Holy Basil

Damnnnn

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I appreciate their efforts and the Thai community in LA more generally.

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Has anyone tried both DTLA and Atwater locations? I went to Holy Basil for the first time (Atwater location) and found it solid but not as life changing as many reviews (on here and elsewhere) would suggest.

We got the nam tok, gra pow, moo krob and wild shrimp curry.

I know it’s a smaller menu but was wondering if folks noticed any other differences? Either way, will plan on checking out DTLA location sometime soon.

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Atwater has way more menu options right now. Dtla only has their basic to go menu.

I went to dtla this weekend and it wasn’t as good as Atwater since deau and the rest of the crew are at atwater

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On my one visit to the DTLA location (way b/f the Atwater location opened), I found it above solid (but maybe I have a low bar) but not life changing.

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it’s a solid thai restaurant, better than your local neighborhood spot and the way Deau cooks has some strong chinese influence which makes the food more interesting than your standard thai. I would agree it’s not life changing - but to me, not every restaurant needs to be a banger worth driving a hour to. HB is meant to be casual but delicious which it hits on both marks for me.

We’re pretty blessed in LA with some really good thai food lately, not just sugar loaded central thai hole in the walls. I could be happy just rotating among Holy Basil, Anajak and Northern Thai food club

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Chiming in as a reminder that the last dinner Porky posted along with some others I think were for the Yum Seafood popup: https://www.instagram.com/yumlosangeles/?hl=en. I believe the Yum nights have several dishes that are specific to the pop up. For example, I don’t think the crab and fish are always on the menu, though maybe you can order it still if you just walk in to the right location when its being held? Would have to confirm. I’ve only been to Yum nights but non-Yum dishes we ordered were good. However I think my favorites have probably been the Yum dishes.

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Holy Basil deal alert. If you go to their website, you can get a $25 dollar discount on orders of $75 or more. You have to download this app called inKind and pay through inKind, which seems to be an app that rewards repeated restaurant dining.

Anybody done this yet? I myself am exciting. Will gather up the troops to make sure we hit the $75 threshold.

Also, my Holy Basil take is this: many Thai restaurants in LA do individual dishes better than Holy Basil, but in my mind, there aren’t a ton of places who do as many different dishes really well. plus the Yum Seafood stuff is their best offerings.

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I’ve seen a lot of popups for this on various restaurant sites but wasn’t sure if it was a scam. Can you do it for each restaurant?! that’s wild

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just depends which restaurants are affiliated with inKind. Definitely not a scam.

They invest in companies and in turn request food/bev credit which they then sell to consumers.

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I agree not everything has to be life changing - I think it was more a response to the line, the crowd, and the overall hype surrounding it, especially when you consider how great our options are here in LA. Beyond that, very happy it exists and I’m sure I’ll be back!

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I think it’s better than you’re making it out to be. The execution in some of the dishes is better than I’ve seen anywhere. Take the kabocha squash and eggplant with purple rice. Excellent texture, color, flavor, ingredient quality. Everything about that dish is a cut above the most comparable dish at any Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to. The rice quality alone – whether it be the white rice or the purple rice – is better than that of nearly every Thai restaurant in LA. Better flavor, less mushy texture.

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Wasn’t on the menu!

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Did you miss this, inspector?

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I used to try to cook Thai food at home using David Thompson’s book “Thai Food,” but it was impossible to get some of the ingredients. Cilantro roots was perhaps the biggest challenge. I couldn’t find them at any Thai markets. I guess you have to grow your own or know the farmers.

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There is a stand at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market that has them regularly. Blanking on the name but it’s close to Weiser.

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I’ve bought cilantro roots at Thai grocers.

It’d be hard to cook Thai food without a Thai grocery store.

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I tried using it at Death&Co last year. Definitely not a scam and definitely worth it if it’s a spot you like or are going to check out anyway.

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