WHY Chiles rellenos, lengua en mole and good margaritas, all at low prices. WHAT Manny Lares seems to be the main man at this family restaurant, but then there’s his brother, his two sisters, his niece…. We all cook, we all wash dishes, we all go to the bank, he says. Downstairs is a quiet [...]
May 22, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Because it’s on the Malibu Pier and the food doesn’t suck. WHAT The folks behind the restored 1940s Beachcomber at Crystal Cove run this place on Malibu Pier, and the look is identical to its parent: green leather booths, warm wood paneling and plenty of windows to bring in the Pacific. There’s a large [...]
May 14, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY It’s like stepping into the neighborhood negozio di alimentari you frequented on your last trip to Italy. WHAT This hidden, family-run, 14,000-square-foot warehouse and teeny showroom teem with “tutti prodotti tipici regionali.” It’s all here and it’s all Italian: excellent dried pastas (Spinosi! Columbro!); canned tuna, beans and San Marzano tomatoes; rice and faro; [...]
May 1, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Of all the great westside hybrid café/takeout/gourmet markets that have popped up recently, this is the first that doesn’t feel like a lunchtime splurge, with most sandwiches and salads priced less than $10. WHAT Regulars come here for Chinese chicken salad with fried won tons and sugar snaps; tomato, mozzarella and pesto sandwiches; and [...]
April 28, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Because you can snack on squid-ink tagliolini and romanesco pizza at 3:30 in the afternoon. WHAT This casual spinoff of Piccolo in Venice may be a lot less expensive, but it has the same authentic culinary bent—think veal tongue in tuna sauce and baccala-filled ravioli. An upmarket pizza list of sauced and unsauced varieties [...]
April 20, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Except for low prices, this place has everything that’s missing from Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne’s other restaurants with similar farmers’-market-friendly Cal-French cuisine: breakfast, brunch, kids’ menus, cocktail bar, even a takeout counter. WHAT This glammed-up addition to the Lucques/AOC family is light-filled by day and romantic by night, with a takeout-friendly café as [...]
April 16, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Kids’ amusements, live music, great people-watching and very good produce. WHAT This sibling of the famous Arizona Avenue market is the social event of the week in south SanMo, where neighbors meet and families shop. It may seem to be more about the face-painting and music, but there’s also some terrific food from the [...]
April 13, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Because Malibu has long needed a sophisticated, ingredient-driven dinner house. WHAT Chef Paul Shoemaker, who’s cooked at Bastide and the Water Grill, refines American comfort foods (smoky clam chowder, Jidori chicken pot pie, house-baked breads) with a seasonal menu based on produce that’s often sourced from nearby farms. His straightforward preparations elevate but don’t [...]
April 10, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Do one thing and do it well. In this case, it’s churros. WHAT The food is a wash, but the churros, served warm from the fryer, are to die for. These are nothing like the Mexican churros that dominate L.A.—these are Spanish churros. They’re smaller, denser and more crisp, served with toppings and fillings [...]
March 6, 2012 | Posted in
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You have to think Julia Child would be proud. Food Fare 2012, which began in 1979 with a cooking demonstration by the legendary Child, is now in its 33rd year of benefiting Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and celebrating new innovators in food like 2012 Chef of the Year Suzanne Goin: chef and owner of AOC, [...]
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