Jonathan Gold & Michelle Huneven

Border Grill. The Santa Monica flagship restaurant of Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger has become a prime tourist destination, but the regional cuisine still comes out vivid and strong — juicy tacos, refreshing ceviches, spot-on chile verde. 1445 Fourth St., Santa Monica, (310) 451-1655. Lunch and dinner seven days......

Badiraguato. When executed properly, ­machaca, a sort of red-brown heap of fried beef jerky, is one of the great dried-beef dishes of the world, an intense distillation of the flavors of the Mexican West, all salt and smoke and heat. At Badiraguato, a converted hamburger stand on the main drag......