What's the Best Eating Street in LA?

[Jeryy]

I just replied to a post asking for best burger recs. in which I realized that all three of my favorites are on Pico Blvd - and that doesn't include The Apple Pan, Colony Cafe, Islands or whatever is the new incarnation of Mo' Betta.

I seem to recall some foodie (maybe Jonathan Gold) who once ventured to eat at every restaurant on Pico. So I wondered "If you were sentenced ( or gifted) with having to eat at establishments on only one street in LA, which street would that be?

Is it quality? Stylistic diversity? Ethnic flavors? Price? Easy parking? All of these? Have fun!

[Diana]

3rd and valley are both great!

Fairfax has some good options, like all the ethiopian palces, Mani, Canter's (sometimes), Genghis Cohen, the kosher bakeries and fish places and more. (no more eat a Pita, though)

Also, Pico has some good spots, like jack Sprat's, John O Groats and such.

[r32soul]

Wilshire Blvd for the Korean fixes in Ktown
Valley Blvd for Chinese food
3rd and Beverly for high end rest.

a sleeper I want to mention is Colima Rd. It's a mixture of everything, not many high end stuff, but you have lots of chinese/hong kong cafes/korean/american

[deadre]

I'm going to have to agree about Culver City. It's become just an amazing destination for food. I never ever would have thought this was possible but I don't see it slowing down anytime soon. Ford's, Wilson's, Fraiche, Father's Office, it just goes on and on and I'd like to throw in Gaby's and Giovanni just a few blocks away.

[la tache burger]

Melrose: Melrose Bar and Grill, Urth, Comme Ca, Lucques, M Cafe, All' Angelo, Providence. Not terrible. Oh, and mozza, too.

[cincyn]

3rd st for sure

[big mouth]

I'd have to say Abbot Kinney in Venice since everything's walkable. And the variety is good. Tapas at Primitivo. Pizza at Abbot's Pizza Kitchen, American at Hal's. BBQ at Glen-Crest. French at Lilly's. Tea at Jin. Mexican at Tortilla Grill. Italian at Capri. California Cuisine at Axe. And of course, Joe's.

[paigeharrison]

What about Wilshire Blvd (the west la/SM end)? Wilshire, Musha, Rustic Canyon, Melisse, Amandine, Literati, Nawab, the sausage place by 11th, etc. Defintely there are some misses on that street (El Cholo?!) and of course tons of crappy fast food, but there are a lot of gems.

[Jeryy]

Yes, I agree. And Wilshire goes all the way to downtown, including Koreatown and Mid-Wilshire. Definitely a vast banquet of good eats. There's even a pizza place I like, on the North side of the street between LaCienega and Crescent Heights (can't remember the name, but it's good.) And Caffe Latte, with some of the best freshly roasted coffee in town, is at the corner of Crescent Heights. Good choice!

[nine.circles]

Agree on Wilshire Blvd., though I am not into the westside, I am all over Wilshire in Ktown. I also want to add 6th Street: Dan Sung Sa, Hamji Park, Ice Kiss, Bon Chon, Kyo Chon, the little hotpot restaurant in the same plaza with Dan Sung Sa, random Bangladeshi markets that serve food; there are a ton of restaurants on this street crammed on top of each other, not all of them are good, but most are decent and there are many hidden gems to be found. I don't even know the English names for half places I've eaten at and I'm not sure I'd sure share anyway!

[love2eat]

Are there Bangladeshi markets on 6th? I've only noticed a few up on 3rd.

[jlrobe]

beverly or maybe 3rd.

[rednyellow]

I'll give the nod to 3rd

[nosh]

Best tasting street in SoCal: Las Tunas.

[ipsedixit]

Lots of good eats on Las Tunas, but it really pales in comparison to Valley Blvd.

Sidenote, alot of the good eats are actually on Main St. (before it turns into Las Tunas) -- including places such as Fosselman's, Wahib's, Pho Superbowl, etc.

[CookieEater]

I have been loving my Golden Deli lately (Las Tunas) but for sure, Valley still takes it in terms of sheer numbers.
Just had dim sum at Top Island yesterday - tasty tasty. Looks like they're opening some kind of attached dessert-erie.

[Will Owen]

Don't forget Vietnam House and Vietnam Restaurant. And Newport Seafood. The new(ish) Taiwanese place is supposed to be pretty good, too.

[raytamsgv]

I agree. But it is a really good runner-up to Valley Blvd.

[Rizza]

I want to say my mom's street. The first real one that came to mind was Western.

[Jeryy]

What about Sunset and Vermont?

[Jeryy]

Thinking a little more about Vermont - I have to take a drive one day soon - Italian places at the North end above Sunset, BBQ at the South end and a myriad of other Latino and Asian cuisines in between.

Ooh...I'm getting hungry.

[cls]

not quite there yet, but Colorado in Eagle Rock is getting pretty good.

[recovering_vegetarian]

Hmm... Well, lately I've been on a Culver/Washington Blvd (you know the part I'm talking about--where they're basically the same street) kick. It has Fraiche, Tender Greens, M Cafe, Ford's, Akasha, Daphne's (I know it's a chain, but I like it), K-ZO and even more if you count the adjacent corners (Father's Office, Skratch, the wine bars, Beacon, etc.) I could be limited to that junction for a while and be happy.

[Cucinamore]

K-Zo?

[recovering_vegetarian]

Yeah, right by Trader Joe's. I like their Asian fusion small plates. They have sushi too (and I think that may even be their main thing?) but I can't vouch for that.

[jimtak]

K-Zo definitely has a sushi bar, and their innovative "fusion" small plates, such as kumamoto oyster with a perfect uni eggsack on top, and tobiko garnishing the uni, are simply delicious.

[highermath]

Don't forget Ugo, BottleRock, Santa Maria BBQ, MeltDown, Honey's Kettle Chicken, and Cook's. Opening soon (maybe now) Rush St., Gyenaro Korean BBQ, and McChipoltle. A little further east -- Wilson. And don't forget the hot dog cart.

You might not love all of these, but I think that everyone can find something to their taste.

When I first went to work in CC, the only food that wouldn't kill you was at Versailles and Chris's Pizza, and they were in Palms.

[Munchmouth]

There is not really a street in L.A. where you can walk around and get lots of good eats, but the Farmer's Market on 3rd is good, also the Grand Central Market in Downtown LA on Broadway is fun too.
But the ultimate is...Valley Blvd. Every kind of dumpling, noodle, everything.

[a_and_w]

Actually, Sawtelle is very walkable and has lots of good eats, though mostly in the Japanese category.

[bodie]

I might have to go with 3rd merely because of the Farmer's Market.

Just for the sake of throwing out a few more runner's up:

Melrose (maybe a 3rd runner up in case Beverly, Valley and 3rd can't fulfill their obligations?)

Sherman Way (an ethnic food potpourri)

York (Mexican food jackpot)

[LilZ]

SAWTELLE.

[Emme]

def some goodies along sawtelle.

it's a big "stretch" but santa monica blvd has some goodies... nook, monte alban, ye olde king's head, jiraffe, the palm, la cachette, eat well (i like this place), etc.

abbot kinney is another interesting one, as well as Main St. in Santa Monica.

agree w/ 3rd and/or beverly as well.

[The Wiz]

I agree with Sawtelle. I used to work near it, and loved Hurry Curry and the old cafe that I think is gone now (Uzen?). Sawtelle Kitchen was always good although I understand it's either not the same or gone altogether; it just represented the individuality of the area restaurants. Manpuku is good, but so are all of the little hole-in-the-wall teriyaki and noodle places, as well as everything in that little strip where Hurry Curry and Manpuku are. What they need is a nice place in the middle for everyone to take their food and eat outside in the great SM weather.

Hi-end to low-end I think Sawtelle gives out the bang for the buck.

Second would be La Cienaga back in the day.

Ventura Blvd has to be given consideration, especially through Studio City.

Valley Blvd in Alhambra is pretty great but borders on monotony.

If great bars were part of the contest, Abbot Kinney would need mentioning.

Sunset Blvd is fun from one end to the other but does not rate well in this contest.

[igj]

I live very close to Sawtelle, chose my house specifically because of the proximity to Sawtelle and I love many of the options on Sawtelle - but I wouldn't choose it if I had to be to limited to a single street for all my grub. Not enough in the way of:
-breakfast options
-Thai food
-Italian options - or even pizza
-non-Izakaya barfood
-Chinese options (some will say that is a symptom of any street on the Westside and others will point to Little Hong Kong - and I'll agree with the former and grudgingly admit to liking some things from LHK, but it is only one place and a limited one at that)

So, while I like my sushi, izakaya, Japanese fusion and donut options a lot, Sawtelle is too limiting.

I'd probably choose Sherman Way or Valley Blvd.

[Das Ubergeek]

Brookhurst, in Orange County... through Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Westminster, Garden Grove, Anaheim and Fullerton.

[PeterL]

Colorado in Old Town Pasadena.

[carter]

Can't think of one restaurant on Colorado in Old Town that I would want to eat in!
Valley Blvd. is the heart of true chowdom in the San Gabriel Valley.

[raytamsgv]

Valley Blvd. in the San Gabriel Valley, starting from Alhambra and moving west to San Gabriel and Rosemead. It has some of the best Chinese food around. And it's usually pretty cheap, too.

[ipsedixit]

Concur

Valley Blvd. from Atlantic Blvd. to Rosemead Bvld. is really pretty awesome when you think about it.

[CookieEater]

third for Valley Blvd!
the only thing it's missing is a really good dessert place (I don't like the lighter flavored Asian cakes) oh wait, I take that back! Valley has a Beard Papa.

[wilafur]

agreed.

[bulavinaka]

I'm on this wagon... The bar is very high, the choices are many, authenticity beyond compare, and even the "expensive" places are unbeatable bargains. A true Chowhound Boulevard.

[hrhboo]

Either 3rd or Beverly.

[Jeryy]

Great cafe's, but not a lot of Chinese on Third. Terroni's on Beverly satisfies my pizza crave. Lots of other good stuff on both.