Eating in LA.

I spent three days in LA and ate a lot.

First encounter: I was starving by the time I got to my hotel.  I was told to visit Nagila.   Nagila is really two places.  The left side is dairy and the right side is meat.  I went to the right.  I ordered shwarma.  It was good.  It makes sense that the shwarma was good. LA is a major city.  It has a large Jewish population.  It attracts a large number of Israelis.  It obviously has a decent shwarma joint.  I was pleased because my shwarma experience was authentic – French fries were stuffed in the sandwich (not as a side dish), and no silly American gimmicks like lettuce.  It was good, not very messy – it was wrapped in a type of wax paper and held together with a piece of masking tape! (I have never seen that before) – and it didn’t sit in my stomach like a lump.  If you are in LA and need shwarma, I recommend Nagila.

Next: I ate three times at Jeff’s Gourmet Sausage.  What a treat.  Allan was the first person to take me there.  I decided to eat light because I had a second dinner planned for later that night.  I ordered the Smoked Chicken and Apple Sausage.  It was good although it was basically just a fancy hot dog – I was expecting more.  Someone had hyped it and I was expecting my mouth to do back flips.  But don’t get me wrong – it was tasty.  I also ate most of Allan’s BBQ wings.  The wings were served with a white Ranch Sauce.  It tasted like treif – wow – very good.

Later that night I went out with my Persian posse.  We started late and most of the restaurants were closed, so we went back to Jeff’s.  I ordered the spicy wings (different from the BBQ wings, which were more tangy).  Wow!  And you should know – I am not a wings guy.  I don’t usually order wings or go out my way to find them.  But these were good.  Hot.  Spicy.  Tasted like treif.  And they were messy!  I had to wash my hands and face before I could talk to anyone.

The next day I had a meeting in Beverly Hills.  We ordered lunch from Pat’s.  I had a salmon salad.  After all the wings, sausage, and shwarma I wanted light.  The salad came with mango, funky dressing, and an awesome chunk of grilled salmon.

I was busy the rest of the day (I didn’t only eat in LA). Late that night I went back to Jeff’s and got a Pastrami Burger.  Jeff’s was three-for-three.  The burger was great.  I didn’t waste my time eating French fries – and this is a good thing – I wasn’t so stuffed that I couldn’t move.

LA was a great trip and I want to express my sincerest thanks to the cows that gave their lives in order to make my experience worthwhile.

May 21st, 2009 Shwarma