closed. replaced by an indian place about 5 months ago. i was thinking of trying them this week.
Don’t hold your breath on Indian by Nature. We have tried them three times.
thanks, but i should have made it clearer i found out hoping to try samrath
searching for a standout Menudo in SFV
there a lot of places in pacoima on the weekends. i’ve been to lenchitas on van nuys a few blocks east of I-5. i was taken there by a friend from mexico city.
i was the only non spanish speaking customer there. add onion, ask for extra lemon, and add a lot of oregano.
i thought it was great.
oh yeah. homemade tortillas. sprinkle a little salt and a little salsa. if a piece breaks off and lands in the menudo, go with it.
i assume it’s weekends only. i was there on a sunday (i think).
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Holy s****, I used to go to a place in Canoga Park/Winnetka YEARS ago named Lenchita’s. They closed, location issues.
This place looks the same right down to the signage and handmade tortillas. I wonder…
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Carillo’s Tortilleria in San Fernando maybe? I went there once on a Sunday. I noticed most of the tables had menudo and there was a never ending takeout line. I even saw some families that brought their own pot to fill with menudo and bring home.
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I am of the opinion that Lotus and Light in Burbank is the best Vietnamese in the 818 as long as you can get over the non 626/714 pricing.
Some dishes are slightly Americanized but overall the things that I’ve had tasted legit in principle (Bangkok rolls), if not completely legit (com suong, pho, bun, banh mi). I’ve certainly had far worse in 714/626.
Pho is $12/$13 here which is only a couple bucks more than what I pay in Palmdale but 100% higher quality. Banh mi is $9. I dropped $35 today on lunch for Bangkok rolls, banh mi, and a Kawaba snow weizen. Did I mention they have a pretty decent beer selection? It’s on par with everything else in the local area $$$ wise.
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Seconded on Lotus & Light - why can’t anywhere in LA proper be this solid? There’s literally nothing from Chinatown west and north that comes close. It’s still a far cry from the 626/714 but all I’m looking for is basic, non-white-people competency.
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Third. I went last week with co-workers based on @Ns1’s suggestion. A very good bowl of pho awaits diners. The broth was probably more warming spice-forward than I prefer, but it was fresh and beefy and the tendon and brisket were just the right texture. I especially loved all the herbs floating in the broth. The cha gio was not wrapped in rice paper or egg wrapper and the filling was black pepper forward a la pâté chaud, but it tasted good. I picked up a banh mi thit nuong heo for a co-worker stuck at the office and he really enjoyed it. I need to go back for that pork chops plate.
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How does Lotus & Light compare to Pho So 1 or Pho 999 in Van Nuys?
I’ve had better meals here than Golden Deli fwiw.
How does Lotus & Light compare to Pho So 1 or Pho 999 in Van Nuys?
I would personally go to L&L - Pho 999 is more legit but L&L is higher quality. It’s also a much nicer space with a decent alcohol selection, if those things are important to you. It’s a smaller more concise menu @ L&L whereas Pho 999 / Pho So 1 try to do the typical giant menu approach.
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More Lotus & Light. Pretty banging happy hour - everything pictured was $5, not included is the $5 draft Sapporo. I would not get the spring rolls again (ratio of veggies to stuff was way off; maybe you veggie people would love it) but the wings and fried tofu I thought were pretty damn great.
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Thanks for the closeup on the tofu- is it frozen before frying? I’ve never seen fried tofu with such big pockets of air.
i tried their naem khao tod yesterday. i’ve now had three (3) versions of it in LA
-
A&J (elmonte, now closed)
their rice texture was similar to some korean dolsot i’ve had, crispy but not particularly browned, served with leafy herbs -
kop jai lai (granada hills)
which i found to be much more assertive both in flavor and much crunchier, accompanied by about 1/4 head of iceberg lettuce and served on a long leaf of green (vs. red) lettuce. the lettuce used as a wrap has an insulating and somewhat muting effect on the flavors. not unlike wearing ear plugs when listening to loud music; probably healthier for you in the long run, but you may miss out on the total experience. -
kim’s - what an odd location in a swap meet a block or two west of the 170 on sherman way. you definitely need to know where you’re going to find it. but i think i enjoyed their naem khao todd the most:
the flavor and texture profile is very similar to the version served at kop jai lai; the difference is that it comes with mint, cilantro and 3 leaves of red lettuce on the side. there’s not enough lettuce to eat the entire dish wrapped, but you can still get the vegetative crunch eating the dish by tearing off the mint leaves and tearing up the cilantro and mixing them into the dish, and taking occasional bites wrapped in lettuce.
without the lettuce insulating my taste buds from the spiciness of the dish, i had to use 3-4 napkins to wipe the sweat dripping off my face. along the lines of what bourdain used to say: “flop sweat. happy man.”. fortunately i had another shirt to change into afterwards.
one little thing: it was marked at $10 on their menu, but they charged me $13 with tax, which is about the same as what i paid at kop jai lai, so i chose to not to say anything about it.
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Hongkong Banjum by Paik’s Noodle in Granada Hills. There’s also one in Koreatown and another in Santa Clarita but I’ve never been.
Excellent fresh, handmade noodles with a nice chew. You see a lot of Koreans buying the fresh noodles to take home and cook. Jajangmyeon sauce is decent. Also pictured is their kkanpunggi which is very good. Also love their chili saeu, mayo saeu, gunmandu, and wings. Noodle dishes are always consistent, fried stuff is pretty consistent.
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also in need of an oldschool diner for early morning SFV coffee, pancakes and eggs sort of thing for tomorrow… haaaalp.
Nat’s Early Bite, http://natsearlybite.com/. It gets really crowded on weekends. Great pastries! You can hit up Olive Market on the same trip as they are only a couple of miles apart.
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