From today's NYT, story on the shabby SoCal hipness of strip mall cuisine. May I point out that the unmarked 24-hour sashimi place next to the laundromat near that pregnancy clinic on Sunset is totally overrated, but the combination pho/fondue bar by the hubcap shop on Vine where you always see Vincent Gallo eating spring rolls is totally the bomb.
"You move out here, and people are immediately like, have you tried that place in the mall? That little place between the doughnut shop and the 7-11?" said [34-year-old screenwriter Jeffrey] Lieber, whose favorite strip-mall spot is an Italian place in Marina del Rey called Alejo's, which is famous for its shrimp pasta. "You feel like you have a neighborhood secret. Then you give it to the people you like, and keep it from those you don't."
The result of this cult of underground cool is that the dingiest, most unassuming restaurants often have long lines to get in, and the person at the next plastic-topped table is just as likely to be Christina Applegate as a newly arrived immigrant (not to mention a struggling student or actor drawn by the rock-bottom prices). True food fans will seek out those little-known places frequented by locals, whose presence both attests to the authenticity of the cuisine and provides a fashionably anti-hip atmosphere. Such is the scene at Palms Thai in Hollywood, for example, where an Asian Elvis impersonator, with jeweled belts and mutton-chop sideburns, sings karaoke while Thai families shovel down tom kha gai at long banquet tables. The smattering of 20-somethings in fierce footwear are willing to wait an hour for a table so that they can revel in the ironic obscurity of it all.
Got a secret stripmall chow fave (in LA or beyond) that you don't mind sharing with the rest of the online world? Post it in the Discuss forum! Link, Discuss (Thanks, JP!
