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Los Angeles |OT| GAF's Guide to the Greatest City in the Universe

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Then let's all get together and build a hot dog fort :)

Also guys, if you find yourself with time to kill, and have a desire for food discussion and mediocre comedy, I was on the Doug Benson food podcast this week, and the episode just went up.

Dining with Doug and Karen
Listened to this while I submitted myself to the mercy of the postal service.

I want some hotdogs.
 
whats a good place for a torta other than El Gallo Giro?

Victorias Mexican Grill on San Fernando Blvd in Glendale makes kick ass, cheap ($4.50, and HUGE tortas. I love the bolillos they use, they taste like they bring em in from TJ. Excellent birria and menudo on weekends.

La Ramadita on Vineland in North Hollywood has authentic Guadalajara style 'Tortas Ahogadas', which are my personal favorite. Cheap, good, and spicy!

Lastly, Los Cinco Puntos on Ceasar Chavez in East Los. This place for me is heaven. Part meat market, part restaurant, and minimart. Great tortas, tacos, and sopes.

And thank you, Count. It's so weird to hear the sound of my own voice >.<

Thanks for the listen!

Edit: Thanks to you as well, Hazaro! If you ever want to stop by, shoot me a PM and Ill make sure you get taken care of :)
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Victorias Mexican Grill on San Fernando Blvd in Glendale makes kick ass, cheap ($4.50, and HUGE tortas. I love the bolillos they use, they taste like they bring em in from TJ. Excellent birria and menudo on weekends.

La Ramadita on Vineland in North Hollywood has authentic Guadalajara style 'Tortas Ahogadas', which are my personal favorite. Cheap, good, and spicy!

Lastly, Los Cinco Puntos on Ceasar Chavez in East Los. This place for me is heaven. Part meat market, part restaurant, and minimart. Great tortas, tacos, and sopes.

And thank you, Count. It's so weird to hear the sound of my own voice >.<

Thanks for the listen!

Edit: Thanks to you as well, Hazaro! If you ever want to stop by, shoot me a PM and Ill make sure you get taken care of :)
Next time we align in Hollywood, will do!
 

Karram

Member
So I'll be going to CSUN next January(never been to LA before), and I'm looking for an affordable but good appartments to stay at by myself (Maximum of $1,500 a month). As for the location, I would prefer if it is <40 minutes drive away from CSUN and the westside or downtown. A nice neighborhood is preferable.
 

jstevenson

Sailor Stevenson
Well, 1500 should get you a decent 1 bedroom in the valley. Consider living near CSUN it you want easy access and cheaper living. Downside is Northridge is equally far from tree freeways, about 10-15 minutes depending on lights. This adds an unfortunate constant to all other trips out of Northridge. If you considered say, Encino or Tarzana you could get into the 101 corridor, be a constant 15 mins to CSUN (surface streets) and have good freeway access to the 101. Of course, traffic on 101 into downtown can be less than optimal (ESP during commute hours) and the same with the 405 down into Santa Monica. If you need to commute to either of those on near daily basis during regular hours you might reconsider
 
So I'll be going to CSUN next January(never been to LA before), and I'm looking for an affordable but good appartments to stay at by myself (Maximum of $1,500 a month). As for the location, I would prefer if it is <40 minutes drive away from CSUN and the westside or downtown. A nice neighborhood is preferable.

Hello fellow CSUN student. Just find a place around Northridge area. You do not want to drive from the westside to campus on the 405 everyday. I did that for the first two months until I found a place.


What's your major and where are you coming from?
 

thirty

Banned
So I'll be going to CSUN next January(never been to LA before), and I'm looking for an affordable but good appartments to stay at by myself (Maximum of $1,500 a month). As for the location, I would prefer if it is <40 minutes drive away from CSUN and the westside or downtown. A nice neighborhood is preferable.
$1500 a month will get you a nice apartment. North Hollywood aka NoHo is probably your best bet. Tons of attractive young people, a nightlife, still in the Valley, yet only a quick subway away to downtown.
 

jkanownik

Member
LA GAF I'm looking for some assistance.

I'm preparing a Kickstarter campaign and I'd like to run it by a focus group. I'll need ~2 hours of your time and will compensate for the time in some way. Ideally I'd get 10+ volunteers in the LA area. Let me know if you're interested. This would happen some time during my holiday break (12/22-1/1). Exact time and location TBD.
 
Just moved to West Hollywood a couple weeks back. I'm excited to explore LA :) I moved from San Diego. Suffice to say, I find San Diego boring now lol.

Why does it take 40 minutes to get to anywhere in LA tho -_-
 

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
LA GAF I'm looking for some assistance.

I'm preparing a Kickstarter campaign and I'd like to run it by a focus group. I'll need ~2 hours of your time and will compensate for the time in some way. Ideally I'd get 10+ volunteers in the LA area. Let me know if you're interested. This would happen some time during my holiday break (12/22-1/1). Exact time and location TBD.
Sure thing! Think I can swing that.
Just moved to West Hollywood a couple weeks back. I'm excited to explore LA :) I moved from San Diego. Suffice to say, I find San Diego boring now lol.

Why does it take 40 minutes to get to anywhere in LA tho -_-
Because.
 
BTW, Megabus starts thier California service back up with non-stop trips to Vegas and Frisco from LA. I'm really glad they are back, I used them quite extensively when I was in the East Coast.

Hope they do a SD to LA servuce soon as well as I do that trip almost weekly.
 

overcast

Member
Anyone doing anything for NYE in LA?
Good question, anyone have suggestions? My girl wants to take the metro from foothills to Universal for fun. I did it when I was 17 and it was a great time. We are both hardly close to 21, so yeah.. We have Disneyland passes, but they don't work on the day :
 
Bros how is sugarfish sushi?

http://sugarfishsushi.com/

My wife and I went to the one in Marina Del Rey one time when we moved into the area...kinda hipster-ish/snobbish crowd, no chefs out to interact with customers, sushi's kinda pricey for what you get.

We've never been back since.

In general the sushi joints in the MDR/PDR/Venice/Culver/SM area tend to be more of the trendy/hipster date kind-of spots, nothing where you can just casually go last-minute, out-of-the blue like in the San Fernando Valley (the last area we lived in).

If anything, I haven't really tried any of the sushi spots in the Sawtelle area in West LA though, any suggestions there?
 

FStop7

Banned
Sushi Roku in Santa Monica is really good. I wouldn't call it hipster but it's definitely upscale. Pretty casual, though. Their tuna carpaccio is just amazing, especially if you splurge on toro. The chefs are really friendly if you sit at the sushi bar. If you get to know them they'll start feeding you all kinds of cool stuff.
 

PG2G

Member
In general the sushi joints in the MDR/PDR/Venice/Culver/SM area tend to be more of the trendy/hipster date kind-of spots, nothing where you can just casually go last-minute, out-of-the blue like in the San Fernando Valley (the last area we lived in).

If anything, I haven't really tried any of the sushi spots in the Sawtelle area in West LA though, any suggestions there?

Haven't been, but have heard good things about Hide Sushi (Sawtelle)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hide-sushi-japanese-restaurant-los-angeles

Also, Sushi Zo had a Michelin star back when they did stars in Los Angeles (Palms)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-zo-los-angeles

Have also heard good things about Sakura on Centinela (Culver City/MDR-ish)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sakura-japanese-restaurant-los-angeles

I think I enjoyed Sushi King (Santa Monica)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-king-santa-monica
 
My wife and I went to the one in Marina Del Rey one time when we moved into the area...kinda hipster-ish/snobbish crowd, no chefs out to interact with customers, sushi's kinda pricey for what you get.

We've never been back since.

In general the sushi joints in the MDR/PDR/Venice/Culver/SM area tend to be more of the trendy/hipster date kind-of spots, nothing where you can just casually go last-minute, out-of-the blue like in the San Fernando Valley (the last area we lived in).

If anything, I haven't really tried any of the sushi spots in the Sawtelle area in West LA though, any suggestions there?

Sugarfish has a few places in L.A. though. Not just in Santa Monica. I like traditional sushi too. Like I love the taste of the fish so I don't really go to the fusion places.
 
Haven't been, but have heard good things about Hide Sushi (Sawtelle)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hide-sushi-japanese-restaurant-los-angeles

Also, Sushi Zo had a Michelin star back when they did stars in Los Angeles (Palms)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-zo-los-angeles

Have also heard good things about Sakura on Centinela (Culver City/MDR-ish)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sakura-japanese-restaurant-los-angeles

I think I enjoyed Sushi King (Santa Monica)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-king-santa-monica
Thanks PG2G!

My wife and I have been to Sakura a few times...I like it, but it gets crowded and pricey very quickly for what it is. I really like their unagi though, friggin' HUGE...good stuff.

Hide and Sushi King looks like the mom-and-pop, no-frills, everyday casual spots I might be looking for. I'll definitely check them out.

Sushi Zo...looks like that joint's for omakaze-style special occasions. Hopefully someday.
 

Linkhero1

Member
I'm going to LA in less than a month for five days. Any restaurants I should check out. It can be as far as Anaheim since I'm going to spend a day there.

So far on my list is:

Bruxies - Enjoyed this a lot the last time I was there
Sahara Falafel - Very nostalgic. Went to this with my family every time we were in Anaheim

Edit: For 2 out of the 5 days, I have not planned on doing anything, so recommendations of places I should check out would be nice.
 

FStop7

Banned
It's starting to get cold...

Made an appt. with the gas company a week ago because the pilot light snuffed itself out when the furnace kicked on. The tech re-lit the pilot, turned the furnace on, and said "whoah" in a bad way. He pulled out a mirror to show me what he saw - a big plume of fire inside the furnace. Eye of Sauron.

Turns out the valve that regulates the flow of gas into the furnace is stuck wide open, which explains why the pilot kept blowing out. The tech had to shut everything off again because apparently a tower of fire spewing carbon monoxide into your home isn't safe. Who knew?

Next opening the heating guy has to come over is -maybe- Saturday, more likely Monday. I am going to be sleeping with a space heater tonight, it's supposed to get below 40.
 

bluemax

Banned
Haven't been, but have heard good things about Hide Sushi (Sawtelle)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hide-sushi-japanese-restaurant-los-angeles

Also, Sushi Zo had a Michelin star back when they did stars in Los Angeles (Palms)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-zo-los-angeles

Have also heard good things about Sakura on Centinela (Culver City/MDR-ish)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sakura-japanese-restaurant-los-angeles

I think I enjoyed Sushi King (Santa Monica)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-king-santa-monica

I've lived half a mile from Sakura and never been there. Place has a line on Fridays though which is weird cause it looks dumpy on the outside.

Anyone doing the SM Pub Crawl?
 

Argyle

Member
I've lived half a mile from Sakura and never been there. Place has a line on Fridays though which is weird cause it looks dumpy on the outside.

Anyone doing the SM Pub Crawl?

Sakura is alright. IMHO it is popular because the cuts of fish are generous, not because the fish is amazing. That said, it's not bad at all - just wanted to set your expectations appropriately.

I'm told that it's one of the last remnants of a Japanese neighborhood on Centinela (along with Angel Maid Bakery, which is pretty good), if you're interested in such things.
 

Verano

Reads Ace as Lace. May God have mercy on their soul
Everything on the menu is $5 with a few exceptions, just as our new business introductory pricing.

just checked out the menu via facebook...you guys have asahi black!!!!!!! my fave japanese beer!! :D

prolly next weekend I'll see if I can shoot thru for a tako fries and a chashu taco.
 

Zyzyxxz

Member
just checked out the menu via facebook...you guys have asahi black!!!!!!! my fave japanese beer!! :D

prolly next weekend I'll see if I can shoot thru for a tako fries and a chashu taco.

Our selection of Japanese bottled beers is pretty good actually.

We also have Hitachino White Ale on tap right now which is really good, might not last another week and we rotate them around so it won't be back for another month once we're tapped out on that.
 

Blearth

Banned
Yo LA GAF! I'm by myself in Long Beach for a day with no car. Was thinking of taking the blue line to LA Live and just walking around.

One of you must have a better suggestion for what to do!
 

Kastrioti

Persecution Complex
Yo LA GAF! I'm by myself in Long Beach for a day with no car. Was thinking of taking the blue line to LA Live and just walking around.

One of you must have a better suggestion for what to do!

I've always found taking random bus lines and seeing where they take me to be fun. Any idea of what area of LA you're heading to? I can give you food recommendations based on that.

If I was in L.A. I would pick a fellow GAFFER up but I'm about an hour and a half away in Temecula.
 

Irnbru

Member
Alright, just got my first car here in LA, what do now? What's the night scene like, where and what could be some recommendations now that I don't depend on buses and friends that just drink beers and go to Roscoe (not that there is anything wrong with that), just need to get out lol
 

PG2G

Member
Alright, just got my first car here in LA, what do now? What's the night scene like, where and what could be some recommendations now that I don't depend on buses and friends that just drink beers and go to Roscoe (not that there is anything wrong with that), just need to get out lol

What kind of stuff are you into? Bars? Clubs (if so, what kind of music)?
 

JLG-

Member
I went to this awesome German bar/restraunt in LA called "Wurstküche" highly recommended.

They sell exotic sausages with belgian fries and a great selection of beer.

I had a rattlesnake/rabbit sausage with jalepenos that was fucking delicious.

PP3cnl.jpg

lUau2l.jpg


There's one in downtown LA and another one in Venice Beach.
 
I went this awesome German bar/restraunt in LA called "Wurstküche" highly recommended.

They sell exotic sausages with belgian fries and a great selection of beer.

I had a rattlesnake/rabbit sausage with jalepenos that was fucking delicious.

PP3cnl.jpg

lUau2l.jpg


There's one in downtown LA and another one in Venice Beach.

Okay I need to go there.
 
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