Will be in LA LA land next week....

[fusnik]

Any good suggestions on where to eat some quality food?

-Vietnamese
-Japanese
-Mexican

I'll be rolling solo a majority of the time and am willing to eat anything. My hotel is downtown financial district but will have a rental and am willing to travel.

Another thing, Dodgers fans, where is the best place to get tickets same day for games?

Last time I went to a Dodgers game I got great seats from a dude off the street but it took me, what seemed like hours, to find anybody that was selling tickets. I found the dude behind home plate on the mound of concrete that gives you access to the upper seats.

[Sizzle]

Give David O. Blood a call. He's got the hook-up on the best restaurants in LA, and the know how on great Dodger seats.

[I.J. Reilly]

Give David O. Blood a call. He's got the hook-up on the best restaurants in LA, and the know how on great Dodger seats.

Poor, poor David. I wonder if he ever googles his name. I bet he would be surprised.

[TripletDaddy]

Any good suggestions on where to eat some quality food?

-Vietnamese
-Japanese
-Mexican

I'll be rolling solo a majority of the time and am willing to eat anything. My hotel is downtown financial district but will have a rental and am willing to travel.

Another thing, Dodgers fans, where is the best place to get tickets same day for games?

Last time I went to a Dodgers game I got great seats from a dude off the street but it took me, what seemed like hours, to find anybody that was selling tickets. I found the dude behind home plate on the mound of concrete that gives you access to the upper seats.

Fus,

On Dodger tickets, go directly to the stadium. Best place to buy is right near the will-call/Club entrance where it says 1000 Elysian Park. This is on the "Think Blue" side of the stadium. The entrance looks like this:



If you are looking for a single, you should be able to pick one up with zero problems and for fairly cheap. This is where the locals buy and sell, not so many scalpers. These are families that have one extra and don't want to end up sitting next to some crazy person, so they sell directly. Best bet is to look for a business/corporate looking guy that has an envelope in his hand. This means he has corporate seats that he didn't buy. Ask if he has extras. Offer to buy him a beer or something inside. You should have no problems getting a ticket. It works for pairs, too. CJF and I went to a game last season, walked up to this area, and bought a nice pair for about $10 each within a few minutes. Almost no effort.

Vietnamese:

Indochine Vien or Viet Noodle Bar in Atwater Village (not far from downtown), Gingergrass in Silver Lake (also not far), and Blossom is right downtown. Gingergrass is my fave of the 4, but they all are pretty good. These are not fancy places, though. caveat.

Japanese:

This could mean all kinds of things. I am assuming you are not looking for sushi specifically. If you are, let me know. These are some good Japanese places that seem to be frequented by people that speak zero english and invade your personal space when they talk to you...

Ronin Izakaya Bistro (off LaCienega in WeHo)....this place is rad. Fusion place.

Yamato (in Westwood)....have heard good things but have yet to try it out. Right in the heart of Westwood Village in the old bank where Eurochow used to be.

If you want a hole-in-the-wall experience, you can head from downtown down 2nd street towards J-Town/Little Tokyo. There you can eat at Shabu Shabu. There are several of them in J-Town, so if you go this route, let me know and I will get you the right address. It is always packed. Not expensive, very filling and delish.

Mexican:

Seriously impossible to name all the places. Do you want taco-truck style? Simple Al Pastor type tacos and burritos? Head down towards USC campus. Right off Figueroa there is a place called La Taquiza. Go there. Al pastor.

You can also try another SC institution...Chanos. Pretty much almost always open, you can get a churrizo burrito that is nice and greasy, but delish. Wash it down with horchata. get the al pastor tacos, carne asada burritos and tacos, and asada nachos (yum!). They also have "mixed up burger" which is pastrami, cheese, and all kinds of crap that dieters would love to eat. Also good, but not Mexican. Try the fries if you can. They fry them in the same vat that they use to make tortilla chips, so it gives them a cool and interesting taste. Also, if you do go to Chanos, go through the drive through, get your food, then park and eat it. The reason is that the drive through is the most ridiculous drive through of all time. The window is on the passenger side (excellent if you are by yourself) and the speaker for ordering is loud and unintelligible. It is awesome! Everyone has to experience it once.

If you want to check out a SoCal institution, you can drive over to the West side and try Tito's Tacos. There is always a line, much like waiting for a hot dog at Pink's. These are good tacos, not the best, but it is an institution and if you are coming from out of town, it will certainly be good.

For sit down type family style Mex, you have several options that are in East LA (very close to downtown):

Ciro's (on N. Evergreen)
Juanito's (killer cheap tamales in City Terrace).

If you want to eat the biggest burrito of your entire life, you can head over to El Tepeyac (across the street from Ciro's). You get sit down food there in big portions. They have a burrito called The Manual Special. It is one of these things that SC football players go to try to eat. It feeds a family of 6. Or you can just pare it down a tad and get the Hollenbeck burrito, which is much more manageable. The Manual Special was featured on Man vs. Food on FoodTV. Frankly, it is too big. but the other burritos are a more realistic size.

let me know if you need more suggestions.

[fusnik]

Thanks holmes.

I'll let you know what section of the stadium I score. I hope to be in the lower section, we'll see.

As for the food, thanks for the list.

Pho is probably my favorite food right now, so I'll make sure to pass by one of the restaurants recommended.

Is El Tepeyac worth it from a food perspective? I'm no foodie, but am highly partial to and think Red Iguana is as extremely good, worth the sit down or should I hit up the drive by taco stands in it's stead?

Another thought, any good Thai food?

I was planning on hitting up Philipes for lunch on e day and The Pantry after a Dodgers game, worth the time?

TIA.

[RobinFinderson]

Thanks holmes.

I'll let you know what section of the stadium I score. I hope to be in the lower section, we'll see.

As for the food, thanks for the list.

Pho is probably my favorite food right now, so I'll make sure to pass by one of the restaurants recommended.

Is El Tepeyac worth it from a food perspective? I'm no foodie, but am highly partial to and think Red Iguana is as extremely good, worth the sit down or should I hit up the drive by taco stands in it's stead?

Another thought, any good Thai food?

I was planning on hitting up Philipes for lunch on e day and The Pantry after a Dodgers game, worth the time?

TIA.

If you like Pho, check out the Pho Cafe, not too far from Dodger Stadium.

[TripletDaddy]

Thanks holmes.

I'll let you know what section of the stadium I score. I hope to be in the lower section, we'll see.

As for the food, thanks for the list.

Pho is probably my favorite food right now, so I'll make sure to pass by one of the restaurants recommended.

Is El Tepeyac worth it from a food perspective? I'm no foodie, but am highly partial to and think Red Iguana is as extremely good, worth the sit down or should I hit up the drive by taco stands in it's stead?

Another thought, any good Thai food?

I was planning on hitting up Philipes for lunch on e day and The Pantry after a Dodgers game, worth the time?

TIA.

El Tep is not a mole place. The Red Iguana does a nice mole sauce. Beyond that, i don't know what other specialties they have. El Tep is in the heart of East LA, so if you are looking for ground beef and sour cream, this is not your place. It is an authentic family Mex place. That being said, I think that Red is a nice Mex place, so if you enjoy that place, you may want to check out Ciros, across the street from El Tep and more of a similar style (although ciro's doesnt really do mole, either). El Tep is mostly about all kinds of burritos in massive portions....asada, carnitas, etc. Neither El Tep nor Ciro's is expensive, so you aren't going to go wrong either way.

El Tep has its negatives. The salsa for the chips is pretty boring. Everything there is incredibly fattening (oh, well). It seats about 30 people so there is usually a line to get in. It is often easier to wait for the walk-up window and eat it on one of the outside tables (if it is nice outside). I only go there for the burritos (my kids love the quesadillas, which are about 20 inches in diameter).

[TripletDaddy]

Fus, sorry....to answer your question, if I had to choose and was in the mood for tacos and not burritos, I would skip El Tep and go straight down to La Taquiza off Figueroa. Minutes from downtown and delish.

[Fiyero]

If you want to check out a SoCal institution, you can drive over to the West side and try Tito's Tacos. There is always a line, much like waiting for a hot dog at Pink's.

I finally ate at Pink's last week on the third try, the previous two being discouraged by the line being too long. But alas, while driving from the Nixon Museum in Yorba Linda to the Reagan Museum in Simi Valley at 2pm, Pink's was only a 20 minute wait and in the end I couldn't believe how filling the Bacon Burrito Dog was. Thickest chili ever.

[RobinFinderson]

Tito's Tacos, like Pink's, is way overrated. Tito's in particular makes an American style taco. Just down the street from Tito's you can find my favorite tacos in Los Angeles, at Tacomiendo (SE corner of Inglewood and Culver Blvd). I much prefer Johnny's Pastrami, which is right around the corner from Tito's, and they include all-you-can-eat pickles (Yummy!) with any order.

Also, DDD, as good as those USC taco joints are, they are not as good as Tacomiendo. A few years back Tacomiendo opened up a second joint near the LDS temple, so check it out next time you are in the neighborhood. You won't be sorry.

[Fiyero]

I love the cheese enchiladas at Tito's, but agree that everything else is just average. I also echo the recommendation of the $10 pastrami sandwich at Johnnie's, it must weigh at least a pound.

BTW, the actual Air Force One that was just retired last year is now a part of the tour at Reagan. Every room is completely open, from the cockpit to the rear.