How to do dineLA the right way

While Los Angeles is home to some of the most diverse food vendors and restaurants, it’s not exactly the cheapest place to dine. As a student, it’s hard to explore the culturally rich food scene this city has to offer while also staying on a budget. DineL.A. just made it a little easier to overcome that financial hurdle. 

The dining affair, which ends Jan. 31, offers lunch and dinner menus from over 400 restaurants in the L.A. area. Lunch prices range from $15 to $35 and dinner options range from $29 to $99 for tasting menus.

Just go to any of the listed restaurants and ask them for their dineL.A. menu. You might want to book your reservation ahead of time as some of the restaurants tend to get pretty packed. The listed menu prices exclude taxes and gratuities, so you should definitely take that into account when looking at them. 

I’d recommend taking advantage of dineL.A. as much as you can. It’s only the third week of school, and for many of us the stress has already kicked in. A fancy meal could be your form of self-care, so find a restaurant you like, de-stress and enjoy a meal on a budget!

Here are two of my top restaurant recommendations for budget-conscious foodies. 

Located in the heart of L.A.’s Financial District, Harbor House serves New American cuisine and is accessible for USC students. To get there, use the DASH F bus, with stops located right next to the USC Village, and get off at 7th & Fig. Another option is to take the Expo Line and get off at 7th Street Metro. 

This is the perfect lunch spot, with its chic interior, its sophisticated ambience and its gorgeous views of downtown. I went at the height of the lunch rush hour and I got a table without too much difficulty. 

My friend and I started off with the French onion soup, which was the perfect balance of salty, cheesy and rich flavors. Next was the main dish: a salmon entrée with rice pilaf, lemon brown butter sauce and sauteed vegetables. The fish was a perfectly light and healthy meal, especially following the rich and hearty soup. While it didn’t have the wow-factor in terms of flavor, the dessert made up for it: a deep-fried twinkie with vanilla ice cream. It was absolutely divine, even though it wasn’t something you’d expect to follow a fish course. I love desserts which combine hot and cold foods, and the ode to a childhood staple hit the spot. 

You might have heard of this popular sushi spot located near The Last Bookstore downtown, and never got the chance to go because it’s sushi which is expensive. The KazuNori dineL.A. menu is well worth it, however, and is a nice break from the questionable packaged rolls found at Seeds Marketplace and Trojan Grounds on campus. 

The easiest way to get to the restaurant is by taking the Expo Line to 7th Street and then the Red Line to Pershing Square. From there, it’s just a short walk to the restaurant.

I went there on a Sunday and the line to get in was pretty long, with about a 30 minute waiting period. 

The restaurant presents a unique dining experience, where, instead of multiple tables, everyone is seated at one bar-style table, a layout perfect for anyone interested in wishing to dine alone. 

The first dish I ordered was the salmon sashimi. It came out of the kitchen very quickly and tasted heavenly. It was a fantastic, a perfectly cut, melt-in-your-mouth dish that set the bar high for the rest of the meal. 

The rest of the course consisted of three handrolls: the toro (also known as “fatty tuna”), cucumber and crab handrolls. Unlike the more standard bite-size sushi rolls that many of us are accustomed to, these rolls are palm sized and are mostly eaten by hand. The rolls were delightful and were some of the best I have had in L.A. The fish was top quality and the seaweed wrap had the perfect amount of crunch to it. What really stood out to me was the stickiness and quality of the rice, something often overlooked when reviewing sushi.