The Los Angeles Restaurants We Loved in February

When my wife asked me how dinner went…

… the only response I could muster was, “Beguiling.” She smiled, “Beguiling is good.” And Oy Bar, in Studio City, is certainly both beguiling and good. I met a pal there on an actual dark and stormy (and chilly) night. Perhaps the atypical weather was a prelude to the whole experience.

The location is kind of funky. The space is divey. (Turns out, it used to be a dive bar called The Oyster Bar that opened in 1972.) The vibe was unexpectedly buzzing, which seemed like it’s the norm here, even on a wet and cold Wednesday night. Then there’s the menu. Oy Bar is listed as Jewish American, and that’s accurate as a broad umbrella category. Now, what the cuisine actually is can be really hard to box in. Jewish California? Ashkenazi Angeleno?

The pickle bento box is a mix of house-fermented, compartmented nibbles — dill pickles, cabbage kimchi, tsukemono. A yaki onigiri is packed with gravlax and topped with everything bagel spice. There’s a Wagyu quesadilla filled with brisket, sauerkraut, and Comté and jack cheeses. See what I mean? The burger — Oy Bar’s most well-known dish — lives up to all its praise, but don’t sleep on something like the striped bass en papillote. Yes, ordering fish gently steamed inside a pocket of parchment paper with spicy chowder seems like an odd thing to do at a dive bar. Then again, you’re at Oy Bar, a place all about defying rules, norms, and expectations. So, just let go and enjoy.

— Khuong Phan, Los Angeles Writer, Resy Editorial

It was well worth the hour-plus wait…

… when I rocked up to Holy Basil’s new Atwater Village location. And they’d just released their sake program, too (the small selection is great, by the way). The menu changes often, but the dry-aged crudo covered in a refreshing tomatillo-fish-sauce-olive-oil mix and short rib panang curry (currently with Wagyu beef cheeks) totally fixed my agitation about staying out past my regular early-bird dinner time.

— Sara Ventiera, Los Angeles Writer, Resy Editorial

It’s the Sophia Loren of restaurants…

As it gets older, Gjelina gets more and more beautiful, and (dare I say) sexier. Open on a lonely and desolate stretch in Venice in 2008, Gjelina has since become a destination for tourists the world over, while staying true to its ethos all along the way. Almost everything they source is from a farmers market, but they aren’t preachy about it. The menu changes multiple times a week to accurately reflect the season’s best, whilst achieving something that’s particularly difficult: doing things simply, properly, and elegantly.

Their pizza dough is fermented for four days. All the fish they use in their crudo and cooked dishes are line caught and locally sourced. Their salads are bright and fresh and flavorful, and I’ve never left that restaurant feeling heavy or tired. I’d be happy eating here any day of the week, any time of day. It’s a seminal, game-changing restaurant that hasn’t deviated from its mission and has maintained its quality since day one.

— Jeremy Adler, Regional Sales Director, Los Angeles

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long…

… to visit Hatchet Hall. I spend quite a bit of time in Charleston, so my expectations for Southern cuisine were sky-high. To say they delivered would be an understatement. The cast iron cornbread alone is going to make me a regular, and missing the apple brandy-braised short rib would be a mistake. A real pro goes with a friend to yap over a handful of shared plates, and take in the gorgeous ambiance. They have a clarified punch cocktail called the Sundown that’s an immediate order, but I recommend ending the night with their espresso martini because, come on: they’re using Menotti’s coffee.

— Catt Flanagan, Regional Manager, West Coast

So … was no one going to tell me about Solidarity?

I was completely charmed by this Polish restaurant in Santa Monica. There are three sections, each unique: a dining room cottage with soaring wooden beams and Art Deco-style posters of Warsaw; a fully outdoor patio; and a semi-covered alcove, where you’ll find movies projected onto the wall and a convivial atmosphere, almost like that of a wedding.

The Polish food on display mirrors other cuisines, including German, Russian, and Jewish, with a wonderful collection of pierogies, beef stroganoff, goldenly crispy schnitzel, and perhaps my favorite of all, mizeria — a traditional Polish cucumber salad dish. Sliced thinly, the cucumbers are mixed with cream and seasoned with salt, creating a lovely and refreshing snack to be enjoyed alongside the restaurant’s heavier dishes.

— Kat Hong, Los Angeles Writer, Resy Editorial

I finally made it to…

… the L.A. staple that is Found Oyster (I know, I know), and was so glad I did. They were hosting the Rustic Canyon team for a mini pop-up to raise funds for wildfire relief, so I was able to enjoy dishes from both spots — like fried broccoli from Rustic and the smoked trout dip, Sicilian crudo, scallop tostada, and Dungeness crab tostada from Found Oyster. I loved dining at the bar and chatting with the staff, adding onto our order as we went along.

— Aaron Ginsberg, VP of Strategic Partnerships & Industry Developments

According to my Resy profile…

… I ate at Tomat on December 13^th, and over two months later, I still remember with great detail the two dishes I loved most.

The dry-aged duck was hung over an open fire for hours to absorb as much smoke flavor as possible. It was crisped up in the pan, served with a mole-like sauce, and was juicy, crispy, and flavorful. I find cooking duck at home intimidating, and plan on just coming here to have it from now on. The beef cheek pie was the star of the show, though. It was so intensely beefy and the crust was so light and flaky, you could tell there was a profound amount of technique in this seemingly simple dish. They are doing everything the right way. I see the chef at the farmers market weekly. They started a community garden on an empty lot a few blocks away and they put in a truly beautiful kitchen and rooftop bar. This is all in Westchester, of all places, less than a mile away from LAX. And yet, when you dig into this well-crafted comfort food, you can close your eyes and imagine yourself on a bucolic farm, far removed from the city, the traffic, and the chaos of the 405.

— Jeremy Adler, Regional Sales Director, Los Angeles

One of the things I miss most about New York…

… is having dinner by myself at the bar. It’s something you don’t see as often in L.A.: a lady reading a book, slicing into a steak, lost in her thoughts. Marea, which opened in a lovely Central Park South spot in 2010, was one of my favorites, and they finally landed here in Beverly Hills in January.

Their coastal Italian menu has taken on a few California tinges, like an avocado stuffed with spot prawn tartare, layered on top of a delicate slice of fennel. But Italian elements like Calabrian chile still rule, from cocktails to pastas (which are all made in house). The fun bartenders, Glenn and Jairo, kept me company when I wanted it and let me dine when it was time, and the whole experience was so damn dignified that I’ll be back to crunch into their bruschetta with Kaluga caviar and play “select your sauce” (meunière, caviar, clam, or Mediterranean)  for their signature dover sole.

— Dakota Kim, Los Angeles Writer, Resy Editorial

February was colder and wetter than I was anticipating…

… and so, it made me crave comfort foods. The butter chicken from Badmaash DTLA is always a go-to, but in situations like these, it just really hits harder. Its tomato curry is something we always finish in full, using naan to sop up every last drop. Also always on the table: the Indian pickles, creamy black lentils, chicken tikka skewer, and the veggie samosas. Badmaash DTLA just recently got its full liquor license, too, so for the first time since opening in 2013, cocktails are on the menu. It’s mango lassi martini time, y’all.

— Khuong Phan, Los Angeles Writer, Resy Editorial

Daniel Son is a true craftsman…

… and you can find him behind his tiny sushi counter, Sushi Sonagi, inside a historic South Bay strip mall. First, you have to escape the communal parking lot to a small space of blonde wood and serenity — this is a guy who is still up-and-coming as a younger sushi chef, but man, is his food singing. He knows when to elaborate on the classics, like with a milk bread sandwich filled with saba (marinated mackerel) and when to find restraint and stay true to the classics, like with his kinmedai or chawanmushi. It’s totally worth the schlep if you don’t live nearby and, IMO, not receiving the notoriety it deserves, considering what exceptional product and technique chef Son is presenting. It’s a top three sushi spot in SoCal for me.

— Jeremy Adler, Regional Sales Director, Los Angeles

I love a good neighborhood restaurant…

… but I’m often disappointed in the wines. That’s one of the things I love about Spina, in Atwater Village. It’s got a great Italian-focused list of smaller producers, including a killer sauvignon blanc that always seems to be on the menu. I go often and try to work my way through the pastas and specials, but I tend to go back for the cacio e pepe over and over again. Just make sure to go early — reservations aren’t accepted but the wait isn’t all that bad usually.

— Sara Ventiera, Los Angeles Writer, Resy Editorial

A night out used to be dinner and a show…

… but now that dinner is the main spectacle, I love the flash of fire from the plancha that Descanso (a new restaurant near LACMA and the La Brea Tar Pits) brings to the table. Make sure to get the “plancha” seating — my guests and I got our own chef, who dazzled us with fire tricks and grilled all of our food right in front of us, including a pork loin in an al pastor marinade, rajas con queso with oyster mushrooms, carne asada with poblanos and fingerling potatoes, salmon with chile and lime, and a Mexican fried rice that I’m still craving. You can pair this with a flight of three margaritas, and finish with flan, arroz con leche cheesecake, or mango crème brûlée. My brother lives in Costa Mesa, where the original Descanso is, so I’ll be taking him there soon. You can’t discount how good food is when the amount of time, from grill to your plate, is about five seconds.

— Dakota Kim, Los Angeles Writer, Resy Editorial

I recently sublet a place in downtown Ojai for a few weeks…

… and while there are lots of great dining options (for a small town), I kept finding myself at The Dutchess. Whether I was in the mood for an afternoon latte and salted chocolate chip cookie, a Burmese-inspired lunch (can’t go wrong with the curried coconut chicken noodle soup), or even just a pre-dinner mocktail or glass of wine, it essentially became my second dining room — albeit with far more exciting food — while I was there.

— Sara Ventiera, Los Angeles Writer, Resy Editorial

We had a fantastic meal at…

… Ospi in Costa Mesa. And while everything we tried was delicious (including the ricotta fett’unta — oily bread with ricotta smothered on top), I’d say my favorites were the spicy rigatoni alla vodka and the tagliatelle Bolognese. Pro tip: Don’t miss their happy hour deal out on their patio.

— Helen Nguyen, Resy Implementation Manager