Zencu Sushi & Grill

Awesome happy hour specials!

If you are walking in Little Tokyo in the afternoon (4pm-6pm), and want an afternoon "snack", Zencu is a pretty cool place to go.

$1.99 for a glass of beer, and cheapo sushi, for less than $5 (California rolls and spicy tuna rolls). If you are looking for "authentic" Japanese food, this may not be the place to go.  Lunch and dinner look average....but for happy hour..this place rules!

319 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 687-7780

Phoenix Inn Chinese Cuisine

About the only thing that is open late in LA chinatown..

Having worked in downtown LA at night time, Phoenix Inn is the go to place for late night. Many Yelpers have complained that this place has lost its humble roots. Sadly this is true. Phoenix inn Chinese Cuisine is just like other Phoenix Bakeries in San Gabriel and Rowland Heights. If you are looking for family Chinese food this is not the place to go.

On other hand this place is great for late nights munchies. The mixed fruit tapioca $3.25 with honey walnut shrimp $ 8, is an unbeatable combo.

Got the late night muchines in downtown LA?...This is the place to go!

301 Ord St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 629-2812

Extraordinary Desserts

f you are into desserts...this place is extraordinary!!

Great desert place! It is a little pricey, generally more of a date place..but if you're not from San Diego, this is a pretty cool place to check out. I enjoy chocolate, and very sweet things.For those who don't have a sweet tooth, or don't like desserts super sweet, this may not be the best place to check out.

A small cake, which are very esthetically pleasing are around $10-$15. Anything bigger cost a lot more, you probably would want to take home.

Extraordinary Desserts is only for the chocolate brave!

1430 Union St
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 294-7001

Karl Strauss Brewery & Restaurants

Brewery/ Restaurant with craft brews and filling food.

Karl Strauss offers several different types of craft beers, along with American cuisine. I tried the beer burger and several types of mac and cheese. Most of the items were around $10-$15 dollars, but at least the food was filling.

The beer selection consisted  of Red Ales, IPAs, and other typcial styles. If you like beer paring this is a decent place to go. The menu has suggestions of what type of beer to get with what type of food. The pairings that I had went hand and hand. If you are not a beer person, then this place might not be the best place to go.

1157 Columbia St
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 234-2739

Tom's Jr's Burgers

Denny's fast food style in Downtown LA

Tom's Jr's Burgers servers breakfast, lunch and dinner all long. There are steaks, burgers, sandwiches and almost any other American cuisine food one can think of.

The problem here is the price. It is a bit more expensive than subway, little caeser's, and other places around the area ($6.50 for a steak sandwich). For being in downtown LA, the food here is very average.

Too much competition from the Taco shops that surround this place.

1883 Daly St
Los Angeles, CA 90031
(323) 227-0048

Takoyaki Tanota Truck

Octopus balls galore!

Takoyaki Tanota truck (I go to it when it is at the Torrance Maruki) offers 8 pieces of octopus balls for 5$. There are three flavors: original, ponzu and jalapeno.

The balls taste like octopus goo with a thin batter on the outside. The sauce goes really well with the Takoyaki though.

Not for everyone, but its worth a try!


(Sometimes located in front of Torrance Maruki)
Los Angeles, CA 90031
(310) 497-2829