Prix fixie lunch recs for today - Friday?

Any suggestions for prix fixie lunch recommendations? Pasadena, SFV, Melrose/Beverly, etc. I searched gayot.com, and only ones I found were Joe's and Lilly - unfortunately both are in Venice, and too far to drive from Burbank.

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Thai personal chef?

Wanted to have a chef come home and cook a Thai meal for about 20 people. Any suggestions? Its on a bit of a budget - under $30/person - and hoping that using a chef would be easier/better/cheaper than catering.

Thanks.

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Chowhound challenge - cheese manakish, anywhere in LA??

Here's a challenge for all you foodies..anyone know of a Lebanese bakery in town that serves cheese manakish?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manakish

I lived in Dubai for a few years, and was reminiscing about Dubai and trying to remember the name of the "Dubai pizza" we used to grab after a late night - and finally (Google is your friend!!) figured it out - its called a cheese manakish. Here's what is looks like (BTW, Al Reef Bakery is an incredible bakery in Dubai). I've tried the Armenian pizza, and the Georgian, and while those are quite tasty, don't have quite the lightness and taste of the manakish.

http://www.timeoutdubai.com/restaurants/reviews/1503-al-reef-lebanese-bakery

Thanks!!

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Need lunch suggestions - Lankershim/Magnolia in NoHo

Thanks - I'll check these out this week!

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Need lunch suggestions - Lankershim/Magnolia in NoHo

Just moved to North Hollywood for work, and looking for lunch suggestions - within walking distance or 5-7 minute drive. Love the hole-in-the-wall, local joints where food takes precedence over everything else.

Here's what I've looked at so far:
Eclectic cafe - should be great, is pretty average
Casita Taco - pretty good
Eat - pretty good

What else? Sushi, Thai, Middle Eastern, Pizza, Salads, etc?

Thanks in advance!

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

LA hound craves cold sesame noodles

Yes, west 65th Street, thank you for that, and thanks to you and LeahBalia for the restaurants tips- look forward to trying these out.

Cheers,
-K

kedar5150 in Manhattan

LA hound craves cold sesame noodles

Flying in from LA tonight - coming in for a wedding, and this is my only free night - and would love to grab some authentic NYC-style Chinese cold sesame noodles - been making those from a NY Times recipe for years, now want to try to real thing! Will be staying on the Upper West Side (45th and 67th), and should get there by around 10:30pm if the airline gods cooperate. Any suggestions for where I can get these noodles relatively close to the upper west side, or that may deliver late?

Thanks,
-K

kedar5150 in Manhattan

Business lunch around Glendale/Burbank?

Hello all,

Looking for suggestions for a week-day business lunch in Glendale, Burbank, Eagle Rock for 5 people, aiming for about $30/person for food. Would prefer to avoid Steak houses (so no Damon's), Mexican, Chinese and Sushi (due to dietary restrictions). Bashan looked like it would be great, but seems to be dinner only. I browsed through some of the earlier posts, but nothing jumped out.

Thanks in advance.

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Interesting, unique venue in the South Bay for birthday - 50 people

Hello,

Hoping to get some help from South Bay Chowhounds as we plan a birthday event (we're in LA).

We're looking for a interesting/unique venue for a birthday party - private homes that rent out by the hour, museums, restaurants, banquet rooms, wineries, etc - in the South Bay - Los Gatos, San Jose, Cupertino, Saratoga, etc. Its in February, so indoor only, permission to serve alcohol and allow dancing would be great. Could be either sit-down or hors d'oeuvres depending on cost, and for about 50 people.

Thanks in advance!

kedar5150 in San Francisco Bay Area

Favorite meals at Whole Foods?

So finally went to the new Whole Foods in El Segundo - pretty wide selection of food, from Brazilian to Sushi to Mexican, Pizza and sandwiches - and looked like it could be a good alternative to going to a restaurant, more low-key etc..hell, they even have a wine bar. So definitely impressed. What do people here think about the meals? Any favorites, should not be missed kind of items? Any interesting finds? Again, I'm looking for a ready-to-eat stuff - either made to order or pre-packaged.

Thanks all!

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Red Velvet Cupcakes or Cake?

Friend of mine makes cakes for sale - right now its to order only, and she's planning on opening a store soon. We tried her red velvet cupcakes last week, and they were amazing. http://kissmybundt.typepad.com

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Mieng Kahm in Los Angeles??

Anyone know where I can get some Mieng Kahm in Los Angeles? For anyone who's not had it, mieng kahm, is a beautifully presented appetizer of toasted coconut, lime, ginger, peanuts and thai chilies wrapped in emerald bai cha plu leaves. Absolutely wonderful, had it in Bangkok and Seattle, but no luck so far in LA.

Thanks!

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Cold Sesame Noodles

Mmmm..cold sesame noodles, spicy, with chilled cucumbers!! I went through the cold sesame noodle craving a few months back as well. I had almost forgotten how good they can be till I had them in Seattle in January (thanks to Seattle Chowhounds!!). The restaurants in LA never seemed to carry them on their menus and was getting pretty desperate when the NY Times carried a great article on cold sesame noodles, including a pretty easy recipe. I tried it, and wow..blew me away. So that's another option. Here's the intro to the article..a quick search on nytimes.com should give you the entire article.

April 1, 2007
FOOD: THE WAY WE EAT
New York Noodletown
By SAM SIFTON
Historians may quibble, but spend any time with the jokers and memory thieves who while away their days eating and talking about Chinese food in New York City, and you’ll hear someone say it was Shorty Tang who cooked the best cold sesame noodles Manhattan ever tasted.......

These suggestions below are great, can't wait to try them.

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Not authentic, non-traditional, but sinfully good General Tso's chicken?

Had to Google it and get the name..here it is..
Evergreen Restaurant
2771 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, MI
(734) 769-2748

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Mayurama in Culver City

Thanks Dorab! .

We checked out Mayura for dinner couple of weeks back..and then went again last week! Highly recommended. Some more details

The owners used to be with Annapurna (vegetarian dosa joint, also on Venice) and recently opened up their own place. They are from Kerala, which is known for its Aapam (made from rice flour..think of a cross between idli and dosa) and seafood dishes. I definitely second the recommendation on the fish curry. We also tried the chicken curry (excellent), shrimp masala (good, but oily) and the fish fry (good).

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Not authentic, non-traditional, but sinfully good General Tso's chicken?

Hello all,

Am on the look-out for General Tso's chicken..yes, the completely inauthentic, non-traditional kind. Fried, breaded, spicy, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Last time I had it was at my favorite Chinese delivery joint in Ann Arbor (and that was quite a few years back) and would love to find something similar in LA, hopefully on the westside. Tried the Cheng Pi chicken at Hu's, and did not compare - was too crunchy/stringy.

Any suggestions?

Cheers,
-K

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Rajdhani in Artesia

I'm a big big fan of Rajdhani. Being from Bombay, can certainly vouch for the authenticity of the food - thali restaurants like these are pretty common in Bombay (in fact there is another Rajdhani, located in the heart of Bombay's financial district, that does a roaring lunch business), and they typically serve Gujarati food, as losfelizhound points out. It's quite economical as well - about $12/person if memory serves me right.

The service is great, with hot fresh food served to your table, and always encouraging you to eat more - how many restaurants can say that?!! Far superior to Yogiraj, Rasraj, Jay Bharat, etc. Highly recommended.

Caveats: Week-ends can get pretty crowded, so go early (before 12) or put your name down on the list and explore Little India. Can also get noisy (think lots of large families, kids running around, etc).

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

The Best but Least Expensive Tasting Menu?

I would recommend Jiraffe. Monday nights, around $35 per person. We've been there twice, and loved it each time.

kedar5150 in Los Angeles Area

Seattle week-end..need food plus going-out recommendations

Thanks for the reply. We'll add Monsoon to our list, and Baltic Room sounds exactly like what we were looking for.

kedar5150 in Pacific Northwest