Canter's

419 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 651-2030

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This amazing New York Jewish Delicatessen that is open 24 hours a day has been a cornerstone of food in Los Angeles since it opened in 1931, and is always a good meal. There is some parking just south on Fairfax with 2 hours of validation, and the wait staff is always efficient, and some of them seem like they have been there forever. And the menu goes on, and on and on. I mean there is so much choice here that making a decision may be the hardest thing of all.

Parker's Lighthouse

435 Shoreline Village Drive #1
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 432-6500
Lunch: Mon-Fri 11am-3PM Sat-Sun 11am-3:30PM
Dinner: Mon-Thur 5PM-10PM Sat 4PM-11PM Sun 4PM-10PM

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I found this place right down on the peer in Long Beach when looking online because Kelly and I were going down to see the Star Trek Tour at the Queen Mary. It is a large restaurant right at the end of the boardwalk (which seems a plastic fantastic version of Oaks Bluffs on Marthas Vineyard). It is quite large and has indoor and outdoor seating as well as a sushi bar. The service is good, and the food was quite tasty. I would certainly try this place again if I was in Long Beach.

1858 N. Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 663-1178
Sun-Thu 11AM-11PM, Fri-Sat 11AM-1AM

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An excellent family style Italian restaurant with decent food and incredibly good service. After 7 PM you get free slices of their excellent Italian style pizza, and if you have to wait in line you can get cups of house wine for $1.50. They know how to make waiting kind, and they have a little store with Wine and Italian Sundries. The decor is homy, with a great painting on the wall, though the neon does make it not quite like home.

529 W. Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 457-5111
11am-12pm
MC/VISA

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Located in a strip mall at the North East Corner of Valley and New, though you must enter off of Valley. And this place is popular, so the parking lot will fill up, and you may need to try and find street parking. I have wanted to try Sichuan Hot Pot for some time, since I heard about it from my crazy ex girlfriend, and even more so once Kelly and I saw Anthony Bordain go when he was in Sichuan China. And then I read about some places to go in Los Angles at ChowHound and wanted to try one, but it wasn't until I read about LU Gi at LA Food Crazy that Kelly and I called our friends and decided to make a night out of it. This place is rather small, and we had a large party of 9, which barely fit at a long table (really barely), though they do have one big round table, but you must make a reservation for this (and they do speak english here, so you should call if you are going to have a large party). The place is small, but the waiters are very helpful, and will fill out the order from (which is completely in Chinese). They give you water, and have beer and wine and will serve you quickly and efficiently. And the place is pretty cheap. With tip it came out to $16 each slip between 8 people. Well worth it, and I will certainly try it again.

Went again with 3 of us total this time, and ordered too much food, though it was damn tasty, and we did make a major dent. And Kelly really was impressive with how much hot pot we ate. This place is amazing.

913 E. California Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 795-1123
Mon-Fri 6am-10pm
Sat 7am-10pm
Sun 7am-9pm

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I really wanted a burger today so I googled best burger's in Los Angeles and came up with the Citysearch Best Hamburgers 2007. The Audience winner was Father's Office which I hated, but the Editorial winner was Pie n' Burger, and Kelly was interested in the pie, so we took Chelsea and went. The place is a little East of Lake Avenue in Pasadena on the North side and has a few parking spots in back, but you will probably have to find street parking. It is a tiny, funky little place with a long counter and a few tables in the back, and a menu on the wall that has only had the prices change since this place opened.

29 S. Garfield Ave.
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 289-0239
Mon-Thu: 9AM-9PM
Fri-Sun: 9AM-10 PM

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Kelly and I went to go to Noodle City, and it is closed for renovations, so we went to my number 2 Pho restaurant. This one is on the West side of the street and there is an alley just south which leads to a parking structure (or there is parking behind, but not very much). And expect a wait, because there are always people waiting.

Ole Tapas Bar

13251 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 986-3190

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An excellent little Tapas bar in Studio City, between Coldwater and Woodman Ave with valet parking. The decor is deep red with paintings of bull fights on the walls, and the tables are nice and cosy, with some huge booths as well. My mom and I met an old family friend, and were going to see the amazing Christmas lights off of Winetka, so we tried to find someplace open on December 26th, and the place we looked at was closed, but my mom and I had tried this place, so we tried it, and it was excellent. In fact they have great drinks, and the Tapas was fantastic. I would certainly eat here again. Next time with my lovely fiancee though.

El Torito Grill

15301 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
(818) 907-7172

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We went to this chain restaurant on Christmas night because we were going to go see a movie at the new Arclight at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, and honestly this was the only place open, and thus even had a 45 minute wait to get a seat (actually it was longer because they lost a whole list of people they had put down, and started taking people who came after us, so the service was fairly mediocre). And this was a chain Mexican restaurant, so the food was of course only mediocre at best. It sounded interesting, but was not all that impressive. In fact it was a little strange, and I would only eat here again if it was the only place open.