I often ask Thai people in Los Angeles where they like to eat Thai food in LA. I have come up with a list of my recommendations. So far, to my surprise, I have not met a Thai person who highly recommends the much lauded and celebrated Jitlada. The handful of times I have been there I could not tell you a favorite dish out of their recommendations and Southern Thai menu. All I remember is not tasting any flavors because of the level of spicyness of their food. I guess if this is your thing then you will love it. THE SHORTLISTWat Thai of Los AngelesThis weekly weekend food festival is my top recommendation for Thai food in Los Angeles. This is Thai cooking for the Los Angeles Thai community. The temple is open if you want to sit, meditate, and observe. The monks are very friendly if you care for a photo. watthaioflosangeles.com Sapp Coffee ShopMy most favorite Thai restaurant in Hollywood. The epitome of hole-in-the-wall restaurants with deceiving signage in LA. It's not really a coffee shop, although they do serve bottomless Thai coffee (at least for me). The food is hit or miss, but they have consistently good service compared to the grumps over at Ruen Pair. Their most popular and dependable dishes are the dry jade noodles and their boat noodle soup. This is my breakfast spot in Hollywood. Yep, noodles in the AM. Sapp Coffee Shop on Yelp Sri SiamSri Siam is a destination restaurant. The dish to get is the crispy rice salad with sour sausage. They have been making this dish since the 80s and no one in LA does it better IMHO. They are also known for their spicy pork ribs. I cannot get enough of their off menu curry puffs. They have off menu items if you ask. All the top chefs in the know eat here. Chef Jessica Koslow of Sqirl is a fan. Not sure why this place is never busy. srisiamcafe.com Bua SiamI am a regular here and most often order takeout. The chefs in the back already know my face. It is insanely cheap and the food is consistently good. My recommendations stray from what most American food writers have talked about at this restaurant. Go with the labor intensive crispy catfish with papaya or apple salad and a side of sticky rice. The dynamite wings is another item to try from their "chef recomendations" list. I have not had a bad dish here so far. During the weekends, try their housemade Thai sour sausage. buasiamnoho.com Chai ThungThis is one of those hidden gems you prefer to remain a secret. Their cooking across the board is very good. The menu is large and will please both the Thai (ask what Thai people order) and American palate. They make a killer pad thai in both Thai style and American style. My current favorite in LA. There is a secret Thai menu for Thai people if you can read Thai script. chaithung.com Renu NakornThe trek to Norwalk is a must for the hardcore foodist. The original owners opened Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas which is what most top chefs consider as "the best restaurant in Las Vegas." 40 years later, the restaurant is still going strong with the best khao soi I've tasted in Los Angeles. Again, ask them to recommend what Thai people eat at their restaurant. It will surely be very spicy. Renu Nakorn on Yelp Lacha SomtumI was told that Lacha Somtum has the best papaya salad. It's a low-key spot that has a casual Asian coffee house or boba shop feel. I had their papaya salad and my mouth was on fire. You might have to ask for a pitcher of water while trying their papaya salad. lachasomtum.com Isaan ClassicAs you enter, you might notice the sticker outside that distinguishes this restaurant as serving "authentic Thai cuisine" by the Ministry of Commerce in Thailand. I wasn't sure if they would have salted egg papaya salad, but that's what I wanted to order. I swear years ago this spot was Isaan Station where I first tasted this dish. I ask my server if this is the same owner as Isaan Station in Koreatown and she said that it was (although the LA Weekly said that it isn't). They have a large menu of Thai dishes that I haven't seen elsewhere. It's definitely a place I would recommend bringing a large group to sample all the dishes instead of dining solo. After feeling like I had to pull teeth to get recommendations, my server convinced me to get the chicken satay. I was apprehensive about ordering it because I usually don't order it because most places seem to overcook it. These skewers were a stand out. Moist and flavorful, they also glaze it with a sauce I feel I didn't need the peanut or vinegar dip. isaacclassic.com Khaosan Thai Street FoodA bit out of the way in Woodland Hills is a small restaurant serving Thai street food. This is probably the best Thai food you will find in the West San Fernando Valley. Probably one of the best khao soi in Los Angeles. The owners certainly thinks so and told me that they are proud of their khao soi and it is the best outside of Thailand. eatkhaosanthai.com Thai 'N IBarbecue beef ribs. I lived and worked in the area and craved their ribs. This Thai restaurant serves my favorite beef ribs in Los Angeles. I usually get it with a side of pad thai. The place used to be hole-in-the-wall, but was renovated to look updated and much trendier. thaini.net Wat Dong Moon LekWat Dong Moon Lek is where chef Kris Yenbamroong would eat Thai food before coming up with the Night + Market concept. This art student turned "chef" seems to get all the media attention and aims to please the hipster sceney audience and not Thai people. I digress... I am not a fan.
WDML is also where the Luv2Eat Thai Bistro chef loves to eat Thai food. WDML is the OG trendy and most imitated Silver Lake Thai restaurant. They are known for their Wat Dong Moon Lek noodles. The owners purchased the original recipe from the famous restaurant in Thailand. My advice right now is to go off menu and order the soft shell crab (2 versions) or addicting taro pad thai. They have been experimenting with some new dishes lately and have plans to launch a new menu featuring rare regional dishes. Chef and owner Jenny Seetathaworn attended pastry school and it is evident when dessert is available. Her mango and sticky rice plating has currently "inspired" some Thai restaurants in Los Angeles. Tip: Let them know you want authentic Thai spicy. Many of their customers complained in the early days of the spice level being too high so all you have to do is state your tolerance for heat. watdongmoonlek.com
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Best Barbecue in Los Angeles - Moo's Craft Barbecue (Recommended by: Burt Bakman - Trudy's Underground Barbecue / Slab) The Los Angeles food scene continues to evolve. The best food in our city are the places one might discover by chance or accident. You might even get a tip from someone or discover the many chefs that eat there. Since LA is home to a large population of immigrants, you will find many authentic restaurants trying to appeal not to American, but people longing for a taste of home. With barbecue, competition is increasing with backyard pit masters trying their hand at a barbecue they experienced maybe while visiting another state like Texas. Maybe the pit master is from Texas and they want to bring the flavors of their childhood to Angelenos. One of the early lessons I learned over the 5 consecutive years visiting Austin, Texas for SXSW is to show up early for barbecue. The most popular places run out of barbecue by 1 pm. I've waited around 5 hours for Franklin's BBQ in Austin starting before 7 am and even woke up before 6 am to drive an hour and a half to Snow's BBQ in Lexington on a Saturday morning for breakfast brisket and pork ribs. (Snow's BBQ ships barbecue out on their website BTW.) My first year in Austin for SXSW, I showed up at around 1 pm for Franklin's Barbecue (at the time rated #1 for Texas barbecue) and to my dismay, they already sold out. They sent me to Smitty's in Lockhart about 45 minutes from Austin. All their employees told me that Smitty's was the best barbecue in Texas. For the next three years, I would eat only Smitty's. Three years later, I decided to try another barbecue other than Smitty's and Rudy's (I love their sides). There was La Barbecue, Black's, then finally the top-ranked Franklin's and Snow's BBQ, currently ranked #1 on Daniel Vaughn's annual list in the Texas Monthly. I have tried Texas-style brisket in Los Angeles and not many come close to the brisket in Central Texas. Barrel & Ashes? Not even close. Maple Block? My most recent visit was disappointing. Horse Thief? Someone told me it wasn't special. Bludso's? I've had a delicious brisket sandwich. Ray's? Not close. Dr. Hogly Wogley's? Nothing like Tyler, TX barbecue I've tried. Swinging Door? It's OK. Boneyard Bistro? Surprisingly good brisket. Smoke City Market had my favorite brisket until they closed down. Most recently I read posts on IG about how popular Moo's Craft Barbecue is at Smorgasburg. In addition, an LA barbecue insider told me that Moo's was his favorite barbecue in LA. That gave me the push to brave the crowd at Smorgasburg for a taste. What I learned from experience is that every cook, chef, or restaurant has a specialty. The one dish they do really well. It's rare to find a place that excels in everything they do. For Moo's Craft Barbecue, it's all about the brisket. Moist and flavorful, it's a delicate piece of meat that almost melts in your mouth. Its texture is also true to the appearance of the best brisket I've had in Texas. I can close my eyes and transport myself back to the Lone Star State. A woman I met outside Smorgasburg who had their barbecue before said that her favorite is their beef ribs. There are handmade sausages are probably worth a try. All I need is their brisket, burnt ends, and white bread. That to me is my kind of Texas barbecue experience in LA. Brisket and white bread is all I usually eat in Central Texas for barbecue. I recommend following them on IG and seeking them out at one of their pop-ups. Go early to avoid the long wait or taking the risk of them running out of meat. |
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