WHY Bacon in your salad, bacon for your main course, bacon in your dessert. WHAT L.A.’s foodie sensation is a bare-bones room crammed with people who aren’t even mad that they had to wait 45 minutes… with a reservation. It helps that the staff is remarkably kind, but really it’s because who can stay mad [...]
February 4, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY The kitchen knows when to take a fish off the grill and how to bring out the best in each dish—without overcomplicating it. The setting and the food combine to make this the perfect California restaurant. WHAT This lively (i.e. noisy) Abbot Kinney hot spot has a ’70s open-air Big Sur vibe but a [...]
February 1, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY L.A.’s best-kept-secret French bistro. WHAT Almost hidden in a corner of the Farmers Market is a café as authentically French as any in Lyon. It’s part of the adjacent Mr. Marcel market, home of French cheeses, olives, wines, table linens and an array of gourmet foods. Unlike most Farmers Market eateries, which are order-at-the-counter [...]
January 30, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY For the little-known Muslim fare of Xinjiang, China’s autonomous far western region. WHAT The food at this homey café, a mesh of Chinese elements and central Asian nomad cooking, likely bears little resemblance to anything you’ve eaten in L.A. Sure, Xinjiang lamb kebabs are well known, but owner Munire Omar brings out zhuafan, a [...]
January 27, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY To break the hummus-and-kebab stalemate of most L.A. Middle Eastern places, in a handsome, hardwood-floor bistro setting. Also for the late-night menu, which includes half-price wines. WHAT A farmers’-market sensibility permeates the small and large plates made by Craft alum Micah Wexler: pizza-like flatbreads topped with trendy produce, veal mantee (baby tortellini), quail in [...]
January 24, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Better-than-you’d-think cooking in a no-frills café. WHAT Owner Robert Humphreys brings his classical training (at Patina and elsewhere) to his funky, everyday café, and the result is a gift for East Pasadenans. There’s good coffee in the morning, worthwhile and affordable wines and beers at night, and one of the best burgers in Pasadena. [...]
January 20, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY A newly revamped menu inspired by pre-Columbian Mexican cooking. WHAT La Huasteca has long been Plaza Mexico’s grand stage: sylvan murals, wrought-iron chandeliers, a fully stocked bar. But with a reinvigoration by chef Rocio Camacho (formerly of Moles la Tia), it is charting a new course, one that celebrates ingredients and techniques native to [...]
January 15, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Because there’s more to Korean food than barbecue. WHAT Mimicking a Korean tavern with its charming faux country-style décor, Kobawoo serves dishes that best accompany frosty beers or soju. Its tremendous lineup of savory pancakes includes a pizza-size, seafood-stuffed one called haemul pajun. A color-drenched salad of clear acorn noodles, jangban gooksoo, comes tossed [...]
January 7, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Modern Latin American cuisine that’s at once traditional and playful. WHAT John Sedlar’s sequel to Rivera follows much the same model as his Downtown restaurant, a handsome place showcasing a vast array of Latin American flavors. Cocktails are almost universally excellent, devised as at Rivera by Julian Cox. Plates are large (to humor Sedlar’s [...]
January 6, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Kogi goes stationary. WHAT The thing to get at this simple little café is the rice-bowl version of owner Roy Choi’s infamous short rib and spicy pork tacos, though the grains are somehow not as captivating as the Kogi Truck tortillas. But at these bargain prices, it’s still a fun-to-taste game. The prime rib [...]
January 3, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
RSS Feed
Become a Fan
Follow Us
