Where To Eat Now

?LA99? Koi. Koi’s warren of intimate patios and forested corners is a hookup nirvana, a dining room whose seating chart seems ripped straight from the pages of Us Weekly. Its matrix of sushi, celebrity and sex bumped up the paradigm. It is widely believed, however, that the post-Matsuhisa-style cuisine at Koi is an afterthought, that the avocado-laden tuna tartare on crispy won tons, the tuna sashimi with jalapeño, and the albacore Italiano are secondary to the rush, the scene, even the steak. But somebody has been paying attention behind the sushi bar lately. And if you’re going to eat something like a baked-crab hand roll, you might as well have a good one. It’ll give you something to do while you eavesdrop on Lindsay Lohan or the Black Eyed Peas. 730 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A., (310) 659-9449. Dinner Mon.–Wed. 6–11 p.m., Thurs. 6–11:30 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 6 p.m.–mid., Sun. 6–10 p.m. Full bar. Valet parking. All major credit cards. California Contemporary. JG $$$Â

?LA99? Norman’s. Note: the restaurant will be closing this Saturday. Norman Van Aken’s style of cooking, sometimes called Floribbean cuisine and developed at his Palm Beach restaurant, processes Caribbean recipes through the matrix of French technique, often inflecting a dish with an Asian flavor or two: the kind of French toast you’d hope to find in an $800-per-night Antigua resort, for example, piled with seared foie gras and gingered lime zest, or duck cracklings served with a loose polenta that can’t decide whether its flavors come from Valencia or the Yucatán. Sommelier Peter Birmingham, the public face of Norman’s, seems to have as much fun matching wines (and rums) with the restaurant’s crazy-quilt cuisine as his best customers do drinking them. 8570 Sunset Blvd., W. Hlywd., (310) 657-2400. Tues.–Thurs. 6–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 6–10:30 p.m. Lounge open Tues.–Sat. at 5:30 p.m. Full bar. Takeout. Valet parking. AE, MC, V. $27–$39. Caribbean. JG $$$Â

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Mama's Hot Tamales Cafe

2122 W. Seventh St.
Los Angeles, CA 90057

Category: Restaurant > Central American

Region: Westlake

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Le Comptoir at Tiara Cafe

127 E. 9th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90079

Category: Restaurant >

Region: Downtown

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More About

• Tama Sushi
• Michite Katsu
• Beverly Hills (California)
• North-American Food and Cooking
• Main Dish Recipes

Westwood/West L.A./Century City

John o’ Groats. The restaurant is named after a town at the northernmost point in Scotland, but give or take an order of fish ’n’ chips or two, the menu is pretty much all-American, with baking-powder biscuits, fluffy omelets, smoked pork chops and stretchy buckwheat pancakes. And although there seem to be no actual groats on the menu — which is kind of a relief — the steel-cut Irish oatmeal with bananas and heavy cream is fine. The best breakfasts on the Westside. 10516 W. Pico Blvd., W.L.A., (310) 204-0692. Breakfast and lunch daily 7 a.m.–3 p.m. Beer and wine. Street parking. MC, V. Entrées $9–$14. American. JG ¢

?LA99? Nook. Sometimes you get the feeling that the owners of Nook are running less an American bistro than a joke about an American bistro. As faithfully as they reproduce the fundamentals of the kinds of fancily unfancy restaurants that pepper every urban neighborhood from San Diego to Augusta, Maine, they are also poking fun at them with every dried-cranberry garnish and each day-boat scallop, each crusty roast chicken and dish of iconic macaroni and cheese. Almost every aspect of the restaurant is as ironically pitch-perfect as the Neil Diamond songs on a Silver Lake DJ’s iPod. 11628 Santa Monica Blvd., No. 9, W.L.A., (310) 207-5160. Lunch Mon.–Fri. 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m.; dinner Mon.–Sat. 5–10 p.m. Beer and wine. Lot parking. AE, MC, V. Dinner for two, food only, $30–$60.American Bistro. JG $$b[Â

Beverly Hills and vicinity

?LA99? The Lodge. A waitress will try to sell you a third or fourth martini. The $75 porterhouse-for-two starts to seem not only possible but desirable in the heat of The Lodge moment, and if you do the math, it is one of the least costly items on the menu. But, for example, while every steak house in town has the au courant wedge-of-iceberg salad, The Lodge ups the ante by pairing its wedge with another wedge. The potatoes are not just baked, but salt-baked, crunchy-skinned, accompanied by enough condiments to crank the vibe from Ornish all the way up to Atkins with just a few dips of the fork. 14 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 854-0024. Open nightly 5:30 p.m.–1 a.m. Full bar. Valet parking. AE, MC, V. California Steak House. JG $$

Mastro’s. One of a small chain of Scottsdale-based steak houses, Mastro’s has the look of desert resorts, supper clubs, casinos and other booze-filled refuges where the dreaded sun don’t shine. The excellent service staff is adept, adaptable and good-natured, even when their customers — Beverly Hills carnivores — are not. Meat dominates the menu; steak to be exact. Order the Kansas City bone-in, the porterhouse or the bone-in rib eye. Start with the horseradish-spiked caesar salad, or the traditional iceberg wedge with blue cheese. Sides — fried onions, creamed corns, sugar snap peas, potatoes gratin — are fresh, enormous, delicious: Split ’em. Finish with a paradigmatic Key lime pie. 246 N. Cañon Dr., Beverly Hills, (310) 888-8782. Open for dinner weekdays 5–11 p.m., weekends 5 p.m.–mid. Entrées $20–$47. Full bar. Valet parking. AE, D, DC, MC, V. American. MH $$$Â?