Alright so I have to admit one of my favorite things about living in LA is the food. Coming from Orange County, where the suburbs are plagued by chain restaurants, moving to LA has been the most refreshing change for my taste buds. There’s such a large variety of cuisine’s and so many areas to choose from when going out to dinner. There’s Koreatown, little Tokyo, Chinatown, Sawtelle, Santa Monica, the entire South Bay, Hollywood, and any remaining bits of downtown. With so many locations to choose from, it does make deciding on a restaurant increasingly difficult. I’m here to try and breakdown some of my favorite spots to eat.
Sawtelle is probably my favorite restaurant strip to go to. Just east of Santa Monica, it is incredibly easy to get to using the metro line on Exposition or by car if that is available. This area has tons of different ramen restaurants, and I’ll share some of my favorites with you. If you are looking for that budget option, but still want some of the best food that exists, check out Marugame Udon. This chain originated in Japan, and then they made a few locations within the Los Angeles area. The portions are huge and you can walk out with a bill less than $10. If you are looking to splurge a bit more, there are some great sit-down options that make the best Ramen I’ve ever had. Tatsu and Killer Noodle are two of my favorite Ramen restaurants and will run you somewhere around $15-$20 once you calculate in tax and tip. However, watch out for Killer Noodle. They specialize in spicy ramen and have a spice scale from 1-6. The last time I chose 3 and really wish I didn’t venture as far from 2 as I did.
Downtown is home to some of the best restaurants in all of LA. On of my personal favorites is Cassell’s Hamburgers. This burger joint has super reasonable prices and is only 10 minutes away. As an LA born burger joint, this place serves fantastic burgers that beats In-n-Out, yes there are better burger places than In-n-Out. A hole in the wall pizza place I love is Superfine Pizza. They have a small window you order from on the side of a building, but man is the New York style thin crust pizza amazing. Their specialty pizza is a spicy salami honey, sounds weird, but trust me its amazing.
A lot of the other locations I’ve mentioned all have great food options as well. Recently I went to Hennessey’s Tavern in Hermosa Beach that made a fantastic brisket burger and the best part was the rooftop patio has an oceanfront view of the beach.
In Chinatown there are a plethora of great Chinese restaurants. While Santa Monica has a wide range of cuisines making it easy to pick out what you want once you get there!
I could probably ramble on and on about restaurants in the LA vicinity, but all you really need to know is there is literally endless options. The hardest part is deciding which of these awesome places I want to eat at next.
