jpie

We are spending the winter in Palm Springs and my DH has to go over to the Newport Beach for an appointment in early March. We are going to be spending 1 night in Costa Mesa and will have most of 2 days to explore and eat. Since the desert really doesn't have great Indian cuisine choices we were thinking of trying someplace in the area for Indian food one day for lunch or dinner. I know Artesia is considered "little India" so thought I would ask local CA residents if they have any suggestions. We are open to all other sorts of cuisines as well so any ideas for great food-lunch or dinner in that area would be very welcome-doesn't have to fancy.

Thanks in advance!

StuDudley

Why Artesia?? It really isn't close to Newport Beach or Costa Mesa. Use the proximity to the coast to experience some seafood. In Newport Beach:
The Crab Cooker Restaurant - 17260 E. 17th St, Tustin, CA 92780 | Tel : (714) 573-1077

Stu Dudley

jpie

Well while we are spending the night in Costa Mesa we are going to be exploring the whole area-meeting up with friends who want us to look at some investment real estate with them in Artesia, Long Beach etc. So our day is likely to take us in that area and I understand that Artesia is supposed to have good indian food. But seafood is good to-so thanks for that suggestion Our trip isn't really as tourists so we aren't looking for scenic areas-more interested in interesting food that we have in short supply in the desert like Indian Asian Greek etc.

bon_voyage

Jpie, I was going to suggest Din Tai Fung at South Coast Plaza and then saw that you are from Seattle and have a choice of DTFs. After doing a bit of web research, Artesia does look like the epicenter of the best Indian cuisine in the area. There’s a small cluster of restaurants in Tustin, https://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=ind...e+County%2C+CA.
I was at the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach in mid-December and it was just ok. It had been closed for a couple of years for a major renovation and reopened last summer. The killer crab claw dinner that used to be in the $30 range was now $80. I passed and had something that I don’t remember.

jpie

Yes we have been to DTF both in Seattle and in SoCal areas wen we lived down there. And I will probably wait for carb when we get back to WA closer to Dungeness I will check out Tustin area-thanks for the link! It does look like there are also a number of pretty highly regarding places even in the Long Beach area, so we'll probably choose based on where our schedule finds us on the day.

My husband insists that we drive to downtown LA on the way over for a stop at Langer's Deli-his must have meal anytime we are near LA

CaliforniaLady

Little India in Artesia is totally unique because the food is all authentic. I prefer vegetarian Indian food, and my go-to restaurant is Jay Bharat. It gets quite crowded because they lost their lease on their sister restaurant across the street, so go at lunch or dinner, right when they open. My second favorite is Rajdhani, which is an all-you-can eat Thali restaurant. You need to go there on an empty stomach, because there is so much food. I find it a little annoying because they don't have enough servers, so it seems a bit chaotic. Again, I would go when they open.

So there are my two favorite Indian restaurants in Artesia. There is a cool Indian grocery store up the street from Jay Bharat, which is always fun to browse in, even if you don't buy anything. There is also a dress shop nearby. Enjoy.

jpie

Thanks CaliforniaLady-I will check them out. So much food, so little time

mlgb

I have not been to Little India since prepandemic and don't know how things are running these days, but I also used to like Rajdhani for Thali. Also was fun to stroll around and look at the dress and jewelry stores, as well as the snack places.

jpie

Thanks all-we are headed there tomorrow and looking forward to our little culinary jaunt. We also have looked at Indian food places in Tustin just in case we don't make it up to Artesia-but hoping to check the area out.