Eating and drinking in LA

Just back from a week in LA.

Overall the food scene in LA is as good as its ever been. I go to LA 3-5 times per year and have been tracking its culinary evolution.

Some quick fire thoughts on food/meals/wine:

Alma - started here a short time after landing. I have eaten here several times. Very good meal but I do not see the growth in the kitchen. I hope they continue to evolve. Staff was incredibly nice and the winelist is small but thoughtfully chosen to pair with the food.

Sqirl - For me the most exciting restaurant in LA. I say this because the food is delicious and there really is no comparison in any other U.S. City. That is to say a restaurant that focuses on breakfast and lunch with such passion. Ate there more than once.

Orsa and Winston - Good meal. A few very good dishes. For LA this is very good. Just did not blow me away.

BestiaLA - Wish I liked the food here better. It is overall good and the wine list is very good. The desserts were surprisingly excellent and savory. It just did not blow me away, especially the pizza. Especially after eating at Roberta’s in NYC two times in the prior week.

Sushi Gen - Wow! This is the type of restaurant where LA shines. We showed up and there were at least 75 people in line. I learned that the regulars don’t like the Sushi counter so we were seated after many people who chose to wait for a table. Highly recommended. Call two weeks in advance for a resy. $20 corkage. Very small glassware. I will definitely go back.

Urasawa - Fantastic overall experience. Chef is a master and so personable. My expectations were sky high and it was a bit of a let down (especially after seeing the bill). I will definitely go back.

Santa Monica Farmers Market - We cooked with friends on NYE so we hit the market. All I will say is that I think the prices are 50-70% less than Union Square Farmers market - you Weast Coasters are lucky.

Night + Market - Tasty and enjoyable. Focused wine list that pairs well with the food and a reasonable corkage. Not nearly as good as Pok Pok (which is opening in LA).

Pot - Went here for lunch. Service was a disaster. Food was decent and the wine list was good. I would go back for dinner.

Rustic Canyon - Needed a place close to the airport to meet someone halfway and this worked perfectly. The food was overall good and my guest’s loved it. I have know Chef Fox from his Ubuntu days and I would say he has adapted his style to fit the audience. He was doing some of the most exciting food in the U.S. at Ubuntu and this was a bit disappointing for a pescetarian, most of the dishes had meat and it is not fair to judge the restaurant without trying them.

Coffee - Went to Blacktop, Bar Nine and Blue Bottle (former Handsome). Bar Nine in Culver City is outstanding and highly recommended.

Wine Stores - LA and the surrounding area have an amazing array of wine stores. So much on the shelves that would disappear in minutes in NYC. Went to DomainLA several times.

Ran out of time and did not make it to several places including Grand Central Market (went a few months ago and loved the diversity and the energy) and a number of food trucks.

Overall the food and wine scene in LA has greatly improved but it still falls short of other great food cities despite having great ingredients and an ever growing client base (e.g., Bestia is one of the busiest restaurants I have ever seen).

DomaineLA has Dauvissat Forest 2011 for $95. $65 elsewhere. I have not found a burgundy worth buying there.

I think if you’re focused on the food you’re looking at, Los Angeles falls short of other great dining cities. The food is almost too casual now but at a high price point. Where LA shines is ethnic food. It just outclasses every other city in the US for so many different ethnic cuisines. I do wish we had better fine dining.

I agree with most of your restaurant assessments except for a few

I really dislike alma (been three times. A few miles from my office), I think the service is disinterested, the food is so varied in quality from dish to dish, and at this point they are pretty obsessed with themselves after the “best new restaurant” tag.

Squirl is hipster central. I just can’t handle the place. Food is fine but like alma it’s almost self obsessed with itself. I guess a lot of restaurants in LA are like that now.

And agreed with Alan, if you want hipster geek wines domaine la is ok (still not extensive) but anything you can find at say kl wines not far awAy is far more expensive at domainela. But somehow they’ve endured themselves to a lot of the new restaurant wine lists as they curate or heavily influence a lot of wine lists nowadays in Los Angeles.

Thanks for the reporting! You’ll definitely have to go to grand central next time you’re back. I go there for lunch once a week, love it. Changed quite a bit in the last three months and new places will be opening soon as well.

Charlie - I agree with you that Ethnic food is where it is at in LA. Although NYC is quite strong, especially if you leave Manhattan. Next time I will ask for a few recommendations.

As far as hipsters I just think I am more tolerant than you. Sqirl is absolutely hipster central but I don’t think it has any bearing on how the restaurant views itself. I go early, mostly before 9:00, to avoid the crowds.

All I can say about wineshops is that in comparison to NYC you have much better prices and selection on certain things that would disappear in NYC in minutes. NYC clearly has many great wine shops however there is much more competition for certain things.

I look forward to going to Grand Central again, my friends own DTLA Cheese.

Nice report Robert. I’m in the camp that feels Bestia lives up to the hype. The black truffle pasta and uni pasta are two of the best dishes in LA at that level of dining and their pork chop is the best I’ve had in the city. Never had the pizza and in honesty, something I wouldn’t order there (go to Sotto for pizza). Agree the wine list is well done (the Palmina Subida is a fantastic pairing with the pork chop). Sqirl is roughly in my hood. The food is good and if you go early, it is tolerable. I’m impressed by your comments so maybe I’ll check it out again. I actually prefer the chilaquiles at Cha Cha Cha just down the block. You should definitely hit the San Gabriel Valley for Chinese and/or Vietnamese some time. It is LA’s strongest hand. There is also excellent regional Mexican food in LA, some with modern takes (Corazon y Miel). I’m also a huge fan of Night Market Song. Did you go the one in Weho or Silverlake?

Just reading along as a LA visit may be in the cards in 2015.

you know where to find me doc. if you come during the nba season, I can take you to the clip show

Thanks for your suggestions. We went to Night Market on Sunday so we had to go to the Weho one. I will definitely go back to Bestia and look into San Gabriel Valley.

The NM-Song in Silverlake is whole other animal with a more extensive menu. Try that one next time.

DomaineLA’s prices are def higher than others like K&L, although I imagine it’s because of less volume and thinner margins, etc than a place like K&L who has multiple stores. I remember when Jill was starting the shop and was online only. Pretty amazing how far it’s come… I’ll continue to support. I thought there used to be a 10% off all case purchases, not sure if that’s still happening. Funny how Gonon sits on the shelf there for months.

Another ‘new’ shop with interesting selection is Lou’s Wine Shop: http://www.louwineshop.com/

I like Bestia, but like Factory Kitchen more. Last night at FK, we ate Angelo Auriana’s outrageous white truffle pasta.

Agree with Charlie about Alma.

Agree with Gregg about Sotto; my favorite pizza in LA and the rest of the menu is also very good.

Trois Mec is still my current favorite and will accommodate vegetarians (and, I believe, pescetarians).

Ink. is another favorite as are Animal/Son of a Gun.

I am a fan of DomaineLA because they sell wine from Rosenthal, Dressner, Selection Massale, et al that aren’t typically sold in the larger LA stores.

Heard good things about Factory Kitchen. I have eaten at Animal/Son of A Gun a few times.

Also hearing good things about Saint Martha.

Glad to see the locals supporting DomainLA. Jill is great. As is Lou who I have known for years.

We almost went to Factory Kitchen last night Mark, but opted for Republique. I’m a huge fan of FK and Angelo. His mandilli pasta and porchetta are my must haves.

I guess I’m too square to be hip. I’ll try to give Sqirl another shot very early but the whole vibe when I went was just too hipster for me. Domaine LA doesn’t have a lot of stuff that I drool over and the prices are definitely more for common items than the larger established shops.

I’m with Gregg, I really like the food at Bestia. Can’t go without having the agnolotti Vaccinara which has a slight cacao tinge to the sauce and goes like crack. Again, I’m more of a mainstream drinker and while the list at Bestia has improved, I still think it’s mediocre. The somm has moved on btw. I heard that some of the key staff left St. Martha’s as well, though not the chef.
I like the pizza at Sotto’s a lot, but think Bestia has a deeper menu, and Sotto’s list is worse than Bestia’s. Those two places are oxidative white central, a hipster niche that hopefully gets market-driven back into the background. But I digress. Factory Kitchen isn’t exactly byo wine-dinner friendly either. Unfortunately there’s a current trend toward making LA less byo-friendly. Trois Mec and Orsa & Winston are obviously worse.
I would definitely agree with Charlie that fine dining is lesser in LA than other key cities, but not really our strength I can’t do too many $100 per person before wine dinners and do a LOT more casual ethnic dining. I love Asian and Mexican food so find eating in LA fantastic.

Robert have you been to n/naka? If you’re a pescetarian it might be of interest to you.

fine choice. Might be my favorite fine dining restaurant in Los Angeles.

Mary had someone tell us they wanted to pay for our dinner at the place of our choice.
N/Naka is at the top of my list but I can’t decide if it’s presumptuous to select . Looking forward to trying Redbird too.

i’ve now changed my res three times for redbird. First time something came up for work with Kathy, 2nd time I got sick, 3rd time kathy got sick. Hopefully this friday is the day I go.

Man n/naka got rid of their 9 course menu, now it’s only the full tasting at $165. Might be a bit pricey for a free dinner :X

I have not. Wow looks amazing. Why have I not heard of this place. On my list for next time. Thanks for the recommendation.

Here’s a good photo blog of it from a friend of mine, he just went in october.

The abalone pasta might be one of the best pastas i’ve ever eaten

Those are some nice photos! You’re friends blog has Maude listed on there… I forgot about that one. Still haven’t been there but really want to sometime soon.