LA Dining Wrap-Up
During our visit to LA, we made many casual visits to some popular kosher spots. Our most frequent destination was The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Imagine a chain as pervasive as Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks are on the East Coast, but every location fully kosher (at least in LA and Orange Counties).
These busy coffee shops feature a wide variety of KSA-certified coffees, teas, and blended drinks, as well as KoLA-certified pastries, cakes, salads, bagels, and sandwiches. All drinks are made to order and the rest of their offerings are great quality — we’ve tried and enjoyed their muffins, scones, bagels, and mozzarella-tomato-basil sandwiches. In all honesty, if I weren’t tied down to Boston already, I’d move to LA just for the Coffee Bean.
Of course, when we arrived in LA, the Red Sox were in the middle of their (disappointing) series against the Chicago White Sox, so the only appropriate food for watching Game Three of the ALDS was Italian sausages and french fries from Jeff’s Gourmet Kosher Sausage Factory on Pico Boulevard. We had our onion- and pepper-smothered meal wrapped to go and watched the game in our hotel room.
Unfortunately, Jeff’s spicy links were the only good news of the afternoon!
On Sunday night, after our day trip to San Diego, we headed down the Pacific Coast Highway to the Malibu Beach Grill, on a beaming recommendation from our friends, but it was unexpectedly closed. Instead, we headed to La Gondola, an Italian restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard.
Despite my desire to try something more appropriate to the restaurant’s cuisine, I was told the barbecued short ribs were not to be missed. After sampling a delicious mixed antipasti platter, the massive plate of ribs arrived. While these slow cooked short ribs were very tender and tasty, I was disappointed at the lack of Italian influence on the dish and the uninspired sides. The spring pasta special we also tried was underwhelming: just a large plate of spaghetti with bright vegetables… and no sauce, or flavor, to speak of. (But the bathroom was nice, so there’s that.)
We couldn’t visit a city without trying its local Asian fare for purposes of comparison with our places back home. Shanghai Diamond Garden Restaurant on Pico, just steps from our hotel, had been run for nine years as a non-kosher establishment before going kosher last year (the whole story is in last weekend’s LA Times). This eatery was much larger and more comfortable than Boston’s, featured an expansive and comfortable sushi bar by the window, and the quality of the food was top-notch. Service was very friendly and prompt, my feelings on which I probably made quite clear by accidentally tipping thirty percent — three times tax only works in the Bay State!
Jabbett - Just to tempt you a little more, one CB&TL in LA is actually Cholov Yisroel!
Your site is making me hungry!
Check mine out!
hey there jabbett, long time listener first time caller -
you blew it in LA. next time you go, hit Pat’s - in my opinion, best kosher restaurant in the country, hands down.
Hey, Yehuda… We went to Pat’s for our last dinner, but I screwed up and didn’t write a review soon enough, before forgetting all the details.
On the whole, we had a great time at Pat’s. Good bread, good wine, good food, attentive service, lively atmosphere, but I will say that the veal chop at Tevere in NYC was much better than Pat’s.
Keep the Kosher Blog in mind at your next visit to Pat’s, and send us a review.
BS”D
Pat’s is good, solid food. But at that price, I’d like something I can’t easily make at home. Good, solid food I can make at home.
Quality-wise, Pat’s is definitely a cut above most of the kosher restaurants out there, and I’d place its food on the quality par of the best kosher restaurants in the USA. That’s why I always did hit Pat’s during those rare times when I was in LA. Now that I live in LA, however, PAt’s quality is not enough of a draw to get me out to the restaurant for any reason, since the food is neither interesting nor original, and certainly not inspiring. We can and do have food of the same quality and style at home. Greta’s might draw me due to my limited experience with Tunisian food.
We went to Shiloh’s restaurant on Pico in LA. Best Kosher restaurant we’ve been too anywhere. Beef ribs were out of this world.
BS”D
Shilo’s has a very good reputation here. Unfortunately, I’ve never had the opportunity to dine there.
What is the best source for accurate information on kosher establishments in LA?
BS”D
I don’t think there is a good source for all. Kehilla Kosher (heart K) does a good deal of restaurant supervision, as does the RCC. Both have web sites. There are a few in Los Angeles, and more in the San Fernando Valley, under Rabbi Bukspan. He’s THE acknowledged kashrus expert in the Los Angeles area, yet he is not universally accepted, possibly because one must carefully read the teudah to know what, exactly is being certified kosher by him. Also a player is Rabbi Benzaquen, who supervises Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf all over the area, and also a few other restaurants. I cannot tell you how to get in touch with the latter 2 to see which restaurants are under their supervision. There are several private rabbis as well- the Agoura Hills area is certified largely by Rabbi Bryski (sp?) of Chabad, and there are a few other private hechsherim, but by and large, your interests will probably be served by Kehilla and RCC.