Interior at peak lunch hour
Personal pan pizza
*** (3 stars)
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.
Pizza Hut
1555 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(323) 734-7713
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pizza-hut-los-angeles-11
Interior
Exterior
Salad Insalata di “Locanda”
Carpaccio
Branzino special
Squid ink pasta
Affogato al Café
Tiramisu
***** (5 stars)
This is everything you’d want in a neighborhood Italian place: intimate, great ambiance, good food, nice wine list, friendly service.
Beef carpaccio was a nice starter, and I really enjoyed their unique Ceasar salad, which uses radicchio rather than romaine. It was a non-bitter variety of radicchio I hadn’t had before.
Their tiramisu is also unconventional, served in a bowl; it lacked the boozy ladyfingers in my favorite versions. But the affogato was excellent.
Locanda Veneta
8638 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 274-1893
https://www.yelp.com/biz/locanda-veneta-los-angeles
Interior
Combo mussels shrimp crab
40 clove chicken
Prime rib
Garlic ice cream with caramel mole sauce
**** (4 stars)
I’ve been wanting to go to a Stinking Rose since I first saw one many, many years ago in San Francisco. I was expecting it to smell of garlic and for every dish to have an overwhelming taste of garlic, but that was far from the case. Garlic was very judiciously used to enhance each dish without being the focus.
By far the best thing we had was the seafood skillet, particularly the mussels. This was the best mussel preparation I’ve ever had.
Prime rib and the 40 clove chicken were good but not remarkable.
Garlic cream is an interesting experience you probably will only want to try once!
The Stinking Rose
55 N La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310) 652-7673
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-stinking-rose-beverly-hills-4
Interior
Patio
Interior
Complimentary garlic toast
The Ivy Sundae
*** (3 stars)
This is a really charming restaurant, from its lovely outdoor patio to the beautifully decorated and intimate dining rooms. Each table is adorned with a vase bursting with fresh roses.
Your experience begins with complimentary glasses of Champagne, and your meal begins with complimentary garlic cheese toast. Both were wonderful, and were actually the two best things we had.
Ceasar salad and tuna tartare were very good starters. The entrees were less impressive. There was nothing noteworthy about the grilled swordfish, and my companion’s steak, ordered medium rare, was cooked far beyond well done, to medium cremated. We never send anything back to the kitchen, but we had to send this back. To their credit, it was swiftly whisked away and removed from the bill.
The sundae was a very nice dessert, served deconstructed, with two excellent sauces.
The service was pleasant and responsive, but not necessarily attentive.
There are some decent wines by the glass and a few lesser wines with reasonable prices, but the good wines on the list are steeply marked up, which is opposite the usual strategy. As a result we settled for one that was only adequate.
The Ivy
113 N Robertson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 274-8303
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-ivy-los-angeles
Interior
Exterior
Bacon egg and cheese
Buttermilk biscuit
*** (3 stars)
This counter server spot occupies a downstairs outside facing corner in Beverly Center. The limited menu offers a hamburger bun with various fillings.
The bacon, egg and cheese sandwich uses nice ingredients to good effect, although a breakfast sandwich would be better on something other than a brioche hamburger bun.
The place is popular given that the sign on the door only allows five people in line inside at a time, although it wasn’t that busy when I was there for breakfast. Perhaps, despite the name, it isn’t a breakfast place, since it doesn’t even open until 8am.
You can skip the dried out, uninteresting buttermilk biscuit.
Eggslut
8500 Beverly Blvd
Ste 101
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 975-3822
https://www.yelp.com/biz/eggslut-los-angeles-10
Interior
**** (4 stars)
This is a friendly alternative to the ubiquitous Starbucks. There isn’t a lot of difference between the two, although the lack of crowds makes this a more pleasant place to relax. The service here is friendly and fast.
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
300 S La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 360-9777
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-coffee-bean-and-tea-leaf-los-angeles-22
Exterior
Interior
Seafood salad
Penne alla Vodka
Fiocchi
Lemon Chicken
Amazing cheesecake!
***** (5 stars)
Rao’s is tucked away on an unlikely side street in residential Hollywood. It has that magical and now rare ambiance of the red leather booth restaurants of the 1950s.
You’d be hard-pressed to find better Italian food in LA. The meatballs and the seafood salad were great starters, and the Penne alla Vodka was also very good.
But the standout was the Fiocchi, made of Beggar Purse Ravioli, with Ricotta and Bartlett Pear Filling, sauteed in Brown Butter, and dressed with Sage and Dried Cranberries. It was, simply put, the best pasta dish I’ve ever had.
Another number one ranking goes to the cheesecake, served New York style, but with an airy character, elevated by a hint of Amaretto. Amazing.
Our server, Jonathan, was a terrific host, and basically assembled this wonderful menu for us. A great new LA find!
Rao’s – Los Angeles
1006 Seward St
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 962-7267
https://www.yelp.com/biz/raos-los-angeles-los-angeles
3 Pcs Chicken Combo
**** (4 stars)
El Pollo Loco has always been my favorite fast food place. It’s healthy (depending upon what you order), tasty, and generous. A three piece combo with chicken breasts, side salad, a heap of cole slaw, corn tortillas and a drink is ten bucks. You can’t beat that! And the salsa bar has fresh cilantro and lots of different salsas. Service was friendly and efficient.
El Pollo Loco
1545 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 380-2772
https://www.yelp.com/biz/el-pollo-loco-los-angeles-56
Carne asada empanada
**** (4 stars)
These are particularly nicely made empanadas. They’re even branded with their contents! I particularly liked the carne asada. The breakfast empanada was less interesting.
The place is tiny, and it’s a carry out operation. Parking is essentially impossible.
Nonna’s Empanadas
8570 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 385-0445
https://www.yelp.com/biz/nonnas-empanadas-los-angeles-2