Hi,
I’m looking for good eats in LA. It doesn’t have to be spendy, just yummy. Where should I take my family?
Thanks!
The Los Angeles empire spans some serious distance. What corner of it will you be in?
Todd - If you can give us a few details, we can better assist you.
- will you have a car and are willing to drive across town (how far are you willing to drive)?
- what area will you be in?
- what types of food, any ethnic preferences?
- any other considerations like children (ages), wine lists, byob, etc?
We have a few nights in Glendale before Disney, I have wheels, I must have beer, don’t care about a good wine list (this time) we just are searching for tasty grub that cannot be found elsewhere. How’s that?
Killer Chinese!
Glendale is near Monterey park area if you want authentic chinese. Also you are near Hollywood which has really great Thai. So if you want those two let us know and we can list more 
Charlie,
Is that place in Pasadena where we were going to do Rieslings near where Todd is going to be? I was totally bummed I missed that dinner in March.
Yujean Kang’s
Ah, I was psyched to turn you onto Noir Food & Wine in Pasadena - cool bistro atmosphere for small plates and great wines…
Doesn’t sound like what you’re lookin’ for this trip.
nah that place is pretty americanized when it comes to Chinese food. The neighboring city to Pasadena is basically Chinatown. Tons of great restaurants there.
Oh, I lived in Changsha, Hunan for a year. I would be keen on more Hunan driven or Sichuan style. TIA!!
Palate Food + Wine is IN Glendale and Bar Brix is near. Both VERY good.
OK, here’s what I got:
In Glendale go to Zankou Chicken on Colorado Blvd-good Lebanese fast food. Further east on Colorado in Eagle Rock you can hit up Oinkster. No alch. at Zankou but Oinkster has a decent beer selection. Both are lunch or dinner places and rather cheap. If you want an In & Out Burger there’s one on Brand near Broadway. Palate Food & wine is also in Glendale and has excellent small plates in a loft style space.
If you head south on Brand it turns into Glendale Blvd at San Fernando Rd. That’s my neck of the woods-Atwater Village. Two taco/burrito places: Hugo’s has vegan/vegetarian options like soy chorizo as well as meats-good stuff. Tacos Villa Corona is old school, but great-excellent breakfast burrito called Papas. Both places have limited outside seating. If you want to sit down comfortably, for great Vietnamese go to Viet Noodle Bar or if you want a nice neighborhood bistro there’s Canale. Both places have beer & wine.
Downtown LA is close by. Consider going to Lazy Ox in Little Tokyo for dinner. There’s Phillippe’s for an LA only experience. They do French dips with different meats. Also in downtown is Wusterkurche-fashioned after a German beer hall. Great beers and sausage. It gets crowded so go early-check their website for hours. You could get dimsum in Chinatown downtown. Empress Pavilion is pretty good and they have the old school carts. Not far from downtown is a deli called Langers (Wilshire & Alvarado). I’ve never had a better Pastrami sandwich. Tell them to hand carve if you go.
Thaitown is basically on Hollywood Blvd east of Western (not too far from Glendale). I like Ruen Pair or Red Corner Asia. Jitlanda is the current rave and deservedly so. Great Southern Thai specialties. Also in the same area is Carrousel (Lebnese food). It’s sit down-no thrills but excellent food. There’s a nicer one on Brand in Glendale. It’s a bit more expensive but they also have a show-music & dancing that might be fun for your kids. I also like Marouch for the same food on Santa Monica Blvd near Edgemont. On Hollywood Blvd near Vermont is Umami Burger-very inventive original takes on burgers.
All of these places have websites, so check it out and enjoy your stay.
Actually it’s about a 15 min drive. Yujean’s is really good imho with a unique take on his food. Our wine group has done a ton of dinners there. Brent this is the place we went to after Family Winemaker’s-sorry you missed it.
Gregg’s list is solid … except I would recommend Cole’s for a French Dip before I’d recommend Phillipe’s. IIRC, Cole’s has some decent beers, too.
also i’d suggest going east to san gabriel valley for dim sum over the tourist trap that is Chinatown in Downtown Los Angeles. Empress Pavilion is decent but places like Ocean Star, Sea Harbor, Elite (my favorite) blow it out of the water.
For “finer” dining in downtown, I’m a fan of Church and State (french bistro) and Drago Centro (italian).
+2 on the Palate, Bar Brix and Jitlada recs. Out east of Pasadena I like the Din Tai Fung dumpling house. Also in Pasadena we’ve been going to POP champagne house… They have some good desserts, lots of Champagne and some good deals mid-week.
If you like great coffee try Intellegentsia in Silver Lake or Pasadena.
Cole’s PE is cool, but a very different vibe. If you do go to Cole’s stop into Mignon for some pre snacks and a drink.
Agreed on the dimsum quality. But, EP is close by and convienient and a provides a decent experience. Plus the kids can check out Chinatown, which would not be the case in SGV. You could also head over to Union Station and Olvera St. for some touristy stuff.
I’m convinced C&S is not at the same quality after Walter’s departure. It’s a nice space with a good drink list, but the food ain’t the same. I know they’re working on this.
Hey Buddy,
If you are staying by Disney at any stage you could hit http://hollingsheadsdeli.com/Home.html which has a sick tap and bottle list. It is just a family run deli. Kid friendly. Be sure to check the hours.
Give me a call if you get any free time.
Jason
Gregg is spot on with both the Oinkster and Langers (which is easy to get to on the Red Line–the subway stops at 7th and Alvarado/MacArthur Park which is a block away). In addition, you can try to get into Casa Bianca Pizza Pie in Eagle Rock, but go early and avoid Friday nights.
Also good in Glendale would be Porto’s a mega-sized Cuban bakery/deli–great for breakfast pastries and coffee or lunch-time Cuban sandwiches.
In Pasadena you could also hit up Lucky Baldwin’s for beer and English pub grub. Nice Belgian selections, too.
If you want something uniquely LA that’s fun for the kids, head out toward Griffith Park and get a burger at the “Eats” (not sure if they have a real name, but the sign says “Eats”) burger stand on Los Feliz Blvd next to the pitch-and-putt golf course, then play a quick nine holes. My kids love that combo. Same idea a little fancier would be to get lunch across the street from there at the Tam O’Shanter. Go for lunch and sit in the bar for their carvery sandwiches and home-made potato chips. Very kid friendly and one of the oldest restos in L.A.
You could also venture over to Koreatown, which is convenient to Hollywood. Soot Bull Jeep is a natural charcoal bbq place on 8th Street (near Vermont) and a great experience and very close by is Gueleguetza, a good Oaxacan place. Both cheap and good.
If you’re downtown, I’d also suggest Nickel Diner, Clifton’s Cafeteria or a drink at Seven Grand–all very L.A. in their own way.