One of my friends is moving to LA this year (I am so jealous!) and she asked about good restaurants. Here are my go-tos:
Coco Ichibanya: It’s hard to choose a favorite, but depending on the day, Coco Ichibanya may be it. It is a Japanese style curry house has a sauce that is liquid gold with rice and their fried cutlets. I always go for the chicken cutlet. When you order, they ask you how spicy you want your dish on a scale of Mild, Regular, and Spice 1-10. I highly recommend the regular.
Wurstküche: This German brat place is my husband Trevor’s favorite. He usually gets the Duck & Bacon with Jalapeño sausage, though he liked the Rattlesnake & Rabbit with Jalapeño sausage as well. My favorites are the Hot Italian sausage and the Kielbasa sausage. They also have the best fries (we got the truffle oil on them once, that was amazing!) with fun sauces. We loved the Chipotle Aioli, Chipotle Ketchup, Curry Ketchup, Pesto Mayo, and Sundried Tomato Mayo.
Snow Monster: This magical place serves giant macaron ice cream sandwiches! You can pick your macaron flavor (pistachio, toffee, fruity pebbles, vanilla, etc.) and an ice cream flavor (brown butter, chocolate, horchata, red velvet, etc.) to go with it. I once got a pistachio + brown butter combination and it was to die for.
TGI Korean BBQ: My EY friends and I stumbled across this place while looking for a cheap all you can eat KBBQ. It's all you can eat with very affordable prices and awesome sides! I’ve been back several times since and it never disappoints. Plus, because of the way they have their grills set up, you don’t walk out of the restaurant smelling like a campfire!
Din Tai Fung: A Taiwanese restaurant that makes the best soup dumplings. Be sure to also try the shrimp & pork wontons in spicy sauce, those are fantastic. Trevor loves the fried noodles and fried rice cake as well. I was hesitant to try the chocolate dessert dumpling, but it was surprisingly good!
In-N-Out: I swear it’s different (better!) in LA than it is in Utah. I actually refuse to get In-N-Out in Utah because it’s so different. I usually opt for the cheeseburger and animal style fries, but plenty of people love the double-double and the shakes.
Maccheroni Republic: This restaurant makes their pasta fresh from scratch every day, which makes the pasta so much more special! This is one of our absolute favorite places. I love the spaghetti and meatballs with spinach on their specials menu, but we also love the Rigatoni, Gnocchi, and Bianchi & Neri.
ACA Grill: Oh my goodness. I still dream about this place sometimes. This Argentine grill has the best chimichurri sauce I've ever had. We usually get the ACA plate and I just bathe my meat, rice, and beans in the chimichurri sauce. Their cheeseballs are also fantastic!
Caveman Kitchen: The best Peruvian food. I get the Lomo Saltado which is steak, onions, and tomatoes stir fried in soy sauce. This is then put over rice and French fries. They have a green sauce that is absolutely amazing with the meat and on the fries!
California Donuts: If you love soft, fluffy, yeast-raised fried donuts, this donut shop will be your dream come true. They have all the classic flavors, but they also have trendy flavors like Samoa (my personal favorite), Fruity Pebbles, Blueberry Toast Crunch, Unicorn, and even Nutella cronuts! Trevor went to LA on a business trip once and I begged him to bring me some back. He said no, and I cried.
Grand Central Market (especially Olio):The best food court! They have a ton of variety (fresh Mexican tacos, vegan ramen, sushi, gourmet PB&J, and pizza) and it’s the best place to go when you and your significant other can’t agree on a restaurant. There’s a pizza place called Olio inside, and it is hands down the best authentic thin crust Italian pizza I’ve ever had. I’ve never been to Italy so that probably doesn’t hold much weight, but it's amazing.
Silverlake Ramen: The bishop (like a preacher) of my church did a two-year service mission in Japan and this is his favorite place for ramen in all of LA. I usually get the Spicy Tonkotsu. They also have the best sides--the Chicken Karaage Bowl is great.
Won Kok: I love the baked BBQ pork buns here. Imagine a perfect yeast roll, slightly sweet, baked to perfection, with the yummiest Cantonese BBQ pork bun filling. It’s the best—there’s nothing like it! I’d stay away from their sit-down meals though, we found them disappointing.
Churros Calientes: The BEST gourmet churros! You can get them filled with strawberry, chocolate, dulce de leche, guava, Nutella, etc. The Suprema de pollo (chicken parmesan sandwich) was phenomenal.
Honeymee: Raw honey on soft serve ice cream sounded a little weird to me at first, but I was hooked once I tried it. The honey pairs so nicely with the ice cream and makes the perfect treat.
Sidecar Donuts: Unlike California donuts (the yeasty, fluffy, fried kind), Sidecar donuts are more of the old-fashioned cakey goodness. Try the Huckleberry and the Old Fashion flavors.
Julies Café: I’ve only ever had the Julie’s Special Breakfast Bagel. But it was the best darn breakfast bagel I’ve ever had. They take a Jalapeño cheese bagel and put eggs, cheese, bacon, tomato, onion, and spinach between the layers. I think Trevor still dreams about this bagel. It was fantastic.
Howlin’ Ray’s: This place is famous--known for three hour long waits on Saturdays. I had a coworker who would stand in line at 7 am to get her fried chicken right when the doors opened at 10 am. I'm not sure it was worth a three hour wait, but go at an off-peak time and it's definitely worth it!
ShanCheng LaMeiZi: It’s a mouthful, I know. But it has amazing Chinese style hot pot. I spent two hours eating my heart out here and had to practically be rolled home. I had several coworkers from China and they all raved about this place--that's how you know it’s authentic! HaiDiLao is another hotpot place in LA. It’s a wider-known franchise and pricier but the two are very comparable in flavor.
Jopok Topokki: The best Korean street food restaurant in LA. I love the Cheese Topokki and the Thick-Battered Home Fries.
Namsan: It took me forever, but I finally found amazing traditional Korean food! I'm not sure why, but this restaurant is open until 4 am every day. So if you need Korean food in the middle of the night, there you have it. I love their Fermented Soybean Paste Stew (it’s an acquired taste…)
That's my list--let me know if I missed any good ones!
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