Thanks. Lots of good suggestions. I was quite comfortable with GF until the request was GF and Asian. Will look at all the suggestions. Chowhounders are the best.

I'm in Culver City so Zengo is a real possibility.

I was thinking of Korean BBQ, specifically. I thought they could pick and choose in banchan, and eat brisket and rib eye. Chinese does strike me as nearly impossible unless someone, somewhere does a gluten free menu. They also don't eat dairy, which makes Indian more problematic. But I'm sure they would be open to Thai or Vietnamese. I'm willing to cast quite a wide net here.

Out of town guests are coming and the request is for asian food and cocktails. My first thought is EASY! Rice! meat! But there is, of course, all sorts of sneaky gluten in food, including, I am told, soy sauce.

We could do sushi, but I'd like to do something else. Chinese? Korean? Any suggestions?

Thanks, PappyAustin. I was hoping some restaurant might be doing them special for Hannukah. I might have to break down and make my own...

Does any restaurant do Hannakuh food? I'm not Jewish, I just really like latkes.

Kahuna's Tiki Bar & Grill. You say Tiki Bar and I think Mai Tai's, Pina Coladas, Hawaiian music. Tiki Bars were a Thing in the 50's and 60's and I kind of expect a strong retro vibe. Tiki Bars have a kind of style, ala Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London." ("I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vics./His hair was perfect.") My husband used to play in a surf band, so when Kahuna's opened near us, he was eager to try it out.

There are surf boards, and a kind of beachy decor. There are also a dozen TVs on tuned to an Xtreme sports channel where young guys were doing very not-retro things on motorcycles. The music was "Nights in White Satin" by the Moody Blues which is a whole different kind of retro. Not one drink in a coconut shell. Not even a drink with a paper parasol.

The place was not even half full, but with a concrete floor, hard walls and tables, and lots of TVs, the sound level was high. The menu is mostly bar food, although they advertise a Kalua flavored pulled pork sandwich. We weren't ready to order right away, as we were deep in study of the laminated placemat which serves as a menu. It has numerous corrections--which are done by covering the original in a white sticker sort of like the ones they used to use in grocery stores. The waitress said she'd be back and eventually she was. She was very young, very nice, and really rather clueless. Many young girls in shorts and Kahuna toshirts and sneakers wandered around although not many seemed to actually do much.

My husband ordered a grilled tuna sandwich with a ginger wasabi sauce. I ordered an Island burger which is a hamburger with American cheese and lettuce, tomato and pickle. I had to get her attention back to say i wanted the onion rings instead of fries. It just never occurred to her to ask, 'Did I want mayo? Fries or onion rings?' I did ask for mayo on the side.

My husband liked the sauce with his grilled tuna sandwich, but the bun was Wonder Bread (yet another kind of retro.)The burger was fine, not great, not awful, also served on wonder bread. It came without mayo, but they just turned to the guys in the kitchen and asked for mayo and it was up right away.

A Tiki Bar is supposed to be a bit of an experience. Kahuna's Tiki Bar & Grill is a surf themed sports bar with mediocre bar food and a nice but young and indifferently managed staff. The happy hour drinks are cheap and if you want to spend an hour sitting at a bar watching surfers or snowboarders, drinking a $3.00 drink, it's probably okay. But if I were a werewolf, I'd never be seen there.

Ate at Chinatown and while it was perfectly adequate dims sum, I was less than thrilled. We aited a long time for the carts carrying shiu mai and potstickers to come our way, but we were often presented with trays of pepper shrimp in martini glasses and fancy chilean sea bass. It wasn't that those were bad, it was just that when I want Dim Sum, I don't really want fancy Asian appetizers.

Our next dim sum trip is going to be Shanghai.

I concur with Guerro's on the food recommendation. Just mediocre Mexican. But I love their Margaritas--clean, simple, and potent. My advice would be to go for a Margarita or two and then eat dinner elsewhere.

Just had noodles in lamb broth at Chen's and found it delicious. The broth was muttony with a richness from the fat in the broth (we tend to dislike that in the west, but when I was in China, fat was a good thing.) The noodles are really nice. I want to try some of the other dishes--the leek pies, the stir fried noodles, the wonton soup and the noodles with black bean paste.

Whoever said it was northern-style comfort food was right on the mark. This is the kind of food that sticks to your ribs. As soul-satisfying in it's cultural context as mashed potatoes and gravy.