Since its unveiling in 2008, seemingly every major food writer in LA has hit Gjelina; thus, it became a spot to explore during my recent West Coast adventure. A wonderfully popular restaurant in the Los Angeles suburb of Venice, Gjelina runs under the direction of executive chef (and co-owner) Travis Letts. Ultimately, Gjelina’s popularity is …
Tag Archives: west coast 2011
Ink.Sack: LA’s Trending Sandwich Shop Doesn’t Stack Up To Atlanta’s Best
This is a tale of two sandwich shops. One is Ink.Sack, a small take-out sandwich shop from Top Chef alum Michael Voltaggio. It’s flashy, it’s forward thinking, and it’s got a reputation to uphold. Thanks to its celeb chef and its location in little strip of shops on Melrose Ave in Los Angeles, the bar …
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Son of A Gun: Man Overboard In LA
At face value, Son of A Gun in Los Angeles serves as the antithesis to its sister restaurant, the highly regarded though disappointing to me Animal. Animal is simply dressed, whereas Son of A Gun is festooned with knickknacks. Animal focuses on things of land, whereas Son of A Gun is a showcase for seafood. …
Animal Restaurant: LA’s Meatiest Endeavor
Nearly everything chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo touch these days turns into critical gold. In the case of Animal, their first restaurant, Shook and Dotolo have ingratiated themselves to Los Angeles’s food scene as fast as anyone that I’m familiar with, and that’s no small feat. That being what it is, lest we forget …
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LA’s Hot Dog Hot Spots: Oki-Dog, Papaya King, Pink’s
While New York may be considered the hot dog capital of the world and while Chicago may have a hot dog that bears its name, West Coast megaplex Los Angeles is the true champ. Sure enough, there’s some council that keeps track of this stuff and LA supposedly consumes more weenies than either Chi-town or …
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MB Post: A Very Naughty Restaurant
MB Post, the short form of Manhattan Beach Post, has been a buzzing Los Angeles area restaurant for several months. A Modern American gastro pub, this David LeFevre helmed establishment reportedly packs them in on a nightly basis; so during the LA stop of my West Coast tour, I made it a point to take …
Pizzeria Mozza: In Want of A Wow Pizza
As I stepped into Pizzeria Mozza I was knee deep in the Los Angeles portion of my West Coast escapade. By then, my stomach was well-coated with some of LA’s greatest culinary offerings; but, that didn’t diminish my anticipation for this pie. Stationed just off Melrose Ave, one of Hollywood’s many famed thoroughfares, Mozza is …
Sapp Coffee Shop & Sanamluang Cafe: Must Visits
It took me five-years, but I finally did it. After a painstaking 43,800 hours – I finally got my opportunity to take down the seemingly perfect, ethereally delicious sample of Thai boat noodles that have been pumped out en masse by the oddly named Sapp Coffee Shop, a tiny little dive of a restaurant in …
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SAAM at The Bazaar: A Seminal Meal
For me, SAAM at The Bazaar, the intimately tranquil private chef’s tasting room hidden within The SLS Hotel Beverly Hills, has long been an “I want to go to there” restaurant. It’s one of several unique dining experiences offered inside the upscale Los Angeles hotel, which essentially serves as the West Coast fortress of chef …
Cheesesteaks, Hot Dogs, and The LA Food Truck Paradigm
In my brief flirtation with Los Angeles food trucks, I manage to sample, or at least attempt to sample, four diverse offerings that each presented some insight into the current state of street food in LA. I already waxed foodetic about Kogi, whose food may not be worth the 45 to 60 minute wait that can …
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