The Official Los Angeles Shopping + Dining Thread

[whodini]

I hit a few places while I was home for a month.

Masa reminded me just how good Zachary's in the Bay really is. Elements in Pasadena makes some killer shrimp kimchi tacos. Saladang Song really is better than a lot of hole-in-walls around Thai Town. Haven Gastropub is overrated. Dog Haus isn't bad and King's Hawaiian buns make a difference. Homeboy bakery makes some of the best sourdough bread around. Disneyland has really improved its menus over the past few years (BLT flatbread pizza inside the park?). Mother Dough is good but Mozza it's not. I need to give Community on Hillhurst another chance to see if its chicken sandwich measures up to Canele's. Viva Madrid remains cheap and incredibly delicious. Malaga Cove Market out in Palos Verdes is probably the best (and cheapest) place to eat in the South Bay ($3.95 gourmet burger cooked to order.) I could eat at Tropicalia every day.

If you guys haven't ventured up to Neat in Glendale, you're missing out. Go now while the parking is still good and before the rest of Silverlake/Atwater finds out. It's a small bar owned by the guy who runs/ran Seven Grand, Edison, First & Hope, etc. Kind of an odd location but real easy to get to from the freeway. The basic concept is to order your favorite kind of liquor, eg, bourbon, and they'll recommend a beer/soda/cocktail to drink as a back. No cocktail menus, no beer lists, no liquor phonebooks. They make a damn good sour to back whisky but my favorite combination was this mint lime cucumber thing they made to go with Blade gin. Last week I hit their Bushmills tasting (the 21 yr was superb) with the Patty Wagon truck outside and had a blast.

 

[poly800rock]

masa is good, it's nowhere great though.
mozza vs stella rosa, i honestly liked stella rosa more.

wtf no phone call?

 

[whodini]

I forgot to call shell back, too.

To be honest, though, out of the four weeks I spent there, I think I spent three or four nights in Los Feliz. I stayed in PV with the gf or was out of town. I'll be back for good in a few months, anyway.

Speaking of the South Bay, I went over to Hermosa for some Cajun food at the NO cafe (pretty decent but not mind blowing or better than Les Sisters) and walked a block up to check out Deep Pockets Denim Co. $90 for non-selvage, $130 for Cone selvage. All made in LA. There were a few different cuts (think there was only one for the selvage model) but nothing to write home about. It's also a barber shop and cigar bar which is kinda strange. They sell a few clothing brands I didn't recognize but were were MIE surprisingly and all around the $100 range.

Also swung by Schaeffer's Garment Hotel. $245 for 15oz Kaihara that has this slubby brushed-cotton hand to it. The way their program works is that they only have one cut but they'll mod it however you want. A year later you can bring it back in and they'll break down the top block and bring it in so that it'll fit like it used to. That kind of service sounds more for people that either don't know how to size down or don't want to for thigh issues. They also have a black overdye pair for ~$200 but I believe it was non-selvage. The repairs they do are legit, though. The owner showed me a pair of APCs that he fixed up and the result was awesome. I only had a few minutes to check out the store but I'll be back in the spring to hopefully do a write-up and shoot.

 

[foodguy]



Went to Nana San in OC today, good little place, definitely recommend it for some fresh sushi

i shudder to think there's a different kind!

 

[Xhale12]

Dining at the french laundry this weekend. Pics to follow.

 

[mordecai]

Went to Street recently. Not impressed. Those little toasts are fun though.

 

[CityHunter]

I've been meaning to go to Neat for a while based on all the positive buzz...but I just don't want to drive out to Glendale! I'm that lazy. Anything good to eat in the area? That might be the extra "umph" I'm looking for.

About to hit up Son of a Gun for lunch. Thoughts? (Yeah, I didn't bother searching this thread yet)

 

[Spencer]



Dining at the french laundry this weekend. Pics to follow.

Save up

 

[foodguy]

it's hard today because there has been so much written and said about it and the restaurant has reached this level where the most modest expectations are complete perfection. i really wish everyone could experience it the same way i did the first time ... going in without expectation and being completely and totally zonked by this amazing food. the closer you can get to that, i think the happier you will be. kills me when i read criticism of the place that starts "well it wasn't life-changing". yeah ... if your life is so sh*tty that a restaurant meal can change it ...
(and because i don't post very often in swd: the obligatory full disclosure: keller is a friend and colleague)

 

[Xericx]



Quick question. I just bought a place in Studio city, a block south of ventura boulevard. Has anyone lived in this part of LA? What have your experiences been in or around that area?

one of my friends used to live right there. its a nice area. walking around on Ventura, you'll probably bump into a sitcom celebrity as a bunch live in the area.

There is decent nightlife/bars in the immediate area, depending on where you are. I liked the Mad Bull and the Laurelhurst Tavern.

There is a recurrent DUI checkpoint on weekends on Ventura near the 405.

 

[poly800rock]



I forgot to call shell back, too.
To be honest, though, out of the four weeks I spent there, I think I spent three or four nights in Los Feliz. I stayed in PV with the gf or was out of town. I'll be back for good in a few months, anyway.

Speaking of the South Bay, I went over to Hermosa for some Cajun food at the NO cafe (pretty decent but not mind blowing or better than Les Sisters) and walked a block up to check out Deep Pockets Denim Co. $90 for non-selvage, $130 for Cone selvage. All made in LA. There were a few different cuts (think there was only one for the selvage model) but nothing to write home about. It's also a barber shop and cigar bar which is kinda strange. They sell a few clothing brands I didn't recognize but were were MIE surprisingly and all around the $100 range.
Also swung by Schaeffer's Garment Hotel. $245 for 15oz Kaihara that has this slubby brushed-cotton hand to it. The way their program works is that they only have one cut but they'll mod it however you want. A year later you can bring it back in and they'll break down the top block and bring it in so that it'll fit like it used to. That kind of service sounds more for people that either don't know how to size down or don't want to for thigh issues. They also have a black overdye pair for ~$200 but I believe it was non-selvage. The repairs they do are legit, though. The owner showed me a pair of APCs that he fixed up and the result was awesome. I only had a few minutes to check out the store but I'll be back in the spring to hopefully do a write-up and shoot.

it's free lifetime repairs on schaffer's stuff too. i've been meaning to pick up some of their stuff, but have way too many jeans, even after purging a bit from my closet. it's the best denim repair shop in la period.

 

[Spencer]



Quick question. I just bought a place in Studio city, a block south of ventura boulevard. Has anyone lived in this part of LA? What have your experiences been in or around that area?

Where in Studio City, I used to live there until I had kids and had to move way the **** out to Calabasas for the schools.

So many great sushi resturants, obviosuly Katsu-ya, Kawami, and Izaka-ya. I dig Laurel Tavern, good beers and burger, Take a Bao, Aroma Cafe (on Tujunga/Moorpark), Kings Road, Artisan Cheese Gallery and I heard Joans on 3rd is opening soon in the area.

As far as the Valley goes, Studio City is really the only spot worth going to for resturnats, save a handful of other places dotted along the 101/Ventura Blvd.

 

[whodini]



I've been meaning to go to Neat for a while based on all the positive buzz...but I just don't want to drive out to Glendale! I'm that lazy. Anything good to eat in the area? That might be the extra "umph" I'm looking for.

If you're making a trek out from the westside, there are a couple of decent options around the Silverlake area that you might want to check out on the way, namely Gingergrass, Blair's, or further out like Cliff's Edge. There's also Atwater but the only place worth checking out is Canele but their breakfast impresses me far more than dinner. There's nothing in Glendale proper to eat except for Shamshiri, not like there aren't already enough Persian options on the westside.

it's free lifetime repairs on schaffer's stuff too. i've been meaning to pick up some of their stuff, but have way too many jeans, even after purging a bit from my closet. it's the best denim repair shop in la period.

I'll have to try on a pair next time I'm over. There's nothing about the jeans themselves that really scream out at my for the price, especially when it's missing a few details like hidden rivets, coin pocket selvage, leather patch, etc. Sounds like they're changing a few things around with their newer models so hopefully it'll be more comparable to other stuff in that ball park. I'm at full denim saturation at this point (even if I did pick up another pair last week) so the product would really have to stand out for me to even consider it.

Where in Studio City, I used to live there until I had kids and had to move way the **** out to Calabasas for the schools.
So many great sushi resturants, obviosuly Katsu-ya, Kawami, and Izaka-ya. I dig Laurel Tavern, good beers and burger, Take a Bao, Aroma Cafe (on Tujunga/Moorpark), Kings Road, Artisan Cheese Gallery and I heard Joans on 3rd is opening soon in the area.
As far as the Valley goes, Studio City is really the only spot worth going to for resturnats, save a handful of other places dotted along the 101/Ventura Blvd.

Maybe my ex just took me to the wrong places but the bar scene around Ventura just isn't my thing. Laurel Tavern can get like a zoo and there isn't anything proprietary about what they do. I hit Kings Road a few weeks ago for the first time and it wasn't bad. Just feels like quite a few places along that street are WeHo knockoffs for people too lazy to drive over the hill, eg, Page 71, Firefly, etc.

How did you like Take a Bao? Was supposed to go but got diverted to Chin Chin instead that night. Artisan is a great little sandwich shop.

 

[poly800rock]



Went to Nana San in OC today, good little place, definitely recommend it for some fresh sushi

IKKO is really good too. think OC has better japanese food than LA

Went to Street recently. Not impressed. Those little toasts are fun though.

my experience at street is entirely forgettable. have no idea what I even ate

 

[whodini]



my experience at street is entirely forgettable. have no idea what I even ate

Korsakoff's must suck.