Los Angeles Restaurant Information
The Los Angeles restaurant scene is home to some of the best restaurants and chefs in the United States. You will almost always find something new to eat in Los Angeles. Los Angeles used to be one of the least expensive big cities, in which to eat well, as strong competition for the luxury-class dollar kept prices at many high-end restaurants under control. But the booming economy of the late '90s and an influx of diners accustomed to higher prices has fueled a restaurant gold rush. Still, many excellent ethnic restaurants are attractively easy on the pocketbook. Unparalleled dining options continue to open up as a result of immigration from Central America, the Near East, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere. One consequence is that even going out for standard Mexican cooking is now an outdated concept. These days savvy diners seek out distinctive regional cuisines like Mexico's Jaliscan, Sonoran, and Oaxacan. Culinary diversity has spread far beyond immigrant neighborhoods.
Reservations are essential at most high-end restaurants, and on weekend evenings at many others. But you'll find that the locals don't often dress up to eat out: even in pricey restaurants, jeans are not uncommon. Note that state law forbids smoking in any enclosed public place, including all bars and restaurants. However, some establishments may allow smoking on outdoor patios. Here is a look at just a few of the restaurants you will find in Los Angeles.
Philippe the Original
1001 N. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA
Tel: 213-628-3781
Cuisine: American
Philippe the Original is a landmark near Union Station and Chinatown that has been serving its famous French dip sandwich (made with beef, pork, ham, lamb, or turkey on a freshly baked roll) since 1908. Philippe maintains its reputation by sticking to its traditions which include sawdust on the floor and long, wooden tables where customers can sit and socialize like one big, noisy family. The home cooking includes hearty breakfasts, potato salad, coleslaw, sandwiches, salads, and an enormous pie selection.
 Ocean Avenue Seafood
1401 Ocean Ave.
Santa Monica, CA
Tel: 310-394-5669
Cuisine: Seafood
This vast restaurant has been operating since 1946; it is not right on the water, but just across the street -- ask for a table by the window for an ocean view. Low ceilings, dim lighting, well-spaced tables, and attentive service create an intimate setting. Popular dishes include cioppino, a fish stew made with Dungeness crab, clams, mussels, and prawns; and sea bass marinated in a sake kasu sauce (a mixture of sake, soy sauce, white wine, and rice wine vinegar). The oyster-bar offers an overwhelming selection. For dessert, the apple tart with caramel sauce is the best.
La Cachette
10506 S. Little Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
Tel: 310-470-4992
Cuisine: French
Owner, as well as Chef Jean-Franois Meteigner developed a following while cooking at L'Orangerie and Cicada. At his own place (a cachette is a little, secret hiding place), he combines traditional French fare, Provenal bouillabaisse, rack of lamb with garlic-tarragon jus, with a lighter, more modern cuisine, including Alaskan butterfish with Cajun spices, and venison with cabernet-and-blueberry sauce. L.A.'s forty-something crowd dresses up to see and be seen here.
 The Palm
9001 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA
Tel: 310-550-8811
Cuisine: Steakhouses
In Los Angeles, there is no better place to see and be seen than at the Palm. The Los Angeles Palm has been a staple with celebrities since it opened in 1975, when The Palm had only three other restaurants. Today, the likes of Mike Myers and Adam Sandler can be seen at the Los Angeles Palm while their established colleagues Billy Crystal and Brian Dennehy are content doing the same, as they have been for years.
All the New York elements are present at this West Coast replay of the famous Manhattan steak house -- mahogany booths, tin ceilings, a boisterous atmosphere, and New York-style waiters rushing you through your cheesecake (flown in from the Bronx). This is where you'll find the biggest and best lobster, good steaks, prime rib, chops, great French-fried onion rings, and paper-thin potato slices.
Ca'Brea
346 S. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
Tel: 323-938-2863
Cuisine: Italian
Chef Antonio Tommasi, formerly of Locanda Veneta, turns out lamb chops with black-truffle and mustard sauce, whole boneless chicken marinated and grilled with herbs, and a very popular osso buco. Here, starters make the meal, try baked goat cheese wrapped in pancetta and served atop a Popeye-size mound of spinach. Daily specials include soup, salad, pasta, and fish dishes. Terra-cotta- or mustard-color walls combined with dark-wood paneling give the lively main room a warm Venetian look, and the cozy loft is ideal for those seeking privacy.
|
