Just following up. As it turns out we when back to Scoma's for Cioppino (it was closest to our location around dinner time). They now only serve the lazy man's version of the dish. I thought that the fish was extremely fresh and perfectly cooked. The scallops in particular were first rate. The broth was a bit sweeter than I remember but still had a nice tomato flavor. While I recall the broth having a deeper tomato flavor I would neither hesitate to return for the Cioppino nor think twice about recommend the dish to a friend. Next time we are in town, I plan on giving Rose Pistola a try.

Will be in the Bay Area this weekend and plan on grabbing some Cioppino while there. My default version is usually Scoma's; however, a friend of mine was recently there and thought that it was not up to their normal standards, i.e., the fish was extremely fresh but the broth was a bit off. Perhaps is was just an off night? Given that we have so few meals this weekend, I don't want to waste one, particularly because I hold Scoma's version in such high regard. If not Scoma's, I will head to Sotto Mare. Is there a current concensus as to where the best version is currently found? The Board seems to identify Scoma's, Sotto Mare and Tadich as the three players. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the heads up.

We are heading up from LA for a last minute 4 day weekend vacation. We will be with our 4 year old son who is generally well behaved and a good eater. With what maybe inconsistent napping, the behavior maybe an issue but we will play things by ear. We are planning to hit some of our favorite spots from our days in the Bay Area. We have plans to eat earlier (6:15ish) dinners at the following places:
Scoma's - (Thursday night) love the cioppino (generally speaking we don't like to eat out on valentine's day just dont think the food is quite up to the usual quality. I've called and confirmed that they will be serving from their normal menu. Would anyone have concerns eating here on V day? My concern is that restaurants are generally extremely busy and the food quality isn't up the normal standard given the rush to get diners in and out.)
Jackson Filmore
R&G - although we could also do lunch here depending upon wait times.

Lunch will more or less depend upon where we are in the City. Although we anticipate at least one Ferry Building stop and perhaps Swan Oyster (depending upon the wait)

We currently have one dinner unplanned and could be interested in checking out Incanto. Would incanto work for an earlier dinner with a child?

Also any not to be missed suggestions (particularly in Nob Hill and Marina area - near the exploratorium) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

We will be staying in Nob Hill but will have access to a car.

Thanks again to everyone who offered suggestions. We went to Pecan Lodge for lunch on Friday. The brisket was exactly what we had in mind. Great smoke flavor, moist and worth the wait. We decided upon Smoke for our one dinner. Execllent recommendation. We had the Arugula salad, duck leg w/Pasilla Mole (one of the best 5 bites I've had this year) and the steak w/German potatos. My lone complaint was that the restaurant was extremely loud. It seemed like we had to yell to communicate with each other. On the other hand, this made it a perfect environment for a three year old.

Agree, it's likely an apples to oranges comparison. Here in LA we have some world class options including Oaxacan (great moles), seafood in the style of Nayarit and baja style fish tacos, to name a few. If you're ever out in this neck of the woods, drop me a line and I will gladly stear you in the right diretion.

That said, we were in Austin (not sure how the food scene there stacks up against that in the DFW area but we had some really nice Mexican), if you were to narrow you options to one or two spots, what do you recommend. Go Hawks!

We have such high quality Mexican in So Cal, unless it was something not to be missed, we would likely pass.

Twinwillow:

thanks for the reply. I think we will head to Pecan Lodge for a Friday lunch. We will look into Smoke

We will be in town from Los Angeles are would like to explore some regional cuisine w/an emphasis on bbq. We will have a rental car so modest travel for a meal is not out of the question. We are looking to get some bbq (top shelf brisket). Here we have narrowed the field to Pecan Lodge or Lockhart's Smoke House. What is the general opinion between the two?

We are also considering a Friday night dinner at Lonesome Dove Bistro. Would it be inappropriate to bring a young child (3 years old) who is a good eater for an early dinner there? More importantly, how is the food? If Lonesome Dove would be inappropriate or better food can be had elsewhere, what would you suggest?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Bingo! It's not a close contest. Patrick makes the best fries I've had in the US. So good they taste good cold.

I'm thinking of heading out to K town tomorrow to pick up some meat for dinner. Looking for Bulgogi and Galbi, pehaps some nice kimchi as well (the kimchi whith the oval label appears to be the prefered version). In reviewing the prior posts it appears as though people tend to shop at HK, Zion Market and the Galleria Market. Any idea which market is best (quality and price) for meat? Thanks in advance.

sorry about the confusion, we are at the desert ridge property. Thanks.

Looking for a good restaurant (no particular cuisine) not too far from the JW Marriott that would be appropriate to bring a two year old who eats pretty much everything. We've already tried and liked White Chocolate and Cafe Pinot. Thanks in advance.

My wife and I (we are also from LA) spent some time in Bangkok a few years back and relied heavily on the recommendations of Curt the Soi Hound. We were not disappointed. While we ate our way through the city, frequently stopping at street vendors, two of the standout restaurants were LEK Seafood and Somboon.

We will be passing back through Little India, on the 91, later today and would like to stop for some dinner. Generally, our default restaurant is The India Restaurant, for their lunch buffet, but might be looking to try something new. At this point, we might be leaning toward Rajdhani unless someone suggests something else that we ought to try. Also, does Rajdhani do their AYCE for dinner or only lunch? Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

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Rajdhani
18525 Pioneer Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701

The Monday night bistro menu at Jiraffe might fit the bill. The food is always spot on and the price can't be beat.

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Jiraffe Restaurant
502 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401

over:

Providence
Chinois
Mori
Cut
Parks bbq

under

Jitlada
Hide
Father's Office
Langers
Bay Cities

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Father's Office Bar
1618 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA

Just want to quickly revisit this issue. My wife and I are planning a night out. Generally speaking, our default outing restaurant is Providence. We always enjoy the tasting menus. We are considerning switching things up and checking out SAAM instead.

It appears as though the general belief is that for molecular gastronomy/presentation/wow factor SAAM is the place. If however, we are more concerned with the taste of the food, Providence has the edge (here I am not suggesting the SAAM doesn't serve high quality tasty food, just not up to the Providence level). Is this assessment correct? Thanks in advance.

very nice list. I'd add the following, both are a bit out of the Santa Monica area, but not by too great a distance:

Jaipur, really nice Indian buffet, my favorite on the westside. A few doors down is the Westside Tavern, also worth checking out.

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Westside Tavern
10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Thanks for the heads up. I'll call over.

Does anyone have any more recent information about a good source for Venison? I would prefer a westside destination if possible. By the looks of things, although not geographically ideal, perhaps Huntington Meats & Sausage or Owen's Market may be my best bets. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Huntington Meats
6333 W 3rd St # 350, Los Angeles, CA

You will not go wrong with either dish. . . I think it's only a matter of time unitl they put together a tasting menu option.

We acutally decided to let the kitchen put our meal together. We had Chef Bayless select six items off of the first page and six off of the second page of the menu. Suprisingly enough, I thought that the star of the evening was the corn and goat cheese tamale (an item that I would probably not have ordered on my own). Perfectly balanced, slight heat from the pablano and incredibly creamy. Perhaps the best tamale I've ever had. We also really enjoyed; 1) the blue shrimp ceviche - very refreshing citrus flavors; 2) the steak and heirloom tomato salad; 3) the Sonoma lamb - I agree with your tortilla comment and also thought that the fried onion added significantly to the dish; 4) the carne asada - simply put and perfectly prepared ribeye; and 5) the goat cheese cheesecake.

I should also add that a few members of our party raved about the plantain sopes. Indeed we ordered a second round. I thought that it was a nice dish but not outstanding.

It was a very nice meal and we look forward to going back. While not in the same league as Topolobampo, Red O is a nice addition to the LA dining scene. It is not a stretch to compare it's food with that served at Babita.

actually we dine at Red O tonight . . . there's still time for some insight. Thanks in advance.

Eric

Kevin:

Great work, as always. We're headed to Red O tomorrow night and was hoping you might suggest a few, non-pork dishes not to be missed (the mushroom ceviche looks like a must have.) Thanks in advance.

Heading to the Peter Gabriel concern this Friday and looking for a good picnic option. Our old stand by was the Campanile picnic which they no longer do. We were also thinking Mozza2go but we are concerned that the pizza crust may get soggy during the commute.

We are heading to the Bowl from West LA and would like to pick something up along the way. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I searched the board but the related posts are a bit dated. Thanks in advance.

Joe:

As it turns out, we decided to grab lunch this afternoon at Shahnawaz. A nice treat! Having never had Pakistani food before, the flavor profile is similar to Indian but the dishes, as you indicated, had some heat. As you may recall, the dishes are not labled so while I cant provide specific names, we especially enjoyed the eggplant and pepper dishes and thought that the tandori was among the best we've ever had. Thanks for the recommendation.

Interesting. Perhaps we'll give Shahnawaz a try. Thanks.

When pass though Artesia, we generally stop at the India Restaurant for the buffet. While we always enjoy the India Restaurant, we are looking to try something new. Reading previous posts, Ashoka the Great, Rajdhani, and Little India Grill are favorably reviewed. While opinions vary greatly, we are looking for a different lunch buffet. Any suggestions are appreciated. We could go with one of the restaurants listed above or something else. We are pretty adventurous eaters and enjoy spice (sometimes a difficult criterion to meet at a buffet). Thanks in advance.

many great recs already here. I believe that Puro Sabor is not to be missed. Also, for many of the reasons listed above, prefer Pho So 1 as well. In addition to Skaf's, if you're in the mood for Lebanese, Carnival on Woodman and Moorpark, is a good and cheap option.