WHY Upscale Mexican cuisine with a beautiful Long Beach view. WHAT A centerpiece of the redesigned and rebranded Hotel Maya, Fuego delivers a Mexican menu focused on coastal cooking. That translates to dishes like citric ceviches of shrimp and lobster scooped up with plantain chips, Yucatn-style pork two ways (presented as an achiote-glazed fillet and [...]
December 3, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY South of France—inspired dining morning, noon or night in a pretty Côte d’Azur setting. WHAT Hollywood’s glitzy W Hotel may seem an improbable place to find a bright brasserie seemingly transplanted from Cannes, but this bustling, white-tiled, marble-floored spot is good for business meetings, visitors touring Hollywood and post-clubbing late meals. The menu is [...]
November 30, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Small, juicy hot dogs, just like the New York original. WHAT Pink’s has competition in the line-up-for-hot-dogs department with the arrival of this New York hot dog icon, which draws huge crowds at night. Pass on the beefier but soggier jumbo dog in favor of the small, juicy, peppery original. The curly fries are [...]
November 25, 2011 | Posted in
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WHAT Comfort food doesn’t get any more comfortable than on the Buttermilk Truck, where the mobile kitchen dishes out breakfast sliders, fantastic homemade cake doughnut balls, bite-size buttermilk pancake balls, red velvet cupcakes and Hawaiian-bread cinnamon french toast sticks. It all tastes just as good, if not better, at 9 p.m. as it does at [...]
November 23, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Satisfying French bistro fare without having to go over the hill. WHAT Chef Gordon Ramsay’s stem-to-stern redo of this Sherman Oaks mainstay (39 years!) resulted in a trimmer, more modern menu that focuses on what the kitchen does best: simple French bistro food and savory and sweet crèpes. Don’t miss the onion soup, the [...]
November 22, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Lively suds and modernized pub grub. WHAT Congregation may take its religious shtick too far—stained glass windows, Catholic school uniforms, Monday ‘mass’—but it’s one of Long Beach’s essential beer bars, with a commendable list of Belgian and craft brews. The menu presents done-up pub classics like a pork and goat cheese sausage sandwich, grilled [...]
November 21, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Because you never know when the urge for a terrific, if Lilliputian, lobster roll (creamy and a bit spicy, stuffed into a warm, butter-grilled roll) will hit. WHAT This seafood-centric spinoff of Animal is tiny and generally mobbed, so it’s nice that a long communal table as well as a few seats at the [...]
November 19, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY To check out SoCal’s first Vietnamese-American gastropub. WHAT Happy-hour specials and a half-dozen brews on tap pair with beer-friendly food that mirrors the everyday flavors most Vietnamese-American kids grow up eating—with a slightly creative twist. Good examples include the grilled mini skewers of curry-marinated chicken or beef and the sliders on Hawaiian buns (pulled [...]
November 17, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY For the wait staff, the history and the breakfasts, served 24/7. WHAT Do we love the Pantry? Yes. Is the food really good? No. Well, former mayor Dick Riordan loved it so much he bought the place, but he likes plain, filling chow, and that’s what the Pantry has delivered, 24 hours a day, [...]
November 16, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY You wish you were in Paris but you’re settling for Venice. WHAT This indoor/outdoor café and market on south Abbot Kinney has catered to homesick ex-pats since 1993. You may be the only English speaker in line waiting to order French comfort food: omelets with a green salad;le cheval (fried egg atop ham and [...]
November 11, 2011 | Posted in
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