Los Angeles tops nation in eating out, again, Zagat says

The 2004 Zagat Survey Los Angeles/So. California Restaurants has just been published along with the news that, according to Chief Executive Tim Zagat, L.A. tops the nation for the second consecutive year in eating out.

In this year’s Top Food Rankings category, Japanese restaurants made an even stronger showing than they did last year, with five of the top 10. Studio City restaurant Katsu-ya zoomed up to the No. 2 position, with a 28 food rating, up from a 25 rating last year. Matsuhisa led the pack, also with a 28 food rating -- not bad for a place with a health department “C” posted in its window.

In the Best Newcomers category, Bastide and Sona received 27 food ratings, Grace and A.O.C. scored 26 and Opaline came in at 21.

Angelenos may find themselves frantically flipping to find a restaurant, though, because the guide has been reorganized into three separate sections: the Westside, San Fernando Valley/Burbank and L.A./Hollywood/West Hollywood. (These are in addition to San Gabriel Valley/Pasadena/Glendale, South Bay/Long Beach and Orange County.)

Zagat said editors had pushed for the geographic separation because “if you’re in the San Fernando Valley, you want to look up your own places and not go through the whole phone book.”

-- Leslie Brenner