99-#13 jitlada.

So, my resolutions this year include losing the 10 pounds my deadened thyroid gland has put on (duh), improving my Spanish and eating my way through Jonathan Gold's 99 Essential L.A. Restaurants. Because I'm a simple gal. Who knows that while learning a new language and losing weight are lost causes, going to 99 restaurants is not.

I went through the list the other night, and I've already been to 13, although it's been more than five years since I visited a couple, Musso & Frank's and Lucques, so I'm not sure if they count. I think I need to go again, just to make sure they deserve to be on the list.

So, Friday, I made myself get in my car and drive some place to eat, because I'm so goddamned sick of Chipotle, and as much as I blame my sluggish thyroid for my recent weight gain, I know it's the vegetarian bowl-to-go with a massive side of chips and salsa every day that's really the culprit.

And I went to Jitlada, located in the Thai Town enclave of East Hollywood, although unlike most restaurants which are in crappy strip malls off Hollywood Boulevard, Jitlada is in a crappy strip mall off Sunset Boulevard.

If you live in L.A., you hear about this place a lot, and it always makes Gold's list every year. I'm not a huge fan of Thai food--I don't know why. But I figured if this place was as crazy authentic as everyone says it is, it'd be a whole different experience.

And it was. The menu at Jitada is legendary for it's last, type-written page...no photos, no graphics, just a list of 100's of dishes, crazy-ass ones like frog's legs, fish kidneys, mudfish and ox tails. Things only restaurant critics eat and then rhapsodize about.

Maybe I'll be more adventurous the next time I go back (because I do plan to go again), but since it was my first time there, I decided to stick with one of their famous dishes, the Morning Glory Salad. It was soooo good, lightly deep-fried watercress, bits of shrimp and veggies in this amazing sauce. I think it was lime and ginger. I don't know, but I ate it and loved it.