Dude, if you wanted to avoid bad air, move out to one of the coastal cities. Sitting at the base of a mountain range = smog trap!
Looks like ketan cleared this one up for uboth of us.
Bottomline, living in West Hollywood isn't an improvement - air quality-wise - than living in most places that are outside of 4-5 blocks of any of the major freeways. Personally, if you like WeHo and feel like it's self-sufficient as a neighborhood, then it's fine that you're geographically isolated (by LA standards). If you have to/like to travel around LA, WeHo is a certifiable pain in the ass to get to and get out of. Maybe I'm just bitter because the only time I have to go to that part of town is for shows but the parking/traffic situation in that 'hood on weekend evenings is abysmal.
Especially if Zen's fiancee has to travel to Echo Park, I think it makes more sense to live closer to Echo Park - which is more central and within striking distance of basically every major freeway in the Southland, then living in West Hollywood where she'd be trapped by the city's street system.
why anyone would want to move to LA with kids is beyond me. if you want to live in LA proper, that is. and im not talking about the crime. im talking about the prevailing attitudes toward living.
Care to elaborate?
a thin veneer of progressive ideology wrapped around staunch conservative nimbyism.
As a parent AND someone who grew up in LA, I'd much rather raise my kid in LA than many, many, many other places in the country I can think of, especially because my kid isn't White. Best believe, there's a lot of noxious cultural attitudes in LA but in terms of its diversity, resources, activities and cosmopolitanism, I have no complaints.
Zen: how old are your daughters? And what will you and your wife be doing for work (in terms of fields of work)?
why anyone would want to move to LA with kids is beyond me. if you want to live in LA proper, that is. and im not talking about the crime. im talking about the prevailing attitudes toward living.
Care to elaborate?
a thin veneer of progressive ideology wrapped around staunch conservative nimbyism.
As a parent AND someone who grew up in LA, I'd much rather raise my kid in LA than many, many, many other places in the country I can think of, especially because my kid isn't White. Best believe, there's a lot of noxious cultural attitudes in LA but in terms of its diversity, resources, activities and cosmopolitanism, I have no complaints.
Zen: how old are your daughters? And what will you and your wife be doing for work (in terms of fields of work)?
My daughters will be 6 and 9 in the fall.
My fiance's major was in fashion design, so LA is obviously a great spot for her to be (plus she's Latin so being bilingual will be an asset). I'm a graphic designer/web developer, so I've got a few more options, but from what I can tell there's a good amount of work for me out there.
I feel you on the diversity tip. It's really important for me to raise my kids in an unsheltered, but safe environment where they're exposed to different cultures and points of view.
Hey Marco... might be heading out that way late this summer... I'll let you know. Hope things are well.
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ZEN2 - I lived in the South Bay region of LA County for six years before moving to my current locale... NC. I have to agree with the recommendations for Korea town... especially close to Larchmont or Hancock Park if you can afford the rent. I say this b/c of the kiddos... Larchmont and Hancock both have a neighborhood feel... trees, sidewalks, & decently quiet streets. You can walk to food and coffee spots. I have a good friend that grew up in that area... I dig it. Also, it is a decent location for your fiance's work and there is alot that's available to you close by as far as eats, venues, and so on.
There are lots of little neighborhood blocks in L.A. that have this feel, and may actually be a bit better on the rent (like Echo Park), but I just chimed in based on all the time I spent in Hancock Park.
those 2 falafel spots are decent. and the zankou hummus is pretty dang good. but for serious have u guys tried haifa? its glaat kosher so you know they dont F*ck around. i went in there with a cup of coffee w/cream and they asked that i take it outside. fresh ground falafels not that mix shit. and their salads. all of them are excellent. i have a friend that doesnt like the hummus cuz he says its too rich. too rich! and not that he's here anymore but my dude SPACEGHOST put me up on it.
those 2 falafel spots are decent. and the zankou hummus is pretty dang good. but for serious have u guys tried haifa? its glaat kosher so you know they dont F*ck around. i went in there with a cup of coffee w/cream and they asked that i take it outside. fresh ground falafels not that mix shit. and their salads. all of them are excellent. i have a friend that doesnt like the hummus cuz he says its too rich. too rich! and not that he's here anymore but my dude SPACEGHOST put me up on it.
I'm down to try Haifala though they're a bit far from my neck of the woods (not like I'm lacking in good Middle Eastern where I'm at anyway).
You know what's around that same part of Pico though? This Ethiopian joint, Awash. Service is f*cking slow but damn, the grub is awesome, especially their beef ribs. Don't sleep!
bcd is decent if its late late nite but this is ktown. beverly soondoobu on olympic just east of vermont is my pick. also, never eat pho in ktown. or drink their $5 cups of folgers coffee.
grandpa_shig clearly knows what's up when it comes to soondoobu.
Beverly is also my choice. Sogongdong (right across the street from Beverly) isn't bad, either (but the soondoobu is of a different style).
I do hit up BCD every once in a while late at night (since it's the only one open), but it's nowhere near the best. I do like the whole (small) grilled fish they offer as banchan.
I'm not that big on soondoobu, though. Why pay $8-10 for something that costs a dollar to make at home? It's interesting that soondoobu is much more popular in k-town than it is in korea.
Sushi in l.a. comes in a few general categories (with significant overlap): expensive OG japanese places (that often specialize in omakase), expensive fusion sushi places, less expensive places that specialize in wacky rolls, k-town joints that offer tons of appetizers/side dishes.
If you want relatively authentic sushi on a budget, try Hide Sushi on Sawtelle. More ghetto is Noshi on Beverly (not great, but large portions).
Why is it so hard to find awabi outside of the most expensive places?
As for pho, as grandpa_shig said, k-town pho is a little different. Not my favorite, but passable at 3am. (I kind of like the oxtail pho at Pho 2000.)
If you want OG pho but don't want to drive too far, there are a couple good places in chinatown (it's being taken over by vietnamese joints). Try Pho 97 (used to be Pho 79) or Pho 86. I prefer 97.
I'm down to try Haifala though they're a bit far from my neck of the woods (not like I'm lacking in good Middle Eastern where I'm at anyway).
You know what's around that same part of Pico though? This Ethiopian joint, Awash. Service is f*cking slow but damn, the grub is awesome, especially their beef ribs. Don't sleep!
You like ethiopian? Try the little ethiopia portion of fairfax.
Meals by Genet probably has the best food (try their dorowat!) but I'm really not feeling their euro-style decor and (sometimes) snobby waiters.
When I take friends to eat ethiopian for the first time, I just swallow my pride and take them to Nyala so my friends can see all the pseudo-african art and feel like they're experiencing ethiopian culture. The food isn't bad, either.
But Meals by Genet is probably the best. (A bit more expensive, though.)
i like messob the best. if im on a budget, its merkato. $6 for the veggie combo and it feeds 2. fairfax and just s. of olympic.
re BCD: my one complaint about the ihop BCD is that im usually there in the wee hours and its packed with obnoxious redface drunk korean folks.
and as far as sushi, i go to my grandmas. my uncle is a retired seafood broker so we always got the goods. oh and one of my students knows the dude at koomasa in lil tokyo and his fish is on point. even when u get the grilled mackerel, he uses sushi grade mackerel to grill and it shows.
and as far as sushi, i go to my grandmas. my uncle is a retired seafood broker so we always got the goods. oh and one of my students knows the dude at koomasa in lil tokyo and his fish is on point. even when u get the grilled mackerel, he uses sushi grade mackerel to grill and it shows.
This I will definitely need to check out. I need to get down with a sushi grade fish source ASAP.
Yo Shig - vegan question. What are the chances that when I order the vegetable soontofu at Tofu Village and request "no fish, no meat, no dairy" that any one of those requests will actually be met even if they tell me that they will? thnaks peace
I'm down to try Haifala though they're a bit far from my neck of the woods (not like I'm lacking in good Middle Eastern where I'm at anyway).
You know what's around that same part of Pico though? This Ethiopian joint, Awash. Service is f*cking slow but damn, the grub is awesome, especially their beef ribs. Don't sleep!
You like ethiopian? Try the little ethiopia portion of fairfax.
Yeah, I'm up on that. Awash is basically in that area, it just happens to be on Pico instead of Fairfax. My man who grew up in that area tends to find the Fairfax spots to be decent but nothing spectacular; he really liked Awash (as did I) but we had to wait damn near an hour to get our food.
Can anyone recommend any local scene papers with event listings, music reviews and the like?
You have two paper choices - the LA Weekly and the LA Times' Metromix, which is basically their version of a free weekly. There's probably a lot more online options that folks can suggest too.
There was some discussion a while back about a restaurant in LA I believe that was basically taken apart in Japan and shipped over here.. is that Koi? (I could be wrong about this.. it was a while back).
Sounds like Gonpachi in Beverly Hills on restaurant row (la cienega). Beautiful restaurant, authentic Japanese food, great quality sushi. Gonpachi is also in Shibuya, Tokyo. All of the wood was imported from Japan. Prices have dropped significantly lately b/c there are just too many sushi bars in l.a. - $5 for 8/piece spicy tuna roll. They make their own soba noodles and the menu is deep with lots of authentic food that is difficult to find in the U.S. I highly recommend the $3 Chicken/Okra skewers. This place is the real deal robata bar -- Koi will make you $pay$
oh and one of my students knows the dude at koomasa in lil tokyo and his fish is on point. even when u get the grilled mackerel, he uses sushi grade mackerel to grill and it shows.
Is this the same as Oomasa in Little Tokyo? That place is the real
There was some discussion a while back about a restaurant in LA I believe that was basically taken apart in Japan and shipped over here.. is that Koi? (I could be wrong about this.. it was a while back).
Sounds like Gonpachi in Beverly Hills on restaurant row (la cienega). Beautiful restaurant, authentic Japanese food, great quality sushi. Gonpachi is also in Shibuya, Tokyo. All of the wood was imported from Japan. Prices have dropped significantly lately b/c there are just too many sushi bars in l.a. - $5 for 8/piece spicy tuna roll. They make their own soba noodles and the menu is deep with lots of authentic food that is difficult to find in the U.S.
I highly recommend the $3 Chicken/Okra skewers. This place is the real deal robata bar -- Koi will make you $pay$
I've been to Gonpachi with my wife's family (they're all Japanese American) and the verdict was that the food was ok but everyone found the "hyper-authenticity" kind of cornball. I mean, it's very "La Cienega" which is to say - Restaurant Row prides itself on being over the top and Gonpachi is no exception. But as far as good Japanese food in LA goes, we were all kind of "eh" on the spot. That said - it's nowhere near as corny as that Japanese palace up in the Hollywood Hills.
For sushi, the two spots my wife and I tend to hit up are either Sushi Sasabune or Kiriko (both are on Sawtelle). The former is good for their omakaze (even if the menu doesn't seem to ever change), the latter probably does a kick ass omakaze but given that prices start at $100 and up, we've always gone ala carte instead and have been very happy with that.
If you prefer a more izikaya experience, we really really like Musha in Santa Monica (there's also one in Torrance). They have very good sashimi for a non-sushi spot and a lot of their small dishes are on point (if they have the pork belly, holler at that). I'm sure there's a grip of cool izikayas in either Little Tokyo or Gardena that I'm not up on. I don't know if anyone's tried that Okinamawan one in Gardena but I've been very curious about that.
Musha is dope. Thinking about that fried chicken is making my mouth water.
Truth. They do that up nice. And the garlic somen noodles? Incredible for something so damn simple.
I should add: we tried the Hump, that famed (and $$$$$) sushi spot in the Santa Monica Airport and while it's quaint as hell, we didn't think the overall food quality was equivalent to the price inflation.
At some point, we'll try Sushi Mori on Pico (and the place with no name, just a sign with a fish on it) but I hear that's stoopid bank to eat at too. And one of these days, my dream is to get an invite to eat at the Pico Teriyaki House.
Comments
Bottomline, living in West Hollywood isn't an improvement - air quality-wise - than living in most places that are outside of 4-5 blocks of any of the major freeways. Personally, if you like WeHo and feel like it's self-sufficient as a neighborhood, then it's fine that you're geographically isolated (by LA standards). If you have to/like to travel around LA, WeHo is a certifiable pain in the ass to get to and get out of. Maybe I'm just bitter because the only time I have to go to that part of town is for shows but the parking/traffic situation in that 'hood on weekend evenings is abysmal.
Especially if Zen's fiancee has to travel to Echo Park, I think it makes more sense to live closer to Echo Park - which is more central and within striking distance of basically every major freeway in the Southland, then living in West Hollywood where she'd be trapped by the city's street system.
As a parent AND someone who grew up in LA, I'd much rather raise my kid in LA than many, many, many other places in the country I can think of, especially because my kid isn't White. Best believe, there's a lot of noxious cultural attitudes in LA but in terms of its diversity, resources, activities and cosmopolitanism, I have no complaints.
Zen: how old are your daughters? And what will you and your wife be doing for work (in terms of fields of work)?
Eagle Rock comes to mind.
My daughters will be 6 and 9 in the fall.
My fiance's major was in fashion design, so LA is obviously a great spot for her to be (plus she's Latin so being bilingual will be an asset). I'm a graphic designer/web developer, so I've got a few more options, but from what I can tell there's a good amount of work for me out there.
I feel you on the diversity tip. It's really important for me to raise my kids in an unsheltered, but safe environment where they're exposed to different cultures and points of view.
WHERE IS THE BEST FALAFEL SANDWICH + HUMMUS + LENTIL SOUP COMBO IN LA?
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ZEN2 - I lived in the South Bay region of LA County for six years before moving to my current locale... NC. I have to agree with the recommendations for Korea town... especially close to Larchmont or Hancock Park if you can afford the rent. I say this b/c of the kiddos... Larchmont and Hancock both have a neighborhood feel... trees, sidewalks, & decently quiet streets. You can walk to food and coffee spots. I have a good friend that grew up in that area... I dig it. Also, it is a decent location for your fiance's work and there is alot that's available to you close by as far as eats, venues, and so on.
There are lots of little neighborhood blocks in L.A. that have this feel, and may actually be a bit better on the rent (like Echo Park), but I just chimed in based on all the time I spent in Hancock Park.
haifa has the best falafel and hummus. pico just west of la cienega.
I'm thinking Hancock Park/Larchmont or K-Town are still the best geographic looks.
Falafel Arax in east Hollywood has proper falafel. Never tried the hummus there. The hummus at Zankou - no joke - is pretty on-point too.
http://www.haifala.com/menu.htm
HOLYSHIT THEY DELIVER TO KOREATOWN
That place is just a couple blocks from a pretty good sausage shop (which, incidentally, I can guarantee you is NOT Kosher)...
You know what's around that same part of Pico though? This Ethiopian joint, Awash. Service is f*cking slow but damn, the grub is awesome, especially their beef ribs. Don't sleep!
You like ethiopian? Try the little ethiopia portion of fairfax.
Meals by Genet probably has the best food (try their dorowat!) but I'm really not feeling their euro-style decor and (sometimes) snobby waiters.
When I take friends to eat ethiopian for the first time, I just swallow my pride and take them to Nyala so my friends can see all the pseudo-african art and feel like they're experiencing ethiopian culture. The food isn't bad, either.
But Meals by Genet is probably the best. (A bit more expensive, though.)
YES. There's like a dozen spots in the space of a couple of blocks.
My joint is Rahel's. Not only do they have the bomb Ethiopian food, but their lunch buffet is a steal and everything on the menu is VEGAN.
re BCD: my one complaint about the ihop BCD is that im usually there in the wee hours and its packed with obnoxious redface drunk korean folks.
and as far as sushi, i go to my grandmas. my uncle is a retired seafood broker so we always got the goods. oh and one of my students knows the dude at koomasa in lil tokyo and his fish is on point. even when u get the grilled mackerel, he uses sushi grade mackerel to grill and it shows.
This I will definitely need to check out. I need to get down with a sushi grade fish source ASAP.
Yeah, I'm up on that. Awash is basically in that area, it just happens to be on Pico instead of Fairfax. My man who grew up in that area tends to find the Fairfax spots to be decent but nothing spectacular; he really liked Awash (as did I) but we had to wait damn near an hour to get our food.
You have two paper choices - the LA Weekly and the LA Times' Metromix, which is basically their version of a free weekly. There's probably a lot more online options that folks can suggest too.
I highly recommend the $3 Chicken/Okra skewers. This place is the real deal robata bar -- Koi will make you $pay$
I've been to Gonpachi with my wife's family (they're all Japanese American) and the verdict was that the food was ok but everyone found the "hyper-authenticity" kind of cornball. I mean, it's very "La Cienega" which is to say - Restaurant Row prides itself on being over the top and Gonpachi is no exception. But as far as good Japanese food in LA goes, we were all kind of "eh" on the spot. That said - it's nowhere near as corny as that Japanese palace up in the Hollywood Hills.
For sushi, the two spots my wife and I tend to hit up are either Sushi Sasabune or Kiriko (both are on Sawtelle). The former is good for their omakaze (even if the menu doesn't seem to ever change), the latter probably does a kick ass omakaze but given that prices start at $100 and up, we've always gone ala carte instead and have been very happy with that.
If you prefer a more izikaya experience, we really really like Musha in Santa Monica (there's also one in Torrance). They have very good sashimi for a non-sushi spot and a lot of their small dishes are on point (if they have the pork belly, holler at that). I'm sure there's a grip of cool izikayas in either Little Tokyo or Gardena that I'm not up on. I don't know if anyone's tried that Okinamawan one in Gardena but I've been very curious about that.
And on the Gardena tip - Shinsengumi Yakitori =
Truth. They do that up nice. And the garlic somen noodles? Incredible for something so damn simple.
I should add: we tried the Hump, that famed (and $$$$$) sushi spot in the Santa Monica Airport and while it's quaint as hell, we didn't think the overall food quality was equivalent to the price inflation.
At some point, we'll try Sushi Mori on Pico (and the place with no name, just a sign with a fish on it) but I hear that's stoopid bank to eat at too. And one of these days, my dream is to get an invite to eat at the Pico Teriyaki House.
Which reminds me: anyone hit up Umami Burger yet?