Results tagged “thaitown”

Thai Town is priced perfectly for our sorry pocketbooks. We know this. One such standout is Ruen Pair, a restaurant LAist visited for our "Thai One On" series. It was both inexpensive and fantastic in '07, and that hasn't changed for '09. The only difference is a sharp coat of paint. Of course it's LAist's latest Recession Obsession.

              

On Sunday, Thai Town hosted the 6th annual Songkran festival, or Thai New Year, which brought out the masses to brave the warm temps and take in the tastes and sights of a colorful and fun neighborhood gathering. Hollywood Boulevard between Western and Normandie was packed on Sunday, bringing together people from all parts of town to celebrate Thai culture and the glory of springtime.

Springtime can mean a renewal of the earth, and for the Thai people, it means their traditional New Year celebration called Songkran. The festival is about celebrating community, and visiting with friends, relatives, and elders. Luckily, Los Angeles boasts a significant population of residents with Thai heritage, and we can take part in the colorful and spirited celebration, no matter our background, so long as we can get ourselves over to Thai Town on Sunday to catch the fun. (There is a website, but it's all in Thai!)

Los Angeles is home to about a zillion and a half people. This includes, I hear, the largest Thai population outside of Thailand. Perhaps that's why we have a jillion Thai restaurants. Good thing their food rocks. It's pretty cheap too.

       

Songkran is the celebration of the Thai New Year. It falls on or around the hottest day of the year in Thailand, and, perhaps as a show of sisterhood, this Sunday's Songkran Festival held in LA's Thai Town neighborhood, took place on what certainly felt like the hottest day of the year...thus far.

East Hollywood will transform into Thailand West this Sunday, April 13th, as the Thai community comes together to celebrate Songkran (the Thai New Year) with festivals, parades, and ceremonies all day long (check out the general Thai Festival website here for more info). All along Hollywood Boulevard, from Western to Vermont, vendors and sponsors will be presenting a kaleidoscope of food, crafts, dancers, Thai boxing demonstrations, costume competitions, and even the largest international curry festival in California.

This week the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council released their video (shown below) on transportation within their district (map), which is a small but dense 1.5 square miles with a population of 52,000 people that includes the neighborhoods of Thai Town, Little Armenia and the unofficial Bicycle District (some call it, ugh, Hel-Mel for Heliotrope/Melrose). They say the area is a multi-modal community with transportation opions such as the 101 freeway, arterial streets, three metro red line stops, twelve Metro local lines, five Metro rapid lines and two DASH routes.

Today's holiday is a Federal one, so that means government offices, from city to county to state and beyond, are closed. Same goes for banks and public schools. No mail being delivered either. However, trash and public transportation in Los Angeles will be running as usual says the Daily News in their Presidents Day schedule.

What are your favorite breakfast spots in Los Angeles? Who's got the best cup of coffee? The yummiest pancakes? The thickest slabs of bacon? Who's overrated and who's overlooked? We're determined to find out -- so wake up with us, won't you? Enjoy L.A.'s Best Breakfasts!!!

People with too much time on their hands: Amy Ephron and other striking writers have whipped up a food blog. Our current food blog obsession: Luxeat, a Parisian model who eats at the finest restaurants in France and takes luscious pictures. Of the food. Over at the LA Times, food editor Leslie Brenner is really sticking it to the new Michelin Guide. Among her criticisms? "The book that purports to be the bible of...

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,...

A lonesome L.A. cowgirl got stuck in the most horrendous traffic this side of Thanksgiving at LAX, and missed a Halloween party last night. Costumed, eyeliner freckles and all, the cowgirl sat in a parking lot that stretched from before the Sunset Strip all the way to Thai Town—traffic that had even the 5-0 leaning out of their windows, sirens blaring, and begging drivers for a little help. That cowgirl was me. Yes, I...

ZIPskinny, a tool to see how your neighborhood ranks with those around it.

If you heard the hysterical sounds of laughter coming from the Los Feliz, Little Armenia, Thai Town and East Hollywood section of Los Angeles Saturday night, it was me. First of all the UCLA Bruins lost to Notre Dame? The fact that Ben Olson got injured in the first quarter and they brought out walk-on quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to replace him shows something fundamentally wrong with this Bruin program. When Patrick Cowan went down...

If you don't get yourself to a festival this weekend, we're really going to question your priorities in life. Andy Sternberg lists the highlights, while Caroline on Crack narrows in on the awesome food festivals also happening this weekend. We have spent the entire month eating our way through Thai Town. We're winding down our series with Thai Town Express, Sanamluang Cafe, Thailand Plaza, and Thaitown Noodle. New Zagats are out! New Zagats are...

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...

Whether you love or hate LAist’s coverage of Thai Town, with 18 restaurant reviews in 21 days, you have to at least admit one thing – there are a hell of a lot of Thai restaurants on that small stretch of Hollywood, just east of the 101. Torung holds a special place in my heart, as I spent many a late night there; sneaking in a six-pack of Mickey’s Big Mouth, and scarfing down...

Many call Sanamluang Cafe the most authentic Thai in Thai Town. Others know it as the preferred late-night post-drinking noodle stop (the restaurant is open until 4 a.m.). Sanamluang calls itself "The Best Noodles in Town."

The main draw of this Thai restaurant is the humongous hot dog perched next to the oddly-paired moniker Thai Town Express. The hot dog is a relic of its past as Red’s Hot Dog, and the waitress said that the lease stipulations forbid its removal. Late on a recent Sunday evening, my dinner companion and I were the only diners, but plenty of curious tourists stopped by the fast-food Thai restaurant to snap pictures of the unusual culinary pairing.

Straddled along Hollywood Boulevard, right before Los Feliz, Vim is one of those places I should have been going to a long time ago - dirt cheap and fucking delicious. It's tucked away in a little strip mall that has some weird bakery (not sure if it was Armenian or not) and another little eatery to the left of it. I hear the place is most often frequented by Latino/Hispanic families but it was pretty...

Cheap wine doesn't have to mean a case of Charles Shaw: NY Times readers are discussing their favorite bottles under $10 over at their Food section message boards -- what are yours? The LAist staff thanks you for continuing on with us on our Thai Town journey: check out Thai Patio, Yai #1 and #2, Red Corner Asia, Kruang Tedd, Thai Original BBQ, and (phew!) Hollywood Thai. If we never see another plate of...

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,...

Tucked away in Thai Town, Thai Original BBQ is in the former home of a Taco Hell, back when they were little buildings instead of the other side of a KFC. The BBQ moved in and swanked up the joint with marble tables and a large tropical fish tank. It’s clean and small and nearly empty at about 3pm on a Saturday afternoon (cross town traffic was a killer!) Our waitress had colored contacts,...

Had your fill of Thai Elvis? Live entertainment lives at Kruang Tedd, of a somewhat different sort. This is a modest but elegantly designed little spot, located in a strip mall next to an establishment known as Jumbo’s Clown Room. I’ve never been inside Jumbo's, though I believe their traditional British pub food is popular with the ladies, as I’m often told, “All the girls have pasties there.” Dancing is advertised as well, but...

I have a list of things I want to do in Los Angeles pages long. It changes by the season, by the year and most certainly by recommendations given to me by friends. One thing remains constant, exploring Los Angeles and all of its nooks and crannies makes me appreciate this town so much more than I ever could have imagined. For all of the hoopla and stigmas attached with being in LA, it's thrilling...

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...

Did you read the now-notorious article in the LA Times about food writing, anonymity, and the role of bloggers? LA Foodblogging has an excellent response here, and Variety's food blog shares two simple rules for online reviews. What’s on the menu for the Jewish holidays? The LAT suggests braised veal, leek fritters, and cilantro-tomato soup, while the NY Times is answering questions about Rosh Hashana meals via its food message boards. When the LA...