ZoeZ's Profile
Best place for fun graduation dinner near ucla
Second this - restaurant is actually Sardinian and they serve addictivly delicious Sardinian bread, cracker like but so tasty. Nice food, service, ambiance. Pretty good parking too.
Saturday night dinner: Providence vs. Mozza
Mozza is a ton of fun, great vibe and food and noise and particularly if you eat later, like 10pm it becomes a whole scene in itself with the guests and the waitstaff kind of jelling - nice feeling. On the other hand, we found Providence to have food that needed to be explained at every dish with a rushed waitperson and antsy staff rushing up and down the center corridor (in view of my seat). My vote, Mozza
Wonderful brunch at West in the Angelina Hotel
Spectacular views to downtown, the hills and the everlasting 405 but the food and service were just tops; Chef Matthew Wolff lately of Fig, presented wonderful dishes - menu choices that also included all you wanted from the salad bar and carving station roast beef with yorkies plus the dessert bar had homemade ice cream (mango for me) while you wait. Loved the crispy deep fried eggs, the choke soup with truffles, and the loup de mer with ratte potatoes with truffles, then my favorite, gnocchi with lumps of lobster. Brunch was $54 with validated parking and we could have had an endless mimosa for $15.
Wait staff were attentive, caring and very upbeat - nice experience. Very modern serving dishes and plates gave great presentation.
West Restaurant
Angelina Hotel
Sunset Blvd at the 405
Brentwood
Best Cioppino in LA?
Second thatt - had a superb cioppino at Enterprise in SM last Friday - really delicious spicy soup packed with clams, shrimp, fish and four spears of king crab. Huge portion - took the crab legs home for lunch on Saturday. Garlic toast so so but you can't beat the parking - huge lot right across the street. Mme Zoe had the halibut with a parmesan crust - also huge portion and a dish that could be shared.
How about suggesting some quieter restaurants?
La Bruschetta on Westwood B;vd not only has excellent food but a quiet room so you can really have an evening of conversation. Older crowd who descends from Bel Air on Saturday night. Angelo has been around a few years and still runs a great place.
Liver?
Norms on Pico in Westwood has a very good liver and onions plate for $8. Really.
Loud and louder restos: Maybe I'm getting old, but...
Ask for a booth - quieter there.
Fraiche in Culver City closing?
Agree X 2 - rough language and arrogant service; my $13 cocktail had no more than four sips - the hostess/waitperson said - I saw you drink it all at the bar PS the drinks were sent over to our table. No great loss.
Best place to gorge on raw oysters in LA?
Kings Harbor in Redondo Beach has a stand which sells many many different kinds of oysters. We go for the crab feast eating outside with butcher paper, hammers and lots of lemon water to wipe fingers but always the starter is an oyster plate - most recently we had 17 different kinds of oysters - stunning and extremely inexpensive. Favorite time is saturday morning before the crowds are out so its an early lunch.
Carne Asada Burrito or Taco in Los Angeles
Carne asada burrito at Mi India Bonita on East Olympic Blvd (4000 block) is a great lunch - well half a lunch shared with Mme Zoe, its that big. Great albondigas soup too on Tuesdays.
Best place you ate at this week?
Ushuala Argentinian steak house in the old Drago spot at 26th and Wilshire - room nicely redone but growing pains abound with service and cramped tables BUT the food was delicious - empanadas, black pudding with polenta and simply wonderful steaks and sides - Mme Zoe and I split a NY steak which came with four sauces. Good wine selection but we had a Marx Bros scenario with one guest getting a stoli instead of a dewars with a twist and then having the order repeated a second time (we drank the two stoli's). Warm welcoming owners .
They will have valet parking and be on OpenTable next week.
Restaurant on Robertson that serves Fried chicken in the vien of Cynthia's ???
This website is what I would call Excedrin Headache #51 (and I like Lisa):)
Best Dim Sum
Agree with you Liu - Elite first choice but Capital always delivers - we had a spanking lunch there on Tuesday with a bill of $23 plus several leftovers to eat for next day breakfast. Very friendly service from the staff and manager. Tripe with ginger was just yummy.
Real, Traditional Club Sandwich in LA?
Hustler Casino on West Redondo Beach Blvd in Gardena has a BLT to die for - sour dough with butter and the mayo spread to every crumb up to the crusts (not removed) and copious amounts of applewood bacon strips, heirloom tomato and crunchy romaine and neatly cut into quarters diagonal - fairy quarters my Mum used to call that.
Grocery Store Fried Chicken
Albertsons took over from Hughes Markets and uses their receipe - very very good plus the roast chicken makes my Chows Razz and Zara, do somersaults when I bring it into the car
Best place you ate at this week?
After eating at Providence last night - can report that our best meal this week was as Natas, the Portuguese restaurant in Studio City: great ambiance, warm service and delicious food - seafood soup, great pastries plus a bakery to do takeout for bread and sweeties (Mme Zoe has a tremendous Danish sweet tooth for that stuff for breakfast).
Vito Italian Restaurant in Santa Monica
Guido's just lost us as a customer when the waiter continued to address us "Now girls what would you like" and continued in that vein. While convenient to Westwood - Vitos is well worth the extra drive - better food. service (and manners)
The Gangs All here - Santino's
Since Mme Zoe has a big birthday on Thursday (Providence for that party) she wanted a friends gathering to start the birthday week. We chose Santino's last night - 12 friends shared tapas, pizza on the grill and lots of great service (room was almost empty except for our party) - great DJ and the ubiquitous flat screen TV with Argentine football. Great place with lots of food and dessert and drinks for about $25 a person and the room was ours. This is a really fun place for a gathering and the chimichuri sauce is to die for. Long tapas menu.
What's for dinner -- AA edition! #130 [old]
Made fresh turkey breast sandwiches with avocado and Julian bakery bread followed by smelly french cheese on finnish crackers while we watched Gods and Monsters - its cold and rainy in LA
Local, unique food gifts
Jordan market on Westwood Blvd has a huge selection of pistachios year round- some of them packaged but such variety - and wonderfully fresh.
Fun/weird / hole-in-the wall / hidden gem spots for brunch or lunch???
I hope they replaced the parking lot attendant too because the last time we were there, he yelled "You did not listen - I told you to pull up over there!". Next stop, finishing school for him and another restaurant for us - went to Duke's up the street and had a great view, sugary drinks and a happy guest on her way back to London.
Unexpectedly delicious dessert -
We were at a late movie a week ago and wound up at Maria's Italian Kitchen on Pico: not a first choice but my minestrone soup and meatball appetizer were quite good. At the end of dinner Mme Zoe who has a notoriously sweet Danish tooth asked for the menu and ordered the Apple Crumble with ice cream. Along came an enormous soup plate filled with well flavored and crunchy apples covered in the most addictive crumble with globs of really good ice cream and four spoons and this was the scene of attack of the dessert, it was that good. What a surprise:)
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Maria's Italian Kitchen
10761 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064
Lamb Dishes at Beijing Restaurant
Made a long promised visit to the wilds of San Gabriel from Westwood to this wonderful unique place: fried with meat - a little dry but we went really late for lunch - past 3pm so thats probably why but the pork buns were over the top in deliciousness and the mushroom/bok choy salad was amazing. Also had lamb with cumin and took home an order of pork buns. The chef came out to explain the dishes because the front person had very limitied English. I love this place but my/our true fave is still Beijing Pies - that experience is a wonder.
Why Hasn't There Been More Talk On This Board About WP 24?
Just to add to my previous post - we were there for the tasting menu 5-7pm a week ago: as soon as we were seated and when we ordered drinks before "dinner" the waitperson asked for a credit card to 'run a tab'. We were seated and we stated we wanted to eat. Thought this weird - any comments?
Why Hasn't There Been More Talk On This Board About WP 24?
Went to WP24 on Monday for a big anniversary; first impression was the motor court was a thin alley with robotic help dressed in various uniforms mumbling Welcome to the Rita Carlton. Had to wait in a tiny hallway for the elevator since it was not yet 5pm. Once up to WP24, the place was empty and we looked for the sunset over the acres of parking lots and 24hour urgent care facilities. It improved after dark with lots of lights and a mountain back drop. Waitperson explained that the raspberry cocktail ($8 special) was very sweet so Mme Zoe opted for a regular martini and I had the pear martini with a slice of asian pear and more alcohol punch that I possibly expected (definitely $16 worth as opposed to the $12 Hemingway daiqui that I had at Fraiche the previous night which was three sips and its gone). No complaints here. Ordered the seafood dumplings to start ($16 for three which were packed with shrimp and lobster). Then we had the tasting menu and it was just that. Small small bites just enough to soak up the liquor. Service was OK but all plates were cleared before we took the last bite. Then the place filled up and when we left at 7pm the place was jumping and noisy too. The room is like a barn and is almost like a play looking for a third act - more robotic help. Nice touch is the woman at the desk as we left the restaurant took our ticket and told us the car would be ready when we went downstairs. With that small a space they have to clear the cars out fast. No lingring.
Glad we went but no going back
Versailles
Food is still good - remember the days when the garlic chicken was $4.95 with everything; was a tiny storefront with a bar and a sultry waitress with magenta lipstick who asked, What ja want - they had an outstanding white Spanish wine for $5 a bottle - what an evening! Tomas was still in knee sox LOL. Before the Cubans moved in, the restaurant was an Indian restaurant for a time also called Versailles: our only meal there was distinguished by the fact that they had run out of rice to serve with the meal. - Shortlived restaurant.
Suggestions for a good business lunch restaurant on the West Side.
Tanino in Westwood fits the bill - nice room with plenty of space between tables - high ceilings, low noise, good food and service. Valet parking natch.
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Tanino
1043 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
