Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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106
•
Best “Old Hollywood” Restaurant:
Haunted by the ghosts of F aulkner, Fitzgerald,
and Hemingway—who drank here during their screenwriting days—
Musso & Frank
Grill,
6667 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood (
&
323/467-7788
), is virtually unchanged
since 1919. The atmosphere urges you to order a martini and chicken pot pie. Listen
to the longtime waitstaff wax nostalgic about the days when Hollywood Boulevard was
still fashionable and Orson Welles held court at Musso's. See p. 134.
•
Best Spot for People-Watching:
Nowhere in L.A. is better for people-watching than
Venice's Ocean Front Walk, and no r estaurant offers a better seat for the action than
the
Sidewalk C afe,
1401 O cean F ront Walk, Venice (
&
310/399-5547
). U nob-
structed views of parading skaters, bikers, skateboar ders, musclemen, br eak dancers,
street performers, sword swallowers, and other participants in the daily carniv al over-
shadow the food, which is a whole lot better than it needs to be. S ee p. 117.
•
Best S pots for Celebrity S ighting:
You'll always find w ell-known faces fr equenting
Hollywood hot spots, the most sizzling of which is
Katsuya Hollywood
(p. 132), 6300
Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles (
&
323/871-8777
), the current fave of Lindsay Lohan,
Janet Jackson, Nick Lachey, and so on. Other celebrity hangouts include
Pizzeria Mozza
(p. 134), 641 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles (
&
323/297-0101
);
Mastro's Steakhouse
(p. 123), 246 N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills (
&
310/888-8782
);
Tower Bar
at the Sunset
Tower H otel, 8358 W. S unset B lvd., West H ollywood (
&
323/848-6677
); the
Ivy
(p. 121), 133 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood (
&
310/274-8303
); and, of course,
Spago Beverly Hills
(p. 125), 176 N. Canon D r., Beverly Hills (
&
310/385-0880
).
•
Best Alfresco Dining:
You'll find that mor e and mor e Los Angeles r estaurants ar e
eager to create appealing outdoor seating, ev en if it means placing bistr o tables along
a busy sidewalk. One of my favorites is the garden patio at the
Little Door,
8164 W.
3rd S t. (
&
323/951-1210
), one of the most r omantic r estaurants in the city . S ee
p. 133. A more affordable way to enjoy a meal outdoors is to stroll
Sunset Boulevard
around Sunset Plaza Drive.
At least a half-doz en sidewalk cafes dot this strip—and
the people-watching is some of the best in the city .
•
Best Wine List:
Year after year, plenty of other r estaurants offer thoughtfully chosen
vintages, but no one comes close to toppling
Valentino,
3115 P ico B lvd., S anta
Monica (
&
310/829-4313;
www.welovewine.com), which still boasts L.A.'s best cel-
lar and is continually honored with
Wine Spectator
's highest ratings. See p. 112.
•
Best California Cuisine:
Everyone seems to be doing mar ket-to-table cuisine these
days, understandable since L.A. is blessed with amazing farmers' markets and produce
year-round. A t S anta M onica's
Michael's
(p . 111), 1147 3r d S t., S anta M onica
(
&
310/451-0843
), chef/o wner M ichael M cCarty is consider ed an originator of
California cuisine, but others like
Hatfield's,
7458 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles (
&
323/
935-2977
),
Josie,
2424 P ico Blvd., Santa Monica (
&
310/581-9888
), and
Lou on
Vine,
724 N. Vine St., Hollywood (
&
323/962-6369
), always have some of the best
season-inspired menus.
•
Best I talian C uisine:
I' m going to raise some local ey ebrows her e and go with
Locanda del Lago,
231 Arizona Ave., Santa Monica (
&
310/451-3525
), a heavily-
touristed restaurant at a S anta Monica shopping mall that specializ es in cuisine fr om
Northern Italy's Lombardy region. Until someone serves a better house-made whole-
wheat pappardelle tossed in a duck ragout, I'm sticking with the boys from Lombardy.
See p. 114.
•
Best Mexican Cuisine:
L.A. is teeming with authentic M exican food—some of the
tastiest is even found on mobile taco trucks—but Jimmy Shaw, a Mexico City native,
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