Lingering on a Saturday morning, swabbing at a poached-egg raviolo with a chunk of fresh epi bread and contemplating the last drops of freshly squeezed tomato juice, it is hard to believe that Bottega Louie hasn't always existed, a modern restaurant scooped out of an old Brooks Brothers store and gilded with marble, brass and tile. It's what Musso & Frank might have been had its original chef been from Italy instead of France. The dining room feels like a brasserie but serves Sam Marvin's American-Italian classics: grilled skirt steak, eggplant parm, chicken breast sautéed with artichokes and capers. The crisp, thin, Neapolitan-style pizzas that come out of the large, wood-burning oven have become quite good over the last couple years; try the one with oozy burrata and wisps of prosciutto. Bottega Louie aims to be all things to all people downtown, and it more or less succeeds — open early enough for breakfast and late enough for supper after the opera, serving elaborate meals and tasty snacks, with a vast takeout counter and an elegant bar, grand enough for a birthday but with a small-plates menu even art students can afford. Bulgarini gelato is served in all of its various manifestations. If you can get over the idea of eating spaghetti Bolognese where you used to buy your socks, Bottega Louie is an easy place to be happy. 700 S. Grand Ave., dwntwn. (213) 802-1470, bottegalouie.com. Mon.-Fri., 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sat.-Sun, 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Full bar. Valet parking. Takeout and prepared foods. AE, MC, V. Italian.

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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