Hello. Short notice I know, but partner and I will be meeting some of his friends for dinner tonight. We’ll be picking them up at Venice Beach (where one of them will actually be exercising, so casual is good) and then dropping them off at LMU. His friends are teaching at a summer camp there, so I assume they don’t want to spend a ton of $ (let’s say $20pp w/o tax, tip, alcohol), and we don’t want to drive super far. Neither guest is from CA.
One person in the group is vegetarian. I had originally been thinking Ekkamai Thai, but one of the guests apparently doesn’t like Thai. They do like Vietnamese (I vaguely recall a decent Vietnamese place being down there, possibly even near Humble Potato?).
We could go to Metro Cafe, Sawtelle, or Takuma. My last few visits to 800 Deg (SaMo) have been less than satisfying, so I’d prefer to avoid that. I think Milo and Olive might be too expensive. Not sure how the guest who doesn’t like Thai might react to Indian.
I feel like Marina del Rey is a totally unknown area to me.
So, FTC’er, what recs do you have for good, relatively inexpensive eats from Westchester to Santa Monica and no further than a 3 miles (or so) east of the 405?
Wurstküche has some nice vegetarian sausages.
The Pizzas at Gjelina
New Pono Burger Venice.
Rose Cafe.
The New Firestone Walker Venice. (you can make reservations).
There is a mendocino farms in a convenient location, maybe Lodge for Pizza? Tacoteca looks like it has enough vegetarian to be worth while, I love their tortillas.
Superba is probably your best bet with those criteria, though Status Kuo would also work. Rose Cafe closes early (around 5:30) on Sundays and might be a bit more than you are looking to spend. A Frame and the Detour would be two other options. though.
Guest #1 just contacted us to say that Guest #2 “doesn’t like Thai” only b/c he’s never had it! So we’ll probably be off to Ekkamai.
Thanks for the recs, and please keep them coming, though! For whatever reason, I never had bothered to check to see if Gjusta was open for dinner! (struck me as very much being a lunch-only place; not sure why).
imho
a) they offer very little for the vegetarian
and
b) gettng out for $20/pp would require “careful ordering.”
normally it’s difficult and also a buzzkill for a group to commit to “careful ordering.”
(when i went there i had a vegetable side order and a side salad and i’m pretty sure that i exceeded $20)
Off topic, but talk to me about vegetarian sausages at wurstkuche. Which do you like best? Do you think they would hold up well in delivery circumstances? Are they vegetarian or vegan? I’ve been thinking about a Doordash from there, but prefer veg option.
Not sure if they are Vegan but they are very tasty, and they always offer at least 3 at a time…
VEGETARIAN ITALIAN
fennel, garlic, red peppers & eggplant
$6.5
VEGETARIAN SMOKED APPLE SAGE
apples, yukon potatoes & rubbed sage
$6.5
VEGETARIAN MEXICAN CHIPOTLE
chipotle, arbol chilles, garlic, & onions
