Midday`s guilty pleasures

Midday's guilty pleasures·
PLUS, JONATHAN
GOLD' \
L.A. HESTAUHAN
AI-Watan
Alcazar
A fragrant slice of coastal lebanon, Alcazar is a shaded terrace oj
music, grilled mullet and waiters who transfer bright coals oj appleflavored tobacco to brass hookahs. Enormous kebab plates are rushed
to tables -and the shish towook, grilled kebabs oj extravagantly
marinated chicken breast, is as good as a kebab ever gets. On week'encls, ultrathinsajj bread is baked on the patio in a vast heated pan,
wrapped around grilled meat or made into the thin, crisp, thymescented Arab quesadillas calledkl'leg.lebanon
is famous jor its red
wine, but Alcazar, in the gentle levant oj Encino, also serves oceans
of arak, an anise-scented lebanese liquor that turns milky when you
stir it with ice and cool water. 17239 Yentura Blud., Encino, (818) 789-
A bare, smoky dining room adjacent to a Muslim butcher shop, AI-Watan is the
summit of bask Pakistani cooking in los Angeles, spicy, meaty, and deeply
injlected by the flavors of ginger, cardamom and chiles, with some oj the most
vividly smoky tandoor-cooked meats you will ever taste. first among the stews
ishaleem, beef braised with shredded wheat until itbreaksdown
into a thick
gravy with the ~avor of well-browned roast-beej drippings, but as meaty as
AI-Watan may be, even vegetarians can be happy here: Nauratan korma, a
mixture oj caulijlower, green beans and carrots stir-fried with chile and plenty
of spices, is like a wonderful Muslim ratatouille, the flavors oj each vegetable
fresh and distinct while contributing to the cumulative effect oj the cuminscented whole. 13611Inglewood Aue., Hawthorne, (310) 644-6395. Open daily
a.m.-IO p.m. No alcohol. MC, V. Indian.
II
II
0991. Tues.-Fri. 11:30a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5:30-10:30 p.m., Sat. 71:30
a.m. -mid., Sun. noon79 p.m. Full bar. Hookah and cigar lounge.
Takeout. lot parking in rear. AE, MC, V..lebanese.
I
Alegria
Alegria is the kind of Mexican bohemian hangout you may have
suspected must exist somewhere in los Angeles, an art-injused Silver
lake cafe where the talk always seems to be oj music, gallery shows
and the depredations oj City Hall. The usual taco plates and vegetarian burritos are well-represented, but the best jood here revolves
around the extraordinary mole sauce: sharp, thick, sweetly complex,
with top notes of smoke, clove and citrus, lashed with dried-chile
heat, black enough to darken the brightest Pepsodent smile. {It takes
two days to make, a million steps, and has.something like 20 ingredients.) If you Insist, you can get a side oj mole sauce to put on your
burrito. 3510 Sunset Blud., Siluer lake, (323) 913-1422, www.alegriaonsunset.com. Mon. -Thurs. 10 a.m. -10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m. -II p.m.
No alcohol. Takeout. lot parking. Cash only. Mexican.
I
Angeli
Caffe
Before Angeli; Angelenos had no idea how ,"uch they loved casual Italian
cooking - not four-cheese lasagna or cognac-~amed veal fillets, but the
spaghetti alia checca, roast chicken and minimally garnished pizza that a
Sienese teenager might eat jor dinner at the trattoria down the block on the
nights his mother didn't feel like turning on the stove: Angeli's popularity may have inspired hundreds of restaurants featuring salads
dressed with balsamic vinegar, but Angeli's rustic simplicity
is still the benchmark. The pastas of chef Evan Kleiman,
KCRWradio host and the local standard-bearer
for the Slow food movement, are beyond
remarkable. And if you live within a few
miles of the restaurant, they even
delivel. The Thursday-night
dinners, multicourse prix
jixe extravaganzas
based around a
.. SUMMEIUESTAURANJS!2006i
---- - - ----------
'II
---
The Ultimate All-You-Can-Eat Experience!
Phillips'
Barbecue
Crusted with black and deeply smoky, the spareribs at
Phillips' Barbecue are rich and crisp and juicy, not too lean.
Beef ribs, almost as big around as beer cans, are beefy as
rib roasts beneath their coat of char, tasty even without the
sauce. They are the best ribs in los Angeles, perhaps the
only ribs that can compete on equal terms with the best
from Kansas City or Tuscaloosa. And the extra-hot sauce,
so crowded with whole dried chiles that the ribs occasion-
Orris
Is Orris in any sense a sushi bar? NO.1!is a great place to
drop in for new-age sashimi like smoked·scallops garnished
with salmon roe, seared tuna with sweet onion marmalade,
or even what amount~ to lamb sashimLl!s location. convenient to the Nuart and the manga-intensive
shopping strip
anchored by the Giant Robot complex, couldn't be better,
and the small sake selection is swelt.2006 Sawtelle Blvd.,
$19'
.BraziHan ,BBQ
1\II-Vou-Can-Eat
Includes: Dinne~ • Magician + Belly Dance Show & Nightclu~
Fri & Sat: Dinner' Samba Show & Nightclub
Sundays: Salsa!!
'
Happy Hour
Wed-Fri 4pm-8pm, Appetizers and
Cocktails, Beer & Wine 1/2 Price
West los Angeles, (310) 268-2212. Dinner Mon. -Fri. 6-10
p.m., Sat. 5:30-10:30 p.m., Sun. 5:30-9:30 p.m. Beer, wine
and sake. lot parking (valet Wed. -Sat.). AE. D. MC, ~
Small-plate cuisine. $$
Ortolan
While l'Orangerie is straggling, Bastide is closed for remodeling, and half the emigre chefs in California are putting
their knowledge of Escoffier to work cooking pasta, Ortolan,
which reflects Christophe Erne's loire-trained palate, may
be the most serious French restaurant in los Angeles. If you
are a fanof intimate, dungeonlike restaurant spaces, dining
ally look as if they have been embellished with Byzantine
mosaics, can be pretty exhilarating. Tucked into a mini-mall
between a liquor storeand the local chapter of Alcoholics
Anonymous, the original Phillips' might be a little hard to
find, although if you keep your window open, you should be
able to sniff it out from half a mile away. But the newest iocation, in the well-scrubbed chalet-style Crenshaw building
that until recently housed the well-regarded leo's Bar-B-Q, is
only a couple of blocks south of the 10 freeway. 4307 leimert
Blvd., los Angeles: (323) 292-7613. Mon. II a.m. -8 p.m.,
Tues.-Thurs. 11a.m.-70 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11a.m.-mid., Sun.
11a.m.-6 p.m. 2619 S. Crenshaw B!vd., los Angeles, (323)
731-4772. Tues.-Thurs. 11a.m.-TO p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11a.m.-l1
p.m., Sun. 17a.m.-6 p.m. Also at 1517 Centineta Ave., 10,
Angeles, (3/0) 472-7135. No alcohol. Takeout. lot parking.
Cash only. Barbecue. $
Pie 'n Burger
Even in los Angeles ... where it is possible to eat not only
wood-fired goat-cheese pizza with duck sausage and sundried fennel, but also reasonably authentic Merida-style
Thursday Night Live Band
Playing Latin Top 40 & More!
Open Wednesday-Sunday
15910 Ventura Blvd. Encino· www.rioencino.com • 818.205.9799
HOMEMADE
BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER
PASTA SAUCES· FRESH SALADS· GOURMET SANDWICHES
TOP CHOICE STEAKS & FRESH SEAFOOD
rooms so dink that diners are issued little flashlights along
with their menus. and presentations that extend to mushroom soup served in test tubes and fish seared on hot river
rocks, then Ortolan may be the restaurant for you. Actually,
BANQUET
ROOM FOR PRIVATE PARTIES & MEETINGS
HAPPY HOUR FROM 3-7PM M-F • WIDE SCREEN TV
16240 VENTURA BLVD. ENCINO • T: 818.528.7755· F: 818.528.3634
wchinito pibil and properly made Cambodian catfish
amok, hand-ground, of course, steamed to a fine fluffiness
and garnished - why not! - with a single, perfect banana
Ortolal1's basic premise - high-level French cooking served
in a supper-club setting - is an attractive one. And Erne,
who co-owns the restaurant with his paramour Jeri Ryan, is
remarkabiy skilled: The squab, served as a roasted breast
paired with a leg confit, is exceptional, as are the crisp langoustines, and the complex tasting menus are among the
blossom, sometimes only a hamburger will do. Pie 'n Burger
is an essential address at these times. like all good hamburgers, paper-jacketed
Pie 'n Burgers are all about texture,
the crunchy sheaf of lettuce, the carbonized surface of the
meat, the outer rim Qf the bun crisped to almost the consiste~cy of toast, plus pink dressing and soft, sweet grilled
onions. The fries are good too. 913 E. California Blvd.,
most accomplished in town. 8338 W. Third St., los Angeles, .
(323) 653-3300. TueS.-Sat. 6-10 p.m. (Closed Sun.-Mon: in
summer,) Full bar. Valet parking. AE, Me. v. French. $$$
Pasadena, (626) 795-7123. Mon.-Fri. 6 a.m.-l0 p.m., Sat. 7
a.m.-l0 p.m., Sun,. 7 a.m. -9 p.m. Beer and wine. Takeout.
lot parking. Cash or check. American. $
Philippe
Pink's
the
Original
The place is so much a part of old los Angeles that sometimes it feels as if it isn't really a part of los Angeles, as if it
belongs to an older city without chrome. The French-dipped
sandwiches of lamb or beef are wet and rich, with something of the gamy animal pungency of old-fashioned roast
meat. And if you enjoy the sight of eyes bulging and nostrils
flaring as people encounter depth charges of ultrahot mustard in their sandwiches. there's even something of a floor
show. 1001 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles, (213) 628-3781.
Open daily 6 a.m. -10 p.m. Beer and wine. For takeout,
must call ahead, and order must be over $40. lot parking.
Cash only. American.
I
Consider the Pink's dog, uncouth and garlicky,
skin thick and taut, so that when you sink your.
teeth into it, the sausage ... pops ... into a
mouthful of juice. The bun is soft enough to
achieve a oneness with the thick chili that is
ladled over the dog, but firm enough to resist
dissolving altogether, unless you order it with
sauerkraut. And why wouldn't you? Avoid the
fries. 709 N. la Brea Ave., Hollywood, (323)
931-4223. Sun.-Thurs. 9:30 a.m.-2 a.m., Fri.Sat. 9:30 a.m.-3 a.m. No alcohol. Takeout.
.Iot parking. Cash only. American .. 1
A GREAT PLACE FOR
BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER
& TAKE-OUT IN WONDERFUL
EAGLE ROCK
All Food Is Fresh
To Order
Serving USDA
Organic Coffee
& Espresso'
. Spano
Wolfgang Puck long ago re-defined Americans' idea of
what a great restaurant might be. His cooking always had a
deceptive air of simplicity about it. like the culinary equiva-
Now Serving
Seer & Wine
Polio
Exclusively Serving
Sweet Lady Jane
Pies & Cakes
a la Brasa
If you are anywhere near Koreatown when the need for
takeout chicken strikes, follow your nose to Pallo a la Brasa,
a Peruvian chicken joint all but concealed behind a fortress
of hardwood logs. The smoky, crisp-skinned chicken here,
sizzled over a hot wood fire and served with the incendiary
Peruvian herb sauce aji, is what happens when you cross
a chicken with a smoldering log. 764 5. Western Ave .• los
Order a
Angeles, (213) 382-4090. lunch and dinner Wed. -Mon.
11 a.m. -10 p.m. No alcohol. Takeout. lot parking. MC, V.
Peruvian.
I
Cake (or
yo~r Special
Occasion
1958 Colorado Blvd.
Ever since Michael Cimarusti left the stoves at Water Grill,
well-heeled Los Angeles fish lov"is have been waiting
expectantly for his new restaurant in the old Patina space,
which was widely rumored to become the LosAngeles
323-255-2200
Open 7 Days a Week
from 7 am-10 pm
~~
equivalent of fish palaces like Le Bernardin and Oceana in
New York. At this glowing new restaurant, he managed to
fulfill even those super-high expectations - this is among
the best restaurants ever to hit Los Angeles. It just doesn't
get better than Cimarusti's tartare of live spot prawns
served with buttery leaves of brik pastry. sauteed squid
i~i,:
>.Y~.~~~:I:
.
see our' full menu
with piquillo peppers and meltingly soft slivers of stewed
pig's ear, or a terrine of foie gras with muscat getee that
may be the best foie gras preparation in this foie gras-happy town. 5955 Melrose Ave., Hancock Park, (323) 460-4170.
Mon.-Fri. 6-10 p.m .• Sat. 5:30-10 p.m., Sun. 5:30-9 p.m.
Full bar. Valet parking. AE, 0, MC, V. Modern American
.. ·,·1
~.. ,
~
'at www.coffeetablebistro.com
famous. Is a tasting menu within your budget? Don't think
twice. 176 N. Canon Drive, 8everly Hills, (310) 385-0880.
lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30a.m.-2:15 p.m., Sat. noon-2:15 p.m.;
dinner Mon. -Thurs. 5:30-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5:30-11 p.m.,
Sun. 5:30-10:30 p.m. Full bar. Valet parking. AE, D. MC, V.
California with Asia and Europe. $$$
Providence
Eagle Rock
lent of a caprice by Yo-Yo Ma on the Today show. In the past
several years, bolstered by imaginative executive chef Lee
Hefter and pastry chef Sherry Yard, he's re-defining our
idea of what Spago might be - and the roasted-beet cake
with goat cheese, the turbot with Chino Ranch vegetables,
and the roast duck perfumed with star anise are good
enough to make you forget the duck-sausage pizza and
the chopped-vegetable
salad that originally made Spago
Seafood. $$$
Susina
fairly impressive replica of a Belle Epoque Parisian cafe. And
the kitchen has started experimenting with American pies.
7122 Beverly !llvd., los Angeles, (323) 934-7900. Mon. -Fri.
7 a.m.-II p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-II p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.-II p.m .
No alcohol. Takeout. Street parking. AE, MC, V.European
8akery.
I
The signature attraction at Red Corner Asia is a phenomenon known as Volcano Chicken, a rotisserie-cooked creation
Table
brought to the table trailing liq~id streamers of fire, rising
from the flames like a phoenix, whole and reborn and new
Govind Armstrong has finally found his groove, which is
to say beachy, vaguely Mediterranean California cuisine
with impeccably sourced meat and fish, plenty of organic
farmers'-market vegetables, and a rather generous notion
as the day. Red Corner Asia describes itself as a Thai grill,
and although you will find all the usual Thai curries. panfried noodles and crocks of chicken-coconut soup, the emphasis is on the gentler products of Thai live-fire cooking:
candy-coated grilled pork ribs; crossha,tched bits of grilled
squid served with a tart green dipping sauce; and all the
traditional satays. You can't go wrong with the grilled-meat
salads- a delicious num tok of dripping-rare grilled beef
SOUP
TURKEY
~RIB
--'--E:.,o..1-C
T= AT' LL.P..
EVE CHICKEN
SANDWICH
BURGER
G==l~aE.=S~~~:~
TO
PS
TOSTADA
SERVED
ON A SEVEN
GRAIN WHEATBUN,
TOPPED WITHOUR
SPECIAL DIJONAISE
~
Sapp may be the best lunchroom in Hollywood, a bright
Thai restaurant. unrelentingly yellow inside, sharing a small
mini-mall with a video shop and a place to get griddled
Thai desserts; crowded at noon not with revelers, but with
't~
A~
peo'ple who have come to Thai Town to shop and eat spicy,
stinky boat noodles. remarkable grilled chicken, and
bright-green "jade" noodles tossed with Chinese barbecue.
INCLUDING •••
Sapp is the Thai equivalent of Pie 'n Burger, a lunchroom
where the virtues of homeliness become extraordinary when
put in context with the shiny. glittery surfaces against which
it might compete. 5183 Hollywood Blvd."Hollywood, (323)
665-1035. lunch and dinner 7 a.m. -8:30 p.m. Closed Wed.
No alcohol. Takeout. lot parking. Cash only. Thai. $
CALL IN
ORDERFORPICK UP
626.449.4412
.......-+~
VOUR
-TIIE __
_
~~~
28
II~~._
Eat c.Indo fII1Q.
••••••••• r.A.1101
FREE
SMALL BEVERAGE
PUllCHASE
OMElETTESOR
S/.W.I.
00ffiE.
DiNNER
BeIEIW3E.
OF TIJPS
PlATES.
SODA.
HOT TEA, ICE 1fA
THE ORmINAL
•REDEEMABLEONlY
TOPSAT
3838
THEOOGINAL
EASTTOPS.
COLORADO
PlEASEPRESENT
BLV.!)"
'"'" AD
PASADENA,,!:A
ATTliETIME
ul"l'UACHASE
91107
SUMMER'RESTAURANTS
2006
Sona
What we know as California cuisine may be dedicated
COMPLIMENTARY
\\mi "'"
mango. 5267 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 466-6722,
www.redcornerasia.com.Opendailylla.m.-2a.m.No
alcohol (/iquor license pending). Takeout. Valet parking on
weekends. At; MC, V.Asian Fusion. $$$
Sapp Coffee Shop
OPEN DAILY FROM 6:30am
WE OFFER A VARIETY OF
tossed with mint leaves and citrus; grilled calamari salad; a
spicy salad of grilled pork. And after the meal, if you aren't
in the mood for coconut soup spiked with taro balls, know
that, as George Clinton once said, "fried ice cream is a reality." Flaming fried ice cream, with chocolate sauce and sliced
CARNE
N3ADA
ORMARINNATE:
MIXED GREENS, JACK &. CHE(].
.oAR CHEESE, PICO DE GAUD,
CHICKENBREAST,PlNTOBfAN
CAUFORNIAAVOCADQ.
I
!
and Cafe
spinach and garlic that always sells out way too early in the
afternoon. There are coffeehouses in Hollywood that stay
open somewhat later, and others equipped with multiple
electrical outlets and three kinds of WiFiaccess. but it is
hard to imagine a more civilized setting in which to spend
quality time with your laptop. fueled with hot pressed
sandwiches and lubricated with fresh-pressed citrus in a
Hed Corner Asia
~----.-----~----
Bakery
Crackling croissants, ultrarich cafe au lait and tiny fruit
tarts are the signature attractions of Susina, along with
a carefully curated collection of artisanal chocolates and
an incredible buttery puff-pastry turnover stuffed with
to
revealing produce at its best. but David Myers goes after
nature with blowtorches and microtomes and dynamite, determined to bend the old woman to their wHI.A sliver of watermelon may be less a sliver of watermelon than a wisp in
a chilled soup, a salted crunch tracing the shape of a curl of
marinated yellowtail, a glistening cellophane window into
the soul of a pistachio, a texture in a sorbet. a jelly exposing
its cucumberlike soul. The morning after nine courses at
Sana (this is one restaurant
where only the tasting menu will
do), it will already seem like a half-forgotten
dream. 401 N.
8
At this painfully hip, house-music-blasting
restaurant,
of the places where bacon might be appropriate. Oonathan
Waxman's cooking comes to mind, as do the first years of
CampaTIile, one of the restaurants where Armstrong has
worked.) In Los Angeles, this is what passes for classicism,
sunny, global-ingredient
cooking updated by a chef whose
frequent-flier miles do not necessarily take him only to
France. 7661 Melrose Ave., los Angeles, (323) 782-8258.
Mon. -Thurs. 6-10 p.m. (late-night menu until 10:30).
Fri.~Sat. 6-10:30 p.m. (late-night menu until 11:30). Full
bar. Takeout. Valet and street parking. All major credit
ca~ds. California Seasonal. $$$
Tacos Baja Ensenada
In most of Mexico, the words estilo Ensenada signify
just one thing: fish tacos. specifically the fried-fish tacos
served at stalls in the fish market down by the docks. In
East l.A" you will come no closer to the ideal than these
crunchy, sizzlingly hot strips of batter-fried halibut, folded
into warm com tortillas with salsa. shredded cabbage and
a squeeze of lime. sprinkled with freshly chopped herbs
and finished with a squirt of thick, cultured cream. Entire
religions have been founded on miracles less profound
than the Ensenada fish taco. 5385 Whittier Blvd., los
Angeles, (323) 887-1980. lunch and dinner Tues.-Sun. 10
a.m. -9 p.m. No alcohol. lot parking. Cash only. Mexican.
I
Tiara
Its giant range hood tricked out to resemble the kind of
glittery diadem that Godzilla might wear
when he was exploring his feminine side,
Tiara, Fred Eric's new Fashion District restau. rant-cum-organic-market,
shoots the girly
aesthetic up with steroids. Eric is the chef who
practically invented the hypereclectic style
of the modern Los Angeles restaurant, and
the Asian-tinged. pan-Mediterranean
menu
is painted in 17shades of farmers' -market
salad. There are bubbly lengths of currybrushed jlatbread served with little dishes oj
baba ghanoush and pureed fresh fava beans,
a Cuban-\tyle pressed sandwich made with
smoked duck and house-pickled cucumbers,
.