Thai Food

Two great places for authentic Thai food:

Sanamluang Café / 5170 Hollywood Blvd / Los Angeles, CA 90027 / just West of Normandie / 323.660.8006

Big bowls of Thai noodles are what make Sanamluang a must on every local chowhound's list. Sure, pad thai has a spot on the menu, but strike out boldly and order the unheard-of noodles like #37, spicy beef noodle soup with succulent beef tendon. Indian curry noodles, #44, makes a warming winter dish, and duck stew noodle soup is rich, greasy and filling. Garlic lovers swoon for the famous fried garlic and pepper with shrimp over rice, aka #64. Appetizers, like fish cakes, are particularly good. The koo chai, a steamed rice dumpling filled with chives, evokes a grassy aroma of summer on your tongue.


Yai Restaurant / 5757 Hollywood Blvd / Los Angeles, CA 90028 / between Bronson & Wilton / 323.462.0292

This casual Hollywood eatery offers little in the way of ambience, unglamorously sandwiched between a mini-mall doughnut shop and 7-Eleven. But inside, tables full of Thai families and dressed-down Hollywood locals noisily swap dishes and contentedly slurp noodles. The light Cali-Thai trend is forgone for homier, heartier dishes. It's like Thai soul food--crab rolls are meat-filled, deep-fried discs and whole catfish is presented hacked crosswise (bones and all), and topped with red curry.

Chef Marilyn's Place

A great Soul Food Buffet

menu on menupages.com

Reveiw on Dailytrojan.com


Chef Marilyn's Place / 2638 Crenshaw Blvd / Los Angeles, CA 90016 / 323.737.8101 / Cross Street: South Crenshaw Boulevard and West Adams Boulevard

The Griddle Cafe

A pun-filled menu describes American classics with childish twists: chili with chocolate chips, flapjacks with oreos, pumpkin pie filling or brown-sugar baked bananas. The inventive pancake combinations make it difficult to choose, but two of my favorites are the "Yellow Brick Road" (butterscotch, caramel and walnut filled cakes topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar) and "Saturday Morning Fever" (Bailey's and Kahlua swirled into buttermilk pancakes topped with real whipped cream and drizzled with Bailiey's). There's also a Secret French Toast that's not on the menu (served only during the week and only to regulars that know the password). *Note to first timers: you can order just one pancake instead of a full stack (and trust me, one is all you need).

Not to be outdone by the 20 different variations of pancakes, french toast and waffles, the Griddle does eggs with similar flare: The “Omelet My Soul” (an omelet filled with your choice of "Chili My Soul" Gourmet Chili and cheese and topped with sour cream and fresh salsa) and the "Poached y Papas" Benedict (a slice of baked ham & two poached eggs on top of the Griddle's special seasoned potato skins covered in their homemade hollandaise sauce) are prime examples.

Breakfast plays the leading role but lunch is no bit player with 28 flavors of Chili My Soul (4-6 flavors served daily; in a bowl, on a baked potato, rolled or with a grilled chicken breast) and sandwiches (your choice of a hand formed USDA choice ground chuck patty, grilled chicken breast, turkey burger, vegetarian patty or grilled sliced turkey breast) topped with combinations like "Mama Mia" (roasted peppers, mozzarella cheese, and garlic sautéed tomatoes) and “Cobb Sandwich" (avocado, green onions, bacon, lettuce, tomato & blue cheese).

Portions are quite big at The Griddle Cafe, so be ready to take your first bite starved and your last stuffed unless you plan to share with a friend.


The Griddle Cafe / 7916 Sunset Blvd. / Hollywood, CA. 90046 / 323.874.0377 / Hours: Mon-Fri: 7 am-4 pm, Sat & Sun: 8 am-4 pm / www.thegriddlecafe.com

Sprinkles Cupcakes

Reformed investment bankers Charles Nelson and his wife Candace (who came up with all of the recipes during a stint in pastry school) bake ten different cupcake flavors daily (from a roster of 20) in the sleek 500 square foot shop in Beverly Hills.

Sprinkles strays from your standard cupcake by using only high-end ingredients: Belgian chocolate, the freshest dairy (no growth hormones), real lemon juice, real pureed strawberries, sweet cream butter (never shortening) and the crown jewel-- Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla extract (at $200/gallon it is the most expensive vanilla extract in the world). This helps explain the three dollars and change you spend for one of these delicious desserts.

Different flavors are featured each day of the week. Red Velvet is a staple and consistent favorite (that and peanut butter chip are two of my personal favorites), and for the traditionalists, there's always yellow with chocolate frosting or chocolate with vanilla frosting available.



Sprinkles Cupcakes / 9635 S Santa Monica Blvd / Beverly Hills, CA 90291 / 310.274.8765 / Cross Street: between Bedford & Camden / Hours: Mon-Sat: 9am-7pm; Sun: 10am-6pm / www.sprinklescupcakes.com

Sushi Go 55 & Izakaya Haru Ulala

Sushi Go 55
A long pale sushi bar made of prized Japanese Cypress dominates the minimalist, blond wood and white bento box of a room. The chefs each have 25 years' experience, and the savvy crowd knows it. Homemade soy, ponzu and eel sauces belie the care devoted to the daily fresh fish from Japan. And for the brave, the scallops and sweet shirmp - served alive - are a delicious treat. Beyond sushi, other specialties include grilled conch served in its shell, sliced lotus root with beef tempura, deep fried hama hama oysters, and fugu (blowfish skin) with ponzu.

Parking Tip:
The restaurant is on the third floor of Little Tokyo Square, on the corner of Alameda and Third. During the day, enter on Alameda between Third and Fourth, and park on the fourth floor to access the entrance. After 8pm, enter through the parking structure.

Sushi Go 55 / 333 S. Alameda Street #317 / Los Angeles, CA 90013 / 213.687.0777 / www.sushigo55.com


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Izakaya Haru Ulala
Japanese style Tapas - a Japanese style tavern/pub where people eat small dishes and drink

Experience an authentic Japanese izakaya.
For hundreds of years, people in Japan have gone to Japanese style taverns called izakayas - hideaways for ordinary workers and townspeople on the journey home after a hard day. They are a "stepping stone" to refresh or decompress after a long day by chatting with friends over sake and small dishes at affordable prices. Very popular in Japan for men and women who seek real gourmet food and good beverages.

Izakaya Haru Ulala / 368 E 2nd Street / Los Angeles CA 90012 / 213.620.0977 / www.haruulala.com

Yamashiro

Yamashiro means “Mountain Palace” in Japanese. It was the dream of the Bernheimer brothers in 1911 to build a hilltop mansion 250 feet above Hollywood Boulevard to house their priceless collection of Asian treasures. Hundreds of skilled craftsmen were brought from the Orient to recreate an exact replica of a palace located in the “Yamashiro” mountains near Kyoto, Japan. This dream became a reality in 1914... More Yamashiro History HERE

Yamashiro / 1999 North Sycamore Ave. / Hollywood, CA 90068 / 323.466.5125 / www.yamashirorestaurant.com

Mao's Kitchen

Owner/chef Jake (Chinese name: Yanzhong Li) explains why the walls of Mao's Kitchen are covered with colorful posters of Communist Chairman Mao Tse Tung, "...I'm neither a communist nor an admirer of Mao -- however, this represents my childhood -- this was my upbringing; this is the art with which I was surrounded." The posters are treasures never again to be available. Jake collected them during his life in China and has put them to excellent use. He was born in 1964 in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution and emigrated to the United States in 1989 during a student movement striving for cultural freedom.

The menu is a unique "Chinese Country Style Cooking with Red Memories." All the food is prepared freshly, meaning nothing from cans and no MSG.

The food is delicious, and though I have not yet tried everything on the menu, order the Orange Ginger or Sichuan Eggplant (both with chicken) and you're sure to crave them again soon.

Mao's Kitchen / 1512 Pacific Ave. / Venice, CA. 90291 / 310.581.8305 / www.maoskitchen.com

Mao's Kitchen COMING SOON to Melrose Ave.

Aglamesis Bros.

www.aglamesis.com
I have never tasted better ice cream.

Original location since 1913:
Oakley Square / 3046 Madison Road / Cincinnati, Ohio 45209

Montgomery location since childhood:
Montgomery Square / 9899 Montgomery Road / Cincinnati, Ohio 45242

Ph: 513.531.5196

Spread Restaurant

2879 University Avenue
San Diego, California 92104
619.543.0406
www.spreadtherestaurant.com


Serving very tasty and very creative food, Spread's mission is to stimulate and challenge the culinary imagination of their diners by working with all-natural, organic ingredients. With a belief in eating exclusively vegetarian and/or vegan, Spread is dedicated to providing the best of the best; and accomplishes that by scouring the local Farmer's Markets daily for culinary treasures such as purple asparagus, orange cauliflower, Buddha's Hand Citron, and bluefoot Mushrooms.