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 [...]
WHY A multi-purpose, festive Mexican spot with killer tequila selections in Downtown’s cocktail gulch. The downstairs rec room is fab for private parties. WHAT Silver Lake favorite Malo has spawned a bigger Downtown sister location in a cavernous and often deafeningly loud historic jewelry store. Hide out in the ’70s flashback basement lounge, or sip [...]
WHY You never know where it’ll pop up or what’s on the menu, and that’s the fun of it. WHAT Good luck getting a reservation at L.A.’s (and now the nation’s) premiere pop-up restaurant. (So many people want in, the online reservation system usually crashes soon after it opens.) Ludovic Lefebvre is a classically trained [...]
WHY Excellent and authentic Argentinean classics: empanadas, milanesa, white fish, huge platters of sizzling meat, mashed potatoes and bread pudding, all at more than reasonable prices. WHAT At this quirky café in the middle of a deli and meat market, patrons cheer their soccer team on TV or simply kibitz while munching on sandwiches slathered [...]
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 [...]
WHY Classic Javanese cooking and crisp fried chicken. WHAT The history of Merry Istiowati’s namesake restaurant traces back to her culinary academy in the Indonesian city of Surabaya. Here in a West Covina strip mall, her cooking is indebted to that past. There is, of course, ayam goreng kremesan, Indonesian fried chicken covered in crunchy [...]
WHY All manner of fresh and fragrant exotic spices and a tea annex, too. WHAT Hidden down a Sunset Junction passageway, Spice Station is filled with spices and dried herbs from around the world. With dozens of salts (ghost pepper salt!), chiles and colorful flavored sugars, the shop offers many ways to make cooking exciting, [...]
Medical Marijuana users, this bud’s for you. Also for you (and others): the chicken, the monkfish, the spareribs, the steak culotte, the panna cotta, the beer, and the cocktails — all for $100. The 4.20 (Weed+Chinese) Herb Dinner — the second by Laurent Quenioux (formerly of LQ Bistro) and Thi Tran of Starry Kitchen (a.k.a. LQ+SK) [...]
WHY Superb New York—style pizza, by the slice or the pie. WHAT Is this the best New York—style pizza in town? Many think so, and it’s certainly on our very short list. There’s no seating, just a stand-up counter with room for two to eat a slice or wait for a pie; Cheviot/Palms locals get [...]
Go Go’er’s, this weekend is all about art and the outdoors. Also, beer and the outdoors. In other words, a weekend that’s win/win/win…. Mark Twain is in Hollywood Forever You’ll want to break out those tucked-away-in-the-closet Snuggies (a.k.a. “the blanket that has sleeves!”) or at least don your best fleece in order to get a [...]
