Restaurants / guide (147)

Afternoon Tea in the Rendezvous Court at the Millennium Biltmore

The Best Afternoon Teas in Los Angeles

05/01/2013

Discover Los Angeles

Meeting for coffee is well and good, but afternoon tea is a treat. It’s a special occasion with tiered trays, porcelain pots, and adorable miniature sandwiches and sweets that look almost too good to eat. Almost. While Los Angeles is an ocean and a continent away from London, there are a surprising number of local spots that offer excellent afternoon tea. Whether you’re looking for a civilized way to spend quality time with your BFF or a venue for a wedding shower, there’s a hot pot of tea with your name on it.

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Charcoal Venice

The Best Restaurants in Venice, California

04/05/2013

Brad Japhe

Venice, my how you’ve changed. It seems like not too long ago when America’s favorite Bohemian beach enclave offered not much more than cheap, fried fish tacos of questionable origin. Those days are long gone. Nowadays, the neighborhood is a culinary destination, home to modern fare, chef-inspired cuisine, and some of the city’s best bakeries and artisan sandwich shops. Of course, in the interim, rent has also become prohibitively expensive. But thankfully you don’t have to live here to enjoy Venice’s ever-burgeoning bounties. Whether you hang your hat a stone’s throw from Abbot Kinney, or you’re visiting from half a world away, these are the restaurants you can’t afford to miss.

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Espresso at Endorffeine in Chinatown

Top L.A. Indie Coffee Bars

04/04/2013

Joshua Lurie

No longer must Angelenos subject themselves to old, overly roasted coffee. A new wave of specialty coffee purveyors is now either roasting their own beans or brewing beans from trusted purveyors to deliver variety and nuance. Homegrown coffee players like Cafecito Organico, Coffee Commissary and Groundwork Coffee now complement national brands like Blue Bottle, intelligentsia, La Colombe, Philz, and Stumptown, who have all set up shop in L.A. Now, nearly every neighborhood has at least one standout coffee bar. Learn about 23 top indies that are helping to propel the movement forward.

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Top Organic Restaurants in Los Angeles

04/02/2013

Leslee Komaiko

Los Angeles loves its organics: organic baby clothing, organic sheets, and most of all, organic food. Lots of restaurants dabble in organics, but some of them stand out for their efforts. Whatever your reason for choosing organic—fewer unwanted chemicals in your system, an opposition to GMOs, sensitivity to the environment—these restaurants will hook you up with some tasty organic grub and in some cases, something delicious and organic in your glass as well. Organic gimlet anyone?

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Beef stew egg noodles at Kim Kee Noodle House

The Best Southeast Asian Noodles in Los Angeles County

03/15/2013

Dylan Ho

In cultures around the world, noodles are an integral part of everyday life, from waiting two hours outside of a ramen stall in Japan to the instant form that’s become a rite of passage for college undergrads. Noodles offer therapy for those feeling under the weather or homesick, or to begin the healing process after a night of overindulgence. Whatever the case, for millions of people hardly a day goes by without noodles at some point.

Los Angeles and its surrounding areas offer a lot of heavy noodling, and for aficionados there’s even more enjoyment to be found with noodles than Chinese dumplings. During the late 1970s, the Vietnam War caused an influx of Asian immigration into the United States. The people of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) sought refuge here and they brought the one thing that kept them alive for generations: noodles. A key influence on the noodle dishes from these countries are the Southeast Chinese from the province of Chiu Chow (pronunciation in Cantonese), Chao Zhou (pronunciation in Mandarin), Trieu Chau (pronunciation in Vietnamese) and Teo Chew (pronunciation in Thai/Cambodian).

Historically, the Chiu Chow Chinese are some of the smartest, fastest-moving, hardest-working merchants and sojourners of the Chinese diaspora. Their footprints can be tracked in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan (Fujian), Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and even the Philippines. Essentially, they are everywhere, and so is their food. When you walk into a restaurant that offers 3-4 different languages on the menu, you're most likely in a Chiu Chow establishment. It will usually be Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and sometimes Thai.

The following round-up of some of the best noodles in Los Angeles County focuses on dishes from Southeast Asia's "Golden Triangle" and Southeast China (Chao Zhou/Fujian/Hainan provinces).

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Downlow Burger at Love & Salt

Top Must-Try Burgers in Los Angeles

03/14/2013

Joshua Lurie

Angelenos believe in burgers. There’s no doubt. L.A. County houses hundreds of burger outlets and we’ve been savvy enough to produce a regional chain that still has street cred, In-N-Out. L.A.’s also got a crop of classics that deserve national burger recognition, including timeless Bill’s Hamburgers, The Apple Pan and Pie ‘n Burger, and contemporary Father’s Office. Discover 11 of our other favorite burgers in Los Angeles.

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The Best Restaurants in Hollywood

03/14/2013

Tara de Lis

Like all great actors, Hollywood is constantly reinventing itself. At various times, it’s been known as the home of pioneering movie studios, the first Academy Awards ceremony, an Art Deco treasure trove, a punk rock stomping ground, a tourist T-shirt mecca, and an epicenter of nightlife. These restaurants, from as far back as 1919 to more recent openings, have helped to establish Hollywood as one of the hottest dining and drinking destinations in the city.

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