Recommend Your Independent Restaurant
 

Spurred from Bubba Gump - it seems we have an affinity for independent restaurants over chains on this board. Let's spread the word.

Yes, I realize we have the RTS area but I was hoping this could be an easy to use suggestion list.

Manga Manga in HB (Golden West and Edinger) - Italian food. Reasonable prices, great service

Gypsy Den in Costa Mesa - Sandwiches. Good prices, spotty but expected service

Memphis in Costa Mesa - Soul food. A little on the pricey side. Great food.

Thai Bamboo Bistro in Irvine (off Shady Canyon) - Thai food. Reasonable prices. Excellent food and service.

Angelo & Vinci's in Brea. Italian
North End Pizza in Burbank. Italian
Caravan in Glendale. Middle Eastern

Long Beach favorites:

Lashers
Open Sesame
La Creperie
Gazellia
Christy's
Fora
Bono's
Nico's
Delius
La Parolaccia
Cafe Ambrosia




Restaurants that started here but now have more than one local location (and I still will enjoy their food):
Kings Fish House
SuperMex
Johnny Reb's
Hoff's Hut / Lucille's

Mamob's Cafe - Glendale. Fantastic Cuban fast food.
Watson's Drug Store and Soda Fountain - Orange. Classic American diner food in classic American diner setting. 100+ year old location.
The Filling Station - Orange. An actual converted filling station. Awesome atmosphere, great for patio eating.
Rutabegorz - multiple locations (Fullerton, Tustin, Ornage). Specializing in vegetarian/vegan cuisine, though they've got non-veggie options as well.

Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga - organic/romantic
Geisha House in Hollywood - Japanese/"hip"
Cafe Figaro in Los Feliz - organic French
Corn Maiden gourmet tamales at the Hollywood Farmers Market
Thaitalian in Pasadena - Thai/Italian fusion
Akbar in Pasadena - Indian
Fred 62 in Los Feliz - Retro diner
Good Neighbor in Studio City - American breakfast/lunch
Pink Pepper in Hollywood - Thai
Maria's Italian Kitchen in West LA - Italian

In Alhambra, Wahib's Middle Eastern

In SF

Magnolia Pub
Chai Yo (Thai)
and many more!

Let's see... (in no particular order)

Luigi's d'Italia in Anaheim

In Long Beach:

Park Pantry
Franchelli's
Pot Holder
Magnolia Cafe
George's Greek Cafe (2 locations)

Lakewood:

Heritage Cafe
Honey's

Venice:

Cafe 50's
Sidewalk Cafe (ocean view!)
Rose Cafe
The Firehouse

How did I forget Park Pantry and George's?????

Love Rutabegorz in Fullerton -- Angelo and Vinci's too, although I still remember the good old days when it was "backstage dining" under the ropes at the Fox.

Now I'm in the SFV, and our faves are:

Bollywood (Indian of course)
Fox and Hound (Cornish Pastie at its finest! -- oh, and I've seen Eric Idle there *swoons*)
Oyster House (hubby loves oysters)
Michael's Grill (an old fave, Mardi Gras, merged with this place -- great beignets!)
Ribs USA (playing cards stuck to the ceiling, and peanut shells all over the floor)
The Smoke House (cool old Hollywood-mafia place)

I'll put more as I think of them...

The Snooty Fox in Laguna Hills - breakfast/lunch place, low prices, awesome food
Haus of Pizza in Costa Mesa - super cheap and tasty Italian food, just off Harbor at Adams.

AND you get the satisfaction of laughing at the weirdos with terrible hair coming out of the Paul Mitchell salon school that shares the strip mall.

Since most of my favorites in SoCal have been mentioned and nothing else is coming off the top of my head...

Two Bit Street in downtown Ogden, UT

It's actually in Fullerton.

I'll second that. The enchilada's rock!
___________

My suggestions:

1. Tulsa Rib in Orange - awesome BBQ.
2. Blue Agave in Yorba Linda - Southwestern. Several of you joined me for my birthday here last year (or was it the year before?)Their Kiva Steak rocks.
3. The Burrito Factory in Chatsworth (and other locations). Granted, I haven't been there in a couple of years, but the quality was always A1.
4. The Hat - Several So Cal locations. Best damn pastrami I've ever had.
5. Katella Deli - Great comfort food. Great bakery. And they have a Monte Cristo for those craving one outside the park. And not too far from DL.
6. The Hobbit in Orange. Definitely one of the best dining experiences I have ever had the privilege to enjoy. Seven course prix-fixe menu and one of the best wine cellars around. Reservations are a must and popular days (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, etc.) usually book out a year in advance. Some of their recent past and upcoming menu's:

• November 7 - November 11: Medallion of Prime Filet Mignon Helder w/ Three Sauces,Tomato Concassée, Béarnaise and Bordelaise
• November 14 - November 18: Prime Aged New York with Green and Black Peppercorn Sauce
• November 23 - November 30: Filet of Beef en Croute, Prime Filet Mignon with Mushroom Duxelles, wrapped in Puff Pastry, sauce Bordelaise
• December 1 - December 9: Filet of Beef en Croûte, Prime Filet Mignon with Mushroom Duxelles, wraped in Puff Pastry, sauce Bordelaise
• December 11 - December 30: Beef Wellington, Prime Filet Mignon in Puff Pastry with House made Pâté , Sauce Bordelaise
• January 4 - January 13: Tarragon Crusted Rack of Lamb
• January 16 - January 20: Côte de Boeuf with Fresh Horseradish
• January 23 - January 27: Prime Roasted New York with Sauce Béarnaise
• January 30 - February 3: Sirloin of Lamb with Chorizo Demi-glaze
• February 6 - February 10: Medallion of Veal with Baked Apple and Calvados Cream
• February 13 - February 17: Wild Mushroom Stuffed Prime Filet Mignon
• February 20 - February 24: Prime Aged Filet Mignon with Spice Cured Foie Gras

I was wondering that myself.

Gombei - Japanese food in Menlo Park CA

Cool, I haven't seen any of my favorite haunts listed. :)

El Tepeyac - (east LA) best burrito in Los Angeles.

LaRocco's Pizza - (San Clemente, Huntington Beach) Yes, after years of searching, I finally found the closest thing to real authentic NY pizza I've ever encountered on this coast And the worst part is, they have been there for years - less than 10 miles from my place. If I had only known sooner...

Pat's House: (Anaheim) Literally some of the best Thai food I've ever encountered. Dirt cheap, amazingly flavorful, and right down the street from Disneyland. Lunch is $5.95.

Uoko Sushi - (Lake Forest) been going there for about 20 years now and have had countless exceptional meals.

Hey, that's my hairdresser you're mocking! :p But yeah, they do make themselves look rather odd don't they?

Reminds me though... that same center has a place called Maru Sushi. Not the cheapest sushi around, but not horrible, and they have wonderful presentation and good food.

Hey, I should have mentioned that restaurant that started with an H that I forgot the name of. Great authentic Japanese food in... (no surprise here, to me) Gardena.

What was the full name, NA?

Hey, we were hearing a story about this place (I think) late at the party, I think. Sounded totally worth a trip.

Oh, one of my favs. The Hollenbeck is my usual.

NM, EH and I almost went there after the car show on the day after Thanksgiving. However, we decided that having the friend of NM who we were meeting (she was down visiting from the Bay Area) try to find her way blindly around East LA at night might not be the best thing.

I'm about overdue for an El Tepeyac visit.

ETA: from their web site:

The only place I've eaten on the lists so far is "THe Hat" and I almost choaked to death on a piece of meat. (And it wasn't Ham.)

My list?

Bob's Big Boy! (There's only 2 left now, soooooo)

I know there is one in Diamond Bar: where is the other one?

Nope. There are 12 in California alone - including one in Signal Hill! See here.

I loooove Bob's Big Boy! We should do a swanking!

It's on the way to Vegas.

NA: Regarding Lucille's Smokehouse, we have one down in Lake Forest - LOVE IT!!!!

Oh, come to think of it, JW's right. Because obviously there's the one in Burbank where all the imagineers eat.

Yeah, but does Drew Carrey go to any of the other Bob's locations?

Yeah, the "Landmark" Bob's is in Burbank, near the studios. I ate there last night. ;)

There are 114 in Michigan?!

The bill says Sanuki No Sato, but I don't think there was any Romaji on their signage

OOOh.. so it started with an S

Oh! I forgot Fortune Cookie in Los Alamitos. Honey Glazed Walnut Shrimp.... Mmmmmmmm......

The other Japanese restaurant we were considering started with an "H". Well, it had an "H" in it - Kotohira. Both that place and Sanuki No Sato are noodle houses. The third place on the list was called Tombo and serves okonomiyaki, which I've only eaten in Japan.

Yes. One in my hometown, in fact. But most of them are Elias Brothers' Big Boy. Not Bob's. They are run by different franchise companies.

As Kevy Mentioned - The Burrito Factory in Chatsworth (it's around the corner from us)

The Munch Box, also in Chatsworth - It's been open over 50 years, and is not great food, but some great regulars.

Miceli's in Universal City and Hollywood - I'm surprised I haven't seen it mentioned.

Kings Pizza in HB
Kung Pao (Chinese) in HB
Sango Sushi (multiple locations in HB & Laguna Niguel)
Harris Quick n Tasty in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (seafood)

Would you believe I used to work there? When I was in high school. Um, 3 or 4 years ago: yeah that's my story.

Okay, so it was 1981 and 1982.

OMG - I totally forgot about the Munch Box. I can't believe that place is still standing. I grew up about 200 yards north of there (straight up the railroad tracks, but on the other side - although Google is off by one house).

I think I'll rush right over...

Huell Howser even did a segment on the Munch Box- it's an official cultural landmark now. I eat there from time to time when I take the bus to the train station.

Is it here?
21532 Devonshire Street, Chatsworth, CA


Sonic
1632 N Lemon
Anaheim,, CA 92801

Ironically enough, it's across the street from a Disney outlet store.

I know it's a chain, they have commercials on TV all the time, and they're everywhere from Arizona to Virginia and all in between, there are only two in southern California, three if Tehacapi is considered Southern California.

Going further south there is
Mountain Mike's Pizza
3089 Clairemont Dr
San Diego 92117
Again, it's a chain, but the only one in Southern California is in San Diego, I brought a pizza to a potluck last night and people loved it and asked me where it was located.

Irasse Sushi in HB.

That is the correct address, but Google Maps is slightly off. If you look at this link, it is immediately West of the railroad tracks and on the South side of Devonshire. It is the small building on the north side of the parking lot in the center of map.

At least I am pretty sure that is it: the last time I was there, that parking lot and the bigger building behind Munch Box wasn't there.