After pledging not to serve stir-fried noodle dishes at his original Sticky Rice location, restaurateur Dave Tewasart found a workaround: He simply opened a noodle stand behind Sticky Rice and dubbed it Sticky Rice Two. In addition a fantastic khao soi, Tewasart serves up one of the best pad thais in the city. The springy, thin rice noodles pack a neat balance of sweet and sour, and come spruced up with julienned carrots and a smattering of crushed red pepper.

This restaurant just a stone's throw down Coldwater Canyon from the Wat Thai Los Angeles serves up LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold's favorite rendition of pad Thai. It clocks in a bit sweeter than your usual plate of fried noodles, rounded out with giant, plump shrimps.

Expats and Thai students studying abroad in L.A. swear by Ayara as being one of the more authentic restaurants in the entire city, and though pad thai largely goes unordered by native Thai folks who tend more toward regional dishes, it actually merits a spot at the table at this Westchester mainstay.

Night + Market WeHo offers a vegan pad Thai with tofu, and in the absence of meat remains an abundance of great sweet-savory tamarind flavor that doesn't really require animal protein to be fully appreciated.

Yai is definitely a front-runner for pad thai in Hollywood's crowded Thai Town, owing in part to its fantastic noodle preparation that gives nicely separated strands that lend well to mixing and adhere well to the crushed peanuts and additional toppings.

This papaya salad specialist also serves up a couple different types of pad Thai, including one tossed with crispy pork in addition to a crab-infused variety.

Is there anything Sapp ISN'T good at? The famed so-called coffee shop is known for its excellent jade noodles and an egg noodle with pork belly that's as authentic as it gets, and the pad Thai isn't an afterthought, either, in case you're the type to go to the same restaurant every time and want to try something different.

The semi-hidden restaurant above a Thai grocery store incidentally also serves one of celebrity chef Jet Tila's favorite pad thai dishes. If you're coming for dinner, don't be surprised to get some entertainment in the form of a karaoke night.

Pailin is a khao soi specialist (meaning it's probably a better bet to order a Northern Thai dish), but for the curry-and-sausage-averse, there's a more-than-serviceable pad Thai available.

In addition to the traditional pad Thai, Wat Dong Moon Lek Noodle also makes an woon sen pad thai, which replaces the traditional rice noodles with glass noodles. Translation: gluten free pad thai.

One of the busiest takeout spots on Colorado happens to serve up one of the better pad Thai dishes in L.A., with mellowed-out acidity and restrained sweetness that lets the tamarind come through.

Pasadena is home to a surprising abundance of Thai restaurants, and since the change of ownership at Saladang, Daisy Mint appears to be the strongest competitor in the field. The pad thai comes out perfectly cooked to just a bit chewy, while being a little easy on the sweetness and a little heavy-handed on the sourness and acidity.

You're here for the meats, but if you want to get some carbs at Spicy BBQ and you like your noodles heavy on the sauce, the pad thai packs serious flavor and is a welcome — if not brief — relief from all of the fantastic grilled meats at this cash-only hole in the wall.