Eating Los Angeles

For almost a quarter-century I have been trekking back and forth to Los Angeles on a regular basis. I even opened a restaurant there about ten lifetimes ago in the early eighties. The food scene back then relegated LA to stepsister status as a dining town. There was Campanile, Maple Drive, Citrus, Chinois on Main, Michael’s, Canter’s Deli, and a handful of heritage eateries. Despite the wealth of ethnic dives, no one really talked about them. Things are quite a bit different today: A serious diner could make a compelling argument that LA has caught up with San Francisco and achieved top-five status among American food cities. My picks are by no means a comprehensive list of the city’s bests; they’re just the restaurants I have eaten in lately that deserve your attention next time you head West.

Photo by Jason Duplissea

Musso & Frank’s historic sign.

Photo by Edmund Barr

CUT—Richard Meier minimalism marries Wolfgang Puck decadence.

Steak houses are all the rage these days, in stark contrast to the public perception that LA is all about sprout salads and tempeh. The Grill on the Alley serves superb steaks, does a killer Cobb salad, and offers a great power lunch if that’s your style. Musso & Frank Grill (Bogey ate there) and Dan Tana’s are my favorite two old-school steak houses.  Deep leather banquettes, red-jacketed waiters who know their stuff, and killer people-watching are the perfect side dishes for the superb slabs of beef, but all those restaurants take a back seat to Wolfgang Puck’s CUT, the hottest table in town. Richard Meier’s design is flawless and comfortable, the food is exquisite, and the celebrity factor is a ten. One evening there, I watched Justin, Ellen, Portia, and Tom & Katie all chowing down on Kagoshima Prefecture Wagyu beef and lobster in truffle sabayon. Side dishes such as potato tart tatin, creamed spinach, and sautéed morels are my picks from a long list of winners, and Sherry Yard’s chocolate soufflé might be the best sweet finish in town.

Fast-fare American classics are plentiful in LA. Philippe The Original offers dozens of sandwich choices, and while many hungry loyalists line up for the beef sandwiches with a killer hot mustard infused with horseradish, I always go for the double-lamb sandwich. El Chato is tops for taco trucks (almost 4,000 of them are in the greater Los Angeles area)—pile on the barbecued pork al pastor and double down on the lengua (tongue tacos). I go to In-N-Out for a plain double and to Pink’s for a hotdog (there are about thirty different dogs to choose from).

Koreatown is one of the best reasons to spend an extra day eating in LA. The area of the city east of Western Avenue is the hottest place in town for dining, drinking, and chilling, even late into the evening. The hostess bars, spas, and cafés are packed, but it’s the eating that is without peer. Two popular spots for downing shots of soju and grabbing a serious meal are Toe Bang (for chicken-and-potato hot pot) and The Prince (hot and spicy fried chicken). Park’s Barbeque is tops in my book for meat quality and the tabletop grilling selection. Be sure to have the boneless beef short rib; it comes to your table rolled around the bone and is splayed out like wrapping paper across your grill. For soondae (rice and blood sausage), roasted meats, and stunningly diverse and nuanced kimchi I head to LA to Western Soondae. For seafood that is so fresh most of it comes to your table still alive, eat at Hwal A Kwang Jang. Hwal is teeny, just a few tables squeezed around an open one-man kitchen and a dozen fish tanks, but the inevitable wait is worth it. Korean–style sashimi (halibut with chilies), sautéed octopus with red chili and garlic shoots, sea squirts, fresh shrimp, and raw live octopus are just a few of the house specialties that keep me coming back for more.

Where to Stay After a $35 million renovation and a conversion to a Four Seasons property, the Beverly Wilshire is clicking on all cylinders. Boasting two of LA’s finest eateries on site (The Blvd and CUT), a killer spa, getaway rates as low as $445, and the best location in town for shopping and dining, it is my favorite hotel these days. I prefer to stay in the old building above the lobby (grab a corner room if you can). Be on the lookout for stars every time you swing through the public rooms (I spot Sidney Poitier eating breakfast at The Blvd every time I stay at the hotel). 9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310-275-5200

For Japanese food, there are dozens of phenomenal choices in LA, the sushi capital of North America. Over the years, Japanese chefs emigrated here in droves. Urasawa is the most precious of the new Japanese restaurants, and all the meals are served omasake (chef’s choice). A quick twelve- or fifteen-course tasting of flawlessly executed raw fish may cost $300 without beverages, so this place is not for everyone, but it is worth every penny. Each morsel of food passes through Hiroyuki Urasawa’s hands and reservations are hard to nab at this little twenty-seater, but I would kill to experience the trio of tuna belly sashimi slivers with flower pickles once again.

Photo by Jessica Boone

Mako in Beverly Hills is the place for inventive Cal–Asian.

Nobu Matsuhisa has been setting the mark for great fish for twenty-plus years, and many of his disciples have gone on to open their own restaurants in the city. His newest David Rockwell–designed Nobu restaurant just opened a few months ago and is wonderful, but I still love the Beverly Hills original, Matsuhisa. From his monkfish liver terrine to his octopus turadito with yuzu juice, from the trio of tartares with caviar served on ice to the live Santa Barbara spot prawns that can be gobbled up by the bucketful every spring, this humble little joint is the one that started it all. Interested in a sushi crawl? I did one on Ventura Boulevard that still gives me shivers. Sushi Nozawa and the original Katsu-ya are there, just to name two. Makoto Tanaka’s Mako is a great spot for lunch, and his grilled duck with tangerine sauce is perfection. Mako is a superb choice if Cal-Asian inspired cookery is your thing. Don’t miss Tanaka’s signature sake-glazed baby back ribs. Yungui Garden in Monterey Park serves some of the best Sichuan–style fish in SoCal, and in a town filled with great Chinese food, this is the joint that I have been to the most.

Fundamentally though, it’s the contemporary restaurant scene that is revolutionizing the city’s culture. Despite its twenty-six-year run (or maybe because of it), Spago is still one of the best restaurants in the city, thanks to Lee Hefter and Wolfgang Puck and  their dedication to excellence. Sitting in the garden and pigging out on a trio of chilled tomato soups and sweet pea agnolotti with shaved Parmesan is about as good as life gets. Taking a cue from Campanile’s legendary grilled cheese night, Suzanne Tracht offers up “Mozzarella Mondays” at Jar, her upscale, über chic, retro–American chophouse, but you can grab deviled eggs, a gorgeously braised pot roast, or a stellar veal chop any night of the week.

Photo by Jessica Boone

Comme Ça—an instant brasserie classic.

David Myers might be the hottest chef in LA these days: His restaurant Sona is often touted as LA’s finest; Boule, his food shop across the street, is a food lover’s best friend (check out the killer rare spice collection), and Comme Ça, just down the street, offers his take on classic brasserie fare with a SoCal attitude. The nine-course tasting menu at Sona is a culinary symphony and is really an eighteen-course event since Myers creates tandem tastings with two distinct elements on each plate. Think rabbit with stinging nettle sabayon and black lentil salad perched next to black chicken with black sesame, black kale, and cauliflower purée.

Photo by Jessica Boone

Osteria Mozza—Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton’s East/West Italian joint venture.

Lucques, Suzanne Goin’s paean to Mediterranean cuisine, is a revelation. Each time I dine there it seems to get better. Sitting in this old carriage house with its handhewn wood beams eating pancetta-wrapped guinea hen and baked ricotta spiked with plumped, pickled, golden raisins makes you wonder why other chefs can’t cook in her simple, elegant style. Osteria Mozza rivals Cut for the toughest reservation in SoCal. Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali’s partnership is producing some outrageously great food. There is a pizzeria on one side of the space serving the best pie in LA (I adore the clam pizza with oregano and garlic), but don’t ignore the addictive antipasti plates, handcrafted salumi, simple roasts (braised and crisped duck leg on lentils), and butterscotch budino for dessert. I can’t help but think that this restaurant is the model for what’s to come in the years ahead all over the country. It works.

Photo by Jessica Boone

A plate at Providence Seafood, LA’s best modern seafood restaurant.

Photo by Edmund Barr

Josie—inspired dining without the scenesters and crowds.

Michael Cimarusti’s Providence serves the best seafood meal to be found in the city. It is a charming and easy restaurant to relax in, and I adore Cimarusti’s deft hand with dishes such as the Japanese kanpachi with pickled ramps, tarragon gelée, and roasted shimeji mushrooms. He is just as skilled plating scallop-and-lobster ravioli with tomato compote. Angelini Osteria’s linguine with squid ink and toasted bread crumbs is a superb dish, making Angelina my fave pasta stop on the Left Coast. Josie is the type of neighborhood eatery I find myself turning to more and more these days. Owned and operated by the driven Josie Le Balch, the restaurant revolves around an old stone hearth and a quiet dinner here is always something to look forward to. If crowds and scenesters aren’t your thing, head here and check out her inspiring take on skewered baby cuttlefish with merguez sausage or her signature slow-roasted pork belly with blood orange sauce.

 

The Restaurants All restaurants are in LA, unless otherwise noted. Angelini Osteria, 7313 Beverly Blvd., 323-297-0070 Comme Ça, 8479 Melrose Ave., 323-782-1178 CUT, Beverly Wilshire Hotel, 9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310-276-8500 Dan Tana’s, 9071 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-275-9444 El Chato, Olympic Blvd., near La Brea The Grill on the Alley, 9560 Dayton Way, Beverly Hills, 310-276-0615 Hwal A Kwang Jang, 730 Western Ave. S. Jar, 8225 Beverly Blvd., 323-655-6566 Josie, 2424 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, 310-581-9888 Katsu-ya, 11680 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 818-985-6976 LA Western Soondae, 543 Western Ave. S., 213-389-5288 Lucques, 8474 Melrose Ave., 323-655-6277 Mako, 225 S. Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-288-8338 Matsuhisa, 129 La Cienaga Blvd. N., Beverly Hills, 310-659-9639 Musso & Frank Grill, 6667 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 323-467-7788 Osteria Mozza, 6602 Melrose Ave., 323-297-0100 Park’s Barbecue, 955 Vermont Ave. S., 213-380-1717 Philippe the Original, 1001 N. Alameda St. (Chinatown), 213-628-3781 Pink’s, 709 La Brea Blvd. N., 323-931-4223 The Prince, 3198 W. 7th St., 213-389-1586 Providence, 5955 Melrose Ave., 323-460-4170 Sona, 401 La Cienega Blvd. N., 310-659-7708 Spago, 176 N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-385-0880 Sushi Nozawa, 11288 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 818-508-7017 Toe Bang, 3465 W. 6th St., 213-387-4905 Urasawa, 218 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310-247-8939 Yungui Garden, 301 Garfield Ave. N., 626-571-8387