Los Angeles Restaurant List---- |
| Peppone |
| Italian |
| Unknown |
| A 1730-2230 |
| This irresistible Italian spot offers authentic and appetizing stylings, service and servings. The tiny bar is packed with salivating would-be diners waiting for tables to open in the dark, cozy, wood-paneled dining area. Dozens of hanging stained-glass lamps illuminate the happy couples and groups crowded into red-leather banquettes at this clubby, old-school Italian gem. While not trendy, Peppone's gets its share celebrity diners, who require reservations like the rest of us. The Food Since the mid-'70s, Peppone's has been much revered, and deservedly so. Hearty, rich red sauces over perfectly al dente pasta, all put together tableside and paired with one of Peppone's 1,200 wines. Lighter palates might favor the Eve salad, a chopped concoction loaded with cucumbers, mushrooms and eggplant, or a sumptuous, hearty appetizer of veal and chicken ravioli with a four-mushroom sauce--also available in an entrée size. Twenty choices of fish, a $70 lobster tail, a plethora of pasta, lamb and beef options means even the most persnickety palate will be pleased. |
| (310) 476-7379 |
| 11628 Barrington Ct -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Zankou Chicken |
| Middle Eastern/Armenian |
| Unknown |
| A 10-24 |
| I ran in to Zankou Chicken totally by accident some years ago when I came to L.A. to work on a series pilot. I've been raving about it ever since. Now, whenever I go to Los Angeles, or know of someone working there, I recommend Zankou Chicken. Best place to eat in L.A. (at least for any reasonable amount of money). I've always found the chicken delicious and superbly marinated in something. I wish I knew what. The garlic paste that comes with the chicken is probably not going to win you any friends - so you may not want to go on a date - but the taste is amazing. I even like the pickled turnips! The service - when I've been - has always been VERY fast. However, this is not a place to go for service or ambience - it's a fast food joint, when you get right down to it. The counter people are frequently non-English speakers, but the menu is so limited that it's not a problem. The one thing they COULD do is provide a guide to some of the unusual items - like 'tarna' (see below). However, I've occasionally just tried something like "Well - I haven't tried 'x' before...". |
| (213) 665-7845 |
| 5065 W Sunset Blvd -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Renu Nakorn |
| Thai |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Renu Nakorn’s food is spicy, but what makes it wonderful is the fresh play of tastes, a fugue of herbs, meatiness and citrus that is quite unlike anything at your corner Thai café. There’s a blistering larb of finely ground catfish; the thinnest sour strands of shredded bamboo; great Thai beef jerky; and an extraordinary version of steak tartare that is so delicious it could sear the hairs out of your nostrils. Lunch and dinner daily. Beer and wine. Lot parking. |
| (562) 921-2124 |
| 13041 E. Rosecrans Ave. -- Norwalk |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Il Pastaio |
| Italian |
| Unknown |
| M-Sa 1130-23 Su 17-22 |
| This was Celestino Drago’s first café spinoff, and its original concept — carpaccio, salad, pasta and risotto (no meat-centered entrées) — remains sound. The window-walled room on the corner of Canon and Brighton fills with sun and Beverly Hills types; don’t expect a lot of elbowroom or romance, but the food is reliably delicious. Try the chewy garganelli with broccoli and sausage, and spelt spaghetti dressed simply in butter, ricotta and lemon zest. The remarkable black squid ink risotto looks like asphalt and tastes like heaven. |
| (310) 205-5444 |
| 400 N. Canon Dr. -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021007 024047 |
| The Ivy |
| American |
| Unknown |
| LD A |
| The patio here is a New Yorker’s perfect dream of Los Angeles, splashed with sunlight, decorated with amusing American kitsch, populated with lunching actresses, agents, and New York magazine editors in town to take the pulse of the city. The food — crab cakes, corn chowder, New Orleans–style barbecued shrimp — is acceptable though expensive, down-home food at uptown prices. But the Ivy’s definitive corn chowder, concocted by a practically teenage Toribio Prado before he decamped to found the Cha Cha Cha empire almost 20 years ago, sizzles with gentle chile heat. |
| (310) 274-8303 |
| 113 N. Robertson Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Matsuhisa |
| Japanese |
| Unknown |
| L M-F D A |
| Nobu Matsuhisa was the first sushi master to introduce Americans to yellowtail sashimi with sliced jalapeños. Playing with tradition has made him an international star. Locally, you can try his food at the modest Ubon noodle house at the Beverly Center and the high-end Nobu in Malibu, but his original, stunningly uncharming location on La Cienega is still, to our mind, the best bet — especially if you sit at the sushi bar and give your chef free rein. To this day, despite many attempts, nobody has improved on his innovations. Reservations are a must and, at times, a pain. |
| (310) 659-9639 |
| 129 N. La Cienega Blvd. -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Talesai |
| Thai |
| Unknown |
| L M-Sa 1130-1430 D A 17-22 |
| The owners of Talesai on Sunset Boulevard brought all their experience and many of their best dishes to this chic, glassed-in fishbowl of a café situated at one end of a Beverly Hills mini- mall. Friendly service and beautiful Asian statuary mitigate the industrial spareness of the room, but nothing tempers the boomeranging noise during dinner. Through it all, the refined Thai cooking sings with freshness, quality and flavor — try crisp corncakes, chicken curry, rib-eye salad, all the desserts. |
| (310) 271-9345 |
| 9198 Olympic Blvd. -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Spago |
| California |
| Unknown |
| L M-F 1130-1415 L Sa 12-1415 D A 1730-2400 |
| The flagship restaurant of the Wolfgang Puck empire, Spago in Beverly Hills replaced the original Hollywood Spago — and then some. Barbara Lazaroff’s dining-room design is lavish yet, for her, restrained: large-scale ceramics and bright paintings, warm wood, comfy seating, a general homage to California sunshine. A large courtyard patio is the place to sit, at least until the cigar smokers light up. The kitchen is a small village unto itself with its own butchers, bakers, cooks and candy makers. Chef du cuisine Lee Hefter produces classically rigorous, lyrical Cal-French food with a strong Asian edge. Pastry chef Sherry Yard offers Austrian specialties, seasonal fruit desserts, and the city’s most nuanced and pleasurable chocolate concoctions. Puck himself, ever cheerful and outgoing, is often on the premises. Stars, moguls, tourists, lunching matrons and serious suits fill the tables. The service is a well- tempered hybrid of warmth, humor and strict professionalism. Some complain that regular customers get better treatment than the rest of us, but then, sometimes life is like that. |
| (310) 385-0880 |
| 176 N. Cañon Drive -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Zankou (Burbank) |
| Middle Eastern/Armenian |
| Unknown |
| 10-24 A |
| The chicken sandwiches are good at Zankou; so are the falafel and the shawarma carved off the rotating spit. But the spit-roasted chickens, golden, crisp-skinned and juicy, are what you want. Such chicken really needs no embellishment, but a little bit of Zankou’s fierce, blinding-white garlic sauce couldn’t hurt. |
| (818) 244-2237 |
| 1415 E. Colorado Blvd. -- Glendale |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Carousel (Glendale) |
| Lebanese-Armenian |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Th 1130-2130 FSa 1130-25 Su 1130-2130 |
| There are two Carousels, and the Glendale branch may well be the best, most interesting Lebanese-Armenian restaurant in Los Angeles. The big, brash room, bedecked with scimitars and other Middle Eastern antiques, accommodates large parties and dating couples alike — but there’s also a more intimate patio. The food sparkles with freshness — and lemon. Go for the meze (cheese borek, muhammara and houmous sojouk) and kebabs (try the yogurt lula kebab), and also for hard-to-find delicacies such as frogs’ legs, roasted quail and lamb’s tongue. Check ahead to see if there’s live music. |
| (818) 246-7775 |
| 304 N. Brand Blvd. -- Glendale |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Casa Bianca |
| Italian |
| Unknown |
| D Tu-Sa |
| Of all the neighborhood pizza parlors out there, each of them touted as the best in the Southland, one of them actually has to be the best. And our vote goes to Casa Bianca, especially if the pizza happens to include the fried eggplant, the sweetly spiced homemade sausage — or both. The crust is chewy, yet speckled with enough carbony, bubbly burnt bits to make each bite slightly different from the last. |
| (323) 256-9617 |
| 1650 Colorado Blvd. -- Eagle Rock |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Raffi’s Place |
| Persian/Armenian |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Sa 1130-22 Su 12-21 |
| You go to Raffi’s for its enormous, affordable plates of Persian-Armenian food, but you also get canaries singing in the trees, a heated brick patio, quick service and a location close to Glendale’s best movie theaters. Everyone comes for the grilled kebabs served with whole charred tomatoes and peppers, plus mountains of aromatic basmati rice — try the shishlique, or lamb chops. Also recommended: the lemony hummus and a smoky eggplant dip (baba ganoush) scooped up with supple, paper-thin lavash. |
| (818) 240-7411 |
| 211 E. Broadway -- Glendale |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Taylor's Steak House (Flintridge) |
| American |
| Unknown |
| L A 11-15 D A 16-22 |
| The two Taylors are everything a steak house should be: dark, clubby, with red booths and frosted glass. The drinks are strong, and the menu’s long suit is meat, specifically steak, at very delicious prices. Never mind that you might be the only Democrat or Jew or nonwhite in the room. Get a culotte, the rib-eye, or the big filet. And don’t miss the Molly Salad, a variation on the lettuce wedge, invented by a former waitress. |
| (818) 790-7668 |
| 901 Foothill Blvd. -- La Cañada-Flintridge |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Beaujolais Boulangerie |
| French |
| Unknown |
| B L Tu-Su 7-1830 |
| One result of Eagle Rock’s ongoing shift toward the hip is Beaujolais Boulangerie, a cheery bakery and lunch spot with both inside and al fresco seating, and affable French servers with whom you can parlez français without fear of sneers. Breakfast is a Continental affair: coffee, fresh baked items (croissant, brioche, pain), juice. Better yet is lunch: the rich trembling quiche, hearty meal-size salads (try the warm goat cheese with thin strips of grilled eggplant) and Boulangerie’s immediate cult favorite, an enormous béchamel-drenched Croque Monsieur. |
| (323) 255-5133 |
| 1661 Colorado Blvd. -- Eagle Rock |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Wabi Sabi |
| Cal Japanese/Pacific Rim |
| Unknown |
| D A |
| In a neighborhood where artists once rented studios for pittances, a sleek new commercial district of antique stores, design offices and high-end restaurants has evolved — including Wabi Sabi, a skinny storefront refashioned into a Matsuhisa-derived sushi bar/Pacific Rim dinner house. Drop in for a big bowl of Cal-Asian style “bouillabaisse,” or linger through a multicourse meal of small plates (including standbys like miso-marinated bass or eggplant). But sushi, here, is the real stunner — which, given the prices, it should be. Don’t miss the lobster roll. |
| (310) 314-2229 |
| 1635 Abbot Kinney Blvd -- Venice |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Axe |
| California |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-F D Tu-Su BR SaSu |
| At Axe (pronounced “ah-shay”), simple and gleaming as a Zendo, the clear ocean air is practically a design element. Some find the austere aesthetic “refreshing”; others find the seats uncomfortable, the overall effect harsh. The wait staff does tend to be more physically attractive than efficient, but this restaurant marches to its own beat, or rather, to that of the chef-owner Joanna Moore, whose breakfast, lunch and dinner menus are seductively eclectic. Try her meal-sized whole-grain pancake, a composed salad, her masterly spaghetti aglio olio and any dessert. |
| (310) 664-9787 |
| 1009 Abbot Kinney Blvd. -- Venice |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Cafe Brasil |
| Brazilian |
| Unknown |
| A 11-22 |
| Mostly, you’ll find grilled animals at Cafe Brasil: pork chops, lamb chops, steak, shrimp and fish, all profoundly salty and resonant with garlic, charred at the edges, fragrant with citrus and a little overcooked. With all this protein come truckloads of rice glistening with oil, sweet fried plantains and spicy black beans. Cafe Brasil also serves wonderful feijoada on weekends, less offal-intensive than some versions but meat-fragrant in the best possible way. |
| (310) 837-8957 |
| 10831 Venice Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| El Sazon Oaxaqueño |
| Oaxacan |
| Unknown |
| A 0730-2130 |
| Where many of the other Oaxacan places on the Westside interpret mole as a mandate to serve fairly incidental segments of reheated chicken, the chicken at El Sazon Oaxaqueño is fresh, full of juice, tending toward old-bird chewiness rather than dissolving into mush under your fork. The mole negro is impeccable, but it is the extravagantly hot coloradito de pollo that is El Sazon’s greatest dish, a red sauce that almost sings with roasted chiles, with sautéed spices, with ground, charred bread. |
| (310) 391-4721 |
| 12131 Washington Place -- Mar Vista |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Joe’s |
| California |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-F 1130-14 D Tu-F 18-22 SaSu 18-23 BR SaSu 11-1430 |
| Recently enlarged from cramped tables in hallways to actual restaurant proportions, Joseph Miller’s beloved Venice venue is now like, well, a real restaurant, with a real dining room, a larger wait staff and — inevitably — a certain loss. Miller’s clear-flavored California-French cooking can still graze perfection, but the overall focus in both the cooking and temper of the place seems fuzzier and the bill seems significantly higher. And yet I still love his three- and four-course prix-fixe menus. |
| (310) 399-5811 |
| 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd. -- Venice |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Mi Ranchito |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| M-Th 1130-2130 F 11-2230 Sa 10-2230 Su 10-2130 |
| When émigrés to the East Coast miss Mexican food, Mi Ranchito is what they think they’re nostalgic for. And though the place has everything you’ve ever wanted in a neighborhood Mexican restaurant — wonderful chiles rellenos, decent No. 3 Combination Dinners — it really specializes in such regional Veracruz seafood dishes as mixed-seafood parrillada and the intricately spiced fish soup chilpachole. |
| (310) 398-6106 |
| 12223 W. Washington Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Taquería Sanchez |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| L D M-Th 9-19 F-Su 8-21 |
| There are at least 5,000 taquerías in L.A., but almost every taco in Mexico is superior to practically every taco in Los Angeles. However Taquería Sanchez, a clean, spare taco restaurant just a bit south of Culver City and a short walk from some of the most inauthentic foodstuffs ever to be served under the name of tacos, is deeply authentic itself. It’s not what you’d find in Guadalajara or even Tijuana, but it’s not bad — even if it does feature a Baja Fresh–style salsa bar, even if it is possible to get plates of short ribs in spicy green chile sauce, marinated shrimp tostadas, and decent tortas, toasted French-bread sandwiches laden with fried beef, mayonnaise, white cheese, sliced peppers and avocados, in addition to the essential tacos. Here are the small, simple tacos of rich stewed tongue, and dryish pork loin, and gooey tripitas that you may have been yearning for, the slippery organ-meat crunch of hog stomach, the sauce-saturated sheets of fried pork skin. Here too are definitive tacos of carne asada, and baked cow’s head, and even spicy chicken. Sanchez is helping to close the taco gap on this side of the border, one taco at a time. |
| (310) 822-8880 |
| 4541 Centinela Ave. -- Culver City |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Ciudad |
| Pan-Latino |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| The design of Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken’s downtown restaurant is bold — those yellow chairs, those retro drinking glasses, those seed-encrusted vertical-standing crackers! The menu is a Pan-American pastiche, complete with Old World footnotes. This means Peruvian arepas and Spanish Merquez sausage and pineapple upside-down cake. Days see lunching office workers; at night, it’s conventioneers and an arty Silver Lake/Echo Park crowd. |
| (213) 486-5171 |
| 445 S. Figueroa St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Cole’s P.E. Buffet |
| American |
| Unknown |
| M-Sa 9-19 (bar until 23) |
| Seventy-five years before anybody thought to dress a squab salad with raspberry vinegar, Los Angeles was known across the country for French-dipped sandwiches, sliced roast meat layered on a French roll that had been sopped in meat juice. Dank old Cole’s, which is the oldest restaurant in Los Angeles and looks every week of it, has the best French dip: roasted brisket, prime rib or pastrami, carved to order, dipped and served on a crusty roll. here for full review. |
| (213) 622-4090 |
| 118 E. Sixth St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| La Luz del Dia |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| L D Tu-Su |
| The last place you’d expect to find a real Mexican joint is among the maraca vendors and befuddled German tourists on Olvera Street, but there it is (and has been for decades), La Luz del Dia, serving cactus salad to the hordes. Whatever you think you ordered — tacos, burritos, tostadas — you’ll probably get at least one helping of picadillo, the chunky Mexican beef stew that, with its carrots and potatoes, looks like a stew somebody’s mother might have made . . . provided that the mother in question has an industrial-size garlic press and a Thai tolerance for chile heat. |
| (213) 628-7495 |
| 1 W. Olvera St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Langer’s |
| Jewish Deli |
| Unknown |
| M-Sa 8-16 |
| The best pizza in America may be in New Haven, the best hot dogs in Chicago, the best espresso off Pioneer Square in Seattle. But the best pastrami sandwich is right here in Los Angeles, slapped together by the truckload at Langer’s Delicatessen. The rye bread, double-baked, has a hard, crunchy crust. The meat, dense, hand- sliced, nowhere near lean, has the firm, chewy consistency of Parma prosciutto, a gentle flavor of garlic and a clean edge of smokiness that can remind you of the kinship between pastrami and Texas barbecue. |
| (213) 483-8050 |
| 704 S. Alvarado St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Nick’s Café. |
| American |
| Unknown |
| M-F 0530-14 |
| The best ham in L.A.? Probably the one at Nick’s Café downtown. A plateful of thick slices is fried to smoky denseness, ribboned with sweet fat and blackened crisp at the rim. If the world were just, Nick’s — a noir-worthy lunch counter owned by a couple of homicide cops — would be as renowned for ham ’n’ eggs as El Tepeyac is for burritos. |
| (323) 222-1450 |
| 1300 N. Spring St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Philippe the Original |
| American |
| Unknown |
| A 6-22 |
| The place is so much a part of old Los Angeles that sometimes it feels as if it isn’t really a part of Los Angeles, as if it belongs to an older city without chrome. The French-dipped sandwiches of lamb or beef are wet and rich, with something of the gamy animal pungency of old-fashioned roast meat. And if you enjoy the sight of eyes bulging and nostrils flaring as people encounter depth charges of ultrahot mustard in their sandwiches, there’s even something of a floor show. |
| (213) 628-3781 |
| 1001 N. Alameda St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Zucca |
| Italian |
| Unknown |
| L M-F 1130-1430 D Mo-Th 17-2130 FSa 17-23 |
| Named for the humble pumpkin, and brought to us by Joachim Splichal (of Patina and the proliferating Pinots), Zucca is the Helen of Los Angeles restaurants — it has the face to launch a thousand SUVs. The dining room has the shape and majesty of a basilica, the sophistication of downtown New York, and antiques plundered from all over Europe — doors to a French cathedral, antique wall tiles from Italy, and four graceful, heart-stopping Murano chandeliers. The staff is smooth and impeccable. The menu is "Italian Country," with an obvious motif: pumpkin pizzetta, cream of pumpkin soup, pumpkin-filled tortelloni, pumpkin gelato. The food tends to richness and portions to hugeness. House wine is poured to the top of big, heavy here’s-to-you-buddy goblets (for proper stemware, order a bottle). Try the fritto misto with surprise chunks of preserved lemon; gnochetti, a coiled shell pasta with sausage ragout and crunchy toasted fennel seeds; and the rotisserie pork. |
| (213) 614-7800 |
| 801 S. Figueroa St -- Los Angeles (Downtown) |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Kagaya |
| Japanese |
| Unknown |
| M-Sa 18-2230 Su 18-22 |
| Shabu shabu is pretty basic: a slice of prime meat swished through bubbling broth for a second or two, just until the pink becomes frosted with white. If you’ve done it right — and if the quality of the ingredients is as high as it is at Little Tokyo’s superb (and expensive) Kagaya — the texture is extraordinary, almost liquid, and the concentrated, sourish flavor of really good beef becomes vivid. |
| (213) 617-1016 |
| 418 E. Second St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| The Gutter |
| American |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-F 11-14 D Tu-Sa 1930-2330 BR SaSu 9-14 |
| The Gutter is a sort of Fuzzyland-ish coffee shop that opened at Mr. T’s Bowl, colonizing an old lunch counter and a disused kitchen that probably served as the snack bar when the bowling alley was last operational, around 1973. Katie and Lecie, the identical twins who run the place, come from Wisconsin by way of UC Berkeley, and their experiments run along the lines of a gravy-laden take on the Hot Brown sandwich, a tofu scramble they call the Hippie Bowl, and several variations on a fried peanut- butter-and-banana sandwich that all seem to be called The Elvis. They toss oregano in their chili and a fried egg into their version of a French bistro’s frisée au lardons. Their specialty is hot meat loaf served with fig gravy. Punk rockers eat a lot better than they used to. |
| (323) 256-4850 |
| 5621½ N. Figueroa St. -- Highland Park |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Angélique Café |
| French |
| Unknown |
| B L M-Sa 7-16 |
| Down in the garment district, where Spring and Main streets converge, under an enormous Rampage billboard a stone’s throw from the Fashion Institute, there’s a two-story café with a mansard roof and a patio that would be at home in any French town. Owner Bruno Herve Commereuc and his wife, Florence, make their own charcuterie — excellent rillettes, jambon persillade, pâté, andouilette à l’ancienne. Angélique is open for traditional French breakfasts (bread and pastries from Commereuc’s brother’s bakery, Pain du Jour) and for lunch, featuring a great selection of salads (try the cured salmon), hot entrées (try the roasted chicken) and vegetarian dishes (try the summery eggplant-and-tomato casserole). A homesick Frenchman I know swears that Angélique is the only place that eases his malady. |
| (213) 623-8698 |
| 840 S. Spring St. -- Los Angeles(Downtown) |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Ciro’s |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Th 7-20 F-Su 7-21 |
| Stylistically, flautas can range from the greasy taquitos your college dorm used to serve, to the giant, tasteless roll-ups served by certain upscale Mexican chains. Located just down the street from El Tepeyac, beloved by local families and cops, Ciro’s is known across all East L.A. for its flautas, tiny things that come six to an order, tightly rolled and very crisp, sauced with thick, chunky, fresh guacamole and a dollop of tart Mexican cream. |
| (323) 267-8637 |
| 705 N. Evergreen St. -- East L.A. |
| 20021007 024047 |
| El Tepeyac |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| B L D W-M |
| The burrito is a symbol of abundance, the humble taco transformed into a plump, overstuffed creation. At El Tepeyac, the legendary East L.A. stand whose name has practically become synonymous with the burrito, the Hollenbeck, named after the local East L.A. police division, is more or less an old-line Mexican restaurant’s entire menu wrapped into a tortilla the size of a pillowcase — rice, beans, stewed meat, guacamole and lakes of melted cheese. |
| (323) 267-8668 |
| 812 N. Evergreen Ave. -- East L.A. |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Tacos Baja Ensenada |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| Entire religions have been founded on miracles less profound than the Ensenada fish taco. In most of Mexico, the words estilo Ensenada signify just one thing: fish tacos, specifically the fried-fish tacos served at stalls in the fish market down by the docks. In East L.A., you will come no closer to the ideal than these crunchy, sizzlingly hot strips of batter-fried halibut, folded into warm corn tortillas with salsa, shredded cabbage and a squeeze of lime, sprinkled with freshly chopped herbs and finished with a squirt of thick, cultured cream. |
| (323) 887-1980 |
| 5385 Whittier Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Alex |
| California French |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-F D Tu-Sa |
| This newcomer in the former Citrus space has some mighty shoes to fill. But first, the remodel: Citrus’ bright solarium whiteness has been replaced by the clubby dark wood of the Craftsman revival and old men’s clubs. The once cutting-edge open kitchen has been partially scrimmed by green and yellow stained glass. New chef-owner Alex Scrimgeouer is talented, careful and hard-working; his Cal-French cooking hits most of the right notes, and the service is attentive. It’s fun to order the $58 four-course pick-your-dishes menu. Overall, Alex gets a sturdy A-minus, the minus for the simple reason that we want more — more passion, more risks, more flourish and even more mistakes. I mean, hey, this is a place where the live piano player stops playing midsong when his cell phone rings. |
| (323) 933-5233 |
| 6703 Melrose Ave. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Angelini Osteria |
| Italian |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-Sa 12-1430 D Tu-Su 17-2330 |
| The great Italian chef Gino Angelini has fulfilled a lifetime dream to open his own casual osteria that serves simple, hearty, home-style food — from a home rife with genius cooking genes. The classy, clattery urban café is lively, fun — and very kid-friendly. (The three-course child’s menu is a fine way to introduce the squirts to the pleasures and pace of fine dining.) Angelini may have downshifted his culinary ambitions, but his abilities are entrenched, and there’s unmistakable haute in the homiest braised oxtails or codfish stew. |
| (323) 297-0070 |
| 7313 Beverly Blvd -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Campanile |
| California Italian |
| Unknown |
| L M-F D M-Sa |
| The basic premise of Urban Rustic cuisine is the perfection of Mediterranean peasant dishes, often in ways that may be incomprehensible to the Mediterranean peasants in question. Campanile’s Mark Peel reinterprets this sunny cuisine by using really good ingredients, assembling them with chefly skill, and illuminating the spirit of each dish as if from within. A niçoise salad, a fish soup, a grilled steak under Peel’s direction is like a Velázquez painting of a horse as opposed to the horse itself. |
| (323) 938-1447 |
| 624 S. La Brea Ave. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Cobras & Matadors |
| Spanish |
| Unknown |
| D Su-Th 18-23 F-Sa 18-24 |
| Despite its name, this is, finally, a good tapas restaurant — and who knew how convivial a series of shared small plates with walloping flavors could be? Crimson walls, a hearthlike wood-fired oven and swinging jambons create a hip, Barcelona-style coziness. C&M is strictly BYOB, but the adjacent liquor store has a smart, hand-picked selection of South American and Spanish wines, and corkage is $5. |
| (323) 932-6178 |
| 7615 W. Beverly Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| The House |
| California American |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-F 12-14 D Tu-Sa 18-2230 Su 17-21 |
| A hard-used, still-handsome Craftsman home has been transformed into an industry canteen- cum-fine-dining room. Chef Scooter Kanfer, the local food world’s equivalent of a high-end script polisher — she spent the last decade perfecting dishes in many other chefs’ just-opened kitchens — here serves her own seasonal remakes of Americana, including spoon bread, macaroni and cheese, the lettuce-wedge salad, steak, pan-fried chicken and even cocoa. Check out the $30 Sunday-night prix-fixe dinner. |
| (323) 462-4687 |
| 5750 Melrose Ave. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Marouch |
| Middle Eastern/Lebanese |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Su 11-23 |
| If you wanted to imagine you were in Beirut, you could stop by this ä place a few times a day, easy — midmornings for a piece of baklava and a thimbleful of Turkish coffee, lunch for a kebab and a bottle of Lebanese beer, late afternoons for a bowl of dense lentil soup. At dinner, the combination meze includes essentially everything on the left-hand side of the menu: hummus; the thickened-yogurt cheese labneh; veal and bulgur-wheat kibbeh; the toasted- bread salad fattoush; and the grilled makanek sausages. To begin with. |
| (323) 662-9325 |
| 4905 Santa Monica Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Mimosa |
| French Bistro |
| Unknown |
| D Tu-Sa 18-2230 |
| Now that chef Jean Pierre Bosc has dissolved his former partnership and taken full control of this elegant, relaxed bistro, the menu has been reconfigured to placate regulars and provide new delights. You can still get tomato tart tatin, a sterling macaroni-and-cheese, hangar steak frites and veal daube . . . but there’s also the “Mimosa Maintenant” menu, a rotating series of such earthy dishes as skate with brown butter, veal sweetbreads, quail stuffed with chestnuts and foie gras, pork cheek and ear “en cocotte,” veal onglet, grilled whole pork trotter, and chicken-liver gâteau. These full flavors and textures distract the brain from its ditherings and make eating a pleasurable, in-the-moment, physical act. Can the Los Angeles dining public handle such brash gastronomic sensuality? Hmmmm. |
| (323) 655-8895 |
| 8009 Beverly Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Musso & Frank Grill |
| American |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Sa 11-23 |
| The warm scent of wood smoke spreads across the room. You push away the remains of a perfect caesar salad. A red-jacketed waiter comes over and pours a clear, cold martini, Hollywood’s best, from a pony into a tiny frosted glass, then carefully spoons Welsh rarebit — rich and warm, if a little grainy — from a metal salver onto crustless toast. Here in these worn wooden booths beneath the ancient hunt-scene wallpaper, this seems very much the perfect gentleman’s lunch. |
| (323) 467-7788 |
| 6667 Hollywood Blvd. -- Hollywood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Pastis |
| French Bistro |
| Unknown |
| D M-F 18-22 SaSu 18-23 |
| Pastis is more country-French than its nearby rival, the urbane Mimosa. Despite the constantly changing chefs — the good ones have been plucked like grapes by bigger restaurants — the kitchen turns out reliably good, quality French food. The tables are a little tight, but I’ve made friends with people sharing the banquette. Look for the comforting, traditional roast leg of lamb with flageolets, a classic deep-bowled frisée aux lardons and lavender-scented crème brûlée. |
| (323) 655-8822 |
| 8114 Beverly Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Pink’s |
| American |
| Unknown |
| Su-Th 0930-26 FSa 0930-27 |
| Consider the Pink’s dog, uncouth and garlicky, skin thick and taut, so that when you sink your teeth into it, the sausage . . . pops . . . into a mouthful of juice. The bun is soft enough to achieve a oneness with the thick chili that is ladled over the dog, but firm enough to resist dissolving altogether, unless you order it with sauerkraut. And why wouldn’t you? |
| (323) 931-4223 |
| 709 N. La Brea Ave. -- Hollywood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Roscoe’s Chicken N’ Waffles |
| American Soul |
| Unknown |
| B L D A |
| Why chicken and waffles? Is it a time-honored combination? Is there a particular methodology at work? Or do they just happen to coexist on the same plate, allowing for the occasional serendipitous splash of maple syrup on a succulent fried wing? We may never know. Drawing weekend crowds that spill out onto the sidewalk, Roscoe’s is the Carnegie Deli of L.A.’s R&B scene. |
| (323) 466-7453 |
| 1514 N. Gower St. -- Hollywood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Ruen Pair Thai |
| Thai |
| Unknown |
| A 11-28 |
| At Ruen Pair Thai, there are actually two menus: one the standard pad Thai/cashew-chicken sheet that non-Thais are pretty much automatically given, the other a yellow four-page menu that lists the preserved-egg salad, the pork fried with Chinese olives, and the simmered goose that made the restaurant famous. At 2 a.m., everybody is eating more or less the same thing: flat, crisp Thai omelets, and morning- glory stems fried with an immoderate amount of garlic. |
| (323) 466-0153 |
| 5257 Hollywood Blvd. -- Hollywood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Sanamluang Café |
| Thai |
| Unknown |
| A 9-28 |
| Sanamluang is a Thai place to duck into and out of at 3 a.m. after the clubs close for vast plates of rice fried with mint leaves, seafood and chiles; for big, comforting bowls of chicken soup flavored with toasted garlic; and for wide noodles fried with Chinese broccoli and shiitake mushrooms. Truly extraordinary is the general’s noodle soup: thin, garlicky egg noodles garnished with bits of duck, barbecued pork, crumbles of ground pork and a couple of shrimp, submerged in a clean, clear broth. |
| (323) 660-8006 |
| 5176 Hollywood Blvd. -- Hollywood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Zankou (Sunset) |
| Middle Eastern/Armenian |
| Unknown |
| A 10-24 |
| The chicken sandwiches are good at Zankou; so are the falafel and the shawarma carved off the rotating spit. But the spit-roasted chickens, golden, crisp-skinned and juicy, are what you want. Such chicken really needs no embellishment, but a little bit of Zankou’s fierce, blinding-white garlic sauce couldn’t hurt. |
| (323) 665-7842 |
| 5065 Sunset Blvd -- Hollywood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Carousel (Hollywood) |
| Lebanese-Armenian |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Su 1130-21 |
| There are two Carousels, and the Glendale branch may well be the best, most interesting Lebanese-Armenian restaurant in Los Angeles. The big, brash room, bedecked with scimitars and other Middle Eastern antiques, accommodates large parties and dating couples alike — but there’s also a more intimate patio. The food sparkles with freshness — and lemon. Go for the meze (cheese borek, muhammara and houmous sojouk) and kebabs (try the yogurt lula kebab), and also for hard-to-find delicacies such as frogs’ legs, roasted quail and lamb’s tongue. Check ahead to see if there’s live music. |
| (323) 660-8060 |
| 5112 Hollywood Blvd. -- Hollywood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Ammo |
| California |
| Unknown |
| L M-F D M-Sa |
| The little storefront café is almost harshly minimal, white and noisy; the service is intermittent at best, and the clientele is often predominantly stunning models of every gender (Herb Ritts’ studio is just around the corner). But Ammo’s food tastes as if it’s been made to order by a fabulous home cook with her own organic garden (or at least one with access to a farmers market) — and for that, we’ll brave anything, even sitting in a room with multiple examples of physical perfection. Try the French lentil salad with roasted root vegetables in a Dijon vinaigrette; penne with fresh tomatoes, olives and anchovies; and the ice cream sandwich. |
| (323) 871-2666 |
| 1155 N. Highland Ave. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Surya |
| Indian |
| Unknown |
| L M-F 1130-15 D A 1730-2230 |
| Surya’s tall walls are painted saffron yellow, chile red, mint-chutney green, and the owners of this nouvelle Indian café are as warm and cheering as the décor. The chef, born in Nepal and trained in Japan, prepares his own healthful and imaginative kind of Indian food: Try his tandoori-seared tuna sashimi, tandoori lamb chops with rosemary, low-fat aloo gobi. Both service and kitchen (and even the valet) flounder during weekend dinner rushes, but Surya’s virtues bloom in slower, quieter times. |
| (323) 653-5151 |
| 8048 W. Third St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Brasserie Vert |
| French/Italian |
| Unknown |
| M-Sa 12- 1730- |
| Wolfgang Puck’s new brasserie, in the Hollywood & Highland mall, may be his most delightful, demographically democratic offering yet. The room isn’t distinctive — it’s not even green — and the stark mall outside the windows offers no interesting vista (except that of tourists taking pictures of the ultimate L.A. vista, the Hollywood sign), but who cares? You’ll want to eat everything on the menu — fat black mussels, cracker-thin pizza with pancetta and paper-thin potatoes, Lee Hefter’s bolognese sauce and perfect veal meatballs, steak frites with a stunning béarnaise. Also, you get to see Wolfgang’s youngest brother, Klaus, who’s the general manager. Make reservations: Vert is small and it’s mobbed — as it should be. |
| (323) 491-1300 |
| 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 411 -- Hollywood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Lucky Duck |
| Chinese |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-F 1130-1430 D M-Sa 1730-23 |
| The food at Lucky Duck is predominantly Chinese, but the menu reads like a pan-Asian greatest- hits list: There are also Japanese chiles, Vietnamese fried spring rolls and pad Thais. The green-papaya salad is crunchy and quenching and at just the right level of sneaky hot. Yushiang eggplant with soy and chile sauce is big-flavored and alluringly soft. I have yet to taste a bad version of miso-marinated sea bass, and Lucky Duck’s is as good as any. For dessert, have the hot sautéed bananas with coconut sorbet, or a rich chocolate-pistachio cake. |
| (323) 931-9660 |
| 672 S. La Brea Ave. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Taylor's Steak House (LA) |
| American |
| Unknown |
| A 11-15 16-22 |
| The two Taylors are everything a steak house should be: dark, clubby, with red booths and frosted glass. The drinks are strong, and the menu’s long suit is meat, specifically steak, at very delicious prices. Never mind that you might be the only Democrat or Jew or nonwhite in the room. Get a culotte, the rib-eye, or the big filet. And don’t miss the Molly Salad, a variation on the lettuce wedge, invented by a former waitress. |
| (213) 382-8449 |
| 3361 W. Eighth St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Bu San |
| Korean |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| Korean-style raw sea cucumber is like nothing you’ve ever tasted before, and Korean-style sashimi, which you wrap in a lettuce leaf with raw garlic, sliced chiles and bean paste, is a revelation. The chefs are fond of converting live fish from the tanks into a meal’s worth of demonstrably fresh sashimi. Raw squid, luxuriously creamy, with a small bit of crunch at the center, only tastes alive. Although almost alarmingly so. |
| (323) 871-0703 |
| 203 N. Western Ave. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| El Cholo |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| M-Th 11-22 FSa 11-23 Su 11-21 |
| Even in the ’20s, Angelenos vaguely remembered that the area used to belong to Mexico, and there have always been Mexican restaurants here that catered to American taste. The emblematic cuisine of these restaurants is embodied in the Number Two Dinner, the eternal combination platter of chile relleno, enchilada, rice and beans bound together with cinctures of orange cheese. And El Cholo’s green-corn tamales have been a rite of spring in Los Angeles since the days when Bob Hope was actually funny. |
| (323) 734-2773 |
| 1121 S. Western Ave. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Guelaguetza |
| Oaxacan |
| Unknown |
| A 8-23 |
| Oaxacan restaurants are flourishing at the moment, and at the best of them, Guelaguetza, you’ll find the sort of Oaxacan dishes you’ve only read about in magazines. Of the classic seven moles of Oaxaca, dark, complex sauces flavored with seeds, nuts, herbs and chiles of every description, you will usually find at least three. The black mole, based on ingredients the restaurant brings up from Oaxaca, is rich with chopped chocolate and burnt grain, toasted chile, and wave upon wave of textured spice — it’s as simple yet as nuanced as a great old Cote Rotie. |
| (213) 427-0779 |
| 3337½ W. Eighth St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Nyala |
| Ethiopian |
| Unknown |
| A 1130-23 |
| The central fact of Ethiopian cuisine is injera, the sour, pale, platter-size pancake that acts as plate, utensil, condiment and bread, and also as an ingredient in about half the stews. At the vegetarian-friendly Nyala, there is a fine version of the chicken stew doro wot, thick with hot spice and glistening with butter; minchetabish, which tastes like a fiery Ethiopian take on Texas chili. |
| (323) 936-5918 |
| 1076 S. Fairfax Ave. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Oki Dog |
| American Cross-Culture |
| Unknown |
| A 9-22 |
| Immortalized by the Descendents, beloved by the Germs, the original Oki Dog, long since closed, was to the original ’70s punk-rock scene in Los Angeles what the Brown Derby was to 1940s filmdom. The most famous creation here at the stand that remains is the eponymous dog, a couple of frankfurters wrapped in a tortilla with chili, pickles, mustard, a slice of fried pastrami and a torrent of goopy American cheese — a cross-cultural burrito that’s pretty hard to stomach unless you’ve got the tum of a 16-year- old, but strangely delicious nonetheless. |
| (323) 938-4369 |
| 5056 W. Pico Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Papa Cristo’s |
| Greek |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-Su |
| At Papa Cristo’s, tucked into a corner of Los Angeles’ oldest Greek market, eight bucks buys a whole grilled fish, or a plate of spaghetti plus half a garlicky, crisp-skinned roast chicken. Eight bucks will also buy three lamb chops, four if you’re lucky, steeped in garlic and oregano and grilled quickly over a hot fire. These aren’t the thick, prime loin chops you’d find at Michael’s or Campanile, and they are usually cooked somewhere on the far, far side of rare, but it is hard to imagine more flavorful meat. |
| (323) 737-2970 |
| 2771 W. Pico Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Sky’s Tacos |
| Mexican- American Soul |
| Unknown |
| L D M-Sa |
| Sky’s are not the tacos your mother used to make. Or rather, they probably are the tacos your mother used to make, unless you happened to grow up in a Mexican household: two thick corn tortillas molded into the bottom of a red plastic carhop basket, mounded with turkey or chicken, shrimp or beef, gilded with orange cheese, buried under shredded lettuce and doused with a sweet-hot house salsa. Soul food pops up in the oddest places sometimes. |
| (323) 932-6253 |
| 5408 W. Pico Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Soot Bull Jeep |
| Korean |
| Unknown |
| A 11-23 |
| Soot Bull Jeep may be the best of L.A.’s 100-odd Korean barbecues, noisy, smoky, with all the bustle you’d expect in the heart of a great city, a place to cook your own marinated short ribs and baby octopus, pork loin and tripe, above a tabletop heap of glowing hardwood coals. If you are new to this sort of thing, a waitress will return periodically to make sure that your ignorance of cooking times injures the meat no more than absolutely necessary. |
| (213) 387-3865 |
| 3136 Eighth St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Mandarin House |
| Chinese |
| Unknown |
| A 1130-24 |
| Hand-pulled noodles are immeasurably better than the machine-made kind: stretchy yet supple, irregularly shaped, veritable magnets for sauce. For some reason, the vast majority of L.A. chefs skilled in noodle pulling seem to own Chinese restaurants aimed at a Korean clientele, and perhaps the best of these is Mandarin House, right in the heart of Koreatown. The kung pao shrimp may be pedestrian, but the chachiang mein, in a dense, black sauce of fermented beans and pork, is out of this world. |
| (213) 386-8976 |
| 3074 W. Eighth St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Toad House |
| Korean |
| Unknown |
| A 18-23 |
| This Korean pork-specialty restaurant — no beef, no fish, no oysters — has a pleasant bamboo- screened patio where the locals put out more smoke than the barbecue pits, and the walls are decorated with adorable photographs of tiny black pigs. The basic unit of consumption at Toad House is the combination meal for two, a sort of porcine tasting menu — including a bottle of the low-powered sweet-potato hooch sojuk — designed to take you on a tour of the tiny black pig and all of its constituent parts. The centerpiece of the meal, Toad House’s reason for being, is undoubtedly the barbecued pork belly — the meaty, streaky, especially succulent strips of fat meat brought out to the table looking like nothing so much as a pound of uncured bacon that you sizzle into crispness on a tabletop grill. |
| (323) 460-7037 |
| 4503 W. Beverly Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Heavy Noodling |
| Chinese |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| A hundred generations of Chinese chefs have probably regarded this restaurant’s specialty with horror — thick, clumsy, utterly delicious noodles that run somewhere between spaetzle and pappardelle, self-consciously rustic things that taste of themselves whether immersed in a deep, anise-scented beef broth or sautéed with what must be the authentic antecedent of mu shu pork. But the shaved-dough pasta — the Chinese name of the place is Shanxi Knife-Cut Noodle — has that good, dense bite you find more often in Bologna than you do in Monterey Park. |
| (626) 307-9583 |
| 153 E. Garvey Ave. -- Monterey Park |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Mei Long Village |
| Chinese |
| Unknown |
| A 1130-2130 |
| Even if Mei Long Village served nothing but dumplings — steamed bao stuffed with sweet red-bean paste, flaky pastries filled with root vegetables, flying saucers of Chinese filo dough surrounding a meager but intense forcemeat of sautéed leeks — it would be worth a visit. Mei Long Village is also the perfect place to try any of the famous Shanghai standards: sweet fried Shanghai spareribs dusted with sesame seeds, garlicky whole cod braised in pungent hot bean sauce, big pork lion’s-head meatballs, tender as a Perry Como ballad, that practically croon in the key of star anise. |
| (626) 284-4769 |
| 301 W. Valley Blvd., No. 112 -- San Gabriel |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Tung Lai Shun |
| Chinese |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| The flagship Islamic-Chinese restaurant in San Gabriel’s immense Great Mall of China, Tung Lai Shun is notorious for the enormous rounds of freshly baked sesame bread that seem to be on every table, wedges of which you drag through sauce, or stuff with terrific chopstickfuls of beef fried with green onions. While you’re waiting for the bread to come — it can take 20 minutes — you nibble on cool, slippery slices of ox-tendon terrine, or thin, cold slices of delicately spiced beef, or the best green-onion pancakes in town. |
| (626) 288-6588 |
| 140 W. Valley Blvd., No. 118C -- San Gabriel |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Hua’s Garden. |
| Chinese |
| Unknown |
| L D A 1030-2130 |
| The aftermath of a dinner at Hua’s Garden is like a Francis Bacon painting splashed across the tabletop in shades of red — gory puddles of scarlet juice alive with Sichuan peppercorns, scraps of scallions, and frog bones stripped clean of their meat. We have seen many of these dishes before — the pornographically delicious ma po bean curd, the Sichuan dumplings, the Chungking hot pot, the fantastic hacked cold chicken sluiced with chile oil — but the Hunanese and Sichuanese cooking found at Hua’s Garden is presented with a depth of flavor, a brutal frankness that has rarely been seen around here before: eel with pepper, twice- cooked pork, boiled fish with Sichuan special sauce. There is an entire array of dishes stir- fried with fermented hot chiles — beef, squid, splinters of firm-fleshed fish — that amplify severe vinegar tartness with a truly terrifying level of heat, and the result is not unlike a refined version of what might happen if you were to eat an entire jar of the hot peppers at a Thai restaurant, spooning them right out with their juice. You might think this food would go well with beer, and you would be right. |
| (626) 571-8387 |
| 301 N. Garfield Ave. -- Monterey Park |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Chung King |
| Chinese/Szechuan |
| Unknown |
| L D A 11-2130 |
| Chung King’s fried chicken with hot peppers is the red of silk pajamas, the red of firecrackers, the red of the Chinese flag, a knoll of crunchy dark-meat cubes subsumed under a blizzard of fried chiles. If Chuck Jones had ever decided to draw something spicy for the coyote to injure himself with, it probably would have looked a lot like Chung King’s chicken. I’ve been finding myself at Chung King — part of a minicorridor of Szechuan restaurants in Monterey Park — a lot lately, for the pungent, cured Chinese bacon fried with leeks, for the little eels stir-fried with fermented peppers, for the cold, hacked chicken with chile, for the great, multiflavored beef casseroles that are so spicy they attack the nervous system like a phaser set to “stun.” |
| (626) 280-7430 |
| 206 S. Garfield Ave. -- Monterey Park |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Brodard Restaurant II |
| Vietnamese |
| Unknown |
| L D W-M 0830-22 |
| If you have eaten most of your Vietnamese meals in Chinatown pho joints, the menu at Brodard may seem a little unfamiliar at first. You can get pho, of course. But many of the best dishes here are process-oriented in the manner of a lot of Vietnamese food, savory ingredients grilled or fried or baked, served ready to be wrapped in romaine into little green burritos with handfuls of fresh Vietnamese herbs, marinated carrots, chiles and bean sprouts, little essays in the crunch of fresh vegetables and the sharp pungency of Asian herbs; small studies in the keys of mint, garlic and spice to be dipped in bowls of sweet nuoc cham, Vietnamese fish sauce. You will probably want to try the banh khot here, baked rice-batter cakes shaped like tiny fruit tarts, stained yellow with turmeric, dusted with powdered shrimp and studded with a single fresh shrimp apiece, crunchy on the outside, gooey at the center and absolutely addictive. |
| (626) 281-1840 |
| 647 W. Valley Blvd. -- Alhambra |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Border Grill (Pasadena) |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| The Santa Monica flagship restaurant of Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger has become a prime tourist destination, but the regional Mexican cuisine still comes out vivid and strong — fat juicy tacos, refreshing ceviches, spot-on chile verde. The wall graphics are loud, the prime-time dinner din deafening, the bar often impenetrably crowded. The dessert case, with Aztec chocolate cakes, huge pies and brownies, is simply dangerous. The new Pasadena Border Grill is more visually and aurally subdued, and the food is more eclectic pan-Latino, but the dessert case still means trouble. |
| (626) 844-8988 |
| 260 E. Colorado Blvd. -- Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Zankou (Pasadena) |
| Middle Eastern/Armenian |
| Unknown |
| A 10-24 |
| The chicken sandwiches are good at Zankou; so are the falafel and the shawarma carved off the rotating spit. But the spit-roasted chickens, golden, crisp-skinned and juicy, are what you want. Such chicken really needs no embellishment, but a little bit of Zankou’s fierce, blinding-white garlic sauce couldn’t hurt. |
| (626) 405-1502 |
| 1296 E. Colorado Blvd. -- Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Europane |
| California Bakery |
| Unknown |
| M-Sa 7-1730 Su 7-14 |
| Pastry savant Sumi Chang, once the breakfast chef at Campanile, runs this inspired bakery/ café. Her croissants are like crispy butter, her chocolate biscotti a study of cacao’s dark, sweet depths. And the egg salad sandwich — soft- center boiled eggs in homemade mayo on sourdough toast smeared with sundried tomato paste — is worth a drive from any corner of the county. Europane recently doubled its seating capacity, thank goodness, since more and more regulars — soccer moms, Caltech profs, Art Center students, chefs, writers — seem to live there part-time. |
| (626) 577-1828 |
| 950 E. Colorado Blvd. -- Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Julienne |
| California |
| Unknown |
| B L M-Sa |
| Beethoven scherzos skitter through the plant- strewn patio, and regulars park their dogs just outside it. You would expect a place like Julienne to serve genteel luncheon salads, and it does: The Chinese chicken salad sprinkled with crunchy noodles is renowned. But the basic currency of the restaurant seems to be the sandwich, including soft chicken-salad sandwiches of a sort many of us haven’t tasted since the Bullocks Wilshire tearoom closed down. |
| (626) 441-2299 |
| 2649 Mission St. -- San Marino |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Kuala Lumpur |
| Malaysian |
| Unknown |
| L D Tu-Su |
| Ronnie Ng is the maestro of Malaysian cooking in Los Angeles, and his Pasadena restaurant is a great introduction to one of Asia’s most pleasant, most accessible cuisines. Here, you’ll find the pungent, spicy salad known as rojak; crisp coriander chicken; and an epochal nasi lemak, rice boiled with coconut milk and pandan leaves, then mounded in the middle of a platter and surrounded by little heaps of exotic garnishes. Be sure to order a bowl of the rich, chile-stained curry laksa, bathed in a rich coconut broth. |
| (626) 577-5175 |
| 69 W. Green St. -- Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Marston’s |
| American |
| Unknown |
| B L Tu-F 7-11 1130-1430 SaSu 8-1430 |
| At breakfast, Marston’s serves exactly the sort of food a missionary might crave after a stint in rural Peru: thin, buckwheat-based blueberry pancakes, nut-crammed macadamia pancakes and thick, applewood-smoked bacon. Marston’s may be a little Calvinist in its hours (it closes on Sundays and Mondays and stops serving breakfast abruptly at 11 a.m.), perhaps guided by the notion that laggards don’t deserve to eat anything as good as its golden, cornflake- breaded French toast. |
| (626) 796-2459 |
| 151 E. Walnut St. -- Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Pie ’N Burger. |
| American |
| Unknown |
| M-F 6-22 Sa 7-22 Su 7-21 |
| This is the best neighborhood hamburger joint in a neighborhood that includes Caltech, which means the guy next to you may be reading a physics proof over his chili size as if it were the morning paper. When compressed by the act of eating, a Pie N’ Burger hamburger leaks thick, pink dressing, and the slice of American cheese, if you have ordered a cheeseburger, does not melt into the patty, but stands glossily aloof. When the fruit is in season, don’t miss a cut of the epochal fresh-strawberry pie. |
| (626) 795-1123 |
| 913 E. California Blvd. -- Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Shiro |
| Japanese-French |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-Th D Tu-Su |
| Deep-fried catfish are almost as inescapable around here as personal trainers or Chevy Suburbans, but Shiro, a Japanese-French bistro unaccountably tucked into a Midwestern-looking South Pasadena streetscape, serves so much of this ponzu-steeped stuff that it might as well rename itself after the fish. Its version of the dish — imagine a whole catfish the size of the shark from Jaws, stuffed with ginger and fried to a crisp — is everything you could want from a bottom-feeder. |
| (626) 799-4774 |
| 1505 Mission St. -- South Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Xiomara |
| Cuban/Pan-Latino |
| Unknown |
| M-Th 1130-23 SaSu 17-23 |
| Funny, extroverted restaurateur Xiomara Ardolina now serves big-flavored Nuevo Latino cuisine with a Cuban accent in her long-lived Old Town digs. Try the sea bass on a spicy corn guizo??[guiso] (stew), the long-marinated leg of pork and its lovely byproduct: pork hash. The dining room is calm, elegant, even sedate but all the liveliness and spirit you’d want arrives on the plates — and in the housemade mojitos, the classic Cuban rum drink made with cane juice that’s extracted, fresh, at the bar. |
| (626) 796-2520 |
| 69 N. Raymond Ave. -- Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Saladang and Saladang Song |
| Thai |
| Unknown |
| A 11-2145 Saladang Song: (626) 793-5200. 0630-2145 A |
| For a long time, Saladang was Pasadena’s most beautiful Thai restaurant, with its stark, chic, aluminum-gray good looks and refreshing, inventive Thai cuisine. Saladang became so popular, in fact, the owners built an annex one door down. The new Saladang Song trumps its parent for sheer beauty; its architecture alone — high concrete walls with insets of cutout steel that hearken simultaneously to Angkor Wat and Frank Lloyd Wright — is worth a visit, and its more traditional (than Saladang’s) Thai cooking is worth any number of returns. These are flexible-budget restaurants — you can have a big bowl of soup and an appetizer for around 12 bucks, or a multicourse feast for five times that. |
| (626) 793-8123 |
| 363 & 383 S. Fair Oaks Ave. -- Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Nicole's Gourmet Imports |
| French |
| Unknown |
| Tu-F 9-18 Sa 9-1730 |
| Nicole Grandjean wants people to know about French food. To this end, she offers her gourmet imports to the public at the same prices she sells them to restaurants. Her pretty, spacious shop in South Pasadena also contains a sandwich counter and a small number of tables — a perfect secret lunch spot. But dangerous. You might stop in for a croque monsieur (ham, Gruyère and béchamel melted together on a baguette) and walk out having bought a Lagioule knife set, a Provençal tablecloth, some frozen porcinis and a big chunk of fresh fois gras. A meal-sized salad (the authentic Greek, or the one with smoked duck breast and dried cherries) could cost you the price of any number of European and domestic cheeses, kilos of chocolate, and a gallon of olive oil. The good news is, you won’t spend a fraction of what you would elsewhere. Nicole’s is a great resource to those of us Francophile gastronomes who don’t have the wherewithal to keep a pied à terre in Paris; and with Grandjean’s public-friendly prices, she’s taken great foodstuffs out of the realm of sheer luxury and turned them into affordable, simple pleasures. |
| (626) 441-9600 |
| 21 Meridian Ave., Unit B -- South Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Madre's |
| Cuban |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Su 11-15 D 17-22 |
| Jennifer Lopez’s new restaurant in Pasadena is old-fashioned and charming, with lots of ruffled shabby-chic linen, damask and crystal chandeliers. The place will make you sentimental for that rose-loving, big-hearted grandmother you never had — not to mention the heirlooms you never will inherit! The service is terrific, the food similar to what you’d find at a fancy Cuban wedding: fufu, yuca, roasted pork, oxtails, mojo-drenched chicken and shrimp — all in great heaping portions. Don’t miss the splendidly simple avocado salad, the citrus- marinated filet mignon or, for dessert, the tres leches and firm, deeply caramelized flan. |
| (626) 744-0900 |
| 897 Granite Drive -- Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Beadle's |
| American |
| Unknown |
| B M-F 7-1030 L D A 11-1945 |
| When I was a child, my grandmother took us to Beadle’s, and it seemed a province of the elderly, a world buffered by wallpaper and carpeting, and piped-in organ music. We’d join the line in a long, wood-paneled hallway that had the feel of a tunnel or chute and led us to the trays and napkin-wrapped silverware, and the snow-packed salad bar with its gleaming stainless-steel and rainbow array of gelatin salads. Beadle’s has since moved to a new location in Pasadena. But the food, “1950s all- American cafeteria,” is just as good. Some of my favorite things: the macaroni and cheese; the turkey with dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy; corned beef and cabbage; beef stew; spare ribs. The confetti Jell-O, a fantasy aggregate of different colors of Jell-O cubes sunk in a lemony gelatin made opaque with sour cream. And, of course, a bottomless cup of coffee. |
| (626) 796-3618 |
| 825 E. Green St. -- Pasadena |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Zankou (Van Nuys |
| Middle Eastern/Armenian |
| Unknown |
| A 10-24 |
| The chicken sandwiches are good at Zankou; so are the falafel and the shawarma carved off the rotating spit. But the spit-roasted chickens, golden, crisp-skinned and juicy, are what you want. Such chicken really needs no embellishment, but a little bit of Zankou’s fierce, blinding-white garlic sauce couldn’t hurt. |
| (818) 781-0615 |
| 5658 Sepulveda Blvd. -- Van Nuys |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Out Take Café |
| Polish/ Eclectic |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| From won tons to lamb shank, there’s something for everyone at this too small, often packed eclectic café. And you can order a terrific meal of vareniki (sturdy Polish dumplings topped with caramelized onions and sour cream) followed by a bowl of beefy, vegetable-rich hot borscht. |
| (818) 760-1111 |
| 12159 Ventura Blvd. -- Studio City |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Spark Woodfire Cooking |
| California Italian |
| Unknown |
| L M-F D A |
| What happens when a sophisticated regional- Italian restaurant like Alto Palato marries a mass market Cal-Ital coffee shop like Louise’s? Well, Spark — a cheerful Cal-Ital Valley girl with corporate polish and flickerings of soul. Thin- crust Roman pizzas and pressed Italian sandwiches share a menu with creamy coleslaw, and rotisserie meats, including porchetta, a fabulous herb- and pepper-encrusted pork leg. Spark’s second, larger, more thoroughly Italian incarnation is seaside, at the Pierside Pavillion in Huntington Beach. |
| (818) 623-8883 |
| 11801 Ventura Blvd. -- Studio City |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Satang Thai |
| Thai |
| Unknown |
| W-M 12-2230 |
| One of about a trillion Thai restaurants near North Hollywood’s big Buddhist temple, Satang looks like any other mini-mall establishment. But Satang has a minor specialization in the ultra-exotic cuisine of southern Thailand. And if you ask nicely, a waiter may describe the three or four southern dishes available on any given day — and probably hover around your table while you eat the stinky, awesomely hot bamboo curries and peppery soups and such to make sure you don’t do yourself any real damage. |
| (818) 989-5637 |
| 8247 Woodman Ave. -- Van Nuys |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Carnival |
| Middle Eastern |
| Unknown |
| M-Sa 11-22 |
| The whole human comedy — or carnival, as it were — flocks to this relentlessly popular Middle Eastern restaurant in a Sherman Oaks mini-mall for big portions of mezze and kebabs. (A buck seventy-five adds soup or salad and rice or fries to any entrée.) Never mind the harassed, overworked waiters racing around on their last nerves. Try the daily specials — lamb shanks, lamb and okra stew. Hummus meat — chopped, deeply seasoned lamb and pine nuts in a nest of good hummus — is the dish to order. |
| (818) 784-3469 |
| 4356 Woodman Ave. -- Sherman Oaks |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Tama Sushi (Studio City) |
| Japanese |
| Unknown |
| L M-Sa 1130-14 D M-Th 17-2130 FSa 17-23 |
| Formerly known as Katsu (until a fire closed it for a year), Studio City’s Tama Sushi is owned and run by veteran sushi master Michite Katsu and his wife, Tama. Katsu’s first restaurant, which opened on Hillhurst in the ’80s, was seminal for its beauty and art, both on and off the plate; subsequent establishments (Katsu on Third, Café Katsu) upheld his aesthetic standards. Now, there’s only Tama Sushi, a spare, understated yet charming piece of architecture, with Katsu himself expertly carving up fish at the bar — it’s both educational and joyous to watch him at work. Start with a plate of assorted sashimi, and you’ll find he cuts fish as a gem cutter works with rubies, accentuating inherent virtues. And don’t miss his live scallop sushi, dressed in lime juice with a sprinkle of Italian sea salt. |
| (818) 760-4585 |
| 1920 Ventura Blvd. -- Studio City |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Tama Sushi |
| Japanese |
| Unknown |
| L M-Sa 1130-1430 D M-Th 17-2130 FSa 17-22 |
| What’s fresh and good in sushi bars these days? We spoke with Michite Katsu, who has spent the last 40 years slicing sushi — 30 of them in Los Angeles — and asked what he’s bought at the fish market recently for his newly reopened restaurant in Studio City, Tama Sushi –- named after his wife. Katsu, who trolls the wholesale fish markets for four hours every day, said he’d picked up some good-looking skipjack (or bonito) from Hawaii, soft-shell crab from Maryland, Maine lobster, and three members of the yellowtail family: shima agi (island mackerel), kampachi (amberjack) and hamachi (yellowtail). "I like to say that if yellowtail is the Toyota of sushi, kampachi is the Ferrari, and shima agi, the Rolls-Royce." Katsu laughs, then adds, "This refers to quality and price." (Prices at Tama, I’m delighted to report, are quite reasonable.) Katsu also laid in a supply of clams, aoyagi (orange clam) and hokki (soft clam), which he cuts for sushi, then sprinkles with lime juice and Italian sea salt. Live scallops — hotate — will be pried open to order; they’re sweet, pillowy, almost buttery. And finally, Katsu couldn’t resist some shira ebi, a tiny, delicious white shrimp from Toyama. An added pleasure at Tama Sushi is eating off ceramist Jun Kaneko’s beautiful, handmade plates. |
| (818) 760-4585 |
| 11920 Ventura Blvd. -- Studio City |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Max Restaurant |
| Cal-Asian |
| Unknown |
| L M-F 1130-1430 D Su-Th 1730-22 FSa 1730-23 |
| I have always been fond of chef André Guerrero’s food — he likes big, clear flavors, and is one of the few Cal-Asian fusion chefs who doesn’t muddle the mix. Though he really grasps the purpose of appetizers — which is to pique the taste buds, drum up interest and excitement for the meal — nothing else really measures up to the “trio of pork” for sheer interest — it’s smart and precisely prepared. My second-favorite entrée is the Indian coriander- masala-crusted cod, which comes with pakora, or chickpea-battered vegetable fritters, and lemon-cashew basmati rice — Guerrero amps the flavors and nails the textures. |
| (818) 784-2915 |
| 13355 Ventura Blvd. -- Sherman Oaks |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Bay Cities |
| Italian deli |
| Unknown |
| M-Sa 7-19 Su 7-18 |
| The Italian deli Bay Cities makes a decent turkey sandwich, a loud, greasy meatball sandwich and a very respectable hero, but the sandwich of choice here is a monster sub, straight outta Brooklyn, called “The Godmother,” which includes a slice of every Italian cold cut on Earth. Fully dressed with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, mustard and a few squirts of a garlicky vinaigrette, a Godmother feeds a couple of people at least; the guys behind the counter will look at you quizzically if they suspect you’re planning to eat a whole one yourself. |
| (310) 395-8279 |
| 1517 Lincoln Blvd. -- Santa Monica |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Border Grill (Santa Monica) |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| The Santa Monica flagship restaurant of Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger has become a prime tourist destination, but the regional Mexican cuisine still comes out vivid and strong — fat juicy tacos, refreshing ceviches, spot-on chile verde. The wall graphics are loud, the prime-time dinner din deafening, the bar often impenetrably crowded. The dessert case, with Aztec chocolate cakes, huge pies and brownies, is simply dangerous. The new Pasadena Border Grill is more visually and aurally subdued, and the food is more eclectic pan-Latino, but the dessert case still means trouble. |
| (310) 451-1655 |
| 1445 Fourth St. -- Santa Monica |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Le Petit Café |
| French |
| Unknown |
| L M-F 1130-15 D M-Sa 17-21 |
| It’s a modest neighborhood mom-and-pop — or should we say mère-et-père — café nestled among several industrial buildings in east Santa Monica, and it happens to be one of the most authentically French restaurants you’ll find in Southern California. You squeeze into your little wooden table, read specials off the chalkboard and parlez français with the waiter. Where else can you get sand dabs, pâté with cornichons, and cold poached salmon, all for a relative song? |
| (310) 829-6792 |
| 2842 Colorado Ave. -- Santa Monica |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Michael’s |
| California |
| Unknown |
| L M-F 1130-1430 D M-Sa 18-2230 |
| California nouvelle cuisine may have been born in this art-infested restaurant where the Diebenkorns are real, the patio swarms with Robert Grahams, and media barons sup on pretty little salads of quail with pansy blossoms and sherry vinegar. Beyond the sautéed shad roe, the bacon-and-egg salad, and the piles of arugula that reach halfway to the moon, the steak is the real thing, a prime New York strip dry-aged halfway to infinity, with an alarming mineral pungency bred out of most steak-house meat around 1952. But make sure somebody else is paying. |
| (310) 451-0843 |
| 1147 Third St. -- Santa Monica |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Reddi-Chick |
| American |
| Unknown |
| M-Sa 9-1930 |
| In the exalted reaches north of Montana Avenue, the Brentwood Country Mart is synonymous with Reddi-Chick, whose roaring fire and golden- skinned roasting fowl exude an aroma almost powerful enough to smell at the beach. The basic item here is the chicken basket, half a roast chicken buried beneath a high mound of fries. It is probably not the best chicken you’ve ever had, but it’s real good, like the best conceivable version of the chickens that spin in supermarkets. |
| (310) 393-5238 |
| 225 26th St. -- Santa Monica |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Restaurant Josie |
| California |
| Unknown |
| D M-Sa |
| Never mind, if you can, that Josie has one of the chilliest doors in town — the hostesses act like bouncers for the DAR. Once you’re seated, life improves; the waiters are real pros, and the dining room manages to be sedate yet hip, and quite cozy in a WASP-y, old-money kind of way. Chef-owner Josie LeBalch, formerly of the Saddle Peak Lodge, Remi and the Beach House, cooks her own mix of Cal-Med dishes with an emphasis on game. Try the wood-roasted quail, pappardelle with rabbit or the wild boar. |
| (310) 581-9888 |
| 2424 Pico Blvd -- Santa Monica |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Chez Mimi |
| French |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-Sa D Tu-Su |
| Chez Mimi’s is surely the loveliest patio dining spot around, where the vine-entwined gateway alone makes it hard to remember you’re in California and not some gentrified country stable yard in southern France. Inside, in charming low-ceilinged rooms that, if we didn’t know better, we might assume were built for our far shorter 18th-century ancestors, fires snap on cold nights and Mimi herself (who for years labored under another woman’s name at Chez Helene) checks in on her customers. Try the excellent bouillabaisse and the rich, soothing cassoulet. |
| (310) 393-0558 |
| 246 26th St. -- Santa Monica |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Cora’s Coffee Shoppe |
| American |
| Unknown |
| B L D A 7-21 |
| This tiniest café, a former favorite hang of surfers, pier fishermen and idlers, has been annexed by owner Bruce Marder to the high-end Capo and transformed into a smart little patio café. Inside are glass cases packed with pastries and frittatas, a couple seats and about enough room to turn around in. More likely you’ll eat on the pretty patio, under a bougain villea arbor overlooking Capo’s parking lot. The food is fresh, shares Capo’s excellent ingredients and is, according to the menu, "organic whenever appropriate." But not cheap. A short stack’ll run you seven bills. Steak and eggs, 14 (tho’ it is a prime N.Y.). Try the "rotis serie tacos de carnitas," huevos rancheros, orange-flavored pancakes and daily specials — short ribs with porcinis, perhaps. You can’t get a better pickle — a fresh half-dill — except at the Broadway Deli (of which Marder’s a part owner), where they’re made. |
| (310) 451-9562 |
| 1802 Ocean Ave. -- Santa Monica |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Vida |
| California |
| Unknown |
| D A |
| If you were to imagine the kind of elegant restaurant Mrs. Howell might have designed using the materials available on Gilligan’s Island, you might come up with Vida, an improbable combination of goofball Polynesia and pitch-black James Bond cool. Fred Eric is more or less the official chef of L.A.’s club-going demimonde, cooking the kind of highly conceptual L.A. food that never seemed to exist outside of vintage Johnny Carson monologues, and his customers seem to thrive on his diet of elaborate cross-cultural puns. |
| (323) 660-4446 |
| 1930 N. Hillhurst Ave. -- Los Feliz |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Alegria |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| M-Th 10-22 F-Sa 10-23 |
| The best food here revolves around the extraordinary mole sauce: sharp, thick, sweetly complex, with top notes of smoke, clove and citrus, lashed with dried-chile heat, black enough to darken the brightest Pepsodent smile. (It takes two days to make, a million steps, and has something like 20 ingredients.) Dobladitas are corn tortillas folded around melted cheese and moistened with mole. There is also chicken mole, and sometimes a Oaxacan-style special of chicken, pork and plantains cooked in mole. And you can get a side of mole sauce to put on your burrito. |
| (323) 913-1422 |
| 3510 Sunset Blvd. -- Silver Lake |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Picholine |
| Sandwiches/Bakery |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Sa 10-1830 Su? |
| Almost three years ago, Patrick Milo, who once managed Say Cheese in Silver Lake, opened this elegant storehouse of temptations on an unlikely corner in Los Angeles — First Street and Beverly Boulevard (two otherwise parallel streets that meet just east of Virgil). The gourmet specialty store and sandwich shop sells nine tried-and- true sandwiches, which you can eat at one of the stylish small tables — if you’re lucky enough to find an empty one — or carry out. (You can fax in your order, too.) Sandwich Number One (grilled chicken breast with pesto, arugula, shaved Parmesan and oven-roasted tomato on a rustic roll) is the biggest seller, with Number Four (smoked turkey, Monterey jack cheese, barbecue sauce and red onion melted on rosemary bread) a close runner-up. One of the waiters and I, however, share a penchant for the Number Nine, the quintessentially simple Madrange ham and Brie cheese on a La Brea Bakery baguette. All sandwiches come with a choice of salad (pasta or mesclun), but you’ll also be tempted to buy a Valrhona chocolate bar, some flower-scented berry sorbet, and (as long as you’re there) French rhubarb jam, rustic Italian pastas of startling porosity, Dean and DeLucca herbs de Provence, not to mention a mind-bending selection of European cheeses (don’t miss the cow’s-milk truffle cheese). |
| (213) 252-8722 |
| 3360 W. First St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Say Cheese |
| Sandwiches/Bakery |
| Unknown |
| A 8-1830 |
| Silver Lake’s Say Cheese, a dual storefront with a gourmet store on one side and an espresso café on the other, is now owned by Glenn Harrell. Again, waiting for your sandwich, you’ll be tempted to load up on pâté (try the exquisite duck mousse with port wine or the real McCoy, duck foie gras, at a dizzy-making $106 a pound), olives and, of course, the handpicked selection of French cheeses, including exqui lor, a cow’s-milk cheese washed in white wine. But back to the sandwiches. The menu offers 14 of them — all served with a mixed green salad — and the Cranberry Turkey (roast turkey breast with tomato, melted Monterey jack cheese and cranberry sauce on country bread) is the best- seller. The second favorite is the Almost Vegetarian (turkey, hot-pepper jack cheese, alfalfa sprouts, tomato, lettuce, avocado spread and Russian dressing on a rustic roll), and the fabulous, hip newcomer is the Barcelona (with Jamon Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, roasted red peppers, capers and olive oil on toasted rosemary bread). |
| (323) 665-0545 |
| 2800 Hyperion Ave. -- Silver Lake |
| 20021007 024047 |
| The Hillmont |
| American |
| Unknown |
| D Tu-F 18-23 Sa 18-24 Su 18-22 |
| With the Hillmont — a new communal dining hall–cum– steak house — Steve Arroyo (who gave us Boxer, and more recently created the lively, fun tapas restaurant Cobras & Matadors) proves once more that “hip and charming” is not an oxymoron, but a sound and inviting concept. The Hillmont’s seating is composed of long, sleek, picnic tables made of steel and wood with comfortable upholstered benches, and for a moment, I’m back facing the pergola of my elementary school. Who to sit next to? Who to avoid? But the whole staff, from the host to the busboy, is personable and helpful, a pleasure. The food could be called “rethunk steak house”: The menu leans heavily to meat and vegetables. The steaks are dry-aged for a month, and each cut has its own distinctive deliciousness. To start, try the spinach salad — a heap of leaves, strips of bacon and one boiled egg drizzled with salty-sweet bacon dressing that packs a real wallop. And though there are several platters and mixed grills for two people to share, three of us protein-hounds happily split a seafood platter with small, fresh, cold Kumamoto oysters, meaty Dungeness crab legs and sweet, cold shrimp as an appetizer. The prices, I might add, compared to most other steak houses, are extremely reasonable. |
| (323) 669-3922 |
| 655 Hollywood Blvd. -- Los Feliz |
| 20021007 024047 |
| El Pollo Inka |
| Peruvian |
| Unknown |
| L D A (some locations close late on Fri. and Sat.) |
| Beyond the roasted chicken that earned the chain its reputation, El Pollo Inka’s menu is filled with the seafood dishes typical of Lima’s industrial port suburb, Callao: hotly spiced ceviche; crisply fried catfish fillets garnished with a sort of Peruvian pico de gallo; and noodles tossed with various tentacles. The fish soup parihuela is close to the classic version, dark and pepper-hot as a superior Louisiana gumbo. |
| (310) 676-6665 |
| 15400 Hawthorne Blvd. -- Lawndale, and 3 other locations |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Hak Heang |
| Cambodian |
| Unknown |
| B L D A 0730-21 |
| In the Little Phnom Penh neighborhood of Long Beach is Hak Heang — all glowing neon, elaborate live-seafood tanks and yawning seas of tables, waitresses whipping around the room with endless streams of Tsingtao, boiled crabs, fried fish and sputtering skewers of Cambodian shish kebab. The anchovy beef, a small, marinated steak grilled medium rare, sliced thin, and served with a relish of shaved raw eggplant, fermented fish, garlic and a little vinegar, is a rare Cambodian dish that would make almost as much sense at a country restaurant in southern Piemonte as it would along the banks of the Tônlé Sap. |
| (562) 434-0296 |
| 2041 E. Anaheim St. -- Long Beach |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Phillip’s Barbecue |
| American |
| Unknown |
| M-W 11-20 Th 11-22 FSa 11-24 |
| Crusted with black and deeply smoky, the spareribs here are rich and crisp and juicy; the beef ribs are meaty as rib roasts beneath their coat of char. They are the best ribs in Los Angeles, perhaps the only ribs that can compete on equal terms with the best from Oakland or Atlanta. And the extra-hot sauce is as sweet and exhilarating as a classic O’Jays LP. Tucked into a mini-mall between a liquor store and the local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous, Phillip’s might be a little hard to spot from the street, but if you keep your window open, you should be able to sniff it out from half a mile away. |
| (323) 292-7613 |
| 4307 Leimert Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Badiraguato |
| Mexican |
| Unknown |
| A 9-20 |
| This converted hamburger stand, named for a patch of Mexico notorious from narcocorrido ballads, traffics in the coastal cuisine of Sinaloa — tacos stuffed with marlin and salty cheese, chicken gorditas fried to a delicate crunchiness, and a great, crisp version of the roast-beef hash called asado estilo Sinaloa that would probably be as popular in Nebraska as in Culiacan. And, of course, there’s the famous machaca — all salt and smoke and heat — smashed into powder with a stone pestle, and fried to a frizzle with bits of onion. |
| (323) 563-3450 |
| 3070 Firestone Blvd. -- South Gate |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Alto Palato |
| Italian |
| Unknown |
| D A |
| The main dining room with its sky-high ceilings and roomy tables has the lofty ambiance of a European railway station — and the service can be European, too: maddening. But the cooking is authentic regional Italian; try the deep-fried artichokes, roast pork on cabbage with polenta, wafer-thin pizza and the best gelato outside of Rome. Every Wednesday night features a special, reasonably priced regional dinner. |
| (310) 657-9271 |
| 755 N. La Cienega Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Lawry’s the Prime Rib |
| American |
| Unknown |
| M-Th 17-22 F 17-23 Sa 1630-23 Su 16-22 |
| When restaurateur Lawrence Frank misconstrued in the ’30s something he’d heard about the famous roast beef at London’s Simpson’s-on- the-Strand, he inadvertently came up with American prime rib as we know it: big, pink roasts glistening from silver carts, carved to order tableside and served with Yorkshire pudding, a baked potato, and salad from a spinning bowl. Lawry’s prime rib is as archetypally Angeleno as the Tudor mansions and yawning Norman cottages of Beverly Hills |
| (310) 652-2827 |
| 100 N. La Cienega Blvd. -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Orso |
| Italian |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| The West Coast branch of New York’s Orso has fully embraced Southern California’s resemblance to the Italian countryside; the high-walled garden bursts with Mediterranean plants and grasses. The wood-paneled interior has its own rustic, candlelit romantic allure — and a cozy bar. If, for some reason, celebrities enhance your appetite, you can often spot a film star of some ilk on the Orso premises. To our mind, the fresh Italian cooking — grilled trout with cockles, seasonal risottos — is incentive enough. |
| (310) 274-7144 |
| 8706 W. Third St. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Pace |
| California Italian |
| Unknown |
| D A 1730-23 |
| It’s pronounced “pah-chay” and means peace; certainly this quiet Laurel Canyon nestler is peaceful and cozy. Both the small, leafy patio and cavelike dining room are ideal for an intimate dinner with friends. Chef-owner Sandy Gendel has a Northern California fondness for all things fresh, organic and flavorful as well as impressive Northern Italian credentials (he spent two years cooking at Vissani in Umbria). The pizzas are superb and the Bolognese sauce is big-souled. |
| (323) 654-8583 |
| 2100 Laurel Canyon Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Ita Cho |
| Japanese |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Sa 1830-2215 |
| Despite a recent move to a larger space on Beverly Boulevard, Ita-Cho still inspires long lines on the weekends for its country or village- style Japanese cuisine. The food comes out on a series of little plates that can be shared by everyone; and, hey, if someone bogarts the sautéed miso-soaked eggplant, or marinated black cod, just order more. The kitchen and service staff are so swift, you’ll hardly notice the wait, and the prices aren’t punishing. |
| (323) 938-9009 |
| 7311 W. Beverly Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Hot Dog on a Stick |
| American |
| Unknown |
| M-F 10-21 Sa 10-19 Su 11-18 |
| It’s a hot dog. It’s on a stick. It’s fried in a sweetish corn batter and served by pretty college girls who wear tall, multicolored caps. Frankly, as regional hot-dog styles go, Hot Dog on a Stick may not rank with Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island or the elaborately garnished franks of Chicago, but the stands in those cities have no spectacle that even comes close to the sight of a short-skirted Hot Dog on a Stick chick pumping up a tankful of lemonade |
| (213) ...-.... |
| In malls citywide -- Los Angeles (Several) |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Pho Bac Huynh |
| Vietnamese |
| Unknown |
| L D A 11-22 |
| Until recently, the Westside was as lacking in pho (pronounced fuh) — the northern Vietnamese dish of slithery rice noodles, fragrant beef broth and leafy herbs — as it is in certain other necessities of 21st-century Los Angeles life, such as soup dumplings, natural- charcoal Korean barbecue or really great taco trucks. So I was fairly ecstatic when I wandered into Pho Bac Huynh, a slick, cheerful place tucked into a Brentwood mini-mall next to the Japanese soba house Mishima. Plates on most tables were heaped with cilantro, bean sprouts and a few different varieties of Asian basil, the classic Vietnamese garnishes for pho. Cinnamon, anise and the funk of simmering beef, the soup’s unmistakable signature, perfumed the air. This is the real thing, in a location where you would be more likely to find a Subway. |
| (310) 477-9379 |
| 11819 Wilshire Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Aladdin Falafel |
| Middle Eastern |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| Aladdin’s falafel is a small miracle, an oblate ping-pong ball of ground chickpeas whose thick, tawny, crisp crust gives way to a dense, mildly spiced interior tinted green with puréed herbs. You may go through an entire plate of the stuff before realizing you have forgotten to dampen the patties with sauce. |
| (310) 446-1174 |
| 2180 S. Westwood Blvd. -- Westwood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Clementine |
| California |
| Unknown |
| M-F 7-19 Sa 8-17 |
| Annie Miler, a food-historian-turned-chef, makes delicious versions of great American regional favorites at her sunny breakfast, lunch and takeout café across from the Century City Shopping Mall. Rediscover the Southern ham biscuit, the Midwestern kolache (in the form of a sweet-dough apricot bun), and the all-American grilled cheese sandwich, in this case a crusty, buttery version made with marinated onions in an Italian sandwich press. Miler’s best invention yet may be a peanut-butter cookie with a layer of peanut butter piped inside. |
| (310) 552-1080 |
| 1751 Ensley Ave. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Il Moro |
| Italian |
| Unknown |
| L D A |
| Nestled in a hidden crook of corporate office buildings, this spinoff of the esteemed Locanda Veneta has good fresh fish, pastas in unusual shapes (try “the pope’s hat”) and an artichoke- and-arugula salad bright with lemon juice. The patio creates an unexpected urban refuge; it’s filled with palms, ??[has] its own small lake, and a tall gushing waterfall of a fountain literally drowns out the roar of traffic on Olympic. |
| (310) 575-3530 |
| 11400 W. Olympic Blvd. -- West Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| John O’ Groats |
| American |
| Unknown |
| B L A D W-Sa |
| The restaurant is named after a town at the northernmost point in Scotland, but the menu is pretty much all-American, with baking-powder biscuits, fluffy omelets, smoked pork chops, and stretchy buckwheat pancakes dotted with fresh blueberries or pecans. And although there seem to be no actual groats on the menu — which is kind of a relief — the steel-cut Irish oatmeal with bananas and heavy cream is fine. |
| (310) 204-0692 |
| 10516 W. Pico Blvd. -- West Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Le Saigon |
| Vietnamese |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Su 11-22 |
| An itty-bitty, gloriously inexpensive Vietnamese café just west of the Royal movie theater, Le Saigon is an ideal place to huddle over big bowls of pho or bun (rice noodles), charbroiled meats and glasses of sticky sweet café sua da (iced Saigon coffee). The tables are tiny, the turnover is swift, and the air is scented by grilling meat and freshly cut cucumbers. |
| (310) 312-2929 |
| 11611 Santa Monica Blvd. -- West Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian Hotel |
| Cuban |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| The frosty attitude has melted away leaving just massive portions of inventive and delectable Asian-Cuban fusion cuisine, lots of beautiful people and a gorgeous patio with city views. |
| (323) 650-8999 |
| 8440 Sunset Blvd -- West Hollywood |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Canal Club |
| Tapas/Seafood |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Canal Club, across from James' Beach, is so close to the Venice canals you can hear the ducks. Both eateries have the same owners and some nights the street is one big block party. In fact the "international beach cuisine" takes a back seat to the fun. Come with a crowd and leave your diet at home. Make a meal of "Little Dishes" or grab a stool at the Raw and Roe Bar for Tuna Fever or Rainbow Roll; albacore poki; edamame "spicy or regular”; seafood ceviche; tuna carpaccio; and maybe a few half Hog Island or Malpaque oysters. To go with, try a sake infusion, cranberry or whatever is the special flavor of the night. |
| (310) 823-5396 |
| 2025 Pacific Ave. -- Venice |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Chadwick |
| California |
| Unknown |
| L M-F 1130-1430 D A 18-22 |
| Named for Allen Chadwick, organic farmer and the founder of UC Santa Cruz’s radical Farm Garden Program, this Beverly Hills restaurant couldn’t feel further removed from Chadwick’s organic/ecological counterculture. Like its clientele, Chadwick is beautifully groomed and appointed, and exudes a serene affluence — romantic patio, fireplaces, suffused lighting, the soft clatter of fine dinnerware. Owner Benjamin Ford, son of Harrison, mans the kitchen and uses only superb organic ingredients. His Cal-French cooking is capable, although his range of flavors runs from muted to mild and the prices from expensive to dizzying. That said, the food tastes much better when you’re not paying for it. |
| (310) 205-9424 |
| 267 S. Beverly Drive -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Chameau |
| Middle Eastern/Moroccan |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| There's a pleasantly bohemian crowd at Chameau, a storefront eatery serving dinner Thursday to Saturday (BYOB). It's run by Rabat-born chef/co-owner Adel Chagar and partner, Kelly Klemovich, who also cater events for Paramount Pictures. The complimentary appetizers green olive tapenade, seasoned black and green olives and garlic-potato skordalia are sold to go, as are bastilla pies. They tweak the menu seasonaly, keeping the steamed mussels, figs stuffed with goat cheese and ginger marinated braised lamb shank with tomato jam jus and fruity couscous. Desserts run to white chocolate brioche bread pudding with caramel sauce. To wash it down, there is Turkish coffee and mint tea, the national drink of Morocco, but less sugary here than there. |
| (323) 953-1973 |
| 2520 Hyperion Ave. -- Silverlake |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Deep |
| Appetizer Tapas |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Burning up the infamous intersection of Hollywood and Vine, where the Brown Derby once stood, is Deep. Neal Fraser created the menu of 15 appetizer-sized dishes and desserts, including barbecued quail under brick; filet of beef with potato gratin, Swiss chard and molten Gorgonzola; and seared foie gras atop a toasted brioche with Riesling gelee. But not even desserts like chunks of banana and strawberry dipped in hot chocolate can compete with the Red Light District decor, where provocative and nearly nude women gyrate on a dance floor behind one-way mirrors. Get your name on the list, dress up, and bring $15 for the cover charge after 9 pm if you hope to get past the velvet rope and mingle with the hip young crowd at this sizzling hot club du nuit. |
| (323) 462-1144 |
| 1707 N Vine St -- Hollywood |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Delmonico's Lobster House (Beverly Hills) |
| Lobster |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Delmonico's lure is Maine lobster, made 17 different ways and, best, nine of them are under $20. Chef Tony Da La Cruz does a Maine lobster medley: two-pound stuffed lobster; lobster cakes; roll; cocktail; cobbler; ragout; salad; cutlet; risotto and more. So far, the dishes we’ve tasted have been decent to delicious and the prices are impressively reasonable. Manila or Littleneck clams come on the half shell, steamed in white wine broth, with red or white sauce and linguini; or sauteed. Counting the stuffed Fiji escolar on spinach; steak, duck, lamb, veal and chicken, there's enough variety here to keep you coming back way more than 17 times. |
| (310) 854-9077 |
| 133 N. La Cienega Blvd. -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Delmonico's Lobster House (Encino) |
| Lobster |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Delmonico's lure is Maine lobster, made 17 different ways and, best, nine of them are under $20. Chef Tony Da La Cruz does a Maine lobster medley: two-pound stuffed lobster; lobster cakes; roll; cocktail; cobbler; ragout; salad; cutlet; risotto and more. So far, the dishes we’ve tasted have been decent to delicious and the prices are impressively reasonable. Manila or Littleneck clams come on the half shell, steamed in white wine broth, with red or white sauce and linguini; or sauteed. Counting the stuffed Fiji escolar on spinach; steak, duck, lamb, veal and chicken, there's enough variety here to keep you coming back way more than 17 times. |
| (818) 986-0777 |
| 16358 Ventura Blvd. -- Encino |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Engine Co. No. 28 |
| American |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Engine Co. No. 28, in a vintage firehouse, is an American bistro with masculine cuisine (beef, chili and meat loaf) and masculine decor (leather, brass and tweed. It's a popular meeting place after work and jammed with business people at breakfast and lunch. The spicy meatloaf, fried chicken and mashers stick to your ribs but there is plenty of lighter stuff too. Regardless, it's hard to pass up the tart, creamy lemon meringue pie topped with fluffy meringue. For pre-theater dining, take the free shuttle to the theater. This firehouse is hot! |
| (213) 624-6996 |
| 644 S. Figueroa St. -- Los Angeles (Downtown) |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Europa |
| European |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Europa has French windows draped in wine velvet; rose petals float in the base of a bubbling stone fountain; and a gleaming grand piano. The kitchen focuses on family recipes like co-owner Peter Pergelides grandmother's tzatziki, a garlicy yogurt dip, Greek salad, flaming saganaki (kefalotyri cheese flambed in brandy) and lemony chicken Corfu. Germany is represented by wild boar goulash stew, gemischter (mixed) salad and donau schnitzel (pork in mushroom cream sauce). There's a generous wine list, modern bar drinks, and Pergelides, a singing teacher, makes good use of the piano. |
| (310) 652-7000 |
| 401 N La Cienega Blvd -- Los Angeles |
| 20021008 022232 |
| 5 Dudley |
| California French |
| Unknown |
| Tu-Su 18-22 |
| In a tiny storefront restaurant just yards off the Venice boardwalk, two young chefs named Michael (Wilson and Brown) cook their own style of robust, Cal-French seasonal comfort food. The menu changes weekly; all the bread and pasta are made at the restaurant. That friendly, loquacious old cuss at the door is the owner, Burt. |
| (310) 399-6678 |
| 5 Dudley Ave. -- Venice |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Globe Venice |
| California |
| Unknown |
| D Tu-Sa 18-24 SuM 18-22 |
| Globe Venice has replaced 72 Market Street, and it’s perhaps a promising sign of the times that the formerly hard-edged haute-cool celebrity magnet has morphed into a homier place. Chef- owner Joseph Manzare is a veteran of Spago and Granita, and the first restaurant he opened, The Globe in San Francisco, is noted as an off-hours hangout for other chefs. This new Globe has outsize art and smart, cheerful waitresses — and one of the best roasted chickens in town. |
| (310) 392-8720 |
| 72 Market St. -- Venice |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Hal's Bar & Grill |
| American |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Linda and Don Novack's converted antique shop has more impressive modern art than many galleries. Named it for Hal Fredericks, a local bon vivant, and partner, Hal's Bar & Grill is as much the essence of Venice as the cement boardwalk. monthly. Many dishes change monthly but grilled half chicken, classic made-to-order Cobb and Caesar salads and a turkey burger the size of Mars, stay. On certain nights there are special menus and live music and dancing. Thursdays are reserved for Mexican Madness. Desserts are homemade: Hal's special sundae, baseball-sized scoops of dark chocolate and vanilla bean ice cream slathered with caramel and chocolate sauces, whipped cream and chunks of mixed nuts in a soup bowl, hit a homerun. |
| (310) 396-3105 |
| 1349 Abbot Kinney Blvd. -- Venice |
| 20021008 022232 |
| The Hump |
| Japanese |
| Unknown |
| L M-F D A |
| This little crow’s-nest sushi bar, named for a difficult Himalayan airway, sits atop Typhoon at the Santa Monica airport. Eat kampachi sashimi off Mineo Mizuno’s ceramics and watch the planes pop on and off the runway. Much of the fish comes directly from the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, and the chefs can go as simple or sophisticated as you like. Try the Yaki-Jimo- style sashimi, sauced with cilantro, ginger, garlic and ponzu, and the chopped Tataki-style sashimi. |
| (310) 313-0977 |
| 3221 Donald Douglas Loop South, Third Floor -- Santa Monica |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Jar |
| California American |
| Unknown |
| L M-F 1130-1430 D Su-M 1730-22 Tu-Th 1730-2230 FSa 1730-23 |
| Chef Suzanne Tracht’s interpretation of the contemporary American steakhouse means many sides and sauces and the occasional Asian twist (braised pork belly with Savoy cabbage, duck fried rice, sautéed pea tendrils, tamarind sauce). But meat, braised or dry-aged and grilled, is the real focus: flavorful and tender New York steak with the bone in, magnificent pot roast. The decor is tasteful, the art wry, the service totally professional and the noise level off the charts. |
| (323) 655-6566 |
| 8225 Beverly Blvd. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| The Kitchen |
| American |
| Unknown |
| M-F 17-24 Sa 12-2630 Su 12-22 |
| Here is the quintessential Silver Lake canteen. Its former subtitle — “Lunch to Late Night” — reflects the circadian rhythms of its neighborhood clientele. The interior is Early East Village — deep colors, battered tables, crumbling cement, loud music. The service tends toward the casual and offhand, which belies the big-hearted, darn good food — try a bowl of quite viable cioppino. *** Remember when you were growing up and your mom made chicken, or hamburgers, or meat loaf, for dinner nearly every night, and the vegetable to go with them was mashed potatoes? Or, if you were really unlucky, watery canned peas? Well, at The Kitchen chicken is chunks of tender meat and airy dumplings swimming in a deep bowl of broth with barely done vegetables; burgers are hefty patties slathered with cheese or tahini; meatloaf is mixed with carrots and onions and creamy mashed potatoes are kissed with roasted garlic. There's always a vegetable soup, a stew and chili, fish and chips, lamb shank and pork chop. Nix the risotto and the predictable flourless chocolate cake and we could eat here happily nearly every night, which is more than we could say about our mother's kitchen. |
| (323) 664-3663 |
| 4348 Fountain Ave. -- Silver Lake |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Koutoubia |
| Moroccan |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Michel Ohayon, host par excellence, opened his intimate, tented-ceiling Koutoubia 22 years ago and it has been popular ever since. He recently added a Moroccan lounge, Momo Room. Ohayon's mom, Gilberte, oversees the extensive menu, using fresh artichokes, citrus, melons, zucchini, carrots, beans, peppers and eggplant to make her lush-tasting dishes surprisingly healthy. Silky smoked salmon, crab cakes, steak au poivre are just fine but it's her traditional canard aux pruneaux (roasted duck breast in prune sauce) and couscous royal (for two) with lamb, chicken, sausages, chicken b'steeya and house-made Merguez sausages with harisa, that make your belly dance. |
| (310) 475-0729 |
| 2116 Westwood Blvd. -- West Los Angeles |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Lucques |
| California/ Mediterranean |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-Sa 12-1430 D Tu-Sa 18-23 Su 1730-22 |
| Named for a nutty brine-cured French green olive, and rarely pronounced correctly, Lucques (leuk) has quietly and surely joined the small pantheon of great Los Angeles restaurants. Lucques has a quasi-historic setting (it was once Harold Lloyd’s brick, wood-beamed carriage house), a patio, adept service and, best of all, Suzanne Goin’s earthy, intelligent, somewhat indefinable cooking. Call it Cal-French-Med with welcome guests from North Africa, Spain and Berkeley, California. The crowd looks smart and arty — Oliver Peoples glasses and more Dries Van Nooten than Armani. Go for Goin’s fish dishes, in particular, and check out the appealing bar menu. Also, Sunday nights feature three-course prix-fixe dinners. |
| (323) 655-6277 |
| 8474 Melrose Ave. -- West Hollywood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Mastro’s |
| American |
| Unknown |
| Su-Th 17-23 FSa 17-24 |
| One of a small chain of Scottsdale-based steak houses, Mastro’s has the look — volcanic rock work, blackout curtains, black-leather banquettes — of desert resorts, supper clubs, casinos and other booze-filled refuges where the dreaded sun don’t shine. Eat downstairs for more intimate dining, or upstairs if you’re up to walking the gauntlet of a long bar, where serious drinkers swivel on cue to watch you pass. The excellent service staff is adept, adaptable and good-natured, even when their customers — Beverly Hills carnivores — are not. Meat dominates the menu; steak to be exact. Order the Kansas City bone-in, the porterhouse or the bone-in rib-eye (the latter, ordered charred rare, is a glorious, rich, big, big-flavored piece of meat with a crusty char oozing juice). Here, rare means rare, i.e., cold inside — yes. Start with the horseradish-spiked caesar salad, or the traditional iceberg wedge with blue cheese. Sides — fried onions, creamed corn, sugar snap peas, potatoes gratin — are fresh, enormous, delicious: Split ’em. Finish with a paradigmatic Key lime pie. |
| (310) 888-8782 |
| 246 N. Canon Dr. -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Michelia |
| Vietnamese Sandwich |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Chef Kimmy Tang offers Vietnamese sandwiches at lunch and Alaskan king crabs, crab cakes and basil chicken at dinner. The setting is charming; prices are bargain-rate; it's a welcome surprise. |
| (310) 276-8288 |
| 8738 W Third St -- Los Angeles |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Nick & Stef’s. |
| American Steakhouse |
| Unknown |
| L M-F 1130-1430 D Mo-Th 1730-2130 F 1730-2230 Sa 17-2230 Su 1630-2030 |
| Joachim Splichal’s downtown steakhouse pushes the genre’s envelope. The décor is sedate enough — banquettes wear banker’s gray — but annexed to the dining room is a climate- controlled glass case filled with slabs of darkening, crusting, dry-aging beef — a library of meat. The à la carte menu features 12 kinds of potatoes, 12 sauces and at least as many other side dishes. The outside patio — a sunny clearing in a forest of skyscrapers — may be the best urban dining spot in town. |
| (213) 680-0330 |
| 330 S. Hope St. (Wells Fargo Center) -- Los Angeles (Downtown) |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Papa Jake's (Beverly Hills) |
| Philadelphia |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| There really is a Jake, though he's not a papa: he's a young guy from Philadelphia with a passion for making fabulous cheesesteaks and subs (in Philly lingo). They not only surpass the local competition, but the Philly originals. Rolls come hot from the oven every 15 minutes, baked with dough imported from the Old World New Jersey! He heaps them high with slivers of rib-eye steak, loads on sauteed onions, peppers or mushrooms and melted provolone or American cheese pizza sauce optional. He's got chicken subs, "Other Hotties" and salads but it's hard to get past the cheesesteaks, tuna salad hoagie and those Italian cold cut hoagies. By the time you put away some fries (plain, spicy, garlic or cheese) you won't even have room for a Tastycake. |
| (310) 276-7823 (SUB3) |
| 9527 Santa Monica Blvd. -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Papa Jake's (Brentwood) |
| Philadelphia |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| There really is a Jake, though he's not a papa: he's a young guy from Philadelphia with a passion for making fabulous cheesesteaks and subs (in Philly lingo). They not only surpass the local competition, but the Philly originals. Rolls come hot from the oven every 15 minutes, baked with dough imported from the Old World New Jersey! He heaps them high with slivers of rib-eye steak, loads on sauteed onions, peppers or mushrooms and melted provolone or American cheese pizza sauce optional. He's got chicken subs, "Other Hotties" and salads but it's hard to get past the cheesesteaks, tuna salad hoagie and those Italian cold cut hoagies. By the time you put away some fries (plain, spicy, garlic or cheese) you won't even have room for a Tastycake. |
| 207-8013 |
| 11660 San Vicente Blvd. -- Brentwood |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Papa Jake's (Manhattan Beach) |
| Philadelphia |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| There really is a Jake, though he's not a papa: he's a young guy from Philadelphia with a passion for making fabulous cheesesteaks and subs (in Philly lingo). They not only surpass the local competition, but the Philly originals. Rolls come hot from the oven every 15 minutes, baked with dough imported from the Old World New Jersey! He heaps them high with slivers of rib-eye steak, loads on sauteed onions, peppers or mushrooms and melted provolone or American cheese pizza sauce optional. He's got chicken subs, "Other Hotties" and salads but it's hard to get past the cheesesteaks, tuna salad hoagie and those Italian cold cut hoagies. By the time you put away some fries (plain, spicy, garlic or cheese) you won't even have room for a Tastycake. |
| (310) 796-0470 |
| 312 Rosecrans Ave -- Manhattan Beach |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Pig 'n Whistle |
| American |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Chris Breed and Allan Hajjar (Sunset Room) recently reopened Pig 'n Whistle, where Shirley Temple, Spencer Tracy and Howard Hughes ate in the late 1930s and '40s when it was a family restaurant. The soda fountain and organist are gone but the rear is again a dining area, albeit with several queen-size dining beds. The builders reconstructed the elaborate cornices, heavy wooden paneling, booths and bar, and the Gothic coffered ceiling. The original dancing pig logo is on 1920s tiles throughout the restaurant. Start with leek and potato soup, end with the warm chocolate cake with molton center and have the honey and lime glazed roasted young pig. But the real reason you came is for the late-night clubby atmosphere when, with the lights lowered, you half expect Marilyn to slink through the door. |
| (323) 463-0000 |
| 6714 Hollywood Blvd. -- Hollywood |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Reign |
| Southern |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneer wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson has created a sleek showcase for his family's lucious, lightened up Southern recipes. Tuesday barbecue nights feature barbecue, great sides and easy prices. |
| (310) 273-4463 |
| 180 N Robertson Blvd -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Tanino Ristorante |
| Italian |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Back in Sicily, mamma and pappa Drago work the family farm. "The only things my mother buys in the market," says owner-chef Tannino Drago, "are sugar and salt." It was their mother's love of cooking that inspired the Drago brothers to become chefs. Creamy burrata mozzarella, lamb shank ossobuco so tender it falls apart if you look at it, or Tortellini in pheasant broth, make a good beginning and panna cotta, cooked cream with berry compote, makes a good end. A nightly special, Sicilian penne, is earthy with capers and black olives. Tanino prepares daily specials and he does a completely different menu for lunch and dinner. Chefs like to boast they use fresh, local ingredients: Tannino doesn't know any other way to cook. Just like at home. |
| (310) 208-0444 |
| 1043 Westwood Blvd -- Westwood Village |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Temple |
| Korean/Brazilian |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Fashion figures and siblings, Jun and Soyon Kim, do modern Korean-Brazilian cuisine of their own invention in a sleek space with a small bar up front and a lounge that is separated from the dining area by a glass wall. The house specialty Soju Caipirinha, a Brazilian cocktail made with Korean sweet potato vodka, gets you in the mood for Chef Richard Aramino's crossover cuisine, traditional Korean dishes brightened with California greens, artful presentations and Brazilian influences in dishes like pastel and paella. Desserts are less interesting but that doesn't seem to stop this enthusiastic crowd from having fun. |
| (310) 360-9460 |
| 14 N. La Cienega Blvd. -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021008 022232 |
| Trattoria Tre Venezia |
| Italian |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| An Old Town standout, the dishes here are abundant and so is the hospitality. The only thing miniscule, in fact, is the adorable patio. The menu highlights the Friulan specialties of Gianfranco Minuz: fruit-stuffed gnocchi; lobster-sweet potato soup with Trieste-style crepes; Venetian pressed noodles and such. If you have room for dessert, try the strudel (Italy was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire a while back) and cooked cream with caramelized sugar and toasted almonds. Hopefully, they'll never update the hospitality that's an Italian tradition even older than these recipes. |
| (626) 795-4455 |
| 119 W. Green St. -- Pasadena |
| 20021008 022232 |
| vermont |
| California |
| Unknown |
| L M-F D A |
| Anchoring the ever-new-hip-commercial corridor of Vermont Avenue north of Sunset, Vermont (always lowercase) is like a stalwart, reliable friend. The owners often wander through the dining room, with its palmettos and pillars and gentle lighting, and they always like to chat. The reasonably priced dinner menu reads like a Top 10 of recent hits, from frisée aux lardons salad and onion soup to seared tuna and pork loin. You may not be bowled over by anything you eat, but you’ll be back. Plus, the stylish new bar is one of the neighborhood’s few upscale spots for cocktails. |
| (323) 661-6163 |
| 1714 Vermont Ave. -- Los Feliz |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Water Grill |
| American |
| Unknown |
| L M-F D A |
| Created and owned by the King restaurant group, the Water Grill is a big, big-city, downtown restaurant. The vast dining-hall-bar- lounge, with its fat faux pillars and seaside murals, has a slick, corporate gloss — which clearly appeals to the corporate suits who fill the booths. Chef Michael Cimaruti buys the best fresh fish and more than does it justice — and customers are charged accordingly. Desserts are erratic. Impersonal professional servers get the job done. Lunch is far less impressive and almost as expensive as dinner. Still, slurping down a dozen shucked kumamotos at the bar may be as close to New York’s Grand Central Station Oyster Bar as any Angeleno can hope to get. |
| (213) 891-0900 |
| 544 S. Grand Ave. -- Los Angeles |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Zax |
| American |
| Unknown |
| L Tu-F 1130-14 D Tu-Th 1730-22 FSa 1730-2230 Su 17-21 |
| The new 60-seat brick-walled Zax in Brentwood has quickly become a neighborhood favorite and is a promising aspirant to L.A.’s best-restaurant lists. The often organic, seasonal New American cooking by 23-year-old Brooke Williamson is complemented by owner Chris Schaefer’s praiseworthy wine list. Try roasted figs stuffed with cabrales cheese, the dry-aged New York steak or oven-roasted chicken. |
| (310) 571-3800 |
| 11604 San Vicente Blvd. -- Brentwood |
| 20021007 024047 |
| Versailles Restaurant (Venice Blvd) |
| Cuban |
| Unknown |
| Su-Th 11-22 FSa 11-23 |
| Cuban-style food is a hit with the masses, thanks to an almost-legendary garlic chicken dish. The Scene: Waiters in guayaberas chatter blithely at the counter, in between serving groups of college students, families and pre-barhoppers. Such is a common scene in the nondescript dining room, particularly on weekend nights when lines can stretch around the building. Hmmm ... is this happy-go-lucky atmosphere fueled by the low prices or the delicious aroma of garlic? The Food: The garlic chicken alone is reason enough to come here, and is indeed what most diners set out for. Sure, the stringy roast pork is moist and delectable, a close second to the famous fowl. And yes, the bay leaf-infused, soupy black beans are salted just right. But that chicken, fully permeated with the pungent bulb and slathered in a citrusy marinade, is really unbeatable. (Though, it can be slightly disappointing when it arrives dry, which seems to be happening more often nowadays.) Not to be forgotten are the gooey fried plantains, a perfectly sweet counterpoint to the garlicky chicken flavor. Insider Tips: Worth the Wait Don't let those long lines deter you--food is whisked out rapidly, so diners get in and out rapidly, too. |
| (310) 558-3168 |
| 10319 Venice Blvd -- Los Angeles |
| 20021011 154537 |
| Versailles Restaurant (La Cienega) |
| Cuban |
| Unknown |
| Su-Th 11-22 FSa 11-23 |
| Cuban-style food is a hit with the masses, thanks to an almost-legendary garlic chicken dish. The Scene: Waiters in guayaberas chatter blithely at the counter, in between serving groups of college students, families and pre-barhoppers. Such is a common scene in the nondescript dining room, particularly on weekend nights when lines can stretch around the building. Hmmm ... is this happy-go-lucky atmosphere fueled by the low prices or the delicious aroma of garlic? The Food: The garlic chicken alone is reason enough to come here, and is indeed what most diners set out for. Sure, the stringy roast pork is moist and delectable, a close second to the famous fowl. And yes, the bay leaf-infused, soupy black beans are salted just right. But that chicken, fully permeated with the pungent bulb and slathered in a citrusy marinade, is really unbeatable. (Though, it can be slightly disappointing when it arrives dry, which seems to be happening more often nowadays.) Not to be forgotten are the gooey fried plantains, a perfectly sweet counterpoint to the garlicky chicken flavor. Insider Tips: Worth the Wait Don't let those long lines deter you--food is whisked out rapidly, so diners get in and out rapidly, too. |
| (310) 289-0392 |
| 1415 S La Cienega Blvd -- Los Angeles |
| 20021011 154537 |
| Airstream Diner |
| Diner |
| Editorial Rating 7, FASValue 8 6 5 8 |
| 24 hours |
| Comfort food gets a whimsical spin at this all-night Beverly Hills trailer. The Scene: To the delight of Beverly Hills tourists and local scenesters, an Airstream trailer has docked in 90210. Well, at least its shimmering silver shell has. Inside the light and airy diner, there's little evidence of trailer-park aesthetics--except for the kitschy garden gnomes that double as stools. The Food Even when gussied-up, chef Fred Eric's all-American comfort food satisfies the soul. Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love pancakes are ultra-light flapjacks stuffed with peanut butter, chocolate chips and bananas then drizzled with caramel sauce and a dusting of powdered sugar. The Frittata Riviera tops an open-face omelet with chunks of melted Brie, whole grapes, walnuts and hunks of sweet bread. Feeling like a kid? Try the do-it-yourself PB&J or the Mac Daddy and Cheese Balls: creamy mac and cheese rolled into golf-sized balls, coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Off the dinner menu, the Mrs. Loaf--a turkey-meatloaf topped with spicy cumin ketchup--is a must-try. Insider Tips: Dinner Menu: A small dinner menu circulates from 5pm to 11pm only, but the best fare (including the breakfast items) is always available on the 24/7 menu anyway. |
| (310) 550-8883 |
| 9601 Little Santa Monica Blvd -- Beverly Hills |
| 20021011 163639 |
| The Standard Downtown Coffee Shop |
| Diner |
| Editorial Rating 7 FASV 7 9 7 6 |
| 24 hours |
| Kitschy, 24-hour hotel diner fuels the Roof Bar club set with hearty fare. The Scene: This "Star Wars" meets "The Partridge Family" diner is a study in contrasts: Bright-yellow leather booths surround sleek, marble tables. So-bad-it's-cool '70s-style wallpaper is juxtaposed with futuristic felt ceiling tiles. Even the waitresses in form-fitting blue smocks and knee-high black leather boots uphold the retro-chic theme. Servers are helpful but maintain a hint of attitude to match the steady stream of scenesters filing in from the hotel's rooftop club. The Food: As with any good coffee shop, it's best to stick to the homey favorites. A chopped salad with crumbled blue cheese, avocado and bacon, simple though it seems, is a much snazzier beginning than the straight-from-the-fridge ahi tuna tartare. For dinner, an amazingly tender filet mignon with creamy mashed potatoes or savory pork loin with caramelized apples brings comfort food to a new level. Don't leave without sharing a picture-perfect banana split or warm chocolate soufflé and coffee ice cream. Insider Tips: Roof Alternative Avoid the cover charge for the rooftop bar by having a drink in the lobby, where a DJ spins nightly. More Information: Prompt seating: yes Delivery: no Make reservations: yes Romantic: no Good for kids: no Good for groups: yes Recommended: yes |
| (213) 892-8080 |
| 550 S Flower St -- Los Angeles |
| 20021011 163639 |
| The Griddle Cafe |
| Diner |
| Editorial Rating 7 FASV 7 7 7 8 |
| M-F 7-15 SaSu 8-15 |
| This cozy cafe fuels the industry by serving Hollywood hopefuls whimsical diner fare. The Scene: Stowed away in the shadows of the Director's Guild, the Griddle is filled with young and hungry Hollywood types checking call sheets and loudly scheming about getting backing for the "next major blockbuster." A U-shaped bar is perfect for James Dean-type loners looking to get their big break. The Food: A pun-filled menu describes wholesome American classics peppered with kindergarten twists: flapjacks dotted with rainbow sprinkles, chili with chocolate chips, and the Griddlewich (a peanut butter, strawberry jam and chocolate-covered banana sandwich). While the menu is frivolous, the food is serious, with breakfast playing the leading role. Power up with the Caballero, a breakfast burrito with eggs, potatoes, green chiles and chicken chorizo all wrestled into a flour tortilla. The huevos rancheros hide under a rich, complex ranchera sauce spiked with tequila. Bursting from its wax-paper wrapping, the La Vida Loca burger is a thick patty, freshly ground, and dripping with mild green chiles and jack cheese. |
| (323) 874-0377 |
| Unknown -- West Hollywood |
| 20021011 163639 |
| Cora's Coffee Shop |
| Diner |
| Editorial Rating 7 FASV 7 7 7 6 |
| Daily 0630-1430 |
| Beloved neighborhood nook gets a foodie facelift. The Scene: Open since the 1920s, this old-school diner has been retooled for the avant-garde brunch crowd. On the sunny, street-side patio, locals linger over "organic when possible" fare, while speed eaters perch on one of the dozen stools at the narrow inside counter of the tiny, one-room eatery. The Food: Since taking over this beloved greasy spoon in late 2001, restaurateur Bruce Marder has created an interesting menu of anything-but-standard diner fare that ranges from a burrata caprese omelette to a tuna arugula salad. Noteworthy are the two plate-sized orange pancakes, infused with a delicate citrus aroma and stuffed with blueberries, and the Mediterranean omelette with al dente eggplant, zucchini. Other dishes don't fare as well. A coarse and hearty cup of steel-cut oatmeal is boosted by raisin and milk for needed flavor, while the egg-white vegetable frittata, filled with fresh veggies, is bland and underseasoned. It may not be the best breakfast in town, but for fresh and healthy al fresco fare, Cora's is a solid choice. |
| (310) 451-9562 |
| 1802 Ocean Ave -- Santa Monica |
| 20021011 163639 |
| Fred 62 |
| 0 |
| User Rating 4.9 94 reviews FASV 6.3 6.9 4.3 5 |
| 24 Hours |
| Everything you could hope for from a 24-hour diner at the epicenter of cool. The Scene: Bowling-alley fashion sense, classic Hollywood charm and a chrome toaster on every table make Fred 62 the heppest place in town to get your chow on. The Food: Expect creative riffs on comfort foods served up with funny names. Witness the golden, velvet Mac Daddy and Cheese, the towering ham and swiss of the Charles Bukowski, and the fluffy pancake, crisp-tender hash browns, ultra-crisp bacon and filling eggs of the Dime Bag. For arterial redemption try one of the Japanese sobas: The Bang Bang's sweet fire of plum and hot pepper sauces makes it a standout. The best thing about 62's soggy fries is their presentation in an origami-folded brown paper bag. Finish off with a Punk Tart (homemade Pop Tart), bursting with fresh fruit and near lethal amounts of sugar, and you'll be ready to stay up with the area writers. Insider Tips: Special Seating For a romantic experience, request the window table in the back dining room--you sit on cushions on the floor, and it has drapes for privacy. |
| (323) 667-0062 |
| 1850 N Vermont Ave -- Los Angeles |
| 20021011 163639 |
| Cold Stone Creamery |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown -- Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Las Angeline's |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown -- Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Real Cantina |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown -- Unknown |
| Unknown |
| McCormick&Schmick's Torrance |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown -- Unknown |
| Unknown |
| La Super-Rica |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown |
| Unknown -- Unknown |
| Unknown |