Kabab Grill photo by Joshua Lurie
For dineLA.com
In our latest exploration of off-the-grid dining, we visit Alhambra, Palms and South Gate to unearth more compelling eating options in three more unsung neighborhoods.
ALHAMBRA
Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa - Rice Vermicelli with Shrimp Rolls and Sour Sausage | Photo: Joshua Lurie
NEM NUONG KHANH HOA
This central Vietnamese restaurant has been open for five years and features only nine tables, but many more options. The specialty of the house is nem nuong – charbroiled meatballs – which work especially well when wrapped in rice paper with crispy wonton strips, shrimp and scallions. Dip in a hot-sweet orange slurry of pork, shrimp and sweet rice and you’re golden. Pork also factors into a bowl of bun. Springy rice vermicelli comes topped with thumb-sized sour pork patties, some embedded with chopped garlic cloves, others with spicy jalapeno. Top off your order with crispy, thin-sheathed shrimp rolls.
- Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa, 1700 W. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, 626.943.7645
Old Country Cafe - Pork Chop Noodles | Photo: Joshua Lurie
OLD COUNTRY CAFE
This inconspicuous Taiwan-style diner has been open for more than 20 years at Alhambra's east-west dividing line. Look beyond the incongruous Mediterranean mural and the irregularly shaped counter and find comforting options like “heat meat,” lean, thin-sliced pig face served with julienne ginger and dark, viscous garlic sauce. Looking to eat heartier? Owner Ted Ma features juicy deep-fried pork chops that come with cabbage, Chinese broccoli, vinegary mustard green and a well-spiced bowl of Asian-spiced spaghetti “Bolognese.” Cool down with house-made juices like sour plum or watermelon, and for dessert, Old Country shaves ice and tops it with options like red bean and lotus seeds.
- Old Country Café, 2 E. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, 626.284.4610
Sunday Bistro - Assorted Smoked Meat Stone Pot | Photo: Joshua Lurie
SUNDAY BISTRO
This indoor-outdoor, Hong Kong style café with 288 seats and nearly as many menu options features dishes as seemingly disparate as Chinese herb with crocodile meat and pork knuckle “German style.” Their “assorted smoked meat stone pot” involves a sizzling bowl with soy-drizzled rice that forms a crust at the base, a topping of smoked pork, duck, sliced lap chong (pork sausage), fried egg and Chinese broccoli stalks. Baked shrimp in a “fisherman’s basket” features salty shell-on shrimp and liberal amounts of fried basil emanating from what looks a little like a jai alai canasta. Another viable option consists of the juicy Vietnamese pork chop with tomato rice, a vegetarian egg roll, zucchini and an unlikely pitcher of Italian dressing.
- Sunday Bistro, 1032 E. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, 626.282.0238
PALMS
Kabab Grill - Falafel | Photo: Joshua Lurie
KABAB GRILL
Firas Tar’s casual strip mall restaurant features Syrian food that’s fried, grilled and baked in a central stone oven. Especially satisfying are the falafel rings, fried to order and dip-able in sesame-rich tahini and parsley sauce. Grilled kebabs are highlighted by ground beef kufta and blistered beef tenderloin, all plated with salad, craters of hummus drizzled with olive oil, and basmati rice dusted with lemony sumac. They’ve also got crusty fresh-shaved chicken and beef shawarma. The oven yields thin, house-baked pita and a litany of flatbreads, including versions crusted with zatar and dotted with salty molten cheese.
- Kabab Grill, 10401 Venice Blvd., Palms, 310.202.0041
n/naka Sashimi | Photo: Joshua Lurie
n/naka
Chef Niki Nakayama chose a minimalist setting for her refined Japanese cuisine, with wall-mounted wood cutouts, relaxing jazz and lacquered black wood tray “placemats.” Her kaiseki menu features a progression of often-seasonal items. Depending on the night, you might find a glass hosting Kabocha squash sorbet studded with eggplant gelee and an overhead shrimp roll bridge draped with fried scallions. A “wishing well” arrives with pristine sashimi, including ponzu-dressed Santa Barbara uni and Kumamoto oysters, firm pink mackerel, silky Tai snapper and sweet, melt-in-your-mouth shrimp. It doesn’t get much more luxurious than spaghettini with shaved black Monterey abalone, pickled cod roe, garlic, fresh-shaved summer truffle and daikon sprouts. You’ll also see a school of sushi, miso soup with shrimp head and desserts like black sesame crème brulee.
- n/naka, 3455 S. Overland Ave., Palms, 310.836.6252, www.n-naka.com
Simpang Asia - Nasi Rames Padang | Photo: Joshua Lurie
SIMPANG ASIA
White doves “fly” across plywood, flowers grace a yellow wall and a display case hosts an array of fried and baked snacks in the café that’s become a hub for Indonesian ex-pats. They offer a number of low-cost, high-value combo plates. Nasi rames padang combines rendang (braised, well-spiced beef), meaty slabs of young jackfruit curry slathered in spicy orange sauce, and on-the-bone balado chicken slathered in a sweet chile sauce, which comes with white rice, a spiced egg and green chile paste. Looking for simpler options? Otak otak pairs toasted fish cakes with a bright orange peanut sauce. Simpang offers several fried chickens. The turmeric-stained version called Ayam goreng kuning, showered with fried garlic, tastes best. They’re strong on soups, including a tangy tamarind vegetable soup loaded with radish cubes, peanuts and green beans.
- Simpang Asia, 10433 National Blvd., Palms, 310.815.9075, www.simpangasia.com
SOUTH GATE
Gumacus Chilorio and Picadillo | Photo: Joshua Lurie
GUMACUS
Maria Martinez named this regional restaurant for three cities from her youth: Gu (Guamuchil), Ma (Mazatlan) and Cu (Culiacan) all situated in western Mexican state of S (Sinaloa). A mural on the north wall represents churches from each of those cities. The interior also touts green cushioned booths and banquettes, plenty of hanging plants and a karaoke machine. For Chilorio Natural, pork shoulder is seasoned (and stained) with ingredients like dried chilies and cumin. The lard-fortified pork is shredded and griddled until outer bits achieve a crunchy consistency. Picadillo Sinaloense involves shredded beef stewed with green olives, carrots, potatoes and jalapenos. The dish arrives with rice, refried pinto beans topped with a firm slab of white panela cheese and thick housemade corn tortillas. Weekend specials include pozole, menudo (white or red) and barbacoa. To drink, look for the barley drink called cebada.
- Gumacus, 8646 State St., South Gate, 323.566.5522
Mariscos Yucatan Poc Chuc | Photo: Joshua Lurie
MARISCOS YUCATAN
17-year-old restaurant from Lula Canto and husband Enrique features the cuisine of their native state, the Yucatan. The dining room contains only eight tables, along with a flat screen TV, a jukebox, and a blue and orange color scheme. Golden-brown kibi are fried beef and bulgur discs topped with pickled onion, and if you so desire, a fiery habanero and pickled onion salsa. Papadzules resemble enchiladas, filled with hard-boiled egg, topped with tomato sauce, creamy pastel-green salsa de pepitas and more hard-boiled egg. The best dish may be Poc-Chuc, thin-cut pork with stewed black beans, spicy, chile-flecked roasted onions, sweet fried bananas and fried potato discs, a refreshing salad of tomato, cucumber, romaine and red onion, and a mound of yellow rice sporting a smiley face crafted from pickled onion, jalapeno and carrot.
- Mariscos Yucatan, 3469 Tweedy Blvd., South Gate, 323.357.0906
Sazon Nayarita Tacos | Photo: Joshua Lurie
SAZON NAYARITA
An off-strip locale is the unlikely setting for Paulo Garcia’s Nayarit-style Mexican restaurant, which features seafood dishes during the day like camarones a la pimienta (shrimp with red pepper), mojarra a la diabla (devilled snapper) and tacos Gobernador (with shrimp and cheese). The specialty of the house is puerco tatemado estile Acaponeta, cubes of juicy pork shoulder garnished with crunchy cabbage and slathered with a tangy salsa of mustard, oregano, jalapeno and avocado. A steaming flour tortilla forms the basis for their Taco Sonorense, a Sonoran-style taco available with options like lengua (beef tongue) that’s top-able with house salsas like spicy roasted jalapeno, or a tangy tomatillo and chile de arbol. Taco de cachete is another winner, with glutinous pork cheek supporting minced white onion and cilantro.
- Sazon Nayarita, 2709 Santa Ana St., South Gate, 323.587.4537
Gumacus, 8646 State St., South Gate, 323.566.5522
Kabob Grill, 10401 Venice Blvd., Palms, 310.202.0041
Mariscos Yucatan, 3469 Tweedy Blvd., South Gate, 323.357.0906
n/naka, 3455 S. Overland Ave., Palms, 310.836.6252, www.n-naka.com
Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa, 1700 W. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, 626.943.7645
Old Country Café, 2 E. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, 626.284.4610
Sazon Nayarita, 2709 Santa Ana St., South Gate, 323.587.4537
Simpang Asia, 10433 National Blvd., Palms, 310.815.9075, www.simpangasia.com
Sunday Bistro, 1032 E. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, 626.282.0238
