Jim Thurman

Credit: Jim Thurman

Best Somali Food

Jim Thurman
The only dedicated Somali eatery around L.A., Banadir Somali Restaurant occupies an old stucco building along a secondary street in Inglewood. Unlike the food of its Horn of Africa neighbor, Ethiopia, the cuisine of Somalia is meat-intensive. This means chicken, beef and especially goat. Goat is the star here, served......
Credit: Danny Liao

Best Tropical Fruit–Flavored Ice Creams

Jim Thurman
Lucuma and soursop are just two of the tropical fruit flavors you'll find at Helados Pops in San Fernando. Lucuma, an orange-fleshed fruit popular in Peru, has a unique flavor described variously as maple-like or like a candied sweet potato. Owner Marthin Ken doesn't follow an exact recipe for his......
Credit: Courtesy Pacific Coast Food Co.

Best Russian Superstore

Jim Thurman
Nicknamed "the Russian Costco," Pacific Coast Food Co. sits in a warehouse just across the tracks from a Burbank Airport runway. Inside are aisles filled with every Russian foodstuff imaginable, from freezer cases of Russian dumplings — pelmeni and varenikis — to smoked fish and canned goods. There's a full-service......
Credit: Jim Thurman

Best Traditional Japanese Breakfast

Jim Thurman
One of the great joys of living in L.A. is that you can find a dazzling array of international cuisine within reasonable driving distance. This extends to breakfast. One of the few places to find a traditional Japanese breakfast around these parts is Fukagawa — and fortunately, it's served all......
Credit: Anne Fishbein

Best Sichuan Restaurant

Jim Thurman
Sichuan cuisine is known for its use of lip-numbing Sichuan peppercorns and perspiration-inducing chili pepper heat, but it's so much more than that. Well-executed Sichuan food features many nuanced flavors. At Szechuan Impression, nostalgia for home-style cooking pairs with trained chef technique in dishes ranging from fiery spiciness to those......
Credit: Danny Liao

Best Vietnamese Desserts

Jim Thurman
While food courts rarely offer surprises, there are exceptions, including one located in a supermarket food court in Rosemead. A display case filled with a colorful array of rainbow-hued desserts and beverages awaits you at Hien Khanh, the SGV branch of one of Little Saigon's leading sweets purveyors. The vivid,......
Credit: Jim Thurman

Best Shanxi Province Home Cooking

Jim Thurman
China's Shanxi Province is known for noodles. At Lao Xi Noodle House, a small, unassuming restaurant in an Arcadia strip mall, you'll find about a dozen types of them that are not commonly seen in the SGV. There are knife-cut noodles (dao xiao mian), thick, rough-edged noodles made by slicing......