i asked for a seat near the register next to the table where all the staff sat. plus i told them persian food was new to me and i was there to learn. i had multiple staff members come by to ask if i enjoyed my meal (i ordered the beef koobideh lunch special which i enjoyed).
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looks better than what I got at Dizin Persian Cuisine (don’t trust yelp).
Nice! Like I said, it’s hit or miss there. Sometimes, the service is good and other times, not so much. I just like to warn people. 
Glad your experience was good!
late timing, but i have to be back in northridge around lunch time. i’m thinking baja sub(s) or red chili.
if there’s nothing but the curry lunch special at baja, should i skip it and just get the malu paan or go to red chili?
I haven’t been to Baja Subs in ages. I’m not a fan of Red Chilli at all. I’m not much help on those two. 
There’s a new place on Tampa called Samrath. It’s where the old Tampa Garden was. Supposed to have very good Indian food. I have several friends and family who tried it and all said it’s good.
i stopped in at baja subs and they had biryani (probably leftover, but leftover biryani is probably as good as leftover pasta) along with a pineapple-chutney-ish condiment which was quite tasty.
the person behind the counter took one look at me and stated: “you want the sri lankan menu.” and went in back to get one of the brothers who came out and told me besides the rice/curry lunch special, they had chicken biryani. i jumped all over that and also decided to try a few of the pastries including the malu paan (they kinda lit up when they saw i knew what it was and had managed to pronounce it properly).
pics:
the biryani
was made with chicken, fruit, nuts and a fried hard cooked egg. this plate will serve two easily.
and it came out with this kind of a pineapple chutney
but before that i tried a few of the pastries
which came out with this bottled sauce as a condiment:
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Great breakfast sandwich, made with Serrano ham, fluffy eggs, and brava sauce (sort of a spicy ketchup), all on a lightly toasted Brioche bun. Good stuff. As is the shrimp scramble. Like something out of an old-school Canto restaurant. Again, good stuff.
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Gasolina is great, but their seating sucks. Wish they’d move into a bigger place.
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Ive been trying the Indo Chinese food at Samrath and it’s reasonably good. Has anybody tried Coconut Box yet?
nope, but Oi next door remains one of my favorite restaurants in the SFV.
The menu looks interesting. What do you recommend?
chicken longanisa, pork belly adobo (but for my tastebuds not the version with umami gravy, just the regular pork adobo), and crawfish dynamite if you want something guilty.
Not Coconut Lunch Box, but if you’re in the area (Canoga Ave between Sherman Way and Saticoy), I would highly recommend stopping off at Baba Sweets.
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it’s our regular Sunday morning breakfast, After having his chole bature, it’s hard going back to India Sweets and Spices.
We are at Baba’s all the time, but we usually do take out. He makes great traditional punjabi food. Try his makki di roti and saag one weekend (cornflour griddle bread and slow cooked greens). He was the cook at our temple for many years, and his saag was always everyone’s favorite.
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Thai:
Anyone been to Kim Thai at La Fiesta Indoor Swap Meet in North Hollywood/Valley Glen? Looking to crush:
Lao style Papaya Salad
Grilled Pork Salad
Ant Egg Salad
Bamboo Soup
Duck Larb
Banana leaf steamed fish custard
Of course with lots of sticky rice!!
Hungry Fox, Thai owned diner. Heard they put Thai Sausage into the Breakfast Burritos (sai ua? Or sai krok?)
Lum Ka Naad. Northern and Southern, mom-n-pop joint. Are both regions equally good here? Which location?
And yes I might do all 3 in one day!!!
I love the Encino Lum Ka Naad, it’s my go to. That being said my wife won’t deviate from the typical tried and true safe Thai dishes ie. Pad Thai, Papaya Salad, you know the drill. I’d love to know about Southern vs Northern dishes here too. Perhaps I can work one into the meal to expand her palate next time.
Northridge > Encino, bit of a downhill alert during my visit last month. Noticed one of the original cooks is gone. Pad see ew was one of the best around, devoid of any wok hei this time. Basil beef was cloyingly sweet.
Ok, not West of the 405, today I stumbled upon a little Mexican place off the beaten path — Saticoy just east of Woodman. Industrial area, this place was on the ground floor of a small office building.
Mi Ranchito Veracruz
http://www.miranchitoveracruz.com
It was Tuesday so they had THESE pastor for $1 each…
These were imho some damn good grilled fish tacos for $2 each. Had to be 3oz of fish on these, though probably swai. Very delicious. My wife who used to eat at Ricky’s 3x a week actually said she preferred these (i kind of laughed) because they were grilled.
Tried a Veracruz style tamal. Not overloaded with meat. We chose cochinita pibil. A little heat from some very thinly sliced chilies of some kind.
Also split a taquito sampler, they are chicken beef and potato, cut in half and served with crema and guacamole. (Forgot a photo). These were light with flaky exterior.
They served a side of some
lightly colored pinkish colored sauce that had some heat. Sorry I’m not so good at describing flavor profiles, but I could drink the stuff.
The only things lacking, the tortillas weren’t hand made (but they only needed to be a vessel) and there was no salsa bar. Though that pink stuff was all I needed. But people were nice and I am definitely heading back.
It’s a little taqueria style place, not a hangout, though they did have a big screen TV and were playing acoustic guitar music and then Frank Sinatra lol.
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Went back today.
Today’s $1 tacos were Carnitas.
Loaded Shrimp Street tacos
Veracruz style grilled fish tacos
And then had two empanadas. The outside was corn and they were fried up and deliciously pillowy and sweet from the corn.
I got one with chicken and one with a succotash of zucchini and corn.
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