Best of LA for the budget-minded among us

[J_L]

Peach donut, available now at The Donut Man.

[attran99]

That doughnut is divine. I’m going to go this weekend.

[westsidegal]

no, not the seafood section.

go into the BAR/restaurant area (to the south of the entry doors)
i normally just sit down and order 12 oysters.

[TheCookie]

[quote=“Jase, post:160, topic:3741”]
I’m perfectly happy grabbing chicken only and taking it home.
[/quote] For me the garlic white rice and green or yellow hot sauce is part of my love of Peruvian chicken. I can’t have one without the other. Well, I mean I could but…

[TheCookie]

[quote=“Jase, post:160, topic:3741”]
having that chicken in front of me with all the heavenly smells wafting up is torture.
[/quote] I bet!

[Bookwich]

Excellent! Thanks, I’ll probably got tomorrow, lol

[President_Mochi]

@westsidegal

go into the BAR/restaurant area (to the south of the entry doors)

Believe that area is called the Astro Pub. cc @Bookwich

Thanks for the heads up on this!

[Bookwich]

@President_Mochi South is to the right, right?

[bulavinaka]

The bar - it is the area of the store closest to the Starbucks.

[Bigmouth]

@mrgreenbeenz

I’m no expert but the vibe I get from sunnin is that it’s lebanese done by persians.

It’s funny that you say that because I feel like it’s kinda the opposite. If you look at Shamshiri’s menu, there are many items (e.g., shawarma, hummus, falafel) that aren’t real staples of Persian cuisine. I suspect it’s because they were one of the first Persian restaurants around and wanted to appeal to diners who might not be so familiar with Persian food proper. Not surprisingly, these are the weakest items on the menu.

@Jase

Easily six months ago? With their hours, it’s hard for me to make it to them. Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Would hate to hear if it was permanent. What did you end up getting and what was wrong with it?

It’s been a while but I believe it was the Reggae Wings. I remember everything – meat, rice and peas, even the plantains – being brutally dry. It’s possible it was an anomaly, however, as they were just about to close. It’s good to hear from you and @boogiebaby that they’re still going strong.

@ediner

Em Toni is Lebanese. And in my view Sunnin is an excellent neighborhood Lebanese restaurant, though perhaps not in the class of Glendale providers such as Carousel.

This is pretty much my appraisal, too. I live right down the street and am very happy to have them in my 'hood. But if I was going out of my way for Lebanese food, I’d hit someplace in the Valley.

[Bigmouth]

@Nemroz

I also nominate a proper falafel… this is 6.95 at Ta’Eem with seemingly unlimited toppings. Their other items are pricy. But this beast and Sabbich are cheap

Friggin’ love Ta-eem Grill. The food is excellent and the owner a sweetheart. If you like Sabich, Dr. Sandwich does a good version, too.

@LAgirl

Their chicken is great! I usually get it w/ rice–although they used to package the to go boxes w/ the chicken sitting on top of the rice which was great. By the time I drove the couple of blocks home, the rice was dressed nicely w/ the chicken juices.

Oh my… I’m so totally asking them to do that next time!

@Jase

I’m perfectly happy grabbing chicken only and taking it home. It can be a little tough to take home though if I’m taking the train, which I usually do when visiting that area. Parking is such a pain around there. But the multiple legs to get from Ktwon to Westside takes a bit of time and having that chicken in front of me with all the heavenly smells wafting up is torture.

I know what you mean lol. My friend and I often pick up a couple of chickens for game days and the car always smells like smokey chicken goodness. We’ve joked someone needs to come up with a Pollo ala Brasa scented air freshener lol.

[Nemroz]

zam zam biriani is 9$ for chicken… is lamb 8?

[chinchi]

My recent experience at Hannosuke Torrance was delicious, not dreadful. From this thread it seems the mixed reviews are of the West L.A. Mitsuwa location.

[ipsedixit]

Uncle John’s Cafe.

Nothing over $10.50. And I mean nothing.

(Except for 2 shrimp dishes).

[LAgirl]

@Bigmouth

My friend and I often pick up a couple of chickens for game days and the car always smells like smokey chicken goodness.

BTW—the chicken and rice leftovers make some really tasty and smokey fried rice!

[hungryhungryhippos]

I have to chime in and say that every time (three times) I’ve gone to the Hannosuke in West LA i’ve had delicious results, but I haven’t been there within the past 6 months so maybe quality has dropped off?

[TheCookie]

[quote=“Bigmouth, post:172, topic:3741”]
It’s funny that you say that because I feel like it’s kinda the opposite. If you look at Shamshiri’s menu, there are many items (e.g., shawarma, hummus, falafel) that aren’t real staples of Persian cuisine.
[/quote]You know… I’ve been thinking the same thing. Like how is Shimshiri being compared to Sunnin. It’s Persian. In fact I specified the different countries in one of my posts, also including MZuma (Turkish). My cousins lived in Tehran before the Shah fell. They brought back great recipes and none included falafel, hummus or shawarma. They’re the reason I know about Shimshiri. It was - at the time - one of the few places to get authentic Persian. I may be wrong, but they were not selling falafel, hummus or shawarma at that time. But it’s cool. I’m not mad at them. You do what you gotta’ do.

[westsidegal]

@TheCookie

I’m not mad at them. You do what you gotta’ do.

cookie:
shamshiri has struck a balance between “authentic” and “stuff that tastes good.”
their balance has them filling the tables up at lunch with the UCLA crowd (this is the time i’m most often there),
AND
filling the tables up over the weekends (lunch, dinner, and the entire time in between) with large families speaking farsi.

if one is on the hook to pay the fixed costs of a restaurant, this is a good thing, whatever you call it.
i applaud them for being able to stay successful all these years
AND
i am appreciative that they have, all this time, provided me with hearty portions of food that tastes good to me at very reasonable prices.

[paranoidgarliclover]

HTML show off.

[TheCookie]

Yah, yah. I get it. I wasn’t totally joking when I said okay I’ll try shimshiri again. Now I probably will.