Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [137]
Lotería! Grill ( 323-930-2211; dishes $3-10) Handmade, back-to-basics Mexican.
Gumbo Pot ( 323-933-0358; mains $4-9) Southern food so finger-lickin’ good, Blanche Dubois would approve.
Singapore’s Banana Leaf ( 323-933-4627; mains $5-8) Southeast Asian perfumed with peanut, mango, tamarind and other exotic flavors.
Other fine budget options:
Pink’s Hot Dogs (Map; 323-931-4223; 709 N La Brea Ave; snacks $2.85-6.35; 9:30am-2am Sun-Thu, 9:30am-3am Fri & Sat) Landmark doggeria with glacially moving lines. Chili-cheese dog worth the wait? Probably not.
Tere’s Mexican Grill (Map; 323-468-9345; 5870 Melrose Ave; dishes $3-8; 9am-9pm Mon-Sat) No-frills, authentic Mexican grub near Paramount Studios.
Leaf Cuisine (Map; 310-301-4982; 8365 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood; mains $6.50-11; 9am-9pm) The sibling of Culver City’s original raw-food emporium Click here.
MIDRANGE
Urth Caffé (Map; 310-659-0628; 8565 Melrose Ave; mains $7-13; 9am-11pm Sun-Thu, 9am-midnight Fri & Sat; ) They make some of the best lattes in town but you’re here for a jolt of celeb-gawking, so park yourself on the patio, nibble on a scrumptious fruit tart and scan the crowd for tabloid regulars – discreetly, please. Yummy salads and sandwiches, too. Also in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.
Real Food Daily (Map; 310-289-9910; 414 N La Cienega Blvd; mains $7-15; 11:30am-2pm Mon-Fri, 5-9pm Sun-Thu, 5-10pm Fri & Sat; ) No need to drive to Santa Monica to enjoy Ann Gentry’s famous vegan cuisine. Click here for full review.
Buddha’s Belly (Map; 323-931-8588; 7475 Beverly Blvd; mains $8.50-16; noon-10pm Mon-Thu, noon-11pm Fri & Sat, 3pm-10pm Sun; ) This place is always busy as a beehive and for good reason: light, inventive and fresh, the pan-Asian menu here has few false notes. Standouts include the mixed seaweed appetizer and the Singapore Seafood bonanza cuddling up with black squid-ink noodles. The bamboo-fringed patio delivers relief if the main dining room is too noisy.
Pizzeria Mozza (Map; 323-297-0101; 641 N Highland; pizza $9-17; noon-midnight; ) ‘At the table, one never gets old,’ is the motto on the menu here. How true. Old age comes trying to score a reservation at this booked-weeks-ahead posh pizzeria from Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali. Fennel sausage, prosciutto, and salami are indicative of the high fat, high taste toppings gourmands and groupies demand. No reservation? Come early for a seat at the bar.
AOC (Map; 323-653-6359; 8022 W 3rd St; plates $9-18; 6-11pm; ) At this jewel of a wine bar, Suzanne Goin feeds a feistily flavored small-plate menu to friends, lovebirds and trendy families. Over 50 wines can be ordered by the glass, all the better to find the perfect match for the artesanal cheeses, homemade terrines, braised lamb cheeks and other richly nuanced morsels. Reservations essential.
Surya (Map; 323-653-5151; 8048 W 3rd St; mains $9-20; 11:30am-2pm Mon-Fri, 5:30-8:45pm Sun & Mon, 5:30-10pm Tue-Sat; ) Curries here are second to naan (pardon the pun) at this saffron-colored Indian restaurant dedicated to Surya, the Hindu god of the sun. Everything tastes genuine, fresh and inflected with an authentic medley of spices. Make sure your bill includes an order of something – anything – cooked in the tandoor (clay oven).
Chaya Brasserie (Map; 310-859-8833; 8741 Alden Dr, West Hollywood; mains lunch $10-17, dinner $10-35; 11:30am-2:30pm Mon-Fri, 6-10:30pm daily; ) Shigefumi Tachibe’s classy joint is an anomaly in this fast-lived city. For more than 20 years his sophisticated Franco-Asian creations – miso-marinated sea bass to filet mignon with potato-filled soba crêpes – have wowed discriminating power palates. Savvy shoppers flock here from Robertson Blvd for happy-hour deals on sushi and martinis.
Angelini Osteria (Map; 323-297-0070; 7313 Beverly Blvd; lunch mains $10-24 dinner $10-38; noon-2:30pm Tue-Fri,