Different audience Mark. They are targeting new diners. If you choose carefully, there are a few goodies…very few.
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Thanks, extremely helpful!
I learned early that most Dine XYZ (name your city) is poor back about 35 + years ago in NYC. Went to La Cote Basque, it was like a La Cote Basque catered bar mitzvah, with the parade of waiters bringing almost identical items to all.
However, I am sometimes surprised - Modern Bar was fantastic. (Can’t always avoid it if my travel happens to coincide).
Don’t sleep on the Rojak, fresh and zippy palate cleanser.
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We got back Sunday night from a terrific long weekend in Santa Monica. Your recommendations were all spot on, and aside from a slight hiccup our meals were all outstanding, so THANK YOU all. Also, Cirque du Soleil was incredible, it was my first time seeing it, I had no idea the human body could do some of those things…!
- Ghisallo= outstanding pizza, with a gorgeous char and firm yet chewy dough, and great toppings. I was driving so I had a glass of Quattro Mani Lambrusco, which was just what the doctor ordered. The Cesar salad was delicious as well, with real anchovies, until my wife bit into a small plastic strip. The restaurant was apologetic and offered to comp our desserts, but we were full and declined. What surprised me, however, was that nothing else was offered or comped. That said, the food was great, service warm, their patio out back is gorgeous, and I would happily return.
*Tartine= our Airbnb was 4 blocks away, so we had breakfast here each morning. Beautiful space, good service, flaky croissants and strong coffee - what else does one need?
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Massilia= Saturday lunch was on their front patio, and it was quite nice (actually surprisingly so). My wife’s lamb sandwhich rocked, and my chicken sandwhic was full of strips of grilled yet moist meat. Our fries were killer as well, and a glass of Exile Pet’Nat rounded out the experience. Our waiter, originally from Reims, was fun to chat with as well. The dinner menu looks MUCH more interesting, but this was a nice stop as we headed to the Pier for Cirque du Soleil.
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La Sirena= I didn’t expect much from this Ocean Boulevard place as it’s a hotel restaurant. I was happily surprised, everything was bright and fresh, with a lovely plating to it too. Service was good, and the wine list, while unexciting, was passable (my Verdicchio was delicious).
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Cobi’s= absolute highlight of the trip. It reminded me of the hole-in-the-wall places we used to love in NYC and which we miss so much living in Solana Beach. Gorgeous garden patio, warm service, absolutely fantastic food too, we were a 5-top and so ordered a variety of dishes, and there wasn’t a single misstep. I was driving back so did not drink, though I did taste their BTG Stein Riesling Meiwasser. If I hadn’t been driving, I would have picked that to go with the meal.
As a New Yorker, I hate to admit it but LA’s dining scene has been impressing me on every visit. I can’t wait to get back and explore more. Again, thanks everyone for your generous recommendations!
Cheers!
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Awesome! Love Ghisallo and Cobi’s!
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So sad:
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Yeah, it hasn’t been a pleasant 24 or so hours around here, and I’m one of the much more fortunate ones.
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If any of you know Rachael, winw director of Dunsmore. She lost her house. I have known her since she started as a server in NYC. Really great person.
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While this had been a very hard (or even tragic) week for a lot of Angelenos, it’s really nice seeing so many restaurants (and other businesses) stepping up to help the community. I’ve seen Kato, Somni, Pasjoli, Anajak, and Pizzana all doing things to help 1st responders any those impacted by the fires, and I am sure there are tons of others that I don’t know about because I’m not on their emails lists or following them on Instagram.
I hope everyone is safe and doing alright.
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So true.
And I know everyone processes tragedies differently. It is helpful to go out and support restaurants and restaurant workers. This is going to be really hard on all restaurants.
Many restaurants were just barely surviving before this tragedy. They could use our help.
We hit Bar Sinizke for lunch. Very good. I was excited for the Pierogi and it lived up to the hype.
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Food vendors set up shop to donate meals & it morphed into a place to collect & provide essentials.
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The owners/chef at Perle in Pasadena lost their house, very sad. Fun little restaurant.
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We hit Melody Wine Bar and Rasarumah last night. Restaurants really need the support. Both were very quiet.
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might be some good news - she noted her house might have been spared - she’ll know more today. Hoping for the best for her!!
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Hoping for the best outcome for her and many others!
Wat at Rasarumah last night too. Mostly full when we walked in at about 9. Was excellent - we had a really refreshing starter of cuke-sour mango and grapefruit pieces that was fab (Rojak), wonderful fried wings, rice cake with bean sprout and egg (char koay kak) also very good, and beef rendang. What a great little spot, thanks to the folks here for all the shouts.
Traffic very light, easy to get across town and a respite we could luckily afford to take from the tv. Go and support restos now - agree most folks staying home and they seemed happy to see us.
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We were there at 9. We had a 7 resy and were one of the last to leave.
Sorry I missed you! My back was to the room and attention on the food and my wife. Not in that order.
This is, of course, the “right thing to do,” and I do it all the time, too, but it is a little bit of a bummer to miss-out on the entire scene.