Topline:
Gardena is a hidden paradise where you can find undiscovered gems for less.
Why Gardena? It's our 10th edition of Cheap Fast Eats, and the South Bay city has become one of our favorite places for inexpensive, under-the-radar meals.
What's on the menu? From teriyaki burgers you order from a walk-up window to Japanese street food staples such as karaage chicken and takoyaki at a supermarket food court to old-school Italian sandwiches, Gardena has a little of everything.
Can you believe it?
We’ve reached the 10th edition of Cheap Fast Eats, where we scour the L.A. area looking for delicious dishes you can enjoy quickly that won’t break the bank (as in, around $10).
That means we've been to 50 restaurants. For those keeping track, we’ve visited places such as Culver City, Silver Lake, Pasadena, Long Beach, and Inglewood, looking to dig deep into tasty deals.
This time around, we end up in an often-overlooked South Bay city, Gardena. With its sizable population of Asian, Black, and Latino residents, the cultures meld together to represent something distinctively Southern Californian, and yet all its own.
Every month, we scout out eateries, stomach-filling burrito joints, and hidden gems, focusing on dishes around $10 -$15. If you want us to try an area, drop us a line at the bottom of the story.
From big-portioned Hawaiian dishes to the perfect Italian sandwich, it’s time to dig in.
This is Cheap Fast Eats Gardena.
Yes, this restaurant is in a bowling alley. Upon entering the building, just to your left is the Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop entrance.
The space is always brimming with customers, both bowlers and non-bowlers alike. Like many, we became familiar with Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop when it was featured in the Netflix series Breakfast Lunch and Dinner, hosted by Momofuku chef, owner, and now SoCal resident David Chang.
Despite that fame, the coffee shop still maintains the look and feel of a local hangout. Many regulars sit at the small counter and chat with the staff, catching up on life, ready to indulge in some of their favorite comfort food.
Specializing in Hawaiian cuisine, Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner so there's much to choose from. Selections such as club sandwiches and pancakes are solid dishes.
But the real magic happens in the Asian-meets-Pacific-Island-inspired cuisine.
One excellent option is the donburi, made of steamed eggs with added chicken katsu over a bed of rice garnished with pickled ginger.
Top it off with some of their spicy mustard, which brings a sinus-clearing kick that’s always welcomed, cause who doesn’t want to feel something when consuming a good meal? That being said, it’s okay if you don’t finish everything. Take the rest to go. This dish and many others save well; the portions here are never lacking.
Location: 15707 S. Vermont Ave., Gardena
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 8 am-9 pm, Friday and Saturday 8 am-10 pm
What is it about a good take-out window that always attracts us? The no-frills ordering while standing at a metal counter is forever charming. Pitburger is the perfect example of this.
The visual style of the place screams neighborhood institution, judging from the crowds of middle schoolers who spill out onto the sidewalk, stopping by for a quick bite on the way home along with construction workers, who line up in their safety vests and t-shirts.
Teriyaki is the name of the game here. As soon as you get out of your car, the smell of the sweet, charred meat wafts in the air, letting you know you are in the right place. While many tend to order the rice bowls, the teriyaki burger holds a special place in our hearts.
You might wonder, what’s so special about a burger patty smothered in teriyaki sauce — and do they add pineapple? Let me stop you right there and dispel any burger patty-shaped notions you may have.
The “burger” is a decently sized sliced flank steak that's expertly shellac-ed in sweet teriyaki sauce, a couple of leaves of iceberg lettuce all piled just right on a sesame seed bun slathered with a sensible bit of mayo.
Have your choice of single, double, or triple-stacked cuts of steak, depending on your hunger level. The first soft bite feels like an extra special treat, especially when you opt to wash it down with an Orange Bang. This frothy whipped orange beverage is made here in SoCal and feels perfect for an indulgent meal.
Location: 16602 S. Normandie Ave., Gardena
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. - 8:30 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Why did it take so long to recognize that food courts are perfect for Cheap Fast Eats? This is a great question that we are asking ourselves too. While there are always plenty of opportunities to partake in the occasional Costco hot dog or even a soft pretzel, we’re always looking to challenge ourselves more when grabbing a bite.
The regional Japanese supermarket chain Tokyo Central is excellent for many things, and the same goes for their Gardena location. But don’t overlook their food court, where there are plenty of treasures.
The first stop is Gindaco for some of their world-famous takoyaki. The Japanese chain boasts over 500 locations in Japan but has recently begun opening up a few in Southern California. The street food staple is said to be found on most corners throughout its country of origin.
The piping hot fritters are filled with chunky bits of octopus tentacles, tempura bits, and pickled ginger, and are made to order; you can watch the staff pour the batter into a specialized cast iron molded pan to allow them to achieve their spherical shape.
After 10 minutes of expert turning in the pan, the fritters are cooked to a crisped perfection. They can be served with various choices of toppings, such as “The Original,” drizzled with sweet and tangy takoyaki sauce, topped with seaweed, and sprinkled with bonito flakes. However, our favorite is topped with green onion and sriracha, which brings fresh flavors that cut through the fried batter.
While waiting for the takoyaki to cool, head to Tenkatori USA, for some karaage. You can have your choice of cuts, such as the traditional boneless thighs, along with wings, gizzards, and cartilage. However, if you’ve got a bit more room in your stomach, we’d urge you to order the bento boxes with your choice of chicken, rice, a cold noodle, a scoop of potato salad, pickled radish, and a green salad. The options are plentiful and you owe it to yourself to participate in this delicious fun.
Location: 1740 Artesia Blvd., Gardena
Hours: Gindaco: Open everyday, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Tenkatori USA: Open everyday, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
As you may know, we are a sucker for a good market with mouthwatering options for food that can be enjoyed in-house or taken home with you. (Roma Market, from our first Cheap Fast Eats guide to Pasadena and Jasmine Market in Culver City both come to mind.)
We find something appealing about grabbing a bite while also having the opportunity to perusing shelves and refrigerated sections to see what tasty items we can find.
Giuliano’s fits the bill with its bustling deli counter, bakery, and grocery. The place has been around since 1952 and contains a particular type of hometown charm you’d see on an episode of California Gold hosted by our patron saint Huell Howser.
After taking it all in, head toward the back, where the sandwich counter is located. There, you’ll find a stack of their signature Torpedo Jr. sandwiches. Look for the plastic wrapping made to look like the Italian flag which also makes it perfect for taking it to go especially if you are in a hurry.
The sandwich contains a cornucopia of Italian meats that includes two different types of salami, capocollo — aka gabagool — mortadella, provolone cheese, and lettuce. Pro tip: When you pay for a sandwich, ask for the small containers of oil and vinegar to go with. You'll want to drizzle it on the inside of your sandwich.
At first bite, you’re greeted by a meat and cheese rainbow, and the in-house baked bread is soft, pillowy, and heavenly. A bigger-sized sandwich is available that’s 10 inches, but somehow, the Jr. always seems perfectly satisfying.
Location: 1138 W. Gardena Blvd, Gardena
Hours: Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sakae Sushi is the type of place that requires a little planning ahead, but that’s part of its charm and very much worth it. It’s a take-out establishment that only accepts cash, and ordering ahead by phone is preferred. But once you take those preparatory measures, you will undoubtedly be rewarded.
Look for the cute mid-century storefront on Denkar Avenue when you arrive. Pull into the lot, enter through the back courtyard, and head to the rear entrance, where you can pay.
When your order is ready, the sushi comes in a wrapped cardboard box, similar to a department store gift box, which some of you might remember from before we started ordering everything online. When unwrapping it, I’m always reminded of a favorite quote from the television show Twin Peaks, from Agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle Maclachlan, “Every day, once a day, give yourself a present".
You can choose from California rolls or our favorite, the mix, which contains a combination of tamago (egg), nori-maki (shitake mushroom and spinach), inari (fried tofu), ebi (shrimp), and saba (pickled Atlantic mackerel).
Each bite of sushi contains a tasty amount of sweet, seasoned rice, a great complement to fish. You’ll find yourself marveling at the attention to detail when it comes to the construction of each piece, especially the shrimp and pickled mackerel, which feature precise geometric cuts for the proteins. Gardena dreams of sushi, indeed.
Location: 1601 W. Redondo Beach Blvd. #112, Gardena
Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Topline:
That ocean breeze is just not cutting it in schools in Torrance and Long Beach as Southern California reels from a heat wave. Parents have taken to social media, created petitions and are proposing a bond measure in order to address the sweltering classrooms as temperatures hit triple digits in some areas.
Why it matters: Only 25% of Torrance classrooms have air conditioning. And while 90% of Long Beach schools have air conditioning, the ones without units have to bear the heat until the end of 2027, when new AC systems will be in all classrooms.
Getting ACs is not an easy feat: School districts like Torrance pay for facility upgrades like new ACs through district issued bond measures. A school district takes a loan and the people in that city pay back that loan through an increase in their property taxes. That is because there is no specific state allocation of funding for major upgrades or construction. Most of the money schools get from the state is spent on instruction and other student services. There have been some occasional grant programs, like CalShape, but no ongoing sources of funding.
This week, a petition to get TUSD to place a bond measure on the ballot to fund ACs has garnered over 1500 signatures.
But, a spokesperson for the district said third-party polling showed there wasn't enough support to warrant putting the bond measure on the November ballot.
That ocean breeze is just not cutting it in schools in Torrance and Long Beach as Southern California reels from a heat wave.
Parents have taken to social media, created petitions and are proposing a bond measure in order to address the sweltering classrooms as temperatures hit triple digits in some areas.
Only 25% of Torrance Unified classrooms have air conditioning, according to a district spokesperson. And while 90% of Long Beach Unified schools have air conditioning, the schools without air conditioning have to bear this heat spell until the end of 2027 when new air conditioning will be in all classrooms.
In Long Beach, the district says there are portable fans in classrooms without AC and the district has installed heat-blocking window covers.
"The things that we do immediately and have been doing for several years, hydration stations,” Keith Butler, the deputy superintendent at TUSD, told the school board early this week. “So our nutrition services freezes blocks of ice, puts them into containers with water, and students are — and staff are able to rotate through and at least get ice water.”
There is also a classroom rotation system so everyone gets a turn in cooling zones, he said.
Eric Mitchell, a spokesperson for LBUSD, told LAist, “The District will not close schools because of extreme weather unless the City of Long Beach Public Health Department or a state-authorized emergency response agency directs it.”
Baillie echoed his words adding that a state-declared emergency allows schools to close temporarily without needing to make up teaching time. School funding is dependent on attendance and instructional time.
If a local emergency is declared, school districts, she said, must consult with labor unions to adjust the school schedule to either extend the school year or move to a student-free professional development day.
“Our district is actively discussing creating union-approved ‘weather days’ that would provide a mechanism to adjust the schedule,” Baillie said. “Thresholds would be part of that discussion and might focus on when national weather alerts elevate a heat advisory to an extreme heat event, as they did this week.”
School districts like Torrance pay for facility upgrades like new ACs through district issued bond measures. A school district takes a loan and the people in that city pay back that loan through an increase in their property taxes. That is because there is no specific state allocation of funding for major upgrades or construction. Most of the money schools get from the state is spent on instruction and other student services. There have been some occasional grant programs, like CalShape, but no ongoing source of funding.
This week, a petition to get TUSD to place a bond measure on the ballot to fund ACs has already garnered over 1500 signatures.
But, Baillie said, “Third-party polling completed earlier this year showed a willingness to vote for additional future bonds; however, when specifically asked about the costs of specific bonds to fund the $520 million needed to upgrade the electrical systems and install AC at all 34 campuses, polling showed there would not be enough support (bonds require 55% +1 of voters in an election) to pass a bond for AC.”
And so the bond measure was not placed on the upcoming ballot.
Butler, the deputy superintendent, explained during this week’s school board meeting that parents cannot simply donate an AC unit.
“ One [reason] is it's not super effective to have a typical window unit from a home that would be trying to cool a 960 sq. ft. classroom with 27 students and a teacher, maybe an instructional aide,” he said. “But the bigger issue is the ones that are large enough to really do that, the room has to have a large electrical load, and our electrical system within our buildings where most of them were built in the 1960s, it's just not meant to handle what it does.”
LAist reporter Mariana Dale contributed to this article.
Topline:
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is hosting a buyback event Sunday where people can exchange their e-bikes and e-motorcycles for up to $1,000 in gift cards.
Why? The goal is to reduce the number of illegal bikes on the road, and give parents an incentive to get dangerous vehicles out of kids’ hands.
Read on ... for more about the buy back program.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is hosting a buyback event Sunday where people can exchange their e-bikes and e-motorcycles for up to $1,000 in gift cards. The goal is to reduce the number of illegal bikes on the road, and give parents an incentive to get dangerous vehicles out of kids’ hands.
“These vehicles are not child’s play, and the consequences are incredibly dangerous and increasingly deadly,” DA Todd Spitzer said in a news release announcing the event.
Communities in Orange County have been grappling with a surge in e-bikes and e-motos on the road, including among young kids, and an accompanying increase in serious crashes.
“Our area has pretty much the highest concentration of e-bike injuries and e-bike accidents in the country,” said Dr. Tetsuya Takeuchi, the trauma medical director at Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.
Takeuchi said just over 70% of the children treated at the hospital for e-bike injuries had some level of head injury, “from a simple concussion to devastating brain damage, brain bleed and skull fracture."
A lot of those injuries are among teenagers not wearing helmets, he said. Plus, many e-bikes on the market are too heavy and fast for children to control, Takeuchi said.
Besides safety concerns, tensions have flared with other drivers, pedestrians, and neighbors in areas with heavy concentrations of e-bikes.
Newport-Mesa Unified School District became one of the first districts in the country this year to restrict e-bikes to high school campuses only. District leaders say the policy is working to disincentivize young students from riding e-bikes to school. But at one middle school, students with e-bikes have opted to ride them anyway, parking in the surrounding neighborhood and raising the ire of homeowners.
The DA’s office has started to target parents who allow their children to ride e-bikes and e-motorcycles that have been illegally modified for high speeds, sometimes with deadly consequences. In April, the district attorney filed child endangerment charges against a mother from Aliso Viejo after her 14-year-old son struck and killed an 81-year-old man while doing wheelies in the street in Lake Forest. The boy was riding an e-motorcycle souped up to reach 60 mph.
First off, all e-bikes must have pedals. California has adopted a three-tier classification system for e-bikes:
Source: Go Safely California.
E-motorcycles are designed primarily for off-highway use and require a driver’s license.
For more information, check out Go Safely California, a joint effort of CalTrans and the state Office of Traffic Safety.
The e-bike and e-motorcycle buyback program is part of the DA’s plan to address safety concerns with e-bikes. Local police departments, hospitals and the California Office of Traffic Safety will also be onsite with information booths.
People can bring in functioning or non-functioning e-bikes, e-motorcycles, e-scooters and pocket bikes and exchange them for gift cards worth up to $1,000 — while supplies last.
The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 13, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
Topline:
An appeals court issued a ruling Friday that strikes down a federal government effort to block a lower court’s order requiring the construction of 2,550 new housing units on the Veterans Affairs campus in West Los Angeles.
The backstory: The long-running case, brought forward by disabled veterans struggling with homelessness in the L.A. area, has centered on the use of the sprawling 400-acre VA campus. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter had previously scrutinized leases for the private Brentwood School, a parking lot company, an oil drilling enterprise and UCLA’s baseball stadium. Ruling that the campus was meant to aid veterans, Carter ordered the VA to not renew the leases and quickly build 750 units of temporary housing and 1,800 units of permanent housing.
What’s new: Carter’s September 2024 order has been on hold ever since the defendants asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to review his decision. On Friday, more than two-thirds of the court’s 29 judges ruled against the VA’s petition for a rehearing. That means Carter’s order will stand, at least for now. The VA could attempt to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. A spokesperson for the VA declined to comment on the ruling, saying the department does not discuss pending litigation.
Read on… for reaction to the ruling from veteran advocates and lawyers.
An appeals court issued a ruling Friday that strikes down a federal government effort to block a lower court’s order requiring the construction of 2,550 new housing units on the Veterans Affairs campus in West Los Angeles.
The long-running case, brought forward by disabled veterans struggling with homelessness in the L.A. area, has centered on the use of the sprawling 400-acre VA campus.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter had previously scrutinized leases for the private Brentwood School’s athletic facilities, a parking lot company, an oil drilling enterprise and UCLA’s baseball stadium.
Ruling that the campus was meant to aid veterans, Carter ordered the VA to not renew the leases and quickly build 750 units of temporary housing and 1,800 units of permanent housing.
But Carter’s September 2024 order has been on hold ever since the defendants asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to review his decision.
On Friday, more than two-thirds of the court’s 29 judges ruled against the VA’s petition for a rehearing.
“It's a historic day for veterans,” said Mark Rosenbaum, an attorney with Public Counsel representing the plaintiffs.
“The government has been fighting their veterans, who went to fight on behalf of the nation,” he added. “They've been fighting them like they are the enemy. They went to the district court to fight. They lost.”
Rosenbaum said he’s pleased to see the case return to Carter’s courtroom after a long appeals process. Carter, himself a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Vietnam War, took an active role in pushing the VA to address a homelessness crisis that has thousands of former service members experiencing homelessness on any given night in L.A. County.
Carter has also ordered the VA to stop using veterans' disability payment benefits as a reason to make them ineligible for supportive housing programs due to income restrictions.
But Rob Reynolds, an Iraq War veteran who advocates for L.A.’s veteran community, said the federal government’s attempts to win an appeal could continue.
“The government can still appeal this to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Reynolds said.
When veterans involved in the case first heard today’s news on the 9th Circuit ruling, he said they immediately asked about the potential for further appeals.
“All of us are really hoping that the government stops this fight, and that we can get housing built for our veterans and end this madness once and for all,” Reynolds said.
A spokesperson for the VA declined to comment on the ruling, saying the department does not discuss pending litigation.
Topline:
L.A. Comedian Jenny Yang has been traveling across the country turning immigrant grocery stores into comedy hubs. Now she’s back in L.A getting ready to start a mini-residency in Highland Park, tape her first one-hour special and share moments from the tour.
The backstory: Yang kicked off her Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour in June in L.A., then continued it across 15 cities in the country. She tells LAist that the decision came as a way to cope with the grief from her dad’s death, 10 failed IVF treatments between 2020 and 2025 and seeing the news of ICE raids spread across the country.
The context: She said the idea to tour grocery stores was a way to reclaim those spaces, after immigration enforcement left many afraid to go out and do simple tasks like buying groceries.
Why now? Now she’s back in L.A. and doing a mini-residency at the Outside In Theater in Highland Park for the next three Saturdays in September. Her first show is tomorrow.
What's next: Next February, Yang will be taping her first one-hour special, at Rancho Meat Market #1 in Lincoln Heights. She describes it as a love letter to Los Angeles that’s endured so much, from the ICE raids to the January fires.
Jenny Yang, a comedian from L.A., has been traveling across the country turning immigrant grocery stores into comedy hubs. Now she’s back in L.A. getting ready to start a mini-residency in Highland Park, tape her first one-hour special and share moments from the tour.
Yang kicked off her Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour in June in L.A., then took it to 15 cities across the country. She told LAist the decision came as a way to cope with the grief from her dad’s death, 10 failed in vitro fertilization treatments between 2020 and 2025 and seeing the news of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids spread across the country.
She said the idea to tour grocery stores was a way to reclaim those spaces, after immigration enforcement left many afraid to go out and do simple tasks like buying groceries.
“If we cannot laugh in front of a wall of instant ramen around our bok choy," Yang said, "then what is the American dream for?"
Her routine wove in stories about her fertility struggles and the challenges of having to be a “good egg” growing up as the child of immigrant parents from Taiwan. Her hope for the tour was to connect with people, to make jokes and help people feel lighter after.
The tour proceeds went to local nonprofits serving immigrant communities, and Yang said those organizations helped recruit the grocery stores. She said some stores said no at first — they felt overwhelmed by ICE activity in their city, had lost staff or worried about drawing attention.
“That's part of the story of the tour is it's one thing to want to imagine this beautiful world where you can tell jokes inside of immigrant grocery stores," Yang said. "It's another thing to know what those obstacles are, and I think that's still very telling for where we are as a country.”
One moment stood out to Yang: performing at Shuang Hur Supermarket in Minneapolis. It’s near the memorial for Alex Pretti, the nurse that a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and killed in January as federal agents carried out immigration enforcement in the city.
“I was able to talk to Henry, the owner who’s a Chinese American uncle. [He] was so proud of being able to help his regular patrons, who for the most part even though it was an Asian centered grocery store, were majority Latino,” Yang said. “I was able to bear witness to their resilience as a community, what they did to take care of each other.”
Now she’s back in L.A. and is doing a mini-residency at the Outside In Theater at 5317 York Blvd. in Highland Park. Her first show is 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 12, followed by shows on Sept. 19 and 26 at the same time. Tickets are pay-what-you-can, and you can find them at Outside In's website.
In February 2027, Yang will be taping her first one-hour special at Rancho Meat Market #1 in Lincoln Heights. She describes it as a love letter to Los Angeles that’s endured so much, from the ICE raids to the January fires.
You can follow Jenny Yang’s work here.
