It was 165 years ago, back in 1859, that Charles Dickens perfectly anticipated 2024 in the opening words of “A Tale of Two Cities,” writing: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
What can I say to sum up the 12 months we’ve just lived through that approaches such literary perfection?
Personally, it’s been a year when I’ve spent far too much time visiting friends and relations in hospitals and rehab facilities. I’ve been to far too many funerals. It’s been a year of (perfect understatement) political chaos and uncertainty.
But the year has not been all darkness and despair. There have been a multitude of events to cheer: both the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris — a glorious celebration of our past, our present and (hopefully) our future. The Dodgers won the World Series. And I could always find solace throwing myself into a great meal.
Though Covid isn’t gone — far from it — we’re still getting our vaccinations, and happily going out with those friends and relations who aren’t hospitalized for a joyous feed. I’ve written about restaurants for a long time. And I never — never! — lose that sense of excitement when going to someplace new, or when introducing a good eater to a madcap discovery.
We are blessed to live in a part of the world where food is never dull. Where Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is a punchline. And our local chefs do wondrous things with tater tots. Eating well is always a bright light in a world where darkness is the norm.
What restaurants brought me the most joy during the past year? Bear with me while I recall every bite…
Joe’s Café
17823 Chatsworth St., Granada Hills; 818-488-9841, www.joescafegh.com
If you want to experience the full Joe’s Café culinary experience, order a gutbuster of a creation called The Cure. It’s a definite head-turner, looking a bit like a smash burger on steroids. Only in this case, a very tasty pretzel bun is toasted giving it a bit of crispness, then layered with sausage, eggs (over easy, of course), smoked gouda (a notably outré choice!), and a choice of avocado cream, chipotle barbecue ranch or house ranch.
That first bite is … amazing — a range of flavors all living in harmony that remind us there are tastes yet in the world in need of exploring. And no, I couldn’t finish the whole thing. The remainder tasted even better later that day.
It’s just the most notable of a bestiary of amazing breakfast (and lunch) dishes at Joe’s. Which is also one of the only breakfast/lunch eateries with a colorful assortment of craft beers on draft, wines by the glass and the bottle, and cocktails that run to mimosas, micheladas, bloody marys and margaritas.
If you want to do a beer tasting with your biscuits and gravy, there’s a beer flight of four drafts. As a bumper sticker I’m fond of reads: “Beer … it’s not just for breakfast anymore!”
Even old favorites like the French toast come with a twist; you can get yours stuffed, a brioche loaf packed with berries and cream. The short pancake stack (single, double or triple) is topped with bananas, berries and whipped cream — along with chocolate chips, bacon or both. Ditto the waffles. But not the pork belly hash.
I’m sure there are edgy chefs in iconic destinations where reservations are booked six months in advance who put chocolate chips on their pork belly hash to much acclaim. But not at Joe’s Café. The pork is slow-braised until the meat is on the edge of melting down — having teeth is optional for this dish — then mixed with roasted potatoes, grilled onions and scallions. An egg cooked sunny-side up is on top. You can add an avocado if you must. I didn’t feel the need. Avocado isn’t chocolate chips, but still.
Of course there’s chicken and waffles, because that’s written into the Constitution. Or least one of the amendments. In this case, you get fried chicken tenders topped with cheddar smoked in-house, along with bacon and sausage gravy, and waffle “wedges” topped with bacon and maple syrup. And an egg. It’s a lot of food. But that’s the Joe’s Way.
Ditto the pork belly Benedict. And a dish with the wonderful name “The Junk.” It’s a cousin of The Cure — in this case, two eggs over medium, a sausage patty, smoked gouda, tomato and ranch dressing, between two pancakes. Bacon and avocado are options. Go for the options. At Joe’s, too much is just enough.
As they used to say in Hollywood: Eat at Joe’s. In this case, Hollywood got it right.
Anajak Thai
14704 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; 818-501-4201; www.anajakthai.com
Like most restaurants that achieve iconic status — usually thanks to the near impossibility of scoring a reservation — it can come as a shock to discover that the fabled Anajak Thai actually serves … food … on plates … with utensils … ordered from a menu … and brought to your table by servers from a kitchen.
The reputation of Anajak is so grand, I half expected it to be filled with Siamese demi-gods, clouds and bolts of lightning. Ambrosia on a plate. Food that floats in the air before you. Instead, it’s simply a darned good, impressively creative Thai eatery in a city of many darned good, but not very creative Thai restaurants.
When Anajak opened in 1981, it was riding the first wave of Thai cooking in the Valley. It was a creation of Rick Pichetrungsi, a recent immigrant who had worked at Jack in the Box before going into business for himself. It was, as I recall, a good place to go for mee krob and pad Thai, for chicken satay and green papaya salad.
The menu featured Chinese dishes like wonton soup; back in the early 1980s, many Thai restaurants described themselves as Thai-Chinese, so as not to scare away Anglos. Then, in 2019, Rick had a stroke. And his son Justin left his job as an art director at Walt Disney Imagineering to take over the business. His re-imagineering of the menu began almost immediately, quickly taking Thai classics and giving them a Modern California Cuisine twist.
There isn’t another Thai restaurant in town (in America? in the world?) with a menu like the one at Anajak. The menu has a date at the top, changing a bit from day to day, though there are dishes which seem to be evergreens.
Regulars can count on the continued presence of kampachi crudo, snappy papaya salad (made with kumquats!), radish & cucumber salad, northeastern pork meatballs — and always the southern Thai fried chicken.
If there’s a singular dish that’s on nearly every table — a defining creation of Anajak — it’s the fried chicken. It doesn’t have the obsessive crunch of the fried chicken dishes emerging from Korea and Japan. But it does have a proper crisp, overlaying a moist juicy interior that tastes like the very essence of well-cooked chicken. It’s a big portion, enough for two. It comes with a supplement of Astrea kaluga hybrid caviar.
I don’t understand caviar with my fried chicken. Lots of bones to chew on are more than enough. Caviar gilds a nice crunchy lily. And though the menu at Anajak is dotted with their own creations — barbecue pork collar with coriander-soy molasses, Whale Cove mussels from Baja in tom kha broth, Maryland soft-shell crabs — this notably short menu finds room for son Justin’s versions of the Thai dishes Rick Pichetrungsi was serving 45 years ago. Like Dungeness crab fried rice, pad sew, pad Thai, drunken noodles and Panang curry with Chinese eggplant.
Does Anajak deserve its reputation? Very much so! Is it worth playing reservation roulette? Totally! Is this the best Thai restaurant in SoCal? Let’s say it’s the most creative. Maybe someday Anajak will do lunch. And the angels will sing.
At Heavy Handed in Studio City, there’s an open patio that looks out on the seemingly nonstop traffic on Ventura Boulevard. (Photo by Merrill Shindler)
Heavy Handed on Ventura Boulevard brings the smash burger trend to Studio City. It’s a restaurant with a limited menu that includes a variety of burgers, fries, beer and ice cream. (Photo by Merrill Shindler)
Show Caption1 of 2At Heavy Handed in Studio City, there’s an open patio that looks out on the seemingly nonstop traffic on Ventura Boulevard. (Photo by Merrill Shindler)
ExpandHeavy Handed
11838 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; www.heavyhanded.la
Just when it seemed as if the competitive smash burger craze had peaked, along comes Heavy Handed to set it sizzling again. The Studio City branch of Heavy Handed (the original is on Main Street in Santa Monica) is a wonder to behold — a madcap space in what used to be Mister O’s, with a mural on the frontage by DJ Neff that fascinates and captivates, even as you hunger for your burger and fries.
There’s also an open patio that looks out on the nonstop traffic on Ventura Boulevard — a virtual light sculpture at night. Where the original is just a stand in a narrow alleyway, this Heavy Handed sibling lays it on thick — just like its burgers.
Going to the new Heavy Handed is an occasion, a funhouse built around ground beef, pickles, sauce, onions and cheese. It’s a great burger, a sandwich for a new decade, to soothe our souls, come what may.
Heavy Handed is surrounded by sushi bars that seem so yesteryear, so retro. A California roll has to struggle to keep up with a triple-decker with a chocolate-dipped swirl cone.
These days, smash burgers are everywhere that burgers are served — though they haven’t appeared at In-n-Out, which resists trends with impressive tenacity. They’re not at Mickey D’s either, but give them time.
The success of Heavy Handed may well inspire a whole new generation of smash burger houses. Joints with names like Smash Burger and Smash House Burger began the trend. Heavy Handed takes a heavy hand to it, and gives it a whole new flavor.
... Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Best of 2024: Great dining experiences in the San Fernando Valley )
Also on site :
- Top 10 Summer 2025 Nail Trends, According to Celebrity Manicurists
- Werenoi dead: Rapper dies aged 31 just hours before gig after being rushed to hospital as tributes pour in
- A Viral Dermatologist Revealed the Secret to Getting Rid of Dark Circles for Good