Best of LA 2012: Eat
Sotto
9575 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90035
310-277-0210
The kitchen where Steve Samson and Zach Pollack are busy tending the fires would be the focal point if there wasn’t so much happening on the plate.
Website: http://www.sottorestaurant.com/
Neighborhood: Pico-Robertson
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Eat, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Italian, Restaurants
Spice Station
3819 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90026
(323) 660-2565
Honestly, the abundance of powders, leaves, seeds, and other seasonings at Silver Lake’s Spice Station has us reeling.
Neighborhood: Silver Lake
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Eat, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Eat, Food, Shopping
Sunny Spot
822 Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90292
(310) 448-8884
The playful cereal at Sunny Spot, Roy Choi’s Caribbean-leaning Venice enterprise, has little in common with the Birkenstock-wearing health crunch of old.
Website: http://sunnyspotvenice.com/
Neighborhood: Venice
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Eat, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Eat, Caribbean, New American, Restaurants
Surati Farsan Mart
11814 186th Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90701
(562) 860-2310
Well-prepared vegetarian choices abound in Little India, but at Surati Farsan Mart, the newly expanded Gujarati chaat house, the small plates rival those at any tony temple of modern cuisine.
Neighborhood: Artesia
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Eat, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Eat, Indian, Restaurants
Umami Burger
Multiple Addresses, Los Angeles, CA, 90027
323-669-3922
If you’re after beeflike satisfaction without the mock-meat taste, your answer—as with most things burger related—is Umami Burger.
Website: http://www.umami.com
Neighborhood: Los Feliz
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Eat, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Eat, Burgers, Restaurants
UnUrban CoffeeHouse
3301 Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90404
(310) 315-0056
Before the $7 slow-pour, single-origin trend turned drinking caffeine into an exercise of high snobbery, there existed a different kind of coffeehouse. It was a communal place where you picked up flyers for open-mic nights. The dream of the ’90s is alive in Santa Monica at UnUrban CoffeeHouse.
Neighborhood: Santa Monica
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Eat, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Eat, Coffee/Tea, Restaurants
Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air
701 Stone Canyon Rd., Los Angeles, CA, 90077
A simple basket of sliced carbs won’t do at Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air, where pastry chef Sherry Yard is behind this elaborate quartet that rises above the rest.
Website: https://hotelbelair.com
Neighborhood: Bel-Air
Category: Bakery/Bagel/Donut, Best of LA, Best of LA 2012: Eat, Best of LA: 2012, Best of LA: Eat, Restaurants
