where to eat in los angeles

[chefboy24]

hey egulleters

i wanted to post this in the new york forum because i need advice from ny foodies.

going to l.a. for the weekend

i want to eat great stuff

however - i dont want anything super fussy. i'm really tired of 7 course tasting menus for the moment. i want honest, straightforward, straight up delicious yummy food. i also want to experience quintissential california cuisine, not a stuffy fussy overeager/overambitious operation

here are my questions

landing at midnight - is there anywhere to go for a snack? (i'm guessing no, but hoping yes)

spago - is it still at the top? was it ever?

craft l.a. & mozza - should i care when i've already been to all of mario and tom's NY restaurants?

others i'm considering

a.o.c.

luques

campanille

providence

melisse

any help greatly apreciated

[Jesikka]

hey egulleters

i wanted to post this in the new york forum because i need advice from ny foodies.

going to l.a. for the weekend

i want to eat great stuff

however - i dont want anything super fussy.  i'm really tired of 7 course tasting menus for the moment.  i want honest, straightforward, straight up delicious yummy food.  i also want to experience quintissential california cuisine, not a stuffy fussy overeager/overambitious operation

here are my questions

landing at midnight - is there anywhere to go for a snack? (i'm guessing no, but hoping yes)

spago - is it still at the top? was it ever?

craft l.a. & mozza - should i care when i've already been to all of mario and tom's NY restaurants?

others i'm considering

a.o.c.

luques

campanille

providence

melisse

any help greatly apreciated

←

Dave H and I had a really great meal at AOC about a month ago. I would highly recommend it. I had lunch at Lucques about 6 months ago and didn't find it special at all. I know they're both Goin- but AOC was far far better.

Dave H had a great meal at Spago a couple months ago, but you should PM him for details because I wasn't there.

This sounds weird, but we had a great breakfast at some restaurant called Doughboys in the Melrose district.

If you're planning on going South to Orange County, we had some awesome Vietnamese.

[weinoo]

The few people I've sent to AOC loved it.

I would definitely try to go to Mozza - Nancy Silverton is a very talented chef/baker. Wouldn't be rushing to Craft, as it gets a fair amount of so-so reviews here and in Vegas.

There's lots of great Thai and southeast cuisine - check for those on other boards. You should be able to find some good late night Mexican/taqueria type places.

[mikeycook]

Went to Spago about a year ago and had a good time. Good food but at this point nothing revolutionary. On the other hand, it's not a museum either. I would compare it to Gotham Bar and Grill from a menu perspective.

Actually, I think one of the joys of LA is dining at the low end. One of the most interesting things I find about LA is that for all of the stereotypes about California cuisine and the health-conscious nature of Californians, there is probably more unhealthly food (in a good way) in LA than anyplace I've ever been. It seems there is a donut shop, burger joints, or hot dog place around every corner.

The most enjoyable place we went on the trip was The Griddle Cafe on Sunset in West Hollywoood, which has the largest breakfasts I have ever experienced. Pancakes are the size of dinner plates. My breakfast was basically Eggs Benedict served over potato skins. We wanted to go to Pink's for dogs, but couldn't find the right time to go.

On the high end, I have heard NY friends who enjoyed Bastide, but I can't speak from personal experience.

[chefboy24]

thanks egullet

i specifically wanted this in the new york forum

why?

because there are over 100 views and 3 responses

also - i'm asking the question "as a new yorker, where should i eat in los angeles?"

thanks for reading my post

maybe if moderators on egullet were less uptight, it wouldn't be the laughing stock of the restaurant/foodie scene. in my 10+ years of posting on several messageboards of all kinds of scenes, this one, by far and the way, is the most uptight.

so once again, thanks.

[heidih]

Can't help you on the higher end, but on the cheap eat, ethnic specialties I am told that particularly in the areas of Japanese, Korean, Thai and Mexican, we can offer you alot of interesting possibilities compared to the NY City scene. If those cuisines interest you I can give you recs. I am not a nite owl so arriving midnite LAX, by the time you get out of airport- you are looking 1 or more so no suggestions. There is an In-N-Out which is a well known burger chain at 3411 W. Century that if often a must have for out of towners, but they close at 1 or 1:30 a.m.- maybe hit it on the way to the airport for your return- same street at LAX. The LA Weekly has a column written by Jonathan Gold (recent Pulitzer prize winner) that has really decent reviews of the lower end so to speak ethnic and homestyle eateries. Pick up a free copy when you arrive or check past columns out on-line. The possibilities are huge, so knowing your food preferences would help narrow the field.