Jonathan Gold's best Los Angeles restaurants

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The downtown Los Angeles skyline is reflected in windows on the sixth floor of the Los Angeles Times Building as guests attend Bite Nite, a night with Jonathan Gold celebrating his 101 best L.A. restaurants. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Guests sample the offerings in the Atrium at the Los Angeles Times at Bite Nite, a night with Jonathan Gold, The Times restaurant critic. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Chef Suzanne Tracht of Jar prepares food for tasting at Bite Nite. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Char siu pork-stuffed croissant with apple mostarda is offered by Jar during Bite Nite. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Jonathon Strader, manager of the Hart & the Hunter, prepares trout toast for sampling. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Jessica Koslow, who started Sqirl to sell her preserves and has opened a cafe now, offers samplings. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Tyler Bender, left, and Shawn Button dine and discuss. Twenty-three restaurants were represented at the event, with tickets open to L.A. Times members. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Bite Nite offered a chance to see what some of the best restaurants in L.A. are serving, including the latest trends in cocktails. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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One refreshment offered: A tall cold one from Golden Road Brewing in Los Angeles. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Diners fill tables and check their tasting lists during Bite Nite. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Wolfgang Puck of Spago meets Padmini Aniyan, owner of Mayura, at Bite Nite. It was also a way for L.A.’s best chefs to mingle for an evening. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Cut chef de cuisine Hugo Alejandro Bolanos offers a taste to guest Garry Brody. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Steaks from Wolfgang Puck’s steakhouse Cut are grilled. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Ari Rosenson, left, and Hugo Alejandro Bolanos of Cut prepare small plates for Bite Nite guests. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Comedian Kathy Griffin chats with Times restaurant critic and Bite Nite host Jonathan Gold. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Lucques’ Caroline Styne, left, and Suzanne Goin talk with La Casita Mexicana’s Ramiro Arvizu and Jaime Martin Del Campo, from left. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Courtney Guerra of the farm-fresh restaurant Alma prepares sampling plates. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Ceviche from La Casita Mexicana. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Kris Yenbamroong, owner and chef of Night + Market, right, aided by Trin Karnjanakul, prepares his specialties, based on northern Thai street food. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Habanero chiles are chopped at the Chichen Itza table. The restaurant specializes in Yucatan cuisine. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Spicy bacon popcorn is offered from Tar & Roses, a Santa Monica small-plates restaurant. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Justin Limburg, left, and Tetsu Yahagi prepare egg yolk carbonara ravioli with pancetta cream at the Spago table. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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A finished egg yolk carbonara ravioli with pancetta cream from Spago. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Wine importer Paul M. Young, center, chats with Chris Phelps, left, and Zak Walters. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Erik Sun, left, Ori Menashe and Alia Abul-Hat put the tastes of Bestia on display. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Bestia owners Ori Menashe and wife Genevieve Gergis. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Slow-roasted salmon with cold carrot salad, beets and charmoula yogurt is offered by Lucques during Bite Nite. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Southern Indian cuisine from Mayura Amrit, a new restaurant from the owner of Mayura in Culver City, is offered at Bite Nite. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Beef pho-paccio is offered by Tar & Roses. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Mike and Laura Briller find that good food always goes well with good conversation at Bite Nite. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

By From Times Food Staff

May 23, 2013 4 AM PT

Hungry? Today you’ll find the best of whatever it is you crave -- in Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants, where our Pulitzer Prize-winning restaurant critic names and ranks his favorites.

“If you take into account Los Angeles’ superb produce, its breathtaking diversity and its imagination, it can be one of the most pleasurable places to eat on Earth,” Gold says.

Is it a savory Indian dosa you crave? Pizza as good as anywhere on Earth? Shrimp tacos for less than $2, or sushi for several hundred dollars?

You’ll find this and a lot more, including an interactive map and engaging ways to share where you’ve been and where you want to go with your friends -- whether you’re searching on a desktop or your smartphone. But, you’ll have to be a Los Angeles Times member to see it all. Membership details are here.

Still hungry? Here are Gold’s top 20 restaurants:

1. Providence 2. Urasawa 3. Spago 4. Mozza, etc. 5. Kogi 6. Lucques 7. Animal 8. Cut 9. Jitlada 10. Shunji 11. Rivera 12. Spice Table 13. Ink 14. Baco Mercat 15. Tasting Kitchen 16. Sea Harbour 17. Night + Market 18. Bestia 19. Hinoki and the Bird 20. Melisse

In addition, we’ve created an embeddable map for those who want a simple way to share the information on their own sites. Use the “embed map” link below the map to get the code:

Jonathan Gold’s best Los Angeles restaurants

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