About a month ago, I wrote up this useless post about a bowl of pho ga which has been around since May. I chose to not divulge this info for “Under $10″ due to the restaurant rescinding the offer in early July. Since then, I’ve been asked numerous times when this special will return.

As of last week, $3.50 got you a large bowl of pho ga (chicken) again. We all already think $6 bowls of beef pho all around LA, SGV & Little Saigon are tremendous values, but then, there also exists a gushing review of a vegan $6.50 banh mi sammy in Reseda. This particular bowl of lighter pho, relatively to that banh mi, is the king of Vietnamese cheap.

Is this pho ga that great? Nope. Is it worth some discourse on how to best make pho ga? Nah. But the noodles were filling, the white meat chicken shards were tender (and obviously juicy since it’s served in a bowl of hot liquid), the greens were fresh. There is undeniable flavor of… MSG, but at the end, it really does fill you up, and is the closest to the city of Los Angeles where one can savor the aroma of Thai basil this cheaply.

We’ve also had pho + bun here. All standard fare, reasonably price, no waiting, nothing poked out as spectacular, but hey, if it means not having to eat at Pho Pasteur, it’s a plus in my book. Final note: the restaurant kinda charges whatever they feel like. Sometimes you bill doesn’t compute down to a $3.25 bowl of pho. Pho caveat emptor. Please don’t be mad at them folks, just consider it a water usage donation that goes nowhere.

Pho Ha
8766 Valley Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770-1712
(626) 288-8801
via Sinosoul.com

That’s right. We’ve gone off the deep end dining wagon. This is straight up ghetto. LAist recently did a study of the “fish dogs” at Wienerschnitzels hence it’s only right Losanjealous will now present the $2.99 Big Bite 1/4 pound hot dog from 7-11.

It’s salty. That’s all you have to know.

On this particular day, the Asian owned 7-11 in Long Beach was feeling damn generous. In addition to the regular small bag (approximately 1 oz) of generic 7-11 chips, I was able to charm myself to a gigantuan cup of 32 Fanta cherry Slurpee as well as the larger 1.5 oz bag of chips. These were, apparently, upgrades versus the regular 2.99 menu. Cherry slurpee was amazing when it first came to market, and it is still amazing this hot summer lunch. There’s no doubt this 300 calorie behemouth of a cup was packed with HFCS, but a partial reason for this insanity was to examine the health impact of an impoverished diet. (By impoverished, I mean myself).

After masticating the first chomp, I saw these red hogs were advertised as Oscar Meyer dogs. Despite Oscar’s stature as #1 selling brand of dogs in America, I have no recollection of how this wiener should taste. Can’t even remember the last time I had a non-Vienna hot dog. Basically, this “review” is useless as a comparative study of a 7-11’s grub against others in the market.

The hot dog itself was salty, with no snap, with nary a resemblance of meat inside the non-existent casing. The condiments are all canned or otherwise nearly inedible. Saving grace was the mayo I squeezed over this pup. Since the mayo was in the chilled condiment counter, it was inevitable the greasy squeeze bottle molested my every single fingers before even leaving the store. Don’t want to think about how many pairs of hands touched that before 12:30 noon. *barf*

Total Damage: $3.67, 921 calories, 53 grams of fat, 100 grams of carbs

Please allow me to apologize for this snore of post. It’s a 7-11 hot dog, I ate it for you, hope that’s entertaining enough.

7-11
at every corner near you, USA

- Via SinoSoul.com

This joint, as all joints that you don’t know, is really hard to find first time out. It’s just a across the lot from the Anh Hong, the 7 course beef joint, and it’s also across the drive way from Di Vang 3. On the north side of Westminter Ave, right before Brookhurst.

I haven’t set foot inside this plaza in at least 5 yrs, the last time we were here for 7 course beef @ Anh Hong. Things are… well.. different. But not exactly that different. Di Vang is up to #3 now, and the $1.99 restaurants are now $2.99…

The $2.99 menu, courtesy of K.D. from Yelp

-Bun Bo Hue (spicy central beef noodles)
-Bun Rieu (tomato, crab meat vermicelli)
-Canh Bun (similar to bun rieu, with d’frent “stuff’ inside?)
-Com Ga Chien Don (crispy fried leg quarter with rice)
-Com Ca Chien Don (crispy fried fish filet with rice)
-Com Suon (pork chop price)
-Pho Ga

additional items are
Bánh Canh – udon-esque? rice noodle soup with.. “stuff in it”
Banh Khot – small coconut folded flapjacks
Com Lap Xuong – rice and Chinese style sausages.
and a coupla d’frent types of soup noodles.

If coming by one self, the 4 com (rice) dishes are the safest in terms of being full and not scared away by unknown stuff. It’s just 1 piece of fried protein, 1 cup of rice, and some greens. I’d ask for nuoc mam which comes with the other banh dishes, but oddly not with my fried chicken. The chicken which arrived was beyond deep fried (to ward off botulism? not sure?) and just not that great, but the neighbor’s com suon look significantly better. banh khot was clearly a money-maker for this joint as the plate had 8 tiny puffs of coconutty folded crepe things.

According to the gastronomer, Song Huong is named after “Perfume River” in Hue city. Not sure how reflective the menu is of Hue food but.. hey, it’s $2.99. Just don’t get the water, it’s not free. If you get a drink, get something that sounds expensive. NOT that I know how to read Vietnamese, but when in doubt, che ba mau always seem the most labor intensive and most fun (which..I don’t think they have but.. whatever). For another $1, you can get trung op la, a fried egg, which is presumed to be eaten over the price dishes.

Song Huong
10141 Westminster Ave #N
Garden Grove, CA 92843
(714) 537-9304

- via SinoSoul

Awhile back, a lil bloggin’ birdie dropped some poop which led to this craptastic pie at Coop. Still love you Ronnie, tho BARELY.

This is one of the better slices in the Westside, beyond Joe’s in Santa Monica. The gentleman, Mr. La Rocco, can be seen grubbin on his own product, doing the crossword puzzle(?) on a random early evening. He likes fresh roma tomatoes with garlic knots. That’s respectable.

Not sure where the actual pie slingers are from, but this is what makes this joint great: the puttanesca slice. Sugo alla puttanesca has been falsely portrayed as sauce in the style of a whore in Italian. While the blogger/writer Steve Parzen clearly dispeled any notion the puttanesca sauces are whorish, it is no doubt tasty. Traditionally, puttanesca has involved olive, salted anchovies, tomatoes and chili flakes, LaRocco’s version utilizes artichokes, basil and pecorino romano to give the sense of a kitchen sink spilling over onto the pizza. Recipes evocative of kitchen sink are often some of the finest assemblages of ethnic cuisine: think bi bimp bap.

What makes LaRocco a viable “Broke Ass Dining” entry is the daily special of 2 slices & a soft drink for $6. In the traditions of a NY pizzeria, nearly all the special pies at LaRocco are available by the slice, from the puttanesca to the Brooklyn to the Spinach & Pomodoro. There is no where in LA where you’ll find a slice of white pie (Delicious ricotta cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan & fresh garlic.) of this caliber for only $3 (assuming fountain drink is $1). The crust is half decent, you can get the slices reheated to extra crispy in their Baker’s Pride(?) deck office, or you can get it regular (still pipin’, mouth roof burning hot) which yields just a bit of foldability.

A final note: LaRocco’s is NOT Rocco’s Pizza. Mr. Paul LaRocco is from Manhattan’s Lil Italy; the Rocco family is from Staten Island, aka, Manhattan’s garbage dump.

LaRocco’s Pizzeria
3819 Main St.
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 837-8345

via SinoSoul.com

To start, D-Town Burgery has asshattery of a name. It’s contrived, gentrified, and overall more tarded than “Umami Burger”. Then they proceed to offend with a 50’s inspired menu rocking 2010 hipster prices; nearly $8 for a institutionized double burger combo featuring worthless HFCS doused fountain drinks. HFCS is very 1982, not 1952:

Downtown Fanbois are alread hyping this as the next best thing after Pete’s burger. Yet no one mentions Pete’s Hellman burg smells like downers cow and borderlines cardboard bland? From the pre-formed factory processed pre-formed patty (per proud hostess: “we get them delivered”), to the bleached white bun, to the insipid American cheese, there is no redeeming value in D-Town, cept the faux art pieces adorning the walls, and a jukebox that you can’t play

And yes, it’s under $10, but why not stuff your face at 7-11 down the street with equal abandonment?

Grand opening date: March 6th, first visit date: March 5th, date of actual burger bite, March 7th.

D-Town Burger Bar
216 W 6th St
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 228-0022

Via SinoSoul.com

Following the footsteps of Christian so and so, the publisher of “What Stuff People Like”, now available in print, you decide to partake in a bit of #71 action: “Being the only white person in the room”. In the morning, from say Silver Lake, or Echo Park, City of Alhambra is only a quick 20 minute jaunt. If you’re on your fixie, I’d suggest shelling out the big bucks at La Mill. But given the opportunity, the little ladies of Banh Mi My Tho throw down a better breakfast than Mr. Adrian Vasquez (who recently became a father to a baby daughter, and of course, is the pastry chef behind LA Mill’s gourmet eats).

the clusterF that is BMMT

You start off with a very basic fried egg “sandwich” at $2.50. This ham Sammie, over foot long, is presented as a freshly baked faux French baguette, sometimes just out of the oven. Some may contend Subway also uses “freshly baked” bread, but let’s not forget Subway’s dough is always previously frozen, shipped from a central location, and when baked, has the texture of dry sponge. Banh Mi My Tho bakes their baguettes in small batches everyday. At breakfast time, it’ll be almost warm, topped with peppery fried egg , dressed with a wee bit of mayo, stuffed with lightly pickled julienned daikon and carrots, as well as sprigs of cilantro, slices of jalapeno and cucumber, all “done your way”. To turn this into a breakkie Sammie, all is needed is another $1 for a couple slices of Vietnamese style ham.

Here we present the $3.50 breakfast sandwich:

Under $10 meals are just too simple. Let’s go for a realtor-in-Florida broke and take this baby down to $5 per meal from now on.

Banh Mi My Tho
304 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803
(626) 289-4160

via SinoSoul.com

Jasmine is the .5 of the 2.5 Burmese restaurants in all of LA.

Why only .5? Cuz they only have 5 Burmese dishes. I remember reading about this joint last year, but promptly dismissed it due to: again, only 5 Burmese dishes, and: it’s wayy the eff far in Culver City. Alas, a year after Mr. Gold’s article in LA Weekly came out, a certain West Side cheap food go-to guy ** WAVE to Wilbur** reminded me of its existence.

Tho I perused several Chowhound page, I ended up with all Indian dishes as they were out of the mohinga – fish noodle soup – so we ended up w/ a mild chicken tikka and a bow of lamb curry. The chicken tikka was served like a plate lunch, w/ a side of alu gobi cauliflower & veggies. The lamb curry came w/ naan and rice. Both curries were on the brothy, thin side. Lamb curry was ordered spicy, but ended up with medium punch. Medium is good. My toilet appreciates medium. Alu gobi was also thinner than usual just like the curries, but it was just enough to tease the palate and compliment the chicken tikka.

Total Damage: $16 for 2. No tip. Btw, don’t get Vimto soft drink… They didn’t have Thums Up nor Limca so I was recommended Vimto. *HURL*. Tastes like Robitussin. But wait, that Category tag cleary shows “Under $10″ and bloggers should not lie!

Above is a bowl of $3.49 of khao soi. What in Sam’s name is khao soi? Let’s just say prior to the current ramen craze, there was a man on a quest for the best bowl khao soi in all of the US of A. You don’t have to be that eruditious, but know for $3.49, you will receive a very hearty bowl of: Chinese wheat noodle, in coconut chicken soup with red onion, eggs, fried split bean, fish sauce, fish sauce, chili and spices. Never mind they double up on the fish sauce. Never mind this supposed Burmese place is identified a “Thai” dish “Chinese”. Never mind the operators look straight up Indian. Never mind the menu description of the noodle razes any hope of a culinary mystery & surprise. For $3.78, tax inclusive, it’s the most interesting bowl of noodle soup on the West Side. You might not be stuffed to the gills, but you will, and I guarantee this, walk out with a smile.

Jasmine Market
4135 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 313-3767

-via SinoSoul