This place is in the center of Little Saigon even though it's a Chinese restaurant.   The Dim Sum is pretty good there.  It's served from I think 11am to 2pm.  You'll feel like you're in another country.  It's best to get Dim Sum on the weekend as there is more variety but it will be way more crowded

Directions: From the 405 go north on Magnolia.  Turn right at Bolsa and left at the next light.  That light turns into a parking lot.  The restaurant is on the right on the second floor.

This is a great place for cheap Italian food.  I've never had pizza there.  I usually have Lasagna or Cannelloni or Manicotti.  It's all good and pretty cheap.   This is really a local type of place and there is often a wait to get in.

Directions: Take the 405 south to Adams.  Turn right and then right into the parking lot for the large Edward's Theater.  It's in that shopping center.

Claim Jumper's claim to fame is their huge portions.  I seriously doubt most people could finish a meal there or even just dessert.  The food's usually not bad though it's definitely not great either.  There is almost always a wait for dinner though.

Directions: There are quite a few of these around.  Here's one. Take Culver north from the 405 to Alton.  Turn left at Alton then right into the Lucky's shopping center.  Claim Jumper is in that shopping center back toward Culver.

A place I've often gone is Chibo, the okonomiyaki place at Yebisu Garden Plaza at the top of the large building there.  It's part of a chain. It's probably not the best okonomiyaki but it's not bad and the view is great from the 37th floor.

Especially if you are from out of town you might want to check it out since you get both the view and you get to try something new.

You may have heard of them.  They are also a national chain (or are they now international).  The thing that sucks about the Cheesecake Factory is that they don't take reservations and they are almost always busy.  On a Friday or Saturday night you can expect to wait at least 2 hours.

Chan Dara is a small Thai restaurants that was introduced to me by Giant Robot magazine which described it as, the place where the waitresses look like Asian fashion models.  Of course I had to check that out and guess what, it was true.  Fortunately the food was good too.  I'm not sure if this is "authentic" but I like it.

What can I tell you about Canters?  It's BIG, It's open 24 hours.  It's much better than Jerry's Deli.  It's got Jewish deli like food.  Not a bad choice for that late night dining.

I was pretty skeptical of this place but I was pleasantly surprised.  First I must mention that California Roll and most of the other rolls you see in a sushi restaurant in California are not Japanese.  You won't find a California roll in Japan nor a spider roll or a rainbow roll or a caterpillar roll or a crunch roll etc...  That doesn't really mean anything because most of those rolls can be pretty delicious.  The majority of my Japanese friends love these rolls.

Ya know I really only put this here because I had a picture of it since it's between Califnornia Roll Factory and Le Saigon.  I've been here a couple of times.  Pretty standard fair for a 50's style dinner.  Burgers, fries, shakes, malts and other stuff.  They are open until 1 or 2 on Friday and Saturday nights.

On Santa Monica West of the 405 just before Barrington.