A good friend recently introduced LAist to this clever user-driven food review site. What makes these reviews unique from LA Citysearch are the pictures that accompany all of the food. People casually browsing can "lick" up entries to show their approval, everyone gets to comment on each review -- and best of all, it's LA-Centric. Each review goes dish-by-dish, often with the exact price attached to the picture of the food items. This little... more ›

Thai food can be an issue for vegans. Everything has hidden fish sauce or oyster sauce in it. Luckily, here in LA there is always Bulan Thai, California Vegan, Vegan Glory, and Vegan House. Some Thai Town restaurants will prepare the food vegan upon request. But depending upon where you live, you still might not have a convenient corner takeout. So why not make it at home? I've made authentic Thai curries from scratch,... more ›

We've (finally) had enough of Thai Food: this month, we are checking out all sorts of late-night dining options, from the Valley to Hollywood to Culver City to Venice: Mao's Kitchen, Nak Won House, El Gran Burrito, Little Toni's, Gaby's Mediterranean, Nova Express Cafe, Greco's New York Pizzeria, Cinco de Mayo. Psst! Hey, hey, Mr. Gold? Ix-nay on the owards-hay. Nobody's supposed to know about it. You hearing me? Capisce? Otherwise, feel free to... more ›

The last thing I wanted to eat for lunch yesterday was Thai food for this series. The ‘rents are in town for the weekend, and guess where they wanted to eat family style Friday night? Yup. Thai BBQ in Valencia. Now while I like Thai food as much as the next person, having it two days in a row is a bit much, right? But I found the perfect solution to my quandary: (1)... more ›

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not the most adventuresome eater of Thai food. Don't get me wrong, there are dishes that I love but the sad truth is that I return to those dishes over and over again. Partly this is because with all the varied ethnic foods in Los Angeles, I usually only eat Thai once or twice a month so I really don't feel like I'm always getting... more ›

When I received my Thai One On assignment I was pretty pumped. Online Yelp reviews had unanimously agreed that Thailand Plaza has some of the best food and service around. Maybe that's why my experience at Thailand Plaza was such a disappointing one--my expectations going in were way too high. Not so say that everything about my Thailand Plaza dining experience was bad; parking was free with validation. Bonus! However aside from free parking,... more ›

We've been serious about our Thai project here at LAist: in fact, we've posted 14 entries in 20 days on the many, many restaurants located in the few blocks that comprise Thai Town in Hollywood. We've learned many things: for instance, pork is always an excellent option at a Thai restaurant, especially when infused into a broth or preserved in a rich, fatty sausage or cooked down until it crumbles into a soup. Second,... more ›

Of all the restaurants in Thai Town, Thai Patio had to fill the biggest shoes. After Palms Thai took their Elvis and moved west down Hollywood Blvd. last year, Thai Patio redecorated and moved in. You can still hear music every night as you eat, and there's still an ever-changing policy with the parking, currently you have to pay a few bucks. The food is good, the menu is large, and the mood is... more ›

Tucked into one of the ubiquitous strip mall enclave of business on Hollywood Boulevard in Thai Town, Sapp's Coffee Shop is barely noticeable (and not to mention not terribly attractive as a lead photo--my apologies). I first got a peek at the tiny no-frills joint earlier this year, when one of my favorite (and adventuresome) foodies, Anthony Bourdain, stopped by with a local food blogger to try their authentic Thai Boat Noodles. This dish... more ›

I have just spent the last two weeks researching and cataloging every single Thai restaurant in Thai Town. I have driven up and down Hollywood Boulevard more times than a horny john. I have eaten every kind of Thai food. I have eaten boar, crunchy frog, durian, horrible purple salted crab and some things I cannot even pronounce. So this morning I finished my last graveyard shift for the weekend, and with some relief, I realized I didn't have to go back to Thai Town for the the rest of the week. I am going to take a Thai hiatus and let the other posters rock the curries. I pulled into the 24-hour drug store on the way home for some trashy magazines and ice cream to enjoy on my little Thai-free vacation. I was so tired, I realized only at the very moment that I slammed the door that the keys were in the ignition. I never do that. Fuck. more ›

Smooshed between two auto insurance storefronts just a tad west of the official Thai Town boundaries hides Jao^ka, sheepishly, shyly, and easily overlooked. Indeed, inside the quaint restaurant on Hollywood Blvd. one could confuse this little place with any of the others in and around LA. Which is why we put their food up to a standard that no restaurant would ever wish for: the Take Out and Early Morning Re-Heat Test. We ordered... more ›

If Hollywood's Thai Town has a center, it is the bustling block of Thailand Plaza. The two-story Plaza houses not only a restaurant, but is home to a Thai bookstore and a giant, well-stocked grocery. Thailand Plaza is easily identifiable by its elaborately decorated shrine to the Thai Buddha of four faces. Off to the side stands a spirit house, meant to entice spirits to take up residence. The idea is they will be so... more ›

Jagshemash! more ›

They already were popular but new ones continue to pop up. Many Angelenos are enthusiastic to tell friends and coworkers about their new obsession with Korean BBQ houses, properly named Galbi Houses. Korean BBQ is quickly becoming the new Thai food, and it’s becoming all too frequent that one of my peers will ask, “Have you been to Manna yet?” Yes, I have. Galbi houses traditionally serve up raw dishes of galbi and bulgogi... more ›

This has been a rough week for your -ist pals, though you wouldn't know it from the great posts all over the network. Plagued with server problems, our tech team (led by the great Neil Epstein) toiled around the clock to solve the glitches as they arose. Seriously, we've said, typed, and thought the phrase "server problems" more in the past week than we have for the last 35 years combined. Why not say it a few more times, just for fun? For example, SFist is sure the San Francisco Chronicle wishes they could blame server problems for this error. But this San Francisco man that appeared on "The Daily Show" is, sadly, no glitch in the system. more ›

That there Jason Toney's got some pretty big shoes. Behind the scenes at LAist, he has been universally kind and gentle with us contributors. And up front on LAist you probably have noticed that he's smart, witty and engaged with the city in a way that is always interesting. Thank goodness he's not really leaving. more ›

After catching a broadcast of KCRW's show Good Food over the weekend, we had Thai food on the brain. We were lucky enough to find a dining companion game to go with us to indulge the craving, and we found ourselves on Cahuenga in Hollywood at Chan Darae--a spot that had been catching our eye every time we drove past its wide street-side windows. Inside the brightly colored and comfortably crowded eatery we were seated quickly (by those same windows, no less!) and we scanned the menu. Dance music pulsed in the background at a moderate volume, and we noticed that the place was full of folks engaged in friendly chatter and enjoying pots of steaming soup and plates of prettily presented food. more ›

REMEMBER, DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME STARTS ON SUNDAY, APRIL 3RD SO SPRING YOUR CLOCK AHEAD ONE HOUR ON SAT NIGHT. more ›

LAist has nothing against fast food and the cholesterol-clogged arteries it produces simply because, well, it tastes damn good. But the recent trend of two fast-food powerhouses (in reality, one taking over another for their lack of success) joining forces and combining under one roof makes us question which food items are safe to eat. more ›