Playa Rivera 7360 Beverly Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036 Playa is John Rivera Sedlar’s (Rivera) new Latin-inspired restaurant, which has taken over the old Grace spot on Beverly. Interestingly, I dined at this location on Grace’s last night of service, so it was fun to come full-circle and check out the the new spot. Members…
Border Grill Downtown 445 South Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA 90071 I work in the same building as Border Grill, but I can count the number of times I’ve stepped in on one hand. It just hasn’t been too much of a draw for me and my co-workers; it’s a bit pricey for a casual…
Lukshon 3239 Helms Ave. Culver City, CA 90232 Father’s Office is my favorite bar in LA. It’s probably best known for having one of the top burgers in the city (by far their most popular item on the menu), but the rest of the gastropub’s menu is pretty strong as well. Oh, and their craft…
First & Hope 710 West 1st St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 I’m always looking for new and exciting lunch spots downtown. When dineLA came around again, First & Hope struck me as a potential place. I’ve been for dinner, but until now had not realized they were also open for lunch. First & Hope opened…
Mastro’s Steakhouse 246 N Canon Dr Beverly Hills, CA 90210 If I were to make a list of places that I’m most often confronted with “you haven’t been there?!” this would be at the top of the list. I always hear about Mastro’s in the ‘best steak in LA’ debate along with CUT, which is…
Out the Door 2232 Bush Street San Francisco, CA 94115 La Boulangerie 2325 Pine Street San Francisco, CA 94115 For my last lunch meal in San Francisco, my mother and I were very indecisive about where to go. We talked through a number of places but finally picked out this one. Out the Door is the…
Masa’s 648 Bush Street San Francisco, CA 94108 I posted a little while ago about The House, where my cousins and I took my grandmother for her birthday. My father also organizes a birthday dinner for her (and my aunt), typically at a little bit more of a “special occasion” restaurant. Prior year examples have…
Wolvesmouth Underground Dining Wolvesden – Various Locations In my opinion, one of the most exciting dining trends in 2010 was the pop-up restaurant (think LudoBites and Test Kitchen). In a similar vein but yet, entirely different, is “underground dining” – the most notable of these in LA is Wolvesmouth. Wolvesmouth (aka Craig Thornton) is the…