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TYPHOON 

Gateway to the Extraordinary

3221 Donald Douglas Loop South Santa Monica (310) 390-6565

Where else can you order Kung Pao Chicken, Korean Kal-Bi steak, stir-fried crickets, Manchurian ants and deep fried frog legs while overlooking a runaway from which little planes glide in and out of the open sky?

At this cozy theme restaurant, where Jack Griffith (the dashing general manager who so resembles Ian McKellen) makes everyone feel at home, formalities are out the runaway and exciting culinary experiences are abundant.  The little room is packed with an energetic, cosmopolitan crowd.  The trendy are sucking down sake at the wide bar overlooking a 33-foot backlit mirror/weather map of the Pacific and the couple seated at the edge of the runaway is celebrating their silver jubilee over premium single malt whiskey.  For the martini lovers, there are the signature drinks of which the ginger martini and passion fruit martini are addictive!  On warm summer nights, the upper level open-air rooftop observation deck (shared by sister sushi restaurant Hump), becomes a romantic dinner setting under the stars with breathtaking views of the distant city lights.

Be prepared to eat with your hands and to leave ‘The Zone’ at home.  Although the more restrictive menu choices are available, you will be missing out if you are not prepared to dig in with your hands and get as adventurous as you would if you were hopping onto the little plane waiting on the runaway. 

For starters, there is the deep fried and perfectly crispy soft shell crab served with a pepper-garlic-vinegar sauce that you should pull apart with your hands.  Burma wings are slathered in pungent sauce and come with a heat quotient cooled only by the raita.  Whole catfish arrives at the table as if caught midstream, still twisting itself on the plate and on a bed of Schezwuan sauce.  The abundant fresh Maine lobster is deep fried and succulent and paired with a sweet miso coconut sauce.

Creator and owner, Brian Vidor has had led an adventurous life.  Having spent over a decade in Asia and Africa as an animal broker and touring as a guitarist as part of a rock band, it’s safe to assume the man’s experienced some exotic fare and developed quite a palate in the process.  His restaurant is testament to this.  Japan , Korea , Taiwan , Burma , India – they are all there on the eclectic menu, allowing the patrons to partake in the world without having to go any further than the airport the restaurant is perched on.