oh weird… we tried to go there last weekend and it was closed, i just thought it’s closed mid day.
What are your favorite takeout spots in the area? My wife has to go to UCLA medical center about every other week, so I’m looking for stuff to have her mule back home. The list currently only has Curry House/Hurry Curry and Popcorn Chicken.
A lot of FTC’ers mentioned the curry katsu at Menya Musashi as being very good
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Agree. Yuck. Fuck Lemonade.
Went to Black sheep the other day and thought it was pretty good and they validate for that small lot next to them which might make dropping in easier. Also I like getting a pate bahn mi at nong la -maybe not the greatest in the world but good for the area and will hold up for a car ride.
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sichuan impression
banh mi at nong la
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The husband went to school there and when we come in for a visit, there are a handful of things we’ll go searching for because he’s nostalgic for them.
Enzo’s - Chicken parm and pizza
Diddy Reese - cookies
Stan’s - doughnuts
For items that you can’t find in your ‘hood, there’s a Northern Cafe outpost in the Village. I visit the Cerritos location and I’m a fan of the hand-cut noodle dishes, beef rolls, and spicy pork ribs.
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lol I love getting diddy reiese by the dozen then eating them semi frozen from the freezer. Weird I know.
def a guilty pleasure.
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Anzu gourmet chicken - get the kaarage chicken so juicy and good.
Nijiya market- if you go after 7pm all of their food is discounted. Not amazing but such good deals.
Not on sawtelle- Bombay Frankie company like Indian burritos wrapped in naan. Chicken tikka and paneer Frankie are solid.
Tempura house - might be closed but if not get a combo special favorites included oyakodon (not a combo), chicken Hamburg, and pork Katsu cutlet with a side of curry.
It can be amazing, if you shop right: A seasonal and delicious home dinner, courtesy of Nijiya: Saba nitsuke (simmered mackerel), horenso no ohitashi (Japanese spinach boiled with dashi), and ajitsuke menma (seasoned bamboo shoot), all on a bed of koshihikari blend rice…
BFC is close enough to Sawtelle lol.
Back open? Tempura House had been closed for a while. I was worried about Nobuo-san and Mihoko-san.
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I’m not sure if it’s open I had heard reports that it had been closed temporarily due to a family emergency. Glad I was able to go a couple of months back since it had been a minute.
Will keep those tips in mind while shopping at nijiya next time!
One of the best deals on Sawtelle is the Chicken Tempura at Marugame Udon. Don’t let the line dissuade you, it moves fast…
Just want to confirm here, are y’all really suggesting I pick up items like udon and tempura for takeout?
Like, do these places in particular make these items that travel well?
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I suggested takeout food not sure about errybody else
That’s funny, particularly at Marugame.
The noodles are great but I don’t like their tempura very much.
It can barely withstand the journey from it’s cafeteria-line wooden basket, past the cashier, and the condiment stand, to a table, and (finally) to my mouth without becoming a lukewarm, greasy and gummy travesty. And the tempura sauce is even worse.
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Is the Northern Cafe in Cerritos related to the one in Monterey Park, which ISN’T (AFAIK) related to the one in Westwood or Brentwood? I don’t think the ones in West LA have hand-cut noodles or spicy pork ribs.
BTW, am I totally alone in thinking that the Marugame udon isn’t THAT much better than what you can get at a Japanese supermarket?
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That’s a good question. I think there’s a thread where @chandavkl, @J_L, and a few others discussed this, and I don’t remember the outcome. I just understand that Monterey Park is a totally different outpost.
This was already discussed in another thread, and the short answer is: No.
All these Northern Cafes are distinctly different restaurants which have totally different menus, but (inexplicably) they share the exact same business name. I think from this point forth, I will differentiate the Monterey Park Northern Cafe (the ONLY location with that great DaPangJi with hand-sliced noodles dish) from all the others by calling it “Northern Cafe MP”.
I disagree. I really think their noodles are excellent. Most of the toppings are not.
Get the Zaru or Kama-age or Kake or Bukkake. Keep it simple.
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Yeah, I saw the posts in the other thread, but I thought that the Brentwood and Westwood ones were related since they seem to have the exact same menu (and possibly even an overlap in staff?).
Yeah, I’ve tried and still felt “meh” about it, but it could also be udon was something that was always (happily) slapped together when I was a kid, so maybe the nuances are lost on me b/c of formative experiences. Still, it’s close and cheap, so certainly worth trying again (although I may get the bahn mi and Nong La after all the rec here; I’ve never tried it).
When the tempura there appears very recently fried, I’ve had decent results. Would not get it otherwise.