Leela Thai Restaurant

With its spitting-distance proximity to hot Silver Lake indie-rock club Spaceland Leela Thai has the distinction of feeding more hungry touring rockers than just about any restaurant in town. At a recent Jens Lekman show at the Henry Fonda Theater the dreamy Swedish crooner recalled eating next door to Spaceland where "there's a really good Thai place." Located in a little house, brightly painted, trimmed with yellow and flush with lush, potted foliage, Leela Thai has served up delicious Thai fare on decorative silver-plated platters for over a decade. Noodles and soups are great but people go crazy for the special "Wisdom of Life" curry, which is spicy-sweet in a creamy coconut-milk sauce.

TIPS: A balmy outdoor patio is the perfect place to enjoy Leela's ridiculously cheap lunch special. Served daily from 11:30am until 3pm get a main dish like garlic pork, beef broccoli or spicy eggplant with soup or salad, spring roll and white or brown rice for $4.95.