pretty good. not quite like the best in OC naturally, but i was passing through the area and i remember it being pretty solid before. they just remodeled a couple of months ago and now there’s a beef rib pho on the menu, too. there’s also a banh mi shop nearby that i liked.
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never heard of Mesa, thanks for the tip!
i heard about it from @EattheWorldLA ‘s report here! he also had the tip about the Pad Thai Mesa (dried shrimp and pork cracklings). @ShadrackToussaint also mentioned Mesa Thai a little while back. laab was excellent - if Mesa were closer to me, i’d go there more often.
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I concur, EattheWorldLA is the best 
This used to be my specialty. Or at least, I tried to do this as much as I could as a freelancer. I’ve been trying to get back in the game, but apparently no one is interested in these kind of stories any longer, at least from a freelancer (or maybe it’s just me 
) I’ve tried pitching, but most editors now don’t seem to have the common courtesy to even say yes, no or even maybe 
(sigh!)
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I visited Hanyang recently! Their galbitang is still my favorite around. Terrific broth, lots of meat, and I love the pickled radishes (?) in their dipping sauce. The table also ordered the tonkatsu (light and crispy) and the thistle dolsot (a new flavor for me). Both were solid; I’d order again if I wasn’t in the mood for the soup.
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I also appreciate you. I learned a lot from your articles in LA Weekly, Eater, LAist. You taught me so much from my own culture in all of your SGV coverage.
Food is just like any hobby with different levels/interests in how deep you wanna go in the rabbit hole. I wish more people would care too. We would probably have more interesting restaurants/food. For me it’s fun to learn about different cultures. The first most accessible step towards that direction is food! I also think many of us of a certain age were influenced by Bourdain and JGold.
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Nice! Glad you enjoyed your meal there. The mustard green kimchi is my favorite kimchi of all time
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Yah, I see it at places time to time, even had it at Arisu earlier this year, but it’s just not very good usually (outside of Korea etc.) Arisu’s is actually pretty bad.
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One day when my Substack has enough subscribers to be sustaining (this day is a LONG way away unfortunately), I will accept your pitches Jim!
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Also jim start your own substack! People would definitely read it! @JThur01
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Wonder if Rob Martinez would be willing to take L.A. contributions to the weekly column of his People and Food Substack (though it is a bit of stretch from Philly, Jersey, NY)? He’s already taking some pretty green writers who’ve got a ways to go (at least in N.Y.), so I think the value prop would be there.
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Their menu is similar to Mae Malai but I prefer their boat noodles / Tom yum noodle soup. I’m not a Thai expert but Mae Malai’s specialties just taste right.
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How does this compare to Pho So 1 in Van Nuys?
Curious about this too. My GF says Pho So 1 likes it better there (also she had to remind me we had an early date there OOPS)
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Not a destination restaurant of any sort, but I was pleasantly surprised by my shakshuka today at La Provence in Beverly Hills (in the mini-mall at Olympic and La Peer).
The Shakshuka was nicely spiced and the tomato sauce was not too sweet (two of my absolute Shakshuka peeves are underspicing and too sweet tomato sauce). I actually enjoyed it more than the Shakshuka I had years ago at Republique (bland) and the one at Lodge Bread years ago when they were on Pico (too sweet).
I’ve always felt that the desserts at La Provence looked better than they taste, but the kiwi, strawberry tart wasn’t bad.
Anyway that part of Beverly Hills is a wasteland, so not a bad option if you are in the neighborhood. I happened to go to the FedEx in that mini-mall only to find it closed after being there for something like 30 years. In fact, the whole mini-mall looked like a nuclear war had hit it. I think the only two storefronts that were not empty were La Provence and Chef Ming’s fast food Chinese. If I were a betting person, I would say that the landlord is waiting for all leases to expire so the landlord can tear down the mini-mall and build monstrosity high-rise housing, supposedly to alleviate our housing shortage, but which will actually have completely unaffordable housing with one or two “affordable” units and which will just increase congestion in the area, as well as be ugly to boot.
But at least for now since almost all of the storefronts are empty at the mini-mall, the parking is there for you if you are in the neighborhood and want to dash into La Provence for a quick meal.
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A bit off topic, but the very cute, rather small, and one story 1920s building next to me was replaced with a significantly larger development (admittedly not a high-rise, though) a few yrs ago, and I haven’t noticed any change in congestion, thankfully.
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Also off topic, I did some sleuthing and the mini-mall went on the market in August and they were bragging that it was ready for redevelopment, that it would be now delivered 70% empty and completely empty by 2027. Makes me sad, no little neighborhood restaurants will be left in that neighborhood, which is my neighborhood.
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When I used to live in the area La Provence made my favorite iced latte. They take all the ingredients and blend them which results in a very frothy milkshake like drink.
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Recent eats:
Mayura (really good!)
ghee roast dosa 
Spicy red curry fish 
Chicken biryani 
Pizzeria Sei:
Margherita
Funghi
Gjusta: brisket banh mi (been ages since i been here, still chaotic ordering situation with number 
)
Izakaya Tonchinkan: duck 
breast
Tacos y birria y la unica: birria de res/chivo, still so good!
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Does it comes w/ a side of bread (genuine question)?
Edit: Just realized I got the pics mixed up!
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