Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Here's a voice from the Peanut Gallery (Los Angeles). On the West Side, Pho 99 at 11819 Wilshire Blvd, has excellent Banh Mi for about $4.95, delicious Pho, and many other Vietnamese dishes well prepared at low prices. Pleasant atmosphere with attractive art on the walls. Accommodating waiters, who take substitutions helpfully (noodles instead of rice in some standard dishes).
Don't be put off by seeming distance; it's their newly growing command of English that makes THEM uncomfortable. With a few seconds of effort they warm up and become quite friendly. And any back-and-forth when asking for substitutions is not reluctance, but an attempt to get your request clear in their mind despite any possible language barrier.

I've eaten there several times a month. Recently I was under the weather and their chicken soup Pho was a life-saver. it's not just from Jewish mothers.

The hamburger was great--pricey at $16, but great...!!

Oh, and the house banh mi wasn't very good. Some slack because they are just opening up, but really, that sandwich was nothing to write home about. There are better versions in Brooklyn for $4.

the soup isn't served at breakfast. just lunch and dinner starting at 11:30, I believe. No brunch, gargupie. Breakfast goes from 7 to 11. Then the all day menu starts. Dinner sounds great, momstheword. That's the time to go during the week.

I just hope he doesn't forget what city he is cooking in though ;)

it's restaurant conglomerate versus restaurant conglomerate here; i can't imagine a burger from the same people as blue water grill would be any good but . . . . i want some of those veggie fries!

Does everything have to have bacon in it? Geez.

I love DC!

At Bill's Burger, the Fat Cat was a wonderful thing, due in part to the carmelized onions. However, its still the meat that shone through brightest, and for that, Bill's Burger is less deserving of any accolades than those mad meat scientists downtown. Asside from those carmelized onions, my burger sported a seasame bun (I custom ordered this but maybe I should try it as is with the english muffin next time) and American cheese. Clearly, this isn't the most brilliant example of a LaFrieda burger. I'm not saying simple is bad. All I'm saying is, true praise is deserved only when you take a fundamentally great ingredient and make it greater through your own ingenuity. And that is why Shake Shack wins. Meyer's Shack sauce is a maddening addition to the meat that mystifies and excites (Direct quote from the gf trying her first Shack burger: "Yo, why is this so good?! Like seriously... why!?"). Bill's is a little more straighforward. Also, I prefer the way Shack griddles the patties, not smashing them as severely as they do at Bill's, where a juicy medium rare is unattainable because the meat is pressed so thin. The upshot is, I'm nitpicking, and really, I loved Bill's burger. But unlike you, Ed, choosing between Shack and Bill is not like choosing between two of my equally loved children. It's like choosing between two of my children, one of whom is uglier and less intelligent. (I'm jk, I don't have children and I wouldn't, at least I don't think I would, love an uglier child less)

Yes, it's pretty hard to enjoy a meal at Brooklyn Star without getting airlifted out afterwards. But very, very worth it.

PORK CHOP, I LOVE YOU. If only I could've added Japanese curry.

Sweet jeebus, I need to haul a bunch of people and eat there! It all looks amazing.

Most likely after ingesting all of that food I need to starve myself for a couple of days and run on a treadmill as well.

why has no one mentioned The Dumpling Man?