WHY It’s the best chocolate you (almost) can’t find. WHAT Blame it on Norbert Wabnig. The proprietor of the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills tasted Marianne Manes’ homemade chocolate truffles (they were a gift) and asked if she had considered selling them. She thought for a minute. “Why the hell not?” recalls Manes, a Hollywood [...]
WHY Al pastor tacos at midnight. WHAT All the meats that go into the tacos and burritos are good, but the real reason the people line up every night is for the pork al pastor, among the best in taco-truck land. WHO Mexican families and the young and restless, stopping in between clubbing and bar-hopping. [...]
WHY A friendly Irish pub in the heart of the Valley, with good beer (Guinness, Harp, Bass, Smithwick’s), well-made burgers and crisp fish ‘n chips. WHAT It’s a bit gloomy at first, but once your eyes adjust you’ll find a handsome room, friendly locals and fresh beer. If the bar’s too crowded, grab a table [...]
WHY Enthusiastic tours of some of L.A.’s best ethnic-food enclaves, including Thai Town, Little Tokyo and the Chinese neighborhoods of the San Gabriel Valley. WHAT Jeff Okita and Alex Tao love L.A. and love to eat, and they’ve channeled those passions into seven tasting tours: Little Tokyo, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Thai Town, Downtown L.A. and [...]
WHY Addictive tabletop-grilled skewers that blur the boundary between Korean and Chinese cooking. WHAT Feng Mao is a hybrid, its kitchen preparing the Korean-Chinese cuisine of China’s Jilin province. Accordingly, you’re as likely to spot platters of the Korean blood sausage soondae here as you are bowls of mapo tofu. But the fusion is at [...]
WHY Echo Park mixes it up with a winning combo of reasonable prices and modern Vietnamese food that incorporates a nod to the neighborhood’s Latin American roots. WHAT Tacos get a burst of rich flavor from pho-style beef, while dishes like Vietnamese crèpes, mi quang (a rice noodle dish with shrimp and pork) and banh [...]
WHY A parade of cocktail-friendly small plates with a beach breeze. WHAT M.B. Post is chef David LeFevre’s first project since his departure from the Water Grill, a so-called ‘social house’ in the oceanfront location once occupied by the Manhattan Beach Post Office. Not everything wows or works, but there are some very good dishes. [...]
WHY La Grande Orange’s casual sibling is a busy pizza specialist in the same historic Pasadena train station. WHAT Gourmet toppings like fig and blue cheese or sausage with shaved fennel top chewy sourdough crusts from a wood-burning oven. Crab legs, salads like the Green Day and a few other appetizers complete the menu; plenty [...]
WHY Do one thing and do it well. In this case, it’s churros. WHAT The food is a wash, but the churros, served warm from the fryer, are to die for. These are nothing like the Mexican churros that dominate L.A.—these are Spanish churros. They’re smaller, denser and more crisp, served with toppings and fillings [...]
WHY ‘Wine for the people’ (or so says its slogan), in working-people’s Echo Park, with affordable tastings, charcuterie and small plates, as well as fun wine classes. WHAT A groovy wine bar for an increasingly groovy neighborhood, City Sip is part wine bar and part school. Six nights a week, owner Nicole Daddio pours wine [...]
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