WHY A comfortable place to sit, sip, nosh and talk, with two lounge-y seating areas, a wooden communal table, and room to stand and chat around the gleaming tasting machines. WHAT Part retail store, part wine bar and part high-tech tasting center, this quiet little spot was created by two wine-loving couples who invested in [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Design-it-yourself one-bowl meals that are a couple of notches above the norm at most low-budget Mongolian barbecue joints. WHAT This style of cooking is neither Mongolian nor barbecue—it’s really a melding of Japanese teppanyaki cooking and Taiwanese flavors. Many of us Angelenos of a certain age remember the late great Col. Lee’s, where hungry [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY An eccentric Jewish-Scottish hipster spot that’s surprisingly affordable given the celebrity status of the chef—the most expensive dish is $15. WHAT Helmed by Top Chef winner Ilan Hall, the Gorbals is anything but flashy—an almost-barren candlelit room tucked into the aging Alexandria Hotel, now used for affordable housing. The small menu draws inspiration from [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Generous pours of good, modestly priced wines in a very cool Retro Row shop, with $3 glasses on Thursdays and often-terrific live music. WHAT Almost every afternoon and evening, bartender Evan mans the small, living-room-like wine bar in back of the store, and regulars stop in to ask him what he’s pouring and to [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY A remarkable selection of Thai ingredients, packaged foods, cookware, even furniture. WHAT Part supermarket, part Costco-style warehouse, this shabby place is the go-to destination in town for everything you could possibly need to cook Thai food, all at very low prices (including produce). You may have to buy in huge quantities, so consider sharing [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY It’s an L.A. pioneer that set the standard for French-Japanese-American cooking that’s inventive but not silly. And it has a great and affordable bar menu. WHAT It’s too easy to forget about this chic bistro near Cedars-Sinai, and indeed we did forget it in our last edition. But we were sorry: It’s a quintessential [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Excellent and affordable cocktails and wine by the glass, a killer burger and farmers’ market produce. WHAT Mike Simms has hit a home run with this indoor-outdoor bistro that rises above its shopping-mall setting. Skip the undercooked pizzas and too-small crab cakes in favor of the terrific curry spinach dip, caramelized brussels sprouts, thick [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY A convenient, moderately priced café just south of the Old Town madness—with free parking! WHAT Part of a small local chain that also owns Wild Thyme, this place feels generic, and yet it fits the bill in many ways. The short-rib hash, Thai beef salad, pizzas and brick-flattened chicken are of the moment and [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Authentic Cuban café con leche, heavenly mochas, lattes infused with horchata and all-around superb coffee. WHAT This suave and handsome spot, with comfy leather chairs and intoxicating aromas, takes its coffee—and its beans—very seriously, buying them from organic, artisanal roasters and handling them with care. But there’s a sense of whimsy that cancels out [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Upscale Italian food and service of a higher caliber than you’d expect from such a modest-looking place, at prices that are more than fair. WHAT A real find in the west Valley, Adagio is all about comfort: a cozy but not too fancy setting, solicitous but not too formal service, and well-prepared Italian food [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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