Restaurant Review #146: Swan Thai, North Hollywood

Larb-ground meat tossed in lime vinaigrette mixed with ground toasted rice


Driving down Sherman Way, you're unlikely to be enticed to stop at Swan Thai, located across the street from the 99 cent store in a creamy orange strip mall where the mostly empty parking lot is strewn with trash. Swan Thai may do most of its business through delivery and takeout, because the food is very good, but at

Restaurant Review #127: Wat Thai Festival, North Hollywood

Last weekend, I went to the Songkran festival at Wat Thai temple in North Hollywood. The temple is on Coldwater Canyon, close to the end of the earth. The temple faces diagonally, so the view of it from the street isn't great, but it's so huge and different from everything that surrounds it that there's no way you'll miss it. Parking was difficult, but we found free parking on a residential

Restaurant Review #121: Sanamluang Cafe, North Hollywood

Indian curry noodles with beef

If you're never been to Sanamluang Cafe before, you may be thoroughly confused when you walk in. Do I seat myself? Do I order at the counter? Is there a real menu with words, or do I have to pick one of those numbered photos and hope for the best?

I read good things about Sanamluang Cafe on Chowhound. Anyone who maligns the Valley for not having good food has

Restaurant Review #99: Krua Thai, North Hollywood

Pad Thai Krua Thai

I chose Krua Thai because it's one of Jonathan Gold's 99 Essential LA Restaurants, and because I'm trying to expand my foodie universe beyond the Westside orbit.

The restaurant's name means Thai Kitchen, which, though not very inventive, is a fitting name given that the dishes here are more authentic than they are at the plethora of Thai restaurants I am accustomed to eating

Restaurant Review #84: Yangtze, Santa Monica

One of the great and somewhat undiscovered things about Yangtze is supposed to be their half price sushi bar hidden in the back of the restaurant. Too bad cheap sushi almost always means crunchy, flavorless sushi, and Yangtze is no exception. It's also generally a safe bet that if a restaurant serves Thai and Chinese in addition to sushi, they probably aren't focused enough on the sushi for it to

Restaurant Review #81: Toi, Santa Monica

Toi is unusual in that while it is a Thai restaurant, it is decorated in rock and roll memorabilia. It is also open from 11 am to 3 am daily. Yes, you read that right. Perhaps the long hours explain the empty tables. Or perhaps it's the food.

Toi has two locations, and I've only been to the Wilshire location in Santa Monica (the other is on Sunset). Both times I was underwhelmed by, if not

Restaurant Review #60: T's Thai, Santa Monica

T's Thai is a small, very casual, very simple restaurant a few steps away from the busy intersection of 4th and Wilshire. It looks nicer from the outside than it does once you're inside--I wouldn't take a date here. The food is very inexpensive and the menu is what you would expect. I didn't think the pad Thai was very good, but the red pineapple curry was delicious. Like most Thai

Restaurant Review #61: Rambutan, Silverlake

Rambutan is a very popular, relatively new Thai restaurant in Silverlake with a sleek, sexy interior. It's gotten a lot of good reviews, for both the food and the atmosphere. I haven't spent much time in Silverlake, and I'm somewhat new to Los Angeles as well, but I get the impression that Eastsiders have been appreciative of recent hip additions to the neighborhood like Gingergrass and Rambutan.

Restaurant Review #14: Palms Restaurant, Thai Town

Palms Restaurant is home to the famous Thai Elvis. Frankly, I think he's a pain. I just want to eat my yummy authentic Thai dinner, and the entertainment, combined with the long family-style tables, lends a loud, chaotic carnival atmosphere to the restaurant.The food rocks though, and you have to try the palm juice. It tastes like drinking a sugar cookie. Amazing. (It should be noted that the

Restaurant Review #13: Bhan Kanom Thai, Thai Town, Hollywood

Pancakes with coconut custard

Bhan Kanom Thai is a bakery and snack shop serving a variety of fresh, authentic Thai sweets, including preserved fruits like orange, pineapple, mango, and plum; taro pancakes, various puddings, and plenty of other amazing treats that I unfortunately do not know the names of or know much about, except that they taste incredible and often contain some form of

Restaurant Review #9: Cholada Beach Thai, Malibu

On the Westside, we have Thai options like Natalee Thai, Pam's Place, Thai Dishes, Bangkok West Thai, Toi, Yangtze, and T's Thai. Well, I've been to them all, and none of them come even close to Cholada.

This restauarnt is a bit hard to find, but it's worth it. It's next to Something Fishy, right off of PCH, a minute or two before you see the Malibu sign if you're coming from the Westside.

Restaurant Review #8: Typhoon, Santa Monica

Don't be fooled by this restaurant's location at the Santa Monica Airport. The interior is sleek and the food high quality. Nor does the clientele consist primarily of pilots and other airport-related folks. The weekday lunchtime crowd is largely suited. The restaurant is small and aesthetically pleasing, and overlooks the runway, but is noisy due to poor acoustic design (a concrete floor and