WHY Lobster chile relleno with tamarindo-hoisin sauce, grilled salmon with mole pipian and a spinach-garlic quesadilla, and grilled half-chicken with two moles. WHAT This nouvelle Oaxacan café serves very good, modestly priced southern Mexican dishes in a colorful dining room or out on a quiet walled patio. Note that while it shares a name with [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Although it’s the kind of restaurant that MBAs, not chefs, create, Grande Orange an undeniably winning place, especially the bar, the Caesar salad, the burgers and the excellent pizzas now emerging from the brand-new wood-burning ovens. WHAT The owners of this spot in the handsomely restored 1925 Santa Fe Depot at Del Mar Station [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY The kebabs and Middle Eastern classics are good, but live a little and try some of the seasonal Persian specialties, like the chicken stewed with cherries. WHAT This fine old-timer is good for Persian classics; a specialty is fish pilaf, a traditional dish for the Iranian New Year. But most regulars return for the [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY A fun and affordable choice for Westwood Village dining. Just don’t fill up on that amazing bread. WHAT The only restaurant around that serves you hot flatbread straight from the tandoor-style oven, Shaherzad is a good place for kebabs, fluffy Persian rice, beef barg and traditional stews. WHO Middle Eastern UCLA students and Iranian [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Dosas and southern-style curries in a tech-savvy setting complete with Bollywood offerings on plasma screens. WHAT Annapurna showcases classic southern Indian cooking in an urbane setting (complete with WiFi). Try the ultra-thin paper dosa or a curry accompanied by pickles, chutneys and sambars. 10200 Venice Blvd., Culver City, 310.204.5500, annapurnacuisine.com. L & D daily. [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Very good, close-to-the-earth country-style meals you might expect at a ryokan, or Japanese country inn. WHAT Locavores will love the ingredients—organic vegetables, local free-range chicken and eggs, Santa Barbara prawns, grass-fed beef—that chef Tetsuya Harikawa sources for his simply cooked meals. For rice connoisseurs, the star of the show is the early-crop rice cooked [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Vast bowls of delicate noodles crowned with flowering basil tops and mint; char-grilled meats arranged over hillocks of raw greens; shrimp rolled around sugarcane sticks; sweet-tart jackfruit salad with pickled lotus roots; and more such crowd-pleasing dishes. WHAT Vietnamese cafés are hip and happening—the light, intensely colorful, vividly flavorful food perfectly suits the L.A. [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Intelligent and sometimes almost whimsical dishes like ground chicken with a light miso glaze in lettuce wraps, as well as exquisitely fresh, flown-in-from-Japan sashimi. WHAT This modern izakaya hidden in a shopping center has an airy open kitchen and sleek lines that give it a quiet dignity. Ultra-fine as well as more modest sakes [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY A pretty place to explore the cuisine of South America. WHAT This dramatically enhanced sibling to William Velasco’s revered 25-year-old restaurant has the mood of a gracious old hacienda, and the food is less Ecuatoriano and more contemporary pan-South American. The libations match luscious tropical fruits with appropriately flavored alcohol: bright citrusy naranjilla (fruitier [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY For exquisitely made tempura and high-caliber izakaya-style little dishes. WHAT If there were a Tempura Olympics, chef Hiroshi Komatsu would surely get the gold. He plucks your tempura from his proprietary blend of scalding oil and serves the lacy, crackle-crusted fish and vegetables one piece at a time so they never cool and wilt. [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
RSS Feed
Become a Fan
Follow Us
