WHY A funky, fun, after-work hangout for ginger-lychee mojitos, sake and very share-able robata skewers. WHAT This easy-to-miss space next to parent restaurant Sushi Roku features authentic robata (Japanese grilled meats and veggies), chicken cartilage (for the brave) and a good-enough raw bar with interesting combos—try the wasabi bloody Mary oyster shooter. 1401 Ocean Ave., [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Its patio, its still-amazing art collection and its new front-of-the-house cocktail lounge. WHAT Michael McCarty opened his namesake restaurant back in 1979 and was hugely influential in defining what was dubbed California cuisine and went on to become modern American cooking. His kitchen helped make goat cheese, arugula and caramelized onions a wildly popular [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Cosmopolitan cooking without pretension, with a beach-friendly location that can’t be beat. WHAT It has every right to be a tourist trap, but this pierside seafood restaurant is anything but. Always packed and always noisy, the modern concrete-and-glass space gives diners stellar views of the sea, sky and Ferris wheel—along with a daily-changing menu [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY This carefully constructed Cal-Mediterranean seafood menu is worth the splurge, especially when you consider the setting. WHAT High ceilings, crisp white walls and floor-to-ceiling windows frame the dazzling view at this privileged outpost of elegant, yet unshowoffy, cuisine. A chef change led to a menu change as well, so the Asian influences gave way [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Lobster enchiladas, and one of the best happy hours in town. WHAT Chaya Venice’s once-pioneering East-meets-West cuisine is now found all over L.A., but it’s good to revisit the source for good sushi, seaweed salads, pastas and such French-Japanese hybrids as miso-marinated sea bass with a wasabi-tamarind beurre blanc. WHO Venice artists and musicians, [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY That Abbot Kinney esprit, plus a chance to feel virtuous and catered-to at the very same meal. WHAT From the sidewalk, Axe (pronounced ‘ah-shay’) looks so understated as to be practically unmarked, but that hasn’t stopped the hordes from discovering its green-friendly menu and tastefully minimalist vibe. The entrées, like the porterhouse pork chop [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY It’s got it all: indoor-outdoor dining in hip Culver City, a fun vibe, a great happy hour and excellent dishes made with such au courant things as burrata, Kurobuta pork and shaved goat cheese. WHAT What was a trendy Culver City newcomer not so long ago has now eased into a comfortable adulthood, with [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY The view and the weekend prix-fixe brunch. WHAT In a modern space overlooking bobbing boats, the dinner crowd sips cocktails and dines on oysters, sushi, black spaghetti with seafood, and Alaskan halibut with braised fennel and baby artichokes. The cooking’s appealing and consistent, though not quite worth the steep dinnertime tab. Lunch or brunch [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Such exquisite French-influenced small plates as shrimp-mousse-filled ravioli with shiitake sauce, grilled hearts of romaine salad, filet mignon with Roquefort butter and foie gras with Japanese eggplant. WHAT After running Franco-Japanese restaurant Shiro in South Pasadena for many years, chef Hideo Yamashiro flipped the name and opened the smaller and more casual Orris on [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Who knew Brentwood could be this happening? WHAT This upscale, always-packed, almost manic place is very Lost in Translation—lots of neon, purple and white leather, all of it created by famed French designer Philippe Starck. The menu, from sushi chef Katsuya Uechi, includes a variety of hot and cold items, including scallops with kiwi [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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