International Food Center

This place is open again, I just went there yesterday.
The Vietnamese food and the Phở is really good!
I can’t wait to try the other food.

This place is awesome! Seriously, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican, Filipino and soon a korean bowl spot. This place is reopen, chinese food 40% off after 3pm, hey cant complain, its 40% off. Food prices are more reasonable for the downtown area, i think they save money on rent because they share a food court basement, so they past the savings on to you? But seriously its hard to find filipino food downtown anyway, but its nice to have that easy selection — there are many choices for you to try, and sometimes i dont feel like walking too far and just want to eat something homey. This place gets you full for less than 10 $, 5stars

It’s finally open after like 4 years.
Already I saw a lot of people enjoying phở, which smelled pretty good.
I had a bento box at the Japanese station, name of which I now forget. The box was tasty and quite large for $ 8 and included a soda. Nothing fancy but just fine for a food court.

This place was so bomb. I just planned an office lunch trip to this place, little did I know it was closed. .. :(

Oh where are you «The Basement”(my loving name for you), I miss you. Will you ever reopen… can you reopen after 2+ years of closure! Oh, I hope you can pull it off. I miss the variety perfect for a indecisive person.
Signed,
A loyal fan.

I need my #26 BBQ beef vermicelli noodles. Now that cold weather is approaching I will need my beef phở.
Please re-​open soon. PLEASE!

Dungeon… I miss you! We are moving soon and I hope I get to eat your tasty Japanese food again… the wanton soup at the Chinese counter is also great… I love it… they knew I was to get no onions or green onions… they have probably forgotten me… damn the fire!
This place offers decent food for a good price… I can’t wait for it to open… I look at the door everyday in hopes of it being open… they have a mysterious «Vacation» sign… maybe violations were found when the fire happened… whatever it is… bring back the dungeon!

Public Service Announcement to all those unclear about International Food Center’s fate:
Apparently they’re coming back in July — hooray! :D
[Edit 8÷20÷08: Boo, talked to some guys — looks like they’re not gonna be around for another few months. :/​.]
To backfill some people’s lack of knowledge as to why this place closed down… basically they had a fire around early May and offlined IFC in addition to a buncha restaurants in close vicinity.
=====
[insert post-​fire IFC foodie review here… expect rave reviews about cheap and delightful vietnamese food, as well as serviceable japanese/​burmese/​chinese/​mexican as well!]
In the meantime, here’s what I found to substitute your cheap eats:
Japanese: Muracci’s, across the street
Vietnamese: Golden Star in Chinatown
Burmese: Banana House (I know, I know this is Thai), across the street
Mexican: Los Socios (Kearny & Spring)

DAMN DAMN DAMN!!! I HATE FIRES!!! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???
So yeah… a big fire apparently closed this place down. until who knows when… I was looking outside my office window one day and I see firetrucks outside. I suddenly became frightened and anxious about my future of affordable lunches… During lunch I ran down and saw that its doors were shut with a sign indicating fire damage has forced it to close. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Ever since that traumatic day, I’ve gone by everyday hoping that today, perhaps, might be that magical day… frankly, I’m starting to lose hope…
Anyways, the International Food Court is excellent. I’ve tried every booth except the Mexican food. Yes — it’s divey as hell, but it offers a DAMN good bang for your buck. Plus they have Maury Show on when I get there…
I’d have to say my favorite thing to get was the $ 3 vietnamese sandwiches — YES YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT — THREE DOLLARS!!! Now every time I go eat lunch, that sandwich haunts me – it’s become an universal benchmark.
For example, today I had Japanese Curry w/​Chicken Katsu, which set me back $ 10 — in my mind I was thinking. I COULD HAVE GOTTEN THREE SANDWICHES WHICH WOULD HAVE FED ME FOR THREE DAYS. It’s become so common, I’m starting to see those sandwiches as some type of commodity that will replace the dollar… what can I do though… until it opens its doors again, I’ll have to just get sandwiches from Lee’s Deli… friggin costs 1.5 vietnamese sandwiches though. WHAT A RIP OFF!

I was looking forward to an awesome ethnic meal, as opposed to all the Specialty’s, Subways, Quiznos, Boudin, Noah’s in the area, BUT upon arrival, found this place closed!!!
WHY!!!
I asked some workers who came out of the ‘dungeon’ and they chuckled, saying it wouldn’t be open for another 8 weeks, at the earliest. WTF. So, apparently, there was some huge fire that smoldered everything. What a shame.

The «dungeon» as I call it, is one of the most popular food courts in the area. I got lucky finding this place as it is on the basement level.
With a great variety of choices to choose from, all diners (people working in the area, students, or locals) are satisfied. You can have sushi, phở, burritos, chow mein, and more in the same place. Having lunch with fellow co-​workers here is always fun.

You gotta love this! it is like being in the basement of a Singapore international airport where they have food venders with tasty delights you never knew you wanted much less to try. It’s located in a basement on the corner, but once you are down stairs, you will be transported into another world surrounded by a variety of food and people from around the world.
Ok, it is in a basement, but it is clean, large and full of 7 types of food venders with the actual ethnic people represented behind the counter. i know that is odd, but i am WAY more willing to try a bubbling green meat dish from Polynesia if the person handing me the toothpick of meat if the guy is Polynesia. I prefer the Vietnamese soups with empire roles dropped in for good measure. The Sushi is ok, but make sure they make it in front of you to be sure you know what you are getting.
In a simple statement, when you are looking for variety or can’t make up your mind, head here for a bit of experience and cheap eats.

Seems like everyone here has a favorite at the International Food Center (interestingly, the other entrance to this place calls it the «International Food Court»), and I tend to agree with Danielle V. Mine is the #5 phở tai at the Vietnamese place.
I’ve never tried the Mexican food here, but based on Whitney’s review, that’s where I’m going next.
The Japanese is okay. It’s served with a smile, and the portions are big. I stay away from the sushi and stick with the bento boxes.
If you opt for the Chinese food, order off the menu instead of the pre-​cooked stuff in the trays, and they’ll cook it up fresh for you. Good stuff.
Never tried the Thai place here, but the people who work there are so nice, I always feel a little guilty passing them up.
Finally, I have a fondness for the Filipino food, ever since the day I ordered the sinigang. The aunties behind the counter seemed so shocked that I even knew what sinigang was, that they gave me a HUGE portion and threw in a lumpia, giggling the whole time. And it was damn good.

I eat here once a week. I crave this place after a long vacation and when it is cold outside.
I always get the same thing. #5 Rare Steak Noodle Soup from the Phở place.
It is the best in the court. (I have sampled other fares) and it keeps me coming.

The burmese place makes curry noodles. They serve it with other stuff, which is lovely, but curry noodles make me happy. All for about five dollars. I love curry noodles. They are my friend. That means the burmese place is now my friend, and I will love it and hug it and name it george. But only if they keep serving curry noodles.

«…she smelled like soup.»
–So I Married An Axe Murderer
If I had to smell like a soup, it would be Phở. I usually go here to get my comfort food phở on. And I don’t give a phở if you don’t like the FOOD CENTER.
It’s down a scary set of dingy stairs, sure. It serves up a variety of strange cuisines and meats from all nations. I haven’t ventured past the phở or the chinese food, but I will one day. I am not afraid of the temple of doom of which other Unilocalers fear.
I grew up in an ethnic household. My grandma ate pigs feet and pig tails. I don’t even want to know what she put in her russian homemade «sloppy joe» —but I ate it. I guess I’m willing to try many things. Or I’m just always hungry.
When I moved to LA, I lived across the street from a friendly grocery store called Yucca Market. The market was more of a Latin-​blend, Asian-​owned cornucopia of ramen, strange fruits and the scary meat counter. Basically, anything within 50 feet of the meat counter smelled like… meat. Yet I bought my groceries there and lived to tell the story.
International Food Center is like a mix of everything. It’s like the lunch lotto. Stand in line, shout a number and prepare to wait for a little surprise.
I’ve now made my entire office smell like basil and chili, and I don’t hear anyone complaining.

I actually refer to this place as the ‘lunch dungeon’. Its really strange down there. You descend the staircase and you are transported to this dark underground cafeteria that sells a myriad of ethnic food. My old boss used to send me here to pick up some phở for lunch, so this is the where my first bowl of phở came from. After eating it at other, more legit Vietnamese places I realized that this place is super stingy on the meat slices. They give you like 5 paper thin slices of beef with your order, and the broth is always served practically boiling that you can’t even attempt to start eating it for a good ten minutes. And what’s a ‘beef ball’ anyway?
During the World Cup the dungeon was broadcasting all the games on this huge tv screen, there were tons of people crammed down there at the communal tables. It seemed quite the happening place to eat mediocre ethnic food whilst cursing the tv when your favorite team was losing. Well, the World Cup has come an gone so I see no real reason to ever venture down into the lunch dungeon again.

Im so pissed.
I went downstairs to the «secret asian underground» as I called it at my job in ’99, and went to my burmese go-​to place and instead of being greeted by my festive lady friends there, I was greeted by a herd of large men. The menu had no pretty pictures. THE TEA LEAF SALAD WAS PREMADE!!! The whole point of a tea leaf salad is to have it made fresh so the ingredients have different textures and tastes. What they tried to give me was a crappy looking soggy wilted hunk of crap with baby tomatoes on the top.
WHERE’D MY FRIENDS GO???
He tried to have me taste it and I put the fork in my mouth only to discover the mushy feel of wilted lettuce and cilantro, mushy soaked fava beans that were previously dried…
I’m heartbroken.

I’m all about choices, so food court variety is something that generally appeals to me on some level, but I find I’m incapable of thinking about anything, except, maybe the movie «Saw,» whenever I enter this carnival of chaos, located in a creepy basement at Kearny and Bush. It smells bizarre and I half-​expect to see carcasses lying about. Plus, I’m fairly certain that I got ‘the evil eye’ from one of the bus boys. Shudder.

I cannot believe this place only has one review! This place is the bomb! Where else can you find vietnamese, japanese, burmese, filiphino, chinese and mexican under one roof? Where else can you get some phở, some sweet sausage and garlic noodles with lamb curry? Where else can you might get cholera, see a 8″ rat (i swear those rat traps are huge!) and the extra special «meat of the day»?
the IFC!
don’t be scared. you know you want to try it out. if you can’t handle it, you might as well quit your Unilocal membership and go back to the Sizzler’s.