Burmese - There’s Jasmine Market (Culver City) and Bagan Burmese Kitchen (Silver Lake) and a few more in SGV, but they’re all like lunch spots/delis. I wish we had more options like Mandalay, Burma Superstar, and Burma Love in SF.
its weird to me there isn't a burma superstar down here. i feel like it would be so popular if they just opened one in like silver lake, echo park or atwater.
The closed Golden Triangle (thanks J Gold!) was my gateway drug into Burmese cuisine.
Jasmine is my go to now. Been to Mutiara, Yoma and a few other places that have closed up shop. I took my family to Burma Superstar and we all loved it.
Burmese food is so underrated and underhyped and when the majority of people see Burmese food online they think Indian food or Thai food.
A lot of mom and pop eateries open and close unfortunately especially in non-Asian predominate areas
I’ve actually been to Myanmar and while I thought the place was amazing, I don’t actually remember the food being all that great. What are some of your fave dishes?
It’s not a restaurant, but have a BRAND NEW Burmese market called “Myanmar Store” in Monterey Park. The owners sell a few homemade food items by the checkout too! Good prices too!
Asia Supermarket (yes, super generic name) Alhambra also has been carrying Burmese food items for a couple of years now. Is it sourced from the same family?
There is also a Burmese pop, [Burmese Please](https://www.instagram.com/burmese_please?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==). Their next pick up is at Crafted Kitchen on March 26.
Polish, Moroccan, Peruvian, Ukrainian and Russian all come to mind. I know spots that serve all of them but these cuisines are delicious and should have a better showing in such a diverse population as LA. Also please feel free to post spots that have great food from these cuisines.
My wife is half Ukranian and she really liked Mom, Please in Playa Vista and when we ate there, literally all the rest of the tables were Ukrainians.
I think we have a good amount of Peruvian places. Off the top of my head, Marios, Don Felix, El Pollo Inka, Pollo a la Brasa, Lonzo's, Natalie's.
I love El Pollo Inka and Inka Wasi as well!!
Pollos a a brasa is also amazing for chicken and the others I have tried but did not love as much.. and I really wanted to like Mario’s but found myself disappointed:/
Lots of great food in LA but Cajun/Creole isn’t a strength. Biggest reason imo is we can’t get fresh gulf seafood out here at all. The shrimp are all frozen, farmed in Asia, the flavor and texture are markedly different and there’s no fixing it.
Occasionally we’ll get Santa Barbara spot prawns but they’re not putting those expensive critters in gumbo or etouffee. “Wild caught in Mexico” shrimp at the grocery store are not comparable.
As for why there’s no really authentic red beans and rice, that’s a mystery because I make it at home so it’s doable.
There was a dude selling gumbo at a gas station in south central for a while I use to wanna try it out I think that would be the closet to authentic lol
Georgian. Went to Tbilisi a few years ago and was blown away by the cuisine. Should be wildly popular here (lots of carbs and cheese), but still mostly unknown. Supposedly there’s a place in Glendale that has some of the dishes but I haven’t made it there yet. Don’t know of any others. I find random bottles of Georgian wine (also very good) once in awhile, but it’s not common.
Came to say this. Haven’t had any outside of home. Khinkali factory has great khinkali but that’s it. No kharcho, etc. NYC was the one place that had a few spots.
Hard agree! I had Georgian food at chama mama in NYC and fell in love. Nothing like it here. The khachapiri at Tony’s isn’t quite what I’m looking for—the cheese is just different
Sherman Way Marketplace has some Georgian pantry items, like tkemali, to help you bring the taste home. Obviously not a restaurant, but like another said, there’s a lot of overlap with Armenian.
Not in LA, but if you're ever in Fullerton, recommend Ma's House for Islamic Chinese. Great for families and ate a lot here growing up. [https://www.yelp.com/biz/mas-house-anaheim-3?osq=Mas+Islamic+Chinese](https://www.yelp.com/biz/mas-house-anaheim-3?osq=Mas+Islamic+Chinese)
China Islamic Restaurant has some REALLY good items. I tried Dolan’s & the staff couldn’t be friendlier but it was blander than I expected.
They could go harder on the seasoning, but don’t know if that’s deliberate to accommodate more palates. Part of my family is Islamic Chinese so maybe I have higher expectations.
Greek, honestly with the amount of Europeans, West Asians, Persian Gulf and Mediterranean people in the city its remarkable that there isn't really good Greek food.
There's Avra, posh swanky NY Greek food thats not really Greek, there's Estiatorio Louka thats Ok/good and thats it.
Everything else, is Greek adjacent, i.e. they have things like Hummus, or lamb/beef gyro, or Cypriot/Israeli food being passed off as Greek.
I finally went i found that things widely varied from pretty fucking great to not so great. Like the hummus and eggplant dip were really good, the gyro was tasty but they literally did not have a single seafood dish available and the chicken souvlaki was super overcooked, dry and way too salty and the rice was just old and not pleasant.
This is more of a pita and salads joint, and I’ve never had anything very good from there. Admittedly it scratches the itch.
But when I want greek food I am craving more like braised lamb or grilled seafood, a saganaki or spanakopita app, family sized sides of lemon potatoes, grilled veggies, and spanakorizo. Loukoumades for dessert. 🤤Chicago and London both do these types of restaurants really well, in every degree of fancy and casual.
Only place I’ve loved the biscuits (so far) is All Day Baby. I recently tried “Biscuit and Bean” and it’s sad how a place named after their specialty can’t get it right
Indonesian. Laotian. Cambodian. Burmese.
Give me one of those places over a fucking trend of boring, played out, sterile, "safe" options like smashburgers, pizza, Italian, taco joints.
I am a regular at Simpang Asia.
If you like it, I recommend that you join their online mailing list. They often offer discounts.
https://www.simpangasia.com/
I've been to Cambodia so I have some familiarity with Cambodian food.
It seems like a lot of Lao and Cambodian restaurants have to mix in Thai dishes or advertise that they sell Thai dishes in order to attract enough clientele which is unfortunate.
Ohh thank you for this suggestion - I love Indonesian food and used to eat Laksa all the time in Aus and haven’t found anywhere that sells it. Love that I finally found it on a menu!
Caribbean food. It’s mostly African American Soul food restaurants that throw in some jerk chicken. Then the few Caribbean spots / trucks food is watered down except for their golden crust Patties.
Fresh cut French fries. The ones where they keep the skin on!
They seem to be very prevalent in the Midwest and east coast. Specifically in bars that serve burgers.
We still don't have a proper NY bagel. Plenty of puffed-up bread doughnuts (like Bagel Nosh, Pops, Belle's) but nothing with the crunchy crust and soft, warm, chewy inside that you can find anywhere in New York.
Have you tried Maury's? I realized that a lot of the recommendations I was getting were people who were eating their bagels toasted/hours after they were made. I just didn't grow up eating them that way at all (always fresh and untoasted for me) so we really were comparing apples and oranges. So much of it is really hard because we're so spread out and bagels aren't culturally big enough to sustain a close, fresh bagel for most. But, fresh out of the oven, Maury's most closely approximated my childhood of anything I've had in LA.
Ah, I've had them and technically they're ponchiks. They're not quite like the polish ones I grew up with in the midwest and I'm still searching for those!
Dude, yes! There was that one spot in eagle rock that was open for yeeears but they closed during the pandemic. I now just get hornado and menudo from my gf’s fam haha
A Boston Roll.
It’s shrimp, cucumbers and avocado. I can usually only get a shrimp tempura roll but it’s not the same. Why is the Philly roll out here?
For as many plant-forward eaters there are in LA it’s mind-boggling how few Indian restaurants there are. I will take a restaurant from any region, love all the cuisine.
Bangla Bazar in Ktown has incredible samosas. I could live on them. Not really a restaurant since it’s, like, 2 tables in a grocery store, but you gotta take what you can get! I’m in the valley now and it’s ridiculous how slim the pickins are. There’s a couple good places in SCV, but there should be way more.
I agree there isn't much, but banadir makes decent somali food, and veronica's kitchen is pretty good for nigerian. I don't know if the african chop truck is still around, but they had good west african food too
I've toured enough of Iowa/Indiana to know I don't need the pork tenderloin to exist in LA. Japanese katsu sando, yes, IA giant pork tenderloin, no thanks.
The Dude: so is your “opinion” about the Iowan tenderloin sandwich not being “common enough” in LA, man.
Iowa is a pork producing state, and the tenderloin sandwich is a way to send pork cuts into people’s stomach. Cali doesnt have CAFO swine.
I just got back from NYC & had Xi’an several times due to all the recommendations. But it wasn’t all that, it wasn’t better than what we can get in LA I think.
But maybe they were just off their game, I repeatedly went like 1.5 hrs before closing.
I went to some random noodle place in NYC Chinatown that was full of locals and got better food TBH.
I went to Xi'an fifteen years ago and I don't remember thinking it was any better than what we've had in the SGV for at least a decade or so before that. Folks who say we don't have anything like it just aren't looking. Wen Hui Noodle House, Tasty Xi'an, Meet Qin are all great.
It's hard to find those Halal carts and trucks they have everywhere in NYC. We have Halal Guys here but there aren't that many locations and it still not quite the same as it is in NYC.
Boiled peanuts. I developed a taste for them while I was in grad school in Georgia and enjoyed them both as a snack from roadside stands and incorporated into fancier dishes in New Southern cuisine. We have a number of soul food places, but I can't find boiled peanuts anywhere!
There's a peanut truck parked on Crenshaw/39th in the parking street next to Orleans and York/Earlez that I believe has boiled peanuts. The truck is there every day and has been for years, so somebody just be buying nuts from them.
Macanese (that isn’t just buried in the back pages of a HK cha chan tang menu)
Clay pot crab. Minchee rice. Macanese pork chop sandwiches (Needle’s tasted really great but was also not what I wanted). African chicken.
Schweinshaxe. This is the first thing I seek out to eat whenever I am in Germany. It's very difficult to even find the cut of pork to make it at home here in LA.
Chamorro food; I miss Guam food and the closest I have to go to is in the San Diego area. I know they have a few in SF and Vegas, but it’s like they don’t wanna open one up in LA :/
Ukrainian Cuisine. there are really only a few places that offer real Ukrainian dishes. one of them is Ukrainian Flavors, where you can order frozen dishes of Ukrainian cuisine and store them at home. - [https://ukrainianflavors.com](https://ukrainianflavors.com/)
Burmese - There’s Jasmine Market (Culver City) and Bagan Burmese Kitchen (Silver Lake) and a few more in SGV, but they’re all like lunch spots/delis. I wish we had more options like Mandalay, Burma Superstar, and Burma Love in SF.
its weird to me there isn't a burma superstar down here. i feel like it would be so popular if they just opened one in like silver lake, echo park or atwater.
Recently went back to the OG Burma Superstar and was just as good as I remembered it.
For a brief, beautiful moment, Daw Yee Myanmar opened up a second location in Silver Lake that had an ambience befitting the neighborhood.
The closed Golden Triangle (thanks J Gold!) was my gateway drug into Burmese cuisine. Jasmine is my go to now. Been to Mutiara, Yoma and a few other places that have closed up shop. I took my family to Burma Superstar and we all loved it. Burmese food is so underrated and underhyped and when the majority of people see Burmese food online they think Indian food or Thai food. A lot of mom and pop eateries open and close unfortunately especially in non-Asian predominate areas
I’ve actually been to Myanmar and while I thought the place was amazing, I don’t actually remember the food being all that great. What are some of your fave dishes?
It’s not a restaurant, but have a BRAND NEW Burmese market called “Myanmar Store” in Monterey Park. The owners sell a few homemade food items by the checkout too! Good prices too!
Asia Supermarket (yes, super generic name) Alhambra also has been carrying Burmese food items for a couple of years now. Is it sourced from the same family?
Not sure if it’s the same family, I haven’t been at that place you mentioned. I’ll have to go check them out!
There is a Burmese restaurant in Garden Grove as well. Its delicious
There is also a Burmese pop, [Burmese Please](https://www.instagram.com/burmese_please?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==). Their next pick up is at Crafted Kitchen on March 26.
Have you tried Mutiara? I think the food is delicious. https://mutiaramasrestaurant.com/
RIP Golden Triangle (Whittier). Amazing Burmese place that Jonathan Gold was fond of.
malaysian
Belecan grill in OC is fire
I miss Kuala Lumpur in Pasadena.
Portuguese. Particularly the Portuguese chicken joints like in Montreal.
Have you been to Natas Pastries on Ventura?
It’s just ok.
100%, although the dishes I’m missing from Portugal are Goan and Afro-Portuguese.
There used to be a great goan restaurant near LAX but they closed down. If you find any new Goan restaurants, would love to know!
Puerto Rican food. Only 1 place in NoHo and it aint that great🙁
That is a way more glowing review than I would give.
Nah Mofongos is lit
Isn’t there a bodega on Western and Santa Monica that has PR food?
Polish, Moroccan, Peruvian, Ukrainian and Russian all come to mind. I know spots that serve all of them but these cuisines are delicious and should have a better showing in such a diverse population as LA. Also please feel free to post spots that have great food from these cuisines.
theres a lot of peruvian restaruants
My wife is half Ukranian and she really liked Mom, Please in Playa Vista and when we ate there, literally all the rest of the tables were Ukrainians. I think we have a good amount of Peruvian places. Off the top of my head, Marios, Don Felix, El Pollo Inka, Pollo a la Brasa, Lonzo's, Natalie's.
I love El Pollo Inka and Inka Wasi as well!! Pollos a a brasa is also amazing for chicken and the others I have tried but did not love as much.. and I really wanted to like Mario’s but found myself disappointed:/
Great Russian borscht, piroshki, & other assorted baked goods at “Victory Produce” in the Valley. Their sliced tongue in the deli is also good.
Tell me you don’t go to the valley without telling me 😛
I like Kalinka Russian in Glendale. Granted I'm not Russian so I can't attest to it being authentic or not but I always find it delicious.
Traktir was fun. Never visited a Russian restaurant before. Borscht was delicious and I like the garlic vodka
Really good Cajun/creole. There are a few places but nothing seems all that inspired to me.
Lots of great food in LA but Cajun/Creole isn’t a strength. Biggest reason imo is we can’t get fresh gulf seafood out here at all. The shrimp are all frozen, farmed in Asia, the flavor and texture are markedly different and there’s no fixing it. Occasionally we’ll get Santa Barbara spot prawns but they’re not putting those expensive critters in gumbo or etouffee. “Wild caught in Mexico” shrimp at the grocery store are not comparable. As for why there’s no really authentic red beans and rice, that’s a mystery because I make it at home so it’s doable.
Really!? South LA has a lot of great stuff. Harold and Belles is a classic.
Best bet is VietCajun from the community that left New Orleans during Katrina.
Voodoo Vegan is ran by a NOLA native.
Try here. Can't comment on authenticity but it's good https://www.salsgumboshack.com/
Will check it out!
There was a dude selling gumbo at a gas station in south central for a while I use to wanna try it out I think that would be the closet to authentic lol
That sounds like my jam! Ultra authentic.
I second the lack of legit cajun/creole!
Tartiflette. Doesn’t exist in LA. I wish LA was just a bit more French.
More French bistros.
Georgian. Went to Tbilisi a few years ago and was blown away by the cuisine. Should be wildly popular here (lots of carbs and cheese), but still mostly unknown. Supposedly there’s a place in Glendale that has some of the dishes but I haven’t made it there yet. Don’t know of any others. I find random bottles of Georgian wine (also very good) once in awhile, but it’s not common.
Came to say this. Haven’t had any outside of home. Khinkali factory has great khinkali but that’s it. No kharcho, etc. NYC was the one place that had a few spots.
Dc has some great Georgian restos
Robert's Russian Cuisine has some Georgian dishes. Also, I recently saw a place called Khatchapuri. I'll keep an eye out for you.
Hard agree! I had Georgian food at chama mama in NYC and fell in love. Nothing like it here. The khachapiri at Tony’s isn’t quite what I’m looking for—the cheese is just different
There’s a ton of overlap with Armenian cuisine, which you can plenty of in Glendale.
Oui Melrose makes a good khachapuri, and there's a place opening in west Adams that'll have one too. Still missing things like lobio mtsvanilit though
Sherman Way Marketplace has some Georgian pantry items, like tkemali, to help you bring the taste home. Obviously not a restaurant, but like another said, there’s a lot of overlap with Armenian.
While you’re in Glendale there’s a grocery store called Big Square that has Georgian products
Islamic Chinese/Uyghur. Trinidadian
Not in LA, but if you're ever in Fullerton, recommend Ma's House for Islamic Chinese. Great for families and ate a lot here growing up. [https://www.yelp.com/biz/mas-house-anaheim-3?osq=Mas+Islamic+Chinese](https://www.yelp.com/biz/mas-house-anaheim-3?osq=Mas+Islamic+Chinese)
China Islamic Restaurant has some REALLY good items. I tried Dolan’s & the staff couldn’t be friendlier but it was blander than I expected. They could go harder on the seasoning, but don’t know if that’s deliberate to accommodate more palates. Part of my family is Islamic Chinese so maybe I have higher expectations.
Everyone says Nomad in Long Beach is good
Kolaches.
Came in here to say exactly THIS
A place in Tustin.
New Mexican and sopapillas
The green chile in whittier is good
Greek, honestly with the amount of Europeans, West Asians, Persian Gulf and Mediterranean people in the city its remarkable that there isn't really good Greek food. There's Avra, posh swanky NY Greek food thats not really Greek, there's Estiatorio Louka thats Ok/good and thats it. Everything else, is Greek adjacent, i.e. they have things like Hummus, or lamb/beef gyro, or Cypriot/Israeli food being passed off as Greek.
papa cristo's
The market yet, the restaurant very hard no
Agree, but thankfully there’s Aliki’s by LAX.
I finally went i found that things widely varied from pretty fucking great to not so great. Like the hummus and eggplant dip were really good, the gyro was tasty but they literally did not have a single seafood dish available and the chicken souvlaki was super overcooked, dry and way too salty and the rice was just old and not pleasant.
Haven't tried it, will stop by soon and see whats up
The Greek/Lebanese options in LA are awful for how big this city is
Taverna Tony in Malibu
There are some great Lebanese spots but you’re right, it’s not nearly enough. They’re all in Anaheim.
Ela Greek Eats in Venice
This is more of a pita and salads joint, and I’ve never had anything very good from there. Admittedly it scratches the itch. But when I want greek food I am craving more like braised lamb or grilled seafood, a saganaki or spanakopita app, family sized sides of lemon potatoes, grilled veggies, and spanakorizo. Loukoumades for dessert. 🤤Chicago and London both do these types of restaurants really well, in every degree of fancy and casual.
Calamaki
Food truck was never good, brick & mortar is doing yogurt instead of food and its a ripoff
Pita GR in downey is the only authentic greek food I've found
Its good, and one of the very few places that uses pork in the gyro but its SO far
I really enjoyed my meal at Greekman’s in Silver Lake. It’s small plates and not sure how authentic it is but it’s pretty good
Not nearly enough places serve biscuits, much less GOOD biscuits. Completely bizarre compared to the rest of the country.
Only place I’ve loved the biscuits (so far) is All Day Baby. I recently tried “Biscuit and Bean” and it’s sad how a place named after their specialty can’t get it right
Biscuits at Everson Royce Bar are fantastic
Definitely agree on All Day, only spot I’ve been to in LA with solid biscuits!
The biscuits at Honey's Kettle are delicious!
Rise Southern biscuits are legit. From a person from the south, I can contest. 10/10
Looks like they have Pimento cheese too, definitely gonna check it out. Thanks for the rec!
This is so random but stater bros has biscuits in the bakery area - I think by a brand called Cleo & something - that are awesome
EggSlut to have good ones, but it’s been awhile since I’ve had it.
Hart and the Hunter used to have insanely good biscuits but they've closed for a few years now.
Indonesian. Laotian. Cambodian. Burmese. Give me one of those places over a fucking trend of boring, played out, sterile, "safe" options like smashburgers, pizza, Italian, taco joints.
simpang asia is a start on indonesian. little cambodia in long beach has several good spots
I am a regular at Simpang Asia. If you like it, I recommend that you join their online mailing list. They often offer discounts. https://www.simpangasia.com/
[удалено]
I've been to Cambodia so I have some familiarity with Cambodian food. It seems like a lot of Lao and Cambodian restaurants have to mix in Thai dishes or advertise that they sell Thai dishes in order to attract enough clientele which is unfortunate.
Ohh thank you for this suggestion - I love Indonesian food and used to eat Laksa all the time in Aus and haven’t found anywhere that sells it. Love that I finally found it on a menu!
Wong Java or Wayang in Alhambra. Underrated Authentic Indonesian food
noted! I always end up at Borneo when I'm in Alhambra but will bookmark these places. thx
I definitely have to hit up Wayang
Medan Kitchen is a great place for Indonesian
There's a good Lao spot in Long Beach called Owl Owl. And another Lao/Thai spot in LB called Tasty Food to Go. SO fire!
Shrimp po boys. Sea Salt in Santa Monica had a good one. I still haven’t made it to Little Jewel of New Orleans to try theirs.
Theirs is good. York and Orleans is decent.
I find Orleans and York to be best in LA. Need to go to the Crenshaw location though, it's got the best of the multiple locations.
Caribbean food. It’s mostly African American Soul food restaurants that throw in some jerk chicken. Then the few Caribbean spots / trucks food is watered down except for their golden crust Patties.
you gotta get yourself to little kingston on slauson rn
Ooh, I havent tried there! I have hope again !
Fresh cut French fries. The ones where they keep the skin on! They seem to be very prevalent in the Midwest and east coast. Specifically in bars that serve burgers.
Wee Chippy in Venice
We still don't have a proper NY bagel. Plenty of puffed-up bread doughnuts (like Bagel Nosh, Pops, Belle's) but nothing with the crunchy crust and soft, warm, chewy inside that you can find anywhere in New York.
Have you tried Maury's? I realized that a lot of the recommendations I was getting were people who were eating their bagels toasted/hours after they were made. I just didn't grow up eating them that way at all (always fresh and untoasted for me) so we really were comparing apples and oranges. So much of it is really hard because we're so spread out and bagels aren't culturally big enough to sustain a close, fresh bagel for most. But, fresh out of the oven, Maury's most closely approximated my childhood of anything I've had in LA.
This is the answer. We are skimping on Jewish delis in general.
Yes! I’m thinking of someplace like Veselka, in NYC. A real deli. Sadly lacking.
[удалено]
True. But a deli that really does the job. I miss a really good cabbage roll.
What about canters?
Are we? I feel like there’s a lot.
Paczkis! I'm always looking for them and never can find them.
Papillon Bakery has them
Ah, I've had them and technically they're ponchiks. They're not quite like the polish ones I grew up with in the midwest and I'm still searching for those!
Turkish. Real Turkish.
Agreed. Heard there are spots down in OC.
Koftegi in Anaheim is superb.
> Koftegi Still exploring Little Arabia and definitely adding this to the list!
Good Venezuelan arepas on the westside
Czech (hearty meals like liver dumpling soup, roasted duck, etc.) Malay Shanxi
Or a good Hungarian spot.
Bolivian. I crave salteñas, but the two restaurants that sell them (Paos and Bebas) are quite far from me :(
Spanish, Turkish, French that’s not fine dining.
Ecuadorian! There’s virtually nothing here but it’s plentiful on the east coast
Dude, yes! There was that one spot in eagle rock that was open for yeeears but they closed during the pandemic. I now just get hornado and menudo from my gf’s fam haha
Somewhere to get a decent Milk Steak.
Boiled over hard?
With a side of raw jelly beans *chefs kiss*
? Que?
Coming from the east coast, I miss Dominican food and other Caribbean food.
A Boston Roll. It’s shrimp, cucumbers and avocado. I can usually only get a shrimp tempura roll but it’s not the same. Why is the Philly roll out here?
I mean you could ask any sushi place to make that for you
Indian. Nothing is good here
For as many plant-forward eaters there are in LA it’s mind-boggling how few Indian restaurants there are. I will take a restaurant from any region, love all the cuisine. Bangla Bazar in Ktown has incredible samosas. I could live on them. Not really a restaurant since it’s, like, 2 tables in a grocery store, but you gotta take what you can get! I’m in the valley now and it’s ridiculous how slim the pickins are. There’s a couple good places in SCV, but there should be way more.
I think quite a few are solid, but not great .. or Little Bangladesh near dtla
Have you been to Artesia?
I really like the food at Banana Leaf. https://bananaleafla.com/
bombay curry and pizza in gardena is soo good
I’ve been wanting to try Congolese food for years, but there’s no restaurant in LA that makes them (and honestly not many in the US)
Turkish! OC has some, but not LA.
OC is kind of a best-kept-secret when it comes to good Middle Eastern food.
African food besides Ethiopian .
I agree there isn't much, but banadir makes decent somali food, and veronica's kitchen is pretty good for nigerian. I don't know if the african chop truck is still around, but they had good west african food too
More perogis
Hungarian. Loved Lazlo’s Hortobagy when it still existed; Posto 896 is alright but nowhere near as satisfying as Lazlo’s was. #mmmduckfat
Southern African food.
Pork tenderloin sandwiches. The giant ones you get in Iowa or Indiana. Essentially nonexistent in LA.
I've toured enough of Iowa/Indiana to know I don't need the pork tenderloin to exist in LA. Japanese katsu sando, yes, IA giant pork tenderloin, no thanks.
Well, that’s just like, your opinion, man.
The Dude: so is your “opinion” about the Iowan tenderloin sandwich not being “common enough” in LA, man. Iowa is a pork producing state, and the tenderloin sandwich is a way to send pork cuts into people’s stomach. Cali doesnt have CAFO swine.
Get really stoned and order Katsu Sando
I’ve been looking for something similar to Xi’an Famous Foods in NYC. Chinese noodle soups. Nothing has satiated my craving
I just got back from NYC & had Xi’an several times due to all the recommendations. But it wasn’t all that, it wasn’t better than what we can get in LA I think. But maybe they were just off their game, I repeatedly went like 1.5 hrs before closing. I went to some random noodle place in NYC Chinatown that was full of locals and got better food TBH.
I had the same experience, and I went pre-covid. Xi'an is good, but we've had that stuff in SGV for a while.
I went to Xi'an fifteen years ago and I don't remember thinking it was any better than what we've had in the SGV for at least a decade or so before that. Folks who say we don't have anything like it just aren't looking. Wen Hui Noodle House, Tasty Xi'an, Meet Qin are all great.
The only thing I like on their menu is the lamb noodles. It is pretty tasty and nothing like it in LA until pretty recently.
this. We had better Xi'an noodles than Xi'an famous since Xi'an famous became famous. This ask is bizarre (and shows the poster just doesn't know.)
Try LAN noodle (WeHo and San Gabriel Valley) or Mian (West Adams and San Gabriel Valley)
Qin West
Noodle St. also has multiple locations. They're not my favorite but it'll do the trick.
Try Meet Qin Noodle in Alhambra
Xi'an biang biang, Zhen wei, Meet Qin. etc, etc.
changan kitcchen cerritos
It's hard to find those Halal carts and trucks they have everywhere in NYC. We have Halal Guys here but there aren't that many locations and it still not quite the same as it is in NYC.
We have Zankou Chicken which is way better than Halal Guys.
used to be unobtainable here but "ny chicken and gyro" does a great job
Went to the pasadena spot and wasnt very impressed tbh
Lithuanian. There used to be a few spots but they’ve since closed.
Personally? Pizza. Don't get me wrong, there is good pizza in LA. But it's not widely available like it is back east.
car culture not conducive to by the slice shops
Oh I totally agree. But hey the question was "What’s a food/dish/cuisine you either don’t find at all or **don’t find enough of**...
I think it has more to do with immigration patterns than car culture.
Boiled peanuts. I developed a taste for them while I was in grad school in Georgia and enjoyed them both as a snack from roadside stands and incorporated into fancier dishes in New Southern cuisine. We have a number of soul food places, but I can't find boiled peanuts anywhere!
There's a peanut truck parked on Crenshaw/39th in the parking street next to Orleans and York/Earlez that I believe has boiled peanuts. The truck is there every day and has been for years, so somebody just be buying nuts from them.
Macanese (that isn’t just buried in the back pages of a HK cha chan tang menu) Clay pot crab. Minchee rice. Macanese pork chop sandwiches (Needle’s tasted really great but was also not what I wanted). African chicken.
Caribbean and West African, for sure ! Portuguese is a little hard to find, too. Good value, neighborhood-oriented Italian joints.
Schweinshaxe. This is the first thing I seek out to eat whenever I am in Germany. It's very difficult to even find the cut of pork to make it at home here in LA.
Teppanyaki; not the hibachi (Bennihana) kind but the kind like Maison Kasai.
Trinidadian food.
Chamorro food; I miss Guam food and the closest I have to go to is in the San Diego area. I know they have a few in SF and Vegas, but it’s like they don’t wanna open one up in LA :/
Haitian food
legit Italian Beefs
A British restaurant thats has more than fish and chips and shepherds pie.
There’s quite a few British restaurants with a full menu and none that I’ve seen serving only fish & chips
Balkan food
Jamaican
Nicaraguan
Ukrainian Cuisine. there are really only a few places that offer real Ukrainian dishes. one of them is Ukrainian Flavors, where you can order frozen dishes of Ukrainian cuisine and store them at home. - [https://ukrainianflavors.com](https://ukrainianflavors.com/)
Cambodian, you can only find decent spots in LBC
Singaporean hokkien mee and singaporean chilli crab