An Appetizing Lineup From Valley Kitchens

The past year was another terrific one for eating in the Valley. Once again, the 10 best dishes from my weekly column come largely from ethnic kitchens. As to top restaurants, Pinot Bistro, Posto, Saddle Peak Lodge and Cafe Bizou still head the list, with newcomers Perruche, Paul’s Cafe and JoeJoe’s furnishing imaginative alternatives to high-end dining.

1. Kupati

Georgian cuisine is both fascinating and little known. You can sample it at Tbilisi, where the best dish is kupati, a coarse homemade pork sausage perfumed with whole pomegranate seeds.

Tbilisi, 18000 Ventura Blvd., Encino. Kupati, $12.99.

2. Crab cakes

Almost everyone makes crab cakes, but the ones served at Cha Cha Cha are wonderful, devilishly crunchy discs of pure back fin crab meat, full of island spices.

Cha Cha Cha, 17499 Ventura Blvd., Encino. Crab cakes are on the appetizer platter, $18.

3. Dixie chicken pizza

The spare, ultra-modern Pit Fire Pizza Co. specializes in delicious grilled pizzas. The best one here is Dixie chicken pizza, a crisp pie topped with shredded chicken, roasted peppers, pasilla chiles, Jack cheese and a nicely smoky tomato salsa.

Pit Fire Pizza Co., 5211 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Dixie chicken pizza, $6.25.

4. Tuna tataki.

The fish is excellent at hip-but-cozy Makoto’s Sushi. I like the wonderful salad of thin sliced tuna belly, white radish and green onion, all in a fragrantly spicy ponzu sauce.

Makoto Sushi, 17920 Ventura Blvd., Encino. Tuna tataki, $8.50.

5. Pollo asado

La Rumba serves many home-style Cuban dishes, but the one I would come back for endlessly is the roasted chicken. This bird is bathed in lemon juice, olive oil and sliced onion, its skin crisp, the meat so tender it falls apart.

La Rumba, 8936 Woodman Ave., Arleta. Pollo asado, $7.95.

6. Chopped vegetable salad

Chef Michael Lotterstein, formerly of Woodside, makes the best chopped salad I’ve ever tasted. It’s a vivid, colorful melange of sweet corn, red onion, carrot, radicchio, celery, white beans and a honey balsamic dressing.

Terrazza of Bel-Air, 2960 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel-Air. Chopped vegetable salad, $7.95.

7. Hickory beef chili

Chili fanciers should enshrine chef Randy Hoffman, who serves more than two dozen varieties of chili at his pint-sized takeout. One of my favorites is made with chunks of beef and a mild red chile, and there are faint notes of hickory and mesquite in the finish.

Chili My Soul, 4928 Balboa Blvd., Encino. Chili, cup, $4.50, bowl, $6.95.

8. Roasted whitefish

The runaway success of Cafe Bizou has sparked a wave of low-priced French California restaurants. Paul’s Cafe serves a perfectly roasted whitefish on a bed of sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes. Need more be said?

Paul’s Cafe, 13456 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Roasted whitefish, $11.95.

9. Ovaline di formaggio

In Agoura Hills, where modern Italian cooking is a new wrinkle, no one who comes to Padri should miss these ovals of warm goat cheese wrapped in crisp pancetta bacon, perched on a bed of deftly sauteed Swiss chard.

Padri, 29008 Agoura Rd., Agoura Hills. Ovaline di formaggio, $6.50.

10. Knishes

Deeahna Arrieta is a native New Yorker with a small pastry shop way out in Agua Dulce. She actually makes hand-rolled knishes. With their rustic meat and potato filling, they shame all commercial rivals.

Chamomile Cafe, 33359 Agua Dulce Canyon Rd., Agua Dulce. Knishes, $3.75.