WHY Celeb spotting, perfectly fine food and a chance to make like one of the Malibu locals who’ve adopted Nobu as their neighborhood canteen (baseball cap, flip flops and iPhone optional). WHAT It’s Disneyland Malibu here: a perfectly orchestrated miniature version of clichéd Malibu life, complete with omnipresent celebrities (think Cindy Crawford, David Duchovny, Courtney [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Cosmopolitan cooking without pretension, with a beach-friendly location that can’t be beat. WHAT It has every right to be a tourist trap, but this pierside seafood restaurant is anything but. Always packed and always noisy, the modern concrete-and-glass space gives diners stellar views of the sea, sky and Ferris wheel—along with a daily-changing menu [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Not that you’d regret shelling out for dinner, but the best deal in town is lunch at Joe’s, where for $19 you get a superb three-course meal—perhaps parsnip-fennel soup, shrimp risotto-sofrito and chocolate crunch cake. Great brunch, too. WHAT Before Abbot Kinney was the coolest place in L.A., Joe Miller gambled and opened a [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY This carefully constructed Cal-Mediterranean seafood menu is worth the splurge, especially when you consider the setting. WHAT High ceilings, crisp white walls and floor-to-ceiling windows frame the dazzling view at this privileged outpost of elegant, yet unshowoffy, cuisine. A chef change led to a menu change as well, so the Asian influences gave way [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Lobster enchiladas, and one of the best happy hours in town. WHAT Chaya Venice’s once-pioneering East-meets-West cuisine is now found all over L.A., but it’s good to revisit the source for good sushi, seaweed salads, pastas and such French-Japanese hybrids as miso-marinated sea bass with a wasabi-tamarind beurre blanc. WHO Venice artists and musicians, [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY The view and the weekend prix-fixe brunch. WHAT In a modern space overlooking bobbing boats, the dinner crowd sips cocktails and dines on oysters, sushi, black spaghetti with seafood, and Alaskan halibut with braised fennel and baby artichokes. The cooking’s appealing and consistent, though not quite worth the steep dinnertime tab. Lunch or brunch [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Owner Maureen Vincenti’s contagious laugh and doting attention to each guest, plus the house-made porchetta, spit-roasted until it’s a perfectly charred, juicy hunk of pure pork bliss. WHAT Step inside the elegant dining room, with its marble counters and slick leather banquettes, and it’s clear this isn’t your average homespun trattoria. Chef Nicola Mastronardi [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Who knew Brentwood could be this happening? WHAT This upscale, always-packed, almost manic place is very Lost in Translation—lots of neon, purple and white leather, all of it created by famed French designer Philippe Starck. The menu, from sushi chef Katsuya Uechi, includes a variety of hot and cold items, including scallops with kiwi [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY To sip sake and nibble on gorgeous small plates and sushi on the patio, next to the romantic fire pit. WHAT The current star of the Sawtelle Japanese scene, Hayama is winner for its bamboo-lined patio, its two sake bars and the excellent small-plates-and-sushi food of Toshi Sugiura: scallop sashimi, grilled yellowtail collar, soft-shell [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY High-quality fresh fish, Italian style; try the crudos, the squid-ink pasta with sea urchin and the salt-baked sea bass. The three-course business lunch is a good value. WHAT Sal Marino grew up in the restaurant business (at Marino’s), and now, in his own modern, elegant place, he’s exploring his own culinary passions: ultra-fresh seafood [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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