Any commentary on the 2015 J. Gold list of 101 top LA restaurants?

[ERPark]

@M.Kaplan

Bruce,
I think your assessment is correct and is due in large part to the casual, comfortable culture of Los Angeles. I like living here because it is casual, comfortable, and the weather is good, but miss the types of cooking that are happening in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. Maybe the weather is to blame and we have to go to foul weather or foul environment cities for more creative dining…

Curious which classification San Francisco gets here from you…?

[M.Kaplan]

Foul weather. Foul and disgusting Giants. City is beautiful.

[T_Altmayer]

@M.Kaplan

Foul and disgusting Giants.

[P_Willenberg]

that’s not a bad heuristic. we have nothing better to do in Portland than eat and drink.

[jdietz]

@John W Osgood

I like Taco Maria don’t get me wrong but that’s the #2 restaurant in the LA area??

I know Charlie loves TM, but the two times I’ve eaten there as a plebe, I was not whelmed. Painfully slow service. Modest portions for the price. Lots of places in OC more exciting to eat.

I think OC is LA. It is for sports teams.

[B_i_l_l_Z_h_a_n_g]

@jdietz

Lots of places in OC more exciting to eat.

I’m not trying to start an OC vs. LA eats argument, because it’s foolish and LA is clearly more dynamic , but I can’t think of “exciting” restaurants in OC. Perhaps they’re interesting, sure, but do any really warrant a drive from LA to OC? No, yet you do see OC residents driving to LA to eat all the time.

[CFu]

@B i l l Z h a n g

@jdietz

Lots of places in OC more exciting to eat.

I’m not trying to start an OC vs. LA eats argument, because it’s foolish and LA is clearly more dynamic , but I can’t think of “exciting” restaurants in OC. Perhaps they’re interesting, sure, but do any really warrant a drive from LA to OC? No, yet you do see OC residents driving to LA to eat all the time.

more exciting could mean on a scale of 0-10, TM being a 0 and the other restaurants being a 2 ;p

[B_i_l_l_Z_h_a_n_g]

@c fu

@B i l l Z h a n g

@jdietz

Lots of places in OC more exciting to eat.

I’m not trying to start an OC vs. LA eats argument, because it’s foolish and LA is clearly more dynamic , but I can’t think of “exciting” restaurants in OC. Perhaps they’re interesting, sure, but do any really warrant a drive from LA to OC? No, yet you do see OC residents driving to LA to eat all the time.

more exciting could mean on a scale of 0-10, TM being a 0 and the other restaurants being a 2 ;p

[johngonzales]

Not many places I’d drive to eat in O.C., but there are a few. OC is a lot more dominated by chains than LA. I think OC people travel north to LA more than vice versa because there are more things to do in LA so as to make it a combo trip.

I haven’t been in awhile but Marche Moderne used to be really good. I really want to try Taco Maria, Playground, and one of the Brodards. How far is Playground from the closest train station?

[CFu]

@johngonzales

Not many places I’d drive to eat in O.C., but there are a few. OC is a lot more dominated by chains than LA. I think OC people travel north to LA more than vice versa because there are more things to do in LA so as to make it a combo trip.

I haven’t been in awhile but Marche Moderne used to be really good. I really want to try Taco Maria, Playground, and one of the Brodards. How far is Playground from the closest train station?

less than a mile from the santa ana metro link station but it stops service early on. Probably cheaper to just uber anyways.

[Bruce_Leiser_owitz]

@M.Kaplan

Bruce,
I think your assessment is correct and is due in large part to the casual, comfortable culture of Los Angeles. I like living here because it is casual, comfortable, and the weather is good, but miss the types of cooking that are happening in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. Maybe the weather is to blame and we have to go to foul weather or foul environment cities for more creative dining…

I think it’s also because so many adventurous eaters have the wide range of interesting ethnic foods available–Mexican/Latin American, Japanese, Chinese, Lebanese, etc.

Bruce

[Bruce_Leiser_owitz]

@c fu

@johngonzales

Not many places I’d drive to eat in O.C., but there are a few. OC is a lot more dominated by chains than LA. I think OC people travel north to LA more than vice versa because there are more things to do in LA so as to make it a combo trip.

I haven’t been in awhile but Marche Moderne used to be really good. I really want to try Taco Maria, Playground, and one of the Brodards. How far is Playground from the closest train station?

less than a mile from the santa ana metro link station but it stops service early on. Probably cheaper to just uber anyways.

The Playground was very good & interesting when I went down there in the last year and met up with the OC gang for a wine dinner there. Some dishes didn’t quite hit it out of the park, but overall very high quality stuff.

Bruce

[jdietz]

@B i l l Z h a n g

@jdietz

Lots of places in OC more exciting to eat.

I’m not trying to start an OC vs. LA eats argument, because it’s foolish and LA is clearly more dynamic , but I can’t think of “exciting” restaurants in OC. Perhaps they’re interesting, sure, but do any really warrant a drive from LA to OC? No, yet you do see OC residents driving to LA to eat all the time.

We don’t need to quibble. I give you guys LA. I hate the drive. I’ve had some great dinners in LA, but always was there because I was in LA for sports, a show, or some other reason. The times I’ve gone just to eat could be counted on less than a hand.

I just was saying, for me, there are better places in OC than TM. I didn’t throw LA in the mix cuz it isn’t in my mix.

[B_i_l_l_Z_h_a_n_g]

@Bruce Leiser_owitz

@c fu

@johngonzales

Not many places I’d drive to eat in O.C., but there are a few. OC is a lot more dominated by chains than LA. I think OC people travel north to LA more than vice versa because there are more things to do in LA so as to make it a combo trip.

I haven’t been in awhile but Marche Moderne used to be really good. I really want to try Taco Maria, Playground, and one of the Brodards. How far is Playground from the closest train station?

less than a mile from the santa ana metro link station but it stops service early on. Probably cheaper to just uber anyways.

The Playground was very good & interesting when I went down there in the last year and met up with the OC gang for a wine dinner there. Some dishes didn’t quite hit it out of the park, but overall very high quality stuff.

Bruce

I noticed a few of my OC pals enjoy Playground quite a bit. Is it the free corkage? Because I’ve been there a small handful of times and never found it very exciting. Just a few dishes were great, most were average. At that price point, I’d rather eat somewhere great and pay a few extra dollars to open some wine or I’d just ask everyone to throw a potluck.

[B_i_l_l_Z_h_a_n_g]

@jdietz

@B i l l Z h a n g

@jdietz

Lots of places in OC more exciting to eat.

I’m not trying to start an OC vs. LA eats argument, because it’s foolish and LA is clearly more dynamic , but I can’t think of “exciting” restaurants in OC. Perhaps they’re interesting, sure, but do any really warrant a drive from LA to OC? No, yet you do see OC residents driving to LA to eat all the time.

We don’t need to quibble. I give you guys LA. I hate the drive. I’ve had some great dinners in LA, but always was there because I was in LA for sports, a show, or some other reason. The times I’ve gone just to eat could be counted on less than a hand.

I just was saying, for me, there are better places in OC than TM. I didn’t throw LA in the mix cuz it isn’t in my mix.

No quibbling, I’m just sharing my observations. If you prefer local eats in Orange County, that’s perfectly fine. What are your favorite restaurants? Besides Playground, I hear Pueblo and Shunka tossed around quite a bit.

[SeanHarding]

@John W Osgood

I like Taco Maria don’t get me wrong but that’s the #2 restaurant in the LA area??

Seriously… I’ve only been once, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but there’s no way I’d rank it that high. Not only is it not my #2 in the greater LA area, it wouldn’t even by my #2 in OC.

[MitchTallan]

I can’t view the entire list on the link Charlie provided but I would comment that I relied heavily on Jonathan Gold’s list two years ago when my wife and I spent a week in LA. Coiniciding with Charlie’s comment, at least as I interepret it, I did not find the upscale dining scene of LA all that impressive but for the hole-in-the-wall places that I have always preferred in most major cities, LA is incredible. I was hitting four to five hole in the walls a day and the place and dish that blew me away was whole fire roasted snook at this place Snook Is Back: Mariscos Chente In Lennox Adds Grill, Pescado Zarandeado - LA Weekly It wasn’t cheap, but it was awe inspiring in it’s simplicity and freshness and balance of flavors.

[B_i_l_l_Z_h_a_n_g]

Jonathan Gold probably got really spoiled at restaurants like Providence and Taco Maria. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that they really gave him the very best of their ingredients and brought out special dishes for him, which created more favor.

It reminds me of family style Chinese restaurants that people generally dismiss, but when the managers recognize a respected regular, he/she gets the very best picks of the bunch (like the biggest lobsters, for example). You’re getting a completely different experience than regular diners. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jonathan Gold got similar treatment.

That’s just my take on why Providence is still #1, after all. Personally, I find Providence to be rather inconsistent and not as graceful as a restaurant like, say, Melisse.

[B_i_l_l_Z_h_a_n_g]

And it’s one person’s personal taste. I should have made that a huge disclaimer.

[Bruce_Leiser_owitz]

So, on the flip side, what restaurants in your opinion SHOULD have been on a Top 101 list for Los Angeles but weren’t?

Bruce