King & I

272 S La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211(310)652-9845
Mon-Thur 11Am-9:30PM
Fri-Sat 11AM-10:30PM

King and I is a place I've been going to for quite some time since it's so close to where I live and it consistently brings a tasty dining experience every time I go. Located in the "it's Beverly Hills but not really Beverly Hills area'' of La Cienega just south of Wilshire in a small cafe next to an "overpriced for what you get" sushi house (for the record me and the misses used to regularly hit the sushi house that used to be there before called "Samurai Sushi"...used to be so good and the sushi chefs were like family. I miss them *sniff sniff*).

This place has stellar thai food and a chill intimate little vibe going for it. I've sampled many things from their menu but as of the last couple of times I have really been digging their Sweet Angel which is shown below. It can best be described as a mixture of chicken, shrimp and something else that I'm blanking on right now but it's all mixed together after it's ground up and then shaped back into a chicken body part like a thigh or breast then fried up. It's cool looking and tastes phenomenal. Their pad thai is wonderful (flavorful and not too dry), their pad woonsen (glass noodles plate) is flavored a little bit differently then most, it's not too salty cause sometimes it tastes like it's been strained through some Campbell's chicken soup. Their pineapple fried rice is very fresh tasting and not too heavy on the curry. Speaking of which, all their curries are awesome and not too heavy which is sometimes a problem we have with other curries. A specialty they kill with is their chicken with cashews in chili paste...sigh...this is how this plate should be all the time. So good. Their appetizers are all great from the chicken satay and potstickers to the standard we often get (and shown below) , the Thai Toast which is ground shrimp and chicken on what appears to be melba -style toast. Put a little chili sauce on that and it's pretty spectacular.



A small mention should also go for their thai ice tea and thai coffee. If you haven't had either I would say go here and taste a fine example of what each should taste like. While Thai coffee may not go great with a meal, Thai tea goes great with most meals especially the spicy ones as it's the perfect salve for an on fire tongue (hint hint for curries). Parking is available in the back and the service is great. I'd say it's a decent place to take for date or a work lunch.

Free Drink Refills: Yes on the soda but not on the Thai iced teas or Thai coffee
Entree Price Range: About $11 a plate average

Date Place:Pink Pepper Thai Restaurant

1638 N. La Brea Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 461-2462
Open Everyday 11AM-11PM

I'm not going to sound over enthusiastic about another place or at least try not to in this post but I must say it...I haven't had a meal this good in a long time. I have never even noticed this place as many times as I've been up and down this little strip of La Brea in fact it's right by one of my other places I've written about (Sultani) and didn't even see it. Pink Pepper Thai is tucked away in the smallest area and shaded by much greenery on the edge of La Brea and Hollywood Blvd area.

It was great finding this place as my wife and I are always one the lookout for great restaurants since we meet up at Reality LA for their wednesday night meeting. So Celeste (the misses) googled that area for restaurants and found this fantastic find. I'm still flabberghasted that I hadn't noticed this place! Okay so onto the food...

We went in and were seated in a booth (which happened to be huge) and were treated very graciously by our hostess and waiter. We decided on a light dinner which turned out to be perfect for us. We started with the steamed dumplings which were flavorful and done with love. Our main which consisted of prawns in a light red curry coconut sauce (not too spicy at all but super flavorful) on top a bed of broccoli (some of the best broccoli as well as it was steamed but still crisp) with sides of white and brown rice. MAN IT WAS SOOOO GOOD! Okay I'm trying not to be too amped over this place but it was THAT good. I can hardly wait to go back there. For the grand finale we shared the Fried Bananas ala mode a dessert that was complex but simple in your mouth. If my mouth would have cried tears of joy and gratitude if it could have...in fact at one point I think I was reaching for reaching for a kleenex subconciously. Seriously I could go back for the dessert alone. Extraordinary!

While not the cheapest place, they have pretty decent prices and it is worth going there if you and someone else don't mind sharing a plate (which is pretty easy to do as the portions are generous). The decor is nouveau Thai hipster vibe and isn't the largest place (so give a call and check for for reservations if need be...especially on the weekend). They have indoor seating as well and a nice patio area if you feel like breathing in the lovely LA smog we've all grown to love and depend on. Fantastic service and fantastic food is what this place is all about. Oh and don't worry about parking they have free 2 hour parking(w/their validation I should add) in the structure right behind the restaurant. Seriously people, try this place...but bring tissues for your mouth.

Free Drink Refills: Yes
Entree Price Range:$8 to $13 (share a plate and grab an appetizer and dessert though cause it's soooo worth it!)

Venue Food: Leela Thai

1737 Silverlake Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90026

(323) 660-6100

Mon-Thurs 11:30AM-10PM

Fri-Sun 11:30-11PM

(Press play on the youtube above so you can get in the mood for this post.)

A new section for you lovers of music in LA...where to eat that's close to music venues. Last night I went to go see the gentleman up there on the youtube (that you're hopefully listening to) who's name is Ferraby Lionheart. He was playing in Silverlake at Spaceland for there second slot of the night. Great show and it was nice to hear some new songs from his next album due out later this year. With that being said, a great place to try when you want to eat before popping into Spaceland is literally steps from the place. And I mean steps. It couldn't have been more than 100 steps from the entrance of Spaceland to the restaurant entrace. Leela's Thai is beloved by many a "Silverlakian". Great "healthier" Thai at great prices. I say healthier cause they have vegetarian conscious plates for those who would rather murder plants then animals...I'm more of a strict carnivore though I'm learning to stab carrots and corn as of late. Just kidding but not really.

We had the Pad Thai (which was super yummy), the "Secret Spice" which had a sort of coconut based chili sauce, some soup and the appetizer sampler (the shrimp and spring rolls stood out above the rest of the appetizer items). If you enjoy Thai Iced Tea, there's is pretty tasty (of course there will always be those that argue that they taste like wind instrument reeds). The entire meal was perfect for a pre-show dinner. A small word of warning and it really is small...it's a cash only place. Also I'd like to share with you the unique fact that they have a one dollar per person corkage fee in case you'd like to bring your own wine...which we love doing! We'll be back...with a bottle of wine...or maybe even two.

Free Drink Refills: Only on Iced Tea and Lemonade (can you say Arnold Palmer?)

Entree Price Range: $6 to $8