If restaurants were Jeopardy! categories, A-Frame's menu could be “Things Locals Eat on the Beach in Hawaii.'' Because aside from the great beach-eats imperative, there may not be much else connecting beer-can chicken and kettle corn dusted with the crunchy seaweed condiment called furikake, Koreanized buffalo wings and hoisin-glazed baby back ribs, peel-and-eat shrimp with spicy salt and Thai-influenced New England clam chowder. When you are lucky enough to find a seat in the converted IHOP, it will be at a long, communal picnic table; if you are drinking beer, it may be either Dogfish Head's punishingly bitter 90-minute IPA or a glass of Hite, the Pabst Blue Ribbon of Seoul. In one sense, there are fewer Korean-influenced preparations at A-Frame than there tend to be at Roy Choi's other restaurants, Chego and Kogi, but the crabcakes, scented with lemongrass, are served with a stack of ggaenip leaves to wrap them in, and the grilled lamb chops, although they come in a green sauce not too different from a Border Grill salsa, undoubtedly were rubbed with Korean chile paste before they hit the fire. A-Frame may be Choi's first venture with waiter service, cocktails and food not necessarily folded into a tortilla, but what he's serving is still street food elevated by classical technique. 12565 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City. (310) 398-7700, aframela.com. Daily, 5 p.m.-mid.; bar open until 2 a.m. Full bar. Lot parking. AE, MC, V. Asian.

99 Essential L.A. Restaurants 2011:

Jonathan Gold's Introduction
Anne Fishbein's Photos
The Google Map

The List:

A-Frame
Akasha
Alcazar
Angeli Caffe
Angelini Osteria
Animal
Antojitos Carmen
Attari
Babita
Bludso's
Border Grill
Bottega Louie
Bulgarini Gelato
Cacao
Campanile
Casa Bianca
Chang's Garden
Chego
Chichén Itzá
Chung King
Church & State
Ciro's
Comme Ça
Cut
Dae Bok
Din Tai Fung
Drago Centro
El Huarache Azteca
El Parian
Elvirita's
Euro Pane Bakery
Eva
Fab Hot Dogs
Father's Office
Fig
Gjelina
Golden Deli
Golden State
Good Girl Dinette
The Gorbals
Guelaguetza
Guisados
Huckleberry
Hungry Cat
Ink.
Jar
Jitlada
Kiriko
Kobawoo
La Casita Mexicana
Langer's
Larkin's
Lazy Ox Canteen
Le Comptoir
Little Dom's
Lou
Lucques
LudoBites
Lukshon
Mantee
Marouch
Mayura
Meals by Genet
Mélisse
Mezze
Mo-Chica
Mother Dough
Mozza
Musso & Frank Grill
Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa
Newport Tan Cang Seafood Restaurant
The Nickel
Night + Market
Oinkster
101 Noodle Express
Palate Food + Wine
Park's Barbecue
Picca
Playa
Pollos a la Brasa
Providence
Ray's
Red Medicine
Rivera
Rustic Canyon
Salt's Cure
Sapp Coffee Shop
Sea Harbour
Son of a Gun
Sotto
Spago
Spice Table
Street
Tacos Baja Ensenada
Tasting Kitchen
Terroni
Tsujita L.A.
Vincenti
Waterloo & City

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