been to this place. but, all i can say is that if the oysters ain't from the gulf, that po'boy won't taste like new orleans. just like those red beans and rice won't taste the same without camellia beans.
they may be good, but not like new orleans. sorry.
Looking for opera cake
lol! that carrot cake is pretty damned good too! but, that's off topic.
NYer visiting LA - suggestions please
A restaurant I have not been to but heard good things about from listening to Good Food on KCRW is Palate Food & Wine in Glendale. They do the farmer's market thing.
In fact, you should try looking at the Good Food website: http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/gf. They normally talk to restaurants owners/chefs who are shopping at the santa monica farmer's market. they list those restaurants in their blog.
You might also want to try Umami Burger. Campanile also fits your description, but I've always thought it was just okay.
Honestly, I'm an eastsider, a downtowner, and while I've been to a few of the places they are not my favorite. la's gems are found in the "ethnic" places but it doesn't seem like you're into that.
I would encourage you to spend a bit of time downtown. For whiskey: 7 Grand, across the street from Bottega Louie - you might wanna eat there. They've got something like more than 100 kinds of whiskey.
Varnish is also a place you might want to try for freshly made cocktails/drinks. no mixes, etc.
Italian: Drago
"Haute" Latin/Americana: Riverarestaurant (riverarestaurant.com) or provecho
Sushi: Hama Sushi or Restaurant Komasa in Little Tokyo
NYer visiting LA - suggestions please
akasha in culver city probably is the closest thing to what you're looking for.
it does the local organic/local foodie thing. it's a nice restaurant. a tad overpriced and the food is not good enough, for my tastes. it's not enough to be organic and local. but that's just me.
it's on jonathan gold's must try lists.
www.akasharestaurant.com
if this is the style of food you want, this is the golden child right now. been written up everywhere, including conde nast for their hot tables list 2009.
Le Creuset and Its Imitators
stop being so cheap. save your money and get what your wife wants. she'll be disappointed if you buy her the cheapo chinese knock-off. i mean, don't you know she realizes that there are other lesser-priced brands out there?
the only one you might be able to substitute, and not draw as much irritation, would be a staub pot. otherwise, get the lady what she asks for.
i wonder how you might feel if you wanted some electronic gadget but she bought the walmart store brand instead of the one you desperately want.
Best Thai food ever: Jitlada
i've been to jitlada a couple of times and have never been impressed.
the soft crab curry dish was too sweet.
the shredded catfish cloud w/ apple (?) is not as good as the one at bua siam.
the duck curry was not as hot and flavorful as renu nakorn.
the deep fried turmeric fish was fried too hard and so was not that great.
the rice salad is ok and about the only thing i sorta enjoyed.
i had other forgettable dishes there too.
i'd go to jitlada just to say i went but i'm not impressed. bua siam, renu nakorn, swan, etc. have better food.
plus, when i go to these places, they actually make it hot when i say make it hot. jitlada never makes my food hot enough. it's always bland. it takes them forever to make your order. this place is completely overrated.
Camellia Red Kidney Beans
i second the fish market on vernon. although i've always called it the louisiana fish market. we've been getting our camellia beans from there for years. i tell people who want to make red beans after a trip to new orleans that they won't taste like louisiana if they not camellia beans.
they also usually have black, lima(butter), pigeon, and black eyed peas too.
i might add that they make a very good crawfish boudin sausage. yum.
