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 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 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 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 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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WHY Farmers’ market—fresh comfort food like shrimp and grits (the house special), shiitake-and-Gruyère bread pudding, and pear crumble. Extras include a big communal table, a modest $10 corkage and no corkage on Mondays. WHAT Nook Bistro is indeed a nook, a tiny spot hidden in the back corner of a little strip mall with not [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY High-quality fresh fish, Italian style; try the crudos, the squid-ink pasta with sea urchin and the salt-baked sea bass. The three-course business lunch is a good value. WHAT Sal Marino grew up in the restaurant business (at Marino’s), and now, in his own modern, elegant place, he’s exploring his own culinary passions: ultra-fresh seafood [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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