American restaurants in Los Angeles
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A
Café at the End of the Universe
Wolfgang Puck’s latest satellite venture – a cafeteria-style café – orbits just past the observatory’s Cosmic Connection hallway. Designed with retro space-age flair, the café offers tasty gourmet sandwiches, soups and salads. Grab a turkey and cranberry sandwich then hit the patio for inspiring views of the Hollywood sign.
reviewed
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B
Bob’s Big Boy
The red-checkered, pompadoured kid still woos hamburger-craving hordes at America’s oldest remaining Big Boy’s – his fiberglass form a refreshing reminder that some people in LA still eat. Inside, grab a burnt-orange booth for a double-decker combo, or, on weekend nights, enjoy carhop service in back.
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C
Pete’s Café & Bar
Sparkling lights, glittering mirrors and towering mahogany walls project Victorian airs, but Norm-and-Cliff friendliness makes this upbeat watering hole a mecca for chatty locals, postwork tipplers and those wanting a preshow bite. The menu spotlights salads, pastas and American standards. And check yourself out, girlfriend – the downstairs bathrooms have way-flattering mirrors.
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D
O-Bar
The seductive stylings of owner-designers Thomas Schoos and Michael Berman – stone fireplaces, rippling fountains, flickering votives, elegant cabanas – entice passersby, but it’s the exquisitely prepared dishes – Ironman steak salad, mahi mahi picatta – that close the deal for O-Bar. Pastry chef Meadow Lyn Ramsey’s decadent desserts will ensure a second date.
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E
Blair’s
Chef Marshall Blair, formerly of downtown’s Water Grill, delivers upscale comfort food to an appreciative local crowd. Despite the haphazard service and a too-dark interior, Blair’s divine seafood and beef dishes have vaulted this low-key corner restaurant to the top of many locals’ fave list. Crab cakes and short ribs – yummo! Reservations recommended.
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F
Philippe the Original
Celebrating its 100th birthday in 2008, Philippe the Original still hauls in hungry hordes with tasty French-dip sandwiches – created here decades ago by the original Philippe. With sawdust-covered floors, communal tables and nine-cent coffee, this landmark corner eatery a block north of Union Station remains a thriving cultural crossroads.
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G
Grill on the Alley
When they say ‘Let’s do lunch,’ this is where they do it. Wood-paneled walls, framed portraits, see-and-be-seen booths and white-jacketed waitstaff lend a Golden Age flair to the A-lister power scene. Succulent Kobe-beef burgers, towering Cobb salads and the ‘orgasmic’ John Dory are faves. Reservations recommended.
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H
Fair Oaks Pharmacy & Soda Fountain
Get your kicks at this original 1915 soda fountain right on Route 66. Slurp an old-fashioned ‘phosphate' (flavored syrup, soda water and ‘secret potion') while waiting for a heaping sandwich or hamburger or stocking up on classic candy in the gift shops. It's touristy, sure, but fun nonetheless.
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I
Inn of the Seventh Ray
Everyone needs a little Malibu. And lucky for you, 30 miles of surf, sunshine and sun-dappled mountains are only a tankful of gas away. Freewheeling Topanga is where the Inn of the Seventh Ray serves local seafood and organic dishes with new-age flair.
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J
Toast Bakery Café
From sitcom stars to dolly grips, the Hollywood crowd loves its Toast. Not to mention its tasty egg scrambles, luscious pancakes and frothy lattes. This popular eatery recently added dinner hours, so avoid the crush on weekend mornings and stop by for an evening bite.
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K
Manna
This huge, bustling place is always packed with carnivores in the mood for a total pig out. The meat quality may not be off the charts, but the price is right and the ambience is raucous. The all-you-can-eat barbecue is great for large parties and families.
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L
Marston's
Marston's serves lunch and dinner, but it's the prospect of the scrumptious all-American breakfasts here that helps us get out of bed. But no matter when you get there, this diminutive cottage with its sunny porch is likely to be packed to the rafters.
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