WHY One word: duck. WHAT There are lots of good things to order (scallion pancakes, beef with garlic, the mountain yam jelly called konnyaku) but it’s really all about the three-course duck dinner, a great feast to share with friends. It starts with a platter of crisp, salty-sweet skin and moist meat to wrap in [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Great setting in a lively neighborhood, steps from the Gold Line station that inspired its name. WHAT This lovely red-walled space features a traditional French bistro menu and charm galore. Service can be slapdash and the kitchen uneven but the crowds of spirited locals packing the small bar and dining rooms don’t seem to [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Great Oaxacan food from a serious and attentive chef. WHAT It looks like a dive from the outside, but inside it’s inviting and charming—the perfect setting for owner/chef Roberto Berrelleza’s outstanding regional Mexican cooking with an Oaxacan focus. The standouts include seriously good Yucatecan cochinita pibil, filet mignon with pimiento-mint sauce, and habañero-blazed camarones [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Very good food, plus the tasty (but strong) margaritas and sangria. WHAT La Cabañita is a cheerful, crowded neighborhood café offering superb food. It’s expanded to nearly twice its original size, causing some old-timers to grouse about kitchen consistency, but we think it’s as wonderful as ever, especially the beans, the green mole, the [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY It’s one of the better places for sushi east of the 5 Freeway. WHAT Knotty-pine walls and two bars—one for drinking, one for sushi—give Z an interesting look, and the good food is matched by the friendly, quick and solicitous service. The sashimi’s fresh, the sushi rolls are imaginative and the cooked dishes, like [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY A fascinating cuisine; squint at the menu and you’ll recognize derivatives (or ancestors) of such Indian, Pakistani, Persian and Chinese dishes as pakoras, curries, dumplings, kebabs and pilafs. WHAT An elegant, white-tablecloth restaurant with a restful, welcoming atmosphere, Azeen’s is just a block from the Old Pas swarms. Share a sampler plate of appetizers [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY It may be Chinese food designed for white people, but it’s still seriously tasty, and for many people, addictive. WHAT Two simple rooms are permanently packed with regulars who have been coming here for 20 years and always order the same things: sweet-spicy slippery shrimp, hefty pan-fried dumplings, dried-fried string beans with pork, and [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY The fresh, light banh mi sandwiches and those fabulously crisp spring rolls. WHAT This no-frills diner packs ‘em in with fresh, appealing and cheap Vietnamese food: oniony pho, shrimp paste on sugar cane, myriad noodle dishes and justly popular spring rolls accompanied by a fragrant heap of fresh green herbs. Also consider the related [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Those ‘thin onion pancakes’—scallion-laced, layered and crunchy, and the cha-jiang mien noodles. WHAT Come here for the food, not the ambience. You’ll soon forget the harsh light and less-than-nurturing service when you start slurping a steaming bowl of Family Handmade Noodle Soup with hand-cut noodles and lots of other tasty stuff. The pan-fried dumplings [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Scallop enchiladas, seafood quesadillas, homemade salsas and heavenly beans, all of which you can eat in a setting of unusual (for a taqueria) charm. WHAT A fetching old bungalow with a stone fireplace and tree-shaded patio (it’s very Berkeley) is home to L.A.’s most acclaimed seafood-focused taqueria. WHO Occidental students and their professors, with [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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