Moving to Culver City
Just in time for the long awaited Joan's on Third expansion to open, I've packed up my stuff and in moving from my off-third street spot to my new place in Culver City. So once the boxes are unpacked, where should I start eating? I'm east side by downtown and Helms area. I know all the usual suspects (Ford's, Beacon, Wilson, etc, etc), looking for the great local/delivery/hole in-the-wall places I probably wouldn't know until I lived near there.
Any suggestions?
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My favorite locals place is Grand Casino on Main St. They recently raised the price of their empanadas lunch to $5.95 from the ridiculously cheap $5. (Two empanadas and soup, very filling!) They have good salads, pastries, sandwiches, and their little tea sandwiches called "migas." It's full of ex-pat Argentinian and has a great vibe. The coffe's good too. Their sidewalk seating area is nicer than mosts, since Main isn't as busy as Venice or Washington.
S&W is a diner just down the street from the Kirk Douglas theatre. Great diner food, and a lot of it. Their buckwheat pancakes are hearty and tasty. Their grilled cheese sandwich with bacon is sinfully good (and fattening!) Don't order their biscuits and gravy, it's the only thing I've ever had there that was bad (flavorless gravy, too sweet cake-like biscuits.)
Right across from the Helms complex on Washington is the Tea Forest Cafe. A wide selection of teas, plus several varieties of sandwiches. The sandwiches are deceptively filling. I like the caprese (mozzarella, tomato, prosciutto and pesto) that you can have warmed in the sandwich press. The people who work there are very nice, it has a calm vibe.
Someone mentioned the Mexican place on National below Robertson and the 10, it's Sabor a Mexico. Great food, slow service.
Lots of other good places, but these are some that not everyone seems to know about.
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Grand Casino Bakery
3826 Main St, Culver City, CA 90232S & W Country Diner
9748 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232Sabor a Mexico
2622 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90018Tea Forest
8686 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232 -
More options just came to mind... Guelaguetza is taking over another Oaxacan place on Washington Place, so that will be good. And Metro Diner is a good Serbian place. And I completely forgot to mention Tacomiendo, Taqueria Sanchez, and the Cemitas Poblanas truck that parks in front of the Smart & Final on Venice.
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floridastylee
Sep 10, 2007 05:04 PM
Hole in the wall sushi (but great fresh fish quality and REALLY cheap) - Taro's Sushi & Teri on Washington just west of Overland. I found out about the spot when I was looking over Joe Escalante from Indie 103/ The Vandals' yelp.com picks and he raved about this mom & pop sushi spot in Culver City. I visitted one night with my girlfriends. There's seating for about 10-12 people- that's about it- but barely anyone was eating in. While we sat and ate, dozens of people were picking up their takeout orders. Great quality sashimi! Great tempura. Rolls are like $3, fresh fish is per piece- like $1.50. Feast for cheap! Read Joe's review here- it's the first review posted. http://www.yelp.com/biz/N7jT3K3uBuRNC...
In Palms on National & Motor is Mama's Pizza. Yummy Italian food and there's always a table. It's pretty well known. Their beer battered mushrooms are addicting. Great pizza and garlic knots!
Probably not considered Culver City but 26 Beach on Washington is my current favorite. Huge menu with tons of options. Call ahead and reserve a booth.
Adding to the post about about Overland Cafe- Go for Sunday brunch. All you can drink mimosa's for $4.99 with your entree.
And just last week I read a review for Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken. The reviews on yelp sound AMAZING. I can't wait to try it. That's in Culver City.
Enjoy!
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26 Beach
3100 Washington Blvd., Venice, CA 90292Taro's Sushi & Teri
10834 1/2 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken
9537 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232›1 Reply-
re: floridastylee
I wanted sushi/sashimi on the cheap one day and headed to Taro's. I got the sashimi plate to go. I stepped into my car with it and immediately smelled big awful fishy smell. It was so bad, I had to throw the whole thing away, and I almost never throw out just-purchased food. I'm never going there again.
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Servorg
Sep 10, 2007 04:56 PM
Gloria's Cafe on Venice Blvd. is a great little inexpensive hole-in-the-wall. Family run with warm, inviting service. They have some excellent Salvadoran items as well as tasty Mexican items. Once you try it you'll be hooked.
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re: Servorg
Foodandwine
Sep 10, 2007 05:06 PM
Brazil (someting or other) Think cafe Brazil good executive lunch think steak
versallais (sp) cuban chicken and pork
taco (cemetas) truck in front of smart and final on venice you will know what I mean
Fraiche (date nite) Drinks, Happy Hour, Dinner
Beacon (date nite) Dinner, Lunch
Tokoyo 777 ( find it and you are true local ) divey japanase breakfast for $3.00 +/-
Ugo (date night italian)
Bottle Rock ( cool wine bar and eat the cheese!!)
Vinum Populari ( wine bar wit 1 oz. pours @ .80 cents to $12.00 and ounce) Italian
Tender Greens ( cool salads and plates everything under $10)
The Taco place on National 1 block south of Robertson ( friday and Saturday) $1.00 tacosOkay now that you are a local, report back and tell us the other things you found!!
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re: writergirl
Foodandwine
Sep 10, 2007 07:51 PM
Its the total experience at tokyo 777 the old japanese waitress rice eggs toast coffee what could be bad for $3.00 it is what it is, I guess now that you pointed it out I like the funkiness as well. I still like the food too...
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re: writergirl
I give them huge extra points for having hearts of gold. I've experienced this more than once over the years where homeless guys were not shooed away but were instead offered food and a place to sit in this shoebox-sized eatery. They're old school Bhudaheads that have great compassion. When I keep these thoughts as I'm eating there, the food just tastes better and better...
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Drive down Venice Blvd towards the 405. You'll find India Sweets & Spices, Bharat Bazaar/Samosa House, Annapurna (south Indian), Gaby's (Lebanese), and a bunch of other places that I am likely forgetting about.
You could also go down to Surfa's for a quick lunch -- their sandwiches and salads are good.
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re: glutton
I have to say, maybe I'm getting the wrong stuff but I think Gaby's is extremely mediocre. Plus they act like the mere act of coming to your table and taking your order (which can take years) should qualify them for sainthood, and anything you ask for beyond that (like refilling your drink) is downright treasonous.
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re: nick_r
I won't argue that this is food to write home about. However, I like being able to sit down and order some decent hummus, baba ghanouj, and other appetizer type things.
I was at their location near the Venice pier a week ago and the service and food were atrocious. Their main location in Culver City has always been better, but I'll grant you that the service wouldn't exactly be called speedy. It's not bad, but not speedy either. The food in Culver City, though, tastes better for whatever reason.
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Not in Culver City proper, but in Palms (my hood) you should definitely visit Overland Cafe either for breakfast (best) or a simple dinner (still good but on the ordinary side). And decent but cheap Chinese food can be had at neighborhood veteran Hu's.
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Overland Cafe
3601 Overland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90034Hu's Szechwan Restaurant
10450 National Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034
