This second article continues to delve into the delectable entrées available in numerous Los Angeles eateries. Some information about them should help direct one’s visit to some of Los Angeles County’s excellent eateries.
Part 2:
Petite Peso
Ria Dolly Barbosa combined her traditional French education with her Filipino heritage and modern sensibilities after working at numerous SoCal foodie favorites like Sqirl, Canelé, and Go Get Em Tiger. Ria at Petite Peso preserves classics like peanut-forward kare-kare and pancit and tries new and unique concepts that move the cuisine forward. The goal of modernizing and being daring has produced in some Los Angeles innovations, such as a vegan lumpia made with Impossible “meat,” a chicken adobo French dip sammie mash-up, and a breakfast burrito with longanisa. Peanut butter and chocolate polvoron cookies and calamansi meringue pie are also popular desserts, thanks to their utilization of peak season California ingredients. Petite Peso has collaborated with another Los Angeles small business, Wanderlust Creamery, to develop a halo-halo popsicle.
The Barish
Mozza maven Nancy Silverton, a long-standing formidable figure in Los Angeles’ food industry, has opened another establishment since 2013 by partnering with another city landmark, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, to open The Barish. This magnificent steakhouse, named after Silverton’s paternal grandmother’s family, allows diners to choose their desired cut of meat, ranging from a 6-ounce ribeye cap to a 35-ounce dry-aged porterhouse, as well as a complementing sauce. There are numerous excellent vegetable sides to round up your meal. Or enter secondi food land for oxtail, duck breast, or a heaping dish of beets and chanterelles. Even the al forno-baked spaghetti casseroles are delicious as a main course. After all, Silverton’s resume is based on California-Italian cuisine. In any case, a farmhouse roll is a must. Request a table near the open kitchen, as seeing the team maneuver around the flickering and sparking live fire is a captivating dinner drama.
Bestia
It might still take months to reserve a seat at Chef Ori Menashe and Pastry Chef Genevieve Gergis’ Industrial Arts District dining nook. Bestia opened a decade ago. The duo has created a multi-regional meat-forward from-scratch tour of Italy that honors time-tested recipes, techniques, and flavor profiles while also taking seasonality and current palates into account and pushing themselves to add refinement to rusticity. Mix & combine Acunto oven Neapolitan-style pizzas, and include fermented sweet potato ravioli or house-cured salumi pasta on your order. Take on substantial dishes together, such as slow-roasted lamb neck or whole branzino. The sweet and delicious desserts offered will expand your inner sugar bestia (aka beast).
Gasolina Cafe
Chef Sandra Cordero has created an all-day piquant pit stop on an unassuming corner deep in the Valley where you can savor Spanish delicacies like jamon croquetas, pan tomate, tortilla Espaola, grilled octopus, and charcuterie boards filled with manchego, valdeon, lomo, chorizo, and serrano ham. While these savory and gratifying made-to-order hits are delicious, paella is the main reason to stop by this casual eatery. There are always three options on tap: meat, seafood, and a seasonal veggie, and none of them are bad. This establishment served first responders and healthcare personnel throughout the pandemic and chose to impose a service fee on all checks to provide equal salaries and healthcare to the front and back of the house.
République
A second Manzkes’ restaurant is a delectable cornerstone of L.A.’s eating scene. This largely French (with a dash of Asian, American, and Italian) concept commemorates the space’s prior tenants (the famed Campanile restaurant and, before that, Charlie Chaplin) with superb service, convivial ambiance, easy-on-the-eyes plating, and, most importantly, wonderfully prepared food. The Manzkes are all about butter, sugar, cream, nuts, carbs, fat, and sauces—and believe us, you wouldn’t want them to prepare butternut squash agnolotti, red-wine braised beef short rib, wild Maine sea scallops with black truffle, and toasted hazelnuts, or brussels sprouts carbonara any other way. The menu explores entrées from breakfast through dinner, with a bakery and counter service upfront and more formal dining in the back. Whatever time of day you visit, make sure to try at least one of Margarita’s distinctive desserts and pastries.
Alta
Chefs Keith Corbin and Daniel Patterson merged their perfect-restaurant vision after working together at the beloved Locol in Watts many years ago to create a corner spot that serves stellar comfort food, such as Alta Fried Chicken with its Fresno Hot sauce, that emphasizes local ingredients and cooking from the heart to honor heritage, features courteous service, and community bonding in its historically Black neighborhood. The menu contains unique soul food entrées, West African, and California cuisines, with meat, poultry, and vegetable standouts including black-eyed pea fritters, oxtails, and a fried tofu sandwich with lemony, spicy tartar sauce. Alta also offers desserts, including Winter Fate Bake’s Classic Southern 7-Up cake.
Jitlada
Jazz Singsanong is the charismatic and warm matriarch of Jitlada who serves authentic tom kha soup and pad see ew. One of the largest Thai populations outside of Thailand is in Los Angeles County. The Jitlada has an expansive menu that you could dine there every day for a while without getting bored. With over 20 different types of curry alone, this Thai Town behemoth concentrates on the seafood-heavy and very spicy—the smoothies may melt your face off—regional cookery prevalent in Thailand’s southern part. Most people stick to the classics, but the more daring among you should venture into the unusual foods department, which contains deep-fried silkworms, whole eels, and pork ears.
Rosalind’s
Little Ethiopia, a section of Fairfax Avenue in Mid-Wilshire between Olympic Boulevard and Whitworth Avenue, is now teeming with eateries, coffee shops, and stores. There is even a cultural center there. But such was not the case in 1985, when Fekere Gebre-Mariam arrived in America and opened L.A.’s first Ethiopian restaurant. Rosalind’s menu isn’t much different now than it was back then. They have recently created the millennial-friendly Sheba bowl, which combines classic components like yams, plantains, and marinated chicken with salad and house dressing. The most real eating experience at Rosalind’s, though, is to gather loved ones around a massive platter of healthy vegan meals (there are six) and spicy meats and dive in on spongy injera bread instead of silverware. If it’s chilly outdoors, try one of the hearty stews. The abundance of garlic, ginger, and turmeric will appeal to health-conscious consumers.
Good cuisine brings together families, friends, and people. The Roze Team dined at a wide range of Los Angeles County restaurants. We enjoyed the cuisine and atmosphere, as well as the attentive staff of various dining places, over our many experiences over the years. The Roze Team hopes that this post will assist you in making excellent eating choices when visiting these Los Angeles eateries that provide a range of cuisine, including some of the best Ethiopian, Filipino, and French food in L.A.. Don’t forget to read and re-read the first and third articles in this exploring great Los Angeles restaurants series, and visit more L.A. restaurants.