Being the foodies that we are, during a recent conversation, Ujj and I decided to try and choose our 5 favorite LA food items. It was NOT easy. After paring it down to about 30 or so that we both thought deserved to be in an upper level, we chose 5 each from that list to be in our pantheons. The only criteria was that we were to assume we had one day in Los Angeles to eat whatever 5 things we wanted, dessert, breakfast, entree… anything. Here’s what we came up with in no particular order:
UJJAINI
Churro Bites @ Border Grill Truck
Although these are not churros in the traditionally sense, how can one go wrong with bite-size bits of fried dough filled with dulce de leche and coated with cinnamon sugar? Not to mention the side of whipped cream it is served with. A little bit of heavenly sweet goodness with each warm bite!
Pizza @ Pizzeria Mozza
I am no pizza expert but in my opinion, this arguably the best Los Angeles has to offer. Wood fired of course, their pizza has the most unbelievably thin, perfectly done crust. Top that with some fingerling potatoes, squash blossoms, fresh basil, tomatoes, gorgonzola, olives (not all together of course)…. and to think that I have never had a pizza with meat there…. yet!
Mee Goreng @ Singapore’s Banana Leaf
I love noodles so while I knew I would have to have a noodle item on my list, settling on one was difficult for me. Banana Leaf’s Mee Goreng won out because it represents a complete meal to me.I love the combination of Indian spices in which these noodles are cooked, not to mention the potatoes and the onions in them. These are best had Indo style, which would mean with the fried egg on top and two sticks of chicken sate with fresh peanut sauce drizzled on top. This dish never disappoints!
Fish Tacos @ La Cevicheria
Thanks to Jonathan Gold, we recently discovered this tiny whole in the wall run by a Guatemalan couple. They serve the freshest fish I have eaten in LA. The place essentially serves Latin American sea food. Their ceviches are delicious but it is their fish tacos that keep us coming back from more. Fresh white fish which is lightly breaded and fried, then served in tortillas with the essentially taco toppings. Ask for the home made habanero sauce for that extra kick. Such a simple dish, yet absolutely delicious.
Skinless Boneless Dark Chicken Meat with Onions @ Cafe Brazil
The most amazing chicken ever, grilled to perfection and served with a side of black beans, green salad and some yummy fried plantains. Eating this beautiful meal with some of Cafe Brazil’s delicious home made lemonade is probably one of the best ways I can think of spending a weekend afternoon during summer in Los Angeles.
ADIT
K-5 roll @ Kanpai
The array of flavors in this sushi roll are perfect. Start with some fresh albacore, rolled with avocados. Then top it with fried onion slivers and a tart/tangy concoction. Needless to say, no soy sauce or ginger needed (like any sushi worth its while)
Chile, Garlic, and Basil @ ALMOST any place in Thai Town (Ruen Pair, Yai Yai)
A classic Thai dish that basically involves a lot of garlic, a lot of thai green chiles, and a lot of basil/mint. It really could be any meat or tofu with this dish, but I prefer pork with this. The spicy saltiness of the chiles with fish sauce combined with the slight bitterness of the garlic is out of this world. I have come close to mimicking this dish at home, but it is never the same (probably the amount of oil used in the restaurant, I’m sure!)
Ayam Penyet @ Simpang Asia
My mouth is watering just thinking about this. First, they fry their chicken perfectly with a nice crispy exterior and moist interior. Then it is topped with some fried garlic and coriander seeds as is traditional with Indonesian fried chicken. The coup d’etat is the chili eggplant sauce on top. It is basically like a chili sambal sauce with stir fried eggplant in it, and it adds a great spicy kick to the dish.
Steamed Mussels @ Jitlada
If you don’t like seafood, then this dish is not for you. But if you do, especially mussels, then you found the right place in Jitlada. Other than the mussels being steamed to perfection, the real stunner is the broth in which they sit. The flavor is almost indescribable, other than just full of fresh flavors (sorry for the bad description, but you just have to try it to know)
Fish Tacos @ La Cevicheria
Fish tacos are one of the great benefits to living in SoCal. To be honest though, we don’t eat them as much as we’d like… until now. We recently found this little dive that serves Guatemalan style ceviche and of course, fish tacos. They take a nice large piece of grouper, bass, or whatever fish they have that day, and lightly batter and fry it. Then it goes on a tortilla, topped with some cabbage, and red and white devil sauce. Of course, one has to ask for the habanero sauce bottle to add that to it as well. The fish is so fresh and delicious that it just melts in your mouth (kind of like fresh sushi). It’s hard not to go there and just order 10 of these tacos and OD on them!
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