ITJS Goes Global: Get this man a LAXative!
(2 out of 5 hot dogs)
Loading ...For all of you jetsetters on a budget, I bring you the first edition of ITJS Goes Global. I just returned today from a week in the city of angels, eating out two meals a day, and came to the conclusion that NYC trumps LA in most ways, but most definitively in the food department. Whether fruit picker or studio exec, you are doomed to eat crappy food almost wherever you go. I did however find a few specials worth blogging about, and the best part is they’re only a six-hour flight away!
Cabo Cantina
30 Washington Blvd
Venice, CA
I saw the giant margarita sign and the palm-tree decorations, and I knew I was destined to have lunch here. Luckily it was Taco Tuesday, which means unlimited tacos with rice and beans all day for $4.95. But there are similar specials every day of the week, usually pairing greasy Mexican food with tecate and tequila in different combinations. Happy hour is everyday from 4-8, where drinks are 2-for-1. I sat on the rooftop overlooking Venice Beach with old friends, guzzled a skull-sized margarita, listened to hip-hop on the jukebox, and couldn’t ask for more.
El Nuevo Rincon Salvadoreno
3827 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
A pupusa is an El Salvadorian bread that does not actually taste like poo-poo, as the title would have you believe. They are round, have the consistency of naan, and are filled with cheese and your choice of beans, pork, zucchini or loroco (an edible flower). They are $2 each, and you need only two or three to fill you up. You can top them with cabbage and hot-sauce to spice it up. At this pupuseria, I also tried fried plantains, which had a perfect salty/sweet combo, and came in around $4. Although I prefer the more standard quesadillas, I’m happy to add the pupusa to my glorious list of fried bread and cheese dishes.
7-Eleven
4930 W. Pico
Los Angeles, CA
In LA, Bars close at 2am, there’s no public transportation to speak of, and you are more likely to strike gold than you are to catch a cab. Out on a Saturday night, like many Saturday nights, there was nothing I wanted more than a slice of pizza. But since everything was closed, my only option was stopping at the corner 7-Eleven, where you can get two slices for $3. The two slices combined were smaller than one regular slice you can find on the street anywhere in New York. The cardboard box in which they were served was softer and tasted better the pizza itself. In short, going to 7-Elevent for a meal was one of the great mistakes of my life. But next time I’m in LA on Saturday at 2am, I can’t say I won’t do it again.
Tags: beach bodies, Los Angeles, tacos, traffic