With the economy a wilder ride than most roller coasters these days, it feels good to dine at a restaurant where you'll get the most for your buck. Which places offer the best quality-to-cost ratio? Zagat Survey has done the math for you. Here are the top five picks from our Best Buys LA list from the 2009 Los Angeles/Southern California Restaurants guide.
“A quantum leap beyond other fast-food joints”, this “SoCal classic” and top Bang for the Buck in LA delivers “amazing” burgers, fries (get them “crispy”) and milkshakes all made from ingredients “so fresh” that “even the slow-food lover likes to sneak there once in a while”; the “efficient” staff will “serve you something ‘animal style’ with a smile”, leaving the “long lines” at the drive-thru (“more of a park-thru” at peak hours) and the calories as the “only downsides”, though “these are burgers even your cardiologist would say are worth having.”
2506 Colorado Blvd.; 323-257-5600
The “finest in ‘slow fast food’” can be found at this “Cal-style” Turkish-Med “keeper” where a “devoted” staff serves up a “delish” doner kebab (the “real attraction”) along with “tasty” sweet potato fries and “rich, creamy” gelato; it’s “off the beaten path”, but given the “generous”, “inspired” specialties, surveyors surmise “it’s worth the drive to Eagle Rock”; N.B. a Little Tokyo branch opened recently.
2575 W. Beverly Blvd.; 213-389-9060
“Bring lots of Tums” to this “landmark” 24-hour Downtown “chili-cheeseburger paradise” where the “messy, greasy” patties and dogs make for a “guilty pleasure”, particularly after a night of “partying”; as for the “standing-only” space that’s in a slightly “sketchy” locale, just remember “you’re not here for decor” but for the “legendary experience”, and at least the line moves “fast.”
For a “quick nosh on the run” surveyors say this national sandwich chain is “as good as it gets outside of the Big Apple” for “endless varieties” of “fresh, fat” bagels “with all the trimmings”; though the counter staff usually keeps the “intimidating lines on weekends” “moving fast”, “ex–New Yorkers” avow these “puffed-up” “dough balls” are certainly “not authentic”, but they’ll do “in a pinch.”
8351 W. Sunset Blvd.; 323-654-8300
12601 Ventura Blvd.; 818-761-8300
“Snappy dogs” “served in a train car in the middle of the Sunset Strip” in WeHo (and on Ventura in Studio City) draw “throngs of loyal fans” to these “funky, inexpensive” stops where the “greasy” chili burgers, fries and shakes also “hit the spot”; with “friendly, efficient service” too, it’s perennial “fun for kids” and anyone who agrees the “food might kill you, but you’ll die happy.”
For more Los Angeles Top Lists, click here.