46863 Mon Jan 12 16:24:39 -0800 1998 33 2 Los Angeles Area 0 233095 To All: I'm going to LA on business and I'm looking for good places to eat near my hotel in Century City, especially Sushi and Mexican. My favorite was Sushi Nozawa but they were outed on the front page of the NY Times. As for Mexican I love El Tepiyac but usually don't have time to get there. I enjoyed the food at La Serenata on Pico, but the attitude was rude. Thanks! Mon Jan 12 16:24:39 -0800 1998 0 Barry Strugatz 1 233096 The Westside isn't the most happening of chowhound locations, but you might try: 1) Sushi Sasabune, on Sawtelle. The same sort of sushi-nazi tendencies as Nozawa (the chefs once worked at Nozawa), but with much better food. Don't even think of ordering a California roll. (Ginza Sushi-Ko, the best and most expensive Japanese restaurant in the US, is nearby at 2 Rodeo, but I'm assuming you don't have $400 to blow dinner.) 2) Border Grill, on 4th St., in Santa Monica. I know, I know--the chefs are Anglo, TV famous, and attract a noisy crowd, but trust me: the food is much better than at the somewhat overrated La Serenata. Or for something different, try Guelaguetza on Palms at Sepulveda, which is probably the best Oaxacan-style restaurant in the country at the moment. If you're doing the East L.A. thing, let me know. I can give you a dozen places. 3) People will tell you about ``great'' Chinese places on the Westside. Don't believe them. The closest great Chinese food is in Chinatown, and you might as well go out to Monterey Park. Lake Spring Cuisine is my favorite for vegetarian goose, jade shrimp, Shanghainese fish casserole and the notorious pork pump. Or go to the great mall of China, 17 restaurants strong, on Valley at Del Mar. Choose among them Tung Lai Shun, the Islamic Chinese place, and have sesame bread and braised lamb. 4) the Westside is rich in Iranian restaurants, though most are of the rice 'n' kebab sort. Javan, on Santa Monica Boulevard near Sawtelle, has a more extensive menu, and is quite good; 5) There are also a lot of izaka-ya, Japanese pubs with elaborate, seasonal food. Ita-Cho, on Santa Monica at Highland, is the most user-friendly of these; the excellent Yuu, on Santa Monica near Sepulveda, is closer to your hotel. Neither is particularly cheap. 6) And don't forget about Campanile, which is sort of the foodie hang in town. You can sit at the bar, and eat splendidly for not much. Mondays are family-dish nights (pot-au-feu, cassoulet); Thursday is grilled cheese night: not to be missed. Mon Jan 12 17:38:05 -0800 1998 233095 0 jonathan gold 2 233097 Jonathan-- I've only eaten at the Border Grill once and was not bowled over at all, and at La Serenata many times, but I'm amazed that you like the food better at the former (in the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that I've never had anything other than fish at La Serenata -- what I have sampled of non-seafood dishes at La Serenata has been good but not oustanding). But rather than fighting, I'm hoping for some recommendations: 1. What Mexican restaurants do you like better than La Serenata (besides B.G.) 2. And are there any fish or seafood restaurants (other than Japanese) that you would recommend? Any ethnic varieties are fine, although I'd also be interested in hearing about your recommendations for American fish restaurants. Even if they are occasionally pricey, I think you are a little tough on the food available on the west side. I think Chinois is consistently wonderful, and Rockenwagner, although inconsistent when at its most ambitious, is a particularly friendly and not too expensive place to have a wonderful lunch. I don't care how many foodies go there, Bombay Cafe still serves terrific Indian food, especially the beach food. The french fries at the Brentwood Mart are great soul food. And the ice cream place right off of Bundy and Sunset is sensational (but why have I forgotten its name?). Dave Tue Jan 13 20:52:38 -0800 1998 233096 0 Dave Feldman 3 233098 Dave: Congratulations--you hit almost all my pet peeves in one short posting! Don't hate me, but: 1) Some food guys think Bombay Cafe did for Indian food what Spago did for Mediterranean cooking: modernized it, intensified the flavors, introduced California-style ingredient fetishes to a cuisine traditionally more involved with the complexity of spicing than with the provenance of the vegetables. Bombay Cafe's cooking is undeniably lighter than what you find at the ghee-soaked ``authentic'' places in Artesia and Cerritos. And the restaurant is undeniably popular--many people, though there are few Indians among them, consider it the best Indian restaurant in Los Angeles. I just prefer real Indian food--and a new branch of the superb Southern Indian vegetarian Madhu's Dasaprakash recently opened not two blocks away from Bombay. 2) I think La Serenata is okay, but one-dimensional--almost everything worth getting there involves a bland piece of whitefish seared off and served with sauces--guajillo, avocado, cilantro-- which are fine, but not exactly made a la minute. (The famous antojitos, the sopes and gorditas and such can be pretty leathery.) The prices are astronomical, though and the crowd is mostly slumming Westsiders. There's something disconcerting about a restaurant where you're more likely to see Michelle Pfeiffer than the guy who lives around the corner. If it were a simple corner fish place, I'd probably love it. As it is, I prefer even Senor Fish. 3) L.A. has the best Chinese restaurants in the country, and I can never go to Chinois without wondering why I'm paying $100 a person for food that is actually better in its authentic version in San Gabriel at about 20 percent of the cost. The problem with Puck's marriage of Chinese flavors and French technique is that the Chinese flavors he has in mind are more of the oversweet Panda Inn variety rather than the subtler cooking at the new wave Shanghai or HK-style places. I do like the foie gras with pineapple, though. 4) Rockenwagner was fine in the old Venice spot--especially the crab souffle with mango--but has fallen quite far in the last few years. 5) People like to dog Border Grill, but though the restaurant has its ups and downs, it's on a major up at the moment: amazing handmade tortillas, rock shrimp with toasted chiles, portabello ``mulitas,'' etc. I like it better than the overhyped Frontera Grill in Chicago. I have too many downtown favorites to list in a single posting, but try Antojitos Denise's for the amazing lonja, Ciro's for flautas, Juanito's for tamales, Guelaguetza for mole, La Taquiza for mulitas, Super Torta for Mexican sandwiches and Ana Maria's in the Grand Central Market for the crispy gorditas of dreams. Oh, and the cheese-soaked antojitos at La Super Rica in Santa Barbara are worth the drive. 6) The popularity of the chicken 'n' seasoned- fries place in the Brentwood Country Mart continues to amaze me. Maybe people just really like paprika. Anyway, there's always the Eastside... Wed Jan 14 10:40:26 -0800 1998 233097 0 jonathan gold 4 233099 How about Patina folks? French/Califorian. I think it's on the Westside somewhere. I ate there a year ago with a friend and everything we had was excellent. The decor was beautiful (not that I ever let that sway my palate!) and the chef Joacqim (sp?) and his staff very friendly. It's "cheap" compared to Chinois [which BTW Dave, I liked it too! But that was 10 yrs ago when they opened. Never made it back since.]. And a spot I look fwd to returning to. I can't say that about Valentino's. Has any one eaten at that highly-rated Italian place? I ate there a year ago, and it was one of the WORST italian meals I ever had. The ragu looked and tasted like Chef boy r dee (aha, sorry as a chowhound, I haven't seen that word enough to spell it). The whole meal was blah and the staff very clubby/snobby. The worse thing was, I was dining with a friend who doesn't normally go to fancy/expensive restaurants cause he thinks they are a ripoff. So much for my attempt to win him over! JT Wed Jan 14 14:57:02 -0800 1998 233098 0 Janet Traub 5 233101 Janet, I have only eaten once at Valentino and it was a disaster, too. Are we the only two unlucky losers? Haven't been to Patina yet, but would love to. DF Thu Jan 15 01:20:06 -0800 1998 233099 0 Dave Feldman 6 234533 At the recommendation of a friend (who used to rave about Valentino's) I went there three times (one of the times with my friend and a group of 8) and all three times I was disappointed (slow and inattentive service, food not up to par or prepared as requested). I have not been back... Wed Jan 10 20:41:16 -0800 2001 233101 0 Haral Tsitsivas 7 234562 I agree. Mon Jul 02 18:10:25 -0700 2001 234533 0 zeke 4 233100 I'm not going to debate you point by point, Jonathan. Rather, the next time I'm in L.A., I'm going to take you out to dinner, either at some place you like or some place I like. And I want to eat the same dishes and see if we still disagree. I'll say this much. I've been lucky enough to eat quite a few meals with cooks, food critics, etc. It always seems that when I sit down with them and actually share the same meal, we usually agree about most items. Sort of like when you take the car to the mechanic and you can't get him to hear the ping. My fantasy is to go to a widely praised French restaurant with a critic and eat what I think is overpriced slop and have said critic explain to me why this pigeon en croute is better than a side order of grilled ceballitos. But whenever I get the chance, invariably the critic says: "yeah, they're having an offnight." Can I repeat a "don't hate me"here. You know that I greatly admire your work, and although I don't get to L.A. as often as I used to, I've used your columns as the basis for many a fine meal. But... You do seem resistant to experimentation in "ethnic" restaurants, and I don't really understand it. Let's use "Bombay Cafe" as an example. Why shouldn't Indian chefs try local produce? Different spice combinations? DF Thu Jan 15 01:17:00 -0800 1998 233098 0 Dave Feldman 5 233102 "Sort of like when you take the car to the mechanic and you can't get him to hear the ping" "But whenever I get the chance, invariably the critic says: "yeah, they're having an offnight."" Hee hee...GREAT stuff, Dave. I, for one, plead guilty as charged! But in defense of critics, you gotta remember that places DO swing wildly; restaurants ain't movies, so we're reviewing moving targets and your mileage may vary. But...the following's unfair: "You do seem resistant to experimentation in "ethnic" restaurants" I don't think that's true AT ALL. Ciao Thu Jan 15 09:31:52 -0800 1998 233100 0 Jim Leff 6 233105 Jim, Here's how I see the problem. Of course everyone, chowhound and critic alike, fantasizes about finding the perfect small, personal, authentic ethnic spot, particularly if it's a rare cuisine. Then the review hits. I'm sure regulars rue the day someone like you comes around and touts the restaurant. Then the crowds come. And then the bickering begins. The restaurant gets listed in Zagat's and the old regulars complain how the place has gone downhill. In the "old regulars" mind, the place has lost its charm as the Zagatites converge. To the critics, the place goes downhill as it has to struggle to feed many more people. Their "find" becomes a "sell-out." I've been both a "regular" and a "Zagatite" at times. I have my doubts sometimes whethere the restaurant has really gone downhill or changed so much -- it's just that the regulars resent the intrusion of the masses. Or do you think i"m all wet? DF Thu Jan 15 23:52:24 -0800 1998 233102 0 Dave Feldman 7 233108 I'm not sure a critic is capable of ruining a restaurant. I mean, there is that initial surge of humanity, which can last as long as a month, that can be mighty annoying to the regulars--and by the regulars, I mean more the, say, Sri Lankans that patronize a Sri Lankan restaurant than people like us who just dig Sri Lankan food--but that eventually fades away. And in my experience, six weeks after a review in even the Times, even with 23 points in the Zagat, a blurb in the city mag, and a slew of raves from the weeklies, that same Sri Lankan restaurant will again be pretty much trendy-free, with maybe a 15-20 percent increase in customers. (Personally, I think one of the great perks about being a critic is looking around at the two or three tables of honkys in a restaurant, knowing that you've helped a quality-minded small businessman become just a little bit more prosperous.) Which isn't to say some restaurants aren't ready for reviews: if a kitchen seems taxed by the simple job of getting appetizers on the table for a party of three in an empty restaurant, they should be given a few months. But I can't understand why people are loath to let critics ``discover'' their finds. Short of La Caridad getting a four-star review in the NY Times, which will happen about the time geese produce foie gras of their own free will, positive, sensitively written press can only help a restaurant. Wed Jan 21 18:41:23 -0800 1998 233105 0 jonathan gold 8 233109 I will be staying near Sunset and La Cienega , any good places nearby? Thanks. Tue Jan 27 09:53:03 -0800 1998 233108 0 Barry Strugatz 9 233110 Sunset Strip isn't the richest neighborhood for restaurants, though I actually like the original Spago now better than I have in years: the creeps seem to have all migrated to the Beverly Hills location, and the pizza is perfect. You might find the upscale Thai cooking at Talesai amusing: try the hor mok, seafood steamed in coconut milk, which has little of the intricate spicing I like in this dish, but uses incomparably better seafood than most Thai places. Avoid the pretty sidewalk cafes in Sunset Plaza like the plague, unless model-watching is more important than food to you. Fenix just lost its amazing chef, Ken Frank: stay away. Also, people may tell you about the ``great'' Chinese food at Joss, but don't believe them: it's a yuppie hell. But Alto Palato, right down the hill from where you are staying, is a first-rate Italian restaurant, with wispy-crusted Roman-style pizza and a great dish of spaghetti with lemon zest and marscapone. Jozu, on Melrose, is a fine Pacific Rim place with an amazing wine list of tiny California producers, a little like a Union Square Cafe with a Japanese accent. If you don't mind driving into East Hollywood, you might be blown away by the L.A. Foodcourt on Hollywood near Normandie, which is home to the Thai Elvis and some pretty ok Thai food, or the fine Palm Restaurant next door, which specializes in Isaan salads and Thai game dishes (ask for the off-menu steamed trout in tamarind broth, the phad phed curry of wild pig and the garlic-pepper frog). Ruen Pair, in the same minimall as Palm, is L.A.'s best Thai-Chinese restaurant, and the place to go for fried morning glory with garlic, crumbled pork with Chinese olives and crunchy mussel omelets. Chamika, in Hollywood proper, is a great, if basic, Sri Lankan restaurant, with all the weird starches (the noodle nets called stringhoppers, the steamed coconut logs called pittu, the crunchy coffee-filter lookalikes called appes) and wonderful black curries. BYOB. Hope this helps. Tue Jan 27 18:16:49 -0800 1998 233109 0 jonathan gold 10 233120 How about Il Sole on Sunset? I guess the question is really directed at Jonathan. What do you think? Wed Feb 18 01:10:27 -0800 1998 233110 0 Joe Miller 11 233121 I don't know Il Sole, probably because of my tendency to ignore Italian restaurants in that vast chasm between the haimishness of Casa Bianca and the haughtiness of Vincenti. Is it great? Are you the chef Joe Miller? I do like Joe's a lot. Wed Feb 18 09:19:44 -0800 1998 233120 0 jonathan gold 12 233122 In reverse order: I'm not the chef, although I know him and his work (he's terrific, as are his restaurants - Joe's, Joe Joe's, & Reed's). I've eaten at Il Sole only once - last year - but found it very Italian. I would definitely like to go back. Thu Feb 19 01:07:55 -0800 1998 233121 0 Joe Miller 5 233103 It's not so much the freedom of, say, an Indian chef to play around with different produce or spices if he or she wants to--I'll rarely complain about a chef substituting zucchini for drumstick, and one of my favorite local halal Pakistani joints makes a dynamite curry of jalapeno peppers masala that can't possibly exist in that exact form in Karachi. The best HK chefs now play with Japanese flavors (and, unfortunately, mayonnaise), the way they probably played with flavors from Swatow: cuisine, agreed, thrives on a constant state of flux. It's the wholesale Europeanization of non-European cuisines that bugs me, the idea that to succeed--i.e., draw Range Rovers, charge high prices, and earn the respect of the Beard House guys--it is necessary to tone down spices, eliminate stinky ingredients like shrimp paste and asafoetida, cut the fat in half and adjust joyous, communal dining styles to fit date-night appetizer-entree-dessert expectations. Something is gained, yes, but too much is lost. BTW, Patina seems to be in a small slump-- I've had two just-ok meals there in the last month--but I just had one of the best dinners of my life at Valentino (which often isn't as good when your last name doesn't happen to be Claiborne or Reichl). Great goose risotto with madiera and utterly astonishing veal agnolotti wetted simply with butter. Go figure. Thu Jan 15 11:45:06 -0800 1998 233100 0 jonathan gold 6 233104 Hi Jonathan -- just to add my 2 cents in. It bugs me too if any of these non-European restaurants water down their food to suit the masses. It sure does not impress THIS Beard House member !! I am all for experimenting, but I still look for the spicing and flavors to be true to the original cuisine. There is nothing wrong with non-European restaurants trying to get a larger slice of the dining-out dollars pie. However, the food has to keep its integrity. What really bugs me is that when some Europeans open up some faux Asian place serving mediocre food, the crowds and (some)food writers rush in, proclaiming how great the spot is and how wonderful the food is. A good example would be Le Colonial (opened by 3 French guys, with a so-so Vietnamese cook)which first opened in NY and then in your neck of the woods. Back to the point about experimenting. I feel that chefs need to know how to treat and make use of these "foreign" ingredients before playing around with them. Like the cliche says "Just because you throw lemongrass in your soup or sauce doesn't mean you are cooking Asian or Fusion". I'm sure you know too many of them who, having spent a week in Thailand or wherever, think they are experts and know everything about that cuisine. Thu Jan 15 20:32:25 -0800 1998 233103 0 Gary Cheong 3 234543 The name of the ice cream place forgotten by Dave is Eiger's. It's at 124 S. Barrington Place, just south of Sunset. And it's divine. Call 310 471-6955 to check on hours--they close by 6 on most week nights. Fri Feb 09 13:39:43 -0800 2001 233097 0 Sam 2 233106 Thanks for the tips. The Oaxacan place sounds very interesting what kind of dishes should I order? Have you ever been to El Tepeyac on No. Evergreen? They have the best burritos I have ever eaten. The machaca was unbelievable. I haven't been there in years but recently I got a report that they are as great as ever. Mon Jan 19 13:25:57 -0800 1998 233096 0 Barry Strugatz 3 233107 The big thing at Oaxacan places, of course, is the mole, elaborate, distinctly pre- conquest stews made with dozens of freshly ground spices, herbs and aromatics, and of the famous seven moles of Oaxaca, Guelaguetza usually has five or six: the gravy-like amarillo; brick-red barbacoa of goat; spicy coloradito; and a weirdly soothing verde, a vegetable puree that tastes as if it's spiked with half the contents of a bruja's medecine chest. Foremost among the moles is probably the notorious black mole, a stunning, three- dimensional thing that includes chocolate, burnt bread and at least half a dozen things the restaurant imports from Oaxaca, which is to the other moles you may have had what a horse is as opposed to a painting of a horse. Astonishing. Guelaguetza also imports toasted crickets, which you might as well try, and the tlayudas, manhole-cover-size Oaxacan tostadas smeared with black beans, crumbles of strong cheese and little rabbit-pellets of Oaxacan chorizo, are first-rate. El Tepeyac is the same as it ever was, the burritos still weighing as much as a small child, the constant presence of cops still soothing in this ultra-rough neighborhood. I mostly go to the venerable Ciro's down the street, which makes the kind of flautas you wish your grandmother had made, as well as a juicy avocado salsa that I tend to dream about whenever I'm out of Los Angeles for more than a week or two. Wed Jan 21 11:10:35 -0800 1998 233106 0 jonathan gold 4 233111 Jonathan: Thank you so much for your suggestion of Guelagatza. It was so good I travelled twice through El Nino drenched streets to have dinner there 2 consecutive evenings. When I tasted the complimentary chips with sweet salsa and crumbled cheese I knew I was going to enjoy myself. I had the Mole Negro there and now I can understand what all the fuss is about. The levels and intensities of the sauce were miles above my previous experiences with this dish. The next night I had the goat stew, the meat swimming in a fantastic ambrosial orange broth. The meat was a tender cut latticed with ribs and assorted bones, necessitating all my orthopedic skills to devour every morsel. There was much more on the menu that I will explore next time I'm in town. Other memorable food moments. Found myself near Sushi Nozawa at lunch time and ventured in. It is still the best I have had and that includes trips to Matsuhisa. Nozawa's sushi, melts and yields to the slightest pressure of the tongue against the palate. His tuna puts other places toro to shame, and his fresh crab roll was amazing. Another sushi p[lace I tried while not in the same league was very respectable and the decor elegant was Sushi Roku at 8445 w. third street. I also had an amazing margherita pizza at Orso. Next time I will try your other suggestions. Thanks again. Tue Feb 10 11:55:16 -0800 1998 233107 0 Barry Strugatz 5 233112 I'm glad you liked Guelaguetza: their moles are out of this world. I've recently become addicted to a dish of theirs called salsa de queso, which is essentially like good huevos rancheros made with soft, white cheese instead of the eggs. And you can't really leave the place without trying the fried beetles with lime and chile, which look vile but taste a little like Cool Ranch Doritos: not bad. And Guelaguetza is just the tip of the iceberg. We've been seeing dozens of Oaxacan places open in L.A. in the last year--Oaxacans have made up a huge percentage of the behind- the-lines kitchen workers here for years, but only recently seem to have accumulated enough capital to open restaurants. One I had lunch at last week, the splendid Tlacolula in Koreatown, may be even better than Guelaguetza, with a minted, weirdly complex green mole of pork that is one of the best Mexican dishes I've ever tasted. But as for Sushi Roku--if they burned the place to the ground come the revolution, sowed salt on the ashes and had a coven of warty witches dance cackling over the still-smoldering earth, that still wouldn't be enough penance for the crimes it has committed against cuisine. Maybe you hit them on a unaccountable good day. Wed Feb 11 12:34:20 -0800 1998 233111 0 jonathan gold 6 233113 I get the feeling that Sushi Roku is not your favorite spot. What's the deal there? Thu Feb 12 11:49:27 -0800 1998 233112 0 Barry Strugatz 7 233114 Sushi Roku, I guess, is the gussied up tourist version of a few good places-- specifically the tricked-out sushi at Matsuhisa and the homey izaka-ya dishes available at Ita-Cho, Yuu and the other Japanese pubs--but the food is distinctly subpar, and the rudeness of the front of the house is breathtaking, unless you happen to be Mira Sorvino or Russell Simmons. And the people who frequent the place are so smug about their connoisseurship: bad is one thing; pretentious and bad warrants lethal injection. Fri Feb 13 03:43:49 -0800 1998 233113 0 jonathan gold 8 233115 Jonathan: If I may pick your incredible brain on a few LA subjects... Which places do you like for breakfast. I like DuPars are there any other good coffe shops around? How's Norm's? In terms of chains how is Poquito Mas? How do you compare it to La Salsa? Where do you like to go for fish tacos and Mexican seafood? What places do you like in the Fairfax area?- Thanks! Fri Feb 13 10:05:04 -0800 1998 233114 0 Barry Strugatz 9 233116 Norm's? For real? It's like Denny's, only cheaper. I admit, I used to eat there in my Top Ramen days--teriyaki pork steak, with soup, salad, dessert, roll and coffee was $1.49, but to me, it tasted like $1.59 at least. I do miss Ship's, the greatest coffee shop this side of Chicago's Lou Mitchell's. Five Horsemen, in Burbank, is pretty great; Canter's Deli, open 24 hours, is a great hang. And I adore--though you may not--Fred 62 in Los Feliz (which is more Coffee Shop than coffee shop, if you know what I mean), but manages to combine the best attributes of Sanamluang, Ben Frank's and the Odeon. DuPar's puddingy French toast with melted butter and powdered sugar is, of course, in a class by itself. For American breakfast, John O' Groats on the westside has good pancakes, smoked pork chops, baking-powder biscuits; Marston's in Pasadena has epochal corn-flake- encrusted French toast and the best blueberry pancakes in town. Campanile's breakfast extravaganzas on weekend mornings--the country's best sweet rolls and croissants, home-cured gravlax, homemade pork sausage, egg pie--are amazing, if Industry-infected. Kokomo, in the Farmer's Market, has good breakfasts too, largely New Orleans-style egg dishes, though I can never get past the amazing grilled-cheese sandwich with chiles there (or the stupendous plain cake donuts at Bob's across the market). As for Mexican chains--I never go to the healthy-Mex places, though I find Poquito Mas marginally better than La Salsa, and I think the tacos al pastor at the decidedly unhealthy King Taco chain are just swell. (I've got at least a hundred mom 'n' pop taco stands I could recommend, none of them on the westside--I estimate there are something like 15,000 Mexican restaurants in the metro area.) Senor Fish is good for grungy Mexican seafood, scallop burritos and fish tacos and gooey seafood quesadillas, also surprisingly good grilled fish, sopa de siete mares, and wonderful octopus tostadas with avocado. Boca del Rio and Mi Ranchito rock the Veracruz-style seafood; the inevitable La Serenata de Garibaldi does DF-style fish. And I recommend Border Grill in the highest possible terms--the cooking is fine, and the quality of product far surpasses what's available outside the swank-restaurant circuit. Fri Feb 13 15:32:46 -0800 1998 233115 0 jonathan gold 10 233117 Thanks for the tips. The depth of your knowledge of LA eating is truely amazing. You should write a book! As far as I can tell there are no decent LA ethnic/good food guides out there. Best, Barry Sun Feb 15 18:56:27 -0800 1998 233116 0 Barry Strugatz 11 233118 Thanks for the nice words. There should be a guide of mine put out by HarperCollins late this fall, devoted to the ``real'' restaurants of Los Angeles. (And just like Jim, I've got to hole up and finish the damned thing.) I'll be sure to let y'all know. Mon Feb 16 01:23:58 -0800 1998 233117 0 jonathan gold 12 233119 "There should be a guide of mine put out by HarperCollins late this fall, devoted to the ``real'' restaurants of Los Angeles. (And just like Jim, I've got to hole up and finish the damned thing" Jonathan!!! Don't do it!!! Don't sign!!!! Tue Feb 17 10:15:36 -0800 1998 233118 0 Jim Leff 6 233148 For Johathan Gold: I just tried to find out the exact location of Tlacolula, with no success. Directory assistance couldn't find a listing. Is this place still in business? If so, do you know the address or approximate location in Koreatown? Sat Jan 09 16:57:34 -0800 1999 233112 0 Tom Armitage 3 233241 ate at El Tepeyac's last Saturday, 18 Sept. Been eating there since 1974, it is as great as ever. Carl Sat Sep 25 19:19:37 -0700 1999 233106 0 Carl 4 233242 I dream about their machaca burritos. Sat Sep 25 19:21:40 -0700 1999 233241 0 barry