Best Indian in LA

[foodworthy]

I'm saddened to say that the best Indian I've had so far in LA has come from the frozen section of Trader Joe's. Please tell me I'm wrong and point me in the right direction.

[aliris]

You're not wrong! That stuff is quite good. I was amused one day to speak via phone with my Indian sil in Phila and discover she'd just bought some chana dal from ... Trader Joe's! I had a package of it in my hands at the time. I think the stuff is actually made in India, or possibly Toronto. Originally, before TJ's carried that stuff it was actually hauled around the world in those metal packages. It's surprisingly authentic.

[Servorg]

You should review this thread http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/757826?tag=search_results;results_list and then give each of the places mentioned a try...then come back and report on whether you still feel the same way about TJ's Indian food, or not. ;-D>

ADD: Plus, read this one post by Thi N. from the much longer thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6428... and try any of these other recommendations as well...

[JBC]

"Best Indian in L.A." - Same question, older thread.

The post to read is by "Losfelishound" 7th from top - long and discusses regional Indian.

It begins:

..."There is clearly no best Indian restaurant in LA. There is too much variety in Indian cuisine and these are some of my favorites: ..."

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/320964

[sushigirlie]

You may like Al Noor.

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Al Noor
15112 Inglewood Ave, Lawndale, CA 90260

[missBA]

Hello foodworthy, I know the feeling, having moved here from the Bay Area a few years back. If you like vegetarian food, the two places I'd try are:
1. Rajdhani (fixed menu, Gujarati, thali place) (quite new)
2. Surati Farsan Mart (Gujarati/North Indian snacks)
Both are in Artesia. Rajdhani is on Pioneer Blvd. The food is pretty tasty and not very high on oil, fixed menu with 8-9 items + 1 dessert. The items change every day. Good variety and quite tasty. Some of the items are unusual. SFM is on 186th off Pioneer Blvd in Artesia. The tastiest of its kind in the LA area (not saying much since I used to love Vik's in the Bay Area). Some of their Gujju snacks such as khandvi, etc are pretty good. Their mixture (dry snack sold in packets) is also quite good.

Personally, many of the others mentioned here - Ambala Dhaba (yukk), Bombay Cafe (pretentious and bland), Annapurna (super inconsistent + had a health grade of B for a while), Anarkali (B, bad food), Chakra (bland and Americanized), Nawab (bad), Chandni (bad), Flavor of India (bad), etc. are not worth it.
Special mention: Paru's on Sunset - only halfway decent dosas in LA. However, spiced down and nothing comparable to what you get in India or even in a couple of places in the Bay area.
India House of Spices on Pico (Paratha place): Only the parathas are okay- the rest of the food is bad. They Alu paratha is actually pretty good.
Clay Pit in Brentwood used to have good naan and made a mean Malai kofta if you asked for it made spicy (before management change). However, they recently closed shop.

I am vegetarian so know nothing about non-veg stuff in any of these places.

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Paru's
5140 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Rajdhani
18525 Pioneer Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701

Surati Farsan Mart
11814 186th St, Artesia, CA 90701

Flavor of India
9045 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Ambala Dhaba
17631 Pioneer Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701

Chakra
151 S Doheny Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

India House Restaurant
7775 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 90620

Clay Pit
145 S Barrington Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90049

[junglekitte]

Pretty good reviews here and on some on the links to older posts.

I just returned from a long trip to India. Needless to say I miss the food badly and most of the Indian spots here in the LA area don't even come close to the food I tasted in India. With that being said, there are a few spots here that I have come to appreciate more now that I've traveled throughout India!

I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would say the food is good at Chandni or Samosa House. Please don't waste your time going to either place.
The snacks at Surati Farsan Mart are on point! I actually have to say their pani puri are as good as what i tasted in India! I love pretty much everything I've tried at Surati Farsan actually. One of my favorite places to eat in the LA area...period!

The India Restaurant in Artesia is also good. I think for a north Indian buffet lunch it is the best I've had in So Cal. I used to prefer Traditions in Tustin (OC, not LA), but last time I went there it wasn't nearly as good. :( A lot of people rave about Ashoka The Great, but I thought it was extremely watered down/Americanized.

For Pakistani style I really loved Al Noor in Lawndale. Their palak paneer and parathas are out of this world! As good as I tried in India! I would also love their tikka masalas and other gravy dishes but I think they add too much cream for my taste. I'll ask them to put less next time and see if they'll do it/improve...but the spinach and parathas are worth driving out of my way for any day of the week! On that note, I've heard Al Watan (not too far away from Al Noor) is also very exceptional. I will try it this week.

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Al Watan
13619 Inglewood Ave, Hawthorne, CA 90250

Al Noor
15112 Inglewood Ave, Lawndale, CA 90260

Samosa House
11510 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA

[suvro]

This discussion has been done several times - it is simply the fact that the Indian cuisine at restaurants in North America is the same standardized north Indian Mughlai cuisine, with some South Indian restaurants here and there, and a few exceptions like the Gujarati restaurants mentioned here.

I am not a vegetarian, but the one time I went to Rajdhani will be my last. I had an excellent thali meal at a restaurant in Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat. So perhaps my expectations were high for Rajdhani, but it was hugely disappointing - all muddy textures, every dish had a sugar content, and nothing struck out as worth a return visit. Surati Farsan Mart is not for a full meal experience, though their Farsan (savouries) are extremely good.

As an Indian, I usually avoid Indian restaurants because most seem rip-offs (most recent experience of being robbed was in Tanzore). But if I had to take someone for Indian vegetarian, my choice would be Jay Bharat, also in Cerritos.

Our two go-to places for non-vegetarian Indian meals in Cerritos would be Ambala - the "new" location, and Tangy Tomato. Ambala has many goat meat items that you will not find in any other restaurant. They also do some unusual breads that are also not available in other Indian restaurants. Tonight a group of us Indians are conducting a business meeting at Ambala over dinner.
Tangy Tomato also has very tasty Indian items. Their two drawbacks are a very avoidable Indian-Chinese section (truly as bad as their north Indian dishes are good), and often overwhelmed service. They are experiencing a rush because of their good food (last time I was there, a group had come from Arizona to shop at Cerritos and were repeat customers in the restaurant), and they are definitely under-staffed. Lunch hour is a little less hectic.

Ashoka the Great has renovated and I am told their menu has been updated. I have not been there so I can't speak from experience. Earlier they were middle of the road.

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Tanzore
50 N La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Jay Bharat
18701 Pioneer Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701

Ashoka the Great
18614 Pioneer Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701

Rajdhani
18525 Pioneer Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701

Surati Farsan Mart
11814 186th St, Artesia, CA 90701

Tangy Tomato
11454 South St, Cerritos, CA 90703

[missBA]

Hello Suvro - Rajdhani serves a sweet Dal early in the meal made in Gujju style. It is quite offputting and for a mirch-lover like me - to be avoided always. The other dishes are usually pretty good. Personally, I don't mind the "muddiness". It usually means water based gravy that is (for the most part) low on oil. Since the stuff is at least spiced well, I like it. You might give them another shot.
I wish there were places like Amber (MV/Santana Row) here. Their Dum Aloo Bukhara or Veg biryani (ask for both made spicy) can be very good.
Anyone going to the Bay Area - I'd also recommend Dana Bazar. It is a grocery store in Fremont that has two "Aunties" (read middle-aged Indian ladies) make chat, golgappas, etc in a corner. The best part about the golgappas is that they make it and serve it to you, one by one, in true Indian style. They can also make it as spicy, or sweet or spicy-sweet as you want.
Doesn't beat the roadside stuff in India, but tastewise, as good as it gets.

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Rajdhani
18525 Pioneer Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701