Ta-eem on Melrose, Weho get the chicken shawerma plate. I always split it with my GF super filling and they give you a bunch of israeli salads on the side.
luv2eat thai, on sunset great thai dishes all their noodle soups and noodle dishes except for th khao soi are under 10 dollars per dish.
Simpang Culver city- all their entress are about 10 dollars and under I really enjoy their mie tek tek, Laksa, and all their mixed nasi rice dishes.
Attari sandwich shop - delicious kebab and persian style sandiwches near westwood
Northern Cafe- westood solid beef noodle soup, xlb, and other taiwanese style dishes
my 2 cents - pico/culver area new school southern food very affordable prices fried chicken is delish and so is their grits
Taste of tehran westwood area kebabs and their soup are on point
[quote=“PorkyBelly, post:15, topic:3741”]
they only sell 15 a day for lunch.
[/quote]Smart. They’re offering a prime dish to customers at a sweet price without losing money.
1)Persian Kebabs, always comes with a mountain of rice - enough for 3 meals.
2)Vegetarian Indian rice plate @ Indian sweet and spices. $5. Stretch this out for 2 - 3 meals.
Sakae Sushi - old school sushi (pic from Yelp)
Leo’s for Al Pastor taco - $1/taco
Costco hot dog combo - $1.50
Pizza of the day $5 - 800 Degrees
6 meals for less than the tip at some of our FTCer dinner tabs
Shunji and Tsujita lunch specials. Top tier sushi at an affordable price. A relative splurge but worth it.
Kazu nori - quick sushi fix for about what u pay at whole foods for boxed sushi. Exponentially better quality, comes with counter service and free water.
respectfully, but absolutely, disagree with the sunnin recommendation.
instead, i’d head across the street to shamshiri grill.
(one caveat: their portions are large, but they are not interested in having you split an entree. they expect you to order a dish per person and will happily provide you with containers so that you can pack the left overs to take home)
would also add the ayce vegetarian lunch buffet at Rahel’s on fairfax.
also, if you can stand the parking situation, i like the food and the prices at moruno.
Sunnin is across the street from Shamshiri? Did they move?
I normally don’t criticize other people’s food choices. Never really understood that. But okay. I’ll bite. I like Shamshiri (Persian) too. It was the first Persian food I ate outside of a home. I just don’t find Shamshiri memorable. Except that they pile a lot of food on the plates, mostly rice.
I only eat lunch in that area and Sunnin (Lebanese) is lighter. And as I wrote, I love their hummus (hommos) & hummus kawarma. They purée the garbanzos to a creamy (not gritty) consistency, add the right amount of acid, salt and tahini, which makes it creamier and gives it a nutty flavor. Can you tell I love this stuff? The mousakaa, dolmas, chicken kabobs (tender) and as @aaqjr wrote, their savory pastries are really good. To me anyway . Is it the best around? I doubt it. But…
Plus, I always give an extra star for sentiment. Over the years the family has always been really friendly and kind to me.
I’m not a local, but I always thought Zankou Chicken was good, and quite reasonable. Or is that too much like fast food? Also, if you’re ever out in the OC, California Fish Grill has a good QPR.
I’ve only been to Egg Slut once and I thought it was pretty good. i wouldn’t wait in a line for it though, especially when there is an even better egg sandwich close by with no line. It’ll clog your arteries, so I only get it about once a year. Semi-sweet bakery has an amazing egg sandwich on a chive biscuit. Has anyone else tried this? Their other bakery items are pretty fantastic too.
i should have said “UP” the street instead of “across” the street.
i lost it for sunnin after i watched them make falafal in a batch and then take the room-temp falafal and MICROWAVE them right in front of me and then make the soggy falafal it into a completely soggy sandwich (in which the bread was soggy/mushy too because they wrapped the whole thing, including sauces, in foil before heating it) and then they served the glob of soggy mess to ME.
haven’t been able to recover any of the love since then.
it was one of those things that i can’t “unsee” nor, more importantly, “untaste”
i used to like their hummus before the falafal incident.
have been back, but just can’t find any of the love again.
@paranoidgarliclover, the falafel balls are tasty when fried fresh. Unfortunately, they aren’t always fresh… hence your hockey pucks. However, I do like their falafel and hummus appetizer plus the fried cauliflower for a tasty vegan meal.
On the subject of Middle Eastern, I second the Zankou rec. Their chicken tarna plate is still one of the best deals in town. Everyone always mentions the garlic sauce, but their tahini is even better imo.
@westsidegal, I feel like Shamshiri has declined a bit over the years. Last time I was there, my chicken kebab had no caramelization at all. It was very crowded, though, which could explain it.
Two other great budget eats I rarely see mentioned here: Dino’s Chicken and Burgers and Pollo ala Brasa.
That doesn’t sound good @westsidegal. Maybe they lost their mojo when they moved into the bigger space. I don’t see the sister or who I think is the aunt at the restaurant. Only the brother. Maybe they work mostly at the bakery. I really don’t spend much time on Westwood Blvd anymore. But I ordered takeout from Sunnin a couple of months ago. It was the same. Lunch might be busier, therefore fresher? Or maybe I’m blinded by the hummus . I don’t eat my falafel in a sandwich, so can’t compare. But your description was scary. I’m going to be so leery now! But @Bigmouth is correct. When done right they’re great. I like the texture and balance of flavors, not too parsley-ish.
I third Zankou’s tarna & tahini. They’re hummus is pretty good too. Plus, I love me some salty, crispy chicken skin.
I think Shamshiri might be coasting on name recognition now. It was one of the first Persian places to open and become popular, and was very good.
There are better iterations of Sunnin and Shimshiri now. I’m looking forward to trying MZuma Kitchen (Turkish). There is also Momed (Mediterranean) in BH. It has a clean, modern aesthetic, combining sit-down w/a deli and espresso bar. Love the avocado hummus!
Haven’t had Dino’s Chicken & Burgers or Pollo ala Brassa. Are they in the same 'hood? Will be on the look out for them.
. I don’t eat my falafel in a sandwich, so can’t compare. But your description was scary. I’m going to be so leery now! But