I’ve been trying to get into n/naka on every visit I’ve made to LA for the last 10 years. So it was gratifying to finally be able to snag a reservation this time.
The restaurant did not disappoint. It is clearly one of the best in Los Angeles. Everything from the vibe to the quality of the food to the friendliness of the servers was exceptional.
With a meal this wonderful, it’s difficult to name a favorite course, but I would have to say that the pasta dish surprisingly was right up there with the very best that I’ve had.
Of course, the fish quality, the sushi, the sashimi were all also wonderful.
The other thing that sticks in my memory was the quality of all of the soups from the first little taste during the amuse-bouche to the final course. Each one brought a complexity that you rarely find in a supposedly simple bowl of soup.
If you can get into n/naka, I highly recommend it.
At the upper end of fine dining restaurants are places that transcend simply serving astonishing food and create an entire environment for enjoying it. Vespertine is one of those places.
From the moment you lay eyes on the dramatic, custom-designed building, you know you’re in for something special. Here, the journey is part of the story, beginning with a tour of the kitchen on the third floor, descending to the dining room on the second, and finally ending your visit in a dessert lounge at ground level.
It’s easy to defend Vespertine as the finest restaurant in Los Angeles. For me, it is among the top in the country, ranking up there with Single Thread in Healdsburg and the original version of Eleven Madison in New York City. It exists at that ideal Michelin two-star level where chefs are not afraid to take risks, and the service has not yet become a regimented, stiff, and formal process that renders a place soulless. On the contrary, the service at Vespertine is embracing, informative, and fun.
And the food! Of course that’s what it’s all about, and Vespertine does not disappoint. The emphasis here is on hidden layers, often found at the bottoms of exotically assembled bowls. It’s hard to total the number of courses because several of them are served in stages or comprised of multiple components. But nearly everything was a home run. The strengths relate to the incorporations of vegetables, fruits, exotic herbs, and especially flowers. There’s nothing wrong with the proteins either. A spring lamb is glorious. The quail also superb. The kinmedai perhaps the only miss.
But for me, the meal revolves around the obsidian mirror. The dish defies description, both visually and on the palate. Its iridescent texture is unlike anything I’ve ever consumed, and although the entire dish is probably comprised of less than one tablespoon, it should be appreciated in a dozen or more tiny little bites where every element of flavor and texture can be savored. I simply can’t explain it any further. You must experience it.
Often I find wine pairings to be comprised of sommelier favorites that are high acid, obscure, and not necessarily wines that could be enjoyed on their own, even if they do happen to match the food they are served with. None of these are problems at Vespertine. The Vinifera pairing consists of mostly old-world wines of high pedigree that superbly match their courses and are each notable wines standing on their own. The more expensive Optivus pairing swapped out three wines for bigger names. While all three replacements were fine wines, I’m not sure whether the additional cost is justified as the Vinifera pairing was quite stellar on its own.
At $295 pp plus wine pairing Vespertine is not inexpensive, but for the quality of the food, the experience, and the wine, I think the price is well justified and compares well with the other great dining experiences in the country and the world. It’s certainly in my top five, worldwide.
It’s been over forty years since I last went to Carmine’s! On that occasion, Carmine was still the chef, and we ran into Charlton Heston at the table next to us. I’m happy to say that the place hasn’t changed much. Carmine has passed, but successive generations have kept the place much the same as it always was, from menu to ambiance.
I particularly like the approach to the menu where you can select your pasta and then the preparation for that pasta. This approach extends to entrées where you select your protein and then the preparation for that protein. Perhaps it’s the engineer in me, but I really like this straightforward way to assemble exactly the meal you’d like.
We started with Caesar salad and an iceberg wedge. Both were perfectly classic in preparation and portion size.
For entrees, we had the unique Chicken Savoy, served with a somewhat tangy red wine vinegar sauce, and a seafood stew. Both of them were also very good.
We finished with tiramisu, which was good but not the best I’ve ever had. I prefer mine with a bit more booze and the lady fingers on the bottom.
There’s a small but thoughtful selection of wines by the glass, and an extensive list of Italian reds available by the bottle.
Service was very friendly, and the overall environment was very welcoming. It’s great to see a place that knows what’s made it successful for so many years continuing on with the tradition.
We were in port for the day and it was too far to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant in LA (El Cholo) so we went to Maria’s and we were not disappointed. The fiesta platter was a great start, but the real standout was the cheese enchilada’s. The rich, slightly bitter sauce was absolutely perfect. This is the way enchiladas have been service in Southern California since the 1920s, and it’s wonderful to see the tradition carried on here. Service was so very nice and friendly. We’ll definitely return if we are in the area.
This was a great place for a Korean BBQ lunch extravaganza. For one price you can have all you can eat from an entire page of protein choices. Items are delivered to your table in generous proportions where you, of course, grill them yourself.
We tried quite a few of the meats and our two favorites were the beef bulgogi and the pork spare ribs.
Also included are a bowl of nicely dressed salad, an assortment of kimchi and other sides, and some terrific pancakes.
The place is spacious, and servers keep a careful eye on the temperature of your grill… and your need for more meat!
Excellent service here is the highlight, and the decor is intimate while at the same time being bustling. The food doesn’t quite live up to the resulting expectations.
Housemade bread was delicious, and worth the extra charge. The funghi pizza was flavorful, but the crust was more like naan bread, with no crispness at all. We ate the toppings off.
Rigatoni was nicely al dente, but this dish should only be ordered if you absolutely LOVE chicken livers, and they weren’t just the prime flavor component, they were the only flavor component.
I give them points for doing something different with the wine list, but it may not be what you’re looking for. ALL of the wines are from lesser known Italian appellations, so you’re not going to find any varietals you’ve likely heard of. This encourages exploration, but also invites disappointment.
This is a pretty darn good place, especially for an airport lounge. There’s a nice selection of wines by the glass and bottle, at fairly reasonable prices for an airport. There’s also a great menu off well thought-out, atypical food. Service was a bit slow, but when you’re trying to kill time during a layover and have a nice bottle of wine, that’s fine.
Carl’s junior offers a nice variety of pretty typical fast food. Unlike at most of the competitors you can get a BBQ bacon cheeseburger and onion rings, which are my favorites.
The food at this Carl’s is good, but it is quite slow, even when uncrowded, so don’t visit if you’re in a hurry.
It’s sad that so few of the old school restaurants are left in Los Angeles. Taix is one of those great holdouts that harken back to the days of traditional French recipes in comfortably posh surroundings.
The restaurant is divided into a number of rooms, from a dark, clubby bar to an elegant high-ceilinged dining room.
Recipes are traditional and represent excellent examples of classic French cuisine: country style pate, escargot, tarragon cream sauce on your fish.
The highlight for me is the wine list, which offers a nice selection of domestic and international wines at the lowest prices in town. Most are at or near retail. What other restaurant offers a half bottle for $14? That’s less than the price of a glass at most places. If for nothing else this is a great reason to visit Taix!
People seem to dislike this Pizza Hut, but I thought it was fine. At the middle of lunch time it was deserted and we thought it might be closed. But someone appeared and took our order, and the food was Pizza Hut standard, so I wouldn’t hesitate to go back.
