Hi there, I am meeting friends from the East Coast tomorrow and need recs for lunch and dinner, doing the museum in between. They are staying in what I think is Mar Vista (off Washington Blvd and South Centinela). I’m not familiar with the area so really need help. The general area around the museum doesn’t have much that I can see. I thought it would be fun for them to experience the farmer’s market but they went there yesterday, I looked at Google maps and Rutts Hawaiian has an extensive menu but I don’t know if the food is actually good.
Some restrictions–one person says no dairy/soy/spicy/greasy, so that rules out Mexican/Indian/Szechuan etc. I thought the Apple Pan would be fun for a casual dinner and LA vibe but I haven’t been there in years, and remember it was all counter seating, which won’t help a party of 4. Gourmet dining with $$$ isn’t necessary for them, just really good food at a reasonable price.
Rutt’s is whatever (compared to somewhere like Auntie Maile’s).
Get a bunch of sushi at Yama Sushi Marketplace (on National) and take it to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. The visibility tomorrow should be spectacular, and y’all can eat a bunch of delicious, affordable sushi while looking at the LA basin from above.
For dinner, go to Iki Ramen in Hollywood. Everything on the menu is incredible while respecting the full spectrum of food sensitivity. It’ll be a Japanese food day - very LA!
Thanks for your quick reply and suggestions. We really need a casual/meal before the museum, and meals that won’t break the bank for the out-of town friends.
Looking at Google maps, I see 3 other possibilities; for brunch–
Rutts Hawaiian - extensive menu, something for everyone
Cafe Laurent - really good menu, parking is difficult
For dunner, The Counter–I haven’t eaten at one in a few years (the one near where I used to live closed), it’s casual enough and also easy on the pocket for our friends.
For either lunch or dinner, Metro Cafe immediately comes to mind.
I assume Ekkamai Thai should have non-spicy options (I find the food there high quality but a bit bland).
I’ve only been to Rutt’s once, but I think someone doesn’t want greasy might not enough that kind of food. Ditto on Apple Pan or The Counter. And I thought the food at Rutt’s was pretty unremarkable, and it isn’t a place I’d take a guest to.
Thanks for the rec but I can’t access the menu without placing an order online. Also, it looks like it might be difficult as they want a reservation or it could be a long wait. I’ll see if my friends want pizza, tho they’re used to NYC pizza…
Thanks for all the recs. As it turned out, we passed Rutts Hawaiian on our way to pick up our friends. It looked busy–that’s always a good sign and our friends agreed. Two of us had breakfast (basically eggs), I had the BBQ chicken plate and the friend’s hubby had a beef bowl. My plate was very satisfying–two! full chicken breasts that where pounded flat and tasty, not dry at all. Everyone else were satisfied as well. Service wasn’t great–we only saw our server twice–once to take our order and once to deliver it. We waited a long time to get the check and got it from another server.
I wanted to go to Cafe Laurent but our friends wanted to go back to Moon House (on Santa Monica Blvd in Westwood) where they’d been a few days earlier. OK, we’ll go with Chinese. They wanted to order the same food they had before, so it was Beef with Broccoli and Pork Chow Fun. Basic, but good. My partner has been craving for good/crispy Egg Rolls so we ordered that and what we got were crunchy spring rolls. Couldn’t tell what was inside but definitely not an egg roll. I saw something green but couldn’t tell what it was. My guy was disappointed so that was that.
Next time we’re “South of the Border” (we live in the Santa Clarita Valley) we’ll definitely try a few of the recs received.