WHY Simple Americana with refined flair. WHAT At Last may be tiny, but it has quickly become one of the most popular neighborhood spots in a city full of them. Behind its success is American cooking that capably twists the classics. At lunch, expect good sandwiches headlined by a charred burger and a vegetarian option [...]
January 13, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Seriously divine smoked beef, poultry, pork, and fish. WHAT David Handy has been perfecting his craft of smoking meat for the past 25 years, which is oh so evident after a single bite of anything off the menu. He does it all: perfectly smoked brisket, ribs, sausage, salami, pastrami, Cornish hens, ham, salmon and [...]
January 12, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY A chance to decide for yourself whether this is the best burger in America. WHAT When Sang Yoon, formerly chef at Michael’s, said goodbye to haute cuisine to open a pub, he set about creating a world-class hamburger. It’s a rare, dry-aged beef patty topped with Maytag blue cheese, smoked applewood bacon and caramelized [...]
January 6, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Delicious Thai tapas—such small plates as Thai rolls, crab rolls, larb and fried shrimp cakes—along with good sakes and Asian beers. WHAT A grim mini-mall is home to this sleek and stylish Thai bo’te, whose adjacent nightclub is a weekend scene. Avoid the too-sweet mee krob, but try all the rest of the small [...]
December 10, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY For the quintessential grill-your-own Koreatown experience—it’s a great place to bring out-of-towners. WHAT You’ll smell like meaty smoke all night after dinner here, and you won’t mind a bit. It’s one of Koreatown’s best-known places, a dive with brusque service and a constant wait for a table. Thepanchan (side dishes) aren’t as complex and [...]
December 8, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY For 46 beers on tap, with great choices from Ireland, England and Belgium, and solid English fare, including a good chicken curry. WHAT A pleasantly old-school pub (pressed tin ceilings, polished wooden floors, walled patio) that perfectly suits its old-fashioned setting in Sierra Madre’s village center. In the back is a tiny but richly [...]
December 7, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Mellow vibe, good coffee, amusing people-watching. WHAT Try for a coveted sidewalk table at this funky (think Berkeley in the ’70s) place in the heart of ultra-hip Abbot Kinney. Or check out the two inside rooms, where you can grab a sandwich or settle in for the afternoon with a laptop or sketchbook. WHO [...]
December 5, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY The mozzarella tasting plate, grilled octopus with potatoes, celery and lemon, orecchiette pasta with sausage and swiss chard, pan-roasted sea trout with Umbrian lentils—in fact, pretty much everything. WHAT The frenzy that built around the opening of this joint venture between Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich and Nancy Silverton may have subsided, but getting a [...]
December 4, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY For the most beautiful outdoor dining on the eastside, with food that suits the setting; try the leek and onion tart with an arugula salad, the rigatoni with wild-boar rag, and the warm seafood salad. Brunch is lovely, too. WHAT We’d eat Arby’s fare in this setting—a hidden walled garden built around a massive [...]
December 3, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY An incredible assortment of southern and northern Indian delicacies, potentially made as spicy as one could ever want, with some of the world’s hottest peppers grown on premises. WHAT While the restaurant also contains a grocery store, with a diverse spice selection, it is the prepared items from the kitchen served to the 15 [...]
December 1, 2012 | Posted in
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