It’s a new age in the City of Angels. Dining spots in Los Angeles are sprouting up, flourishing, and beckoning locals, travelers, foodies and connoisseurs. Bring your appetite, sense of adventure and explore new grub that’s as tempting as a California Dreamin’ day.
Alta Adams – Neo Soul Food (5359 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016)
Experience four distinct dining experiences at this ultra-popular Los Angeles soul food restaurant, just north of Baldwin Hills. You step into a vibrant bar area and a dining room filled with gregarious patrons. A second quiet dining room attracts families. And the outside patio is oh-so-romantic. With Chef Keith Corbin at the helm, fresh ingredients are in every bite of his innovative twist on comfort food classics. His food and the festive atmosphere attract our folks.
Our Picks: 1.) Black Eye Pea Fritters; 2.) Chilled Corn-coconut Soup (eggplant, mitmita); 3.) California Gombo (summer veg, okra stew, rice)
*****
Hatchet Hall – Historic Cuisine (12517 Washington Blvd, L.A., CA 90066)
You go back in time when you enter this woodfire cookery in L.A.’s Culver City. Chef de Cuisine Martin Draluck, his team and their “Hemings & Hercules” private, narrative and evocative dining experience reimagine old American cooking techniques. The menu focusses on historic African American celebrity chefs James Hemings (chef for Thomas Jefferson, brother of Sally Hemings) and Hercules Caesar (Chef for George Washington). Dine on Hemming’s groundbreaking 18th century Virginia-French Heritage cuisine and Hercules’ fare.
Our Picks: 1.) Cornmeal Waffle and Spot Prawn Crudo; 2.) The Family Meal includes: Rock Fish, fried shallot macaroni, long braised collard greens; 3.) Hemings Snow Eggs (soft custard with basil, peach, toasted almond)
*****
Poppy + Rose Los Angeles – Flower Power (765 Wall Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014)
Only breakfast and lunch are served at this homey country kitchen-styled diner deep in the Flower District, across the street from The Original Los Angeles Flower Market facility (circa 1919). Down the street there’s L.A.’s famed Farmers Market. Brush shoulders with florists, workers, tourists and marketgoers as you chow down on Chef Michael Reed’s quirky blend of comfort/soul food. How quirky? Try the “Fried Chicken Mary,” a Bloody Mary crowned with a booze-soaked chicken wing.
Our Picks: 1.) Drink a Lavender Limeade Cocktail; 2.) Buttermilk Fried Chicken + Waffle; 3.) Shrimp Po’boy (fried or sautéed shrimp)
*****
Audrey at the Hammer – Fine Cuisine. Fine Art. (10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024)
Eat fine food and view progressive art exhibitions—on one restaurant jaunt! Dine at this open-air bistro at L.A.’s Hammer Museum in Westwood. Local ingredients infuse its cocktails, entrées, and bites, in addition to attracting a swarm of culture seekers to its outdoor/indoor dining room. Sunbathe as you dig into the tastiest salads, garden vegetables, pastas, and seafood for brunch, lunch, dinner or dessert. It’s as if they’re hiding a farmers’ market in the kitchen. The food is that fresh.
Our Picks: 1.) Bread Pudding French Toast; 2.) Sides of Chilled Cucumber Soup, Heirloom Tomatoes, Yaya Carrots; 3.) Lamb Kofta Salad or Whole Sea Bass
*****
Broken Spanish — Amo la Comida (1050 S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90015)
Yes, this Latin-food-themed restaurant holds environmental stewardship, responsible farming and food production in the highest regard. But what’s packing them into this hip downtown LA chowdown is Chef Ray Garcia’s primal desire to feed everyone. Come one, come all ye transgressive big-meat eaters, Gaia-conscious vegans, carb-lovers, and gluten-free activists. The finest Mexican-based cuisine awaits. Street foods: botanas, tortillas and tamales. Dinners: seafood to succulent meats. Desserts: flans to delicate ice creams.
Our Picks: 1.) Dirty Martinez Cocktail; 2.) Lamb Neck Tamale; 3.) Fried Whole Red Snapper; 4.) Cucumber/Habanero/Mint Ice Cream
*****
Petit Trois– A Parisienne Bistro (718 N Highland Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038)
The fun point about eating at this exquisite 21-seat French bistro is you never know which superstar will be sitting next to you. Watch the chefs prepare some of the city’s most delicious French food. Smell the Burgundy Escargots with garlic as it cooks. Dine on food that evokes Paris, only you’re on L.A.’s Highland Blvd, just off fashionable Melrose Ave. Look up from your delicious Steak Frites and you just might see Donald Glover polishing off his meal.
Our Picks: 1.) Naked on a Mountain cocktail; 2. Frisèe Aux Lardons with poached egg; 3.) Nicoise Pasta or Mussels Marinière; 3.) Chocolate Mousse
*****
M Bar and Locala Kitchen + Bar at The Mayfair Hotel – Mystery Book Setting (1256 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90017)
Head to downtown L.A. for a drink at the M Bar at The Mayfair Hotel. Sip on a craft beer, handcrafted cocktail or wine as you sit an absorb the majesty of the hotel, which was the setting for the famous whodunit novel I’ll Be Waiting for You. Make sure you stop in the Locala Kitchen + Bar for something to eat.
Our Picks: 1.) Spanish Octopus Aguachili; 2.) Grilled Carpentaria Prawns; 3.) Mexican Chocolate Churros
*****
Line Hotel – Millennials’ Mecca (3515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010)
Lobby Bar, Openaire Restaurant
It’s a millennial magnet in the trendy Koreatown district. Folks flock to the Lobby Bar to commune at this hip hotel. Artists, tourists, locals. A more mixed crowd is attracted to the Openaire Restaurant upstairs, loving its greenhouse/glasshouse setting. Scope out the sky above. Peer over at the intimate pool area. People watch as you eat cuisine designed by a two-star Michelin chef. Brunch and drinks and dessert late night pull in the most interesting crowd.
Our Picks: 1.) Sip on the Mother Earth Call Me Ginger Blonde Ale at the Lobby Bar; 2.) Dine on a Shrimp & Crab Louie Iceberg Salad upstairs; 3.) Cap it with a Brown Butter Blackberry Tart and Lemongrass Ice Cream