Eating and Drinking in Los Angeles

[J. Rock]

Water Grill did the trick. A healthy meal of salad and nice halibut with a few oysters to start. Not particularly special but guilt free

Plus they are corkage-friendly.

On the music front, we went to Spago last night. Did the DineLA tasting menu of about 8 courses. Very good btw. It didn’t bother me, but the modern re-done version of Spago, at one point harm Led Zeppelin (at a beyond backdrop volume) as one dined. I love Zep, but it was different. Music seems a little more in place at Otium, but their’s IS relatively loud and then it combines with the noise of the room.

Also did the Charcoal DineLA with the Gelbs. Another good choice.

Yes, corkage friendly as in $0 corkage fee! Brought a half bottle of Billaud Simon 2012 Monte de Tonnerre for lunch.

Good to hear about Spago. The DineLA menu looks great but I had hesitated because my last meal there was pedestrian. Will be trying AOC's dineLA menu tonight.

When I last had the tasting menu at Spago in December, it exceeded my expectations and I thought it was quite excellent, and my wife agreed. I actually liked the food better than what I had a Maude during their Sonoma menu. I would recommend going back (although, I don't know what on their DinaLA menu).

[Barry L i p t o n]

I was hesitant to go back as the one time I went recently (early 2018), it had clearly lost a step from previous years. Glad to hear it's back up there.

[Benny P]

Plus they are corkage-friendly.

On the music front, we went to Spago last night. Did the DineLA tasting menu of about 8 courses. Very good btw. It didn’t bother me, but the modern re-done version of Spago, at one point harm Led Zeppelin (at a beyond backdrop volume) as one dined. I love Zep, but it was different. Music seems a little more in place at Otium, but their’s IS relatively loud and then it combines with the noise of the room.

Also did the Charcoal DineLA with the Gelbs. Another good choice.

Yes, corkage friendly as in $0 corkage fee! Brought a half bottle of Billaud Simon 2012 Monte de Tonnerre for lunch.

Good to hear about Spago. The DineLA menu looks great but I had hesitated because my last meal there was pedestrian. Will be trying AOC's dineLA menu tonight.

When I last had the tasting menu at Spago in December, it exceeded my expectations and I thought it was quite excellent, and my wife agreed. I actually liked the food better than what I had a Maude during their Sonoma menu. I would recommend going back (although, I don't know what on their DinaLA menu).

I also had a very pleasant experience at Spago a couple months back. We hadn't been in awhile and was curious how the restaurant was performing. We did the tasting menu as well and definitely exceeded our expectations and the service we received was top notch as well.

[Jonathan Grunzweig]

I wanted to give a shout-out to a place I don't recall having seen mentioned here, which I tried for the first time last night: Margot, in the heart of ridiculously-hipster Culver City: https://www.margot.la/. High-energy rooftop venue, casual but with ambitious, small-plate food intended for sharing, and an impressive, well-priced, ambitious wine list -- kudos to the somm., Daniel. Zalto stemware to boot...

Jonathan

[alan weinberg]

I wanted to give a shout-out to a place I don't recall having seen mentioned here, which I tried for the first time last night: Margot, in the heart of ridiculously-hipster Culver City: https://www.margot.la/. High-energy rooftop venue, casual but with ambitious, small-plate food intended for sharing, and an impressive, well-priced, ambitious wine list -- kudos to the somm., Daniel. Zalto stemware to boot...

Jonathan

99 Amiot Clos de la Roche $116? Good deal.

[c fu]

I wanted to give a shout-out to a place I don't recall having seen mentioned here, which I tried for the first time last night: Margot, in the heart of ridiculously-hipster Culver City: https://www.margot.la/. High-energy rooftop venue, casual but with ambitious, small-plate food intended for sharing, and an impressive, well-priced, ambitious wine list -- kudos to the somm., Daniel. Zalto stemware to boot...

Jonathan

what's their corkage like?

More and more restaurants in LA are using Zaltos/GGG. I like it. The restaurant wholesale on those are dirt cheap from what I've been told.

[Adam Frisch]

I've lived in LA for 10 years. And whenever anyone asks where I live and I say LA, they always say: "wow, best Mexican food!". Now, I just happen to travel to Mexico for work quite a lot, and I can honestly say I've never had any great Mexican food in LA ever. I've had passable Mexican fast food at best, but never anything that would hold up to casual dining or fine dining. Every hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Mexico City will blow the socks of anything I've had here.

So for those of you who are in the know - where do I go for excellent Mexican food here in a dining setting, either crossover or authentic?

[G. Greenbaum]

I sure hope the food in Mexico City would be better than what we have in LA. LA is not a fine dining city by design and certainly not fine dining Mexican, though Broken Spanish is pretty good and I lament the loss of Rivera and Corazon y Miel. Babita in San Gabriel is arguably the top high end place to go. Where I think we excel is in our mom and pop places, the various tacquerias slinging great bites. Ricky's fish tacos are amazing and better than many I've had in Baja. The Al Pastor at Tacos Leo is the real deal. The birria at El Parian! Mariscos Jalisco has lines down the block. Salazar is still packed and quite good. There are numerous Mole places in the Mar Vista, Del Rey corridor alone, not to mention Guelaguetza, Rocio's and La Casita Mexicana. Coni Seafood has placed Inglewood as a destination! The cities of Bell, Whittier, Montebello, etc all have worthy candidates. With some effort, you might learn to love LA's offerings.

[G. Greenbaum]

I was remiss in not mentioning Holbox in the Mercado La Paloma. Gilberto's dishes are exquisite!

[Adam Frisch]

Thanks Gregg.

Yeah, Ricky's Fish Tacos are good and just around the corner from me.

But sometimes you want something that doesn't look like it came from a food truck or a cheap cantina. For me it's the refried beans that always, and I mean always, comes out of a can here. Heard good things about Broken Spanish. Tried Barco Mercat a few years ago when it was all the rage, but a little too crossover for me.

[J. Rock]

I thought Barco Mercat was fine/good, but didn't stand out to me.

I'm very happy with most small taco shops around town (Guisados, Chanos, Pinches), but I don't know if I can think of any really impressive spot I've been to for elevated/gourmet Mexican cuisine. I did enjoy going to Cascabel for some decently elevated Mexican/LatAm fusion food when I lived right around the corner, but at times, it could be a bit hit and miss and likely not worth the drive if you don't live in the area.

[Barry L i p t o n]

Don’t think it’s open anymore but I thought Rivera was excellent Mexican and high end.

A +1 for holbox.

[Benny P]

A little off the beaten path but there's Babita restaurant in San Gabriel about 10 or so miles east of Downtown LA if craving elevated Mexican food. It's been awhile so not sure how it is these days, but a change of pace from the various taco shops and more casual restaurants in the area.

[joz€f p1nxten]

Thanks for all of the info in this thread but...for a newbie to LA, it's a bit too much to make sense. I'll be spending 3 nights in LA with my wife, from 2 to 5 January 2020 [EDIT from: 2 to 5 August] after a trip through Arizona / Utah / LV. We'll be staying close to Sunset Boulevard. Looks like a good place to start from to discover LA, but in the end no idea (never been to the West Coast).

I just had a couple of questions:
- this Majordomo place seems to be pretty trendy, but it's located way out East? Seems like quite far from where we are - or is it doable by Uber?
- What i learned in this thread was that LA is known for it's "hole in the wall" eateries serving good food - is there are list of those which I can consult (eg Mexican, my wife is not really into spicy Asian food unfortunately)? Seems like an interesting thing to try and I assume you don't need to make a reservation.
- Maude, Republique and Angler don't seem to be too far from our hotel in the evening. Those seem good restaurants - can I consider them as typical LA - looking for a local restaurant experience, if I want French cuisine, I can have that over in Europe as well...

Also, in the Las Vegas thread, I learned that you can have wine delivered to your hotel? Is that also possible in LA? And you can take that to a BYOB (I am all new to this...)?

Any input will be highly appreciated!

[johngonzales]

Aug 2 to 5 have already passed, yet you posted after that date???

Majordomo is probably $17-20 in an Uber from (eg) Sunset and La Cienega, dependent on time of day.

Yes you can bring wine to most restaurants. They will charge a few which may or may not make it worthwhile. If you want to drink wine that costs more than $50 retail, then bringing is typically worthwhile. A few wineshops deliver, though I am not sure which. Maybe Wally’s, not sure about K&L. But the K&L shop itself is right on Vine near Sunset, so close to Hollywood hotels.

For someone who hasn’t been to L.A., I would suggest going to somewhere coastal. Where you can dine, walk the oceanfront area, and soak up that vibe. Santa Monica fits the bill, Abott Kinney isn’t walkable to the ocean but has the west side vibe.
For food, I would look for Mexican, Asian, Cal cuisine. Those are more unique to L.A., so at least touch upon them

[Mich@el Ch@ng]

Depending on where you're staying, Animal and Republique would be good choices, and very LA in my opinion. Gjelina or Felix on Abott Kinney wouldn't be a bad choice, either. Venice would be a brutal commute from Hollywood, though.

[J. Rock]

While I had a great time at Maude a few months ago, I didn't think it quite stacked up to the other tasting menus I've had somewhat recently at Scratch, Spago or Dialogue; however, it's possible that their last menu just didn't match with my particular tastes as well as some others. I do really like how the menu is wine region inspired and they waive corkage for bottles from the region featured in the current menu. I am tempted to go back for the current Champagne menu.

Depending how far West on Sunset you'll be staying, I recommend considering having brunch at Mastro's Ocean Club in Malibu (by the Palisades). I think the food is very good (even if not the very best in town), especially for brunch, but I think it's the setting right on the ocean with live piano music that sets it apart as a great brunch destination, especially if you're visiting. It's hard to have a bad day when I start it off by having lobster eggs benedict and a glass of Champagne while watching the dolphins go by just outside the window.

[Robert Dentice]

Also, in the Las Vegas thread, I learned that you can have wine delivered to your hotel? Is that also possible in LA? And you can take that to a BYOB (I am all new to this...)?

Any input will be highly appreciated!

Yes. I use Wine House for this but mostly because of their German selection. I am sure many other stores deliver.

https://www.winehouse.com

Another one I use is Kogod Wine but they need a days notice because they ship, but transport is in cool shipping boxes.

https://www.kogodwine.com

And most restaurants have BYOB but I would defer more to the locals.

[c fu]

K&L wine also does local shipping.

[J. Rock]

Wally's also does local delivery (for a significant fee, from what I remember), although if you're going to Maude (or Cut/Spago/Urasawa/etc.), for example, Wally's of Beverly Hills is walking distance from there (or a very short Uber detour), so I'd just pick it up myself. A lot of their wines are in warehouse storage, however, so they often need 24 - 48 hours to get your wine at their retail/restaurant location.

Several other stores also do local delivery, so if you see a bottle you like at a certain store, look on their website or call them to see if they deliver.

[joz€f p1nxten]

Aug 2 to 5 have already passed, yet you posted after that date???

Majordomo is probably $17-20 in an Uber from (eg) Sunset and La Cienega, dependent on time of day.

Yes you can bring wine to most restaurants. They will charge a few which may or may not make it worthwhile. If you want to drink wine that costs more than $50 retail, then bringing is typically worthwhile. A few wineshops deliver, though I am not sure which. Maybe Wally’s, not sure about K&L. But the K&L shop itself is right on Vine near Sunset, so close to Hollywood hotels.

For someone who hasn’t been to L.A., I would suggest going to somewhere coastal. Where you can dine, walk the oceanfront area, and soak up that vibe. Santa Monica fits the bill, Abott Kinney isn’t walkable to the ocean but has the west side vibe.
For food, I would look for Mexican, Asian, Cal cuisine. Those are more unique to L.A., so at least touch upon them

Thank you - the trip is 2-5 January in LA - my mistake! I was thinking that around that period, the sea side will be very quiet, so we didn't book a hotel there.


Thanks all for the tips, I will look into them!

[Robert Dentice]

Lovely Japanese breakfast at Konbi:



And not to sound like a broken record but another great overall meal at Majordomo.