Southern California - Hollywood Restaurants?

Hey all. I'm meeting my parent's in the Hollywood area for dinner tomorrow night and I need some restaurant recommendations. I'd like to keep it somewhat moderately priced, like <$20 an entree. No real constraints on the cuisine.

Thanks for the help!

Silver Spoon
8171 Santa Monica Blvd

Large selection and about like Coco's in price.

This is one of my very favorites: http://www.yelp.com/biz/luna-park-los-angeles#hrid:7IxMVlWGhPIZhCLMROHg4A/query:luna

It's more West LAish but very near Hollywood. Another option would be: http://thedeliciouslife.blogspot.com/2007/06/citizen-smith-hollywood-jalapeno-mac-n.html

I've tasted the mac & cheese with jalapenos...to die for. :D

How about Cha Cha Cha? I like the Silveralke location but the parking is pretty much valet only from what I remember.

http://www.theoriginalchachacha.com/Silverlake.php

This is going to be a hard decision. Thanks for the tips!

Are you looking for food or atmosphere?

The Alcove on Hillhurst near Franklin (Silverlake/Los Feliz vic) has both....with a large heated patio out front.

I'm a huge fan of Canter's Deli of Fairfax ... not right in Hollywood ... but damn good corned beef sandwiches ...

http://cantersdeli.com/

I'm a huge fan of Canter's Deli of Fairfax ... not right in Hollywood ... but damn good corned beef sandwiches ...

http://cantersdeli.com/

+1000, I love their Ruebens!

I had many a late-night knish there! :)

Yep, can't go wrong with Canter's

OH YEAH!!! Their Ruebens are awesome. And the pastries there are to die for as well. They have the most amazing chocolate chip cheesecake.

I had many a late-night knish there! :)

Their food is so-so (unless you've been drinking and it's 3am in the morning and Axel Rose is sitting in the booth across from you with five hot chicks with plastic boobage hanging off him). Otherwise, for dinner, IMO, I'd skip it.

Yep, can't go wrong with Canter's

unless you're eating with vegetarians...

Which I'm not, so I love it. They also have poppy seed pastries that are hard to find anywhere else.

Their food is so-so (unless you've been drinking and it's 3am in the morning and Axel Rose is sitting in the booth across from you with five hot chicks with plastic boobage hanging off him). Otherwise, for dinner, IMO, I'd skip it.

I am a Rueben Expert! Canters corned beef is wonderful! Of course, my preference actually is Arts on Ventura, but Canters is still one of the best.

Mmmm, curse this diet! :mad:

I am a Rueben Expert! Canters corned beef is wonderful! Of course, my preference actually is Arts on Ventura, but Canters is still one of the best.

Mmmm, curse this diet! :mad:

Your avatar now makes you look like The Fly. Just thought you'd want to know. :)

Regardless of whether Canter makes good Ruebens or not, this guy wants to take his parents out to dinner. Canters is NOT the place to take them, unless for novelty. Well, that or unless his parents just happen to LOVE deli food. :p

I am a Rueben Expert! Canters corned beef is wonderful! Of course, my preference actually is Arts on Ventura, but Canters is still one of the best.

Mmmm, curse this diet! :mad:

I am with you John, Reubens are great. And Art's (where every sandwich is a work of Art) makes a mighty fine one.

Near UCLA are you? How about right there in Westwood? Palomino's. Then on Montana Avenue past Brentwood near Whole Foods, there's some smaller trendy restaurants. For average Cantonese, try Hop Li on Pico near Veteran. For Japanese, there's Sawtell Blvd, past Santa Monica Blvd. I like going to Farmer's Market up Fairfax near the CBS television studios. Its outside eating which may be a bit of an issue. But the food is good and great value for a UCLA student budget. If don't mind eating with your hands (no utinsels), there's Ethiopian restaurants in Little Ethiopia on Fairfax.

Near UCLA are you? How about right there in Westwood? Palomino's. Then on Montana Avenue past Brentwood near Whole Foods, there's some smaller trendy restaurants. For average Cantonese, try Hop Li on Pico near Veteran. For Japanese, there's Sawtell Blvd, past Santa Monica Blvd. I like going to Farmer's Market up Fairfax near the CBS television studios. Its outside eating which may be a bit of an issue. But the food is good and great value for a UCLA student budget. If don't mind eating with your hands (no utinsels), there's Ethiopian restaurants in Little Ethiopia on Fairfax.

+1,000,000 Great place and the outside eating is great. Also, there is a little French restaurant there that has a dynamite cheese plate and wine. The entrees are reasonably priced and you can walk over to the crepe place for dessert after. If you are into the Grove/shopping thing (I’m not, but many people love that place), you could go there as well.

Canters is novelty, but the Farmer's Market is great?

Canters is novelty, but the Farmer's Market is great?

+1. I used to live a block from the FM, and I almost never ate there. Very overrated, imo, and (now) misnamed.

Canters is novelty, but the Farmer's Market is great?

Yup. There are some wonderful restaurants there...variety of many different cuisines...and you can walk to a movie or to the Grove before or after. Canters is nowhere that is interesting (in terms of walking), has florescent lighting and the food is deli food. I’m not knocking it for novelty or fun, but I’d suggest this UCLA student (I’m assuming) go to Canters on a night out with his buddies where he ends up there at 3am. That’s when the Ruebens taste the best and the crowd is the most interesting. Going there with his parents is okay but it’s not the best – unless, again, they LOVE deli food.

Russian Restaurant: Traktir (http://losangeles.menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp?areaid=0&restaurantid=27486&neighborhoodid=0&cuisineid=52&home=Y)
Pretty good food. :)

Maybe next SoCal dinner can be there? ;)

+1. I used to live a block from the FM, and I almost never ate there. Very overrated, imo, and (now) misnamed.

Did you ever try Mr. Marcel Pain Vin Et Fromage or Ulysses Voyage? There are so many restaurants there. Unless you've tried all of them, how can you state it overrated?

Just give me some cheese, salami, crackers, and wine.

Did you ever try Mr. Marcel Pain Vin Et Fromage or Ulysses Voyage? There are so many restaurants there. Unless you've tried all of them, how can you state it overrated?

I can't have an opinion unless I've been to every place?!? :p

I'll retract it for you then... and say for the 2 years I lived there, I was disappointed every time I ate there -- except for Marcel. But Marcel isn't cheap, and at their price range, I had other preferences. Most days, I would end up at places nearby (Mani's, Doughboys, Toast, Buddha's Belly).

I can't have an opinion unless I've been to every place?!? :p

I'll retract it for you then... and say for the 2 years I lived there, I was disappointed every time I ate there -- except for Marcel. But Marcel isn't cheap, so at their price range, I had other preferences. Most days, I would end up at places nearby (Mani's, Doughboys, Toast, Buddha's Belly).

No. You cannot have that opinion unless you've tried every damn item at every restaurant. :mad:


:p

No. You cannot have that opinion unless you've tried every damn item at every restaurant. :mad:


:p

Don't you people ever cook?

Don't you people ever cook?

Dan, speak English. :rolleyes:

I do, but not very well.

I do, but not very well.

<----cut it out, you're making me dizzy

Farmers Market is like eating at Disneyland, only it's dirty and Donald Duck is drunk and asking for change.

Oh, and so far I've yet to have anyone from out of town complain about In-N-Out. :D

So after I posted I realized that my mom's birthday is coming up and I won't see her again for a while so I might as well give her a nice present now. I ended up thoroughly disregarding my price restraints and got a reservation at Providence (http://www.providencela.com/) on Melrose. I hope she enjoys it. :)

If you want to do Melrose, here's another suggestion. I've been there twice for special occasions. There's usually a classical guitarist playing. My step-daughter once saw Tom Cruise (yuck) dining there....whoopie

http://www.carlitosgardel.com/

Thanks for the tips everybody! I wanted to stay near Hollywood since my parents are driving up from San Diego to go see Wicked. No sense forcing them to drive up, then have to cut across to Santa Monica.


Near UCLA are you? How about right there in Westwood? Palomino's. Then on Montana Avenue past Brentwood near Whole Foods, there's some smaller trendy restaurants. For average Cantonese, try Hop Li on Pico near Veteran. For Japanese, there's Sawtell Blvd, past Santa Monica Blvd. I like going to Farmer's Market up Fairfax near the CBS television studios. Its outside eating which may be a bit of an issue. But the food is good and great value for a UCLA student budget. If don't mind eating with your hands (no utinsels), there's Ethiopian restaurants in Little Ethiopia on Fairfax.

I actually live about a block from the Hop Li on Santa Monica Blvd. It's OK, but you definitely need to be in the mood for greasy Chinese. I definitely haven't been to enough of the Japanese options in the area, but I love going to the Japanese market.

I've always wanted to try someplace in Little Ethiopia, I've heard good things about the food.

I've always wanted to try someplace in Little Ethiopia, I've heard good things about the food.

Ethiopian food is the best. Not necessarily a place to take parents though. My father was appalled that there were no eating utensils. :rolleyes:

Farmers Market is like eating at Disneyland, only it's dirty and Donald Duck is drunk and asking for change.

Generally agree, but there are a few exceptions. Marcel's has some amazingly good French food.

Farmers Market is like eating at Disneyland, only it's dirty and Donald Duck is drunk and asking for change.

:rolleyes: That is so not true. Donald is only slightly tipsy and he's asking for tips...geez.

Thanks for the tips everybody! I wanted to stay near Hollywood since my parents are driving up from San Diego to go see Wicked. No sense forcing them to drive up, then have to cut across to Santa Monica.

I saw Wicked last year, great show. The biggest problem with Hollywood is traffic gets nasty on Saturday nights. Plan for it.

In Hollywood: There's a Chandara on Cahuenga that has good Thai food for a decent price. If you want tacky Thai food, you can go see Thai Elvis at Palms Thai on Hollywood. The cafe at the Arclight theaters is actually decent, but parking can be a nightmare on a Saturday. Fabiolus on Sunset is also good, and if you want something different, Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles on Gower has fun soul food.

I agree with Roadfix, the Alcove on Hillhurst is great, and Los Feliz would be easier traffic-wise. I also like Puran's on Hillhurst, which has more inside seating than the Alcove. Birds on Franklin would also be pretty good. My all time favorite restaurant in Los Feliz is Vermont (on Vermont/Hollywood) but it might be a little out of the price range.

Have fun...

somebody go to
Blowfish Sushi To Die For

and give my daughter a huge tip so I won't have to send her money this month....

She's the one with the spiky blonde hair...