The LA Hit List: Alice Waters Edition

Welcome back to everyone’s favorite daytime program, The Resy Hit List. This month, we asked food icon Alice Waters of Chez Panisse to give us her picks in Tinseltown. Prevailing theme: ingredients as celebrities. Because you are where you eat, here’s Alice.

1/OSTERIA MOZZA
2/LUCQUES
3/GJELINA
4/BUCATO
5/ALMA
6/SQIRL

1/OSTERIA MOZZA
Because, “really great Italian. I love sitting at the corner of the bar with a friend, and watching Nancy making her amazing mozzarella! She has incredible talent.” P.S. Don’t miss the ricotta and egg raviolo. // Hancock Park. (323) 297-0100.

2/LUCQUES
Because this is where chefs go for inspiration. “I always enjoy going to lunch at Suzanne Goin’s place, and eating out in her courtyard. She uses perfect ingredients in such a pure, skillful way, and I love that it’s small and intimate and a bit romantic.” // West Hollywood. (323) 655-6277.

3/GJELINA
Because Travis Lett is a culinary maverick in his own right. And according to Alice, the Abbot Kinney institution, “is a wonderful place for their simple salads and delicious pizzas from their wood-fired oven.” // Venice. (310) 450-1429.

4/BUCATO
Because both Jonathan Gold and Alice say Chef Evan Funke dishes out, “very good homemade pasta.” In Chez Panisse style, “they cook a lot of things over the fire. I like to sit at the counter seat right by the fire.” Plus, his rendition of cacio e pepe deserves a standing ovation. // Culver City. (310) 876-0286.

5/ALMA
Because Chef Ari is so far ahead of the curve; he’s caught up to his own hype. And as Alice says, the biodynamic restaurant is, “a very earnest place downtown that uses produce from local farms—and from their own garden.” // Downtown. (213) 244-1422.

6/SQIRL
Because Jessica Koslow’s California casual restaurant is a mandatory stop on Alice’s list. Choose your own adventure from burnt brioche ricotta toast slathered with her infamous jam, sorrel pesto rice bowl, or any one of their crisp, seasonal salads, which, according to Alice, every chef should have in their arsenal. Plus, avocado toast piled high with the good-stuff and hot pickled carrots. What’s up, doc. // Virgil Village. No reservations, lines around the block.

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