Flamingo and Decatur: Restaurant nirvana for anyone seeking variety, value and verve. A wacky ethnic diversity prevails around here. Kosher Chinese, Greek, Filipino fast food, Mexican, hot dogs and Russian are just part of the parade, to say nothing of the French, Thai and Lebanese—or the local McDonald's, looking lonely, hard by a Union 76 gas station. Let's work our way around the intersection, shall we?
Southeast
This quadrant is taken up by the Festival Specialty Center, home to a Marie Callender, Bangkok Market (a Thai market) and a dozen-odd various and sundry shops. The food's the thing in this center, which has three places I visit not infrequently.
One is a Russian restaurant that has recently changed names. Artem (247-8766) is a cozy izba, or Russian peasant's hut, all blond wood and rustic charm. The old name was Eliseevsky, but don't fret, this food hasn't changed much. Try borscht, a hearty beet soup, the flaky piroshkis, shashlik (Russian for shish kebab) or the house Napoleon, a layered stack of crepes filled with a rich Bavarian cream.
Next door is Byblos Café (222-1801), a bastion of Lebanese cuisine, and so what if the owners refer to their food as Mediterranean? Lebanon is as Mediterranean as Spain, Italy or France, but the label is misleading. Yes, this is the land of milk, honey and meat-stuffed eggplant, pepper and tomato, of okra stewed with big chunks of aromatically spiced beef, of honeyed pastries filled with dates and walnuts. But pita, not pizza, I cry.
Facing Decatur is Krung Thai (873-1951), one of our better Thai restaurants. The blackboard specials change daily, and the World Cup is being broadcast during lunch this week. The fried fish cakes called tod mun are redolent of basil and have a rubbery snap. I never eat here without ordering the roast duck curry, mild, sweet and pungent all at once.
Northeast
Maybe you hit Taco Bell or Schlotzky's, but when I'm in the Flamingo Business Center, I dash over to Shalom Hunan (871-3262). The Glatt Kosher kitchen has people from the local Chabad house supervising the cooking, by a local Chinese family. Spare ribs? You're joking. Better stick to delicacies such as the beef egg rolls, veal with garlic sauce, Peking duck and spicy Hunan fish.
Northwest
Renaissance Center West is the 900-pound gorilla of mini-malls in this area, and not surprisingly, home to an El Pollo Loco, an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant called Makino and a venerable Mexican restaurant that has been open for several decades here, Ricardo's (227-9100), from which, whenever the door is open, you can smell the lime in the margaritas and the grease in the fajitas pan for blocks.
Yiannis and Alice Goumroian own The Fat Greek (222-0666), which has, in a few short months, become a de facto social club for local Greeks and Armenians. The reason might be the friendliness of the owners, but I'm guessing it's this delicious, homey food, which tastes like what a Greek grandmother cooks for a church supper. The casseroles, pastisio (a rich macaroni and beef bake topped with Bechamel sauce) and moussaka, the definitive eggplant, ground meat and potato dish on this planet, are a must.
Next door to the Greek is Pho So 9 (876-2234), where you can get the meal in a bowl called pho—rice noodles in a beefy broth with various cuts of beef, assorted condiments and several spicy sauces to pile on. The restaurant also serves a number of delectable rice plates propped up with Vietnamese five-spiced chicken, grilled pork or beef balls.
Try Maharlika Restaurant and Bakery (220-5096) for steam-table adobo, longanica—the Filipino national sausage—or warm chicken chicharron, which is fried and salted chicken skins that the American Heart Association doesn't exactly sponsor. Packaged desserts and snacks from the Phillipines are sold here, and pancit, the sautéed rice noodles, are addictive.
Equally delicious are the Sabrett's hot dogs at Sammy's Dog House, a colorful, freestanding hut. Now that summer is in full force, you'll want to order one of these hand-squeezed strawberry or regular lemonades, or perhaps a root-beer float. French fries can be had with a gooey Ranch dressing. The restaurant also does a mean Philly cheese steak, the gut bomb that turned the City of Brotherly Love into Fat City.
Southwest
There is no minimall on this corner, just that lonely-looking McDonald's, but beyond it, there is one of our more charming—and idiosyncratic—restaurants. I'm talking about Josette's Bistro (227-4575), run by the irrepressible Josette LeBlond, with a name, a personality and a tableside manner, straight out of Central Casting.
Josette, who owns a French bakery in Los Angeles, started in her trade as a charcutiere, the person who makes patés, cold cuts and other delights from the lowly pig. Naturally, a selection of excellent patés and salamis await, but so do dishes such as hachis parmentier, a beef-and-potato hash from Lyons, and the classic bistro dish steak frites. For dessert, try one of the Brittany-style crepes smeared with Nutella, a chocolate-hazelnut spread.