WHY To spice up your seafood restaurant list. WHAT The Hunan province may be inland, but the restaurant’s name isn’t an oxymoron. The vast Dong Ting Lake and Yangtze River tributaries supply fish, shrimp, frogs and turtle, all of which are on the menu at this modern chrome-and-glass spot. Also here is Chairman Mao’s favorite [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Lower-than-usual prices on an array of seafood items, and a super-friendly owner. WHAT Not a conventional seafood market, this is partly a resource for high-quality, low-priced frozen and fresh fish and seafood and partly a lunchtime café, where owner Johnny and crew make lobster tacos, sea bass burritos and grilled fish plates. Look for [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY The South Bay’s preeminent specialist in okonomiyaki, a Japanese pub dish that straddles the line between savory pancake and omelet. WHAT There’s more to Gaja’s menu than just okonomiyaki, but all the izakaya-style small plates combined can’t topple the popularity of its various permutations of the pancake-like dish. You can cook for yourself on [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY A longtime leader of Burmese cuisine in Los Angeles. WHAT Golden Triangle has for decades been an uptown Whittier stalwart, its Burmese food reason enough to trek to Greenleaf Avenue. And even this long into its existence, enough can’t be said of the spritely ginger salad, earthy tea leaf salad, goat curry with coconut [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Life-changing, melt-in-your-mouth buttery crescent rolls (cuernitas) that are to supermarket pan dulce what La Brea is to Wonder Bread. WHAT When owner Jesus Huerta’s mom started this bakery in 1949, she was determined to mimic the pan dulces she’d grown up with in Mexico. She played around with ingredients, eventually hiring Mexican artisans who [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY For Caribbean specialties that are a cut above the usual hole-in-the-wall fare. WHAT Yes, Derrick’s offers the traditional beef patties, oxtail and a mean jerk pork. But at this stylishly decorated spot there’s more emphasis on seafood, lean chicken and fresh veggies: marinated grilled shrimp flamed with barrel-aged Jamaican rum, spice-infused grilled rainbow trout [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY A handy place for a quick bite with a dash of modern Moroccan style. WHAT Chameau has been transformed into Chameau Delibar, and though some are mourning the flaky duck b’stilla, Delibar has its own appeal. Gourmet sandwiches and salads bear a hint of the restaurant’s Moroccan past, such as the zingy eggplant purée, [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY A mellow alternative to Silver Lake’s over-caffeinated coffee scene. WHAT Housed in a faux-lighthouse building on none-too-gentrified Hoover Street, this place started selling organic fair-trade beans at local farmers’ markets before opening the café. With free WiFi, a large covered patio and baked goods from Echo Park’s Delilah Bakery, it’s a funky and calm [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY The owners, alums of nearby Café Stella and Silver Lake Wine, know exactly what the neighborhood wants: zero pretension and decent value. WHAT This Los Feliz wine and beer bar has a rustic-industrial feel, with a weathered wood bar and comfy bar stools. A carefully curated wine list offers some 40 well-priced varieties at [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Because there’s nothing like it in Tarzana: an upscale but casual spot serving the kind of food we like to eat. WHAT A couple of smart restaurateurs (they own 22 places around the country) opened Bleecker Street late in 2009, in affluent but restaurant-challenged Tarzana, and it took off like a rocket. The two-story, [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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