I have an unexpected weekday day off. I thought I’d make it a food day. What are some good places to hit up on a weekday when the crowds aren’t as bad as the weekend.
I’m west side based, I don’t mind driving but I’d prefer to group things together as much as possible to maximize eating instead of sitting in traffic. I eat just about anything but don’t care for cilantro. Not concerned about price since I’m not looking to eat huge meals at each place. I’m thinking more of a full day bang bang.
Maybe end the day with a good happy hour with good food that’s only available M-F… I was thinking something along the lines of Herringbone with their oyster happy hour.
Places off the list since I’ve done them a few times would be Langers, Wexler’s or Howling Ray’s.
You could have b-fast, lunch, happy hour and dinner at Grand Central Market. (Can’t wait to try Bruce Kalman’s breakfast pasta!). Break it up with walking to MOCA - http://www.moca.org
And or, the Broad - http://www.thebroad.org
Ahh, it’s a good idea and I probably should have included that in the no list. I’ve done the full day dtla thing several times. I’m a big fan of taking the train and have taken it down there and hopped over to chinatown, Jtown and Ktown all in the same day.
Pre-breakfast: Primo’s Westdale Donuts, Sawtelle (buttermilk bar, hot out of the fryer around 6:35AM)
Coffee: Balconi Coffee, Sawtelle & Olympic (Sato-san now carries Superba pastries too - great kouign amann)
Breakfast part 1: Cora’s Coffee Shoppe, Santa Monica (breakfast burrito or huevos rancheros or Capo’s pasta with white truffle ragu if you are feeling unorthodox)
Breakfast part 2: Lodge Bread, Culver City (bread & spread)
Breakfast part 3: Metro Cafe, Culver City (house special sauteed bananas hotcakes and bacon)
Mid-morning snack: Tacos Tu Madre, Westwood (fried chicken burrito)
Lunch part 1: Sushi Tsujita, Sawtelle Japantown (platinum bara-shirashi)
Lunch part 2: Apple Pan, near Westside Pavilion (burger & pie)
Lunch part 3: necco, Westwood (“All-in-One” lunch special)
Lunch part 4: Philly West, Westwood (hoagie and/or cheesesteak, with a Tastykake to boot)
Lunch part 5: Attari Sandwich Shop, Tehrangeles (Kotlet AKA beef tongue sandwich & ash)
Dessert for lunch part 1: Saffron Rose Ice Cream, Tehrangeles (cucumber ice cream)
Dessert for lunch part 2: B Sweet, Sawtelle Japantown (halo halo)
Mid-afternoon snack part 1: Tsujita LA, Sawtelle Japantown (chashu ramen and/or tsukemen)
Mid-afternoon snack part 2: KazuNori, Westwood (6-piece temaki setto)
Happy Hour part 1: Harikawa, near Westside Pavilion (wagyu hitsumabushi)
Happy Hour part 2: The Backhouse, near Westside Pavilion (oysters)
Dessert for Happy Hour: Atticus Ice Cream & Pies, near Westside Pavilion (mango pie)
Shunji for Lunch (either $40 special, or full Omakase, make sure Shunji-san is there)
Gjusta
Gjelina - Get there by 11:45 a.m. and you’ll beat the lunch crowd.
Cassia - They are stopping Lunch permanently soon, but you’ll be able to order most of the hits from the dinner menu for Lunch (or go there for Happy Hour / Early Dinner and beat the crowds).
Rustic Canyon - Early dinner to beat the crowds.
Tar & Roses - Early dinner to beat the crowds.
BatterFish Food Truck - Sample their Fish & Chips.
Sushi Tsujita - Premium Sashimi Bowl or Chirashi Set for Lunch.
Republique - They have first-come-first-serve seating at the bar area, and an excellent bar program (good cocktails) for early dinner.
Aburiya Raku - Early dinner to beat the crowds. They have a great Sake menu.
Thanks! I’ve hit most of those repeatedly but I completely forgot about Metro Cafe. They are in our regular rotation but I’ve never been for breakfast. I think that might be the winner. So many thanks for the reminder!
The sawtelle mentions reminded me of some of the ramen options there which have long iines. Tjusita is a great idea. I also haven’t been to Attari in quite a long time, possibly close to 10 years, another great reminder!
Ahh, good old Philly’s West. When I lived on Sawtelle for a while, I loved walking over there as one of my watering holes. I had them combine their burger and cheesesteak together a couple of times. Their burger is underrated in my opinion.
I’ve never been to the Backhouse, will look it up. Atticus suggestion also sounds great. Thanks again!
Thanks! I saw your Batterfish post and can’t wait to try them. I can easily get to their truck if they make Ocean Park a regular stop. I’m going to follow their twitter.
Some great ideas! I’m going to have fun figuring out how to combine yours and @J_L 's suggestions.
If you decide to hit up Republique, you can start early by hitting Chaumont (opens @ 0630 per yelp), Cofax (0700), then Republique and Sycamore Kitchen (both open @ 0800). This part of town from the Westside can be unbearable traffic-wise later in the day Mon-Sun, but coming from the Westside in the earlier part of the weekday should be easy.
Oki Dog is another place in that general area that is rough to reach from the Westside, but you may have to tap out after eating there. BLD is the same for tap out potential because servings can be large.
Golden State, All About The Bread and Bludso’s Bar & Que would be lunch spots to hit up. Carmela or Neveux might cap off a foraging run in this part of town before heading back.
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. As it turned out, I couldn’t do a full day. An emergency came up but i still managed to hit three places in the morning before the emergency cropped up.
Metro Cafe for a leisurely breakfast. Loved their sauteed banana pancakes, the side of bacon and coffee were a great compliment. I read and took my time, lovely not to deal with weekend crowds.
Afterwards, I headed over to Tsujita, walked in right when they opened and seated immediately. When I finished up, I drove over to Attari and got the tongue sandwich. Ended up grabbing it to go, since they were packed. Took it home to eat and finished just when the emergency cropped up. So I guess good timing.
I was hoping to hit some seafood or japanese in the evening. Oh well, next time.
great recs!)
Great list.
