Looking for a great food experience between LAX and Anaheim

[bwood]

We are two adult and two kids flying into LAX on Tuesday at 6pm. We will be taking a taxi but don’t really want to wander too far off course. Interested in finding Afghan food, Texas style BBQ, Indian(good butter chicken), Moroccan, Cajun or anything that people would recommend as a “must do” experience with great food. We are not really interested in Mexican food, expensive(fine dining) seafood, Vietnamese, Chinese, chain restaurants. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[Das Ubergeek]

Bludso's BBQ in Compton, but bear in mind they close at 8 on Tuesdays so you risk them running out of stuff.

Afghan, Cajun, Moroccan will all be difficult as you're pretty much driving through African-American (Inglewood, south LA), then Mexican-American (most of the journey), then Asian-American (Cerritos, Buena Park) areas.

You could swing through Artesia very easily for excellent Indian food but since I don't eat meat in Indian food, I couldn't tell you where to get butter chicken.

[JBC]

Al-Watan ~ Pakinstan & Indian ~ Hawthrone ----- Check the pictured blog report:

http://exilekiss.blogspot.com/2008/11/fiery-intoxicating-spice-market-of.html

Google Map - It's fairly close to LAX & in the right direction:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=13619%2...+

[OCAnn]

The India Restaurant, in Artesia just south of the 91, is a CH favourite and they have murgh makhani:

http://www.theindiarestaurant.net/men...

[wienermobile]

Portello's hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches from Chicago is in Buena Park right off the 91 Fwy. right around the corner from Knott's Berry Farm is really good. Or you could go to Mrs. Knott's famous Fried Chicken restaurant right in front of the park and you don't need to buy admission, great biscuits and Boysenberry pie. Two places my kid love.

[upstarter]

The best butter chicken (aka tissa massala) is at Al Noor, which is literally right next to the freeway, off the Inglewood blvd exit. I also love the saag panneer and the chicken tala ghost.

In general, Al Noor and Al Watan are considered the 2 best indian places in the region, so it comes down to personal preference, like coke vs. pepsi. I personally like Al Noor better.

Upstarter

p.s. there is also an In n Out across the street, so if the little ones don't want to eat Pakastani food, then they can get a cheeseburger.

[OCAnn]

Not to be contrarian, upstarter, but are you sure the "tissa massala" is the butter chicken?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter_Chicken
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tikka_masala

In any case, to the OP, here's one of our more recent threads on restaurants in the Artesia area of "Little India" to help round out your thoughts: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/642838 | Indian in "Little India"

[upstarter]

Yes, sorry, lol. typo. It is tikka masala!

[degustateur]

Several alternatives come to mind along your general route:

For perhaps LA's best Texas style BBQ, take the 105 Fwy East to Long Beach Blvd. Exit South a couple miles and you’re at:

Bludso’s BBQ
811 S Long Beach Blvd
Compton, CA 90221
[phone]
Take-out only

Order the Texas Sampler, a $25, six-pound, heck-of-a-deal selection of all their meats. “Upgrade” to large orders of mac ‘n cheese, greens and beans for few dollars more. Get the “hot” sauce. The peach cobbler and their 7-up cake are worthy desserts. Take it all with you to Anaheim and enjoy, family style.

Want something different and delicious? Try Southern California’s best Ethiopian cuisine at:

Merhaba
2801 West Ball Rd.
Anaheim, CA, 92804
[phone]

Just East of Beach Blvd., off the 91 Fwy.

Hanna does a exceptional job bringing OC some of the finest Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine the world has to offer. Everything is cooked to order, so be prepared to wait. Her Injera bread is the best I’ve had. Try the Kitfo (raw beef), the chicken with egg, the hamli (greens) and the shiro (pureed chickpeas) for a wonderful dining experience not to be forgotten. Another gem in the corner of a rough looking strip mall. Like eating in someone’s home. What’s great is that she’s open everyday from morning to night and doesn’t require reservations. Finish off your meal with an authentic Ethiopian coffee ceremony. It will definitely wake you up after you’ve gorged yourself.

Another fine ethnic choice:

Magic Wok
11869 Artesia Blvd.
Artesia, CA 90701
[phone]

Just off the 91 Fwy. at Pioneer Blvd.

Great Philippine cuisine in a small, no-frills, family style restaurant. Crispy Pata (whole deep-fried pork leg), Sisig (chopped-up deep fried pork, Dinuguan (a deliciously rich stew made with the internal parts of pork), Pancit Malabon (noodles w/ground beef & egg) are my items of choice along with the garlic fried rice. Many more beef, chicken and seafood items are offered.

[bwood]

Thank you all for the suggestions.

We are leaning towards Ethiopian at Merhaba because it is close to our destination. We would love to try Bludso’s BBQ but, I have to admit, that I am nervous taking my family there in a cab at 6PM on a Tuesday. I have read other posts suggesting that the area might be dangerous.

[Das Ubergeek]

Hm... I'm not sure if I would put Merhaba as best in SoCal... I like Tana (off the 5 at La Palma) better. degustateur, what's better about Merhaba? Maybe it's time for a return visit.

[degustateur]

Well, Das

Ethiopian food is near and dear to my heart. I’ve eaten it for most of my life at numerous venues beginning with Rosalind’s in LA back in the ‘70’s. Through the years, I’ve likely eaten over 100 meals at Merhaba versus less than ten at Tana. Tana opened much more recently than did Merhaba. In fact, Das, it was you who alerted me to its presence back in ‘07 and I thank you. I tried it a few times then and only returned there during the three-month period last year when Merhaba’s owner, Hanna, was away. During that period, Tana’s cuisine was undoubtedly better than Merhaba’s under Genet’s (no relation to Meals by Genet) direction. I was heartbroken and began making the periodic crawl to LA’s Little Ethiopia. My preference for Merhaba over Tana and their LA counterparts became overwhelmingly apparent when I went back after Hanna’s much welcomed return. Prior to this, I had never given it much thought. BTW, upon her return, Hanna gave the place a much needed inside facelift.

Injera is at the core of Ethiopian-Eritrean cuisine. For me, Hanna’s Injera has a consistently superior soft, spongier texture and thickness with just the right amount of sour on the palate. She makes it fresh daily (not sure about Tana) and serves it properly, just at room temperature. Tana’s version, though good, does not excel in any of these characteristics and has been served to me cold on more than a couple of occasions – rather off-putting until it warms up a bit. Also, it is decidedly thinner and more crepe-like and tends not to remain intact as well as Merhaba’s. Still good, mind you. It also varies a bit in consistency from time to time. I do not know, but they may even acquire their teff from the same source. I attribute the relative differences to Merhaba’s Eritrean influence and the intensified central importance of Injera to Eritreans in daily eating.

Das, Hanna knows me well and delivers my meals spiced and cooked to perfection virtually every time. When I order Kitfo, it is rendered with just the degree of doneness that I prefer, essentially a rare “leb leb”, or what I consider medium-raw. She does this without my asking. At Tana, this is a hit and miss affair for me, a slight bit frustrating – always different, never dialed-in. I periodically enjoy Merhaba’s Kitfo raw and tend to feel that Hanna uses a higher quality beef, although I cannot be absolutely sure. I’ve never eaten Tana’s Kitfo raw. I just know that Merhaba serves the best Kitfo I’ve ever had.

The battle of beef and lamb scores an easy win for Merhaba in my book. I find Hanna’s meat dishes to be much more flavorful and cooked to higher degree of tenderness without being the least bit overdone. Her wots are divinely executed, rich and deeply spiced, warranting extra grabs of Injera to finish them off. Once again, I attribute this difference to Merhaba’s Eritrean influence in the use of spices and niter kibbeh.

Notably, I find one of my favorite dishes, the Tsebhie Derho, or stewed chicken, to be equally delicious, albeit slightly different, at both places. I usually can’t get enough of it and sop up every last bit of tsebhie with my Injera. Tana’s Injera gets saturated by the tsebhie more so than does the one at Merhaba. This is more of an issue at Tana since only one piece of chicken comes with the order and I’m usually left craving more.

I strongly favor the taste of Merhaba’s Hamli (versus Tana’s spinach) and Shiro (better even than Merkato’s, imho). However, I really like the mixed carrots and cabbage preparation at Tana (something that usually does not woo me). The traditional green salads score a draw. In all fairness, I can see how someone who is vegetarian or who simply favors vegetables over meat may prefer Tana to Merhaba. As an offal-loving carnivore I, for one, certainly do not belong in that category.

Did I mention that all of Merhaba’s portion sizes are larger?

When I arrive at Merhaba, it’s like coming home and it’s hard to beat mom’s home cooking, especially when she’s doing her best to impress you. The attention and service I receive is peerless (for an Ethiopian restaurant where life itself is laid-back). I do realize that much of my preference for Merhaba may be subjective, but I do know what I like. Sometimes, I don’t even order from the menu. I just ask Hanna to bring me whatever she’d like today. When I first did this, I could tell that she was a bit apprehensive – much like some Itamae when a first-time customer requests omakase. In any case, I always leave Merhaba well fed, satisfied and looking forward to my return. Sometimes she even makes me a couple of Injera sautéed in niter kibbeh and berbere to take home for a late night snack or next morning breakfast. Yum!

With all that said, I respect your preference for Tana. It's truly excellent and a most welcome addition to OC dining.

[Das Ubergeek]

Hm. I haven't been to Merhaba in long enough that it may be that the food has changed. I'll try it next time we're jonesing Ethiopian.

What are the hours for Merhaba? My other big issue with Merhaba is that there is rarely any sign of life in there—in point of fact, it looks closed much of the time.

[Das Ubergeek]

I tried it today for lunch. It was terrible. I'm sorry—clearly there is something I'm misisng here, because you and I seem to have similar tastes in food, but I feel like I wasted $24 and an hour-plus of time on this.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/687641

[degustateur]

Das,

Your disappointment is disappointing. It was not my intent to point you downhill or to sway your opinion or preferences. In fact, I still respect them.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/687641