Critic's Choice restaurants

May 26, 2012

Critic's Choice: Where to go for duck in L.A.

I admit, I love my duck. Young and broke and in Paris, I used to save up for the prix fixe menu at a little bistro in the 6th that included canette (female duck) roasted on the spit and floating island for dessert. I count the wild duck my friend Bill cooked 20 years ago as one of the finest things I've ever eaten.

May 12, 2012

Critic's Choice: Linger over lunch at these restaurants

Whenever my friend Roberta comes to town, we try to have lunch at Providence on a Friday. That's the only day the Michelin two-star restaurant is open for lunch, in fact. Lunch has a different character than dinner. You tend to talk about different things, maybe because you're more alert at 1 p.m. than at 9. Restaurants are usually less crowded then, so it's quieter. I have a sneaking suspicion that chefs enjoy lunch too, because of that more leisurely pace. I'm not talking about grabbing a sandwich, I mean a meal at a good restaurant.

April 14, 2012

Critic's Choice: Good deals for early diners

Myself, I hate to eat dinner before it's dark. I know people — not many — who start fretting if dinner isn't on the table by 6. And while I consider it a strange habit, I can adapt for an evening if eating early opens up time to go to a concert or play afterward. I'm not talking cheapskates' "early-bird specials" but dinner at serious restaurants, bargain-priced to lure diners in when tables are mostly empty. The bonus is that the restaurant then is more likely to be quiet enough for conversation.

March 31, 2012

Critic's Choice: Three great starts to any day

These days, small luxuries are what count. A leisurely bath. A note from the library saying that novel you reserved months ago is now yours for three weeks. A gin and tonic sipped in front of the sunset. Or a cup of excellent coffee enjoyed with a buttery morning pastry. I don't have the time to indulge very often, but when I do, it starts the day off on a brilliant note. Here are three of my favorite spots.

March 10, 2012

Critic's Choice: Barbecue in Los Angeles

You probably know your barbecue: Bludso's in Compton for meaty beef ribs; sliced brisket from Phillips in Leimert Park; maybe farmers market fixture Bigmista's platter of pulled pork, ribs, brisket and links. But here are a few lesser-known spots to add to your list, in case of goat-barbecue, Korean-Chinese-mutton-skewer or Argentinian-parrillada cravings.

March 1, 2012

Critic's Choice: Charting the daily specials

I once had a friend in Paris who assiduously followed neighborhood bistros' plats du jour (daily specials) around town. And when I first moved into the arrondissement, he presented me with a scribbled crib sheet of his favorite dishes, which night they were served and, most important, where. For someone very much on a budget, it was a wonderful gift. In Los Angeles, a number of restaurants have a schedule of plates of the day. Sometimes it's printed. Sometimes it's scrawled on a blackboard. And since many of them are real bargains, it's worth making your own chart of dishes and restaurants. If it's Friday, it's stinco (roasted veal shank) at Angelini Osteria, short-rib mole tacos at BLD or whole roasted fish at Comme Ça.

February 9, 2012

Critic's Choice: Where to go for dumplings

Love dumplings? The soupy, Shanghai-style ones filled with juicy pork? Puck-shaped Beijing ones with beef? Pan-fried? Steamed? Boiled? There are Vietnamese dumplings made with rice flour wrappers folded around chunks of sautéed shrimp. Or beefy Lebanese dumplings blanketed with yogurt-garlic sauce. Or hat-shaped Afghan dumplings served with stewed pigeon peas, yogurt and dry mint. If you're on the hunt for dumplings, check out these slingers from recent Find columns.

February 2, 2012

Critic's Choice: Fresh lunch ideas

Traffic being the way it is, getting to lunch, having lunch and getting back to where you started can shave hours off the day. In an increasingly harried world, having lunch out (instead of at your desk or in your car) every once in a while has become something very special. But how many times can you go to Langer's for pastrami or Comme Ca for a burger? Here are a few fresh ideas for lunch.

January 26, 2012

Critic's Choice: Southeast Asian noodle restaurants

Southern California's one big bowl of noodles for anyone who loves Southeast Asia's many incarnations. And we're not just talking about pho and pad Thai. Look to the Central Vietnamese restaurants of Westminster for your fix of mi quang, neon-yellow rice noodles in a curry-like sauce with a party of garnishes, or bun bo Hue, spicy beef and pork noodle soup, often garnished with banana flower and amaranth. Or craving Cambodian seafood soup or tom yum noodles with chunks of crispy pork belly? Here's where to go, from recent Find columns.

January 19, 2012

Critic's Choice: Restaurants with wood-burning ovens

Pizza joints, many boasting wood-burning ovens, are popping up all over the Southland like chanterelles after a rainstorm. But they're not the only restaurants working with oak or almond wood. Some chefs at other restaurants are lucky enough to have wood-fired ovens in their kitchens. They're tricky to use, but once mastered can be a formidable tool. Cooking with fire is ancient, and I'm convinced we're hard-wired to find any dish cooked in a wood-burning oven just that much more delicious.

January 12, 2012

Critic's Choice: Where to eat the heat

If you're a fiend for the spicy, then you may have attempted to down an entire bowl of the Special 2 ramen at Orochon in Little Tokyo, which earns you a photo on "the wall of bravery." Or you've sought the experience of Jitlada's southern Thai specialties, including Chef Tui's Dynamite Special Challenge, covered in a chile sludge that packs so much heat your ears start to ring. (Thais say southern food is the ultimate of phet, or spiciness.) Where to find more of the burn? Here, from recent Find columns, are several ways to satisfy the capsaicin cravings.

January 5, 2012

The Find's Best of 2011: Japanese, Mexican, Persian, Thai

The wealth of Southern California's restaurant scene doesn't lie just in big-name, fine-dining places. There may be no other area in the country that can compare when it comes to the number and variety of treasures that offer really delicious food at often amazing prices. These are some of our favorite Finds of the year. There's Iranian, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and even an experimental sushi fusion restaurant located in a hamburger stand. Now that's L.A.

December 29, 2011

Critic's Choice: Where to find great steaks

The fellow I met at a holiday party had just one question for me: Where do you find a great steak in this part of the country? He grew up in Texas on grass-fed beef and complains he's never found a steak here with as much flavor. He's disappointed every time he spends big bucks for a steak, whether it's corn-fed, dry-aged or wet-aged, Wagyu or Kobe or sizzling with butter.

December 22, 2011

Critic's Choice: A holiday hankering for tamales

For a lot of Angelenos, the holidays bring a craving for tamales — fat, corn-husk-wrapped packets of tender steamed masa filled with gooey melted cheese or shredded fall-apart pork or chocolatey chicken mole. This time of year, places such as Liliana's in Boyle Heights or Tamara's in Marina del Rey are swamped with orders. Luckily, L.A.'s a world of tamales: the Michoacan uchepo and Belizean ducunu, or even a Puerto Rican pasteles (which isn't made with masa but with plantains steamed in banana leaf).... Here are some of the places at which to get a quick fix, from recent "The Find" columns.

December 15, 2011

Critic's Choice: Fromage fanciers, rejoice!

Turophiles (yes, that's what cheese lovers are called) look forward to the cheese course the way dessert hounds long for their pudding. But not every cheese course is equal. Some restaurants try to get away with industrial cheeses straight out of the fridge or, not at all prepared, offer a hunk of the Parmigiano used on their pasta. That's why we treasure the restaurants that take care with their tomme and bucheron and bleu d'Auvergne.

December 8, 2011

Critics' choice: Soup comfort on chilly nights

Wind storms, below-70-degree days and chilly, chilly nights — it's enough to drive one to soup. We're talking big pots of steamy, spicy crab stew. Or the kind of soup you lean over and dip your own ingredients into. Soups with springy noodles and chicken meatballs, or house-made dumplings, or shrimp and galangal — all of it enough to share with friends (the more friends to huddle with, the better). Here are a few places from recent Find columns for just that.

December 1, 2011

Critic's Choice: Holiday brunches

Here they come: the relatives. And they're hungry too. So where are you going to feed them? Why not one of the new generation of brunches that have been popping up at some very good restaurants lately? Brunch is convivial and fun, not to mention much less expensive than taking the crowd to a full-on dinner.

November 24, 2011

Critics' Choice: Breakfasts from around the globe in L.A. area

After Thursday's extravaganza, it might be the right time to think about the lightest meal of the day — or the meal that affords us the rest of the day to burn off some calories, anyway. Forget pancakes. How about savory Taiwanese crullers dipped in super-fresh soy milk, house-made longaniza sausage with eggs, sweet Belizean ducunu (they're like logs of unfilled tamale made with fresh corn grated off the cob) or poached-egg soup with hand-patted tortillas? Whether on La Brea Avenue or Bolsa Avenue, early-morning options abound. Here are several places to try from recent Find columns.

November 10, 2011

Critic's Choice: Restaurants that help make every occasion special

Especially at this time of year, when relatives roll into town eager to live it up. It's fun to introduce them to L.A.'s ethnic dining scene, chase food trucks around town and stop in at the latest cutting-edge venues. But at some point, they may want to indulge in a celebratory holiday meal at one of L.A.'s fine-dining establishments.

November 3, 2011

Critic's Choice: Offbeat burgers

There is no shortage of burgers in this town, whether classic or updated (you know, with truffles or bleu cheese or Parmesan crisps). But the truly offbeat burger shines in some unexpected places. Looking for a halal chicken tikka burger? A soul turkey burger with mashed yams on a sesame seed bun? An Angus beef patty stuffed between two Belgian waffles? L.A.'s got it all. Here are a few from recent Find columns.

October 27, 2011

Critic's Choice: Restaurants to mark the fall season

As October glides toward November, the weather skates the edge — one foot in summer, the other in fall. Leaves begin to drift from the trees. Morning brings a cooler edge to the breeze. And every evening the sun sets a little earlier. Time to put away the rosés and lighter reds and bring out the big guns: Cabernet, Bordeaux and Barolo, Chinon and Cahors, Syrah and Sangiovese. Chefs are already anticipating the change of season with heartier dishes. Bring it on, I say.

October 20, 2011

Critic's Choice: Koreatown

Koreatown is easy to navigate when it comes to some of its culinary standbys. You probably know your favorite spots for Korean barbecue and pork bossam; naeng myun cold noodles when it's hot out; that bubbling, spicy tofu soup soondubu when it's chilly; and sul long tang oxtail soup for your hangovers. But with so many other specialty restaurants to explore, here are a few suggestions beyond Korean barbecue from recent Find columns.

11:39 AM PDT, October 13, 2011

Critic's Choice: Tapas in L.A.

The Spanish are on to a good thing with tapas, those lusty little bites that bars in Spain put out in the early evening. Ever wondered how the Spanish can eat dinner at 11 or later? Because they stave off hunger pangs and socialize earlier in the evening at tapa bars, ordering wines by the glass and nibbling on anchovies, chorizo and garlicky sautéed shrimp. In L.A., we now have enough restaurants specializing in tapas that you could actually do some bar hopping. But that would involve a bit of driving. Best to stick to one place for the night and just stick with tapas, or stay longer for dinner.

October 6, 2011

Critic's Choice: Ramen restaurants

If ever Los Angeles were having a ramen moment, this might be it. Ramen pop-ups and shops are springing up from West L.A. to downtown. Ramen-ya stalwarts are facing competition as Yamadaya and Tsujita have opened on the Westside in Santouka territory and Shin-Sen-Gumi unveiled a new branch a block from Daikokuya downtown. Thick noodles, thin noodles, extra fatty pork broth, dipping sauce, toppings such as fried garlic, purple cauliflower, fried pork skin or slabs of roasted pork…. In other words, have it your way. Here are a few ramen shops to try.

September 1, 2011

Fried chicken: Who rules the roost in L.A.?

Sometimes you just get a hankering for fried chicken. That's what I took to the Hollywood Bowl recently when I was invited by some friends to see Dolly Parton. Though it may be best eaten in the great outdoors, luckily, we can also find some great fried chicken in restaurants that give special attention to the all-American dish.

August 25, 2011

Critics' choice: Chinese restaurants

If you're hungry for a little of Beijing and beyond — northern Chinese dumplings, buns and hand-pulled noodles or maybe even cumin-scented lamb kebabs in the style of Xinjiang's food stalls — look no further. Here's where to get your fix of Uighur saucy chicken piled on thick-cut flat noodles or Shandong beef roll, braised brisket wrapped in flaky, pastry-like griddled pancakes.

Critics' Choice: 5 Vietnamese restaurants

Five Vietnamese restaurants reviewed in The Find: Huynh, Dat Thanh, Thien An Bo Bay Mon, Ngu Binh, Uyen Thy Bistro

November 7, 2007

SEAFOOD

Plateau de fruits de mer: Extravagance on the half shell

Cocktail forks and crab crackers are at the ready. The space in the center of your table is cleared, and everyone in the restaurant looks your way. Something big is about to happen.