LA search

[BuonRicordo]

Hello all, I hope you can help:

We will be a small international group of about 15, in LA as part of a large conference and we'd like to have dinner together one evening. Some of us will be on a reasonably tight budget (we have Europeans among us who "feel the bite" at the moment). I did the trawl of the restaurants shown on Tripadvisor, but LA is SOO big I kept coming up against places miles away. We do like our food, but we have two vegetarians in the group, so there needs to be at least one or two vegetarian options on the menu.

The conference is at the Marriott, and I had already had a look at LA Live, but I was hoping for something less food mall-ish. Also, as the conference we are attending is just next door to LA Live, I think we will be fed there at one point.

- A short taxi ride would not be out of the question.
- Our budget for this dinner is about $30 per person.
- Hot food, ie, very spicy, is not an option.
- All of us like wine or beer but not cocktails, but we are not heavy drinkers ;)

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

[BuonRicordo]

Hello all you foodies. I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all your suggestions. We ended up organising our dinner at Yxta Cocina Mexicana and had an absolutely fabulous time. We did end up spending more than budgeted, but that had to do with the drinks, not with the food ;-)

Thank you again.

PS and we ended up being 25 but they handled us without a problem!

[J.L.]

Thanks for reporting back!

[BuonRicordo]

I had already heard about Corkbar and downloaded their menu. I think I am now suffering from the pain of choice. I am forwarding all menus to the participants and the majority of votes gets the thumbs up. I am hoping they will decide on one of the Mexican restaurants, because that hasn't "arrived" in Sydney yet - only taco bill's take out. As for Chinese, maybe I'm biased, but Sydney has the best Chinese restaurants outside of China, so I'd rather try something new - but it's up to the others.

I am very obliged to you all for giving me the benefit of your experience, I just hope that you will come to Sydney, so I can reciprocate.

[J.L.]

Didn't realize you were a Sydneysider... I would have directed you towards less Chinese food...

[BuonRicordo]

That's ok - I looove Chinese food, I had the best time in Chongqing eating in the local soup kitchens - I still dream about the Shanghai dumplings we had in a Beijing restaurant, and there is a brilliant Taiwanese restaurant just around the corner from us "Blue Eye Dragon" - the list goes on. So I guess where Chinese food is concerned, I'm spoiled.

I just realised part of Blue Eye Dragon logo looks a bit like your JL

[Servorg]

One other place that ought to receive serious consideration: http://www.laserenataonline.com/downt...

[Das Ubergeek]

If they're going to taxi to Boyle Heights, they might as well taxi to Bell and go to La Casita Mexicana. It's small, though, so you will need reservations and you should go on a non-weekend night if possible, because the capacity of the place is maybe 30. (http://casitamex.com/

)

Another option in Bell would be Rocio's Mole de los Dioses—while mole is well-spiced it is not normally very spicy, and there are so many sauces available that are not even slightly spicy that this should be acceptable to everyone.

[BuonRicordo]

Loved the music on the website :)

[BuonRicordo]

Loved the Music on the website of La Serenata :)

[AAQjr]

No it shouldn't. not even for one minute.Way Too far. That's not right to recommend to an out of towner with out discussion of the trip. Taxi? price... or bus...... really????

[Servorg]

In Los Angeles since when is a 5 mile taxi ride is too far to go to dinner?

[AAQjr]

When it will blow half your already low 30$ food budget. Taxi's in LA are not inexpencive

[Servorg]

Shared cabs are pretty reasonable actually when you look at the total cost per mile, and La Serenata will bring them in under budget to add to the benefits of the recommendation.

[Emme]

you could call Colori Kitchen, but not sure if they can accommodate your size party.

Corkbar would be another good option for wine, beer and a decent menu.

are you open to other ethnicities of food, like Japanese, Korean, Mexican... you've got some options very close.

[renaissanceHW]

One option is the take the subway to Hollywood, only $1.50 each way and experience many restaurants in the area.

[cant talk...eating]

What about Urbano Pizza Bar? I think that would be ideal for what you describe. It's a newer artisanal pizza place with a great beer/wine selection. It's right in the middle of downtown, so maybe walk there and cab it back? They have a very long table in the middle that would accommodate your group well (but call at least a few hrs ahead of time, obviously).

I can't see a Cantonese place (Yang Chow) as appealing to vegetarians - most of the dishes have bits of pork at least, and soups would be chicken broth-based. Ditto for Oaxacan; outside maybe cheese enchiladas or a no-meat tlayuda, you're limited to rice and beans, but even those may have some stock or other non-veggie ingredient (I guess it depends how strict they are). Can't think of any great Indian/Mid-Eastern spot downtown.

If you can get out there early-ish Papa Christo's closes at 8, but that might do well too (Greek, long tables). Just down Pico from you.

[chezwhitey]

if you are traveling with a group of 15, a reservation is highly advisable.

[J.L.]

I'll also deviate from the Mexican route and steer you towards Chinatown (not too far away from LA Live, likely a 5 minute taxi ride).

Master Chef, on Hill Street, may have what you're looking for: Affordable, vegetarian friendly, and tasty, serving beer & wine. If you call them ahead of time, they may be able to set up a nice large round table for your large party, banquet-style (just let them know your budget ahead of time).

AND it's located in a very walkable, interesting area within Chinatown, if you want to walk and explore a bit before / after your dinner.

www.masterchefla.com

[nosh]

Yxta and Guelaguetza are both good options if you want Mexican and cabs. If you can do somewhat Americanized Chinese, I recommend Yang Chow in Chinatown. (Yes, Hounds, I know much more authentic, regional Chinese is available in the San Gabriel Valley.) From L.A. Live you can get to Chinatown, just north of downtown, on the DASH vans -- I think they now cost 50 cents per trip and have several routes around downtown, you'll have to check for hours. Yang Chow has round tables which can accommodate a dozen, maybe more. The highlight there is the "Slippery Shrimp," a crispy shrimp in a red-orange slightly sweet sauce with just a little bite -- absolutely delicious. You'll want one order for every four to six people. They also have good green beans, eggplant, and other veggie options (though they may use chicken stock in them). You can order a feast -- appetizers (soup, potstickers), noodle dishes, entrees -- and a beer or two and come out full, very happy, and under your budget. Other Hounds may pooh-pooh it, but I really like Yang Chow, and they will take good care of you, especially if you arrange in advance.

[WildSwede]

I have been to Yang Chow a few times and each time we had a party of over 20. I found everything to be very good.

[Jwsel]

I had to put together a similar event a few years ago for an international group coming to Staples Center for the figure skating world championships. We had a nice meal at Guelaguetza, which is Oaxacan. Most of the dishes are not spicy and there are plenty of options for vegetarians. Most people enjoyed it, even though it was unlike anything they had ever had before. I can't really speak to the wine and beer options, because we mainly had margaritas.

Pete's Cafe on Main Street is another option if people choose the lower-cost items. But with wine or beer, plus tax and tip, you will be pushing the price limit.

[westsidegal]

Jwsel,
does Gualaguetza use lard in their beans and/or rice?

[Jwsel]

I don't know. I think the question would have to be asked of the restaurant.

I believe they used to have a separate vegetarian section of the menu, but I don't see that on the website.

[BuonRicordo]

I just had a look at the Guelagutza (how on earth do you pronounce that?) website and their menu - that looks very promising (and yummy). I'll circulate this suggestion to our group members and also suggest that they will have to up the ante in the US. Maybe it's time to break into the kids' piggy-banks.

[Jwsel]

I believe it is pronounced "GAY-la-GET-za."

The food also comes with chips and coloradito, a mild, slightly-sweet red mole that is delicious.

[BuonRicordo]

What is mole? (I presume it's not that furry little animal that burrows in gardens ☺)
So many things to learn ...

[AAQjr]

Think of it as the Mexian version of Thai curry often thickened with nuts, dried fruit, bread, flavored with chile seco (various dried chiles) and sometimes tempered with chocolate.

[Das Ubergeek]

Two syllables: MOH-lay. It's any of a set of southern Mexican sauces ("mole" just means "sauce" in Nahuatl) that often contain long lists of ingredients, everything from bitter chocolate to avocado leaf.

[westsidegal]

are you saying $30 per person BEFORE tax, tip, and beverage, or are you saying
$30/pp INCLUDING tax, tip, and beverage?

[BuonRicordo]

Oh dear, that's a lot to consider. We usually divvy up the bill which includes everything (ie drinks and tax) and then we round it off to include the tip. I'm Australian, we don't tip a lot, some of the Europeans just round it off to the nearest Euro. But I guess overall we tip about 10 to 15% (is that enough for the US?) So I would say 30 to 35 including the lot. Cheapies, eh?

[wienermobile]

For a party your size most restaurants in LA will automaticly add at least a tip of 15% or more into your bill.

[westsidegal]

in the US, it is customary to tip 15% or more unless the service was really horrible and you were intending to complain by low-balling the tip.

[Das Ubergeek]

Sales tax alone in the City of Los Angeles is 8.75%, and a large party will be automatically tipping at 18% (this will simply be added to the bill in most cases), so your $35 all in is $27.60 worth of food and drink. If you want wine and beer you will be looking at some fairly hole-in-the-wall places. Is this OK by you? There are plenty of places but they don't exactly scream "business dinner".

I might suggest Yxta Cocina Mexicana ("EEKS-tah")
It's in a dump of a building but the inside is nice, they have room for 15, they have vegetarian options, wine and beer, there is plenty of non-spicy food, and you could probably keep to your budget there. Just remember to check the bill and if gratuity is not already included and the service was acceptable, add 18-20% (you're a large group and it's hard to serve large groups).