Best of LA 2013: Eat
1886
1250 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 91105
Today Brady Weise shakes up cinnamon syrup with pineapple, grapefruit, and cranberry juices.
Neighborhood: Pasadena
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Bars, Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat
A.O.C.
8700 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA, 90048
310-859-9859
At A.O.C. Christiaan Rollich’s salad-in-a-glass comes in a vodka version but tastes just as fresh with chamomile tea, basil, arugula, jalapeño, cucumber, and lime.
Neighborhood: Beverly Grove, Los Angeles, West Hollywood
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Restaurants, Small Plates
Aladin Sweets & Market
139 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90007
At Aladin Sweets & Market, folks stop in for glasses of milky tea with honey-dipped fried pastries, though savory dishes are the main draw.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Restaurants, Southeast Asian
Babita Mexicuisine
1823 S. San Gabriel Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 91776
Nestled in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it suburban storefront, San Gabriel’s Babita Mexicuisine finds the gracious middle ground with such daintily presented dishes as green cilantro margarita sorbet and tequila-soaked salmon sopes.
Neighborhood: San Gabriel
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Mexican food, Restaurants
Chado Tea Room
369 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA, 90012
Few cultural institutions can claim as essential a dining experience as the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Cafe, Restaurants
Cliff’s Edge
3626 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake, CA, 90026
323-666-6116
Silver Lake’s candlelit grotto recently brought on James Beard-nominated chef Benjamin Bailly (Fraîche, Petrossian), whose farm-fresh menu is tasteful but doesn’t punish the pocketbook.
Neighborhood: Silver Lake
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA 2014: Eat, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: 2014, Best of LA: Eat, Cafe, Restaurants
Crossroads
8284 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90046
(323) 782-9245
White-tablecloth vegan—it was bound to happen.
Neighborhood: Hollywood, West Hollywood
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Mediterranean, Restaurants, Small Plates, Vegetarian/Vegan
Domaine LA
6801 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90038
The fruitiness of an Isabel cuvée from Berkeley’s Donkey & Goat is all rosé halftones; the high-alcohol flash of a Russian River Poco a Poco zinfandel is a snapshot of one grape in one season in one dusty place.
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Shopping, Wine Stores
Eagle Rock Italian Bakery
1726 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90041
When we need our Italian treats to go, which is when we say, “Ciao, Eagle Rock Italian Bakery!”
Neighborhood: Eagle Rock
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Dessert/Ice Cream/Yogurt, Restaurants
Fishing with Dynamite
1148 Manhattan Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90266
Manhattan Beach’s intimate and wryly named Fishing with Dynamite showcases David LeFevre’s expertise with seafood, honed during his years at Water Grill downtown.
Neighborhood: Manhattan Beach
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Restaurants, Seafood
Harold & Belle’s
2920 West Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90018
323-735-9023
When transplants from the Crescent City hanker for gumbo and cornmeal-crusted catfish, they head home to Mama. For Creole-style food—a mélange of French, African, and Native American flavors—Harold & Belle’s is as close to the Dirty Coast as you’ll come on the West Coast.
Neighborhood: Jefferson Park, Los Angeles
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Restaurants, Southern/Soul
Il Pastaio
400 N. Canon Dr., Los Angeles, CA, 90210
310-205-5444
Giacomino Drago’s restaurant is always good for antipasti, carpaccio, pasta, and risotto.
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills, Los Angeles
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Italian, Restaurants
Kae Sung Market
1010 S. St. Andrews Pl.., Los Angeles, CA, 90019
323-737-6565
Situated in the heart of K-Town, Kae Sung Market stocks a constellation of kimchi to go, but it’s the jar of sliced Chinese cabbage that takes top honors.
Neighborhood: Koreatown
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Korean, Restaurants
Las 7 Regiones de Oaxaca
2648 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90006
213-385-7458
Oaxacan cuisine is the new black in what we could start calling “Oaxacalifornia,” and that’s largely due to the Mexican state’s unparalleled mole negro.
Neighborhood: Pico-Union
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Mexican food, Restaurants
Los Angeles Urban Adventures
1896 El Cerrito Place, Los Angeles, CA, 90068
323.300.5370
While our city makes it possible to get tastes of the world, let’s face it: There are some restaurants where a chaperon—or just a translator—would be beneficial.
Neighborhood: Koreatown
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Tours & Excursions, Travel
Marino
6001 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90038
323-466-8812
One of the main watering holes for the powers that be at Paramount, this family-run restaurant has an enthusiastic following.
Neighborhood: Hollywood, Los Angeles
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Italian, Restaurants
Mel’s Fish Shack
4524 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90016
Our loyalty belongs to Mel’s Fish Shack, which for decades has fried up such swimmers as catfish, sand dabs, and buffalo fish—a bony, old-time favorite.
Neighborhood: Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Restaurants, Seafood
Moon Mart Kabab
400 S Glendale Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 91205
818-241-2314
This dish could be devoured beside a caravansary campfire; in reality you’re sitting beneath an awning in Glendale, drinking hot tea.
Neighborhood: Glendale
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Middle Eastern, Restaurants