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• BEST MICHELADA

  La Cita

  Everyone knows that the best way to get over a hangover is to keep drinking. For those who aren't of the brunching sort, we suggest the Mexican answer to the bloody mary: the michelada. The ingredients typically vary according to a bartender's whims, but a michelada is essentially a light beer, preferably Mexican, mixed with tomato juice, salt and lime.… More >>

• BEST ROCKIN' BEEF ROLL

  101 Noodle Express

  The beef roll served at 101 Noodle Express is perhaps the most raved about single item on any menu in the San Gabriel Valley — if not on any menu in all of L.A. Who would have imagined that such acclaim would come to such a humble dish, served at such an unassuming Alhambra hole in the wall? It turns… More >>

• BEST PLACE TO FEEL AS IF YOU’RE BREAKFASTING IN AN ITALIAN PALAZZO

  Intelligentsia Venice

  An affogato, which means "drowned" in Italian, is the blissful marriage of two of Italy's finest exports: espresso and gelato, and it may well be the best union of hot and cold since the Baked Alaska. At Intelligentsia Venice, this combination is achieved by first placing a scoop of dense vanilla bean gelato, made by David Myers' of Comme Ça bistro,… More >>

• BEST AFFORDABLE ITALIAN WITH NO CORKAGE FEE

  Colori Kitchen

  Who says Italian food has to be expensive? Between the Mozza empire, the Drago empire, Il Moro and others, L.A. has an abundance of Italian dinner options to set you and your date back a hundred-plus bucks before you've even blinked. It's the wine, especially, that gets you. Yet while you could decide to go the fine dining route and… More >>

• BEST HUMBLE BURRITOS

  Al & Bea's

  Even if you think Korean BBQ burritos or the ones served at Chipotle Mexican Grill are the wave of the future, it's worth experiencing the simple formula that's kept Al & Bea's in business since 1966. These are burritos completely devoid of embellishment, and they may be the best L.A. has to offer. With few exceptions, all of the options… More >>

• BEST ROOTY AMBROSIA

  Amir's Falafel

  The falafel balls at Amir's Falafel are delicate and crunchy; the hummus divine. But the dish that really sings is the carrot salad. Yes — the carrot salad. Cubed and sublime orange morsels in a subtle glaze of spice that should remain a mystery. It's like rooty ambrosia in your mouth. It has a lovely scent, too. One might be… More >>

• BEST OVERWHELMING CHINESE MENU

  Baccali Café & Rotisserie

  Think of it as the Jerry's Famous Deli of the San Gabriel Valley: There's something for everyone at Baccali Café & Rotisserie, a Chinese restaurant where the dinner menu has 241 items. Choices range from safe bets like black-pepper beef chow mein ($8.50 for a heaping plate) to the more exotic (spicy ox tongue, $8.95) or the incongruous (beef stroganoff,… More >>

• BEST EASTSIDE BAKERY

  La Favorita

  Twice a day, at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., loads of locals line up at La Favorita for you'll-burn-your-hand-hot conchitas, cuernos, bodillos and other Mexican-style pastries and bread at this small Eastside bakery. Best when gobbled down right away, you can fill a bag of these fragrant beauties for a five-spot. The shop's cakes, like tres leches (which also comes… More >>

• BEST BEEF HEARTS ON A STICK

  El Pollo Inka

  Some people wear their hearts on their sleeves. In Peru they wear them on a stick — beef hearts that is. As its name suggests, El Pollo Inka is known mainly for its excellent chicken, which can be seen browning and sputtering on spinning racks in the giant brick oven at the front window. But we're here for that unique… More >>

• BEST LUNCH BREAK FROM JUSTICE

  Begin's Café

  The prospect of jury duty at the Criminal Courts building downtown can depress even the most civic-minded, especially at lunch time. Begin's Café, a.k.a. the Cal Trans Cafeteria, is a good choice, because it's close, it's fast, and depending on the daily specials, starving jurors can get a heap of food for under $10. Located on the street level of… More >>

• BEST VIRAL SNOOK

  Mariscos Chente

  You know those indie bands that become megahits online, but never fully catch on with mainstream pop culture? It happens to restaurant dishes too, and this year's version is the pescado zarandeado (whole grilled snook) at Mariscos Chente. What began with a review from the much-esteemed food blogger and Mexican cuisine expert Bill Esparza (Street Gourmet L.A.), reached frenzied heights… More >>

• BEST KOREAN RESTAURANT THAT FEELS LIKE KOREA

  Dan Sung Sa

  Some restaurants, the moment you walk in, have a way of transporting you to another world. So if you want to experience what it might be like to get drunk with friends and eat bar food in Seoul, Dansungsa is the choice. It's not just that the vast majority of the clientele are Korean that makes it feel so exotic.… More >>

• BEST SOBA STORY

  Ichimiann - CLOSED

  Sometimes you grow up liking a particular food, and couldn't be happier with life as you know it. Then you go somewhere different, try that same dish you've always loved, and suddenly find yourself saying, "Oh. So that's what it's supposed to taste like." Such is the case for most people who show up to their first meal at Ichimiann… More >>

• BEST GOAT EARLY, GOAT OFTEN

  Birrieria Jalisco

  You can order any kind of food you want at Birrieria De Don Boni (formerly Birrieria Jalisco) in Boyle Heights, as long as it's a plate of richly spiced goat. This makes ordering easy for the Spanish-impaired, since all your monolingual waitress needs to know is which goat you want: numeros uno through seis. And what of BJ's sole main… More >>

• BEST PLACE TO SUCK A SHRIMP HEAD

  Boiling Crab

  What's not to love about a nautical-themed Cajun seafood peel-it-yourself Vietnamese-owned restaurant in the heart of Little Saigon? The clientele at the Boiling Crab is mostly Asian, as are the servers, who bring you copious quantities of crawfish, shrimp, blue crab and catfish that you order by the pound. The food comes out steaming-hot in plastic bags, spiced with lemon… More >>

• BEST LOAVES TO LOVE

  La Boulangerie

  Resolutely stepping away from the flavorless grocery store baguette that was once the grande dame of L.A. (La Brea Bakery, we mean you) is harder than it should be in a city with countless quality farmers markets, yet surprisingly few really good artisan bread bakers. This logic does not apply if you frequent one of the markets where La Boulangerie… More >>

• BEST DELI TO CUT THE MUSTARD

  Brent's Deli

  Jerry's Famous is slicker, Canter's is more rock & roll, Langer's is in a more historically interesting location and Nate'n Al has a lot more industry juice, but Brent's Deli, a somewhat under-known eatery deep in the Valley, is the "Real Deal Holyfield" of old-school Jewish delis. Anyone who craves mouth-watering comfort food par excellence alike flock to this spacious,… More >>

• BEST BRUSSELS SPROUTS? YES, INDEED

  Nine Thirty

  If you're into high-falutin' dining for cheap-ass prices, live it up at the Nine Thirty restaurant, inside the W Hotel in Westwood, where, for $8, you can indulge in caramelized Brussels sprouts — offered as an appetizer — which more than suffices as a meal in itself. What makes them a gas is executive chef Monique King's spin, derived from… More >>

• BEST GELATO AND MASTROIANNI

  Bulgarini Gelato

  If you take gelato seriously in this town, then you know the drill: Brave the snarled knot of traffic into Pasadena, turn north and head up into the San Gabriel Foothills until it seems as if you must surely have reached Mount Wilson, find a seemingly abandoned strip mall — all parking lot and the vague light from a Rite… More >>

• BEST REASON TO SKIP THE DESIGNER CUPCAKES

  Cake Monkey

  Let others eat cupcakes. Lisa Olin and pastry chef Elizabeth Belkind of dessert-scene newcomer Cake Monkey are making scrumptious minicakes instead. These are multilayered, substantial, moist cake and creamy frosting–laden delights, big as a chubby toddler's thigh, in flavors like raspberry red velvet; dark-chocolate mint; banana with toffee crunch; and lemon custard with huckleberry preserves. They are almost too pretty… More >>

• BEST USE OF BEESWAX IN A PASTRY

  EuroPane

  Cannelés, not unlike many French pastries, are the sorts of things that can be done passably well by many but masterfully by few. In Los Angeles, you can now find the pretty fluted Bordelaise cakes fairly frequently, but only one bakery makes them the way they are traditionally made in Brittany: with beeswax. Properly baked cannelés are so deeply caramelized… More >>

• BEST CATERER FOR THESE TROUBLED TIMES

  Jennie Cooks Catering

  The good news about a rather heated confrontation with your landlord is that it forces the obvious question: Why pay prime-beef rent prices for lower-quality choice cuts? It was one such escalating rent dilemma that forced Jennie Cook, formerly owner of the Culver City restaurant and catering company Cooks Double Dutch, to pack up her stainless pots and head east.… More >>

• BEST YEAR OF THE PIG-OUT

  Li's Wok Express

  Strip-mall Chinese joints that charge $1 an entrée might be a thing of the past, but at this San Fernando Valley establishment, a few dollars can go far. Located near Northridge Hospital, Li's Wok Express serves Chinese fast food. All the usual staples are here, Kung Pao chicken, chow mein, egg rolls, etc. A la carte entrées are all priced… More >>

• BEST MECCA FOR LAMB STEW

  Chinese Islamic

  Dining at Chinese Islamic can be an eye-opening experience, especially if most of your Chinese meals have been limited to stir-fries and lo mein. Though you can get standards like moo shoo chicken ($8.50) and beef with broccoli ($9.95) here, the real action is in the less familiar, Muslim-style Chinese cuisine. Who knew, for example, that a Chinese restaurant would… More >>

• BEST PASTRY SHOP FOR CHOCOHOLICS

  Le Bon - CLOSED

  Some regulars got upset that a new proprietor took over Le Bon, but this chocolate-lovers paradise is as good as ever. On offer the other day was a rice bowl–sized chocolate shell filled with hunks of chocolate ganache and fudgy cake drenched with whole-bean vanilla pudding (or so we surmise). We tried to wait for a friend's order to arrive… More >>

• BEST-VALUE COFFEE ROASTER

  Alana's

  Usually you smell Alana's before you see it. Hints of cocoa, berries and hot beans waft through the air, leading your nose to a small stand at the farmers market where 34-year-old Eric Stogsdill completes his wares on the spot with a hand-built roaster. His tastes tend toward Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia and Ethiopia. He describes his favorite beans like a… More >>

• BEST GLENDORA-BLE SUGAR FIX

  Classic Coffee

  Screw the endless, day-to-day, nonsweetened, nonfat, drip-coffee, triple-shot Americano routine. Classic Coffee in downtown Glendora, a virtual hot spot of PMS survivors and deadbeat college students, will have you out of your South Beach Diet and into a carbohydrate coma before you can say spumoni gelato. With such unique creations as frozen hot chocolate and horchata con espresso, the idea… More >>

• BEST HOUSE OF DUCK

  Duck House

  If you have even a passing interest in Peking duck, you would do well to become acquainted with the aptly named Duck House, L.A.'s premier location for one of China's most famous culinary contributions. The restaurant's version of the dish arrives at your table looking like a work of art: shimmering morsels of bright-orange crispy duck skin are arrayed around… More >>

• BEST FOODIE-FULL BOUNTY

  Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market

  If you want rock-star chefs trailed by television camera crews under a morning's low marine layer, and farmers' stalls loaded with O'Henry peaches and Blenheim apricots and Meyer lemons and Russian fingerling potatoes and Gaviota strawberries and wild purslane and stinging nettles and fresh garbanzo beans and, well, imagine what else, then the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market is the… More >>

• BEST UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF FRYING

  Izakaya Bincho

  Fried meatball — sounds heavy, right? You're probably picturing a giant, dense Italian meatball, coated in flour, egg and bread crumbs, then dumped into a vat of hot oil until it becomes a dripping wad of protein so greasy that the mere sight sends your body into preemptive cardiac arrest. Well, this is not that kind of fried meatball. At… More >>

• BEST IT’S A SMALL, SMALL SUSHI WORLD

  A'Float Sushi

  Look at the cute little sushis coming down the line. Whoever invented conveyor-belt sushi is a genius. At Frying Fish in Little Tokyo, the delectable bits of tuna and mackerel and yellowtail travel on UFO-ish covered cups moved by a clinking belt, a miniature version of an airport baggage-claim carousel. A'Float Sushi in Pasadena takes it one step further: The… More >>

• BEST SUPERMARKET SUSHI MAN

  Gelson's

  There's nothing worse than succumbing to your desire for sushi, and settling on the supermarket version of slimy seaweed wrapped around sandpaper-dry rice — unless it's finding a parasite or two smiling up at you. While you might balk at the pricey produce and products at Gelson's, you'll welcome the sushi specialty offerings of Ping, dubbed "Super Sushi Man" by… More >>

• BEST VEGETARIAN FAST FOOD AT A CHICKEN PLACE

  California Chicken Café

  Just an aside: Did you ever notice that even holier-than-thou vegetarians still sport leather bags and shoes—as if "wearing" animals doesn't count? Hypocriticality aside, when you skip the footed foods at California Chicken Café, you should feel positively virtuous dining on any of the chain's incredibly healthy and dirt-cheap veggie delights. While your carnivore cowhide-wearing chums feast on what's just… More >>

• BEST EDIBLE PILLOWS

  Gaetano's

  I've never really had gnocchi before. Oh, I thought I had. But all the gnocchi of my past paled in comparison to Gaetano's. Tiny potatoey pillows of perfection in a tangy Gorgonzola sauce. I pause between forkfuls, lost in gastro-catatonic bliss. To call these mere potato dumplings is like saying the Sistine Chapel has a good paint job. Gaetano's secret:… More >>

• BEST HAPPY HOUR THAT JANE WOULD BE FONDA

  Barbarella

  Barbarella, the Silver Lake bar that tends to fill up with people who don't live in Silver Lake (what is L.A.–speak for "bridge and tunnel crowd"? Maybe "310s"?) is actually a welcoming spot at the blue-plate-special hour, when seats are plenty, the TVs show cheesy '80s videos you can actually hear, and the lovely tuna tartare is half price. Better… More >>

• BEST PHO HUT

  Golden Deli

  The reputation of Golden Deli, the San Gabriel Valley's most famous house of Vietnamese pho and banh hoi, is such that a trip there feels like an important cultural undertaking. If you come at dinnertime, be prepared to stand around in the parking lot for 20 minutes or more. Once you make it inside, you'll understand why it's worth the… More >>

• BEST BIG, FAT GREEK-O ON PICO

  Papa Cristos C & K Importing

  In old-timey L.A. days, this area (Pico about two miles west of downtown) held an actual Greek residential enclave. Now the neighborhood is sub-Koreatown and primarily Latino, yet you can still find an incredibly ornate Greek Orthodox church and this quite useful and delicious grocery store/restaurant that is making Greek converts of the neighbors, whatever their background. Papa Cristos C… More >>

• BEST HEALTHY, HELPFUL DINING

  Green Zone

  Stepping into the Green Zone's sleek and modern dining room, it's easy to forget you just parked at a jam-packed San Gabriel mini-mall and there's a foot massage place next door. From the fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice to the wild-caught salmon and the organic ingredients touted in most items, everything here seems whisked over from the beach. The simple, healthy cuisine,… More >>

• BEST SHAVED ICE WITH A VENGEANCE

  Salo-Salo Grill - CLOSED

  Halo-halo is the Filipino version of shaved ice. And when Filipinos do shaved ice, they do it with a vengeance: mung beans, macapuno fruit, papaya, shredded coconut, jackfruit (or langka), and cubed gelatin are layered in dense strata beneath a conical drift of shaved ice. Salo-Salo Grill in Glendale serves its version of the traditional dessert with a layer of… More >>

• BEST 50TH STATE DATE PLACE

  Local Place

  The Local Place is the more casual of the two South Bay restaurants associated with sweet bread makers King's Hawaiian. Located on Western Avenue in Torrance, near the 405, this restaurant has lengthy lines, but the service is quick. Breakfast is the best bargain, with Spam and egg musubi for $2.05 and breakfast sandwiches for $2.85. For lunch or dinner,… More >>

• BEST BUTCHER

  Huntington Meats

  At some local meat markets (ahem, Bel-Air Prime, we're talking about you), a crisp $100 bill will afford you the grass-fed equivalent of a Tiffany silver key ring. Guess who's not coming to dinner? At Huntington Meats in the Los Angeles Farmers Market, the quality custom cuts and knowledgeable staff are as easy to swallow as the Harris Ranch prime-beef… More >>

• BEST CURRY AND SCURRY

  India Sweets and Spices

  If I am in the neighborhood, I can never resist either eating in or getting takeout from India Sweets and Spices — even if the ladies behind the counter scare me to death. While I love Indian food, I cannot always tell what the dishes behind the glass are, but I know, as I nervously clutch my tray, that I… More >>

• BEST JERKY

  European Deluxe

  The thick strips of jerky hanging on the wall in this German sausage market hardly look like the truck-stop version, but don't let that result in a bratwurst-only visit. These South African biltong (foot-long strips of coriander and cider vinegar–cured beef jerky) and droëwors (similarly cured thin dried beef sausages) are distant cousins of their American counterparts. European Deluxe has… More >>

• BEST STUFFED-CRUST KOSHER PIZZA

  Nagilla

  Nagilla, an incredibly pleasant not-really-fast food and pizza joint is a great spot for a night of healthy Kosher veggie eats even if your friends are hankering for a chili dog. It's really two cafés in one. The two different culinary worlds are separated by a picturesque, Jerusalem-inspired, covered courtyard. The veggie, pizza and dairy side offers a superb selection… More >>

• BEST HAPPY DUMPLING HOUR

  Luscious Dumplings

  Dumpling lovers have their share of qualms with Luscious Dumplings. The dining room is tiny, the wait can be long and the kitchen has been known to run out of the best items in the middle of the dinner rush. But considering it also has perhaps the finest dumplings in Southern California, those aren't reasons to stay away, they're reasons… More >>

• BEST Mexican Hot Chocolate

  Sabor Y Cultura Café

  A chill vibe, free WiFi, friendly staffers, and one truly delish Chocolate Mexicano makes funky Latin-influenced caffeine and laptop joint Sabor y Cultura Café in the heart of Hollywood's Little Armenia a true favorite for any walk of life — whether it's the middle-aged screenwriter who is typing frantically away at his latest masterpiece or the chubby old Armenian man… More >>

• BEST J-SNACKS

  Mitsuwa

  While Japanese grocery stores offer some high-priced items, there are some good deals at Mitsuwa's Torrance outpost. The best buys are in the snack aisles, where you can find large bags of wasabi crackers for $3.99 and large bars of yokan (a jelly dessert) for $1.99. For those who love anything kawaii, there are countless varieties of candies bundled in… More >>

• BEST MOMO

  Tara's Himalayan Cuisine

  Much of the offerings at Tara's Himalayan Cuisine seem vaguely Indian, but with some spicing differences. The one stand-out is the Nepalese-Tibetan staple, the momo, which are dumplings much like gyozas. Vegetarian or filled with spiced, ground chicken warmed by garlic and lightened with cilantro, both are yummy. 10855 Venice Blvd., Culver City. (310) 836-9696.—Jedd Birkner… More >>

• BEST GREAT BALLS OF BEAN AND MORE

  New Capital Seafood

  For the value and sheer spectacle of it all, New Capital Seafood, a mammoth, banquet hall–like restaurant gets the vote for best dim sum experience in the hotly competitive, heavily Asian, San Gabriel Valley. Located above a department store in a sprawling shopping center, hundreds gather here on weekends to take advantage of the $1.99 offerings brought forth in a… More >>

• BEST OAXACAN STREET FOOD

  Quesadilla cart, 1246 Echo Park Avenue

  We're the taco truck town, so why not a quesadilla cart? Every day, usually between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., a very nice woman stands behind her cart on Echo Park Avenue, just north of Sunset, where she makes blue corn tortillas by hand, stuffs them full of Monterey jack cheese and the filling of your choice,… More >>

• BEST PLACE TO SHARE A MEAL WITH 80 OF YOUR CLOSEST PALS

  La Española Meats

  Sure, you can make your own paella — the Spanish dish that is as much a tribute to Spanish food on a single plate as it is a meal — or order it at any number of the tapas restaurants around town. But why, when you can head down to La Española Meats in Harbor City and have Juana Faraone… More >>

• BEST SAAG PANEER

  Addi's Tandoor

  Addi's Tandoor is the kind of dark, white-tablecloth place that I'm hard-pressed to keep my 8-year-old quiet in. But we brave it because the food is so damn good. Excellent lamb vindaloo. But it is the saag paneer (cube of mild Indian cheese, like a cross-breeding of tofu and mozzarella, in a spinach sauce) that is a true marvel. Even… More >>

• BEST THAI ELVIS

  Palm Thai

  How can you not adore a Thai restaurant that serves the best spicy papaya salad around as well as strange meat delicacies, stays open late and employs a goofball Thai guy who does a great Elvis imitation? We've been to Palm Thai dozens of times, mostly to order the exact same thing — fried tofu with cashew nuts and peppers.… More >>

• BEST PICKLES AND SAUERKRAUT

  Krüegermann

  The Kruegermann family has been selling their German-style Krüegermann Pickles and sauerkraut since they moved to Glassell Park from East Germany nearly 50 years ago (Marxist-spiced red pickles didn't taste quite right to the longtime pickling family). Today, you can find their two-dozen pickled products, including uborka (red-chile-spiced cucumber pickles), rote beete (tangy pickled beets), and naturally fermented sauerkraut at… More >>

• BEST BALL SLAPPING

  La Piñata Tortilleria

  Making tortillas by hand may be a dying art in East L.A., but La Piñata Tortilleria stubbornly refuses to yield to the machine. They spend three mornings a week slapping oblong balls of maize flour on the counter and pounding out hundreds of tortillas a mano for their customers. Yes, La Piñata does offer mass-market tortillas as an option. At… More >>

• BEST TAMALES

  La Mascota

  At La Mascota, the Salcedo family has been churning out Mexican bolillos, a softer, chubbier version of a French baguette, for their Boyle Heights neighbors for more than 50 years. But it's the $1.35 to-go tamales that draw the long- distance eaters armed with empty coolers and ice packs. In the kitchen window across from the bakery, 30-year tamale-making veteran… More >>

• BEST PISTACHIO PUDDING

  India Tandoori Grill - CLOSED

  India Tandoori Grill, across from the Torrance Airport, has a wonderful buffet selection, with chutneys and pickles, tandoori chicken, goat curry, flavorful dal, chicken tikka masala in a rich, creamy tomato sauce and a rotating bevy of dishes both meat and vegetarian. But be sure to leave plenty of room for dessert, especially the pistachio pudding. It is similar in… More >>

• BEST RAMEN-INDUCED STEAMBATH

  Daikokuya

  The best ramen, at the best price, at the latest hours in town is at Daikokuya. Justly regarded by L.A. cognoscenti (900 Yelp reviews = no longer a secret) as the perfect capper to a night of drinking, dancing and more drinking, a large bowl of tonkotsu style ramen in pork broth (get kotteri-style for added back-fat flavor) with a… More >>

• BEST OVERUSE OF THE WORD “HIPSTER”

  Jitlada

  It's not often that you see a young man in white skinny jeans, his hair styled in something resembling a pompadour, his face adorned with purple-rimmed shades, sitting down to dinner with a 50-year-old woman wearing Liz Claiborne sandals. But hipsters do have mothers, and mothers are required to take their children out to eat. So where, oh where, could… More >>

• BEST COZY BAR WITH FRENCH BRUNCH

  Rive Gauche

  This establishment's old, battered, peeling café sign is the first hint that Rive Gauche is ignoring every known food, décor and bar fad, to offer European-steeped, traditional meals and a Sunday champagne brunch — plus one of the warmest, friendliest neighborhood bars in Southern California. Sometimes it's just you and the bartender — and a bar-food plate of apple chunks,… More >>

• BEST JAPANESE-MAID CAFÉ

  Royal/T - CLOSED

  Royal/T café-gallery-shop has much to offer by way of delicious things, not least of which is cute little Asian-girl waitresses dressed up as French maids. Is it surprising that the nation's first Japanese "maid café" opened here in Los Angeles? Maybe. We are lucky that we don't have to travel to Tokyo's Akihabara district, the epicenter of the maid-café cosplay… More >>

• BEST GRINDING AND STUFFING

  Bob's Market

  It's got to be a little depressing living the sausage life in a grocery-store meat case, where even the most robust bratwurst is so often upstaged by a scrawny little flank steak. At Bob's Market in Santa Monica, the small, family-run grocery store has put its chubby pork bangers and sweet Italian chicken sausages front and center for more than… More >>

• BEST GOOD OL' SOUTHERN(KOREAN) BBQ

  Soot Bull Jeep

  The sheer number of restaurants in Koreatown is mind-boggling to sort through. A lot of folks keep it simple; when they want primally addictive Korean BBQ, they head to the simple, modest place with the three-word name that happens to sound, in English, like a hard-charging, smoke-spewing all-terrain vehicle: Soot Bull Jeep. Perhaps the name is strangely appropriate? There are… More >>

• BEST SOUP DUMPLINGS

  Din Tai Fung

  There are still people who haven't heard of xiaolongbao, the Shanghai specialty occasionally called XLB, or, most commonly, soup dumplings. When you explain the dish to those who aren't familiar, they'll have one of two responses: either "... there's soup inside the dumplings? How do they do that?" (yes, there is, and it's done by using meat gelatin, which turns… More >>

• BEST SOUTH INDIAN BUFFET

  Mayura

  Most Indian restaurants specialize in Northern Indian dishes. Mayura's lunchtime buffet is a chance to delve into South Indian cuisine, specifically that of the tropical state of Kerala on India's Southwest coast, where you'll find more coconut, tamarind, and plenty of yogurt, lentils, chiles and rice. For $8.95 the buffet includes at least 10 dishes (which may change depending on… More >>

• BEST-PROTECTED TACOS

  Taco Pete

  Here's the general rule about food that's bad for you: The rattier the place looks, the better the food. If the proprietors haven't made it a practice to paint, or to relettering their signs, and yet they have a lot of business, you know the food is really good. Such a place is Taco Pete. Some might also be unfamiliar… More >>

• BEST TAIWANESE STREET FOOD

  Pa Pa Walk

  The bright yellow walls and Hello Kitty décor at Pa Pa Walk might make you think for a moment that you'd wandered off-course and stumbled into yet another mini-mall trinket shop. In fact, you've just entered one of Southern California's foremost bastions of Taiwanese street food. The top sellers here are dishes like the cold cuts platter of marinated pig's… More >>

• BEST VIEW WITH A RESTAURANT

  Top of the Notch Restaurant

  From the stone terrace of the Top of the Notch Restaurant, munch on a burger in the clean, crisp mountain air and gaze down between the mountains on the clouds covering the L.A. Basin. Yes, we said gaze down on the clouds. At 7,800 feet you are higher than anything east of the Pecos, and higher than 36 of our… More >>

• BEST HAITIAN COFFEE

  TiGeorges' Chicken

  To say that George Laguerre makes the best cup of Haitian coffee in L.A. should not be qualified by the fact that he may very well make the only Haitian cup of coffee in L.A. I don't know if there are others to be had, but I do know that the thick shot of espresso Laguerre pulls from the Pasquini… More >>

• BEST TORTILLAS ON PICO

  Tortilleria Expresion Oaxaquena

  Perhaps there's no food staple that points to the core of the Mexican psyche like the tortilla. Strikingly simple and rustic, the flat discs of corn, water and limewater inspired the late Chicano singer Lalo Guerrero's pouty "There's No Tortillas." Unfortunately, bad corn tortillas — thin, dry pucks from the grocery store — recall cardboard more than the spongy, doughy… More >>

• BEST CAFÉ WITH NATURE HIKE ATTACHED

  Trails Café

  If Julia Child and John Muir were to meet for lunch, and Julia wanted good, simple, butter-confident food made from scratch, and John asked only that they eat outside, in the shade of a few sequoia with dirt beneath their feet and the company of birds, they would agree on Trails Café in Griffith Park. Set a few blocks north… More >>

• BEST PLACE TO EAT WHILE HAVING A HEART ATTACK

  In Westwood, expensive dining options abound. So since you're in walking distance to a world-class medical center, why not take advantage of what the Dining Commons at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center has to offer? Situated on the first floor, it's a simple cafeteria — and therein lies its charm — a place where med students, top docs, hospital staff… More >>

• BEST POST-HANGOVER, CRUELTY-FREE VEGAN BRUNCH

  Flore Vegan Cuisine

  On Sundays, Flore Vegan Cuisine offers an all-you-can-eat vegan brunch for $10, tax included. Served buffet style, it makes for the perfect post-hangover meal. The menu varies, but mainstays are tofu scramble, "sausage," "bacon," French toast, waffles, potatoes, fruit, coffee and orange juice. The sausage and bacon are freshly homemade (no frozen fakin' bacon, here!) every Sunday. Other items might… More >>

• BEST SAN GABRIEL VALLEY SZECHUAN

  Yunchuan Garden

  You know you're in for an adventure from the moment you set foot in Yunchuan Garden, a Monterey Park stronghold of Szechuan cuisine. In front of you is the cold-dish counter, where, for $3.95, you can pick three items from about a dozen trays overflowing with chicken feet, thinly sliced pork chin and beef with beef stomach and seasoned tripe,… More >>

• BEST FLOWERY, FLOWING SALAD BAR IN AN ISRAELI RESTAURANT

  Itzik Hagadol

  People frequent Itzik Hagadol (Isaac, the Great in Hebrew) for the famed meat skewers, but the real appeal is the incredible, beautiful, delicious, fresh, in your face, never-ending flow of salads. Purchase one skewer (get the veal-lamb kebabs, everything else is bland) and, for an additional $8.99, you're entitled you to 20 different kinds of Mediterranean salads, which will be… More >>

• BEST PUG AND AWE BURGER

  Hungry Cat

  What the pug burger at Hungry Cat lacks in structural integrity it more than makes up in sheer awesomeness, both of size and flavor. In fact, the glory of the pug is that it manages to be one of L.A.'s best burgers despite the point deduction for ridiculousness. It's a big fucker, maybe only consumable in the traditional way by… More >>

• BEST POCKET OF CRUNCHY WONDERFULNESS

  Falafel King

  When one sends oneself on a mission to find the best falafel in L.A., one quickly finds oneself on a journey from mediocre to bad to awful versions of the ubiquitous fried balls of ground chickpeas. That's why we routinely come back to Falafel King, the beloved Westwood home of garbanzo nirvana. The balls, really shaped more like little patties,… More >>

• BEST-VALUE MORTADELLA SANDWICH

  Eastside Deli

  The sandwiches at Eastside Deli aren't pretty but they get the job done — that task being the ending of hunger one belly at a time. No artisan breads, no chopped fresh basil leaves or choice of mustards — just big ol' minisubs of, say, mortadella, capicollo or turkey, with provolone and shredded iceberg on a French roll. And served… More >>

• BEST VEGAN SANDWICH

  The Veggie Grill

  Crisp onion rings vie with juicy tomatoes for dominance of your mouth in this mouthwatering sandwich. The Stack is crafted just like a steak sandwich, except the "steak" is made of various wheat and legume proteins with beets to give it texture. If you're feeling good, you can have it served on a bed of kale instead of on a… More >>

• BEST ROAST BEEF OR PASTRAMI DIP SANDWICH

  Country Deli

  If you know the Valley, you know how silly it is when wags from Westwood and Silver Lake rave that the (admittedly) stalwart Brent's is the best deli on that side of the hill. Please. Country Deli, tucked up in northwest Chatsworth, with its Western motif and murals of old cowboy stars, and its outdoor dining porch that overlooks a… More >>

• BEST WHO-NEEDS-MEAT? SANDWICH

  La Brea Bakery - CLOSED

  Biting into La Brea Bakery's artichoke heart sandwich is like sipping a wine whose flavorings can only be articulated as hints. With the sandwich, of course, it's a bit more obvious: the 'chokes, marinated in olive oil and rosemary, are surrounded by ricotta cheese, arugula and pesto, stacked between slices of the bakery's renowned black-olive bread. The combo is subtly… More >>

• BEST POUNDED HEADCHEESE SANDWICH ON THE WESTSIDE

  Cemitas Poblanas

  If you live in East Los Angeles, you've probably come across the cemita, a Mexican sandwich in which a pounded and fried cutlet (chicken, pork or beef milanesa) is placed on a roll of sesame seed–studded egg bread, along with cheese, onions, avocado and red salsa. It's a combination that's difficult to dislike, unless you're on the Atkins diet, or,… More >>

• BEST STARCH SANDWICH

  Porto's

  Porto's pushes the limits of traditional sandwich making by stuffing a bread roll with a potato. Order up this classic and the masters will take a Cuban roll, add two potato balls stuffed with seasoned ground beef, and top them with Swiss cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce and tomato. In one bite you get a mix of crunchy and smooth textures… More >>

• BEST DELI SANDWICH

  Bay Cities Italian Deli

  It's hard to argue effectively with your Italian godmother, particularly if she's several inches thick around the middle with a tangy bite and a penchant for hanging out with the wrong crowd. That's where the cold cut–clad sandwich by the same name at Bay Cities Italian Deli in Santa Monica comes in handy. It's a fantastic heap of Genoa salami,… More >>

• BEST CUBAN SANDWICH

  Rincon Criollo

  At Rincon Criollo, the pressed bread is toasty warm, the melted cheese is creamy, the slice of ham and slice of pork salty, the pickle sour. The individual parts melding into a greater, comforting whole. What more could one want from a Cuban sandwich? Oh, yeah ... and it's big, too. I usually eat only half and drag the rest… More >>

• BEST BACON-AND-AVOCADO BURGER

  Howard's

  If you're old enough to remember your parents taking you to a restaurant without consulting a Zagat for fear of choosing the "wrong" place, or not even thinking to ask who designed the interior, and you yearn for that kind of simplicity, Howard's is for you. If you were part of the more progressive, health-conscious generation born thereafter, and your… More >>

• BEST GROWLER FILLER-UPPER

  The Bruery

  Until recently, finding a brewery that would fill up your growler (beer-speak for a 64-ounce jug) with a bold, full-bodied Belgium-style craft beer required a road trip to San Diego. Enter The Bruery in Placentia, where owner and brewer Patrick Rue will gladly pump up Orchard White (an unfiltered witbier scented with coriander and citrus peel), Black Orchard (black wheat… More >>

• BEST BARGAIN-BASEMENT BURGER

  Hawkins House of Burgers

  Hawkins House of Burgers is most famous, perhaps, for its Hawkins Special, a truly absurd and behemoth creation consisting of three one-pound burger patties, cheese, bacon, chilies, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, fried eggs, pastrami, mustard, a butterflied hot dog, pickles and mayo. It weighs in at five pounds, costs sixteen bucks, and comes with fries and a soda. I'm not sure… More >>

• MOST REASONABLE BURGER

  The Park

  Let the economists rail against deflation, but if it means better-tasting burgers at great prices, bring it on! The Park, an Echo Park bistro-style restaurant, offers an unbeatable budget-friendly deal on Wednesdays, when the $5 Burger Nite gives you one of their juicy and fresh-tasting burgers, plus a side of salad or crisp fries, for half off. The sumptuous, six-ounce… More >>

• BEST PUB BURGER

  Simmzy's

  A juicy $10 angus burger with sweet smoked onion marmalade, cheddar and garlic aioli sound like the grilled goods at pretty much every other fancy burger joint in town. The rub at Simmzy's, a new Manhattan Beach joint, is this burger's big enough to share. Well almost, if you also get the skinny fries that are piled so high into… More >>

• BEST MACROBIOTIC VEGAN BURGER

  Seed Kitchen

  In 1993, chef Eric Lechasseur's wife became ill. In an effort to help cure her, he began cooking and experimenting with macrobiotics. Well, the diet seemed to work, and Lechasseur has since become a private chef to health-conscious stars like Madonna, Sting, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. Eventually, he opened Seed Kitchen in Venice, a low key, order-at-the-counter joint with… More >>

• BEST NONSERBIAN TURKEY BURGER

  Metro Café

  With a great menu of Serbian food, why talk about Metro Café's turkey burger? Because when you don't feel like the awesome Serbian salad (sometimes with my own twist, ahi tuna), or the white-bean-and-ham soup (from proprietor Saša Stankovic's mother's recipe), or the zucchini pancakes or goulash or chevapchichi, and you just feel like some comfort food, you should go… More >>

• BEST HOLLYWOOD HAPPY HOUR

  Boho - CLOSED

  If you’re going to plonk down $14 for an ArcLight ticket (although even that seems a bit of a bargain these days, when you factor in reserved seating and the like; Grauman’s Chinese is now peak-priced at $12.50!), it’s nice to be able to find cheap, tasty and filling eats before your movie. Look no farther than Boho, the cozy… More >>

• BEST OTHER HAPPY HOUR FOR LIP-SMACKING DEALS

  Dakota Lounge

  Don’t let the fact that Fergie and Josh Duhamel pop in for Laker games make you think the Dakota Lounge has an uppity attitude. The place is unpretentious and feels like the neighborhood bar you wish was in your neighborhood. Owners Alex Fieglein and Sabrina Roark, Hawaii transplants, have had a good thing going with the prime-time club crowd for… More >>