I last covered LA restaurants in 2006 see - Los Angeles Restaurants: A Local’s Favorites. Here is an update based on my recent trip guided again by a friend in the movie business that knows good LA spots.
Cube provided our lunch and was good that we had to go back for dinner. They have a regular style menu and then a large selection of cheese and ham tastings that you order sushi or tapas style. There are 85 cheeses and several dozen meats. At the first lunch I had fresh burrata. It is a byproduct of mozzarella production that is flown three times a week from Italy. I saw the next table going through it and could not resist. It is like super intense mozzarella that they served with a roast tomato focaccia. My wife had the duck confit and roasted pear salad. Then at dinner we went to work on the tasting menu of cheese and meats, along with a very moist truffled chicken. City Serach said, “the interior's deep-red tones and gleaming cheese bar--surrounded by artful retail shelves lined with fresh pastas and gourmet items--lend the small space a surprisingly lively feel. Eastland's menu straddles Old-World Italian comfort food and Molto-Mario style haute cuisine.” It is located at 615 N. La Brea Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323) 939.1148.
For dinner we went to Girasole. It provides upscale Italian at mid-market prices so there is value for money here. I had one of the best wild mushroom raviolis I have ever had. There is no wine but a good wine shop next door that closes at 8. We got an excellent Terrabianca Campaccio Selezione 2003 to go with our meal. My wife had a great lamb stew. It is located in Hancock Village at 225 ½ Larchmont Blvd. on the main shopping street of the area. As City Search writes, “a high ceiling and cascading lights enlarge the room. The menu of remarkably authentic Venetian trattoria..” (323) 464-6978.
Square One provided our first breakfast. This place also offered some of the best photo ops such as my meal shown here. I had a variation on eggs benedict with salmon on a potato pancake and grits on the side. How could I resist this? Fortunately my cholesterol runs low. It is located at 4854 Fountain Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90029 (323) 661.1109.
After all the intense food so far we wanted a change a pace and asked for a burger place. But then this is LA so it was the 8 Oz Burger Bar in West Hollywood where I had an estancia grass fed beef burger with arugula and fried green tomatoes along with some of the best onion rings I have tasted outside of Woodman’s. It is located at 7661 Melrose Ave, (323) 782.8258.
Our Sunday lunch was at the Loteria Grill, an excellent Mexican place located in the Farmer’s Market at 3rd and Fairfax, very close to where we stayed. I had three kinds of soft tacos: chicken mole, pumpkin and chicken and a mushroom. You can see them on the left. It was all very fresh and very good as was the guacamole and chips. It is located at the Farmers Market, Stall 322 6333 West 3rd St. West Hollywood. (323) 930-2211.
Anissette in Santa Monica provided our last dinner. The food was great but their web site needs work, as we had to go to CitySearch to see a proper menu. CitySearch also offered this accurate description. “Former four-star chef Alain Giraud … open a quintessential French brasserie with a Santa Monica Farmer's Market-driven twist. Parisian-born Giraud traveled through France for design ideas and furnishings including antique mirrors, mosaic tiled floors, aged wood fixtures, and a zinc bar, which springboards aesthetically off the building's historic architecture. Dinner menu highlights include classic dishes…” It is located at 225 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90401 (310) 395-3200
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