coming into LA from.......

[JeffS]

Philly, actually, and staying at the LAX Marriott for a 4 day workshop in Dec. With a decent meal allowance, I'm told, I'd be looking for good places for dinner within, say, a $10 cab ride from the hotel. Do any such places, American, Asian or Italian cuisine, exist?
Thanks in advance for any leads. JeffS

[Servorg]

www.panns.com

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/572150

Ayara Thai Westchester CA www.ayarathaicuisine.com

Truxton's Westchester CA http://www.truxtonsamericanbistro.com...

[westsidegal]

second ayara thai cuisine.

[carter]

El Segundo and Manhattan Beach are the two cities immediately south of LAX, and you have plenty of options there, especially Manhattan Beach, meaning on Rosecrans - as in Houstons, Flemings Steak House. If you just want to go to a Whole Foods, there is one in El Segundo that is over 60,000 s.ft., so it has everything you could ever imagine you might want to eat for dinner. It is on Sepulveda just north of Rosecrans.
As Servorg mentions, a good googie diner-food place called Panns is on La Tijera near La Cienega, not that far from the hotel, meaning go north on Airport Blvd. to La Tijera and make a right for about a mile. Some really good food there, and very affordably priced. Check the website for deets.
Marina Del Rey is the other not too distant destination with many options.

[New Trial]

$10 won't take you very far--the Marina would be about $15. In addition to Sevrog's recommendations, there is a Shula's 347 Steakhouse in the Sheraton LAX, Bistrotek in the Custom Hotel for Cal-American, the new Chalet Edelweiss is pretty good Swiss fare [on Sepulveda below Mancherster], and the Farm Stand in El Segundo is good Cal-Med; for more downscale but still delicious, Porky's for BBQ, Tompkins Square Bar & Grill for good burgers or In-N-Out for fast-food burgers.

[westsidegal]

fwiw,
with tip, it costs me $15 for cab fare from LAX to playa del rey.

[nosh]

Note that there is a surcharge on cab rides out of LAX of about $2.40 (as of over a year ago) and the cab has to do at least some of the circle to get out of the terminals, so it will be a little cheaper from the hotel. Also, if you are on a per diem, cabs will be a lot more expensive than you are used to, given the distances in L.A., but restaurants probably less than east coast prices. And assuming you make some friends at your conference, you can share cabs or they might have rental cars.

I think perhaps the nicest restaurant in the general area around LAX is Cafe Del Rey in Marina Del Mar, a few miles north -- about halfway to Santa Monica. Cafe Del Rey is on the water, but on the marina with views of the boats, not the sand and shore. See if the menus appeal to you, and check out the bar menu as well as dinner. Website is: www.cafedelreymarina.com.

I'm a big fan of Porky's -- it is the best BBQ I've found in L.A. and the people are very friendly. A straight shot east on Manchester, and the hotel might be in their delivery area. 2-for-1 on dinners on Tuesdays. My favorite there is the pulled pork, the spareribs are good (I prefer them to the baby backs) and the brisket is much more tender and moist than it looks. Sides are excellent, and get the Bubba sauce rather than the regular. Search this board -- lots of opinions, mostly good, some disappointed.

For a special splurge, my very top recommendation would be to get to Wolfgang Puck's original fusion restaurant Chinois on Main in lower Santa Monica. You need at least a few people to do it justice -- everything is served to share. Concentrate on the small dishes and starters and split one entree -- either the sliced fillet in szechwan sauce or the whole fried catfish with ponzu. Bold flavors, over-the-top '80s decor, fine service, and a real buzz.

[westsidegal]

must disagree about the farm stand in el segundo.
imho, it serves perfectly mediocre food, and that is being kind.
if you're going to modify and copy persian dishes, at least the copies should be tasty.

[New Trial]

Here are the links:

-----
Farm Stand
422 Main St, El Segundo, CA 90245

Porky's BBQ
801 E Manchester Blvd, Inglewood, CA 90301

Shula's 347
6101 W Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045

In-N-Out Burger
9149 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Tompkins Square Bar and Grill
8522 Lincoln Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Bistrotek at Custom Hotel
8639 Lincoln Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA

[Das Ubergeek]

If you're willing to ride the bus, the #3 Big Blue Bus goes up to Venice and Santa Monica from LAX and will open up a lot more to you, like Musha, for example.