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 L.A. restaurnt with consisently good food and a cool vibe. Excellent lunchtime salads and dinnertime burgers and miso-marinated sea bass.

WHO Agents, writers and such stars as Zac Efron and David Byrne.