[Solved] LINQ to Entities does not recognize the method System.String ToString() method

The error is because in Linq to SQL, the Query is converted to SQL and then executed in database and hence when you use ToString which is a .Net method, it is unable to do process it.

Solution is to use the SqlFunctions.StringConvert method.

List<SelectListItem> customerList = (from p in entities.Customers
                                        select new SelectListItem
                                        {
                                            Text = p.Name,
                                            Value = System.Data.Objects.SqlClient.SqlFunctions.StringConvert((decimal)p.CustomerId).Trim()
                                        }).ToList();