This pan-Asian restaurant is Wolfgang Puck’s most highfalutin place since Spago and looks like it dates from 1982 as well: black marble tables, angular chairs, and rectangular pendant lights that mimic the downtown skyline. This is dramatic dining, from the view (it’s on the 24th floor of the new Ritz-Carlton) to the elaborate tableside presentations (foie gras dumplings, Peking duck, and lobster-stuffed spring rolls are all served with various flourishes). It’s the show you’re paying for. This is delicious, upper-crust Asian fare, but no more satisfying than you’ll find ten miles east in the San Gabriel Valley. » Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles, 900 W. Olympic Blvd., downtown (213-743-8824). D Mon.-Sat. Full bar. Modern Chinese $$$$
Photograph by Jessica Boone
