WHY Surprise: Aging starlet gets a good facelift and comes out of it lovelier than ever. WHAT High-end restaurateur Bruce Marder runs this miniature and adorable restored diner, where a funky-chic bougainvillea-shaded patio is furnished with marble tables and bistro chairs. It’s a lovely place to linger over a burrata caprese omelet or organic rotisserie [...]
August 20, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Because you’ve never had Peruvian comfort food before—at least not like this. WHAT Mo-chica is Ricardo Zarate’s take on Peruvian comfort food, once in a nonprofit food court but now served in a modern setting that transports you to the streets of South America. Tables are always filled, so make a reservation. Once you [...]
August 17, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Creative breakfasts, lunches and even occasional dinners, paired with Homeboy Bakery breads. WHAT More than a bakery, Fairfax’s Black Cat has a freshened-up vintage café look and an evolving menu with unusual selections like the terrific farro bibimbap deeply flavored with shiitake mushrooms, burrata and a fried egg, pig trotter eggs Benedict, multigrain pancakes [...]
August 16, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY High-quality sushi that’s a bargain at lunch—the $11.50 special gets you miso soup, five pieces of sushi and a blue-crab hand roll; many regulars opt for the chirashi sushi box for $17. WHAT Owned by a pioneering family who started the second sushi bar in the U.S. and has been running restaurants in Little [...]
August 9, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY A newly revamped menu inspired by pre-Columbian Mexican cooking. WHAT La Huasteca has long been Plaza Mexico’s grand stage: sylvan murals, wrought-iron chandeliers, a fully stocked bar. But with a reinvigoration by chef Rocio Camacho (formerly of Moles la Tia), it is charting a new course, one that celebrates ingredients and techniques native to [...]
August 8, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Serious dogs served on grilled King’s Hawaiian bread. WHAT These are solid, substantial hot dogs, often topped with bacon and/or chili. Skip the heavy, bland El Mariachi, but consider the BLAST dog, with bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato and serrano chili, and by all means try the tater tots. The addition of a beer garden [...]
August 6, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY For a taste of au courant Thai cooking followed by fine-dining-caliber desserts. WHAT A stylish storefront noodleteria where noodles are just a start. Thekap klâem—bar-snack-like small plates—reflect the urban Thai culinary trends inspired by owner Billy Jalanugraha’s visits to his native Bangkok. Don’t miss the house version oflarb tod: the fried ground chicken and [...]
July 31, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY At the time of this writing, über-sushi-chef Katsuya Uechi is not only in the house; he’s preparing omakase in the small sushi bar at the back. WHAT After Katsu Michite closed Tama to open Katsu Sushi in Beverly Hills, Uechi took over the old space, notwithstanding the fact that he has the perennially popular [...]
July 27, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Some of the San Gabriel Valley’s best Vietnamese sandwiches come out of this tiny Alhambra mini-mall deli. WHAT A to-go operation with friendly counter service, Banh Mi My Tho packs a lot into a minuscule storefront: a half-dozen types of banh mi sandwiches, hot Vietnamese broken-rice and noodle-based meals, snacks like meatballs on a [...]
July 25, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY For the great wine list, with lots of worthy choices for less than $10 a glass; the well-conceived and fairly priced small-plates menu; and the gregarious charm of Chef Beltran, who spends a lot of time checking on diners. WHAT After years of bouncing around various restaurants, success has come to chef Claud Beltran [...]
July 24, 2012 | Posted in
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