Hungry Cat
By Tara de Lis
For dineLA.com
Whether it’s an anonymous-looking mini mall or a more fashionable retail space like the Westfield or Americana at Brand, Angelenos have come to expect good food in every nook and cranny of the city—even if it’s in the most unlikely places.
A trio of friends who met while all working at Bergamot Station’s Café joined forces to fill the “neighborhood bistro niche” with Nook in West LA. Though the area is highly trafficked, this now booming space was once cursed. Co-owner Jeff Stuppler prefers to focus on good food and service, rather than geography.
He says, “’Location, location, location’ doesn’t really mean a lot to us. It’s actually been sort of a joke that first you have to find the mall, then find us within it. It’s almost like a game.”
Another hidden gem is the Hungry Cat, which serves some of the best seafood this side of Providence. The Sunset + Vine address now seems enviable, but that wasn’t always the case. General Manager Tim Staehling says, “There weren’t any restaurants at this intersection when we came in, no Bowery, no Magnolia.”
Also taking a chance on the unknown was Petros in Manhattan Beach’s chic Metlox Comlex, an open-air space restaurant owner Petros Bekenos likens more to a “European plaza” than a traditional mall. A menu based on his mother’s and aunt’s fresh fish dishes and savory dips have made many people rethink their spanakopita-centric stereotypes of the Mediterranean.
One of LA’s early strip-mall stalwarts was Zankou Chicken, a local chain that opened at Sunset and Normandie in 1984. From the success of this little sliver of schwarma heaven has developed an empire soon to expand to 10 locations.
Dikran Iskenderian speaks to the almost cult-following his family‘s restaurant has attracted: “They wear their yellow Zankou T-shirts everywhere and spread awesome word-of-mouth about us all over town.”
And that’s just one highly visible example. Consider also Arax just down the street, Marouch further east and Amir’s Falafel in Studio City—all longtime local favorites for inexpensive Middle Eastern cuisine.
Edged into the corner of a Thai Town mall is one of the best Southern Thai restaurants in the country, Jitlada. Known specifically for regional cuisine long before current owner Jazz (just Jazz) and her family took over, she’s added English menu translations and redesigned the interior. Jazz says, “We put love into it, so now it’s like home.”
Nearby Thai eateries like Ruen Pair, Sanamulang and Yai, each showcase flavorful, exotic specialties, too.
Downtown, in the untapped “Industrial District,” Yxta specializes in authentic Mexican recipes made with high quality ingredients. Teased for its lack of exterior polish (especially compared to the fabulous dining room), owner Jesse Gomez muses, “I wanted it to look like a Mexican hacienda, with weathered paint. My chef says it looks like every house [in her hometown of Chiapas].”
Likewise, when former Ma Maison headwaiter Toshi Kihara and business partner Michael Ovitz first opened the Westwood-adjacent Hamasaku in 2000, they intentionally went low-key. “Nobody could believe that this kind of restaurant would be in a shopping mall,” Kihara recalls. “But when they found out about it, they made it their own ‘in’ place.” Regular customers include Christina Aguilera, Harrison Ford and Candy Spelling.
Good sushi, celebrities and mini-marts also go hand-in-hand at Nobu Malibu and just about every other Japanese eatery in the Valley (i.e., Nozawa, Kazu, even Katsuya’s original outlet, Katsu-Ya). Katsuya is taking it to the next level with new locations at Americana at Brand and L.A. LIVE.
Westfield Century City is another major venue that understands the importance of good restaurants. Along with family-friendly Mexican eatery Pink Taco and upscale café Breadbar, now the ornate, temple-like RockSugar Pan-Asian Kitchen is attracting crowds with fusion foods (Malayasian and Indonesian versus more familiar Chinese and Japanese). There’s even a secret entrance utilized by A-listers like Victoria Beckham.
Arax, 5101 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 2, Los Angeles, 323.663.9687
Breadbar, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City, 310.277.3770
Hamasaku, 11043 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles, 310.479.7636
Jitlada, 5233 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.663.3104
Kazu Sushi, 11440 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 818.763.4836
Katsu-Ya, 11680 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 818.985.6976
Katsuya @ Americana, 702 Americana Wy., Glendale, 818.244.5900
Marouch, 4905 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.662.9325
Nobu Malibu, 3835 Cross Creek Rd., Malibu, 310.317.9140
Nook, 11628 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 9, West Los Angeles, 310.207.5160
Petros, 451 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, 310.545.4100
Pink Taco, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City, 310.789.1000
RockSugar Pan-Asian Kitchen, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City, 310.552.9988
Ruen Pair, 5257 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.466.0153
Sanamulang, 5176 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.660.8006
Sushi Nozawa, 11288 Ventura Blvd., Ste. C, Studio City, 818.508.7017
The Hungry Cat, 1535 N. Vine St., Hollywood, 323.462.2155
Yai, 5757 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.462.0292
Yxta, 601 S. Central Ave., Los Angeles, 213.622.5540
Zankou Chicken, 5065 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, 323.665.7842
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