Absolutely 100% agreed. SPE truck has the best flavor and is the most authentic.

Whoah, the pic on the TJ's box looks reeeally similar to Chipwiches. That's the only one I've seen besides Chipwich with the chocolate chips on the outside. Will definitely have to try, hopefully avoiding the melting problems seen by Clyde.

Went last weekend, shared a Nancy's Backyard and Ida's Old School between two people, both medium rare. Sorry, I love Nancy, I've even been buying her burger blend at Huntington Meats in the FM for years now, and I don't really care about the price that much (I'd pay $13 again if it were as good as I was hoping), but I don't plan on coming back for either burger. Sure, I could tell that the ingredients were top quality, but there was just a lack of savory intense flavor that I expect from a gourmet burger. Maybe it's the grass-fed beef, or maybe it's the way it's being ground (it breaks apart in a weird way), but somehow it was just lacking. I can think of at least a dozen burgers I'd rather have over these, especially Golden State just a few blocks away. Not to mention that the Ida's had waay too much special sauce and ended up being a goopy mess, but not in a good way.

Not a fan of the fried spuds, but the french fries were fantastic.

The vanilla custard shake was superb, but hardly worth $6. (To be fair, a milkshake at Bennet's is also $6, but there I can get far more interesting flavors.)

Curious to hear about the turkey and lamb burgers, I *might* go back one more time if I hear good things about either of those.

Awww ... I haven't thought about Chipwiches in over 15 years, and just seeing this thread title got me craving one. Only to be sadly disappointed by the thread contents. I googled around a bit and found something even more sad: the dated chipwich.com site, with quotes like this: "In 2003, we will expand distribution of Chipwich for the first time to supermarkets across the U.S., with new flavors including Mint Chocolate Chip, with delicious dark chocolate cookies."

Still seeking Jello Pudding Pops, which supposedly came *back* on shelves in recent years. But I've never spotted on in LA anywhere.

Maybe Vodvil, recently opened on Fairfax? Never been, but seems like it might fit the bill based on what I've read about it and what I would guess about their cost.

Mario's Peruvian. Osteria Mamma. Lou On Vine. Cactus Taqueria (it's a stand). Millions of things in Koreatown. :)

-----
Lou on Vine
724 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Mario's Peruvian & Seafood
5786 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Cactus
950 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Osteria Mamma
5730 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Oh just remembered another: Pitfire Pizza. Super kid friendly (gone many times successfully -- they have a kid's pie) and pizza is always a great option when there's a 2 yo. Better there for pizza than Shakey's or whatever. Feels very LA in there so I think it'd be fun for an out-of-towner for a low-stress lunch.

[Edit - I've only been to the Culver City one]

Huckleberry is a pain when you have small children, especially two. Doable but barely worth it unless if you time it beat the crowd. Too little room, too much effort to get a table, etc..

Malibu Seafood is totally fine with small kids, as long as you or the kids' parents aren't germaphobes. I wouldn't call the tables highly sanitary. Some people bring tablecloths. Personally I'm ok with it, brought the two kids several times without any tablecloth. Another option is the "Carbon Beach Club" restaurant at the Malibu Beach Inn. Had a wonderful brunch there with kids and relatives, and it's literally over the water.

Other ideas:

Three Square on AK is a great choice, although if there are two of you *and* two adults + two kids, that's a bit tight. You could fit three adults and two kids for sure in one of the booths by having one of the kids in a high chair at the head of the booth. (Done it several times.) They might be able to join two tables on the patio but I'm not sure.

Lots of options on the roof of Santa Monica Place, including the food court, which isn't amazing food, but you can eat outside with amazing views of the beach if there are free tables. Plus there are some other options in the Market Place or whatever it's called.

Not just the hot case, but whole (small) frozen lasagnas in the freezer in the back. Perfect for a family dinner, I get them for us all the time.

I come here for lunch sometimes. The sand dabs are surprisingly good for what the place is. Not gonna earn it any Michelin stars, but goes well with their excellent bloody mary! Expect friendly but slowish service, mostly from being understaffed usually. It's perfectly fine for a leisurely meal, but don't go if you're in any kind of rush. I love this place for long Friday lunches ...

Tried it tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not at all an expert in Chicago style, the only thing I really know is Zachary's from the Bay Area, but this was about what I imagine perfect Chicago-style to be. I kept it simple -- got a large cheese, picked it up and was eating it at home within 5 minutes, so the heat level was perfect. It kept its form well -- no goopy falling apart of the pie. The sauce was tangy, almost made me thing there was a little bit of pepper of some kind in it. (In a good way.)

Agreed that the pickup was very, very odd and drug-deal like. But I'll happily put up with that again and continue to patronize. I can only assume that if all goes well they'll upgrade at some point to a proper pizza place.

Yeah, I am shocked at the apologists in the room here. Your description of the situation makes it blindingly obvious that *AOC* and not *you* should have noticed a problem and gone completely out of their way to check the deals with Open Table before they even talked to you. Think about it ... if you're the manager at a restaurant, and a customer hands you or one of your waiters a deal, and the deal doesn't appear to be in your system, you better be damned sure that you know what you are talking about if you are going to accuse the customer of making a mistake.

Ugh, I see this time and time again, restaurant staff that begrudgingly accepts pre-arranged deals. It's very, very simple: restaurants, if you don't like honoring deals, then DON'T OFFER THEM. How is that so hard to get? And restaurant staff: if you are in any position other than one that decides if your place makes deals, then you should *always* accept the deals with a *smile*. And if you're the manager who decided to offer the deal, then it's your own doing in the first place.

Their *email* mailbox was *full*? I could understand voicemail being full, but email? If their email mailbox was full, god help us all ... anyone using an email system in the last ten+ years that gets "full" must be so technologically illiterate that they can't possibly be capable of running a business.

Hearts are *extremely* common in chile recipes, much more than you would think. Especially in restaurant chile. It gives it a certain unique meaty richness. It's not the same as just using a bunch of offal as filler.

If you like how it tastes, who cares? Heart is a muscle. No more or less healthy than any other average piece of meat.

I couldn't disagree more about the breakfast sandwich. I thought it was incredible, especially the kale which I thought balanced perfectly with the other flavors. And I got it in 5 minutes on a busy weekday morning @9.

I'm not gonna say that fresh cut wouldn't be awesome, but I've always been happy with the quality of the pastor I've gotten there either way. It's a different style than most trucks I've had but not worse, just different. Did you find the quality lacking? I've only ever gone during busy lunch and dinner hours so the greater the volume the higher likelihood that what I got was cut recently. If I manage to get them to cut it fresh I'll report back about that too. (That said, I'd be curious what percentage of the time what you're getting on a truck was just cooked that instant too.)

Check out Casa Linda on Abbot Kinney. They do a real spit with pineapple on top and cut from it fairly regularly throughout the day although not right onto the taco. I've never asked but they might cut from it on request. Either way it's super good and their other tacos and everything else there is superb. Cheap and low-key but a step up atmosphere-wise from a lot of other places. I love eating at trucks myself but an out-of-towner might feel more comfortable at a place like Casa Linda.

-----
Casa Linda
1357 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Phew ... the subject line scared me there for a minute. I thought this was going to be a complaint about a brand new staff there and a horrible visit!

Umm ... you kinda already nailed it in your list, I think! I love Beverly Soon Tofu. And several others on your list are great too.

Umm ... no ramen?? :)

N'ice Cream on Abbot Kinney is pretty great. I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way for it, but I think it's the best in that area. Their salted caramel is to die for.

http://www.ilovenicecream.com/

-----
N'ice Cream
1410 Abbot Kinney Blvd Ste 200, Venice, CA 90291

Wow! Ok you win. :)

There's no official "to go" at the Alibi room, but you can just walk out of there with your food. I've done it a number of times. The food comes in disposable containers either way, although it's not covered so if you were planning on keeping it for more than 10 minutes before eating I'd say have some aluminum foil ready in your car. Just go up to the bar, order your food and pay for it, hang around on the chairs or the side wall with your number and someone will bring you the food in 5-10 minutes. Then just walk out! The times I've done it the place has been packed so it's not like anyone working there would have even noticed in a million years. Even if they did I seriously doubt they would care.

Since the whole operation will take you, say, 15 minutes in and out of your car, it is obviously not an appropriate choice if you are the only person with the 5 yo. If another adult is waiting in the car, then I say chow down right away once you get to the car!

It's the same food as the trucks, although they don't usually have any specials which the trucks usually do. However if you are a first-time I don't suggest the specials anyway. For a first timer I suggest one order of sliders (2 sliders) and two tacos. That's for one person. Short rib is the best filling but pork and chicken are great too.

Yeah, I know the Korean BBQ place you're talking about. That's completely different, that's a traditional Korean BBQ restaurant with grills at the table, etc.. Nothing wrong with that, and there are a ton of great places like that in LA, but that's not really what Kogi is.

I also second the recommendation for Chego, although it can be a bit overwhelming ordering there if you are from out of town and not at all familiar with that kind of food. You might end up getting something that you don't really like. The flavors there are strong, much more so than Kogi, and everything is topped with a fried egg. I LOVE the food there and have had everything on the menu, I'm just saying that I know it wouldn't be friendly on the taste buds of every single person out there.

-----
Chego
3300 Overland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90034

Hm, you say it as if it's not consistently slammed with crowds ... the word has long, long been out. :)

Again, go to Casa Linda to check out their tacos at some point, even if not for your main feast. It's right on AK. Really the best tacos in the immediate area, IMO.

-----
Casa Linda
1357 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Casa Linda on AK. It's a taco "joint" more than a restaurant, but I think it has some of the tasiest tacos in the area. 2nd only to some of the trucks. The tacos are a little bit greasier than I'd like, but holy cow is the meat cooked with some amazing flavor.

Tacos Por Favor in Santa Monica is another local favorite.

Note: places that serve margaritas tend to not have great tacos. The best tacos are at either trucks or places like the two mentioned above that aren't really full-on restaurants. Yeah I love kicking back margaritas at Casablanca or La Cabana or Lula's, but you go there to drink more than to eat great mexican food.

-----
Tacos Por Favor
1406 Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404

Casa Linda
1357 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Magnolia Bakery on 3rd has it although I don't remember what the crust is.

That said, I've never had a red velvet cheesecake that I thought was better than a regular cheesecake. I feel like the "red velvet" flavor doesn't really work when it's not in cake. There's a reason you don't really see that flavor showing up in other types of desserts.

Scoops has amazing red velvet ice cream but it's basically just chunks of red velvet cake in cream cheese flavored ice cream.

Read the whole LA Times article posted above. It explains why they are able to do this, for the most part. (New regulations for Farmer's Markets requiring local businesses to sign off.)

Agreed it totally sucks. What I don't get is why they would be able to control closing Ivar above Selma. Most articles about this seem to imply that all of Ivar is off limits now, but none have explicitly said if it's just below Selma.

Ok, we're on the same page then. I just didn't understand why you said "I'm not surprised he told you that." It gave me the impression that you thought he was the chef and was making a sarcastic crack under a heavy workload or something. I have found that a lot of people don't know about his relationship to A-Frame and think that it is his restaurant. I figured if you knew about it, it would be an odd thing to say since him mentioning his last day would be a simple statement of fact and wouldn't seem to have any relevance to how overworked he is.

Now I get you were just saying that he'll be glad to take a rest of sorts. I totally agree the guy must be quite busy!

I was under the impression that it's not actually his restaurant, that he was more the "designer" of the menu and that's it.

http://kogibbq.com/2010/10/so-about-t...

So it seems perfectly reasonable that he'd only be in the kitchen there for a brief while. Are you suggesting that you think he was kidding?

edit: Er, to clarify, I have no idea whether or not he has an ownership stake or some other official role, but that post clearly states that he's not the chef.