Feast Your Eyes on Downtown L.A.'s Best Restaurants

LA WeeklyFood

OTIUM - It's still the early days for former French Laundry chef Timothy Hollingsworth's grand-statement restaurant adjacent to the Broad Museum. But there's barely a room in town with more energy and excitement than Otium" data-rightCaption="">OTIUM - It's still the early days for former French Laundry chef Timothy Hollingsworth's grand-statement restaurant adjacent to the Broad Museum. But there's barely a room in town with more energy and excitement than OtiumOTIUM - It's still the early days for former French Laundry chef Timothy Hollingsworth's grand-statement restaurant adjacent to the Broad Museum. But there's barely a room in town with more energy and excitement than Otiumeven as you munch on sea urchin atop brioche spears wrapped in lardo and daubed with truffle butter. The long list of smallish plates has influences from all over the globelime and coconut curry. What could be more comically Americanthan a foie gras funnel cake? If you wanted to show an extraterrestrial what upscale dining looks like in 2016than a foie gras funnel cake? If you wanted to show an extraterrestrial what upscale dining looks like in 2016L.A.'s food obsessives started asking the question: Is this now the best pastrami sandwich in town? In light of our city's devotion to Langer'syet it isn't unreasonable.; Credit: Anne FishbeinAt its bestslightly smokyWexler's is highly traditionalpure and simple. Chef Micah Wexler smokes his own fishmakes his own pickles and generally obsesses over the quality of every last detail. There may be no better outcome of all that obsessing than Wexler's lox: Slickthe cured salmon tastes like a rushing mountain river in the same way an ultra-fresh oyster tastes like the soul of the ocean.
–Besha Rodell; Credit: Anne FishbeinSUSHI GEN - There are many reasons to stand outside Sushi Gen and wait your turn for a table or a spot at the sushi bar. In a city full of sushi – rarefied sushi" data-rightCaption="">SUSHI GEN - There are many reasons to stand outside Sushi Gen and wait your turn for a table or a spot at the sushi bar. In a city full of sushi – rarefied sushiFlickr/LWYang" data-rightCaption="">crappy sushi – Sushi Gen bridges the gap between quality and affordability.; Credit: Flickr/LWYangAnd it’s a pretty cool experiencelowest-cost raw fish in America. Rumor has it that it’s the buying power and longevity that affords them this miraclebut we prefer to sit and talk to the chefsFlickr/LWYang" data-rightCaption="">a place where you can revel in L.A.’s sushi wealth without needing to have a ton of wealth yourself.
–Besha Rodell; Credit: Flickr/LWYang

Downtown's explosive growth has been one of the most widely discussed topics in the restaurant world for the past few years. Now we are beginning to see those planted seeds bear delicious, delicious fruit. What was once a scattered collection of very good places to eat has morphed and matured into a fully realized dining scene that ranks among the most exciting places to eat in the country. In a matter of blocks you can find mind-bending pastrami, Filipino rice bowls and some of the best sushi that doesn’t involve a flight to Japan. There has never been a better time to be a diner in L.A.’s urban core, and things are only looking up. Read the article here.

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