Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Fill up on a hearty meal at this basic place before entering the park. The menu is extensive, with most kinds of classic American fare, plus some Greek…
Yosemite & the Sierra Nevada
Fill up on a hearty meal at this basic place before entering the park. The menu is extensive, with most kinds of classic American fare, plus some Greek…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Perfectly placed before Giants games, 21st Amendment brews stellar IPA and Hell or High Watermelon wheat beer. The vegetarian-friendly bar-and-grill menu …
Los Angeles
This new, central spot does Mexican standards and cooking with an island twist such as ancho-chile spiced shrimp served with avocado, greens, cucumber and…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
Like its home, the Standard Hotel, Alma's a hub of millennial cool. Menus feature hipster standards during the day – think avocado toast, chicken club or…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Among the best diversions in the Japanese Village Plaza is this terrific donut-shop-turned-cafe serving blueberry mocha and green-tea roti (Malaysian…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
This brightly painted, artsy-adorable Japanese-fusion cafe (enter just south of Wilshire Blvd) serves sashimi salads, udon, rice bowls piled with miso…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
In the basement food hall of City National Plaza, trendy Lemonade offers the Cafeteria 2.0 experience – counter slop ditched for super-fresh gourmet grub…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
A back-alley marble, oak and leather steak house where Hollywood heavyweights – who flock here from nearby agencies – slug it out over lunch. While it's…
Greater Palm Springs
For local color by the bucket and greasy burgers to boot, stop by this Salton Sea watering hole in a quasi ghost town. If you're lucky, you'll get to be…
San Francisco
Monster banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) stomp hunger with your choice of beef, lemongrass chicken, portobello, or pork with pâté on crusty French bread…
Marin County
This bustling, warm and friendly breakfast cafe with a N'awlins-style Cajun and creole menu draws crowds, not just for addictive, fluffy beignets dusted…
Silver Lake & Echo Park
Boho-spirited Stella is a cloud of clinking glasses and red wine under a tented patio that rambles into a nostalgic dining room. Service can be a little…
Disneyland Resort
The chef cooks up a fusion of Californian and Mediterranean cuisines (steelhead salmon, paellas, lunchtime sandwiches, plus a kids menu) at this airy two…
Tony's Coal-Fired Pizza & Slice House
North Beach & Chinatown
Fuggedaboudit, New York pizza loyalists: in San Francisco, you can grab a cheesy, thin-crust slice from nine-time world-champion pizza-slinger Tony…
Healdsburg
Here the upmarket Yucatan-inspired cooking at lunch and the California-French fusion dishes in the evening integrate fine technique and all-local…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
With its handsome bar and red leather booths peppered with movie execs talking shop, this dim, buzzing restaurant offers a genuine slice of Beverly Hills…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Rules need not apply in San Francisco: concrete warehouses can become cozy bistros, duck-fat cauliflower and oysters are daily dietary requirements, and…
Los Angeles
There's a lot to love at this sourdough-crusted pizza joint, from the slab marble bar and craft libations, to the fluffy, wood-fired pies themselves…
San Francisco
For wine with a side of food and people-watching, Union Larder sets the scene with backlit wine bottles rising to the ceiling and vaulted windows…
Orange County
The fancier sister restaurant of Brodard, this place looks like a traditional Vietnamese house, with a full bar and subdued lighting inside. Like the…
Virginia Creek Settlement Restaurant
Mono Lake Region
Aligned with the hotel's Old West theme, this small, casual restaurant is the best place to eat in town. It's decorated country-style, with vintage photos…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Mission barflies and globetrotting gourmands find common ground at Danny Bowien's cult-food dive. Kung pao pastrami burritos, lamb dumplings with Greek…
Central Coast
Wood-fired treats in this heritage location combining shimmering chandeliers and rustic bricks include grilled octopus, rotisserie chicken and creamy bone…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Sure, you could get the Cobb salad, but go the whole hog for the smoked-rib plate – 4505 butchers its own humanely raised pork and grass-fed beef, so ribs…
San Francisco
Since you asked nicely, pastry chef Alison Okabayashi will hand over your choice of all-American treats: mini apple pies, carrot cupcakes and sculpted…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Entire Mission street-art movements have been fueled by El Tonayense tacos over the past 25 years. Burritos and quesadillas are generous to a fault, and…
Santa Monica
The original location for our favorite happy-hour cabana does exquisite carnitas tacos that melt in your mouth only at happy hour, but it mixes excellent…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Gone in six bites, these little banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches with pickled vegetables) leave lips buzzing. Five-spice chicken packs sweet heat and…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Happening and swank, Belga resembles a European brasserie, with side-by-side tables flanking red-leather banquettes – fitting for northern French and…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
The Haight's obligatory mid-bender stop for a hot slice. Pesto with roasted garlic and potato will send you blissfully off to carbo-loaded sleep, but the…
Mammoth Lakes
The most atmospheric and romantic (and pricey) restaurant in Mammoth, this intimate dining room at Tamarack Lodge overlooks the lovely Twin Lakes. The…
North Beach & Chinatown
Once an old boys' club, this modern, women-owned bistro makes cheeky California updates to continental classics: Kobe beef tartare with duck liver pâté on…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Find a seat on the pier at rickety umbrella tables for Bloody Marys and people-watching, and do it fast – once the Warriors stadium is finished 50 feet…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
Perched on the top floor of Barneys department store, mid-century-inspired Fred's is a hit with on-point lunching girlfriends and power suits. Call ahead…
Heart of the City Farmers Market
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Bringing farm freshness to the city's concrete-paved center since 1981, this nonprofit, farmer-operated market is on a mission to provide local,…
Westlake & Koreatown
The communal bar tables and window counters at this casual joint are rarely short of K-Town locals and USC students, slurping on superlative ramen. The…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
A beloved laid-back Mexican joint packed with Playa Vista business types at lunch and locals at dinner. It does massive burritos filled with chunks of…
San Francisco
Yes, there's a wait, but do you see anyone walking away? Blame it on fragrant moh hinga (catfish curry), tangy vegetarian samusa soup, and traditional…
Hollywood
In the shadow of the looming Scientology campus is this homely breakfast and lunch spot, complete with quirky egg-carton ceiling. Indeed, eggs feature…
Eastern Sierra
A century old and still going strong, Tom's Place is a classic. The decor is decidedly kitsch and brimming with Americana. Refuel in this friendly locals'…