Drago Centro 525 S Flower St Los Angeles, CA 90071 Given my proximity to the restaurant and my love of their food, I come back to Drago Centro every so often; however, this has recently been only for lunch.I have a love-hate relationship with Drago Centro. I love the food, but the service (especially at…
Cecconi’s 8764 Melrose Ave West Hollywood, CA 90069 Cecconi’s opened in LA early last year and quickly became a trendy spot where celebrity sightings were common. The restaurant has clearly remained very popular – even on a Monday night, the restaurant was packed. And who can blame them? The restaurant is beautiful and features a…
Scarpetta Beverly Hills Montage Beverly Hills 225 North Canon Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Scarpetta is one of the more notable restaurant openings in LA this year, largely because it’s associated with celebrity chef Scott Conant (both as a restaurateur and on TV: Chopped and 24 Hour Restaurant Battle). Scarpetta is Conant’s interpretation of rustic Italian…
La Botte 620 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401 I first went to La Botte during the last DineLA “season” and I really enjoyed the meal. La Botte is one of the few Michelin-starred restaurants that participates in this promotion (Spago and Ortolan also come to mind), giving just one more reason to go…
Drago Centro 525 S Flower St Los Angeles, CA 90071 For me, Drago Centro is consistently one of the most frustrating dining experiences. The frustration doesn’t stem from the food (it’s consistently fantastic) but rather from the consistently poor service. Since it’s opened, I’ve probably dined here close to a dozen times. The food continues…
Osteria Mozza 6602 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, CA 90038 A concept by restaurateur Joseph Bastianich, celebrity chef Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton of La Brea Bakery fame, Osteria Mozza serves a more upscale Italian meal than its sister pizzeria. However, both have been very popular since their inception a few years ago. My family is…
Tartine Bakery 600 Guerrero St San Francisco, CA 94110 Pizzeria Delfina 3611 18th St San Francisco, CA 94110 Bi-Rite Creamery 3692 18th St San Francisco, CA 94110 It’s hard for me to think of another city block that has such a diverse selection of good food than this San Francisco block of 18th Street, between…
I first sampled Paul Bartolotta’s cuisine at the American Wine & Food Festival a couple of years back, and was really impressed by some of the seafood he prepared. Specializing in Italian preparations of seafood, Bartolotta offers a ton of different fish and shellfish, line-caught wild and shipped almost every day. Most of the fish are available served whole family-style.