Stick a Fork in It... ...or a steak knife.

SOUP SPOON

Italian wedding soup

Young Hollywood heads to the old Rat Pack hangout Dominick’s for comforting dishes such as Italian wedding soup, a rich poultry broth with swatches of emerald greens and shreds of egg bobbing with perfect little meatballs from chef Brandon Boudet. The setting, complete with cozy bar, walls covered in vintage black-and-white photos and a seductive walled patio with an outdoor fireplace, feels like Greenwich Village in the 1950s. Dominick’s, 8715 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood; (310) 652-2335.

Gumbo

Terry Fortia, a refugee from Hurricane Katrina, makes a mean gumbo at Memphis, a new hot spot with bordello red walls, private dining rooms and vintage films projected onto neighboring buildings. The gumbo, laced with shrimp, crawfish, oysters, crab and okra, has a rich, irresistible funk. This summer the outdoor patio in front will come into its own at this late-night scene. Memphis, 6541 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; (323) 465-8600.

Green mole soup

Guelaguetza, a modest cafe with oil cloth on the tables and the scent of roasted chiles and nuts wafting out the door, has moles that are made from ingredients brought from Mexico every week. A green mole, fragrant with cilantro and epazote, flavors a delicious soup made from pork bones and chayote squash. Intricately spiced mole negro de Oaxaca flows over chicken like chocolate over an ice cream sundae. Guelaguetza, 11127 Palms Blvd., Palms; (310) 837-1153.

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SPOON

Ice cream

The glass display cases at Boule are filled with Sona pastry chef Michelle Myers’ exquisite handmade chocolates and fruit gelees, but don’t leave without some Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream or apricot-jasmine, chocolate or yuzu buttermilk sorbets. Why stand in line at Berthillon in Paris when you can get ice creams and sorbets this excellent close to home? It’s summer. Cool down. Boule, 420 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles; (310) 289-9977.

Shark fin flan

At Bluefin, sushi chef Takashi Abe knows his sashimi. But the Matsuhisa alum also indulges his creative side with dishes such as shark fin flan, a fragile custard with threads of shark fin on top. Eat it slowly, with the small bamboo spoon, the better to savor its silken texture and delicate flavor. For dessert, try the creme brulee with the haunting taste of green tea. Bluefin, Crystal Cove Promenade, 7952 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Newport Coast; (949) 715-7373.

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FISH FORK

Salt-baked Maine lobster

Baby fennel, braised leeks and chunks of a whole Maine lobster baked under a drift of salt and flooded with a delicate fennel broth make a thoroughly modern dish at Stonehill Tavern, the classy new American restaurant at the St. Regis Resort Monarch Beach. Go for the updated classics like this one, plus silken lobster bisque with Meyer lemon cream or rustic Berkshire pig with caramelized lady apple. Stonehill Tavern, St. Regis Resort Monarch Beach, 1 Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point; (949) 234-3318.

Crudo

Salvatore Marino of Il Grano is a devotee of crudo--raw, impeccably fresh fish that is the Italian equivalent of sashimi. Whatever he finds at the fish market each morning shows up on that night’s selection. It might include a small, perfect Kumamoto oyster, a slice of live Maine scallop, along with the scallop’s “lips,” or muscle, some wild branzino tartare. Each bite-sized portion is garnished with a thread of delicate green-gold olive oil and a few grains of sea salt, so you can really taste the briny sweetness of the raw fish. Il Grano, 11359 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles; (310) 477-7886.

Blue and Dungeness crab cake

The tall crab cake at Water Grill, packed with Maryland blue and West Coast Dungeness crabmeat, trumps just about every other one in town. Chef David LeFevre sets it on a mint-perfumed couscous and tunes its flavors with a yogurt-lime-cucumber sauce. Water Grill, 544 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 891-0900.

Santa Barbara spot prawns

Michael Cimarusti is such a genie with fish, you have to wonder if he’s sold his soul to the devil of the deep. His tasting menus at Providence dance through species from around the globe. From local waters, Santa Barbara’s glorious prawns arrive butterflied, still in their brilliant shells and wearing skeins of coral red roe. One time he might serve them with tiny ochre shimeji mushrooms and a subtle sake sauce. Another time with emerald petits pois dusted with wasabi pea powder and a swirl of pea puree. Providence, 5955 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 460-4170.

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SALAD FORK

Charred octopus salad

Finally, a modern Greek restaurant with a beach-town address. At Petros, chef Yianni Koufodontis plies guests with Greek meze: a smoky eggplant dip, an elegant Greek salad, shrimp with feta and a squirt of lemon or spanakopita made with hand-rolled phyllo dough. But most irresistible is the octopus salad, which shows up sometimes as a special. The tender charred octopus tentacles are slick with olive oil and fragrant with lemon and herbs. Petros Greek Restaurant and Lounge, 451 Manhattan Beach Blvd., No. B110, Manhattan Beach; (310) 545-4100.

Smoked tofu and green beans

Beacon’s Kazuto Matsusaka, Chinois’ original chef, turns out light, beautifully focused Asian dishes. One of my favorites is his green bean salad showered with julienned smoked tofu in a sesame oil dressing cut with Banyuls vinegar made from the famous sweet wine of French Catalonia. His avocado salad has an appealing purity: creamy, perfectly ripe avocado, sliced and strewn with Japanese scallions, cilantro leaves and sesame seeds. Beacon, 3280 Helms Ave., Culver City; (310) 838-7500.

Little gem salad with soft egg and anchovy

At Lucques, Suzanne Goin turns out beguiling salads in every season. Lately, I’ve been taken with her Little Gem lettuce--similar to a crisp, sweet cos or romaine--with all the goodness of greens plucked from the garden, embellished simply with salt-cured anchovies and soft eggs, their deep-gold yolks the texture of custard. Lightly dressed with a garlic-and-lemon-drenched vinaigrette, it is summer on a plate. Lucques, 8474 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood; (323) 655-6277.

Bean salad with bottarga

Pecorino stands out along Brentwood’s Italian restaurant row with a more quirky regional menu from an Abruzzese chef. First courses ditch the cliche with salads such as mixed beans with wild arugula, pecorino and briny bottarga (dried, pressed mullet roe), or one of firm green beans, cherry tomatoes and their own tuna put up in oil and sprinkled with oregano. Pecorino, 11604 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood; (310) 571-3800.

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DINNER FORK

Stinco di vitello

It’s hard not to feel smug at Angelini Osteria as all eyes swivel to follow the stinco to your table, where a server slices off the beautiful roasted veal shank finished in the wood-burning oven. The meat is so tender, you almost don’t need a knife to cut it. Served with potato puree, it’s a meal in itself. Finish with a perfect cup of espresso or an affogato-vanilla gelato “drowned” in espresso. Angelini Osteria, 7313 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 297-0070.

Arroz negro

A.O.C., 3rd Street’s sophisticated wine and food bar, is packed every night with folks feasting on Suzanne Goin’s pretty salads, top-notch charcuterie and perfectly ripe cheeses. Bring friends and order a slew of the tempting little dishes and wines by the glass. Don’t forget something from the wood-burning oven such as the arroz negro, a cazuela of rice stained black with squid ink and served with a garlicky saffron aioli. It tastes like something you’d eat at a restaurant on the Mediterranean coast. A.O.C., 8022 W. 3rd Street, Los Angeles; (323) 653-6359.

Agnolotti with osso buco

Gino Angelini has the touch. His agnolotti at La Terza are the size of postage stamps--the way they make them in Piedmont--and stuffed with shredded veal osso buco, Swiss chard, ricotta and a pinch of marjoram. Lightly napped in melted butter, they’re as good as they get in this country. Fresh tagliolini with squid ink and sea urchin, and a summery spaghetti with string beans, tomatoes and ricotta salata are delicious too. La Terza, 8384 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (323) 782-8384.

Seafood in parchment

The menu at Biggs, a lively Mediterranean restaurant in Belmont Shore, is full of surprises: steamed clams with paprika-streaked chorizo in a spicy broth, wild shrimp with a decisively garlicky aioli or the gratineed salumi meatballs. It’s also one of the few places that cooks seafood in real parchment. You get to unwrap the packet, to find a medley of shrimp, scallops, fish and herbs inside, just one course in the evening’s parade of dishes at this dynamic exotic. Biggs, 4722 E. 2nd St., Belmont Shore; (562) 434-1313.

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SKEWERS

Picanha

Serious beef eaters are high-tailing it to Fogo de Chao, a glitzy churrascuria, where servers in gaucho costumes parade by with sword-like skewers threaded with some 15 cuts of meat. Each one is expertly cooked--filet mignon, top or bottom sirloin, leg of lamb, ribs. The best is the picanha, a choice section of top sirloin seasoned with sea salt and cooked just like the gauchos do it along Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul. Fogo de Chao, 133 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 289-7755.

Sizzling shrimp

Jer-ne chef Dakota Weiss injects some whimsy into hotel dining with an Asian-accented menu and theatrical presentations. Sizzling shrimp here is exactly that, skewers of sweet, meaty shrimp cooked at the table on a 500-degree rock as big as a dinosaur egg. Marinated in wasabi and Japanese seaweed, the shrimp packs a neat whiplash of heat. And for meat lovers, filet mignon satay arrives on skewers too, ready to cook. Jer-ne at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey, 4375 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey; (310) 574-4333.

Fried chicken

Citizen Smith is a sprawling hotspot with a glam decor and not one, but two bars. The theme is American comfort food. Start out with small chunks of tender, moist fried chicken on skewers with homemade honey mustard for dipping. The secret is chef Taylor Boudreaux’s buttermilk and cayenne batter. His Louisiana connection means this puppy knows how to fry. Citizen Smith, 1600 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood; (323) 461-5001.

Yakitori

At funky Yakitoriya, you order by the stick. Name your chicken part and you’ve got it, grilled over Japanese hardwood charcoal. The taste is smoky and alluring, each piece of chicken slightly charred at the edges. Recommended are the wings, heart, thighs and chicken meatballs. Get your veggies too, with sticks of Japanese scallions, okra or meaty shiitake mushrooms. Yakitoriya, 11301 Olympic Blvd., No. 101; West Los Angeles; (310) 479-5400.

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SPECIALTY FORK

Fondue

Isn’t it romantic feeding each other bites of fondue with a long fork, savoring the mingled flavors of aged Gruyere and fontina cheeses? That’s all the more true at Ocean and Vine, where sliced Fuji apples and Bosc pears are offered alongside the bread. It’s just like eating a slice of fruit with cheese, but warm. Try commandeering a fire pit on the terrace with a view of the ocean, or the larger one surrounded by velvet banquettes in the dining room. Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica; (310) 576-3180.

Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller conjures up visions of formal dining, but at the new Auberge at Ojai, Christian Shaffer adds the dish to his modern American menu from time to time. He makes it with Malpeque oysters and fresh baby spinach that tastes earthy and bright against the warm baked shellfish. Because Shaffer changes the menu every other month, clams casino (with just the right amount of garlic, bacon and buttery bread crumbs) may be in the oysters’ place on your next visit. Never mind; oysters Rockefeller will come around again. Auberge at Ojai, 314 El Paseo Road, Ojai; (805) 646-2288.

Conch escargot-style

Turks and Caicos conch served escargot-style turns out to be conch served in four pretty shells lined up in a row on four porcelain plates. Each shell holds a few bites of meaty conch, which you have to tease out with your long, narrow fork. The new Moroccan Room at Social Hollywood, the revamped Hollywood Athletic Club, is all about looks and presentation. The menu is global--hence the dolled-up conch, but the decor is the romantic Morocco of Rick’s Cafe Americain in “Casablanca.” The Moroccan Room at Social Hollywood, 6525 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood; (323) 462-5222.

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FINGERS

Fritto misto

At Literati II, the food is gutsy and seasonal with a California-Italian sensibility. Fritto misto, for example, is made entirely with lovely fresh vegetables. Depending on the time of year, it could be a mixed fry of fat asparagus spears, fresh artichokes, green beans and more in a light, crunchy batter. With a lemony aioli, it’s a sublime first course, to be eaten, naturally, with the fingers. Literati II, 12081 Wilshire Blvd. (at Bundy), West Los Angeles; (310) 479-3400.

Hors d’oeuvres

Chef Lee Hefter’s tasting menu at Spago always begins with a flurry of enticing hors d’oeuvres. True miniatures, they arrive one by one: a bite-sized tart of peaches or kumquats with a scoop of ethereal mousse de foie gras on top, a gossamer puff of dough with confit of pork belly tucked inside, a sake cup filled with sea urchin pot de creme. These amuse bouches do exactly what they’re supposed to do: bring the palate to attention for the feast to follow. Spago, 176 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills; (310) 385-0880.

Peel ‘n’ eat shrimp

At the Hungry Cat, you can pay a little more and have the kitchen peel the peel ‘n’ eat shrimp. But why? Getting down and dirty with these delicious Mexican shrimp, marinated and steamed in beer with a mess of onions and shallots, is half the fun. Chef-owner David Lentz thoughtfully provides some punchy house-made cocktail sauce if you hanker to eat them shrimp-cocktail style. Finger bowls are provided for cleanup, or you could just lick your fingers--the shrimp are that good. Hungry Cat, 1535 N. Vine St., Hollywood; (323)462-2155.

Fried smelt and calamari

The bar is the way to go at Beechwood, Brooke Williamson’s Venice restaurant and lounge. There’s more action and more space--even an outdoor patio with a fire pit. And the bar food is terrific, especially the fried smelt, calamari and tree-ripened Santa Barbara olives. She’s got delicious fries too. Beechwood, 822 Washington Blvd. (at Abbot Kinney Boulevard), Venice; (310) 448-8884.

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HANDS

Sirloin burger

Named for the temperature difference between medium-rare and well-done, 25 Degrees is a burger bar from Tim and Liza Goodell. Basically, you build your own, starting with 9 ounces of freshly ground sirloin, hand-formed into a plump, loose patty and cooked however you like it. Lettuce, tomato, pickles and sliced onion are all free. Add handcrafted cheeses, thick-cut bacon, avocado, jalapenos, etc. for $1 to $1.50 an item. Your burger arrives, peeking out from its white butcher paper wrapping. Go ahead, take a bite. It’s one of the best burgers ever. 25 Degrees, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; (323) 785-7244.

Tuna burger

It’s one of those only-in-L.A. things. A chic macrobiotic cafe, just around the corner from Pink’s, has become a magnet for the health-obsessed. The brainchild of Shigefumi Tachibe of Chaya Brasserie and chef de cuisine Lee Gross, M Cafe de Chaya serves healthy food so clever and delicious that regular foodies are making it a crossover hit. The teriyaki-glazed tuna burger is seared rare and served on a whole wheat bun, the tuna dressed up with shiso leaf, ginger, spicy daikon sprouts and a terrific yuzu mayonnaise. M Cafe de Chaya, 7119 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles; (310) 525-0588.

‘Que

Phillips doesn’t fool around. When the barbecue sauce is rated “hot,” you better believe it, and watch out for the whole red chile peppers throughout. Cautious first-timers should go with medium or mild, with a little of the lip-numbing hot stuff on the side. But oh those ribs. Order them by the slab, because you are going to eat and eat. Cloaked in that incredibly smoky hot sauce, the pork ribs, baby back or meaty rib ends are the stuff of barbecue dreams. Phillips is strictly take-out, so line up your rib party and go get ‘em. Phillips Bar-B-Que, 4307 Leimert Blvd.; (323) 292-7613; 2619 Crenshaw Blvd.; (323) 731-4772, and 1517 Centinela Ave.; (310) 412-7135.

Taco

Loteria Grill, a colorful taqueria at the original Farmers Market, turns out tasty Mexico City-style tacos. The tortillas are made right there, and you can order them piled high with chile verde, cochinita pibil, shredded beef or chicken in mole. Huevos rancheros or chilaquiles make a fine breakfast, and if you become a regular, you’ll have plenty of company. Loteria Grill, Farmers Market, Stall No. 322, 6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (323) 930-2211.

Pastrami

Want to take the subway, but need a destination? Make it Langer’s, at the corner of 7th and Alvarado. The deli, just shy of 60 years old, makes a pastrami sandwich that just may be the best in the country. Yes, we’re talking to you, New York. The rye is cut from a huge loaf, rebaked, and the pastrami is hand-cut, which makes all the difference. Moist and just tender enough, it boasts a rich, full-bodied flavor and a lingering blast of pepper. And because you’re asking, coleslaw is the only way to go. Langer’s, 704 S. Alvarado St., Los Angeles; (213) 483-8050.

Bestila

At Tagine, a romantic Moroccan boite, bestila arrives under a drift of sugar and cinnamon. Encased in buttered layers of fragile dough, the round chicken, egg and almond pie is baked to order. Careful, don’t burn your fingers as you tear off pieces of the hot pie, the better to savor the chicken against that shock of sweetness. Who needs a fork? Tagine, 132 N. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 360-7535.

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STEAK KNIFE

Porterhouse

It’s not on the menu and must be reserved ahead, yet the porterhouse for two has been a bestseller at Table 8 since day one. Chef-owner Govind Armstrong roasts the prime beef under an inch-thick salt crust laced with bay leaf, black peppercorns and fresh and dried thyme. When the salt is scraped away, the steak is revealed in all its glory, carved into thick slices and put back together with its bone like a jigsaw puzzle. With buttery mashed potatoes and root vegetables that taste as if they’ve just been pulled out of the ground, it’s quite the feast. Table 8, 7661 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 782-8258.

Kansas City strip

Order a steak at Jar and it’s cooked exactly the way you ask. The cut to get is a prime, dry-aged Kansas City, i.e., a bone-in New York strip, with your choice of textbook bearnaise, zingy tamarind or green peppercorn sauces, all excellent. This is a steak to make you believe in steak again. Chef-owner Suzanne Tracht turns out first-rate sides too, such as sauteed pea tendrils or purple yams. Jar, 8225 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 655-6566.

Angus rib chop

Not far from Los Olivos and its wine country, locals and wine buffs on a “Sideways” tour head for the Hitching Post II. Owner Frank Ostini’s beef is Midwestern corn-fed, and mostly not prime, but he grills everything so expertly that it’s hard to detect the difference. Check out the giant 24-ounce (or more) Angus rib chop he cooks slowly over the oak fire. Big enough to share, it’s one great piece of meat. When you get the bill, you know you’re not in the city anymore. Hitching Post II, 406 E. Highway 246, Buellton; (805) 688-0676.

Double-cut lamb chops

It’s heaven to slip into a booth at the classy, retro Grill on the Alley and put yourself in the hands of a white-jacketed professional waiter. You might want to start with a crab Louie or a perfect Caesar, followed by the skinny fried onions and potatoes, creamed spinach and superb double-cut lamb chops. Cooked to a rosy pink, these babies really taste like lamb and go down easy with an Oregon Pinot Noir or a California Cabernet. The Grill on the Alley, 9560 Dayton Way, Beverly Hills; (310) 276-0615.

Kobe beef

Cut, Wolfgang Puck’s new Richard Meier-designed steakhouse in the Regent Beverly Wilshire, has got Kobe beef, the true Japanese Wagyu from Niigata prefecture, at $40 for 2 ounces, with a 6-ounce minimum. That’s enough for three people to get a taste of the highly prized, highly marbled beef, but diehard steak aficionados may want to order 8 ounces all for themselves. Don’t even think about sauces or any of the add-ons you can order for other steaks here. Have it plain, with just some tempura onion rings. Cut, Regent Beverly Wilshire, 9500 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 275-5200.

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CORKSCREW

Wines on Vine

For years, Lou Amdur dreamed and schemed about opening a wine bar, which required, naturally, numerous trips to France to seek out worthy examples of the genre. He’s put all his research together at Lou, his understated bar a vins in a strip mall just north of Melrose and Vine. Wines by the glass are chalked on the wall above the comfy banquettes. Most of them even wine buffs haven’t encountered, they’re so obscure. The menu is short and sweet--a killer frisee salad, with or without the house-cured bacon, plates of charcuterie and cheese, usually a main dish of the night, and something sweet, which could be a pudding or a glass of hard-to-find dessert wine. Lou, 724 Vine St., Los Angeles; (323) 962-6369.

Carafes on parade

Walk into Upstairs 2, the new wine bar and restaurant above the Wine House, and you’ll see tables covered with Riedel carafes. The stemware is Riedel too. And the wines, some 55 available by the taste, glass or carafe, are an appealingly eccentric bunch. Owner Bill Knight has drafted the Wine House’s best salesmen as wine stewards, so the advice is intelligent and professional. If you like, you can purchase a bottle downstairs and drink it upstairs for a $10 corkage. The menu from Todd Barrie, who cooked at Joe’s in Venice, is small plates Mediterranean. Caution: The place is open only Thursday through Saturday nights. Upstairs 2, 2311 Cotner Ave., West Los Angeles; (310) 231-0316.

Bella Italia

For more than 30 years, Piero Selvaggio has been championing the best of Italian winemaking. If there’s a newly discovered winemaker, Selvaggio no doubt has the first vintage on his list or it’s on its way. That’s why Italian wine lovers head straight to Valentino from the airport with visions of raiding the commodious cellar. Friday lunches are sybaritic affairs at which wine buffs gather to taste their way through a slew of Barbaresco and Barolo, Sangiovese or Nero d’Avola. Valentino Restaurant, 3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 829-4313.

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CHOPSTICKS

Kaiseki

Hiro Urasawa took over Ginza-Sushiko and renamed it Urasawa after his mentor, Masa Takayama, moved to New York. The younger sushi chef has mastered both sushi and kaiseki, the highly refined court cuisine of Kyoto. He serves sashimi on a carved ice pedestal, turns live, sweet Japanese shrimp into sushi in a flash, and quickly sears slices of fantastically marbled toro on a smoking hot stone. Watch how he uses his chopsticks to tease strips of needlefish into a silvery spiral, the rice tucked neatly underneath. His kaiseki-style dishes are exquisite: chawan mushi with sea urchin roe buried in the ethereal custard, or stacked gossamer sheets of yuba (soy milk skin) bathed in dashi and decorated with pale green wasabi. The most expensive restaurant in Los Angeles, with rarely more than six or eight diners. Urasawa, 218 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills; (310) 247-8939.

Sushi

Other sushi restaurants may have lines out front or more buzz, but Mori Sushi stands out for the quality of sushi master Morihiro Onodera’s raw fish and shellfish. Pick up a piece of hamachi or toro sashimi and dip the end in soy sauce that’s been fired with freshly grated wasabi--you’ll taste the difference. Sushi topped with live sweet shrimp or silvery dark-fleshed mackerel is superb too. But you’d better have deep pockets if you plan on springing for the omakase. This gem of a sushi bar is so understated that the only sign is a green fish--no name--flying high in front of the restaurant. Mori Sushi, 11500 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles; (310) 479-3939.

Sizzling catfish

From a seat at the counter of Chinois, Wolfgang Puck’s long-running melange of French and Chinese cuisines, you can hear the catfish sizzle as it goes into a hot wok. When the whole fish arrives, fried to a deep gold in a puddle of ponzu and scattered cilantro leaves, wield your chopsticks to ferret out every last morsel. You may have to fight off other diners for the best bits--the cheeks and those closest to the bone. Chinois on Main, 2709 Main St., Santa Monica; (310) 392-9025.

Soba

When temperatures swelter, the Japanese have the perfect solution: a soothing dish of chilled buckwheat noodles with scallions and dipping sauce. You can find soba all over Little Tokyo, but the best are handmade by master noodle maker Seiji Akutsu at his restaurant Otafuku. It’s nothing fancy, but worth a trip for his special soba made from the white heart of the buckwheat. It’s all in the texture and flavor: If you want to know what soba can be, taste these. Otafuku, 16525 S. Western Ave., Gardena; (310) 532-9348.

Vietnamese ceviche

Stephanie Dinh, the chef-owner of S Vietnamese, has both traditional and sharp, contemporary dishes on the extensive menu at this sleek Orange County restaurant. She adds, for example, a touch of Asian fusion with her sparkling fresh ceviche. Created with whatever interesting discovery she makes at the fish market--right now, halibut--it’s marinated in a searing lime-drenched vinaigrette and piled high in a martini glass. Crowned with chopped peanuts and red onion, it’s brilliant for a summer night. S Vietnamese, 545 Westminster Mall Drive, Westminster; (714) 898-5092.

Dim sum

On a weekend morning, you can have the next best thing to a trip to Hong Kong or Taiwan at Mission 261. The dim sum palace has forgone ladies circulating with carts in favor of waiters, who carry the dim sum from table to table on trays. The array is dazzling; the execution of each dumpling, egg roll or turnip cake is spot-on. You can eat and eat amid the clamor and barely spend $15 a person. Mission 261, 261 S. Mission Drive, San Gabriel; (626) 588-1666.