Restaurants over by Bronson Canyon/Franklin area?

[svonkie]

Hi,

I'm just about to move over near the Mayfair Market and the Scientology Celebrity Center. I've really only been to Birds and La Poubelle in the immediate vicinity. Which restaurants in the immediate area should I turn to for my new local haunts?

[carter]

Avoiding all restaurant operations fronting on Franklin would be the first bit of good advice.
Victor's Deli serves very good take out sandwiches and selected salads and sides. Its adjoining deli/restaurant serves those sandwiches and much more, with qualitative variances, depending on what you get. Breakfast can be quite good, is quite popular on the weekends, and is a good place for star-searching if that might be of interest.
Definitely avoid the Pimai That place - worst Thai food ever, especially with Thai town on Hollywood Blvd only a few blocks away.

[mc michael]

Get the garlic bread sticks at Prizzi's Piazza. Pay for the good deli at Victor's.

[Chandavkl]

You're close enough to the places just south of Los Feliz on Vermont and Hillhurst--the quality differential is certainly worth the short drive. My favorite is Farfalla on Hillhurst, but there are plenty of choices. And forget the Thai place on Canyon and Franklin--yuck.

[Emme]

You're pretty close to
Los Balcones de Peru
Hungry Cat at Sunset/Vine
Sushi Ike at Hollywood/Gower and Al Wazir next door
You're close to little Armenia on Hollywood, a little bit farther east
Lucky Devils
25 degrees
Paru's
Sanamluang
Deli next door to Victor's
Musso & Frank's
...not all *immediate area* per se, but do with these what you will...

I'd do a search on Pantages recs b/c you're so close to there.

You're right near UCB (so take advantage of the cheap improv/sketch comedy too!)

[lil mikey]

I'd agree with all of these (I must have run into Emme at one point or another) and add:

Golden Fish on Hollywood, just west of Normandie - Last night I went over there and ordered a half pound of chicken breast kebab and a half pound of chicken thigh kebab. I also ordered some BBQed veggies: tomato, eggplant and pepper. They charcoal cook them to order. I brought them home and made tacos with them, complete with fresh lettuce, tomato and avocado. On top I put some sour cream with chili powder stirred-in. It was a very different mixture of tastes, but somehow the flavors worked together quite well.

There is also Little Thai Angels on Hollywood and Harvard. Their menu rivals Jerry's Famous Deli in sheer number of items. But it's all Thai food. I especially like their version of pad Thai, which is served in an omelette (i.e., it comes wrapped in scrambled eggs).

Super Torta on Fountain and Vine makes their tortas (Mexican sandwich) with nice freshly grilled meat and fresh toppings. And it's pretty cheap.

The donut shop on Franklin and Canyon (a block east of Bronson) makes pressed sandwiches that I really like.

The deli counter at the Mayfair has a nice selection of pre-made salads. And I've had many very good salads from their make-it-yourself salad bar.

The glazed donunts at Alex Donuts in the small shopping center on Franklin, just east of Argyle, are your best bet for donuts in the area.

For bagels and lox, Victor's liquor (not the restaurant), is a favorite. As mentioned above, they also have a complete deli in there.

The potato salad at the Beachwood Market (on Beachwood about 1/2 mile north of Franklin) is tough to beat. It's creamy in all the right places. They also have a very nice butcher who will help you and talk to you much more than the busy butchers at the Mayfair.

As you expand your perimeter, there are more really great places. Foodwise, it's a pretty good area.

[LisaStitch]

In the very lowkey/casual late-night category:

Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles on Gower, south of Sunset - open til midnight or 1, later (4am I think) on weekends

101 Coffee Shop in the bottom of the (Best Western?) Hotel just east of the 101 freeway on Franklin - very diner-ish, good (not Chowish) food til 3am