Best Places To Eat Before Or After A L.A. Rams Game
(Credit: Bacaro LA)
After more than twenty years without a football team, the Rams are back in Los Angeles. No need to spend your Sundays on the couch watching the team when you can head over to the Coliseum to see the action in full swing. Explore the neighborhoods around the arena, especially a few of the restaurants and cafes that are spread around the South L.A. and Exposition Park areas. Here are a few of the spots you can get a solid meal.
Chichen Itza
Mercado La Paloma
3655 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 741-1075
www.chichenitzarestaurant.com
Chichen Itza has received its deserved share of attention of the years, locally and beyond. The counter-service, family-owned restaurant's menu features dishes from the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico like cochinita pibil, pollo pibil, Yucatean bistec, a variety of tamales, panuchos, salbutes and more. Wash it all down with their agua de chaya, a beverage made from a Mayan superfood plant. Chichen Itza is tucked into a marketplace with other restaurants and shops, so save a little time to walk around before heading to the game.
Azla
Mercado La Paloma
3655 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 745-7455
www.azlavegan.com
Azla is the first Ethiopian restaurant to open shop in South L.A., and yes, it's also vegan. The family-owned and operated eatery is focused on healthy, nutrient-dense dishes adapted from tradition. The menu is a mix-and-match format, which allows you to add up to four wots, or stews, and salads to your choice of injera or brown rice. Expect to see dishes like red lentils in spicy berbere, yellow split peas with turmeric and ginger, marinated beets and quinoa, and tofu tibs with caramelized onions and tomatoes. Azla's closed on Sundays, so you there's limited opportunity to get there on game day, but their doors are open the rest of the week.
Figueroa Philly Cheese Steak
3844 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90037
(213) 748-9073
www.figueroaphilly.com
One of the most authentic philly cheese steak spots in the city is less than a half mile walk to the Coliseum. Figueroa Philly imports Amoroso's Baking Company rolls from Philadelphia and makes use of rib eye meat for the beef cheese steaks. Authentic indeed. The main menu features six different styles that can be made with steak or chicken, including the Italian with pizza sauce and provolone, the Texas with bbq sauce, cheese and onion rings, and the famous Figueroa with cheese, onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Pair your sandwich with sweet potato fries, beer-battered onion rings or natural cut chips, and you'll be good to go.
Everytable
1101 West 23rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 973-5095
www.everytable.com
The new fast casual chain's focus on seasonal ingredients and fresh meals is just as important as its commitment to offering food at a reasonable price point. The entire menu features takeaway meals available at prices based on the median income of the community around it. South L.A. - the first stop for the store - features dishes like Jamaican jerk chicken, Vietnamese chicken salad, Yucatan chili, chicken tinga, pozole rojo, and spaghetti squash with turkey and quinoa meatballs, and nothing is more than $5. Eat in store, or take advantage of Everytable's grab-and-go convenience.
Bacaro LA
2308 South Union Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 748-7205
www.bacarola.com
In light of football season, Bacaro extended its brunch hours, so now you can slide into a table as early as 8:30a on Saturday and Sunday. Crab cake benedict with grapefruit hollandaise, goat cheese polenta with lamb ragu, caramelized pastrami croque madame and green curry halibut ceviche will fuel your cheering for hours. The new brunch scheduled is here to stay, by the way, so you're set on Bacaro's $20 bottomless special for weeks to come.
Revolutionario
1436 West Jefferson Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(424) 223-3526
www.revolutionario.com
Revolutionario proves that you can expand your mind and palate when it comes to tacos. Here, the flavors of North Africa fill tortillas. Merguez and crispy potatoes, cilantro yogurt chicken, duck hash, ras-el-hanout cauliflower, smoked lamb tagine with chickpeas and sweet potato, and fish tacos with green harissa and shakshouka are a few of the items you might find on the menu. Hit up the "salsa" bar for an array of flavorful sauces and toppings to add to your meal. Revolutionario goes beyond tacos, burritos, bowls and quesadillas with ceviches, briks, and sandwiches, as well as North African sweets such as almond cigars, makroud, and semolina cookies.
Ebaes
2314 South Union Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 747-6888
www.ebaesla.com
An assortment of Asian tapas, ramen and sushi dominate the menu at Ebaes. Fill up on cut or hand rolls, tuna and salmon poke, or chicken avocado salad. Hot dishes like Korean bbq beef rice bowl, tonkotsu ramen or Hawaiian fried rice might be just what you're craving as we move into fall's chilly weekends. Ebae's offers a daily happy hour menu as well if you want to swing by for a post-game snack following an early game.
Lotus on Flower
3742 South Flower Street
Los Angeles, California 90007
(213) 478-0090
www.lotusonflower.com
Lotus on Flower manages to combine two things that are often not found in the same restaurant: hookah and shabu-shabu. The 21+ restaurant features a cozy, Middle Eastern vibe in the hookah lounge with a variety of flavors, including a number of premium blends such as Pumpkin Spice, Spiced Chai, Cucumber Lemonade and more. Once it's time to eat, you can go for a hot pot with vegetables, udon and your choice of broth, nigiri, sashimi and rolls. Spicy tuna and cream cheese-stuffed jalapenos, karage chicken, grilled chili lime chicken and spicy mayo-glazed crispy rock shrimp are a few of the dishes on the menu.
Nature's Brew Cafe
2316 South Union Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 741-9393
www.naturesbrewcafe.com
This casual neighborhood coffee shop and kitchen serves quality coffee and tea, pastries, breakfast platters, sandwiches and salads, many with a Middle Eastern flair. Sun-dried tomato and basil labne toast, smoked salmon omelette, quiche of the day, the chef's Mediterranean salad with kale tahini dressing, warm turkey sandwich with red cabbage, chimichurri and lemon garlic aioli. Beer and wine will be added to the menu soon, so this could easily become a your answer to a low-key pre-gaming stop before the games.
El Huero
3000 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 747-0012
www.elhuero.com
If you hear someone refer to their favorite walk-up taco stand on South Fig as Chano's, they're actually talking about El Huero. After a management change and revamp, this 24-hour stop is well-loved by those who want solid, inexpensive food well after the sun goes down. Hit up this joint before or after the game for machaca burritos, huevos rancheros, hard or soft tacos, a variety of nachos, and combos with tortas, taquitos, chiles rellenos and enchiladas to name a few.
Dirt Dog
2528 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 749-1813
www.dirtdogla.com
Dirt Dog serves bacon-wrapped beef frankfurters four ways: house, green, red and brown, and depending on your choice of topping and sauce. They all come with a mix of seasoned, grilled onions and peppers, and each one is stuffed into a Melrose Bakery bun. The folks behind this place get down and dirty with everything on the menus, including corn cobs covered in crema, cotija, cilantro and bacon bits, French fries seasoned with chile limon seasoning, deep fried Twinkies and Oreos and horchata ice cream with churros.
Jacks 'n Joe
2498 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 748-4565
www.jacksnjoe.com
Jacks 'n Joe touts breakfast all day, every day, so that's all you're going to get once you take a seat. The majority of the menu is a list of carb-loaders heaven with fruit, nut and sweet spread-slathered pancakes and French toast. Go big with a stack of seven buttermilk flapjacks served with butter, or choose something a bit more demure--the Totally L.A.'s only three crepe-style pancakes with berries. Egg lovers will enjoy one of the specialty omelettes or create their own version to go alongside the house's JNJ potatoes. Create a combo to get a little bit of everything, or try the JNJ breakfast burger if you want a true brunch vibe.
Himalayan House
1277 West Jefferson Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(323) 766-9775
The current iteration of the Himalayan House replaced Tara's Himalayan Cuisine, but the commitment to authentic Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan food remained. Nepalese-style curries featuring chicken or goat, chicken chow chow, slow-braised yak chili, chicken momo (aka dumplings), samosas and more are spread throughout a menu with familiar and delicious flavors. For a cool, sweet drink, they serve mango lassi, as well as a strawberry variation.
