WHY The Cobb and Caesar salads, and the chance to sit in the same room with the people who greenlit the movie your kids saw last weekend. WHAT This clubby institution offers an old-school menu (shrimp cocktail, chicken pot pie, meatloaf) to its power-lunching Hollywood faithful. Even though some of the lunch-hour heat has migrated [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Simple, handmade and delicious trattoria fare, and fellow diners who remember what it means to dress for dinner. WHAT This showpiece of Celestino Drago’s mini-empire offers hearty regional cooking in an elegant setting. But all pretense vanishes when Celestino strolls from table to table, grinning and chatting as customers dine on dishes such as [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Exceptionally tender and tasty pork and beef ribs and pulled pork, smoked by Jay Nelson with oak and almond woods. WHAT A shack in the best sense of the word, JNJ is indeed a burger joint, but that’s not why you come here. You come for the honest-to-goodness barbecue: tender pork ribs, hefty beef [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY The exuberant Greek flavors go down well so close to the ocean. WHAT Don’t expect plate-smashing hokum at this modern Greek bistro, just very good food: feta bruschetta, grilled octopus, shrimp saganaki with tomato, basil and feta, grilled pita with a dip of olives and sun-dried tomatoes, lovely fresh-fish entrées, a hearty lamb pasta [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY The avocado tower, lobster salad and the tasting menu. WHAT Christine Brown combines flavors of the Mediterranean and the Pacific Rim in this color-washed bistro, and the results are generally quite successful. The ‘greens and grazing plates’ are typically big enough to share as a starter; half the room seems to get the avocado [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY For an omakase meal of astonishing complexity, diversity and luxury. WHAT If you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it—so we can’t afford it. L.A.’s most expensive sushi restaurant (and that’s really saying something) requires an outlay of what would be a month’s rent in some parts of the country. [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY The warmth of owner Aimee Mizrahi, the heartwarming French bistro cooking and the modest prices. WHAT Homey beyond its strip-mall setting, Aimee’s is beloved by locals for its great service and fine food: bouillabaisse, scallops with foie gras, coq au vin and crème brûlée. Tables are tightly packed, so don’t plan on gossiping much. [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Inventive, flavorful, beach-friendly Cal-Asian fusion cooking is served in a ten-table bo’te closely overseen by the friendly owner/chef, who doubles as sommelier and keeps a close watch over the dining room. Great happy-hour menu at the tiny bar. WHAT Lately this nachos-friendly beach neighborhood is drawing a more food-serious crowd with wine bars and [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY It’s a gem among the mediocre Italian restaurants littering Old Pasadena. WHAT This romantic little cottage on Green Street features a dining room decorated like someone’s (tasteful) home, a kind Italian staff and often-extraordinary seafood-focused dishes from Venice, Friuli and the rest of northeastern Italy. Bring your Gold Card, and savor a superb caprese [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY The best carne asada in the history of mankind, served on pressed-to-order tortillas. Remarkable birria (kid), too. WHAT Pay no mind to the graffiti and the bars on the windows, and step inside this friendly spot for gorgeous, grilled-to-order birria and carne asada, served in huge tacos, in burrito form or to go by [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
RSS Feed
Become a Fan
Follow Us
