Veggie-friendly restaurants open Thanksgiving?

We ended up going back to our original plan, which was to go to Dillon's in Hollywood -- it's a sports bar that also serves food. (A person in our party who couldn't attend had been going to watch football there.)

The advantage of Dillon's was that it was open on Thanksgiving, required no reservations, and had a variety of food. Though my shrimp pasta was tasty, I thought that it was overpriced and the portion was small. (I wish I'd gotten their Thanksgiving meal -- a little more expensive at $20, but might not have left me hungry.) Another in our party was satisfied with the tuna tartare. The place was busy and noisy from the football game, and the service slow but friendly.

On the way to Dillon's, I saw several restaurants in Thai town on Hollywood Blvd. that were open and busy. I really wish we'd been able to check those out.

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Veggie-friendly restaurants open Thanksgiving?

Thanks for the link! The restaurants look great but are a bit pricey for us.

One weird thing: Judging by Open Table, lots of places appear to be open today, but when you call them, they don't answer their phones...

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Veggie-friendly restaurants open Thanksgiving?

Our original plans fell through, and we're looking for a veggie-friendly restaurant open today, Thanksgiving, that might have a table. We are 2 omnivores, one veggie-but-eats-fish, and one vegetarian. We were thinking Chinese, Thai, or Italian, but are open to other cuisines. Relatively inexpensive or moderate prices would be good.

In terms of location, somewhere between West LA, downtown, and Burbank would be good ('cause that's where we're located). In other words, the San Gabriel Valley is rather far from all of us.

Do people know whether there are any good and reasonable Chinese or Thai places that might be open near Hollywood, Los Feliz, Koreatown, West LA, or up towards Burbank?

Thanks!

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Inexpensive good dinner in Santa Monica Tuesday eve

Thanks to everyone for your excellent suggestions. I think the group is leaning towards Fritto Misto, though we might end up somewhere else. I'll let you know how it works out.

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Fritto Misto
601 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Inexpensive good dinner in Santa Monica Tuesday eve

Thanks for your suggestions -- I appreciate your thinking of how we can keep within budget. Regarding Fritto Misto, we may need to try it just to see for ourselves what we think.

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Fritto Misto
601 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Inexpensive good dinner in Santa Monica Tuesday eve

Thanks for your comments and detailed suggestions. Cha Cha Chicken sounds especially tempting to me...

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Cha Cha Chicken
1906 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90405

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Inexpensive good dinner in Santa Monica Tuesday eve

Thanks, Servorg and Weinermobile, for your suggestions -- they sound good! One person in our group just mentioned Fritto Misto and Ninjin Sushi, both on Colorado near 6th, which also sound promising.

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Fritto Misto
601 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Ninjin
607 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Inexpensive good dinner in Santa Monica Tuesday eve

Can people recommend some good yet relatively cheap places to have dinner in Santa Monica (or maybe West L.A.) Tuesday evening (i.e., tomorrow)? Six of us will be having dinner before some in the group go salsa dancing -- I think the dancing is near the Promenade.

In terms of price, something under $20 would be good. I don't know whether this is still possible in Santa Monica at a sit-down place, but I hope so! (Of course, even cheaper would be great.)

I think we're fairly open as to cuisine -- Mediterranean, Mexican or Latin American, some kind of Asian, etc. What are people's favorite good cheap places in Santa Monica?

Thanks!

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Seeking unique LA food experience on the Westside

Yes, La Playita on Lincoln is very good. The shrimp burritos and other things are excellent. There's no seating except for this big metal bench, however, so be prepared to perch, lean, or get food to go.

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Has Anyone Ever Eaten At Tom's Burgers?

The last time I checked (about a year ago), the place at the golf course was under new management and had changed from "EATZ" to "The Los Feliz Cafe." It still had decent breakfasts and a great view of the golf course, but when I was there, the service was considerably worse than when it was EATZ. But I've never had the burgers there.

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Has Anyone Ever Eaten At Tom's Burgers?

I had breakfast at the burger place a few years back -- thought it was pretty bad. As I've ridden by on the bus, I've been curious about their "cactus plate" (various things with nopales -- don't know if they still have it) -- but so far, not curious enough to actually try it.

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Houston hound's weekend LA menu

I think "pork pump" was originally a typo for "pork rump," and somehow it stuck.

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Breakfast downtown

Philippe's (in Chinatown, near Union Station) has good breakfasts at very reasonable prices, but **they stop serving at 10:30 am** (and if you get there close to that time, you need to take a ticket so they'll still serve you breakfast).

It may not be the experience you're looking for -- you have to order at the counter, where there may be long lines, and the place can be somewhat zoo-like. But it's an L.A. institution, and if you take over one of the long tables or grab one of the small upstairs rooms, it might be fun.

emmy in Los Angeles Area

good take-out roast chicken in/near Altadena?

"fry, fry a hen" -- oy!

That Louisin's deal sounds great, though I'm not sure we *need* five chickens, unless they're really small. Anybody know how good their chicken is?

emmy in Los Angeles Area

good take-out roast chicken in/near Altadena?

Thanks for the suggestions! I will share them all with my friend. Loisin's Ardatz dip sounds good -- is their chicken also good? Also, does anyone know whether they're the sort of place that would be capable of getting 3-4 whole chickens ready fairly quickly? (Zankou can do that, of course.)

Based on a Google search, I think the place on Los Robles that Trolley noticed is called Rotisserie Chicken of California -- has anyone been there? How is it?

Thanks!

emmy in Los Angeles Area

good take-out roast chicken in/near Altadena?

Does anyone know of good roast or rotisserie chicken places in or near Altadena? (Parts of Pasadena are nearby.)

A friend is having a house-warming party tomorrow evening in Altadena and wants to serve roast chicken, along with veggie side dishes from the Lebanese Kitchen and salad. She prefers chicken that isn't very greasy, and we'd like a place without super-long waits or lines.

(If I have time, I might drive over to mid-Los Angeles and get her some chickens from Pollo a la Brasa, but that's far away, so we're looking for someplace nearer her house.)

Thanks in advance!

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Vegan near Echo Park tonight -- how's Cru?

Cru sounds great (though I think it's at the top end of our price range), but I just realized it's closed Tuesday nights. Has anyone tried the Elf Cafe? What are some other alternatives for tonight?

Thanks!

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Vegan near Echo Park tonight -- how's Cru?

Hi. I'm looking for a vegan or vegan-friendly restaurant for my house-guests tonight. Some of them have allergies to eggs and gluten (i.e., wheat). They also can't be near incense or cigarette smoke.

We'd prefer a restaurant with low-to moderate prices and near Echo Park (i.e., Echo Park, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Atwater, Eagle Rock, etc.) I think we called the "Vegan House" last year and they didn't seem to know about gluten.

I did find some threads on vegan food, such as

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/484649

My friends are interested in Cru -- how expensive is it?

Thanks

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Good Salvadorian food in or near Echo Park

Thanks to both of you for your suggestions!

I had forgotten about El Buen Gusto -- I've seen it but haven't been there -- sounds good. Thanks also for considering my visitors' dietary restrictions -- I left some out -- the veg/no wheat person is also low carb! But I think she makes an exception for pupusas ;-)

I'll also look into Las Casuelas, Abundant curtido is definitely a plus. I've heard of El Arco Iris for Mexican but have never been there.

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Good Salvadorian food in or near Echo Park

I have some out-of-town visitors with some dietary restrictions here in Echo Park who would like to eat some Salvadorian food. Also, since the demise of my favorite local Salvadorian restaurant (Café La Paz), I'm curious about other nearby Salvadorian places.

Does anybody know about Nuvia's on Sunset? I think it's where La Fe used to be. What do people think of the place at the intersection of Glendale, Alvarado, and Berkeley? What about Los Cobanos?

(Some of the visitors are vegetarian except for fish; some are very allergic to eggs and avoid wheat and cheese. Because one of the visitors is a three-year-old child, it makes the most sense for us to get take-out.)

I might get take-out from Atlacatl, though I'm a little mystified as to what to get the more allergic types. I guess pupusas with beans but no cheese, and fish with no breading with more beans...

Any thoughts are welcome, whether about what would be good for my visitors, or about local Salvadorian places in general. And if anyone knows whether Café La Paz relocated, please do tell.

Thanks!

emmy in Los Angeles Area

looking for fresh horseradish in hwd/silverlake

If you mean the whole thing in the produce aisle, as Passover approaches, it will become easier and easier to find in ordinary supermarkets such as Ralph's.

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Being a ChowHound on a Tight Budget

Good point. I think that most of the time, Rodeo Grill (and its sister restaurant down the block Happy Tom's, in which most items are 50 cents cheaper than at RG) have weekday specials -- they usually have 2 lunch/dinner items and one breakfast item which are on special M-F. At least Happy Tom's does. The items involved rotate.

emmy in Los Angeles Area

Being a ChowHound on a Tight Budget

the birds are singing my song: "cheap! cheap! cheap!" Here are the best deals I know of -- except for the breakfast places, I usually get takeout...

Elena's Greek and Armenian food -(Glendale)
me and my SO used to split one dish (to go) for about $8 and have food (okay, rice) left.

Pollo a la Brasa (Koreatown) 1/2 chicken + fries+ salad ~$8.50

La Playita (taco stand on Lincoln Ave., Santa Monica) (great burritos, esp. chicken ones [$3.50 or $4.00, don't remember] and shrimp ones [$4.50], and other good things)

Zankou chicken (many locations)

Rodeo Grill isn't a bad deal either (Echo Park)

Bombay Grill (West Hollywood) like most Indian places, not super cheap, but again, me and my ex used to split one of their complete dinners when we craved Indian food.

Taste of India (I think that's the name) -- in a strip mall at the SW corner of Motor and Venice Blvd, in Culver City. Some would see this as a greasy spoon, but I find it to be decent and reasonable.

Grand Central Market (downtown)

For breakfast/brunch (I wouldn't call the following amazingly delicious food, but they are decent and inexpensive)

Rodeo Grill (breakfast served until 1pm) (Echo Park)

Phillipe's the Original (Chinatown, before 10:30am only, so it's breakfast and not brunch. I like their French toast)

Armon's (Eagle Rock) (served until early afternoon)

Los Feliz Cafe (Los Feliz/Atwater Village line; breakfast served until afternoon closing. Occasionally spotty service, not necessarily tons of food, but very pleasant setting next to the little Loz Feliz golf course makes it worthwhile on nice days.)

emmy in Los Angeles Area

15 Restaurant in Echo Park

Yes, does anyone know whether Café La Paz moved somewhere else? I loved their pupusas, their curtido, their pollo encebollado and pollo guisado, their mojarra frita, and their empanadas de leche....

emmy in Los Angeles Area

good burritos in Echo Park tonight (Sat eve)

Thank you to both of you. I'll keep El Gran Burrito in mind for their carne asada and flautas. (I've had their chicken burritos -- okay, but not as good as La Playita!) Regarding Taco Zone, I've had their tacos, but I had no idea they had good burritos -- will have to check that out.

We ended up going down the hill to Burrito King at Sunset/Alvarado and had their three enchilada special and a chile relleno. The 2 chicken enchiladas we ordered were okay, though there wasn't nearly enough sauce. According to my friend, the cheese enchilada wasn't so good -- he thought it was made with cheddar. (I avoid cheese.) I'm no judge of chile rellenos, but it was tasty if covered with too much cheese.

Though nothing special, the food was perfectly acceptable given the price, convenience, and time of night (after 11pm).

emmy in Los Angeles Area

reasonable café in/near Koreatown where one can study?

Thanks, everyone, for the detailed and helpful suggestions!

emmy in Los Angeles Area

reasonable café in/near Koreatown where one can study?

Thanks! That may just do the trick.

emmy in Los Angeles Area

reasonable café in/near Koreatown where one can study?

Any thoughts? In the Fairfax area, there's the Insomnia cafe, though I think they may have loud music, and there used to be something on Melrose a few blocks east of La Brea with "cup" in the name.
In Echo Park and Silver Lake, there are the Downbeat café, Café Tropical, the Coffee Table, etc.

In Westwood and Santa Monica, there's the Novel, and there are some Coffee Bean and Tea Leafs where people study.

But I don't know about good studying cafés in or nearer Koreatown. Any help is appreciated!

emmy in Los Angeles Area

reasonable café in/near Koreatown where one can study?

Hi. Does anyone know of a fairly quiet, inexpensive café in or near Koreatown where (assuming one purchases something) one can sit for a couple of hours?

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be meeting with a student who needs to make up an in-class writing assignment. We'll each buy something (coffee or snacks) but will then need to stay in the café for around two hours.

Thanks!

emmy in Los Angeles Area