Best of L.A.: Food and Drink

—Todd Krainin

BEST TAMALES

Star Foreman

Star Foreman

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El Pollo Inka

15400 Hawthorne Blvd.
Lawndale, CA 90260

Category: Restaurant > Fast Food

Region: South Bay

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More About

• Nicolas Taborek
• Noah Galuten
• Liz Ohanesian
• North-American Food and Cooking
• Meat

At La Mascota, the Salcedo family has been churning out Mexican bolillos, a softer, chubbier version of a French baguette, for their Boyle Heights neighbors for more than 50 years. But it’s the $1.35 to-go tamales that draw the long- distance eaters armed with empty coolers and ice packs. In the kitchen window across from the bakery, 30-year tamale-making veteran Nachita Morales and her granddaughter, Erika Salazar, spoon the chile-spiked fillings onto masa-lined corn husks. The choices are limited — red chile with shredded pork, green chile with chicken or cheese, and sweet pineapple — but that’s a good thing for those with limited freezer space. Plus there’s a parking lot in back so you don’t have to spend more on the meter than on dinner. 2715 Whittier Blvd., L.A. (323) 263-551, lamascotabakery.com.

—Jenn Garbee

BEST PISTACHIO PUDDING

India Tandoori Grill, across from the Torrance Airport, has a wonderful buffet selection, with chutneys and pickles, tandoori chicken, goat curry, flavorful dal, chicken tikka masala in a rich, creamy tomato sauce and a rotating bevy of dishes both meat and vegetarian. But be sure to leave plenty of room for dessert, especially the pistachio pudding. It is similar in consistency to kheer, the Indian rice pudding, but sweeter and with more flavor. There is also a very sweet, musky mango pudding and fresh fruit. But the pistachio pudding will bring you back for seconds. 3160 Pacific Coast Hwy., Torrance. (310) 530-4000.

—Jedd Birkner

BEST RAMEN-INDUCED STEAMBATH

The best ramen, at the best price, at the latest hours in town is at Daikyuoya. Justly regarded by L.A. cognoscenti (900 Yelp reviews = no longer a secret) as the perfect capper to a night of drinking, dancing and more drinking, a large bowl of tonkotsu style ramen in pork broth (get kotteri-style for added back-fat flavor) with a not-too-hard, not-too-soft boiled, marinated egg, green onions, and bits of Kurobuta pork to cure any incipient hangover/heartache. The place seats about 30 — sitting barside lets you observe the prep, and savor the smells coming from two vats of steaming broth. Too hot for a bath-sized bowl of steaming ramen? You can get tsukumen (chilled noodles), fried rice and gyoza, or order a half-portion, (but since the regular portion is $8.50, you might as well splurge). Be prepared to stand in line, and in summer, to sweat once you get seated inside. After you leave, full of noodles and pork, be prepared for total strangers to remark on your fragrant presence. 327 E. 1st St., L.A. (213) 626-1680, daikoku-ten.com.

—Kate Coe

BEST OVERUSE OF THE WORD “HIPSTER”

It’s not often that you see a young man in white skinny jeans, his hair styled in something resembling a pompadour, his face adorned with purple-rimmed shades, sitting down to dinner with a 50-year-old woman wearing Liz Claiborne sandals. But hipsters do have mothers, and mothers are required to take their children out to eat. So where, oh where, could their tastes possibly overlap? Luckily, hipsters have been developing a fairly discerning palate over the years, but the corporate ambiance and safe menu at a place like Houston’s will make them feel dirty and uncomfortable. The hipster will suggest somewhere like Cactus Taqueria, the mother will ask if they have tablecloths and the hipster will respond that they barely have tables. Then, after about an hour of both sides sighing audibly, they’ll meet somewhere in the middle. The best choice for such a compromise would be Jitlada. It’s about as upscale as it gets in Thai Town (which still makes it extremely affordable), has truly delightful food, and Mom won’t spend the whole meal complaining that the mussels don’t look safe to eat. 5233 W. Sunset Blvd., L.A. (323) 663-3104.

—Noah Galuten

BEST COZY BAR WITH FRENCH BRUNCH

This establishment’s old, battered, peeling café sign is the first hint that Rive Gauche is ignoring every known food, décor and bar fad, to offer European-steeped, traditional meals and a Sunday champagne brunch — plus one of the warmest, friendliest neighborhood bars in Southern California. Sometimes it’s just you and the bartender — and a bar-food plate of apple chunks, grapes, Brie, Roquefort and fresh, sliced baguette. The bar has comfy sofas and a romantic little fireplace, but also enough room to hold a last-minute Friday-night bash with 10 or so friends. Ironwork tables are arranged outside for warm-weather dining in a sweet little vine-covered passageway, from which you cannot see or even imagine nearby Ventura Boulevard. Just across from this leafy passage is the European-style café that the owners are often pressured to “update” — we urge them not to — and which is described by one patron as “elegant farmhouse style.” The café, said by some to serve the best French onion soup in town, is beloved for its coquille jacques, smoked-salmon benedict and even sweetbreads. Service is French, meaning slow and unapologetic. Prices are perhaps 20 percent below typical French fare on the Westside. Have brunch, then zip over to Bloomies just two minutes away. 14106 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. (818) 990-3573 or (818) 990-7331.