Just checking in, six weeks later... Is the season over? We're coming into town this Friday and want to eat soft shell po' boys! Recommendations that are NOT in the Quarter are most welcome. We'll be stayin' in Metairie.

Oh, please don't get your hopes up. It doesn't compare to the original on the Upper West Side. I wish it did! I'd make the pilgrimage to BH more often than to NYC.

-----
Upper West
3321 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404

We've been getting take-out from the Pasadena store for nearly a decade and never been disappointed. I think it does help to go at rush hour: Chickens are flying out the door between 5 and 6 p.m.!

OMG, the giant fish head at Hunan Seafood is to die for! I dream about that fish head. You must go there and eat one!

-----
Hunan Seafood Restaurant
8772 E Valley Blvd, Rosemead, CA 91770

Over 25 -
Pizzeria Mozza
Church and State
Lucques
Bistro LQ
Park's BBQ

Under 25 -
My Taco (Highland Park)
Lunasia (dim sum)
Sushi Gen (for lunch)
Folliero's Pizza
Pho 79

-----
Park's BBQ
955 S. Vermont Ave, Suite G, Los Angeles, CA 90006

Lucques
8474 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Pizzeria Mozza
641 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Pho
1147 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006

My Taco Restaurant
6300 York Blvd Ste 4, Los Angeles, CA 90042

Oh! We SO miss having him in South Pas at Bistro K. I'll have to get to Los Feliz this weekend and see what's cookin'!

Hey, not to start an argument here, but I live 2 blocks from Oak Tree Inn and we are nowhere NEAR Arcadia! We love the restaurant, but I wouldn't want anyone to head west on Huntington Drive looking for South Pas and think it's close by. Fifteen minutes will pass and they'll ask, "Aren't we there yet?" It'd be closer to drive south on Rosemead into Rosemead and San Gabriel.

Hey, it's the last two nights of the Democratic National Convention and I'm tired of watching the excitement at home alone. Can anyone recommend a good bar with a Big TV and some Chow-approved bar food (even Happy Hour?) in the Westwood/West L.A. area?

Our man Bill's speaking at 6 p.m. tonight and it'd be great to watch him with and appreciative crowd and a good beer in hand. Any suggestions?

Well, I would say people are reluctant to answer this question because NYC "Foodies" are not the same as L.A. foodies.

I go to NYC a lot. I have friends I've known for 30 years who consider themselves Foodies and we always have a great time eating together. BUT, the stuff they swoon over and the stuff WE swoon over are from two different worlds.

Also, we are hesitant to suggest anything because NYC Foodies tend to want the same kind of things they eat in NYC. This isn't NYC. (duh) And I've found that ex-NYers and visitors from NYC get very upset if the food isn't what you're used to in NYC.

So maybe we should just ask you, "WHAT is it you're interested in trying?"

I have to warn you: In these parts, the "hottest" restaurant of the moment amongst Local foodies is likely to be a place where most of the menu isn't even in English!

I have to second all of this. I never understand why New Yorkers come here and spend all their time looking for PIZZA! Or sushi!

There's nothing uniquely L.A. about any pizza or sushi. Go for something ethnic or find a nice place with a view of the ocean.

The name is the Boiling Crab.

We like the crawfish and the shrimp, but the crab was previously FROZEN. Bad form, very bad! I can't believe they had the audacity to do that in a town where every Asian supermarket has a live crab tank in it. It's not like the locals won't notice the difference!

Crawfish, I can understand. They are flown in from the South. But there's no excuse for the frozen crab.

Also, the music is dreadful and LOUD. We'd go all the time if if wasn't, but since it is we only stop in when we have an uncontrollable urge for crawfish.

We must second this, Spongi.

My son and I ate there for the first time this week, quite excited because we haven't been back to New Orleans in a few years. The crawfish were pretty good -- ("Not as good as New Orleans" said my kid) -- but pretty pricey at $8.99/pound.

They oysters were typical California oysters: Big, rather bland and creamy. We just got back from Seattle, so we are a little spoiled by the small, salty ones local to the Puget Sound.

Sadly, the biggest disappointment was the Dungeness crab. We are regular fresh crab eaters. We pick them up at Shun Fat or 99 Ranch alive and boil 'em up at home. Simple and divine.

So we were quite taken aback to be charged $20 for a boiled FROZEN crab. Clearly prefrozen. The meat was grainy and fell apart. We know our fresh crab because we never eat it unless it's tried to take my finger off first! I am still pissed off about the crab. I'll never order it here again, not when I can just eat a humongous crab at home for $6!

Still, we'll probably go back on occasion. The beer is cheap and the shrimp looked good. The gangsta rap was tres obnoxious, but I'm hoping enough people will complain and they'll fix this. Our service was a bit slow, but it got busy fast. Do go early. We had the place to ourselves at 5:30 and by 6 p.m. it was full.

Lots of great lunch options here, especially if you just want to park and not drive anywhere.

Hop Woo at 1 Main Street is a perfectly good, old-fashioned Cantonese food joint. Usually, they have some amazing lunch deal featuring crab or lobster.

If you're in the mood for cold noodles, not hot pho, Pho 79 is great for that too. My fave is always the cold noodles with BBQ pork and shrimp. YUM! With a cafe sua da, you're ready to tackle anything after lunch cuz you're caffeined-up, but not weighted down with a heavy meal.

We love Cuban Bistro's excellent ribs and classic Cuban roast pork. Be warned, you'll probably want to nap afterwards, however.

Other Chinese -- a few blocks west at 500 W. Main is Triumphal Palace. They can be crowded at lunch, so try to go early. (They open at 10:30 a.m.)

If you want Mexican, you can always get excellent scallop burritos or tacos at Senor Fish too!

Being that this is L.A. and you can find anything here, I'd post an ad on Craigslist -- in the employment section. I'm sure you can find a chef in this town who would do it privately for a price!

Plenty of great suggestions here. You can start chowing in any neighborhood and be amazed.

Just ONE suggestion: Do NOT attempt to find your favorite NY foods here in L.A.. This is not NYC. This is not a city that was ever born of NY emigres. The cuisine here reflects the large populations of West Coast immigrants: Asians, Latin Americans and Middle-Easterners. So please do not complain that you can't find familiar favorites like NY-style Italian, Greek, etc. here. You can fill up on that food when you visit home.

Other than that, enjoy your new explorations! And don't forget that our street food here is taco trucks, not hot dogs. Go eat at a taco truck....and then tell us what you think of El Cholo!

No, I think we're actually pretty spoiled by good service at most restaurants and will put up with a few bad places because they have nostalgic favorites.

Carmine's in SOUTH Pas has never had good service and I'll only go to humor some friend who loves their pizza. (I don't care for it. Give me Folliero's in nearby Highland Park ANY day! It's only two fwy exits away -- about 5 minutes drive -- at Ave. 57.)

As a NE L.A. native, I still love Casa Bianca's pizza but will only order it to go. The slooooow wait is not worth the nostalgic experience. Nicer to bring it home and crack open a bottle of good wine. But I think many people will tolerate the dismal service for a piece of 1960s L.A. nostalgia. The place hasn't changed a bit since I was a kid.

Crappy service is less well-tolerated in new places. A new restaurant with crappy service isn't going to last a year in this town, even if the food is fabulous. Why? There's plenty of fabulous food EVERYWHERE -- and generally with good service. I can't think of one terrific new restaurant that I have returned to if I thought the service stunk.

Trendiness just can't counter bad service. You have to have a loyal, well-established clientele to get away with that!

Another great little secret is Bistro Provence, a lovely little restaurant in a shopping center near the Ventura (101) freeway. Here's their website:

http://www.bistroprovence.net/index-1...

Also close to Burbank are Glendale and Atwater Village. Do a CH search there.

If you want to hang out with Francophiles, Taix is the place. You should make reservations. It's popular with the regulars!

Yes, they do. The farm-fed ones.

Bio-fuel or farm-fed fish? There is no free lunch.

Haven't tried Central Park, but AltadenaFG, you should know that the ONLY real Caesar salad to be had in the SGV is at DeLacey's Club 41 in Old Town. They still make it from scratch for you right at your table. Don't bother with any restaurant that doesn't make it from scratch for you.

DeLacey's is not stellar in any other food category, but we love to go there for Happy Hour snacks (perfectly good, cheap calamari!), beer, and Caesar salads!

Sorry guys, but Bistro Verdu is now closed. They are moving, I think.

Are you sure? Is he here just for a week? And what days does this cover -- through the weekend or through next weekend?

I was a regular at Bistro K since it's our neighborhood joint. MISS Laurent terribly. I'll be happy to come eat his food at Vermont, but please tell me what nights he'll be there. I prefer a weeknight when he's not crushed by the crowds and has time/leisure to have fun with his food!

Sunset Tower is fun, but the foodies will not be impressed. Not sure you'll really get a celebrity "hit" either.

Um, Beantown's great but it's a 15 to 20 minute drive from Pasadena (central) on the FREEWAY. Sierra Madre is not close to Pasadena even though it's technically adjacent.

Ten to twenty is a BIG group. How did you want everyone seated? At best, you'll need two long tables unless you want to have three groups of six. You will probably have trouble getting all the tables to be next to each other.

Given the size of your gang, I'd steer away from Downtown L.A. unless you're all prepared to pay $6 or more for parking. There are good happy hour specials and eats at places like Ciudad or McCormick and Schmidt, but seating will be a problem on a Friday night. If you get there right around 4 p.m., you may be able to get enough tables together on the patio at Ciudad.

Are you looking for a full bar or just beer? If beer, then a small pizza place like Manny's Pizza in Old Town Pasadena might serve your needs. At 4 p.m., you'll likely take over most of the restaurant, which is small and cozy. Or another beer option is the patio at Gordon Biersch brewery in the One Colorado complex at Colorado/Fair Oaks. (It's in the back by the movie theaters.)

If you come to Old Pasadena, remember to park in a CITY garage (not Koll's) where you get 90 minutes free. The lots are at Green/Fair Oaks or Delacey between Green and Colorado.

For chain Italian restaurants, Il Fornaio has the better food in Old Town Pas.

BUT, we do go to Mi Piace for two reasons: Nice bar (and decent happy hour bar food -- all half price) and desserts. It's a nice place to go for only dessert and coffee or only a drink and bar food during happy hour.

But let's face it: If you want superior Italian food, almost any single, NON-chain restaurant will be a better bet. Colorado Blvd. in Old Town is filled with chain restauarnts. If you want something better, get off the main drag.

This thread is hilarious. Clearly, EVERYONE is passionate about their local eateries no matter what region of the Greater L.A. area they live in!

What does that tell you? This is a great food town, no matter if you're East or West, Valleys or O.C. Really, TailbackU, were you looking to move? Or just stir up trouble?

Eight dollars for a bowl of pho is almost twice the going rate at a regular Vietnamese restaurant! It's not that it's too much -- but twice-the-price pho is rarely as good as its cheaper cousins in Garden Grove or San Gabriel.

Personally, unless I lived within a mile of the place, I'd choke on the price too.

FOSSELMAN'S!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Peppermint Ice Cream! Boysenberry sherbert!!
Pumpkin ice cream!!!

Been addicted for 35 years...

Any Peet's Coffee outlet should carry Semifreddi's biscottis from Emeryville.

They're a tad pricey, but still my favorite biscotti for dipping. L.A. is not a big biscotti town. I think our weather's too warm. It's more of a ritual food in cool, damp places like San Fran or Seattle.