The Best Food in LA

So, for anyone out there living or going to LA and concerned about where to get some good, not too expensive food, here's some good suggestions:

(1) Neptune's Net (42505 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265)
What to Order: Fish Tacos
N recommended this restaurant to me. Apparently he and J both ate here a few years ago when they traveled across the country by train. It is pretty out there in the middle of nowhere a little past Malibu in the Aventura county border. About a 45-min drive from Santa Monica. I'll tell you this much - their fish tacos are well worth the drive! For about $11 you can eat some of the most heavenly Fish Tacos California has to offer. I recommend washing them down with a Blue Moon or a XX (Dos Equis). After eating, catch the beautiful Malibu sunset from the beach across the highway.

(2) El Matador Taco Truck (find it parked after 7:00pm at 1174 N Western Ave and Lexington
West Hollywood, CA, 90028 )
What to order: Tacos (al pastor, adobada, chicken) or a Veggie Burrito
Oh. My. God. DV is fortunate enough to live about three blocks away from this heavenly truck with heavenly and cheap Mexican food. We visited the truck two or three times while I was there - and we would order (I'd whip out my Spanish) and then take the stuff back to DV's apartment to eat, although there were a bunch of people eating at the place itself. DV will swear by the Al Pastor tacos (for $1.25 each) and man, the veggie burritos con todo (with everything) I ate are just out of this world. Beware though! The food is super spicy, so if you can't handle it, think twice (or order it not spicy I guess...but then you're no fun).

(3) Wok on Fire (1447 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90035)
What to Order: Orange Peel Tofu, Edamame, Iced Green Tea
I always forget that Chinese food is meant to be eaten as a group. I went to Wok on Fire, a tiny hole-in-the-wall Chinese gourmet food restaurant that is moderately priced (my whole meal came to about $17 and it could have easily been split 3 ways). The service was fantastic and the food was heavenly. They made the tofu perfectly. I don't know how they did it, I swear. But it was perfect. They do delivery and take-out too,

(4) Paru's Indian Vegetarian Restaurant (5140 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA)
What to Order: Any of the little specials. They're good an $$-friendly.
DV and I stood outside of the entrance to this little establishment wondering whether it was (a) open, and (b) not sketchy. It doesn't look that inviting from the street with the white bars obscuring the view from inside. However, I'm glad we went in. The inside is cozy, welcoming and lovely. The food was fantastic and comes in huge portions (and is completely vegetarian) and we didn't pay a ton of money for our lunch. Win-win-win.

(5) Donuts & Things (across from the Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA)
What to order: Egg and Cheese on a Bagel
I spent a good chunk of my time in LA looking for a place with a decent Bagel. After being in New York for 4 years one gets used to be able to have access to one everywhere. Definitely not the case in LA. Fortunately, the day I went to get my AFM badge and was unable to, I decided to wander around Santa Monica and I discovered this little place across from the pier. It is just a tiny coffee and sandwich shop that has nice food for nice prices. I tried the egg and cheese on a bagel, and OMG, fell in love with it. It is seriously better than any egg and cheese on a bagel I ever had in NY, mostly because this one wasn't dripping in oil and didn't have half the cheese end up in the wrapper. It was lightly seasoned with pepper and salt. Absolute heaven. All for $2.50.

Categories: california, chinese food, DV, foodie, J, N, Restaurant Review, vegetarian