370979 Tue Feb 13 22:57:12 -0800 2007 76 2 Los Angeles Area 0 2291033 i started a similar post on the NY boards due to an upcoming visit and it made me wonder how LA hounds would respond. here's the post: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/370520 this is not a question about your favorite foods or restaurants as a dose of homesickness can often render cravings for surprising things. it's "home" food. my list (in no particular order): in-n-out (clearly) zankou chicken burritos from el taurino and carnitas michoacan chicken cutlet curry and chicken pasta at hurry curry soontofu from sokongdong dongchimi gooksu from the corner place (gil mok) jja jjiang myun (noodles with black bean sauce from any chinese/korean restaurant) berry blossom cake from susina fried potato balls from porto's feast from the east chinese chicken salad california chicken cafe salads breakfast burritos at lucky boy dumplings and veggies from din tai fung oh and i'd still appreciate any NYC recs. i figure it's a more appropriate question to ask on a non-NY boards but i think against the Law. Tue Feb 13 22:57:12 -0800 2007 16200 greengelato 1 2291125 Don't forget Santa Maria style barbecued trip tip, a Southern California tradition. Wed Feb 14 01:10:37 -0800 2007 2291033 44876 Fuser 1 2291128 samosas and vegetarian combo plates from Samosa House; moles and chiles en nogada at La Casita. cheers Wed Feb 14 01:15:58 -0800 2007 2291033 11012 moto 1 2291222 perhaps not surprisingly, i missed corn tortillas when i was living in japan. but now i just miss ramen (;_;) Wed Feb 14 04:53:56 -0800 2007 2291033 11521 rameniac 1 2291336 Dodger Dogs, In-N-Out, DiDi Reese Wed Feb 14 06:17:30 -0800 2007 2291033 69340 Jeet Yet 1 2291386 Because leaving "LA" usually means heading to Bangkok, I miss good Mexican and decent pizza. Wed Feb 14 06:39:21 -0800 2007 2291033 11046 Curt the Soi Hound 1 2291433 Sigh. I moved from L.A. a while ago and the food favorites I miss most are: Senor Fish's Fish Tacos In-N-Out El Pollo Loco Outdoor Grill (Washington Place, Los Angeles) Good Mexican food Buster's (South Pas) caffeine free Diet Dr. Pepper (hard to get in Northeast markets) Korean BBQ Yahaira's (Pasadena) Wed Feb 14 06:56:32 -0800 2007 2291033 62310 AtetotheBar 1 2291778 Korean, Japanese, and Chinese food in general. Wed Feb 14 08:40:24 -0800 2007 2291033 11577 Pei 2 2291946 agree re: korean food Wed Feb 14 09:25:38 -0800 2007 2291778 26657 bijoux16 1 2291867 Mexican food, no 2 ways about it. Most especially carnitas from La Cabanita. But a bad LA burrito is still way better than NY burritos. And a second on the potato balls from Porto's! Yes, I am LA-centric Wed Feb 14 09:05:04 -0800 2007 2291033 71183 jazzlover 1 2291874 in-n-out dongchimee gooksu from gilmok/corner place din tai fun boba/bubble tea from life market (never found its equal anywhere; in fact, now i'm questioning if i even like boba or if i only like the life market's version) gyushintei shabu shabu (torrance) - extra marble baja fresh janchi gooksu (market noodles?) from california market on 3rd and western furaibo fried chicken dduk bossam (bbq with thin rice cake) chadol-baegi (thin beef bbq) from shigol-ssambap on western north of beverly, with their free cheap but addicting ice cream samgaetang (korean style chicken soup) from the food court in Galleria in ktown (no restaurant here seems to be better than this tiny food court place) soondae (korean pork sausage) from Seoul Soondae on 6th and Alexandria chik-neng-myun (buckwheat noodles) at yoochun on 6th and alexandria (while this is a chain and there's a branch on the east coast, for some reason it doesnt taste the same) Wed Feb 14 09:07:09 -0800 2007 2291033 24489 koreankorean 1 2291940 my list is prety general: good korean food good taiwanese food Wed Feb 14 09:24:07 -0800 2007 2291033 10704 wilafur 1 2292134 When I lived in Napa, the first place that I stopped to eat on my trips back to LA was Versailles - man, I missed that roast pork! Wed Feb 14 10:06:23 -0800 2007 2291033 61102 SoCalMuncher 1 2293017 In-n-Out Soon tofu Sushi Taco Bell Mexican food Wed Feb 14 13:20:25 -0800 2007 2291033 59502 WHills 1 2293045 Fresh and abundant (and sometimes very cheap) produce. Wed Feb 14 13:26:14 -0800 2007 2291033 11583 ipsedixit 1 2293074 In n out, tommys hamburger, and a #7 from eastside market. Wed Feb 14 13:32:53 -0800 2007 2291033 12130 malibumike 1 2293095 Taiwanese food. (Simbala/Tea Station/shau mei, etc.) Korean BBQ joints in Rowland Heights. I'm over the In-n-out thang. So 90s. Wed Feb 14 13:36:33 -0800 2007 2291033 12458 TonyC 2 2294821 and so 80's, and 70's, 60's, 50's...moderation is key for In-N-Out... Thu Feb 15 06:23:05 -0800 2007 2293095 69340 Jeet Yet 1 2293819 I concur with most every listed thing so far. For me, also, when I'm away (thankfully for only short bursts of time) I miss the ubiquitous food options, that no matter where you go (for the most part) there's a variety of different eats and all price points. Wed Feb 14 16:48:17 -0800 2007 2291033 50350 SauceSupreme 1 2293859 I never realize how much good cheap Mexican food I eat until I leave LA. I'm used to being able to order any unusual combination of food (so many people here on weird diets that it takes a LOT to make a waiter blink here). And like SauceSupreme, I agree that I miss having lots of choices in any neighborhood, except for maybe Manhattan Beach. That said, I miss: La Playita Taco trucks La Oaxacena and La Isla Bonita Mitsuwa Marketplace food court Tito's Tacos Asian food in general (it's usually bad/non-authentic in most other cities) Being able to get sushi everywhere Santa Monica farmers markets (3rd street on Wed/Sat) www.foodallergyqueen.blogspot.com Wed Feb 14 17:00:08 -0800 2007 2291033 10191 Kishari 1 2293906 When I leave LA: good Chinese food, good Mexican food, good sushi that's affordable, fresh and affordable produce, Dodger dogs. When I leave NY: bagels, great bakeries every few streets. Not exactly "home food," but I also miss the great and affordable bar dining and fixed price lunches at high-end restaurants. Wed Feb 14 17:25:25 -0800 2007 2291033 26708 sidwich 1 2293969 SUSHI! I just can't bear it back east. When I go away for more than a week, I start craving it and sometimes have to give in...and then remember that Bristol Farms has better sushi than 99% of the good places on the East Coast. There are exceptions in NY, of course, and Morimoto in Philadelphia, but the fish is just different (is it Atlantic Salmon vs Pacific Salmon?), and it's appreciated differently for sure. Vegetarian food is also lacking in less health conscious cities. Sometimes I want a veg day and there are only so many places that serve good tofu! HOWEVER, I do like the general dining scene better in Philadelphia- even with the thematic Stephen Starr restaurants, it's more about the food and not the scene. menus actually vary from place to place, restaurants try different things out AND places tend to stick around for a while. People actually seem to enjoy food and wine and the experience. Wed Feb 14 17:48:28 -0800 2007 2291033 10687 Quesera 1 2294219 breakfast burritos Tacos- asada, carnitas, cabeza w/ all the real fixins... not flour tortilla, iceberg lettuce, shredded cheese, etc! animal style fries thai food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and everything said above. Wed Feb 14 19:30:59 -0800 2007 2291033 25247 Veggietales 1 2294252 roscos chicken and waffles. Wed Feb 14 19:50:39 -0800 2007 2291033 67290 TravelJack 1 2294319 Definitely Paquito Mas. The one in West Hollywood. Wed Feb 14 20:31:11 -0800 2007 2291033 59985 Nikki NYC 1 2294464 Soon Dobu-Beverly Tofu TOMMYS Double Sausage & Cheese & Egg Sandwich Oki Dog- Pastrami Burrito New Seoul Korean BBQ Buffet Double King Burger Combo- Best Burger Breakfast Burrito Combo- Dinos Chicken Chili Verde Tamales- La Mascota Bakery Hollenback Burrito- Eltepeyac Shrimp Enchiladas-Talpa Caldo De Pollo- Llamarda Cream Puffs- Beard papas BBQ- Philips Soul Food- Chef Marylins Soul Food-Aunt Rosa Lees Soul Food RIP Stevies on tha Strip 'SHAW ........... Crenshaw Wooo wOOOOOO!!!! Wed Feb 14 22:04:39 -0800 2007 2291033 61476 Skunk2Racer 1 2294514 A few more...... fried Shrimp- Jonnies Shrimp Boat Sushi-Daikichi Sushi- Mitusawa Market Tito's Tacos Roast Beef Baguett- Lee's Sandwichs Cafe Su Da- Lee's Sandwichs Pastrami Sandwich- Coles Carne Asada Burrito- Carnitas Michocan Albondigas Soup- Lupitas "Roach Coach" polish Sausage &Egg Breakfast Sandwich on Armenian Bread-lupitas roach coach "SPECIAL" Massias Grill- Glendale Galleria Beef Chili Verde Dinner- Ramonas Fried Chicken-EL POLLO CAMPARO And MORE I Can't EVEN Think of right now..... I LOVE LA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wed Feb 14 22:36:00 -0800 2007 2291033 61476 Skunk2Racer 1 2294600 Since I have moved away from LA and back again three times I can vouch for myself on these: Ricardo's El Ranchito flour chips - La Habra Claim Jumper Gondola's Pizza - La Mirada Masaba - Westwood Thai Chicken Pasta from Huntington Beer Factory Golden Spoon which is soooo much better then Pink Berry ;) Tony's Little Italy Sausage Stuffed Pizza Mole in Long Beach Tommy's Chili Cheese Burgers Dodger Dogs on a Saturday afternoon or warm summer night at the ravine Burrito's from Pedro's Tacos Fish Tacos from Wahoo's Pad Thai from Renu Nakorn! Thu Feb 15 00:19:07 -0800 2007 2291033 74635 flyerfan182 1 2295900 Everything. LA is a glutton's paradise. Thu Feb 15 10:50:47 -0800 2007 2291033 15848 ozzygee 1 2296036 I concur with sushi. I once had despiration sushi in Kansas City. I'll NEVER do that again. Also, the fact that we can get sushi in gorcoery stores. It may not be Asanebo, but Gelson's sushi is LIGHT YEARS better than anything than most mid-west or central Sushi restaurants have. I also miss our supermarket salad bar (Gelson's, whole foods, etc). It's odd to go into a supermaket elsewhere and see no or a rotten salad bar. We complain about ours, but still. I miss Rahel Ehtiopian, Good Indian, such as Woodlands. Good Vegetarian or health food, such as Follow Your HEart, The NAtural Cafe, Native Foods and more. Avocados from anywhere. Thu Feb 15 11:16:05 -0800 2007 2291033 11201 Diana 1 2296162 assuming that i'm not flying outside the country, too many to count but in general: local choclolates like kron's truffles. the dim sum the good and relatively cheap sushi the l.a. korean food and all the nagging korean ladies. good indian food in artesia pho in westminster langers handcut pastrami on rye Thu Feb 15 11:44:06 -0800 2007 2291033 10246 choctastic 1 2296176 authentic Chinese food, generally surfside restaurants California cuisine Thu Feb 15 11:46:26 -0800 2007 2291033 11006 chica 1 2296195 Good Mexican Good Thai Wine in the grocery store shredded chichen salad from ChinChin Thu Feb 15 11:50:21 -0800 2007 2291033 47734 LenaNE 1 2296199 in-n-out farmers markets in winter http://rantsnravesnreviews.blogspot.com Thu Feb 15 11:51:15 -0800 2007 2291033 69129 rantsnravesnreviews 1 2296418 The only time I was away from LA for a large amount of time was when I lived in Norway/Sweden for a little over a year when I was in my teens. I missed the same things that have already been mentioned... Taco Bell, In-N-Out, Tommy's, Root Beer (but then we took a school trip to Sweden and I found Dr Pepper, so I bought a lot of that!! Interestingly, no one that I offered it to liked it; oh well, more for me!), all the wonderful hot-weather fruits and veggies that we take for granted living here! Thu Feb 15 12:41:56 -0800 2007 2291033 12400 WildSwede 1 2297641 All the cheap and great Mexican, especially tacos, al pastor, huevos rancheros, and Yucatecan cuisine All the amazing and inexpensive Korean (especially BBQ), Thai (pad kee mao), Chinese (dim sum), and Vietnamese (banh mi and pho) Persian Pastrami at Langer's French dips at Bandera and Phillipe's Los Angeles-style hamburgers All the excellent citrus and avocado that literally grow in our backyards Thu Feb 15 18:10:56 -0800 2007 2291033 14558 Ernie 1 2302133 Abbot's pizza, the produce at the farmers markets, and the ability to have just about any cuisine one could want, all within a 40-minute drive. Oh yes, mom's croquettes... love you mom! Sat Feb 17 08:32:17 -0800 2007 2291033 64003 bulavinaka 1 2302492 When I leave LA I miss Trader Joe's. Even when I'm in a Midwestern city that has a Trader Joe's, it's not the same as TJ's in LA. The selection is way smaller, and many of the great local products TJ's carries here they just don't carry in all of their stores. Here TJ's is my grocery staple, in Midwestern cities they are more a place to go for a few specialty items. I also miss year-round farmers' markets. From my home base in West LA I have options of nearby farmers' markets 4 days a week, year round. It really is incredible, and something I don't always appreciate until it's not available. Midwestern farmers' markets can be great in the summer for Michigan cherries or Indiana tomatoes, but it's such a short season. Sat Feb 17 10:58:30 -0800 2007 2291033 72947 chaussonauxpommes 1 2303249 Tacos: El Gran Burrito Yuca's Tito's Tacos Noodles: Sanamluang I Heart Mozza now too In n Out Grub That's all I can come up with for now Sat Feb 17 16:58:14 -0800 2007 2291033 18049 djquinnc 1 2303318 Trader Joe's Tonny's chile verde Macau Street special crab Golden Deli rolls & banh mi Caroussel maaneh and soujuk Ma dang gooksoo and everything at Sa Rit Gol Senor Fish ceviche scooped up with their seafood quesadilla What may be more interesting (and is certainly a lot more of a challenge) is to contrast this list with "things that I miss and can't get good versions of in Los Angeles" (or not without driving for 45 minutes). That would include inexpensive Brazilian (Burlington, VT, of all places), proper Cajun eateries and Eritrean food (DC -- can't throw a rock in Addams Morgan without hitting something like Meskerem or Bardia's New Orleans Cafe), and 2-pound burritos from El Farolito in the Mission District (SF) at 4am for $3 with 2 quarts of free salsa aquacate. I've taken to making the latter stuff at home out of quiet desperation... Sat Feb 17 17:34:45 -0800 2007 2291033 72925 ttriche 1 2303388 Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's! I LOVE THAT DUDE! Middle Eastern Food Thai Food Potato Balls from Porto's Having all of the culinary options that are a hop skip and a jump away. Fake freaking Mexican food Sat Feb 17 18:24:13 -0800 2007 2291033 75431 yummi 1 2303662 Burgers in general North Woods Inn Shinsengumi Sat Feb 17 21:11:40 -0800 2007 2291033 10786 calabasas_trafalgar 1 2305208 Mochi from Fugetsudo Suehiro grilled mackerel lunch Chinese steamed rice cake, Wu Gok, Sesame Seed Balls at Dim Sum lunch Thai Food- Green Papaya Salad, Spicy Chicken salad. eggplant dishes Korean BBQ buffet, Indian buffet Korean supermarkets, rice cake snacks Nopalitos salad, green chile cheese tamales Boba Chocolate Malted Krunch Ice Cream from Thriftys Z Pizza Plaza Inn Broasted Chicken Cheap and good chicken meal chains: Baja Fresh, Pollo Loco, Zankou Chicken Back yard fruit and veg swaps-Avocados, citrus, persimmons, plums, peaches, passionfruit, guavas, tomatoes, summer squash, eggplant, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves! Sun Feb 18 15:53:50 -0800 2007 2291033 71215 mlgb 1 2305220 hot dogs at Pink's Sun Feb 18 15:59:25 -0800 2007 2291033 48366 ChefGirl412 1 2305350 Versailles Happy Hour at Border Grill Ramen anywhere in Little Osaka Tuk Tuk Thai Tito's Tacos or Campos Tacos Original Panty Cafe Gilbert's El Indio Ocean Ave. Seafood (oysters) Father's Office (beer and burger) Library Alehouse (beer and great food) Sun Feb 18 16:52:39 -0800 2007 2291033 75652 umeakai 1 2306034 "Original Panty Cafe" Inside Victoria's Secret? Mon Feb 19 00:07:44 -0800 2007 2291033 10786 calabasas_trafalgar 2 2312325 lol whoops...Freudian slip? Tue Feb 20 17:19:01 -0800 2007 2306034 75652 umeakai 1 2306870 KINGS on Reseda. Mon Feb 19 09:48:11 -0800 2007 2291033 75596 unlazyboy285 1 2308165 I've lived outside of California a few times and I admit that nothing beats the food diversity in Los Angeles. Here's what I normally miss: Lee's Sandwiches Portos Bakery & Cafe In n out Burgers Authenic sushi (Japanese), Korean BBQ, Thai, and Dim Sum restaurants. Boba Tea Mon Feb 19 15:44:53 -0800 2007 2291033 69758 MeAFoodieYep 1 2313076 Phillippe's French-dipped sandwiches Decent burritos and tacos (and don't believe all the hype in the NY Times -- even though there has been an influx of Mexican nationals to NYC, they're all in the boroughs. Manhattan Mexican still stinks) Really good dim sum (again, our Chinese trumps their Chinese) Really good sushi (and again, our Japanese trumps their Japanese AND ALWAYS HAS) Regular homestyle Japanese food (see above) Cuban food -- oddly the Cuban food in NYC sucks. Hawaiian local food (yeah, ours isn't as good as the crummiest place in Honolulu, but it's better than nothing, and some of it is actually good) In N Out Burgers (ha HA) Teacakes from Martino's Fosselman's ice cream (particularly the peach, mango or peppermint stick ice creams) Hot caramel sundaes at Twohey's And I know some people will take issue with this, but I think our Indian food is better than theirs (certainly closer to what you get in London) Pffft! So there. :P Tue Feb 20 23:33:04 -0800 2007 2291033 15684 soyarra 1 2314802 Burritos Wed Feb 21 12:05:44 -0800 2007 2291033 57689 katkoupai 1 2315488 Since I moved from WeHo to Long Beach AND gone from working professional with income to Full Time student... I've gone through some serious withdrawl... and I know, Long Beach is still IN LA County! but I mostly miss: Canter's Deli (Fairfax), Yoshi's Sushi (SM blvd), Elixer (Melrose), and all the good, NON-FAST FOOD lunch choices in Beverly Hills and W. LA. Wed Feb 21 14:55:41 -0800 2007 2291033 58881 SRosie 1 2395319 I was born and raised in LA and left in 1988, Every time I return for a visit I must have Cochinita Pibil Tacos at Pacos in Culver City and a Fresh Banana, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Donut at Stan's in Westwood. Sometimes in the same day!! Sat Mar 17 13:21:17 -0700 2007 2291033 12275 wineguy7 1 2395344 this topic is making me homesick. i agree with alsmot ALL of the above but hands-down it has to be mexican food. there's nothing like the mexican food in la (and the bay area). everytime i go back to ca, i have to make a pit-stop at mexico city, loteria, la estrella, la cabanita or el arco iris. Sat Mar 17 13:33:04 -0700 2007 2291033 83491 will_forfood 1 2395352 Moved from LA back to the Dc area, and really miss good authentic Asian - Chinese, Dim Sum, Thai, Korean, etc. Sat Mar 17 13:35:00 -0700 2007 2291033 76025 mojoeater 1 2396160 Are you moving to NYC? I made the move a few months ago. Here's what you'll miss: - In-N-Out (NYers will tell you about Blue 9 burgers. Don't believe it. It's a joke) - Taco trucks - fish tacos - Thai Town - decent Chinese food - Taiwanese food - tomatoes - Chinese markets like 99 Ranch - hash browns (I discovered that today) - burritos - Hawaiian food - bahn mi - a Trader Joe's where you can be in and out in less than 5 minutes - BBQ joints on Crenshaw Sat Mar 17 20:46:19 -0700 2007 2291033 13764 panoz 2 2396319 You miss tomatoes? But I hear so much about how those Jersey Devils kick ass. Sat Mar 17 22:32:28 -0700 2007 2396160 10246 choctastic 1 2396249 You don't know how good and inexpensive food are in LA, until you moved to, say Australia. One could only eat lamb and fish and chips so many times before I got sick of them. - Chinese take-out food in places like XiaoMei - Mexican - Korean, Japanese, Thai, Indian... Any kind of Asian food - in-n-out - BBQ joints - A good sandwich (spreading butter instead of mayo on the bread just wasn't the same) Sat Mar 17 21:46:05 -0700 2007 2291033 65974 Liz 2 4092393 What about all the fantastic Asian restaurants there? Vietnamese, Malaysian, Japanese, Thai etc etc Practically every pub is a gastropub, too. It sounds as if you haven't visited for quite some time or only went to remote locales. I agree it's pricey -- I was just there last month. Wed Oct 08 22:05:56 -0700 2008 2396249 28279 Maxmillion 1 2396933 Carne Asada Tacos Korean BBQ No other place in the US seems to do those well Sun Mar 18 09:26:46 -0700 2007 2291033 15674 holybull 1 2396953 I moved to San Francisco four years ago so I still get In-N-Out but, even living right next to SF's Japantown, I think the Japanese food in Gardena is far superior. I especially miss Shin-Sen-Gumi. Shockingly, there are NO yakitori restaurants in San Francisco where you can't throw a dead cat without hitting a Japanese restaurant. I also miss the mediocre German restaurants in that little Old World Village. Something about the fact they immediately serve rye bread with butter AND liverwurst! Zankou chicken and Philippe's French dips are obvious misses, but I also miss the amazing Cuban roast pork with black beans and rice from Versailles. Last month, before taking an international flight, I deliberately flew in several hours earlier just to drive to the one in Manhattan Beach for a long-missed fix. I'll be there next month for a week and am looking forward to Zankou and another missed restaurant, Katsu-Ya - the first sushi restaurant I went to that had foie gras. Sun Mar 18 09:37:48 -0700 2007 2291033 16933 Carrie 218 1 2396985 Al Pastor, Menudo, Korean Food, Japanese food Sun Mar 18 09:50:05 -0700 2007 2291033 52055 Fat Billie 1 2397183 I will also add Persian food to this list. Can't get it in every city... Sun Mar 18 11:22:00 -0700 2007 2291033 57689 katkoupai 1 2397230 Fish tacos with white sauce and anything (else) involving cilantro. Sun Mar 18 11:44:21 -0700 2007 2291033 40486 Cinnamon 1 2397231 Specific things that I missed when I took a long weekend in Idaho last week were Mexican food and sushi. There was one tacqueria in town and it amazed me that they had lengua and al pastor on the menu, but trying it out, it just didn't quite right. Carnitas weren't bad. And believe it or not, I ran into more sushi houses than tacquerias. I am steering far far away from that one; I know for a fact that they aren't shipping fish fresh daily into the this time zone unless it's Denver, Phoenix or Las Vegas. Sun Mar 18 11:45:22 -0700 2007 2291033 50350 SauceSupreme 1 2398245 Vietnamese food, especially viet food you douse in fish sauce. Sun Mar 18 18:13:05 -0700 2007 2291033 63444 groover808 1 2398250 Mexican food, specifically the salsa (most back east is like tomato paste) In-N-Out Costco Rotissierie Chicken Sun Mar 18 18:15:45 -0700 2007 2291033 55728 rlknapp1 1 3781028 I grew up in LA and left Los Angeles in 1995 -- have only been back a few times but here are some things I CRAVE every time I think of home: 1. El Pollo Loco 2. In-N-Out 3. Carl's Jr. 4. Green Burritto (When I left they hadn't mixed the two yet). 5. King Taco 6. All the local taquerias 7. Yoshinoya Beef Bowl (I spotted one in Tokyo this year and went running for it!) 8. Pink's 9. Jack In The Box (ecoli shmecoli) 10. Not really fast food -- but the Claim Jumper was an awesome restaurant. 11. The Hat (AWESOME Pastrami's) 12. North Woods Inn. 13. Tommy Burgers Sat Jun 14 16:35:53 -0700 2008 2291033 200847 dpalombo 1 4089731 Tacos Por Favor on Olympic! Santa Monica Farmers Markets Pinks Fathers Office burgers Millies in Silver Lake Hoagies and Wings Every mexican guy grilling on the street Korean food Cha Cha Chicken! Tue Oct 07 21:21:40 -0700 2008 2291033 231175 owoolley 1 4092327 I thought reading all these answers would put a smile on my homesick face, but, alas, it only brought a tear. Been gone 13 months. We miss: sushi Tommy's Langers Casita Tacos al carbon Pepe's breakfast burritos buying California produce IN California. burgers with 1000 island picking lemons/oranges/grapefruit/avocados/pomegranates off a back yard tree Tony's Little Italy (seriously folks, his pizza is waaay better than Chicago pizza in Chicago!) Getting tacos or agua fresca or alote anywhere anytime mom and pop donut shops oh, and Pioneer giblets Wed Oct 08 21:00:22 -0700 2008 2291033 10991 kiwi 2 4097994 meant to say elote not alote...or maybe I meant atole? No. I meant elote. My experience is that street atole is a baaad idea. Sat Oct 11 13:10:49 -0700 2008 4092327 10991 kiwi 1 4092398 Nuthin'! Too busy feasting on the local chow. (I took this to mean when travelling Internationally...) Wed Oct 08 22:08:16 -0700 2008 2291033 28279 Maxmillion 1 4092431 am heading for new york in a week and so will miss in order of severity: el burrito jr for chicken enchilada redondo beach rice things for chicken teriyaki/calif. roll in redondo beach local place for kalua pork in gardena sakae sushi for take out sushi in gardena philippe's for pork french dip la langers and labels table for pastrami la/beverly hills sam woo for roast duck/wonton etc monterey park pho hana for pho/etc in rancho palos verdes shisengumi for hakata ramen in gardena neil's for seafood risotto in san pedro flemings for an occasional steak in manhattan beach martha's for a good breakfast in hermosa beach uncle bill's for another good breakfast manhattan beach big mike's for philly cheesesteak in hermosa beach aunt kizzy's for some southern cooking marina del rey so much more but these are the ones i miss when i am gone for an extended time....i have my equivalents in ny but not yet for all......am slowly building it up though. Wed Oct 08 22:41:54 -0700 2008 2291033 148558 jaymor 2 4094139 Carrie218 wrote: >>you can't throw a dead cat without hitting a Japanese restaurant<< There's a Korean joke in here somewhere... Whenever I leave Los Angeles, I miss things like the carne asada burrito at El Nopal, the "special" at Ma Ya in Santa Monica, the Ethiopian district on Fairfax, Irv's Burgers in WeHo, Fatburger (any location), Ranch 99, the carnitas dinner at Vallarta (corn tortillas to die for), Porto's (everything), the roast chicken at Versailles, Damiano's, Canters, Brent's, Won's Coffee Shop, Sherman Room, Billingslys, dim sum at Empress on Sunday mornings, the WeHo Astroburger fried tacos (deadly delicious), Tommy's, Phillipe's beef double-dipped with bleu cheese and a pickle, and, last but not least, Don Antonio's on Pico in WLA. Luckily, I don't travel out of state too often these days. -cb- Thu Oct 09 15:02:26 -0700 2008 4092431 113190 CucumberBoy 1 4097447 Mexican, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese. But, mostly miss good & cheap Mexican food. Sat Oct 11 07:19:50 -0700 2008 2291033 104996 pharmnerd 1 4100319 i am currently sitting here in nyc very much longing for a langer's #19. katz's does not even come close. and of course the taco trucks. Sun Oct 12 22:42:40 -0700 2008 2291033 68146 ronsilverado 1 4100411 I've been in Portland for about nine months now and here are the things that I miss about LA: Ramen Sushi (though I did find a sushiya in Seattle that would be comparable to Zo and Ike) Oaxacan Persian Non-Sichuan Chinese Specific restaurants I miss: The Hungry Cat Jitlada Mozza Sokongdong Sushi Ike Father's Office Mon Oct 13 02:16:26 -0700 2008 2291033 50350 SauceSupreme