arkestra

After such high praise, I will definitely give Angelini a try. (I was there 2-years ago and I always have an espresso after dinner -- unless I'm pretty sure it's going to be horrible -- but I don't have a distinct memory of it. I guess it's time to try again.) I haven't had great espressos at the Il Fornaio outlets I've been to, but I agree their ciabatta is excellent. I, too, can eat a pound of it, even without olive oil. Kim, one of these days, I'll make it down to Aroma di Roma. My kids love saying (and eating) "gelato" so we'll probably combine it with some outing in Long Beach. I'm also game for an egullet get-together if your volunteering to organize

Thanks Kit. I'll give it a try one of these days when I make it out to Long Beach. Fig gelato? Now that sounds interesting!

Why is it so hard to get a decent, not to mention good, espresso in L.A.? Actually, I'm not really interested in answers to that question as much as getting recommendations for places that make a good espresso. I'll start by mentioning a few places and hopefully others will enlighten me with their recommendations. I have had some excellent espressos at Alto Palato (Italian restaurant on La Cienega), including one a couple weeks ago that was the best one I've had in years. Unfortunately, it's a restaurant (a pretty good one at that), so it's not the type of place I would run into to get a quick espresso. As for cafes where you can go just for an espresso, I would mention: 1. Cafe Balcony, a little coffee place on Rochester, just off of Santa Monica in West L.A. (http://cafebalcony.com) They do a good job, though I find the coffee to be a little bitter. 2. Cafe Metropol in the loft/artist district of downtown L.A., just east of Alameda, between 2nd and 3rd (in the same structure as R-23). (http://www.cafemetropol.com/) They have an automatic machine, which pulls a consistent cup and works surprisingly well. It's not Italy, but it's better than most L.A. espressos. So help me out and tell me about some other places I should try (anywhere in SoCal).

Though I've never been there, Langer's Deli is an L.A. institution and is not far from where you are. (704 S Alvarado St • 213-483-8050) I don't know how it will compare to NY delis

Sasabune's chef-owner (Nobi) trained with Nozawa, so the styles, including the warm rice, are very similar. Nobi used to be a fish seller and Nozawa trained him to become a sushi chef, I believe about 20 years ago. During the first few years Sasabune was open, I thought it was the best in town. Qualitatively, it was slightly better than Nozawa and, although the place had no atmosphere, it was pleasant to sit there and he never rushed you like Nozawa, who seems to want to get you in and out within an hour. Over the years, as the place's popularity grew, the quality declined. (The clientele used to be almost exclusively Japanese; now, you rarely see any Japanese.) I haven't been there in a while and I'm sure it's still very good, but not like it used to be. If I had to pick one place for an out-of-towner, it would be Mori on Pico and Gateway. The sushi is very good and, at least in my opinion, it's a really nice space. I haven't seen R-23 mentioned on this thread. It's a little hard to find (in downtown, a little east of Alameda, between 2nd and 3rd). I find the quality of the sushi to be inconsistent, but the room is -- again in my opinion -- beautiful.

I would also add New York Bagel in Brentwood.

I'm no bagel maven, but I find it hard to get excited about any bagels in L.A. Of the places mentioned, I agree Brooklyn Bagel and Bagel Nash on Wilshire are pretty good. I would add the Bagel Factory on Robertson, between Pico and the 10 Fwy. Now if you really want good bagels, you'll have to go to Montreal

Hey, I really like the tricolore salad pizza at CPK, so it's not like I suffer when we go there. I would love to try family night at Campanile, but my wife and I can't handle fixed menus because (1) I eat fish, but not meat, and (2) she is allergic to fish. What a couple! JFLinLA, do you (or anyone out there) know anything about grilled cheese sandwich night at Campanile? I heard/read somewhere that it's very good, but I'd like to get some details.

I'm glad you liked it. The seafood/tomato menu sounds great. We, in contrast, had to settle for California Pizza Kitchen with the kids. I had pizza, but I'll spare you the details. We did, however, have a nice meal last night at Alto Palato. If you haven't been there, that's also a place worth checking out sometime. Take care

Joe's is on Abbot Kinney. http://www.joesrestaurant.com/

I'm not sure what you're looking for price-wise, but I'll make two suggestions, one expensive, the other not. First, on the relatively expensive (though not outrageous) side, I've never had a bad meal at Campanille on La Brea. I've had some great meals at a few other restaurants in town (e.g., Patina, Chinois), but I've always found Campanille to be the most consistent. I also enjoy the atmosphere -- for what it is, it's very laid back and casual. If you're looking for something very causal, I would recomemnd Allegria on PCH in Malibu. You won't be blown away by the food, but it's a nice Italian restaurant that delivers good, solid and unpretentious food. It's one of the few L.A. restaurants with good food that has a real neighborhood feel. It's very reasonably priced (I'm guessing main dishes are mostly in the $10 $22 range) and very causal (I've even worn shorts on occasion and we've been with our kids on several occasuions, so it can't be too fancy). I'm sure you'll receive other (and probably better) ideas, but a few more relatively inexpensive places to consider are Yabu on Pico for Japanese (crowd can be somewhat young; counter-seating recommended), 2117 on Sawtelle, Cafe Pinot in downtown, and Joe's in Venice. Enjoy!

Yes, it was very cute. A lot of that may be true to a degree, but Italy is still the best! And you can't get a bad coffee there even if you try

carswell: Gee, I hope he uses real live beans (I actually bought some while I was there, though that doesn't preclude the pod theory). I would feel a little embarassed if I thought cofee made from pods was that good. I have to confess, however, that one of the better espressos I have found here in L.A. is at a place that uses an automatic machine (I believe it's a Cimbali) where you only have to press a button and the machine grinds the beans and pulls the shot. (To some extent, it's a reflection on the poor quality of coffee here in L.A.) Let me know what you find out about Benelo's coffee. Yes, I like Sun Ra, but the arkestra is really for Horace Tapscott's Pan African People's Arkestra. If you haven't heard of him and are into jazz, you should check him out. See also Jon Jang's Pan Asian People's Arkestra, which incorporates some traditional chinese classical music. Pretty interesting stuff Take care Ari

I recently joined this group (this is my first post), so my apologies if it's not proper etiquette to post a reply to an old thread. I live in the Los Angeles area, where it's almost impossible to get a decent, not mention good, espresso. I wish I had seen this thread before my recent visit to Montreal. Fortunately, I came accross a small place near my hotel which made a very good espresso, so I want to give it a plug. It's called either Benelo Cafe or Romagna Caffe (I believe the former appears on the sign outside, while the latter is the name on the business card I took while I was there). It's at 2145 Crescent (a little north of Maisonneuve). Of all things, it's attached to a hair salon (in fact, I believe the sign outside says Benelo Cafe/Coiffure). But don't let that deter you. I had many excellent espressos there during my one-week visit (one or two were just ok, but many others were very good). It's definitely worth a try if you're in the area. During a prior visit, I came accross Toi,Moi et Cafe, which I saw mentioned on this thread. I was there again during this last visit and had a pretty good espresso. One thing I didn't like was the espresso cup, which I felt was too big. A lot of places use such cups (is it more French?), which I don't care for because, among other things, they don't preserve the crema and the heat very well. I've had some excellent espressos at L'Express, but they too use those cups. All in all, the espressos in Montreal are far better than what us poor Americans can get down here. (Here, they really need those big cups because most places grind the beans way too course and pull the espressos way too long.) I hope to experience your espressos and the rest of the great city again soon.