It won’t matter if Michelin doesn’t come to our city to review them.
And I like the status quo, 'cuz you don’t have restauranteurs chasing stars and bibs all the damn time in L.A. - this gives the food scene here a chance to evolve outside the conformist confines of Michelin culture.
Kevin , I’m asking you this question . Where do you go for tacos ? Not guerilla tacos ,or Kogi . Had them at Surfas when they were doing some stooge presentation for lunch , they were good . No hipster shit . Not Titos , they have a long line, fucking gross. NO veg , fish I can find that . Tacos that I would be served in Mexico . Meat tacos , better yet chicarrones . Those small corn tortillas with a little meat and a very small amount of cilantro and onion , preferably two tortillas so it doesn’t blow out like a sewer pipe when you bite into it . With a couple Negra’s to quaff . I’ll travel any neighborhood . I’m so fucking sick of ; “Oh” here is a pile of shit in a tortilla and calling it a taco . I’ll be in LA soon not part of the thread . Looking for the truth , KEV . Thanks
Try Bagel Nosh in Beverly Hills. They do a really good kettle boiled bagel. I was briefly in the bagel bus/hobby myself and next to the original I and Joy and Malibu they are the best.
I think the SFV has some ethnic cuisines that just aren’t represented anywhere else for the most part. Sri Lankan is almost nonexistent in SoCal yet the SFV has it. Israeli is kinda commonplace I SFV but nowhere else for the most part. The SFV used to be the las bastion for Puerto Rican buty Puerto Rican friends tell that there is ONE person left who caters this cuisine that is THE only one who comes close to what resembles their beloved and forlorn cuisine.
The one huge potential advantage the SFV has over so many other LA areas is lower rent. If I were a start-up, the SFV would be a major consideration for starting up my restaurant. “Build it and they will come…” I think everyone has legit thoughts about the SFV.
Bula ,
I remember you . You would visit Santa Cruz . Correct ? Always liked your replies .
Try Leo’s Tacos on La Brea & Venice Blvd. Just a truck in a 76 station parking lot. Open till 3 am. I really like their Al Pastor tacos. Really cheap & cash only.
Have you tried Habuya in Tustin? It has been several years since my last visit, but the food seemed worth revisiting.
right now my favorite non-valley Israeli place is Ta-eem Grill on Melrose (around Martel). It’s also kosher. You can get your protein in a pita, laffa, roll or as a plate. I usually get the Shwarma or the dark meat chicken (Pargiot) pita—both are great. My coworkers like the falafel (I haven’t tried it). The Israeli salads are good, the pita is very good as are the hummus and tahini. They give you a TON of food—almost as much salad as you want.
Yes that is me. I really love SC. It might not have the breadth of choices like the vast elbow-to-elbow town-to-town megamass that LA is, but SC is blessed with really fresh produce and other agricultural goods. The breakfast eateries, bakeries, ice cream parlors, cafes, coffee houses, burger joints, wineries and breweries all benefit from this. A number of artisans are in your area as well, along with outstanding FMs. And you have Swift Street on Engalis. This collection of wineries breweries, restaurants, artisan shops and Kelly’s is a great showcase for SC.
Good points, bula. Is part of this phenomenon the unique ethnic make up of the SFV (vs. other areas of LA)? I assume Israeli food is commonplace there b/c (what I assume is) the huge number of Sephardic Jews in the area (I was canvassing the area – esp Encino, Tarzana, and Woodland Hills – for a business stuff unrelated to food and was stuck by the number of businesses that were targeted to that population)? Likewise for Korean food in Northridge. There used to be a great Cuban place in North Hills (does Cuban food resemble Puerto Rican? I don’t know, actually). It’s not there any longer. And does a changing population possibly explain why the place disappeared?
boogiebaby stated that he/she didn’t think places like Redbird, Rivera, and Bestia were exotic. I’d assert that upscale Southern, upscale Latin (which is not recognizably “Mexican”), and upscale Northern Italian (which is not recognizably red-sauce) might indeed be unappealing “exotic” to a large part of the population in the SFV and that this large part of the population is a distinctly different ethnic group (with distinctly different tastes) from other parts of LA that have seen an explosion of new restaurant openings. And Red Chilli Halal is actually exceeding close to CSUN (30,000 students and the staff/faculty to teach them) and Northridge Medical Center.
As this population ages out and a younger population (that finds this other type of food interesting) replaces them, I assume that restaurants may indeed open (esp, as you said, b/c of the lower rent). I just don’t think it’s the SFV is quite there yet.
Of course, I’m just coming up w/ ideas to fit my own pet theory. And I certainly meant no disrespect @boogiebaby since I do agree that everyone has valid ideas. And of course boogie baby and I will be influenced by our own unique experiences and take on/of the SFV. I myself would love to see restaurants like that in the SFV b/c I work there, have a few friends who lives there, and trying to coordinate to find time for them to come down to the more central parts of LA is kind of headache! And there are some (Cheesemonger, MidiCi). Reverse traffic to the westside at night actually helps a great deal.
My only experience w/ Israeli is Amir’s Falafel and Itzik Hagadol. Is Ta-eem Grill as good as those places (I know you said you haven’t tried the falafel yet)? 
Also try Tacos por Favor, they make the tacos you seek, and are excellent. Go to the original one on Olympic and 14th.
In the Valley, I usually end up @ Hummus Bar & Grill (my sister lives in Woodland Hills)—I haven’t been to either Amir’s or Itzik Hagadol yet. Ta-eem is not as “fancy” as some of the Valley places, it’s a dark-ish store front on Melrose. Everything that we’ve tried so far has been really good.
There is no table service—you order @ the register (next to a photo of the Rebbe), they give you a number and call you to the front prep area when it’s your turn. There they scoop your meat into a fresh pita (or plate, etc) then you decide which Israeli salads and spreads that you want to add. The guys working there are more than happy to keep adding more stuff to your order. The people watching is excellent too—a very international crowd.
For falafel in LA, I usually go to ARAX (Armenian place) on Santa Monica/Normandie—very good. Their schwarma is a completely different style than Ta-eem, but also good, but they use commercial pitas here.
+1 on Ta-eem
Very good
We don’t have a shortage of ethnic hole in the wall places. There’s tons of those. (Side note: Red Chilli is just ok/good but not great. I’m Indian and it’s not a place I frequent often just because there’s better Indian/Pakistani food in the valley.) What we don’t have are the nicer, more upscale date night/GNO type places that are everywhere when you go over the hill.
What kind of people do you think live in the Valley? Where I am, a good portion of the population is in their late 20s-early 40s, living in the suburbs because of the schools and who are still young enough to go out every weekend for dinner and drinks (and on the weeknights too). That group is the group that drives over the hill to the restaurants we don’t have but sorely need in this area. We have good jobs and live in decent houses and can afford to eat at those kind of places (as opposed to the college age kids who don’t usually frequent nicer restaurants and/or too young to drink). We just don’t have those kind of restaurants here so we have no choice but to drive. The last time we went to The Little Door, the couple on our right was from Encino and the couple to our left from Chatsworth. All 3 of us lamented how we wished we had better restaurant choices in the Valley area so we wouldn’t have to drive 40 minutes to have a nice date night dinner.
The need is there, but the developers just aren’t seeing it. There seems to be this assumption that people in the Valley don’t appreciate good food and drinks which just isn’t true.
Er, that’s my point. IMHO, there isn’t a “that people” in the Valley. There are multiple different ethnic groups that fall into very different socio-economic status that are distributed over a VAST geographic area. The people who live in Reseda, Pacoima, Sylmar, and the more northern stretches of Van Nuys probably have vastly different tastes, priorities, and finances resources than those who live in southernmost areas such as Woodland Hills, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Studio City (which are, of course, also closer to the rest of LA). And, perhaps not surprisingly, the more upscale eateries are found in those areas right along Ventura (Brandywine, Il Tiramisu, Pinot Bistro, Cafe Bizou, Marrakesh). However, the population density is presumably much higher in the lower income areas to the north.
The affluent population in the western most part of the Valley would probably find it easier to drive to Thousand Oaks/Ventura County than they would to the more central parts of the Valley. And my understanding is that there’s not a lot of fine dining places out in that area, either. I’m assuming it’s a population density and age thing. My friends who live out in that area actually AREN’T interesting in going out every weekend for dinner and drinks (IMO, that stops when you’re in your early 30’s).
You can compare demographics here (data from 2000): San Fernando Valley - Mapping L.A. - Los Angeles Times
I assume that the demographics have changed over the last 15 yrs to a more educated and higher paid group (which will eventually bring a greater concentration of the nicer places you seek).
What I would find most interestingis that have a restauranteur comment on why he/she didn’t open in the Valley, despite the the cheaper rent.
At any rate, that’s all I have to say about the topic (which I genuinely find quite interesting) since I don’t want to create a large sub-conversation.
Head east! The La Estrella taco truck is good - I like the tacos at My Taco on York (mostly the lamb barbacoa, but they’re all pretty tasty - the lamb are really great, though). (I recognize I am not kevin).
Also Cacao Mexicatessen in Eagle Rock, though that’s a bit more new school than old school.
i like their tostada mixta - but they keep jacking up the price on that.
Laszlo opened Maximilian in a former french resto spot on weddington near the north hollywood public library. That resto recently closed. But the website for maximilian north hollywood might have info.