WHY Beautiful Mexican seafood in a landmark Boyle Heights setting, with kind service. Try the shrimp gorditas for lunch and a fresh-fish special for dinner. WHAT An L.A. treasure, La Serenata serves carefully prepared, sometimes elegant Mexican seafood dishes to a loving and longtime clientele. It now has two branches on the westside, and they’re [...]
February 20, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Succulent roast pork and Cuban-style roast chicken, and (when it’s available) amazing oxtail, too. WHAT A no-frills, inexpensive L.A. landmark beloved for its garlicky marinated roast chicken, juicy, salty Cuban roast pork, plantains, black beans and rice. Branches on south La Cienega and in Encino and Manhattan Beach. 10319 Venice Blvd., Culver City, 310.558.3168, [...]
February 18, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Luscious prime rib and a theatrical sense of ‘going out.’ WHAT It’s kinda like the Disneyland of restaurants. Lawry’s has characters (waitresses in uniforms and perky caps and imposing carving men in stiff toques), adventures (salad tossed tableside in a huge spinning bowl, prime rib carved from a silver cart) and tons of Japanese [...]
February 17, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Real shabu-shabu made with exceptional ingredients, notably the Wagyu beef. Best of all: When you finish cooking and eating your meat, seafood and veggies, they take the pot back to the kitchen and turn the now-rich broth into a heavenly thick soup with rice or udon. WHAT It’s a modest-looking place, and shabu-shabu (meat, [...]
February 16, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Lovely small dishes—Japanese fried chicken, crab claws with cucumber, black cod with miso, braised eggplant—at reasonable prices given the quality. WHAT Years ago, in its original low-rent Hollywood location, this restaurant introduced izakaya (small plates) to Angelenos, who followed the place when it moved to this more stylish industrial space on Beverly. What’s on [...]
February 13, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Chinatown restaurants can seem all too similar, but JR stands out for hot pots, lobster specials and well-prepared standards. WHAT The same owners’ JR Restaurant was one of the westside’s top Chinese restaurants, and faithful customers will find many of the same favorites at this slightly slicker updated spot with white tablecloths, beer and [...]
February 6, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Pizza dough of perfect flavor and bite, paired with superb toppings; the margherita is simple the way E=MC2 is simple. WHAT Is Mozza’s pizza the second coming of Christ? You’d think so with all the hullabaloo around this pizzeria and its celebrity-chef parents, Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali. But the result is something more [...]
January 31, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Dosas and southern-style curries in a tech-savvy setting complete with Bollywood offerings on plasma screens. WHAT Annapurna showcases classic southern Indian cooking in an urbane setting (complete with WiFi). Try the ultra-thin paper dosa or a curry accompanied by pickles, chutneys and sambars. 10200 Venice Blvd., Culver City, 310.204.5500, annapurnacuisine.com. L & D daily. [...]
January 24, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY It’s the Spago of Pasadena. WHAT Its California pizzas, organic vegetables, open kitchen and inventive cookery made a big splash in once-stodgy Pasadena when it opened in 1985, and the Parkway Grill remains an appealing destination today. Classic dishes—roasted-beet salad, lobster-filled cocoa crèpes, superb short ribs with parmesan mashed potatoes, seasonal fruit crisps—are the [...]
January 23, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY A particularly lavish and beautiful array ofpanchan, the small appetizers that accompany traditional Korean barbecue, and meat of very high quality. WHAT As far in atmosphere from smoky, funky barbecue joints like Soot Bull Jeep as you can get, Park is spare and industrial-chic, with a gorgeous and fairly formal serving staff and powerful [...]
January 23, 2013 | Posted in
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